The Greatest Gift of Prayer|08.17.25|Worried About Everything pt.3
I have a confession to make: I really dislike shopping for gifts for people. It could be their birthday, Christmas, whatever. I don’t like giving gifts.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the PEOPLE. I want to show them love. And I even like the idea of showing love with a thoughtful or special gift. I just get really stressed out about picking the RIGHT gift.
What if they don’t like it? What if they already have it?
And then we all know the people who already have everything…how do we shop for them?! Like if you have a friend or a family member who has everything they want already, in three colors!
It’s stressful. So you wrack your brain for the perfect gift. You do a google search for “uncommon gift ideas for the dad who has it all.”
And then you end up settling for a card with a nice note or a quick text, “Happy birthday! We should totally get together soon!”
And I feel bad because I didn’t know what to get them, so maybe hanging out together will be a small concession. But when that has happened to me, do you know what I learn every time?
I THINK that getting dinner together or coffee together is a compromise. But for my friends or my family members who already have stuff, they don’t need any more STUFF. They don’t WANT any more stuff.
And they definitely don’t want me putting debt on a credit card getting them something they don’t need!
They actually just want me. They want my friendship, not gifts. That’s what matters most to them.
And for most of us, I think we’d agree that’s what matters most to US. When it’s someone we care about, we want to spend time with THEM way more than we want an item from them. Right?
Now, it’s hard enough to buy gifts for friends who have everything, but what do you give the all-powerful, creator God of the universe?
The answer is the same, of course! You give him your friendship. Your love. Your loyalty. Your presence.
[God’s trying to get you]
As Pastor Chad Veach says, “God isn’t trying to get something FROM you – He is trying to get YOU. You are the gift. You are the goal. YOU are the object of his love.”
God doesn’t need our stuff. He’s not asking us to give him our accomplishments, or our track record with how much of the Bible we’ve read. He’s not asking for us to give him a list of how many days we’ve fasted, and he’s not wanting our “look at how many people I’ve told about Jesus” list.
He wants YOU. And prayer is one of the ways that we draw near to God so that we can spend time with him.
[Series]
That’s why we’re spending this month intentionally learning about prayer and how it is one of the main tools that God uses to transform us to become more and more like Jesus.
Too often, we’re distracted and anxious over the wrong things, which is why we looked at how God wants us to draw near to him in prayer so that he can replace our worries with his peace.
Just like the check engine light in a car, stress isn’t a sin, it’s a signal that it’s time to pray. And when we realize that we’re feeling anxious or stressed or worried, all we need to do is note it, and then turn to God in prayer, presenting our requests to him so that he can replace our worry with his peace.
But we also know that prayer isn’t JUST about asking God for stuff or help. Often, God will hand our requests back to us because he’s helping us grow and learn, and he wants to involve us in our own answer to prayer.
Because of that, you can’t separate prayer from action. And when we pray, it should move us to action in joining Jesus where he is leading us to follow him. When we’re feeling a nudge from him, we note it, we pray about it, and then we move where he tells us to take action — one step at a time, always waiting for him to give us the next step.
And this week, we’re talking about how prayer actually MOVES US. Prayer seats us at the feet of Jesus. Not to prove anything to him, and not to get anything from him. Just to BE with him.
[Scripture Ref]
There’s a story in the gospel of Luke where Jesus is interacting with two sisters, Martha and Mary. Martha is the one who is flitting about, getting all the hostess preparations ready, and Mary is the one who is sitting at Jesus’ feet, hanging on his every word.
The truth is that we live in a world that trains us to be like Martha. We’re always busy, we’re always distracted. Whether it’s trying to keep up with all the tasks we have, or getting sucked into the latest “crisis” that’s online…we’re definitely “concerned with many things.”
But PRAYER is one of the tools that God uses to transform us from people who are anxious, distracted, and focused on the wrong things…into people who REST in his peace.
And doesn’t that sound like something we need? So let’s read this short section of Luke together…
[Luke 10:38-42]
[Luke 10:38]
Our passage opens with this description of Martha, and she’s presented by Luke as a patron of Jesus. She’s prosperous, independent, ready to host this traveller and his followers. It’s a POSITIVE presentation of her.
[Luke 10:39-40a]
And then we’re introduced to her sister, Mary. Now, this is probably the same Mary and Martha that show up in John’s gospel who are the sisters of Lazarus, who was later raised back to life by Jesus.
Luke tells us that Mary “sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying.” Everywhere else in the gospel of Luke, when people are listening to Jesus’ words, that means they are on the pathway of discipleship.
And Mary is doing just that. It doesn’t matter that women weren’t normally included in the formal religious training. With Jesus, those rules go away, and Mary is welcomed to sit under the teaching of THE Teacher, drawing close to him.
Martha, on the other hand, was “distracted by her many tasks.”
And you can imagine how this scene played out: Martha needed help in the kitchen, and she expected Mary to do her part.
So you probably had Martha waiting for Jesus to look at someone else in the group, and then she would gesture frantically to try and get Mary’s attention. That doesn’t work, so she’s coughing and sighing loudly from the kitchen. Sneaking in and whispering menacingly in Mary’s ear.
Every time she comes into the room to deliver a bowl of snacks, she’s dropping some passive-aggressive hints about “how HOT it is in the kitchen” and “how much work there is left to do.”
And, of course, Mary just ignores her.
[Luke 10:40b]
And at a certain point, Martha couldn’t take it anymore, and she lost it. So she finally complains to Jesus: “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
Now, I want to point out that this passage doesn’t say that hospitality isn’t good. It’s not saying that you should never be the type of person that helps in the background to create a space.
But hospitality is all about attending to the needs of the guest, so did we notice why Martha’s complaint is the issue? She’s actually NOT focused on Jesus, at all. She’s focused on me-talk:
“Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left ME to do all the work by MYself? Tell her to help…ME.”
Yeah, she refers to Jesus as Lord, but she’s more focused on trying to convince him to co-sign HER plans, rather than learning what HIS plan is and doing that.
[Luke 10:41-42]
But we keep moving, and I love this, Jesus doesn’t condemn Martha. He doesn’t blast her in front of everyone. He says, “Martha, Martha…” and the repetition of her name shows Jesus’ affection for her. He’s tender-hearted towards her and understands her predicament.
He doesn’t condemn her, but instead gently and firmly reminds her there is another way: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things…”
He’s pointing out something for us to learn from:
Martha is concerned with many things. Mary is concerned with only one.
Martha is anxiously agitated and distracted. Mary is a disciple who is drawing near and learning.
And we need to see that this passage is NOT saying that a life of service isn’t good. This ISN’T saying “here’s two options, you’d better always choose sitting at Jesus’ feet.”
But it IS showing us what happens when we’re anxious and distracted by many things. You know what that feels like. You’ve been there.
Working long hours, trying to get that overtime because of the seasonal crunch. Shuttling kids from school to sports to bed and filling the weekend with tournaments. Trying to get ahead financially, but always feeling STUCK with bills and debt and unexpected expenses that pop up out of nowhere.
And then you stay up late scrolling your phone or watching TV because that’s the “only” me-time you have.
And is it increasing joy and peace in your life?
Or you’re following all the community news and school board updates and local politics…but that just leaves you worrying about “how things are changing.”
And you’re stressed about health concerns for you or your family member, and you’re barely able to keep up with all the doctor appointments.
But you’re still filling your time with Jesus-stuff, because you’re committed to the church. How wonderful, right?! So you’re volunteering for MULTIPLE church activities, but you’re secretly feeling stretched thin.
And it’s been a while since you felt any joy or peace.
And so Jesus says to you, “My dear child, you are worried and distracted by many things…but only ONE thing is necessary.”
This isn’t an anti-serving text…it’s a pro-PRESENCE text. It’s showing that when we draw near to Jesus, performing FOR him should never take the place of being WITH him.
Mary didn’t let gender norms, family expectations, to-do lists, or even smoke pouring from the kitchen stop her. She wanted to be with Jesus. So she ignored everything else, sat down, and listened. Period.
She didn’t let good things distract her from the best thing.
Martha, on the other hand, was busy.
Not just occupied, but genuinely stressed out. Anxious, worried, upset, distracted, overwhelmed, frantic, and pressured.
Doesn’t that sound like our culture today? There is always more to do than there is time to do it. We are always running, eternally working, constantly distracted. Many people flaunt their busyness like a merit badge, as if being forever busy is proof of their importance.
But what if being forever busy is just proof that we don’t have our priorities right?
“You are worried and distracted by many things…but only one thing is necessary.”
[Prayer’s greatest gift]
And when we feel that signal that we should turn to God in prayer, it’s good for us to remember that prayer isn’t about EARNING closeness with God. Because God WANTS to give you himself in prayer. And the only thing he asks for from you…is YOU.
And usually, when we pray, we’re looking for answers. But prayer’s greatest gift is God himself. That’s what the apostle Paul was talking about when he told the Philippians that they don’t have to be anxious about anything, but in EVERYTHING, we get to turn to God in prayer so that the PEACE of God, which surpasses all understanding, could guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
When we draw NEAR to God in prayer, we get to simply give him our presence as a gift, and we get to receive him as a gift. And in doing that, we enter rest. We find peace.
We don’t have to strive or perform for him. We don’t have to impress him or achieve for him. He just wants us to draw near to him.
And every time we draw near to God, whether it’s through reading Scripture, or through prayer, or through just sitting quietly and being thankful for the gift of the day, the gift of sunlight, the gift of the bird song…
…every time we do that, it’s God saying “I love you.” Not because we are doing anything to earn our standing before God, but because he has proven his love to us in the finished work of Jesus Christ and the continued move of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
And so we don’t approach God with our own agenda and expect him to co-sign our plans. We approach God in prayer and receive HIM. And what do we receive in his presence?
[Psalm 16:11]
We receive JOY. David wrote in Psalm 16, “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is FULLNESS OF JOY…”
Joy transcends circumstances. You can be joyful even when you’re going through difficult times. That doesn’t mean that you ignore your pain, but it means that God’s presence fills you with a joy that is deeper and more permanent than the situation you are facing.
[Isaiah 26:3]
Entering into God’s presence through prayer gives us PEACE. Isaiah tells us that those who trust God are kept in peace.
When you slow down enough to experience God’s presence in your prayer time, you know things will work out. It will be okay. This event, or circumstance, or pain will pass. When you experience the peace of God, you know that even though the storm rages around you, you know you are safe.
[Joshua 1:9]
God’s presence also gives you courage. When Joshua took over the leadership of Israel from Moses, he had some big sandals to fill. He also had the impossible task of leading Israel into the Promised Land.
So this is what God said to him: “Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
If I was Joshua, I would’ve thought we needed strategies, weapons, brave warriors. But God said he needed COURAGE and he needed God’s PRESENCE. And those two things were connected.
[Matthew 11:28-29]
One final thing that we get with God’s presence is rest. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus is quoted as saying to the multitudes: “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
When we draw near to God, we find rest for our souls. I think that’s what Mary found, and it’s what Martha needed.
Jesus told Martha, only ONE thing is needed. And that one thing wasn’t another achievement, or another task, or another religious performance. The ONE thing that was needed — the one thing that is necessary for US — is to sit at Jesus’ feet.
[One thing]
And that’s true even today. There’s only one thing needed this week: linger with Jesus. And that’s what I want you to DO in response to this message. This week: linger with Jesus.
Start where you are, and just add ONE minute. The ONE thing that is needed is to not rush out of prayer or hurry to leave God’s presence. The ONE thing that is needed is to just sit at his feet for a while, one minute more.
Maybe you’re listening to me, and you’re starting with NO prayer habit established yet. So start where you are, pick a time and a place to draw near to God in prayer and just enjoy his presence for one minute tomorrow. Then add a minute on Tuesday. Then add a minute on Wednesday.
The point isn’t the minutes, it’s sitting in the presence of God. Every extra minute isn’t to impress Him… it’s just one more minute to enjoy what He’s already given you.
[21 Days of Prayer]
Even better, if you haven’t joined yet, join our 21 Days of Prayer. We’re one week in, which means there are two more weeks left to help you establish that daily habit of prayer. The daily text gets sent at 5am every day, and you can check it and engage whenever it works for you.
If you’re already in the 21 Days of Prayer, maybe you can linger with Jesus by simply staying ONE more minute with him before you continue with your day.
Maybe that looks like lingering a little longer in your chair and thanking God for the gift of the day.
If your house is a little more crazy, like mine is with little kids, maybe your prayer spot is better in your car before you start the engine and race off to your day.
If you love nature, maybe you can take a short prayer walk and add a minute to pause and linger in God’s presence. Because the greatest gift of prayer is God himself. Being in his presence.
[Prayer’s greatest gift]
So this week, linger a little longer, stay a little longer with Jesus.
He’s not waiting for you to impress him. He’s waiting to BE with you.
So don’t rush past him this week. Choose the ONE thing that is better.
Draw near to him and enter his presence. And let his joy, peace, courage, and rest be yours. Because he loves you and wants to give himself to you. Because Jesus removed every barrier at the cross, and his presence is available to us forever.
Isn’t that good news?