Under Pressure
Anyone ever feel pressure? The weight of the world pushing down on you? IN 1982 David Bowie and Freddie Mercury wrote the song Under Pressure. In it they talk about the struggle of people on the streets. “Under pressure that brings a building down, splits a family in two, puts people on the streets.”
Pressure. It is a powerful force that has a goal of compressing everything down into the smallest possible state. It is pressure that caused my back problems. Two vertebrae have been compressed due to pressure to the point that there is just bone rubbing against bone and creating all kinds of pain in my back and nerve pain in my legs.
How do we handle the pressures of life? What do you do when a major problem arrives? When your world as you know it starts to spin out of control? Paul gives us some advice based on his own time under pressure.
18 Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. 20 For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough in Him to speak as I should. (Ephesians 6:18-20, HCSB)
Handle with Prayer
Prayer should be the last thing we do. It should also be the first thing we do. We should pray continually throughout every day. Prayer is not some memorized recitation of magical phrases that help us overcome all of our problems, yet prayer is a powerful tool that most people don’t even think about until they are knee deep in a pile of their own crap being drug down by the pressures of life.
So tonight, we are going to learn the hows and whys of prayer. Not only that, but we will focus on some specific ways to pray that will help you prepare yourself to face the pressures of life, to help you stand strong when you are under pressure, and to overcome the immensity of the many pressures that you will face in life.
Why should you pray?
Prayer is our communication with God. It was God’s original plan for us to be in a relationship with God, like family or friends. He desired to be able to walk and talk with his creations. But sin separated us from God. When Jesus paid the price for our sins, it restored the relationship between God and individuals that are willing to accept His free gift of grace.
Now we have the ability, opportunity, and privilege to communicate directly with God once again. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways. Not everyone that talks with God will hear God speak to them in an audible voice. That has only happened a few times throughout all of history to those like Moses, Abraham, Elijah, etc.
For the rest of us, we must learn how to discern God’s voice among the noise of the world around us. This comes by spending time with God. Reading His Word, talking to Him in prayer, learning from the circumstances in our lives, and through personal insight that other followers of Jesus, pastors, and teachers might have to say to us.
How should you pray?
There is no specific method to prayer, but the Bible does give us some examples of prayers. When Jesus was asked how we should pray, He used an example that is known as the Lord’s Prayer.
9 “Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.] (Matthew 6:9-13, HCSB)
This is just a blueprint of prayer, not specific words that we are to use. So let’s break it down into the parts that we should include in our prayers to God. I like to use the acrostic ACTS to help me remember how to pray.
Adoration:we should begin our prayers acknowledging who God is; that He is worthy of our adoration and praise. Heavenly Father, you are holy, you are honored, you are great and mighty, you are awesome to me. You are the creator, the redeemer, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Prince of peace. You are the very air that I breathe. Tell God what He means to you.
Confession:God already knows our hearts, but He wants us to verbally admit our sins, our mistakes, our failures, and to own up to them with Him. Just as a parent who knows the truth from the chocolate smeared around your mouth, but still wants you to admit that you did eat the cookie that you were told not to eat.
Thanksgiving:Giving God the credit for all that He has done for us. Providing food, clothes, a family, even the air we breathe in order to live. It all comes from God. Thank Him for the work that He has done and is doing in your life; drawing you closer to Him. Thank God for the answers to prayers, for healing, for peace, for whatever you have asked God to provide and have then seen the results of those prayers.
Supplication:This is where we spend time with God, enjoying His presence, sharing our life with Him, telling Him our victories and fears, allowing Him to comfort us when we are down, drawing strength from Him for what we will face today, and asking God to help in certain areas of our life and the lives of others. We should also learn to sit quietly and wait for God to speak to us. You may never hear Him audibly, but you will learn to hear Him speak to your heart.
After all of this, you may still not be sure how to pray. The Bible actually teaches us that there are times when we are so stressed that we don’t even know how to pray.
26 In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for uswith unspoken groanings. (Romans 8:26, HCSB)
I have found that sometimes we can learn more about prayer by simply praying the words of scripture. What do I mean? As we read the Bible we will learn that it has many verses that are there to help us during times of difficulty and trouble. If you are feeling the weight of the pressures in your life and having trouble sleeping, read and pray the words of Psalms 4.
7You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and new wine abound. 8 I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, Lord, make me live in safety. (Psalms 4: 7-8, HCSB)
Struggling with doubt. Read and pray the words of Jeremiah 29.
11 For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:11-13, HCSB)
Many people find that journaling helps them with learning how to pray. Write your prayers to God as you would a letter to a friend. If that is too difficult, text a prayer to God. You might laugh, but there are people that really believe in texting a prayer to God. They even set-up a contact on their phone for God and they send Him text prayers often. One person gave 5 reasons why others should text their prayers:
1) It “de-formalizes” the conversation.
Texting my prayers helps me to approach God naturally and conversationally.
2) It helps me get straight to the point.
My texted prayers are never verbose or rambling.
3) It reminds me that God is immanent.
That’s just a fancy word for “right here.” He is not distant or hard to reach.
4) It helps me to pray at times when other ways of praying may be difficult.
Like in a business meeting or while waiting in line at the bank or in the airport.
5) It “catalogs” my prayer texts.
I can scroll back to see what I have prayed. And, while God hasn’t yet texted me back, I have often experienced answers to those texted prayers, which prompts new prayers of thanks and praise!
Whatever works for you, start spending time praying every day and see if the pressures of life seem to fade away as you feel the grace and peace of God in your life.
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