A Prayerful Christmas Season

A Prayerful Christmas Season

Luke 10:38-11:13

-Sadly, Jesus is one of the first objects of affection to our minds or to get pushed out of our priorities–even at Christmastime!

–We need to be a prayerful church and a prayerful church is made up of prayerful believers!

I. Can Distract (Luke 10:38-40)

-Mary was worshipping at the feet of Jesus, her Savior

-Martha was distracted with a bunch of “doing” for her Savior.

-Martha allowed herself to get so that she became too busy for Jesus!

-It’s easy to get distracted from close interaction with the Lord even while we’re doing things that honor the Lord.

-When we shift our motivation, one of 2 things might occur: 1. We might realize that we don’t have to be involved as intensely or engrossedly in that particular task in order to honor the Lord, or 2. We might see that our for doing what we do comes not from within ourselves, but from God Himself.

-It might be time to evaluate what you’re doing in life and ask yourself if it aligns with God’s mission for your life.

-Ask the Lord to help you to evaluate what’s important in life and to help you to not be distracted from a focus on Him in the process.

II. Can Distract (Luke 10:40)

-[Martha] came to him, and said, LORD, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.

-Her words betray the doubt that’s hiding in her heart–she Jesus of not caring.

-She allowed her overwhelmed state of mind to cause her to give in to doubting the character of God Himself.

-Doubt can take our thinking to places it should never go!

-One thing is true about doubt-filled thinking: it distracts greatly from a prayerful interaction with the Lord.

–Its easy to doubt in the dark what God has shown you in the light.

-Spend as much “in the light” time as you can in the so that when life gets difficult, it’s not as easy for doubt to creep in!

-Don’t be a doubting Martha, be a worshipful Mary.

III. Can Distract (Luke 10:41)

–And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things

-careful = anxious ; troubled = disturbed in mind

-Jesus tells Martha that she’s got an problem.

-Before we know it, we are so consumed with “issues” that we have no time, energy, or desire to seek a closeness with the Lord.

-Psalm 94:17-19, Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence. When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up. In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.

IV. Replaces Distraction (Luke 10:42)

–But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

-Jesus didn’t invalidate service, He just pointed out the in the Christian life is not service, but worship.

For the Christian, when worship is neglected, everything else falls apart.

-Martha was working and worrying while her heart so desperately needed to .

-Jesus said, that worship is something Mary was doing that could “not be taken away from her.”

-At the end of the day, life is not about the “stuff” of life, but definitely all about the “Savior” of life.

-Psalm 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

-The pathway toward a prayerful Christmas season begins with an awareness and of the distractions that get in the way of closeness to God.