Welcome to the daily disciple podcast, where we seek daily to be with and to become like Jesus, our teacher. Good morning everyone and welcome to the daily together on mission podcast, where we do what friends that our friends of Jesus do. We just begin our day with Jesus and encountering Jesus and enjoying Jesus and the season of the podcast that we're in is taking a look at prayer and connecting with Jesus and diving deeper into our relationship with Jesus, learning how to talk with him, listen to him, and enjoy a life and a conversation and a connection with Jesus. Now, the title of the podcast this morning is prayer works, and we're going to start in Jeremiah, and then we're going to go to a famous passage in the Gospel of John.
And I think I want to start this morning by reframing prayer, not as a discipline that must be done in the Christian life, but as something that actually works, like something that actually works. Because the reality is, I'm sure that you would agree, ultimately, we're drawn toward things that work. I mean, think about it. If it works, we're in, and we'll spend time there, and we'll make an effort.
And we're motivated because when things work, we get where we want, or what we want, or we achieve our goal, or whatever the motivation might be. And so this might be a great question. How excited are you to do or spend time on things that just don't work? And the answer is you're not very excited, and I'm not very excited.
And the reality is that prayer, I think, must be seen as something that actually works. And if we don't believe that, then we won't really try at all. And I think a very important point is that we want to be filled, we want to be satisfied, we want to be happy. And God has given us those desires because He created us to be filled, and to be satisfied, and to be happy.
And so again, prayer is not simply a discipline that we must go after in the Christian life, because it's the right thing to do. Prayer actually works, and prayer is actually the route to being filled, satisfied, and happy. And I think these verses are going to say that there is no other route. And again, if we don't believe that prayer really works, to achieve that place or that state of filled, satisfied, and happy, we're never going to take it seriously.
And take it seriously, we must, because it works. And prayer is an intimate friendship with Jesus, and it works. And we're going to start this morning with a verse in Jeremiah that's kind of famous. And it's Jeremiah chapter 2 beginning in verse 13.
God says, they, the people of Israel, have forsaken me, I'm the springs of living water, and they've dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns, that cannot hold water. And it's this idea that God is living water, but what we tend to do is dig our own cisterns, that are broken cisterns, and that can't hold water, that don't work as far as fulfillment or satisfaction. And there are quite a few things that don't work. There's quite a few things that seem like they're going to work to fulfill, to satisfy, but they don't work.
And we try to be satisfied and be happy and be fulfilled in so many ways, and in so many people, and through so many things, but they just don't hold water. They don't work. They need good things, and then they add to our lives. But there are cisterns all over the place that don't actually hold water and won't actually work.
And maybe we could think for just a moment about what we're trying to use to be fulfilled, or to be happy, or to be content, and it might be relationships with people, or accomplishing something, or a new toy, or a new experience, or a new Netflix series, or another degree. And these are all good things, but they ultimately don't work as far as holding water. They ultimately don't work as far as delivering true joy and true happiness. And so into this predicament comes a very famous statement that Jesus made in John, chapter 7, verse 37, let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink, and that is so good because we are thirsty.
And we've all gone after cisterns that do not hold water, and some of us are still going after it, and some of us are tired and have given up, but the reality is we're thirsty. Anyone who's thirsty come to me and drink, and then verse 38, whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. Come to me, those of you that are thirsty and drink, and rivers of living water will flow from within them. And we are thirsty, and we're thirsty again to be filled, to be satisfied, to be happy, and notice what Jesus says here is a different image than what we read in Jeremiah.
Jesus says, come to me, and I'm the source, and as you come to me, rivers of living water will flow from within you. It's this constant flow. And so the experience and the reality of being filled is only found when there's a constant flow from within. And Jesus says that strategy is to come to me in relationship and experience the rivers of living water and leave behind the strategy of trying to be filled or happy or satisfied by those cisterns that although you fill them, they're leaking.
And so they never really work. Change that strategy, come to me in relationship and in connection, and you will find yourself filled. And so the bottom line is that as we begin this journey of prayer and relationship with Jesus in connection with Jesus, it actually works. It actually works, and that's the key, because we don't believe that we're never really going to try, we're never really going to go for it, because we go toward things that we believe work.
And it works as the only route to fulfillment and happiness and satisfaction, which is what we were created for. And I think I mentioned this in the last podcast, but the invitation of the gospel is a summons into a life of prayer, and prayer and therefore being filled is easier than most of us have ever imagined. It's natural, it's of course it's going to be opposed by the enemy, because the enemy knows what will truly fill us and he loves for us to go after cisterns that leak and will never fill us, but prayers like breathing. And we'll talk about that in future podcasts, but today, and I need to land this plane today, the key is to believe the truth that prayer actually works.
Come to me if you're thirsty, and rivers of living water will flow from within you. And so this morning, let's just spend five minutes in a quiet space. Read Jeremiah, read Jesus, and maybe simply pray these words, prayer works. It's the only thing that works.
Relationship with Jesus holds water, because water flows from within. It works, it works, it works, and let's focus on that truth. And then, yeah, let's bring in relationships and accomplishments and toys and vacations and a good Netflix series and another degree and a great meal as a bonus. But let's not try to get those things to do what they can't do.
They can't hold water, but as we come to Jesus, rivers of living water will flow from within us. And we'll talk to him. Thanks for listening to the Daily Disciples podcast. We truly hope that you were encouraged by it today.
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