How to Pray When You’re Afraid

INTRODUCTION

Good morning! My name is David Sorn, and I’m the Lead Pastor of Renovation Church.

You know something I’ve noticed about people is that no matter if you’re a Christian or an atheist, it is incredibly common for people to turn to prayer when they are afraid.

Like when you have no clue how you’re gonna make ends meet next week

Or your relationship is falling apart

Or when you unexpectedly receive a scary health diagnosis

But how should you pray when you’re afraid?

We’re going to see a great example of that this morning as we continue in our “Life of Jacob” series today

So go ahead and grab a Bible at your chair!

If you’re new today or you missed last week, here’s what has happened in our “Life of Jacob” series so far:

Jacob stole his twin brother Esau’s birthright & blessing, and so he was forced to leave his homeland

…and he had to flee north to modern-day Turkey

Then Jacob starts a family there and works for his father-in-law Laban for 20 years.

But God has called Jacob & his family to return to the promised land

…and so now Jacob is going to have to face his twin brother Esau, who he hasn’t seen since he wronged him 20 years ago.

(Genesis 32:1-8) – NIV

Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim.
3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’”
6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”
7 In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. 8 He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape.”

(Series Slide)

So just as Jacob is coming back into the borders of the Promised Land, he is met by angels

And this is interesting.

Because, if you were here earlier in the summer, when Jacob was at Bethel, using a stone for a pillow, he dreamed of angels on a stairway to heaven.

And God spoke to him in that dream.

And that was right as he was leaving the promised land.

And now Jacob sees angels again right as he returning to the land.

God is most likely reassuring Jacob that He’s STILL with Him and that Jacob is on the right track

And so after Jacob sees the angels, he knows he’s getting close to where his twin brother Esau lives.

But he’s not sure if Esau still hates him and wants to kill him.

In part because in Genesis 27, Jacob’s mother, Rebekah, said the following to Jacob right before she sent him away before Esau could kill him:

(Genesis 27:45a) – NIV

When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I’ll send word for you to come back from there. 

Well, it’s been 20 years, and Jacob never heard this from his mother that it was safe to come back.

In part because she died while he was gone

But for all Jacob knows, Esau is still intent on killing him.

A frightened Jacob then sends messengers to Esau to say: “Your servant Jacob” (look at how he’s trying to humble himself and lift up Esau, whom he calls “my lord”

But the messenger says, “Jacob now has cattle, donkeys, sheep, servants, etc.”

This is both a flex…

Jacob is saying, “I ain’t the kid who left here 20 years ago!”

AND, it’s Jacob saying, “I’m not coming to steal from you again…I’m sufficient on my own”

But then, Esau, for some reason, doesn’t really respond, and the messengers get back to Jacob and say, “Esau is on his way, with 400 men”

So Jacob gets incredibly fearful.

And this is REAL fear Jacob is dealing with.

The last thing he remembers about Esau is that Esau literally wanted to kill him.

And now, that same brother, is coming with 400 men.

And Jacob has mostly women and little children with him.

His entire family could be about to be slaughtered.

I mean, what would you do if you were in his situation?

And you feared your entire family could be killed?

And so Jacob does, what is the most important thing you can do, he prays:

Genesis 32:9-21

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Let’s read his prayer, and then we’ll read what happens after his prayer as well

(Genesis 32:9-21) – NIV

9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. 12 But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”
13 He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.”
17 He instructed the one in the lead: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ 18 then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’”
19 He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.” 21 So Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.

(How to Pray When You’re Afraid)

Jacob prays this amazing prayer, which we are going to spend most of our time on today, and after he does so, he sends a parade of gifts to Esau

And maybe one part of that is Jacob trying to be strategic in pacifying Esau with gifts.

And the other part is probably Jacob trusting in his own schemes and not God’s promise that He would keep Jacob safe.

In fact, in the next chapter, Jacob is going to send everyone ahead (including his wives & kids) to meet Esau, and Jacob’s going to be in the back group

It’s this picture that I think we can relate to, of: “yes, we trust God…kind of! We believe, but help us with our unbelief!”

And Jacob is going to learn more and more to trust in God.

Especially when next week we study that famous passage of Jacob wrestling with God (so don’t miss that), and then the week after when we see Jacob actually coming face to face with Esau.

But for now, I want us to look at Jacob’s fantastic prayer.

There are 4 parts to it

And it’s quite a well-rounded prayer.

So much so that I want to encourage you to write down the 4 different parts of his prayer somewhere

If you’re looking for a way to grow closer to God or even get your prayer life reignited again…I urge you to try this prayer method this week.

It works in all seasons, but is especially good if you are dealing with some fear.

This is a prayer method that I developed this week (from this passage), and it’s an acronym, because if you’ve been a Christian for a long time, you know that all prayer methods, have to be acronyms.

I called it…

(T-CAR IMAGE)

…the “T-CAR Method”

So you can start by drawing this “model T car” in your notes, as that’ll help your brain better remember this acronym

#1: TELL GOD (AND YOURSELF) WHAT GOD HAS ALREADY DONE

So let’s go through his prayer again but a bit more methodically

Let’s go back to verse 9

Genesis 32:9

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(Genesis 32:9) – NIV

9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ 

What is He doing here?

HOW TO PRAY WHEN YOU’RE AFRAID

T - Tell God (and yourself) what God has already done

Jacob is telling God who God is and what He’s already done

Why?

It’s not like God is going, “Oh yeah! I did say that!”

if you look closely, a lot of prayers in the Psalms read like this.

They are telling God who He is and what He’s done (that’s what we do when we Praise Him)

But WHY?

Well, for one because He tells us to.

And two, because when we tell God who He is and what He’s done, we remind ourselves of those important facts!

And that’s what Jacob is doing here

He’s saying,

“God, you were with my grandfather, Abraham!”

“You were with my father Isaac”

“You spoke to me when I was up north living under Laban, and told me to come home. That was a powerful experience”

He’s reminding himself of what God can do!

Here’s why it’s really important to start your prayer time off by Telling God Who He is: …especially when you’re dealing with fear.

Because fear is disorienting.

And in your fear, the enemy can start telling you lies.

And before you know it, you’ve convinced yourself that everything is going to fall apart, and there is no way out.

But this is where in prayer, you can say,

“God, I read in your Word, that you protected Jacob, you delivered your people out of Egypt, you…”

“And God, in my own life, I’ve experienced you with me, when I was afraid”

Listen, I’ve studied and preached through a lot of the Old Testament in my 22 years of teaching the Bible, and there are times I think you could just Subtitle the Old Testament like this:

The Old Testament

The Old Testament

A case study in Spiritual Amnesia

It’s like no one can remember how great God is and what He’s capable of

They just keep forgetting over & over again.

And we do the same thing.

And so when you pray, every day, or especially when fear is creeping in, start with this first step and Tell God (and yourself) what God has already done

And it’ll refresh your memory to His power!

#2: CONFESS YOUR UNWORTHINESS

Let’s look at the second part of the prayer, which is in verse 10

Genesis 32:10

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(Genesis 32:10) – NIV

10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. 

What is Jacob doing here?

HOW TO PRAY WHEN YOU’RE AFRAID

T - Tell God (and yourself) what God has already done

C - Confess your unworthiness

Jacob says, “I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you’ve shown me”

If you’re going to really meet God in prayer, you have to establish “who is who” in this relationship

He is God, and you are not.

You can’t solve your situation.

You can’t bring peace to your life

It’s God who can do these things.

So tell Him.

Tell Him you’re unworthy.

Every form or prayer should involve confessing sin.

Tell God where you’re falling short, where you’ve sinned against him, or others.

Accept His forgiveness through Christ on the cross.

Then repent, and turn away from that sin.

And thank Him for His goodness.

That’s what Jacob is doing.

“God I had nothing when I fled home 20 years ago…just this staff…now look at what I have…that’s from YOU God!”

What’s He doing?

Over and over again, He’s reorienting Himself in the truth…of who God is and how powerful He is.

This is why you praying every day is so important.

We are natural drifters (drift on stage)

But when you pray (especially like Jacob did), every day, it’s going to bring you back to truth.

And truth will help conquer fear.

#3: ASK GOD TO MOVE

Let’s look at the 3rd part of the prayer, which is in verse 11

Genesis 32:11

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(Genesis 32:11) – NIV

 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. 

HOW TO PRAY WHEN YOU’RE AFRAID

T - Tell God (and yourself) what God has already done

C - Confess your unworthiness

A - Ask God to move

This is how we normally pray when we pray (and that’s okay!)

We ask God to move.

And that’s okay.

But look at the honesty of Jacob’s prayer.

He says, “I’m afraid.”

So, “Save me! God, I’m in a very dangerous situation. Save me!”

And we of course remember, God’s sovereignty, that sometimes He doesn’t calm the storm around us, but He calms us in the midst of the storm.

But use this time to cry out to Him in your fear.

#4: REMIND GOD OF HIS PROMISES

And then we see the fourth and final part of Jacob’s prayer in verse 12

Genesis 32:12

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(Genesis 32:12) – NIV

12 But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’”


HOW TO PRAY WHEN YOU’RE AFRAID

T - Tell God (and yourself) what God has already done

C - Confess your unworthiness

A - Ask God to move

R - Remind yourself of God’s promises

And then pray them back to God.

Jacob, in his fear of Esau marching closer and closer with 400 men, says to God, “BUT YOU HAVE SAID!”

And watch how these 4 words wash away fear.

Jacob is scared he’s going to die, but then he reminds Himself of the promise God gave him back at Bethel when he dreamt on the pillow of stone.

God told Jacob that He would prosper him AND that Jacob’s descendants would become so numerous that they would become like the sand of the sea.

And so Jacob is going, “Yes, that right! God promised this. So it has to come true! That means Esau can’t wipe out my family, because if they all died, then they couldn’t become as numerous as the sand”

It’s a promise!

And then by reminding Himself of the promise, He can pray.

And say, “God thank you that are you going to come through!”

You remind yourself of God’s promises, and then you pray!

And the Promises of God have actually been a consistent theme of this series about Jacob

God’s Word is powerful, so we must know the promises of God.

So start researching them if you haven’t.

You can go to this new website. If you want to write it down it’s g-o-o-g-l-e.c-o-m

But you want to pray the promises.

In the midst of your fear about not knowing which way to go, you want to say:

BUT YOU HAVE SAID, God, in James 1, that if any of us lacks wisdom, you will give it generously. That’s a promise!

God I ask for wisdom!

When you’re in the midst of fear, and your anxiety starts making you feel like you’re all alone, you want to say:

“BUT YOU HAVE SAID, God, in Psalm 23, that even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me…(that’s a promise!), and so God show yourself me to now”

When you become afraid that that same sin is just going to overtake you again, you want to say:

“BUT YOU HAVE SAID, God, in 1 Corinthians 10, that you will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear, but that when we are tempted, you will (it’s a promise!) provide a way out.”

“ So show me that way out!”

Do you see the value of this?

Some of you this week, need to write Jacob’s phrase:

BUT YOU HAVE SAID

…on your mirror, your hand, on a notecard to put in your car, on your lockscreen.

To remind yourself that God keeps His promises!

And I want to urge you this week to pray through T-CAR write down “But You Have Said,” and let’s see what God can do!

BAPTISM

And speaking of promises, we have the joy of witnessing some examples of people who have trusted God for His greatest promise (salvation)…as it is baptism Sunday for us.

(Baptism Slide)

At this point I want to call out Baptism Team on stage.

Baptisms are a visual reminder that God’s Son, Jesus Christ has paid for our sins.

And by our faith in Him, we were forgiven, washed clean.

And not only that, that God has raised us up from the dead and given us new life.

Baptism doesn’t save you.

But it is such an important symbol of his love.

We have heard the testimony of every person getting baptized today and every person will be baptized by sponsors (people who’ve had a spiritual impact on them)

(Baptism Interest Mtg slide)

And if you have given your life to Christ, baptism is THE next step that the Bible commands you to do after you give your life to Christ.

So if you need to get baptized, I want you to go to the baptism interest meeting that is happening today after the service in the Northpoint room!

All right, let’s get to some baptisms…starting with our live testimony

GOSPEL

(How to Pray When You’re Afraid)

Thank you for your testimonies.

I said before we started that these people have trusted God in His most important promise, and that is that He can save them.

And God offers this promise to you as well…I’ll read it to you from the Bible.

(John 3:16) – NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

And if you’re ready to truly come to truly accept Jesus as your Savior, I want to give you that opportunity today.

Let’s just have everyone, just for a minute, close your eyes and bow your head.

If you need to make this decision for the first time today…to tell Jesus that you need His forgiveness for your sins…to make Him the Leader of your life…to accept His gift of Eternal life…

In just a minute, I’m going to ask you to stand up

No one’s going to be looking at you at all, that’s why we had everyone close their eyes.

But sometimes in life, we just need that moment…that moment where you say, “____

If you need to tell God for the first time today that you do believe, and you want to follow Him and be forgiven.

I invite you to raise your hand where you are right now

The Bible tells us that in this moment we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths.

Dear God

I confess to you, that I have sinned against you.

But God I believe, that you sent your Son Jesus, to take my place

And God I thank you, for forgiving my sins.

And now I commit, to following you, with my life.

Amen, you can have a seat.

3 very Quick things

1) If you haven’t taken the step to get baptized yet

(Baptism interest meeting slide)

…head to that interest meeting right now. Follow the signs to the northpoint room.

2) For those of you that stood up, come meet me right up here for some really important resources and next steps.

3) For everyone else, make sure you grab a car sticker at the Welcome Table on your way out