Title: How Can I Begin An Effective Prayer Life?
Series: Prayer Changes Things
Text: John 15:5-8
Introduction
In the small town we lived in, the volunteer fire department’s telephone was answered by the policeman on duty, who would in turn sound the fire whistle to rally the volunteers to duty. One Saturday morning my father, the town chief of police, had just come on duty when the fire department phone rang. He picked up the phone and said, "Fire Department."
A voice on the other end of the line frantically said, "Send the fire truck!" Then the caller immediately slammed the phone down.
My dad stood stunned, not knowing what to do. In a few minutes the phone rang again. Quickly he picked it up and said again, "Fire Department!"
Again the voice cried, "Send the fire truck!" Again the caller immediately hung up.
Realizing that someone’s house was possibly at stake, he rushed outside and scanned the sky to see if he could see smoke and therefore send the fire trucks in that direction. While outside he also devised a plan as to how to keep the caller from hanging up so quickly if she called back. Sure enough the phone rang again and he went running inside. Picking up the phone he quickly asked, "Where’s the fire?"
The lady on the other end screamed, "In the kitchen," and slammed the phone down again. (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 110.)
Does this story describe your prayer life?
I. PRAYER IS A CONVERSATION BETWEEN YOU AND GOD.
Note: Prayer is not a one-sided conversation with a God who is “out there somewhere.” God desires your fellowship and love. He also wants you to know and experience His love and presence. But much of our prayer life should be in listening, not in speaking; for it is only in listening that we receive an answer from God.
Illustration: Quotes
Ø Great minds talk about ideas; mediocre minds talk about things; small minds talk about other people. (Proverb. Edythe Draper, Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). Entry 1836.)
Ø Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. Abraham Lincoln. (Edythe Draper, Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). Entry 1845.)
Ø If nobody ever said anything unless he knew what he was talking about, what a ghastly hush would descend upon the earth! Sir Alan Patrick Herbert. (Edythe Draper, Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). Entry 1852.)
Ø Man has been given two ears and only one tongue that he might listen twice as much as he speaks. Walter Colton. (Edythe Draper, Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). Entry 1858.)
Ø The ability to speak several languages is an asset, but the ability to keep your mouth shut in one language is priceless. (Edythe Draper, Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). Entry 1876.)
A. God Is Seeking An Intimate, Personal Relationship With You. John 14:23
Note: There is a recent TV commercial in which a man and woman get married in a Las Vegas wedding chapel. As the commercial begins, the “happy” couple is exiting the chapel supposedly on their way to their honeymoon. The woman looks at her newly married husband and tells him she has to run and she’ll see him later.
Obviously this is not the way a marriage is supposed to work. There has to be a real relationship for the marriage to succeed. It’s the same way with our prayer life. If we want to have an effective prayer life, we first have to have a love relationship with God. If you feel that your prayers are not being answered, perhaps the first thing to check is your relationship.
B. We Cannot Pray Effectively Without An Intimate, Personal Relationship With Him. 1 John 4:15-16
Note: A love relationship through effective praying surpasses a saving relationship alone. Being saved but never having an effective prayer life is like being born as a child, but never talking to your parents. You’re still their child, you just don’t receive many of the benefits offered by parents to their children because there is no communication.
C. When We Begin To Pray Effectively, Jesus Promises To Answer Our Prayers. John 15:7
1. If we abide in Him, He will give us the desires of our heart. Psalms 37:4
Note: He will not only give us the things we desire, He will give us a whole new desire.
2. If we abide in Him, we will conform our will to His will.
3. We don’t have the right to ask, however, until we are first abiding in Him.
Note: AN EFFECTIVE PRAYER LIFE BEGINS WITH ABIDING IN CHRIST.
II. EFFECTIVE PRAYING RESPONDS TO THE PERSON OF GOD. Philippians 2:13
Note: Prayer always begins with God. Even though you may think you decide to pray, God is the One who give you the desire. Whenever you have the desire to pray, God is extending a personal invitation for you to spend time with Him. When we pray, we are responding to God.
How Do We Respond To God In Prayer?
A. We Respond To God’s Holiness Through Confession. Psalms 51:1-4, 10-12
Quote: It is not the constant thought of their sins, but the vision of the holiness of God that makes the saints aware of their own sinfulness. Archbishop Anthony Bloom. (Edythe Draper, Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). Entry 4660.)
1. God cannot tolerate sin in our lives because He is holy.
2. Our sin offends the person of God.
3. When we confess our sins, we are agreeing with God that what we did was wrong.
4. We come into agreement with Him, He does not come into agreement with us.
B. We Respond To God’s Person Through Praise. Psalms 145:3-7
Quote: A sacrifice of praise will always cost you something. It will be a difficult thing to do. It requires trading in our pride, our anger, and most valued of all, our human logic. We will be compelled to voice our words of praise firmly and precisely, even as our logic screams that God has no idea what he’s doing. Most of the verses written about praise in God’s Word were penned by men and women who faced crushing heartaches, injustice, treachery, slander, and scores of other intolerable situations. Joni Eareckson Tada. (Edythe Draper, Draper’s Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992). Entry 8724.)
C. We Respond To God’s Glory Through Worship. Psalms 42:1-2
Quote: Did you ever hear anyone say, "We’re not going to the lake this afternoon; Sunday is the only day we have to rest"? (Croft M. Pentz, The Complete Book of Zingers (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1990).)
Psalms 122:1; Psalms 84:10
Note: Worship is not, and never has been, something people attend in order to be entertained or fed. Worship can be entertaining. Worship can be richly nourishing. I have pleasant memories of worship being both of those things to me. But those are not the reasons God calls us to worship. (Douglas J. Brouwer in "Singing in a Presbyterian Congregation" (Perspectives, February 1992). Christianity Today, Vol. 36, no. 10.)
1. Worship is adoring, loving, and honoring God.
2. Worship is not only recognizing the character of God, it is also realizing a great sense of satisfaction in His character.
3. Worship is much more personal and intimate than singing praise choruses and raising your hands during a moving song.
4. Worship is the expression of your love, adoration, reverence, and honor for God in ways that are unexplainable with words.
D. We Respond To God’s Provision Through Thanksgiving. Psalms 75:1; Psalms 107:1
1. God is the Giver of every good and perfect gift. James 1:17
2. God wants you to experience the abundant life He has to give you. John 10:10
3. Thanksgiving is not just a statement, it is an attitude.
Illustration: A while ago my wife had a job evaluation from her employer. Her boss commended her for doing a good job, and she received a nominal raise in pay. Nothing that would change her lifestyle, but an increase in pay none the less.
Upon leaving the evaluation she said to her boss, “Thank you for the raise.”
Her boss seemed a little surprised and said, “You know, you’re the only one who has said thank you.”
That, unfortunately, is normal for modern society. We have become so selfish and so demanding that we feel others “owe” us something, and that attitude portrays itself in our prayer life. Some pray as if they believe God owes them something and all they have to do is simply demand it and they will receive it.
Note: AN EFFECTIVE PRAYER LIFE BEGINS BY RESPONDING TO GOD.
III. EFFECTIVE PRAYING SEEKS GOD’S INTERVENTION IN THE AFFAIRS OF MEN. Luke 11:9-13
Illustration: Pray Without Ceasing
During one point of his ministry, the nineteenth-century Christian leader George Mueller began to pray for five personal friends. It was not until five years later that the first one of them came to Christ. After five more years, two more of them became Christians, and after twenty-five years the fourth man was saved. He prayed for the fifth friend until the time of his death, a few months after which the last friend came to salvation. For that friend George Mueller had prayed more than fifty years! (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (c) Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2002.)
A. In Prayers Of Petition We Seek God’s Intervention In Our Own Lives. Psalm 25:1-5
Illustration: Silent Prayer
A father took his small son with him to town one day to run some errands. When lunchtime arrived, the two of them went to a familiar diner for a sandwich. The father sat down on one of the stools at the counter and lifted the boy up to the seat beside him. They ordered lunch, and when the waiter brought the food, the father said, "Son, we’ll just have a silent prayer."
Dad got through praying first and waited for the boy to finish his prayer, but he just sat with his head bowed for an unusually long time. When he finally looked up, his father asked him, "What in the world were you praying about all that time?"
With the innocence and honesty of a child, he replied, "How do I know? It was a silent prayer." (Our Daily Bread, December 12. Adapted.)
1. When we ask God to intervene in our own lives, we invite Him to mold us into the person He wants us to be.
2. The more we submit to Him in petitioning prayers, the closer we are drawn to His purpose for us in life.
B. In Prayers Of Intercession We Seek God’s Intervention In The Lives Of Others. Ephesians 3:16-19
Illustration: Intercession Of Friends
"Intercession means no more than to bring our brother or sister into the presence of God, to see him or her under the cross of Jesus as a poor human being and sinner in need of grace." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together.)
Note: AN EFFECTIVE PRAYER LIFE BEGINS BY IDENTIFYING WITH GOD’S PURPOSES.
Conclusion – How Can I Begin An Effective Prayer Life?
1. An effective prayer life begins with abiding in Christ.
2. An effective prayer life begins by responding to God.
3. An effective prayer life begins by identifying with God’s purposes.
The reason many Christians do not have an effective prayer life is simply because they never begin. It is so easy to get entangled in the affairs of life that they never discipline themselves to have an effective prayer life. My advice here is simply to start. Remember, prayer is basically a conversation that you have with your heavenly Father.
Others seem to get so entangled in the mechanics of prayer that they spend more time trying to adhere to a formula than they do in just pouring out their heart to God. Let me remind you that you don’t have a formula for talking to your husband, wife, children, etc. And while there are many good devotionals on prayer that suggest spending a certain amount of time in various areas of praying, it is just not necessary to follow a man-made formula. The best conversations we have are those that are spontaneous and heart-felt. Try that in praying.
Still others have become so self-centered that their prayer life is nothing more than a wish list of things they want God to give them. If this describes your prayer life, then may I suggest that for the next thirty days you throw away your list. When you pray, focus on God, on His person. Ask Him what He would have you to pray about. You’ll be amazed at what you will learn.
And finally, many still haven’t figured out that conversation involves both talking and listening. Spend some time in your prayer life listening for God’s voice. Pray with your Bible open, and ask God to speak to you directly from His Word.
