PRAYER: 101
INTRODUCTION: If you’ve been a Christian for a while you probably know that prayer is one of the staples of the Christian life. Although we know that, how much time and consideration have we given to really understanding this thing called prayer?
1) Why should we pray?
• Because it’s our communication link to God. It’s a big part of our relationship with him. It’s even an indicator of how healthy our relationship with God is. John Piper said, “Prayer as a relationship is probably your best indication about the health of your love relationship with God. If your prayer life has been slack, your love relationship has grown cold.” We need to be in conversation with God. We need to be talking and listening to him. God reveals himself to us in our prayer time. God reveals his specific will to us in our prayer time. People like Daniel and Peter received revelations during their prayer time. There’s something special that happens when we commune with God. Jonathan Edwards, “Prayer is an excellent means of keeping up an acquaintance with God and of growing in the knowledge of God.” We should pray because that’s our intimate connection to God.
• It’s a spiritual weapon. Eph. 6:18-20. After Paul reveals the pieces of the spiritual armor with which we fight our battles, he finishes with the necessity of prayer. Martin Luther said, “Prayer is a strong wall and fortress of the church; it is a goodly Christian weapon.” On the night he was arrested, Jesus told his disciples to “watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” There’s power in prayer. Satan wants ever to break off our communication to God. Why? Because there is power in prayer. William Cowper said, “Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.” Prayer is a powerful weapon against the forces of evil. In our spiritual warfare we need to make sure we utilize it.
2) When should we pray?
• When we’re in trouble. James 5:13a, “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray.” When Jonah was inside the big fish guess what he did? That’s right; he prayed. He was in the fish three days and God didn’t release him until after he prayed. It’s been said, “When life knocks you to your knees, you’re in the perfect position to pray.” We need to pray when we’re in trouble, but not only when we’re in trouble. We shouldn’t be people who just utter ‘foxhole prayers’. Corrie Ten Boom said, “Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire.” Is prayer the instrument that directs your course or do you only resort to it when you’re in an emergency situation? When we’re facing a difficult situation, we need to pray.
• When we’re facing a big decision. Luke 6:12-13. Before Jesus chose his 12 Apostles he spent the night praying. In prayer we receive wisdom to make the right decisions. When we pray before a big event or before an important meeting or phone call we are showing God that we want his input. We are showing that we are not going to lean on our own understanding. If Jesus needs to pray before making this big decision, who are we to think we don’t? When the Apostles needed to replace Judas, they prayed for God to show them who it was going to be. Prayer should be a first resort when we’re making a big move, entering into a relationship or changing jobs. Prayer is crucial in our decision making process.
• Continually. 1st Thess. 5:17, “Pray continually.” This doesn’t mean we’re to be praying 24/7. It means we are always to be in the mindset of prayer. Paul instructed us in Eph. 6:18 to, “pray in the Spirit on all occasions”. There is never a time or place where we shouldn’t prayer. There are many things that are going to try to get in the way of our prayer time, though. We need to devote ourselves to making time to pray. Tommy Barnett said, “I’ve discovered it is not sufficient simply to try to take the time for quietness but that I must, with all diligence, make time. Whatever keeps me from prayer, solitude, and the bible, however good it appears, is my enemy if I am to be God’s devoted friend and follower.” We should pray when we feel like it and when we don’t feel like it. Ruth Bell Graham, wife of Billy Graham said, “Pray when you feel like it, for it is a sin to neglect such an opportunity. Pray when you don’t feel like it, for it is dangerous to remain in such a condition.” We can and should pray anytime, anywhere. We should pray when we’re alone, when we’re in a group, when we’re at work or school. Pray before a meal, before a test, after a victory. Anytime is the right time to pray. Anonymous, “a day hemmed in prayer is less likely to come unraveled.”
3) How should we pray?
• With sincerity. Matt. 6:5-15. The Our Father is a model of how we should pray. We don’t have to recite specific prayers. We shouldn’t be focused on having a bunch of 4 syllable words. We shouldn’t be trying to impress people. We should be genuine and simple. We should be real before the Lord when we pray. Prayer is simply talking with God. We don’t need flowing words. We don’t need to be grammatically correct. We don’t have to think we need to say all the right words. In fact, we don’t even have to have any words. Rom. 8:26-27. The Spirit hears our groans. John Bunyan said, “When you pray, rather let your heart be without words, than your words be without heart.” When we pray, we need to be sincere.
• With thanksgiving. Phil. 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Is thanksgiving a missing element in our prayers? Are we too focused on presenting our requests to God? Are we only concerned about what he will do and not grateful about what he has already done for us? George Herbert said, “O thou who has given us so much, mercifully grant us one thing more-a grateful heart.” We need to have gratitude in order to have the right mindset to pray.
• With humility. Luke 18:10-14. The Pharisee was praying and fasting and tithing yet Jesus didn’t seem too impressed by that. We can go through the motions but if we pride ourselves on how much we fast and pray then we aren’t justified before God. The tax collector, however, didn’t have a long, drawn out prayer. He didn’t have any praise to give himself. He simply asked God for mercy. His prayer was genuine, heartfelt and humble. And God honored that. It’s not enough that we pray; we need to pray with humility.
• With transparency. We need to be respectful, but God wants us to be transparent before him, be real to him, pouring ourselves out. If we’re angry at God, we should express it. The psalmists did that on occasion. If we’re disappointed with how God handled something we should communicate that to him. God knows what’s in our heart. We don’t need to hold anything back. Again, we need to be respectful but God wants us to be ourselves and be transparent before him. Often times, what happens when we’re open and transparent in our prayers is we realize what’s really going on inside. God reveals to us the status of our heart; and it scares and surprises us. This is part of how God works in our lives through prayer.
• With no limitations. Eph. 3:20, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Don’t put limitations on your prayers; pray big. Whatever you’re going to pray for, pray above it. Pray the impossible; pray the unimaginable; pray the miraculous. John Newton, who wrote, Amazing Grace, wrote this poem, “Thou art coming to a King; large petitions with thee bring. For His grace and power are such; none can ever ask too much.” There’s no prayer bigger than God.
4) Who should we pray for?
• Ourselves. Luke 11:5-13. God wants to bless us. He wants to give us the desires of our heart; when our heart’s desire is to please him. God isn’t a spiritual Santa Claus where we just present him with our ‘wish list’ and be on our merry way. We are God’s servants; not the other way around. But, we can go to God with what we would like to have or see happen for us. However, it should always end the way Jesus ended his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Matt. 26:39-42. We can go to God and present our requests to God with the willingness to let his will prevail. In 2nd Cor. 12:7, Paul pleaded with Jesus to remove this spiritual ‘thorn in his flesh’. But Jesus didn’t. He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Even though Paul didn’t get what he asked for, he accepted the answer to his prayer. He knew that God’s will was better than his own. We can pray for ourselves but we need to accept God’s will above ours.
• Others. Paul was always praying for others. Rom. 1:9-10. Phil. 1:3-4, “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.” Col 1:3, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.” Paul had an others mindset when he prayed. He knew the power of prayer and he wanted others to be blessed. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “A Christian fellowship lives and exists by the intercession of its members for one another, or it collapses. I can no longer condemn or hate a brother for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble he causes me.” Praying for each other strengthens relationships and it strengthens churches. We should pray for others and we should have others pray for us as well.
• Our enemies. Matt. 5:43-44, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Our enemies need Christ too. Jesus said the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few Pray then to God that he raise up workers to go into the harvest field. We need to pray for the lost. We shouldn’t wish hell on our enemies; we should pray that they be saved. I’m sure we would all rather have friends than enemies. The best way to turn an enemy into a friend is to pray for him. Not only do we pray for ourselves and our loved ones, we need to pray for our enemies too.
5) What happens when we pray?
• Something. This might seem like a “duh” statement but sometimes we think nothing is happening when we pray because we’re not seeing the results. God always answers prayer. The three responses are yes, no and wait. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if it’s no or wait but we can be assured that God isn’t ignoring us. Sometimes the answer is no because our motives aren’t godly. James 4:1-3. Sometimes, we just have to wait on God’s timing. We have to be patient enough to allow God to show us what he’s doing. Sometimes he’s just waiting to see how persistent we are. Luke 18:1-8. God might not grant our requests until we show him how serious we are. Nevertheless, something is happening when we pray.
• The power of God is poured out.
a. God’s power is displayed. Acts 4:23-24, 31. The power of God manifested itself after they prayed. Acts 16:25-26. Before Elijah raised the widow’s son from the dead, he prayed. Before Elisha raised the Shunammite woman’s son to life he prayed. Before Peter raised Tabitha from the dead he prayed. Even Jesus spoke to the Father before he raised Lazarus from the dead. Whether it’s through a shaking building, an earthquake or raising someone from the dead, God’s power is displayed as a result of prayer.
b. People are healed through prayer. James 5:13-18. There is serious healing power in prayer. James Hudson Taylor, “The prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity. If we want to see mighty works of Divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let us answer God’s standing challenge, “Call to Me, and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” When Jesus healed the possessed boy in Mark 9, his disciples asked how come they couldn’t do it when they had tried and Jesus answered in verse 29, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” The miraculous healing power of God is poured out through prayer.
c. We have to believe and not doubt. Mark 11:20-24. Jesus wanted to get the point across that nothing is impossible through God. If our will lines up with God’s then anything can be accomplished. We just need to believe in the impossible and watch God work miracles. James 1:5-8. Let’s not be faithless prayers. Let’s rely on the power of God that is able to accomplish more than we can imagine. Let’s allow God to reveal his power through our belief in Him. Let’s be prayer warriors who are a threat to the evil one. As we go from here today, let’s be awesome people of prayer.
CONCLUSION: “Awakened to Pray” pg. 627.
