Prayer Keys - Conclusion
“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord teach us... to pray.’” Luke 11:1
Mickey Mantle’s father was right handed and his grandfather was left handed. Between them, they taught him to switch hit. He is widely regarded to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players ever. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 and was elected to the All-Century Team in 1999. Among his many other honors was winning the Triple Crown in 1956, leading in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in.
The men in his family all died young. "I'm not gonna be cheated," he would say. Long before seeking treatment for alcoholism, Mantle admitted his hard living had hurt both his playing and his family.
Mantle didn’t know that genetics had nothing to do with the men in his family dying young. They worked in mines and inhaled lead and zinc dust, which contribute to Hodgkins’ and other cancers. As the years passed, and he had outlived all the men in his family by several years, he frequently used a line popularized by football legend Bobby Layne, who also died in part due to alcohol abuse: "If I'd known I was gonna live this long, I'd have taken a lot better care of myself."
That’s a variation of something many of us have thought at one time or another. “I wish I had known then what I know now.”
Almost thirty years ago, was interpreting a computer programming class for a deaf student. The teacher brought in something some students had heard about but had never seen, a personal computer. I wish I had known then that a $1 investment in Apple computer would return over $2000.
Dr J. Edwin Orr, perhaps the twentieth century’s greatest authority on revival, took some students to England in 1940. One of the stops was Epworth Rectory where John Wesley lived. Next to John Wesley’s bed are two worn impressions in the carpet where it is said John knelt and prayed for England's social and spiritual renewal. As the students were getting back on the bus Dr. Orr noticed one was missing. Going back upstairs he found one student kneeling in the carpet kneeholes praying with his face on the bed: "O Lord, do it again! Do it again!.” Orr placed a hand on the student's shoulder and whispered, "Come on Billy, we must be going." Billy Graham rose and rejoined the bus. [sermoncentral.com]
An interviewer asked Billy Graham if he had it all to do over again, would he do anything differently. He answered, “I’d travel less and pray more.”
If Billy Graham had known over 60 years ago what he knows now, he would have traveled less and prayed more. We should learn from his wisdom.
For most of a year we have been studying prayer keys. You have been a very encouraging group to teach. Thank you. This has continued much longer than anyone expected when we started. I was just supposed to fill in for a few weeks. Now that we are completing this study, Bro. Jim has something he wants to teach on Wednesday nights.
This is not the end of the study for me. God has convicted me that many of these studies need to be revised. That will be my priority for the foreseeable future. I do not know what God’s plans are beyond that. Please pray for me.
Last April, when we introduced this series, I asked for you thoughts about the keys to prayer and your testimonies about prayer. Now that we are concluding, I want to do the same thing. What testimonies do you have about prayer? What thoughts do you have about the keys to prayer? What was not said that should have been said? What have you learned or what do you understand better now and how do you expect it to help you?
[As people share, you may want to follow up with some of the comments below to keep things on track.]
1. Abiding in Christ
2. Christ's Words Abiding in Us
If you remain [KJV, abide] in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. John 15:7
Abiding in Christ, a relationship more intimate than being at home with a loving family, is our source of life.
Christ’s words abiding in us should be so familiar to us that when we encounter the false we know it.
3. According to God's Will
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 1 John 5:14
Praying according to God’s will is not an incantation to pull God to our will, but a guide to pull us to His will.
4. Be Specific
"What do you want me to do for you?" "Lord, I want to see," he replied. Luke 18:41
Specific prayers emphasize our need and God’s power.
5. Boldness
Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence [KJV, boldness], so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16
Boldness, not arrogance, is blessed. God gives bold access to the throne of grace and welcomes bold prayers from humble Christians. The Bible condemns God’s people for not praying, for praying with wrong motives, and for praying without confessing known sin, but no one is ever condemned for asking too much from God. “You have not because you ask not.”
6. Delight in the Lord
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalms 37:4
As we repeatedly expose ourselves to scripture, as we anticipate receiving help, strength, joy, and other blessings from the Bible, as we experience the hope of his promises, we will learn to delight in God’s law and in God himself.
7. Earnestness
So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him." Acts 12:5
When we pray fervently, all our heart, soul, mind, and strength is focused on praying as the Spirit leads. I may fool myself with other prayer keys, but not this one.
8. Faith
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:22-24
If God reveals to you that he is going to do something, you should believe it and not doubt it. If God reveals to us that he will do a marvelous thing when we step out in faith, we should step out in faith. If we don’t step out in faith, we will miss the marvel.
9. Fasting
But when you fast, put oil on you head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:17-18
Legalistic fasting is not a prayer key. It is just going hungry. Spiritual awareness that prompts us to pray may also prompt us to fast. May God make us more spiritually aware. May the Spirit prompt us to pray, even to the point of forgetting to eat.
10. Focus on God
Be still, and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalms 46:10
Prayer is talking and listening to God. We must not be too busy to listen. God spoke to Elijah in a still small voice. He speaks to us that way, too.
11. For the Glory of God
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31
Everything we do is to be for the glory of God. Whether we eat or drink or worship or evangelize or pray or work or play, it is to be for the glory of God.
12. Forgiveness
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. Mark 11:25
When we read Mark 11:25 in context, we learn that forgiveness enhances our prayers. Forgiveness enhances our faith. Forgiveness enhances our battle with doubt. Forgiveness enhances our fruitfulness. Forgiveness is powerful.
13. Holiness
I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer. 1 Timothy 2:8
A holy life is characterized by being separated from the world to God.
14. Humility
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
Humility is being totally consumed with glorifying God and not at all concerned with glorifying self. When I am totally consumed with glorifying God and not at all concerned with glorifying self, I pray as God wants me to pray.
15. In Jesus' Name
16. Bearing Fruit
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. John 15:16
“In Jesus’ name” is not an incantation giving our prayer more power. It is recognition that Jesus is our mediator (1 Timothy 2: 5), our advocate (1 John 2:1), and our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16).
Jesus is the vine. We are the branches. We do not speak of the fruit of the branches but the fruit of the vine. When His life flows through us, He will produce fruit through us.
17. In the Spirit
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18
We sometimes pray with the Spirit’s intercession. We should always pray as the Spirit leads.
18. Not Doubting
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. James 1:6-8
Time for a true confession. Mine won’t compete with celebrity scandals on TV or show up on papers at the checkout line. I confess that I struggle with doubt. I struggle with the thought that it is possible to not doubt. Doubting seems so natural. Until I grow out of it, I will stand beside the father of the suffering child who said, “Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief.”
19. Obedience
...and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 1 John 3:22
If we want to learn to pray, we must learn to obey. If we want to pray well, we must obey well. If we want to become prayer warriors, we must become obedient children.
20. Persistence
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Luke 18:1
Please forgive me for stating the obvious, but persistent prayer is hard work. It drains us. It is hard, but it is eventually worth the effort.
21. Praise Him
I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. Psalms 34:1
Jesus himself thought praise was so important that he began and ended the model prayer with it. “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name... for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.” Surely our prayers are incomplete without praise.
22. Privacy
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:6
This is the first time Jesus taught His first disciples about prayer. His first lesson was, “Spend time alone with the Father in prayer.” If we don’t follow His first lesson, we are not following the example or the command of Christ. If we don’t follow His first lesson, we may not be ready for the other lessons.
23. Pure Motives
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4:3
Selfishness paralyzes prayer. God will cause us to accomplish more through sincere prayer than we ever could on our own through rebellion, warring, and quarreling. When the church in Acts prayed, they received power and God received glory.
24. Repentance
25. Confession
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. Psalms 66:18
Subtle sin hinders our prayer as surely as blatant sin. It does not have to be blatant. It does not have to be an outward action. It does not have to be anything anyone else knows about. If we regard iniquity in our hearts the Lord will not listen.
26. Sincerity
These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Isaiah 29:13
People are watching us. Some will put us to the test to see if we are real believers or not. God does not need to test us. He knows our hearts.
27. Submission
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." Matthew 26:39
When Jesus said, “Not my will, but thy will be done.” He did not get what he wanted, but he got what he needed. He had the strength to face what was to come. The time to choose submission is now. If we wait, we may not desire to submit.
28. Thanksgiving
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6
“Returning thanks for blessings already received increases our faith and enables us to approach God with new boldness and new assurance.... As one meditates on the answer to prayers already granted, faith waxes bolder and bolder, and we come to feel in the very depths of our souls that there is nothing too hard for the Lord. As we reflect upon the wondrous goodness of God toward us on the one hand, and upon the other hand upon little thought and strength and time that we ever put into thanksgiving, we may well humble ourselves before God and confess our sin.” (R. A. Torrey, How to Pray, p. 26)
29. Unity
Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. Matthew 18:19-20
When we pray as the first church prayed, God will empower us as He empowered the first church and our altar calls will look like Peter’s altar call.
30. With Understanding
So what shall I do? I shall pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. 1 Corinthians 14:15
When we pray in public, we should not be concerned with tongues. We should be concerned with clearly making our requests to God. In public, we should pray in a language everyone understands.
An interviewer asked Billy Graham if he had it all to do over again, would he do anything differently. He answered, “I’d travel less and pray more.”
If Billy Graham had known over 60 years ago what he knows now, he would have traveled less and prayed more. We should learn from his wisdom.
