HoHum:
Dear Lord, So far today, God, I've done all right. I haven't gossiped, haven't lost my temper, haven't been nasty, selfish, or over-indulgent. I'm very thankful for that. But in a few minutes Lord, I'm going to get out of bed And from then on, I'm going to need all the help I can get.
WBTU:
faithful in prayer- This command for the Christian is placed around other brief commands. Prayer has a connection with all of these.
“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Romans 12:11, NIV. The word fervor or fervent literally means to boil with heat or to be hot. How do we keep a fire hot? Need oxygen and need fuel. In the Christian life, we need a lot of prayer and Bible to keep our love and devotion for the Lord hot. Without these things our zeal for the Lord will be lacking, our service for the Lord will get tiresome and weary. Eventually we will be tempted to quit.
Roman Christians seem to be going through a time of persecution. We see references to that in this section. “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” Romans 12:14, NIV.
“Be joyful in hope and patient in affliction”- Hope and patience can get these Christians through the trying times. However, these two are impossible without prayer. How can we be joyful in hope, if we know nothing about prayer to the God of all hope? As for patience, how can we be patient if we do not pray? Without prayer, our hope grows dim and we lose sight of our heavenly home. Without prayer, our patience grows thin and we want to give up during times of affliction. Through prayer, we can be joyful and patient in all tribulations, and endure even to the point of torture and death.
“Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Romans 12:13, NIV. Because we are praying for others, we are ready and willing to share with them. If we are not praying for them, we are not given to hospitality. Praying for others opens up the heart, the home and the hard cash.
Thesis: 3 words this morning: Instant, constant, and expectant
For instances:
Instant- KJV- Continuing instant in prayer
Not what we think of when we think of instant. Comes out of the microwave in an instant.
Instant brings to mind that it needs to be done right now. This is right but more than that. This word instant means pressing, urgent, and earnest. Another way of saying this phrase, “always applying strength in prayer,” or “continuing with all your might in prayer.” Intensity applies here.
A way of looking at this is of a hunting dog who will not give up until the game is caught. A hunting dog when in pursuit of its victim uses every part of its being on bring down the game. No glance this way or that, it is all on the victim.
This is the way we are to pray. “Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.” Colossians 4:12, NIV. In wrestling a man has all of his mind and body occupied with the desire to pin his opponent. In prayer we need our minds, memories, affections, hopes, fears and even our imaginations to be fixed upon praying.
Need to be like the man who came at midnight and asked his neighbor for bread. Jesus said this about him: “I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Luke 11:8, 9, NIV.
Should God be expected to give to us that which we do not value? If we are not eager in receiving, why should we blame God if he should withhold it until we are in a more eager state? Should we expect God to honor our half hearted requests?
It’s like a mother with a baby. The baby rouses from sleep and beings to cry a little, but mother leaves the baby alone. The mother goes about her duties. The baby cries a little more fervently, the mother still does not stop what she is doing. Finally, the baby give full force to crying, then the mother quits what she is doing and picks up the baby. Sometimes it is not until we give full force to our petitions that the Lord honors our requests.
Some guidelines on being instant in prayer:
1. Is this something that God wants for us? If not we need to quit asking for this and pray for something else. 1 John 5:14- ask anything according to his will
2. We want to see good things happen. “Knock and the door will be opened to you” Need to be like Jacob who wrestled with the Angel of the Lord and said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Genesis 32:26, NIV. Need to realize that If God does not grant my request, then no one else can. This will help us be instant in prayer.
3. After considering if this is a good thing, if this is within God’s will, need to consider if this is something that would be good for us. God withholds some things because we might become arrogant or ruin ourselves even with good things.
4. Have a measure of assurance about this, need to pray with a faith that does not waver. “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.” James 1:6, NIV. Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24, NIV.
Constant- Continuing instant in prayer
In dogs hunting their prey, if the dogs give up just a little or take a break for an instant then the prey might get away. If we leave off praying, the same thing might happen.
The NIV says faithful in prayer. The Scripture tells us to pray continually or pray without ceasing. How can we do that? Without the help of the HS, it is impossible.
Prayer involves all 3 persons of the Trinity. Our prayers are addressed to God the Father. Jesus Christ, God the Son, intercedes, or brings before our Father our prayers. Must pray in the name and person of Jesus Christ. “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” John 14:13, NIV.
The Holy Spirit helps us in our prayers. “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” Romans 8:26, NIV. In one sense the Spirit interprets our prayers to God for us.
Martin Luther- “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Not saying that we have to be at prayer so that we cannot work or do other daily duties. More like an attitude of prayer. A desire to pray should always be within us.
“I do not feel like praying.” This is the time that we need to pray more than any other. “I am under so much, I can barely say anything.” That is fine. Go back to Romans 8:26- the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. Let the Spirit interpret our prayers for God. There is more prayer in a sigh than in many words.
Hypocrites pray by fits and starts, genuine Christian “prays continually, in all circumstances.”
Expectant
This is not in the little phrase we are studying. However, it is in the first two phrases of this verse. How can we be patient in afflictions if we are pessimistic? How can we be joyful if we believe that everything will turn out bad? Must have hope, not just in heaven, but that “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28, NIV.
In dogs hunting, how can hunt with any intensity never believing that they will get the prey?
How can we pray, if we have little belief it makes a difference? Wayne Grudem- “If we pray little, it is probably because we do not really believe that prayer accomplishes much at all.”
When a baby cries for his mother, why does he? Because he wants food. Why does the baby expect to be fed when she cries? Because the baby has been fed before. Some times we never see the answers to our prayers, but we must believe that prayer makes a difference.
Need to see some answers to our prayers. Over the past year. Skipping over many but ones that most of us know and ones that keep coming up. Joan Scott, need I say more. Gail Short in hospital, now doing better. Cody Bruce, struggles but without prayer? Janet Walton, had some surgeries but doing better. Norris and Carolyn Works. Randy Scott. Had baptisms, Matt Koons Jr., Jamie Williams, Louis Baker, Zach and Zane Huss. God does answer prayer
What if God does not answer prayers the way that we would like? God answers prayers in 3 ways: Yes, No, Not now but later. What if he says no to requests that we believe are good, good for us and within His will.
Friday Pele- Debbie, 37 years old, died after battling cancer. People everywhere prayed for her healing, including the elders at her church. Some of those who attended her funeral wondered, 'Why?' The truth is, sometimes God heals us in response to the prayer of faith (James 5:14), other times He takes us to heaven, which Paul describes as 'far better' (Philippians 1:23). This raises the question: 'Why are some people healed in response to prayer and others not?' The answer is: 'We don't know, and God doesn't tell us!' In Hebrews chapter eleven, some 'escaped the edge of the sword' (Hebrews 11:34 NIV), while others 'were put to death by the sword' (Hebrews 11:37 NIV). But notice in verse 39, 'These were all commended for their faith.' James Bradley: Our faith is not based on what we get, it's based on who we trust.' We trust in a loving and good Heavenly Father who knows what is best for His children. “We’ll understand it better by and by.”
