15/11/22 www.LifeChurchSpringfield.org
My message this morning flows out of a personal quest for more effectiveness in prayer. Anybody here like to be more effective in your prayer life? By effective I mean “answered prayer.” I’m ok with answers that say to me, “Richard, you are asking amiss on that one; you need to modify your request so that I can answer it. It’s absurd to think that I would simply tell God how to run things and call that prayer. But I want a relationship with Him that includes clear communication between us and the ability to pray in a way that gets answers. There is a lot of teaching on techniques of prayer. For the most part, I have not found techniques all that important or even helpful. I wouldn’t totally discard it; but God looks upon the heart (I) and I’m pretty sure that is where the answer to our inquiry is to be found.
Three Elements of Effective
I. RESPECT
There is a Mixture of familiarity and awe in the way Jesus taught us to approach God in prayer.
On one hand, He is our heavenly Father and there is tremendous privilege in that. We haven’t earned it; we received it by being born into it through the new birth (ii). Jesus earned the privilege for us & we invited to enjoy it. In John 16:25 Jesus talking to His followers & telling them they can go directly to the Father (in His name) and receive answers to prayer. Vs 26, “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; 27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.” Jesus put us in Direct relationship to Father through His sacrifice in our behalf. We are now invited to “come boldly to the throne of grace and receive help we may need (iii). We are already accepted in the Beloved; and we already are part of the family. We have the invitation to get up on Abba Father’s knee and tell what we want (iv). All that represents an amazing transition from attitude of typical Jew who would not even say the name of Yahweh out of extreme respect for who He is. Let’s re-visit some verses we read in Luke 11 last week. The passage begins in verse 1 with the disciples asking Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray….” Jesus immediately gave what we refer to as the Lord’s Prayer. And the first instruction was to begin with the words, “Our Father in heaven….” We have to understand Who we are talking to the relationship we have with Him. His is not a cold, distant Sovereign somewhere out in space. We are coming to “Our Father.” He already loves us and is fully inclined to meet our every need. Prayer is never a process of wrestling answers out of clinched fist of a reluctant God. Prayer is approaching Abba Father, Daddy God who delights in giving us (as His dear children) the kingdom. So in Luke 11:9-13 Jesus builds on this concept of God as our Father. "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" I said last week and it is worth repeating, THIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF OUR FAITH IN PRAYER. We must—we must understand our relationship with God that comes to us out of pure love and grace. We must approach God with the confidence of a child coming to daddy with his or her needs (v). As a part of The Family there should be an openness, a comfort, a confidence, a boldness, as well as intimacy and familiarity. It’s very important that we approach God with that understanding.
On other hand, we come with high regard and extreme respect for who He is. The next sentence Lord’s Prayer is “Hallowed be Your name.” To hallow something is to set it apart as distinct and special. The name of Lord is not to be regarded as a common thing.vi The Jews understood that side of the relationship. Their history was rooted in the experience at Mount Sinai (vii). “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (viii).
I have seen groups err on both sides of this issue. Some people become stoic in church because they want to revere God; but they don’t understand Him as Abba Father. So their interaction with Him is cold and distant, because they think that is way God wants it. Others take fatherhood of God as an invitation to a kind of familiarity that is not respectful to the dignity of who He is. He is God Almighty! Hallow His name, at the same time, enjoy His warmth and love. In the paternal culture of Jesus’ day, fathers were highly honored for their authority over the family. The disciples would have understood “Our father” in that context. We approach God with a mixture of warmth, comfort and familiarity balanced with a high regard for His dignity, majesty, and honor. It is not easy to put into words; but it must be there in our relationship with Him. Here are a few verses from Psalms that indicate the importance of fear of the Lord (high regard, high respect) in our approach to God.
Ps 89:7 “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
Ps 95:6-7 “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. 7 For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand.”
Ps 96:4 “For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.” I have often felt the grieving of Holy Spirit in American churches as people behaved as if God were not even present in meeting. How do you feel when you’re ignored? It is difficult to get a flow of the grace of God where people are doing that. It is difficult to get answers to prayer without this biblical understanding of how give honor to God (how we hallow His name) while enjoying fatherly warm and love. So the first element is respect. I trust we understand the balance.
II. FOCUS
I’ve already touched on this as we talked about people behaving as if this awesome God were not even present. Focus is about where really putting our ATTENTION. Have you ever been in conversation with someone who kept glancing away from you as you talked? I am tempted to ask, “Are we done with this conversation? You may be here in body, but the whole you is not engaged in this conversation. Frankly, I don’t like talking into wind.” Anybody know what I’m talking about? In fact, we’ve all done it to other people. It communicates disrespect; it says to the other person what you’re saying to me is not important and it may even send the message that the person is not important. I use that illustration to emphasis necessity of focus when we pray. Are we really, really giving God our full attention; or are we just mouthing words. Jesus gave instruction for prayer in Matt 6:5-7. "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.” Vain repetitions, empty words do not produce answers to prayer. It is a mistake to think QUANITY alone produces results. QUALITY is the key factor. We may need quantity time to get into quality of prayer. But we are not heard simply because of their “many words.” When relationship with God is rich, a few words under authority and unction of Holy Spirit can be quite effectual. The Catholic idea of repeating Lord’s Prayer forty times is the kind of thing Jesus is correcting. Often people are not even processing what the words mean. It’s often just “vain repetitions.” What makes it vain? The lack of heart-felt commitment to what is being said! It can be vain because the motives are wrong. Repetition under unction of Holy Spirit is not vain. Utterance prompted by the passion of the Holy Spirit is never vain. The repetition “Holy, Holy, Holy” by the Seraphim is not vain (Isaiah 6). It is rich and full of meaning to both speaker and hearer. In Matt. 6:5 Jesus addresses motive behind prayer. When the motive is to impress people rather than sincerely engage God, verily you have your reward and that reward is not answered prayers. Scripture as a whole clearly teach us that Jesus is not speaking against public prayer. He prayed publically many times Himself. He’s talking about the motive of the heart. "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father….” In a certain sense, that is what we have to do every time we pray. We have to shut out distractions and pray to the Father. I mean, we have to give our attention to God—shut the door on everything else and have a conversation with the Lord. We can’t be glancing around during our prayer and having a distracted conversation like we talked about earlier. Go into your room: the secret chamber of your heart. Get engaged with God so that He has your full attention and you’re really listening to what He has to say. Sometimes I have to spend more time getting in that state of mind than the time I spend expressing my petitions. Am I fully engaged in process? That is the question. I am spirit, soul, and body. Am I saying words of prayer, but my mind is darting here and there, wandering about business and the cares of life? Posturing your body in agreement with what you intend to express in prayer helps reinforce the process. If I am making petitions I might get down on knees before the King—not for God’s sake, but to help me stay in the right frame of mind. If I am praising God; exalting Him; and rejoicing in His goodness I might want to lift my hands high; I might even want to clap my hands. If I am humbling myself and asking forgiveness, I might want to lay prostrate with my face in the carpet (ix). Of course, that is not always possible and not essential for God to hear our prayers. But I want my whole being committed to the process to the extent possible. I’m talking about focus. I’m talking about engaging God with my whole being. I don’t want to be half-hearted in my approach to God.
This is one reason desperate prayers seem to be more effectual than others. We are praying and we mean it with all our being. I noticed a marked difference between answered prayer in Third World countries verses America. I began to realize the key difference was desperation. In Honduras after Hurricane Mitch, people did not have access to medical care. They were living in card board boxes, enduring snake bites, infections, all kinds of diseases. When came for prayer they were desperate and engaged in the process. Many received healing. Americans ask for prayer; they already have doctor’s appointment set up with a plan on how the problem will be solved. Yes, it would be nice to get a miracle; but the level of desperation and the level of engagement is not the same. I want to grow in the discipline of focus during prayer. I don’t want my mind wandering while I’m praying about something. I don’t want to be half-hearted about it. I want my whole spirit, soul, and body engaged with God: focus.
III. CONSISTENCY
My life needs to be consistent with my prayer. I can’t be asking God to lead and take care of me; yet in my daily decisions live independent of Him. It’s actually hypocritical. This is a much neglected subject in the pulpits of today. Of course, I wouldn’t expect it to be particularly popular with people who are living in the flesh. But did you know, that God promises to NOT answer prayer for people who live in rebellion against Him. He will answer their prayer of repentance. But God is in no way obligated to answer prayers of people who live in sin. Let me give you chapter and verse on what I’m saying; because I suspect it may come as a shock to some people. Prov. 28:9 “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.” Ps 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.” To regard iniquity is more than a failure. NIV translates it “cherish.” If I cherish or enjoy or approve the iniquity so that I won’t turn from it, then it sabotages my prayer life. We’re not talking about slips and failures. We’re talking about a mindset that will have its own way in rebellion against the known will of God. Prov. 1:28-31 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. 29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD, 30 They would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke. 31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies.” This is a side of God that is there whether preachers are telling you about it or not. God is not subject to our every whim. He is a very present help in time of need (x). But we cannot ignore Him and refuse His instruction and then think He is somehow obligated to answer prayers whenever we want Him to. He is Lord; we are His creation. It will always be that way. Hebrews 12 says Esau made a choice in life to sell his birthright. He later decided it was a mistake and wanted to reverse the choice. Heb. 12:17 “For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears” (xi). If preachers would tell people about these scriptures, there would be more fear of the Lord in our churches. And frankly I think we would have more answered prayer. Too many people are baffled because God does not answer prayers, yet they are living in open sin with no thought to repent. It is “the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man” that avails much according to James 5:16. A fervent prayer is a focused prayer. A fervent prayer is a quality prayer. A righteous person is one who does what is right. God is looking for people who will live consistent with His commandments (xii). When they call upon Him, He will answer. I want to be in that crowd.
Religious ritual is not a substitute for obedient living (xiii). In Isaiah 1 God told Israel that He was sick and tired of their church services. It was a form of godliness, lifeless ritual that really had no commitment of lifestyle. God’s people, Israel, were living immoral, idolatrous lives and then coming to church as if everything was fine. Listen to what God says to them in Isaiah 1:13-15. “Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies -- I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. 14 Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.” God is calling these people to a lifestyle of commitment and obedience to Him. They were just giving Him token religious services. In today’s terms, you might say a couple of hours on Sunday morning; then living just like the world. And God is saying, “I see through all of that and it’s not going to work with Me.” Notice in verse He says “Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear.” It’s Shocking; but that is a promise to not answer their prayers. There is in the book of Isaiah a powerful contrast to that.
In Isaiah 58 God tells Israel the kind of fast that He wants from them. He tells them to live unselfish lives. Feed the hungry and clothe the naked (xiv). Do right by people. Now let’s read the promise He makes to those who will live that way. Isaiah 58:8-9 “Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'” That sounds pretty awesome. You shall call and the Lord will answer; “You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'” It comes at a Price. The price is obedience. The price is I can’t just live for myself. I have to pour my life out toward needs of others. I cannot separate my prayer life from my life as a whole. My prayers are only as strong and effective as my walk with the Lord is on a daily basis (xv). So here I am, saying, “God make me more effective in prayer.” And here is God saying, “The way we do that is to make you more effective in life—make you kind of man who will pray right prayers with the right motives—with a will aligned with My purposes. This is why Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come; Your will be done.” If I don’t approach God with that mindset, I cannot be successful in prayer. James 4:2 “… you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” Perhaps it would be nice, if we could give you a notebook with techniques that make prayer really work. But the essential is really this: you have to die to self. Ouch, that’s pretty demanding; but the payoff is greater than the cost—because in the process you become something better than you were. There has to be consistency between the way we live and the prayers we want answered. Authority in prayer flows out of submission to God in everything. Our desire is “Lord, teach us to pray….” Pray with biblical RESPECT toward God. Pray with a disciplined FOCUS. Pray out of a life CONSISTENT with the commandments of God. Pray
NOTES:
i I Samuel 16:7
ii 1 Peter 1:23; 2 Peter 1:3-4
iii Hebrews 4:16
iv Ephesians 1:6; Romans 8:15
v Ephesians 1:15-19; Romans 8:15-17
vi HALLOW (from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright (c)1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers).
vii Exodus 20:18-19.
viii Psalm 111:10; 96:8-9. In contrast see Psalm 36:1 and Malachi 1:6
ix Here are a few verses on positioning our bodies in prayer and worship: Psalm 95:6; 47:1; 63:4; 134:2; 150:4; I Tim. 2:8. The Hebrew word for worship in Psalm 29:2 and
66:4 is shachah. It means to prostrate oneself which may include crouching down, kneeling, or laying before the Lord. (Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers
and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.).
x Psalm 46:1 and Psalm 107 recounts how God answers the prayers of those in trouble. But a person set on his own rebellious way and unwilling to repent has no claim on
answered prayer.
xi King Saul hardened himself and did not obey God (1 Sam. 15). Then later wanted direction from the Lord in I Sam. 28:4-6 and God would not answer him. Instead of
humbling himself in sincere repentance, the next verse tells us he went deeper into rebellion by turning to the occult for answers.
xii John 14:21; I John 3:22
xiii I Sam. 15:22
xiv This isn’t satisfied by serving a Thanksgiving dinner once a year at the mission or donating your used clothes. To qualify people have to deny themselves in their daily
lives out of love for God and others.
xv John 15:7-10. Of course the daily walk is only as strong as the prayer life as well. In a marriage the intimacy strengthens the day-to-day working relationship and the day-to- day working relationship strengthens the intimacy. So also our prayer times are essential to our daily tasks and service; but our daily service is essential to the quality of
our prayer.
