Do you realize how much power we have when we pray? Do you realize how powerful prayer is? When you say you’ll pray for something, do you? I see it on Facebook all the time. Someone will request prayer and the responses are, prayers, praying, picture of praying hands. And I wonder, they say they are praying but do they really stop what they are doing, put the cell or computer, or tablet down, fold their hands together and really pray? Do you know how to pray?
In our verse for today, in Luke 11:1 it says, “It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”
The men, upon whose shoulders rested the initial responsibility of Christianizing the world, came to Jesus with one request. They did not say, “Lord, teach us to preach;” “Lord, teach us to do miracles;” or “Lord, teach us to be wise.” They said, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).
The followers of Christ saw the example He set in praying, and they noted the direct relationship between Jesus’ ministry and His devout life of prayer. Jesus considered prayer more important than food, because the Bible says that hours before breakfast, “In the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35).
The Son of God considered prayer more important than the assembling of great crowds of people. The Bible says, “And great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. So, He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed” (Luke 5:15-16).
The precious hours of fellowship with His heavenly Father meant more to Jesus than sleep, because the Bible says, “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12).
Can you even imagine getting alone and praying all night? We do good to give God 3-5 minutes in prayer, but praying all night long?
Jesus prayed at funerals and the dead were raised. He prayed over the five loaves and two fishes and a multitude was fed with a little boy’s lunch. He prayed, “Not My will, but Yours” (Luke 22:42), and a way was made whereby sinful men and women might finally be able to approach a holy God.
It has pleased God to relate His work in the world to the prayers of His people. Let me tell you what I mean by that. Think about how people have prayed and how God has moved in answer to those prayers.
? Noah prayed, and God handed him a blueprint of the ark of deliverance.
? Moses prayed, and God delivered the Israelites from Egyptian bondage.
? Gideon prayed, and the mighty enemy fled in fear before his valiant and prayerful army of just 300 men.
? Daniel prayed, and the mouths of the lions were closed.
? Elijah prayed, and the fire of God consumed the sacrifice and licked up the water around the altar.
? David prayed, and he defeated Goliath on the Philistine battleground.
? The disciples prayed, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit so that 3,000 were added to the church in one day.
? Paul prayed, and hundreds of churches were born in Asia Minor and Europe. God does answer prayer.
You say, “Well I quit asking for prayers because God never answers mine.” If you have ever said or thought that, then maybe you’ve never been taught that some prayers are answered with a “yes” and some with a “no.” The Bible says there are specific reasons why prayers are not answered.
It may be that your prayers are not answered because of disobedience. A disobedient child cannot expect to have his cake and eat it too. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 28:15, “It shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you”.
Perhaps your prayers are not answered because of secret sin. David said, “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. (Psalm 66:18). Sin short-circuits the communication system between earth and Heaven, and your praying with an evil heart will not even reach God.
Another reason for prayers not being answered is selfishness or willfulness. The Bible says, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3). Prayer serves a dual purpose: the blessing of man and the glory of God. Prayer is not just about YOU. It’s also about GOD. If a prayer is prayed willfully for our own benefit but not for God’s glory, it’s not worthy of being answered. Remember again how Jesus prayed right before He was arrested and crucified, “Not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). That is the spirit of a prayer that is effective.
Real prayer is not a vain repetition of words uttered in public for religious display. Jesus said, “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” (Matthew 6:5).
Prayer is not a futile cry of desperation born of fear or frustration. Many people pray only when they are under great stress or in danger. Is God speaking to you right now? There seems to be an instinct in people to pray in times of trouble. Have you heard this one, that “there are no atheists in foxholes.”
I thank God that I never had to experience being in war and hunkered down in a fox hole with bullets whizzing overhead. But I can just about assure you that if you were allowed to walk by and look into each of those foxholes with soldiers fighting for their lives, most every one of them will be praying. You see, the kind of Christianity that fails to reach into our everyday lives will never change the world.
The Bible says, “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting” (1 Timothy 2:8).
In this modern age, we have learned to harness the power of the mighty Niagara. We have learned how to contain gasoline vapors in a cylinder and explode them at the appointed second to move our vehicles. We have even discovered the secret of releasing energy in the atom, which is capable of destroying entire cities and civilizations.
“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”—John 14:13
But very few of us have learned how to fully develop the power of prayer. We have not yet learned that a man or woman is more powerful when they are in prayer than when they are behind the most powerful guns we have ever developed. We have not learned that a nation is more powerful when it unites in earnest prayer to God than when its resources are channeled into defensive weapons. We have not discovered that the answers to all our problems can be had through contact with Almighty God. That, my friends, is how powerful prayer can be.
I know from personal experience that we are only able to move forward in our evangelistic work by your prayers. If it were not for the prayers of thousands of God’s people throughout the world, God’s ministry would completely fail.
(Pause)
Now let’s look at prayer objectively. What does the Bible say about effectual praying?
First, prayer is for God’s children. Jesus said, when you pray, say, “Our Father …” (see Matthew 6:9). Now listen closely. Unless we have been born into the family of God through the new birth, we have no right to ask favors of God. The Bible says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).
And if there are any of you whose prayers have not been answered, God invites you to the intimacy of spiritual sonship, “That you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).
Second, effectual prayer is offered in faith. The Bible says, “There I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. (Mark 11:24)
It goes without saying that if our prayers are aimless, meaningless and mingled with doubt, they will go unanswered. Prayer is more than a wish turned heavenward. It is the voice of faith directed Godward. (Repeat) Put your wish list away and get in touch with God first.
Third, dynamic prayer comes from an obedient heart.
The Bible says, “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22).
Further, the Bible says, “However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you” (1 Samuel 12:15).
If you want to get your prayers through to God, surrender your stubborn will to Him, and He will hear your cry. You know, in the Bible we are often referred to as God’s sheep. Let me tell you something about the stubbornness of sheep. Sheep can get easily lost because they tend to go their own way. Like sheep, believers have a tendency to go their own direction rather than follow the divine Shepherd's plan. So, Ps 119:176 says, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments."
Fourth, we are to pray in Christ’s Name.
Jesus said, “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). Now hear me on this. This does not mean that if you fail to say “In Jesus’ Name” at the end of your prayer that the prayer won’t be heard. In most cases, you DO hear, “In Jesus’ Name We Pray” at the end of almost every prayer. I say it just about every prayer. But praying in Jesus’ name is a heart thing. God knows your intentions, He knows your motives, He knows how heartfelt your prayer is. And in that moment, God knows you are praying in Jesus’ Name without actually saying the words.
Let’s wrap this up. “What a privilege is ours, the privilege of prayer!
We are not worthy to approach the holy throne of God except through our advocate, Jesus Christ. God, for Christ’s sake, forgives our sins. God, for Christ’s sake, supplies our needs. God, for Christ’s sake, receives our prayers. Our approach to God has been made possible because of Jesus Christ.
Fifth, we must desire the will of God. Even Jesus, contrary to His own disposition at the moment, said, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done” (Matthew 26:42).
Prayer couples you with God’s true purposes for you and the world. It not only brings the blessings of God’s will to your own personal life, but it brings you the added blessing of being in step with God’s plan.
And last, our prayer must be for God’s glory. The model prayer that Jesus has given us concludes with, “Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever” (Matthew 6:13). If we are to have our prayers answered, we must give God the glory. Our Lord said to His disciples, “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13).
What a privilege is ours, the privilege of prayer!
• We are to pray in times of adversity, lest we become faithless and unbelieving.
• We are to pray in times of prosperity, lest we become boastful and proud.
• We are to pray in times of danger, lest we become fearful and doubting.
• We need to pray in times of security, lest we become self-sufficient.
Sinners, pray to a merciful God for forgiveness! Christians, pray for an outpouring of God’s Spirit upon a willful, evil, unrepentant world. Parents, pray that God may crown your home with grace and mercy! Children, pray for the salvation of your parents!
Pray, believing, with this promise of our Savior in mind, “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them (Mark 11:24).
“Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees”—so pray, Christian, pray!
