Prayer is basic and fundamental in the life of a Christian, being the very lifeline itself. It is an act of worship, the communion of the soul with God, spirit with Spirit, the saved with the Savior.
A. Variety of Prayer.
1. Luke 18:13 "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
a. Prayer is reaching out for God.
2. Psalm 40:1 "I waited patiently for the Lord, he turned to me, and heard my cry."
a. This was the prayer of the publican in the temple, and the prayer of the Psalmist
B. Prayer is Praise, Or Adoration.
1. Ps. 104:1. "Praise the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, you are very great"
2. Ps. 145:1-3 "I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day will I praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom". (NKJ)
a. It is the recognition of God's magnificent grace
C. Prayer Is The Showing Of Thanksgiving And Gratitude.
1. James. 1:17 "every good perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the Heavenly lights." (NKJ)
a. It is the recognition that God is the source of all blessings. Here is the expression of our indebtedness to God for his goodness to us.
2. Ps. 118:1 "Give thanks to the Lord; for He is good; His love endures forever" (NIV)
a. This Psalm was always sung at the Passover, and therefore must have been sung by our Lord at His last Passover, the crisis period of His life.
D. Prayer Is For Confession.
1. Matt. 6:12 "Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors" (NKJ)
a. As one grows in grace and nearness to the Lord his sensitivity to sin increases. He sees his own unworthiness in the contrast between his own life and the absolute righteousness of God. Sin is against the living God, and there is neither peace nor power until the prayer of repentance is offered. And even then the picture is not complete, for along with confession there must be the drive to mend our mistakes and to embed our wills in His way of life.
E. Prayer Is For Petitioning.
1. Matt. 6:11 "Give us today our daily bread" (NKJ)
2. Matt. 7:7 "Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you" (NIV)
a. Petition for our own needs should always be superseded by giving of thanks, confessing our sins, and praying for our neighbors. Then the petition may have free course. Our petitioning should grow in grace. The highest type of prayer is one in which we forget ourselves and plead the cause of others. The best example of intercessory praying is that of our Lord himself as found in John 17.
2. PURPOSE OF PRAYER
A. Communion With God.
1. Rom. 8:26, 27. " 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, and he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with Gods will" (NIV)
a. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we pray, since we, in our finiteness, are inadequate in communicating with God. It is a very personal thing, dealing with all that is involved in a personal relationship of the redeemed with the Redeemer. It is spirit dealing with Spirit, making adjustments and readjustments, commitments and re-commitments. Prayer is a personal experience, not a philosophy or a theology. Prayer is man's supreme venture of faith, his wholehearted response to the impact of God. It is a method of human adjustment to destiny. The Christian's aim in praying is for it is that of beseeching God to bestow upon him any blessing that would be.
3. ANSWERS TO PRAYER
A. NO UNANSWERED PRAYER.
1. Matt. 7:11 "how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him?"
a. Because prayer is communion with God, there is no "unanswered" prayer. The very communion of spirit with Spirit constitutes an "answer." For what should man seek more, what God can bestow or God himself? Is it not God himself? Therefore the very communion of the saved with the saving God constitutes an answer. And yet, when most people speak of unanswered prayer, they think only of petitionary prayer, that a man asked for something and did not receive it.
The prayer of thanksgiving, the prayer of aspiration, the prayer of praise, the prayer of confession--all these do not elicit from the suppliant the expressed disappointment of God's failure to respond. There are several things to be considered. First, "no" is just as much an answer as "yes," and this in spite of the fact that so many Christians cannot accept "no" for an answer. People may ask God for things which he, in his infinite wisdom, knows they should not have. Did not Jesus remind us that God gives good gifts--God may know that it is best for us not to receive our bold requests.
2. 2 Cor. 12:8, 9 "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness".
a. God many times answers prayers, not as we have specifically "directed" him, but in ways that will most magnify his name and enhance his kingdom. Therefore God actually answers this or that prayer, but not in the way anticipated. This might be termed a positive answer to prayer, but positive in the realm of the unexpected. Paul pleads with God to deliver him from "the thorn in the flesh," given that he might not be over exalted. God refuses his request but gives him a conquering grace instead, thereby effecting more glory to the kingdom and to His name than would occur in the fulfillment of the apostle's original plea.
4. CONDITIONS FOR ANSWERED PRAYER
A. We Are To Believe.
1. James 1:6 "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt"
2. Matt. 21:22 "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer"
3. Mark 11:24 "Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours"
a. There are certain spiritual conditions for obtaining communion with God, and therefore having one's prayers answered. This does not mean that a man can ask for anything his whims and notions may direct and then receive it; all must be in accordance with God's plan and purpose.
B. Prayer Must Conform To The Will of God.
1. 1 John 5:14 "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that, if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us"
a. Our will must be subordinated to God's will.
2. Col. 1:9-10 "we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work. growing in the knowledge of God."
a. Knowing His will comes through spiritual wisdom and understanding. Wisdom is spiritual humility. Understanding is knowing and meditating on the Word of God, the Bible.
3. John 7:17 "If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own."
a. When we commit ourselves to the full performance of God's will we are ready for a revelation of that divine will. To demand that we know before deciding to act is to admit distrust; and distrust obstructs revelation. Revelation comes AFTER we seek His word for His will, not before.
b. The evidence of love in the Spirit is the complete dedication of our will to His will.
C. Prayer Must Always Be In The Name Jesus.
1. John 14:13,14 "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and will I do"
a. "In my name" is our power of attorney. It means according to His will and purpose, in direct union with him. It implies unity of thought and interest. It means that when we pray our prayer is in direct relationship to all He is and stands for: humility, holiness, righteousness, selflessness, purity, etc. You can not pray in the name of Jesus and pray selfishly, for His kingdom will have priority at all times.
2. John 16:23,24,26 "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" "At that day ye shall ask my name; and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:"
a. When any request is made to the Father, the Father sees our desire and merit as prompting the request. The Born-Again Christian never asks in his own merits, but those of Jesus.
D. We Must Remain In Him.
1. John 15:4 "Remain in me, and I will remain in you."
E. Pray Under The Guidance Of The Holy Spirit.
1. Rom. 8:26-27 " In like 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. And he who searches the hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with Gods will."
F. We Are To Ask And To Keep On Asking
1. Matt. 7:7-8 "Ask and it will be given you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
a. These imperatives are in the present tense in the Greek. This means continuous action. We must keep on asking, seeking and knocking.
b. The use of these three verbs indicates intensity; to "seek" is more fervent than just to "ask," and to "knock" is still more fervent.
c. We ask for what we need; we seek what we earnestly desire; we knock when our desire becomes of great importance. These injunctions carry with them a direct and unequivocal promise that shows how God regards us. The words "to ask" are used with reference to humble asking, with reference to petition on the part of an inferior to a superior. "It shall be given" matches "to ask" and this giving always implies grace. "To seek" means to seek from God, and "you shall find" means that you shall never seek in vain but shall obtain the good gift you desire. "To knock" means to seek entrance into the heavenly house of God; and Jesus assures us of admittance.
d. God has ordained some prayer to be answered at once, twice, or after a thousand times asking. It could be through corporate prayer or as a result of our actions. We must never stop asking unless He tells us to stop.
G. Prayer And Righteousness.
1. James. 5:16 "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
a. Not only should the Born-Again Christian be declared righteous by God; he should live accordingly. His very being should radiate the life implanted in regeneration, therefore exemplifying to the world what God can do with a dedicated life.
Summary: All of these so-called "conditions" can be narrowed down ultimately to one: a complete, spiritual unity with God to the point of abject surrender to His will. God can answer our petitions only when we have moved into His realm with total surrender. We must see as He sees and think as He thinks; for only then can He respond to our supplications in a manner that does not violate His nature or counteract His purpose.
