“[Jesus] told [the disciples] a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, “Give me justice against my adversary.” For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.”’” [1]
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms lists the rights and freedoms of people in Canada. Almost every nation has a document establishing the rights of citizens of that nation. Even dictatorships will list certain rights that the government guarantees. The list of “rights” is often many and precise. Whether any nation fully protects the rights listed may be subject to question, but every nation wants to appear as a protector of the rights of individual peoples living in that country. In theory, any citizen of that country can claim his rights when they are violated.
And we Canadians are great at claiming our rights. Perhaps one could argue that we are less conscientious about exercising our responsibilities, but we are quick to claim our rights! Even we Christians are quick to claim our rights in the physical realm. But, what about claiming our rights in the realm of the spiritual? Do we have rights? Has God told us what rights we have? And if He has told us, do we exercise our rights?
If you are a Christian—not one of those pitiable creatures that is best described as a cultural Christian, but a genuine Christ-follower—you have rights not accorded to others who do not know God. God views those whom He has redeemed with favour, just as those who have never been born from above are under His wrath. We too often forget the stern statement penned in John’s Gospel. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” [JOHN 3:36]. What is stated in this verse is but an iteration of what was written a few brief sentences before, when John writes, “Whoever believes in [the Christ] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” [JOHN 3:18]. The Apostle of Love leaves no doubt concerning the divine view that the entirety of mankind is segregated into two categories—saints and ain’ts. One is either saved, or one is lost; there is no in between!
If one is saved, that individual has been granted great and precious promises given by God Himself. If you are one who follows Christ as Master over life, you have promises that are never given to those who are lost. This is made clear when the Apostle to the Jews writes, “[God’s] divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” [2 PETER 1:3-4].
The great tragedy for many, dare I say “most,” who are followers of the Christ, is that the “precious and very great promises” given to us remain unclaimed. The reason these promises are unclaimed is no reflection on God but it is due to a failure on our part. James, the half-brother of our Lord, writes, “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” [JAMES 4:2-3]. Unclaimed promises! What do we leave that He has promised?
In the message this hour, I invite all who know the Saviour to explore with me the matter of prayer and your right as a follower of Christ to ask Him whatever you wish. Most Christians will appreciate teaching that informs us about prayer. We want to know what God is pledged to do. We want to know what the stated conditions are so that we can lay claim to what He has promised. Perhaps most importantly, we need to know Who is the guarantor of what has been promised. The great tragedy is that though we want to know, we struggle to put into practise what we do know. Perhaps with further instruction we will be encouraged to put into practise the great principles of prayer. That is certainly my hope in the message this day.
A PRINCIPLE OF PRAYER — The parable Jesus told in our text had one great purpose: “[People] ought always to pray and not lose heart” [LUKE 18:1]. His disciples needed that reminder then, and we who follow the Risen Saviour in this day need this same reminder. This is the point we must never forget: If you are a follower of the Risen Saviour, you have an obligation to pray. To be sure, prayer is a privilege, but we must never lose sight of our need to pray. You must not allow yourself to grow discouraged to the point that you cease to pray just because this business of prayer is demanding or because you don’t at once receive that for which you are asking. Praying is work, and every need of which you are aware deserves prayer—ardent prayer. You haven’t the strength or the ability to resolve the needs confronting you; you need the power of God to meet all those challenges toward which you are rushing each day.
I understand that our tendency is to live out our lives while running on autopilot. Some actions we have performed so often that we no longer give thought to how we will perform the task, or whether we should even do what we are about to do. We get in our vehicle and drive, really giving no thought to our constant need for our Lord’s protection. Years ago, this neglect on my part was brought to my attention on one memorable occasion while our family was ministering in the City by the Bay, San Francisco.
Lynda and I had offered to drive Miss Baker home from a church service. She was a rather spirited lady, a completed Jew, and she was part of our congregation in the Outer Mission district. She travelled about the city on the public transit, taking buses, street cars, or the BART. She quickly accepted our offer since it would save her some time, and she wouldn’t have to wait in the chill at various transit stops.
I pulled the seventy-two Plymouth to a stop in front of the church building. Lynda climbed into the back with the children and Miss Baker situated herself in the front passenger seat. As I started to put the car in gear, Miss Baker startled me when she shouted, “Stop! Don’t move!” I thought something terrible must surely have happened, or perhaps she had forgotten something essential. However, she continued in a commanding voice, “I haven’t prayed!” And with that she began a vigorous request of the Lord, pleading for protection from harm and His rebuke of the evil one.
“Young man,” Miss Baker said with firm conviction, “the devil doesn’t want you to live.” That certainly got my attention. But she wasn’t finished. She continued, “Satan will do anything he can to stop you from serving God. I won’t let you drive until I’ve asked Jesus for protection so you can continue serving.” Well, I hadn’t thought of the matter in that sense, but I realised she was right. I had become casual about what had become routine acts that I performed each day, despite knowing that the devil is a serious and an ever-present danger to anyone working for the Master. After all, didn’t Jesus teach us, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” [JOHN 10:10a]. I knew that the devil was a threat to the work of Christ. I knew that he would seek to do harm to the servant of Christ. And though I knew that I am not indispensable to God’s work, I had been placed in the role I was then performing by the Spirit of God. Divine oversight kept me safe, and divine oversight keeps me safe to this day just as God’s oversight keeps each one who serves the Lord. We should never allow ourselves to take God’s protection for granted. We should often seek guidance and protection as we go about our day.
Worshipping with fellow Christians in the Dallas black community, I would hear some of the older men pray in this manner. “Lord, you woke me up today. I could’ve died in the night, but You kept me safe all through the night. I woke up and I ate my breakfast this morning; and while it wasn’t but a bowl of cereal, You gave me the milk to make it taste good, just as You gave me the appetite to enjoy what You gave. I travelled through the busy streets of Dallas this week, and You kept me safe in all my travels.” And godly men that they were, they continued in that vein as they recited what I thought at the time were rather mundane aspects of life. But they were right! I was the one who was arrogant and unthinking. God had ridden with them as they drove through the streets or as they rode on the busses or as they walked the sidewalks of the city. God had kept watch over their house all through the night and wakened them to see the new day. The Lord had ensured that they would have something to eat, and He had given them an appetite to enjoy what He had given. They had trained themselves to see His hand at work in the smallest aspects of life. Listening to these saints I was taught there is nothing too trivial for us to present before the Lord in prayer.
Unlike the unjust judge in Jesus’ parable, our God is big enough that He is neither wearied nor threatened by our requests. You can come to God with any request, provided you come willing to honour Him and to glorify Him as He gives you what you ask. Isn’t that what we see when Jesus promises, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” [JOHN 14:12-14].
Instructing the disciples while preparing for His exodus, the Master reminded them that they had been grafted into Him, because He was the True Vine. And we are encouraged by His words. “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” [JOHN 15:4-8].
Reading these passages, it seems almost as if the Master was pleading with His disciples to ask great things, to seek great things for the glory of the Father. Even as He prepared them for His exodus, he continued urging them to stay close to Him, asking for great things. For instance, Jesus encouraged His disciples by teaching us, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you” [JOHN 15:12-16].
Again, we see the Master urging His disciples to pray when He says, “In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” [JOHN 16:23-24].
How great should our requests be? Jesus provided what appears to be a rather outrageous example at one point which instructed the disciples. Let’s look at the example to which I am referring. Matthew records an event that seems almost serendipitous, informing us, “In the morning, as he was returning to the city, [Jesus] became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, ‘May no fruit ever come from you again!’ And the fig tree withered at once” [MATTHEW 21:18-19].
Mark, in the Gospel bearing His name, takes up the story to expand on the teaching Jesus provided the next morning as they saw that same fig tree. Here is what Mark wrote, “As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses’” [MARK 11:20-25]
If the message I present does nothing else, I pray it serves to encourage followers of the Risen Saviour to pray. I pray that the message will encourage each one who follows Christ to ask great things of God. I urge you to think of one great thing that you would dare ask of God. Don’t be timid, but be bold in your request. Bear in mind that your request must glorify the Father when He answers. I urge you to ensure that you are walking in the footsteps of the Master. Take whatever steps are necessary for you to forsake the secret sin that drags you down, and then seek the Master’s face, asking Him to give or to do that one great thing.
Someone may say they have difficulty thinking of what they should ask. I suggest that you ask the Master to tell you what great thing should weigh on your heart. Surely, the Lord will lay on your heart that thing or that act that will glorify Him, if you only ask Him what you should seek. Let Him guide your requests, discovering and unleashing the power of God through your requests.
Don’t be like Ahaz, king of Judah, when the LORD spoke to Him. You will recall that the king was distressed because the land was threatened by Syria after having formed an alliance with Ephraim. God sent Isaiah the Prophet, who was instructed to proclaim,
“It shall not stand,
and it shall not come to pass.
For the head of Syria is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
And within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be shattered from being a people.
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
If you are not firm in faith,
you will not be firm at all.”
[ISAIAH 7:7-9]
Then, the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, urging him, “Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven” [ISAIAH 7:11]. Remember, it was God prompting the king to ask for a sign that what was prophesied would take place, but Ahaz demurred, pleading, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test” [ISAIAH 7:12]. The king’s refusal to ask great things of the Living God resulted in a great Messianic prophecy for all mankind, and a stunning rebuke for the land. All because a king would not ask for that which would honour and glorify the Living God. Don’t be like Ahaz, piously pretending that you are too good to ask great things of the God Who gives you life. Don’t imagine that you don’t need God in order to accomplish great things for Him. Ask God to lay on your heart some great thing, and then refuse to quit praying until He does what He laid on your heart.
William Carey, English Baptist missionary to India, had as his motto, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.” [2] Carey was the father of the modern missionary movement. He laboured in India for seven years before seeing his first convert to Christ, and still he would say, “The future is as bright as the promise of God.” Dear people, we do not know what we shall see here in this place and in this time if we but persevere. Some who hear me today have loved ones who are not in the Faith. Don’t give up praying for them to come to faith in the Saviour. Some who listen at this time have a glowing ember of faith that speaks of revival for this community. Don’t cease praying for this to happen. Ask God to give you one great request, and then pray.
JESUS TELLS A PARABLE ABOUT PRAYER — “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming’” [LUKE 18:2-5].
Let’s look more closely at the parable Jesus told. Jesus is not saying that God is unjust, nor is He suggesting that you can compel God to act through repetitious prayer. It seems important to note that the parable before us is not isolated from what was taking place in Luke’s presentation. Pharisees had come to Jesus, asking when the Kingdom of God was to come. Jesus answered their inquiry, saying, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” [LUKE 17:20-21].
Undoubtedly, this answer confused these religious scholars. His disciples must surely have raised their eyebrows and had a quizzical look, because the Master at once addressed their obvious confusion. Jesus said, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left” [LUKE 17:22-36].
That certainly generated more questions from these men. We can imagine an involuntary start as they lifted their heads, asking, “Where, Lord?” And Jesus quickly responded, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather” [LUKE 17: 37]. Having responded in what can only be seen as enigmatic, the Master at once cautioned these disciples that they must be prepared to pray at all times and not grow discouraged.
How appropriate for this day! One need only note the events that swirl about us. Nations are in turmoil. Russia threatens to unleash nuclear weapons on Ukraine. China rattles her sabres, daring the United States to intervene as the PRC prepares to invade Taiwan. North Korea issues threats against the United States, against South Korea, and against Japan. Iran foments turmoil in the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden, while Israel, fighting an Iranian sponsored foe in Gaza and in Lebanon is progressively isolated by the European and North American nations. War of a more destructive nature than ever witnessed seems to be only moments away. And the United States is rendered powerless as it is led by a President who appears to suffer from early-stage dementia.
Our own government is intent on imposing crippling taxes on the people in a bid to ensure that Canada will be driven into a third-world status. Regulations drafted by bureaucrats with no experience in the world of business strangle entrepreneurs and stifle innovation. Liberties we assumed to be our right and assuredly were our heritage are under assault, being diminished with each passing day. We legitimately wonder if the nation can survive until we are given opportunity to change course with another election.
Amid a world that is governed by madmen and self-important fools, people are frightened, wondering how they can survive. For the child of God, we have a preview of what is coming. Though we hope for it, we do not anticipate a world that grows more equitable, more stable. The world is moving inexorably toward rebellion against Christ the Lord. And in such a world, while people are living in terror, we who know the Saviour and who know His promises are encouraged to pray at all times. We should make no decision until we have asked divine guidance. As the world rushes to a climactic confrontation with the Living God, the one who follows the Risen Lord knows to pray, refusing to allow himself to despair.
Jesus did something unusual with this parable, something that was not normally done when He told parables in other instances. Jesus stated the reason He was relating this parable. He said He was telling this parable because people “ought always to pray and not lose heart” [LUKE 18:1]. Then, He told of an arrogant, self-important judge and a widow who sought redress for a wrong that had deprived her of her due. The judge refused her repeated requests until he was at last worn down. Weary with seeing this widow repeatedly come before him, the judge at last resolved to deliver this woman justice simply because he was tired of her coming before him. He reasoned, “Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming” [LUKE 18:4-5].
The Master then challenged those who heard Him speak, as He affirmed, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says” [LUKE 18:6]. He is not commending this judge, but He is encouraging His disciples not to grow discouraged when they don’t immediately receive an answer to their repeated requests. Everyone listening at this time knows what it is to pray, asking God for some divine gift without receiving an answer to the request. Some will testify that they have prayed for years without an answer. When such delays occur, it is easy to grow discouraged, but Jesus is telling us that the Father hears us. We don’t know why He delays giving the answer we seek, but Jesus says that He hears us and that He is determined to do what is best and what is necessary.
Then, the Master drives us back to the purpose of delivering this parable when He says, “And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth” [LUKE 18:7-8]? In the days when mankind is hurdling toward a final showdown with God, will the faithful persist in seeking the face of the Living God? Will the people who are known by the Lord God continue praying? Or will they grow despondent and cease asking God for relief?
What are the conditions we can expect that would lead us to give up on prayer? Jesus cautioned His disciples, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains” [MATTHEW 24:4-8]. Social unrest, threats of conflicts throughout the globe will increase and uncertainty will reign. It is certainly easy to believe that uncertain times loom in the immediate future. Your moneys set aside for your future needs—your RSPs and TFSAs—are eroded by politicians who have never learned that the money they blithely spend is not theirs to spend—it belongs to the people!
Jesus then began to warn the disciples that they were engaged running a marathon, not a sprint. Most Christians live as though things may be tough for a brief moment, and then it will be better. The Christian Faith is not defined by a burst of energy and then coasting through the remainder of days. We who will serve Christ must heed the admonition: “Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” [HEBREWS 12:1-2].
Because we are in a marathon, we must listen to the Master as He spoke to His disciples, preparing them for the last days. Again, in the passage just read in Matthew’s Gospel, we witness Jesus warning, “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” [MATTHEW 24:9-12].
Religious hucksters multiply and we can be easily confused, not knowing who to believe. Much of modern Christendom embraces the attitudes generated by the world, unable to present the clear Word of God. In such a world, Jesus’ questioning of the perseverance of the saints makes perfect sense. Jesus noted, “Because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” This dark statement is the basis for Jesus’ stunning question, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth” [LUKE 18:8]?
YOUR RIGHTS AS GOD’S CHILD — I must take this opportunity to encourage each follower of the Saviour who hears me in this hour: think about your rights as a child of God through faith in Christ Jesus the Master. To be certain, some professing Christians have manufactured rights that have no basis in fact. Consequently, when life is not going according to their expectations, or even when life seemingly crashes in about them, they question God, wondering what is wrong with them, or even wondering what is wrong with God Himself. Despite this dreadful error on the part of some, there are some rights that are ours because they are detailed in God’s Word.
Among the rights that are ours is the right to pray! We use the term “pray” almost exclusively as an exercise of requesting things from God. We have often reduced the act of praying to a formality, but prayer, in the proper sense, is speaking with the Father. We are speaking with Him, requesting what we need so we can serve without hindrance. In speaking with our Father, we allow Him to respond, speaking into our life as His Spirit directs our steps, guiding us and keeping us from stumbling.
The term “pray” originally meant “to ask,” and it does convey that thought when we apply the term to the act of speaking with God. God is definitely greater than us, and He delights to provide for His people when they ask Him to meet their needs. In prayer, we are asking God to give us that which we could not otherwise have or asking for that which we could have only with difficulty. Prayer is not speaking into the air in hopes that someone will hear us; prayer is asking God specifically for what we must have. Nor should anyone imagine that prayer is merely giving voice to our nebulous hopes. There are rules given for prayer, though we seem often to be unaware of how we are to approach the Lord and even of what He has pledged to answer.
You have a legal right to pray, anticipating that your request will be heard and granted. Here is the analogy: You are a citizen of Canada, and as a citizen, you have legal rights that are guaranteed in the constitution. If you are a twice born child of God you are a member of the Family of God, having been born from above. And as a member of God’s Family, you have the right of speaking to your Father, knowing that He will hear you and give you what is good. Underscore in your mind this truth: You have a legal right to pray.
This business of prayer is so important that the Father has made certain that our needs are made known. He gives us His Spirit Who intercedes for us, just as we learn when the Apostle writes, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” [ROMANS 8:26-27].
Then, before the Father’s throne, our Saviour pleads for us, just as we learn when we read in the Letter to Hebrew Christians, “[Jesus] holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” [HEBREWS 7:24-25].
You who follow Christ, you who know God, know that we who are called by His Name must encourage ourselves with the knowledge of what Christ is now doing for our benefit. We know, for instance, “Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” [HEBREWS 9:24].
Dear child of God, know that you have a legal right to pray, and you have been given repeated assurance that when you do make your requests known to the Father, you have One who stands before Him pleading for you. Surely, that is what is meant when John writes, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments” [1 JOHN 2:1-3]. Christian, you have an advocate.
How comforting for the child of God to read, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” [ROMANS 8:31-34]. The Son of God is always at work, pleading for us, ensuring that every need will be met.
No wonder that we see the great promises of God! “Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it—the LORD is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” [JEREMIAH 33:2-3]. And to the people of God, have we not received the promise,
“Before they call I will answer;
while they are yet speaking I will hear.”
[ISAIAH 65:24]
If you will exercise your rights as a citizen of Heaven, it will be necessary for you to learn to organise your prayer. We are conditioned to fling a panicked cry toward heaven when a need arises. However, have you ever noticed the prayers recorded throughout the Word of God? The requests that are made are conditioned on the promises of God. And that is how you and I should be ordering our prayers.
Has God promised,
“You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you”
[ISAIAH 26:3]?
Then let me assess that I am trusting Him and claim His promise of peace!
Did God promise, “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” [PHILIPPIANS 4:19]. Then, train yourself to claim what your Father has promised.
Did our Master instruct us to ask for our daily bread? Then, let us learn to seek what is necessary for today, not allowing ourselves to worry over what tomorrow may require. Surely, that is nothing more than an admonition to effectively apply Jesus’ instruction when He taught His follower, “Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you” [LUKE 12:22-31].
Now you get the picture! Pray with knowledge of what you are promised. Doing this, you will ask the Father with complete confidence that He will give you what you ask because He has already promised! Because I want you to succeed in your prayer life, I am reminding you that you must lean on what is written in our constitution as citizens of Heaven. And our constitution is the Word which we have been given, the Word of God.
And for all who are outside this Holy Faith, I point you to one other gracious promise given by the God Who loves you and Who has sacrificed His Son for you. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” [ROMANS 10:9-10]. Believe Him now. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] As quoted in The Baptist Herald and Friend of Africa (October 1842) and “The Missionary Herald” in The
Baptist Magazine Vol. 35 (January 1843) p. 41, William Carey (missionary) - Wikiquote, accessed 30 March 2024
