Why Pray?

WHY PRAY?

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: THE PASTOR’S PRAYER.

1. A Sunday School teacher was struggling to open the combination lock on the supply cabinet. He couldn't quite remember the combination. Finally, he went to the pastor and asked for help. The pastor came and began to turn the dial.

2. After the first two numbers he paused and stared blankly for a moment. Finally, he looked serenely heavenward and his lips moved silently. Then he looked back at the lock, and quickly turned to the final number.

3. The teacher was amazed. "I'm in awe at your faith, pastor," he said. "It's really nothing," he answered. "The number is on a piece of tape on the ceiling.”

B. POWER OF PRAYER

1. It’s interesting that the disciples of Jesus never asked the Lord how to preach, but they DID ask Him how to pray.

2. Why is prayer so important? Because it “couples the powers of heaven to our helplessness – the powers that can turn water into wine, and remove mountains in our lives; that can awaken those sleeping in sin and raise the dead; the powers that can capture strongholds and make the impossible possible.” (O. Hallesby, Prayer, p. 80)

C. THESIS

1. Whether we pray or not will make all the difference in how worldly we are, the impact of our life in this world, and maybe our position in Heaven.

2. Today we’re looking at what prayer is, different aspects of prayer, and how prayer should be our highest priority. The title of this message is “Why Pray?”

I. WHAT IS PRAYER?

A. POSTURES OF PRAYER. You can pray...

1. Bowing Ps. 95:6

2. Kneeling Ps. 95:6; Dan. 6:10.

3. Standing Ps. 135:1-3

4. Laying prostrate, Lk. 17:16

5. Laying down in bed, Ps. 63:6

6. Silently, Ps. 46:10; Hab. 2:20;

7. Speaking Ps. 71:8; 98:1;

8. Shouting Ps. 89:15; 98:6; Ezra 3:11;

9. Lifting up Hands Ps. 63:3-5; 141:2; 1 Tim. 2:8;

10. Walking & Leaping 2 Sam. 6:16; Acts 3:7-8.

B. HUMOR: FOUR TYPES OF PRAYER

1. Mark Gellman, a rabbi who often appears on the Today Show and writes periodically for Newsweek says there are four kinds of prayer: Gimme, Thanks, Oops, and Wow! Thanks is obvious. Oops means confessing our sins. Wow is when we overflow in praise for who God is, not just for what he’s done for us lately.

2. We have a tendency to overemphasize the first element of prayer. We can turn asking into “Gimmie.” James says, “You do not have, because you don’t ask God. When you ask, you don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” James 4:2-3.

C. DEFINITION

1. Prayer is defined as “the act or practice of speaking and listening to God.” Prayer should form a connection between us and God, through which flows the life of God into our spiritual beings.

2. In the analogy of the Vine & Branches (John 15:4-6) Jesus told us that if we want to be like Him, we must spend time with Him. As we look to Him we’re transformed into His likeness! (2 Cor. 3:18)

3. ILLUS. There was a king’s son who was born with a bent back, hunched-over. His father, the king, hired a sculptor to make a statue of his son walking erectly, as if he were well. The king placed the statue where his son would see it all day. As the boy grew up, he saw himself walking erect & straight. With this vision, the boy kept fighting his tendency until he was conformed to the image in the statue!

4. As we, like Mary, sit at Jesus’ feet & hear His words, we’re transformed into His image! Hallelujah!

II. ASPECTS OF PRAYER

A. WHAT PRAYER IS, FROM ITS ROOT MEANINGS

1. Ge. 20:7 “palal,” Abram was told to pray for Abimelech. This word involved the sense of “judging” as part of the prayer.

2. 2 Chron. 6:32 “chanah.” Solomon’s prayer that God would hear the prayer of the scattered Israelites if they turned back to Him. It means “to bend or to stoop.” (humbling)

3. Ezra 6:10 “tsela,” Chaldean, from “tsame”--“to thirst.”

4. Job 21:15 “paga” means to “impinge” or to ‘drive something in,’ like a wedge. To Intercede is to drive in the wedge of the supernatural.

5. Job 33:26 “athar.” Elihu tells of the restoration of a righteous man. His prayer is to God like one who “burns incense.”

6. Ps. 55:17 “siyach,” “to ponder or converse with.” Prayer is a conversation, not a one-sided monologue.

7. Ps. 122:6 “shael,” “to inquire.” It is translated as “consult.” This points to our seeking wisdom/direction from God.

8. Isa. 26:16 “lachash,” to “whisper, private prayer.” God hears our whispered prayer, as he did Hannah’s.