PRAYER

PRAYER

 

Prayer is as old as man, as universal as religion and as instinctive as breathing.  Genesis 4:26 And to Seth also a son was born, whom he named Enosh.  At that time men began to call [upon God] by the name of the Lord.

It is practiced in some form by all men of all denominations and religions.  Prayer springs from the heart with a need—a need greater than man’s ability to encounter.  Prayer is man’s acknowledgment of a being higher than himself. 

 

Most men try to pray, yet so few know how.  There are two kinds of prayers: the prayer—the one that meets God’s standard and the one that does not.  This is illustrated by our Lord in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican.  He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves and were confident that they were righteous  [that they were upright and in right standing with God] and scorned and made nothing of all the rest of men….God, I thank You that I am not like the rest of men—…but the tax collector [merely] standing at a distance, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but kept striking his breast, saying, O God, be favorable (be gracious, be merciful) to me, the especially wicked sinner that I am! I tell you, this man went down to his home justified (forgiven and made upright and in right standing with God), rather than the other man; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. Luke 18:9-14 Both men went to the same place, at the same time, for the same purpose—to pray.

 

The Pharisee prayed in his religious pride, expecting God to answer because he thought himself worthy.  He informed God of his own goodness, that he was better than others.  He boasted of his good works.  He said, “I fast, I give.”  This is the kind of prayer that does not meet God’s requirements.  It is self-righteous prayer. 

 

The publican and his prayer…He came to God in great humility, conscious of his unworthiness, confessing himself a sinner and begging for mercy.  This is a righteous prayer. 

 

It is a rare privilege to pray, because it brings you into close fellowship with God, admitting your need for Him and your utter dependence upon Him.

 

Prayer is asking and receiving; it is talking with God.  It is making your request known unto Him in faith.  The Scripture is so simple on the surface that we are in danger failing to recognize its immensity.  Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7

The Lord instructs the believer to ask, seek and knock, because these three words cover the whole spectrum of prayer.

         

Prayer is asking and receiving.  When you know the will of God regarding a need, whether it be material or spiritual, you can ask and receive.  This prayer according to the revealed will of God.  I John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us.  And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him. 

 

          Prayer is seeking and finding.  When you do not know the will of God regarding a need, whether it be material or spiritual, then you are to seek His will in prayer concerning this need until you find it.  This is prayer for a knowledge of the unrevealed will of God in a specific need.  Col. 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 

 

          Prayer is knocking and opening.  When you know the will of God and yet you find a closed door, you are to knock, and keep on knocking until God opens the door.  This is tenacious prayer—prayer for mountain-moving faith.  Knocking prayer perseveres until the impossible becomes the possible.  This is miracle-working prayer.  Matthew 14-21 The epileptic son whose father asked Jesus to heal him after the disciples did not! 

 

To ask, to seek, to knock are the Lord’s instructions for prayer. 

 

PRAY  Luke 18: 1 Also [Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up)

…because Jesus said, Men ought always to pray.”  Prayer is imperative.  You are commanded to pray.  Matt. 26:41 All of you must keep awake (give strict attention, be cautious and active) and watch and pray, that you may not come into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

…because prayer is the way to God for things.  James 4:2  You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your desires go unfulfilled; [so] you become murderers.  [To hate is to murder as far as your hearts are concerned.]  You burn with envy and anger and are not able to obtain [the gratification, the contentment and the happiness that you seek], so you fight and war.  You do not have because you do not ask.

…because there is joy in prayer.  John 16:24 Up to this time you have not asked a [single] thing in My Name [as presenting all that I AM]; but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy (gladness, delight) may be full and complete.

…because prayer can unlock the treasure chest of God’s wisdom.  James 1:5 If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. 

…because prayer is a channel of power.  Jer. 33:3 Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).    –the Lord’s telephone number!

…because it is a sin not to pray.  I Samuel 12:23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, but I will instruct you in the good and right way.

…because sinners can be saved when they pray to receive Christ.  Romans 10:13, 14 For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved.  But how are people to call upon Him Whom they have not believed [in Whom they have no faith, on Whom they have no reliance]?  And how are they to believe in Him [adhere to, trust in, and rely upon Him] of Whom they have never heard?  And how are they to hear without a preacher?

…because Jesus prayed often to the Father.  Now, if Jesus, the Son of God prayed, then we also should pray.  I Thess. 5:17 Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly]:

 

PRAY IN THIS MANNER:

Pray therefore, like this:  Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed (kept holy) be Your nam.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven (left, remitted, and let go of the debts, and have given up resentment against our debtors.  And lead (bring) us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  Matthew 6:9-13  This was the Lord’s answer after one of the disciples said to Him, Then He was praying in a certain place; and when He stopped, one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, [just] as John taught his disciples.  Luke 11:1

 

          We are to pray to our Father Who is in heaven – He is all-wise, all-loving, and all-powerful.  We are also instructed to pray in the name of Jesus.  And I will do [I Myself will grant] whatever you ask me in My Name [as presenting all that I AM] so that the Father may be glorified and extolled in (through) the Son.  [Yes] I will grant [I Myself will do for you] whatever you shall ask in My Name [as presenting all that I AM]. John

14:13-14 Our dependence is not on what we say but the meditative influence of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 8:26-27 So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.  And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will.  

 

We are to pray for His will to be done in everything.

 

We are to pray for the coming of the Kingdom.  Matt 25: 31-46: a description of His coming and accountability of our “doing”.

 

We are to pray for our daily necessities.

 

We are to pray for forgiveness, and practice forgiving others.

 

We are to pray for the leading of the Lord and deliverance from evil. 

 

We are to pray in faith.  Heb. 11:5-6 Because of faith Enoch was caught up and transferred to heaven, so that he did not have a glimpse of death; and he was not found, because God had translated him. For even before he was taken to heaven, he received testimony [still on record] that he had pleased and been satisfactory to God.  But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him.  For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the Rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].

The prayer that Jesus gave is brief, to the point and not repetitious. 

 

There was a remarkable change in the prayer life of the disciples after the resurrection of Jesus, and it is noted again after Pentecost.  Before the death of Jesus, the disciples slept while Jesus prayed in the Garden.  Matt. 26:36-46 But after His death and resurrection: 

          They assembled in the Upper Room waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit and they prayed.  We should always pray when assembled with believers.  Acts 1:13-14 And when they had entered [the city], they mounted [the stairs] to the upper room where they were [indefinitely] staying—Peter and John and James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James so of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas [son] of James.  All of these with their minds in full agreement devoted themselves steadfastly to prayer, [waiting together] with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. 

          They prayed as they went from house to house.  Acts 2:42-47 steadfastly persevered, devoting themselves constantly …including the Lord’s Supper and prayers…

          They prayed as a church when Peter was in prison.  Acts 12:5-19 …but fervent prayer for him was persistently made to God by the church (assembly)…

          Paul and Silas prayed in prison.  Acts 16:25 But about midnight, as Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the [other] prisoners were listening to them. Here are believers praying in the presence of non-believers…NEVER pray to please others present; pray only to please God. 

          The most important place to pray is any place where you can be alone with God.  Matt. 6:6 But when you pray, go into your [most] private room, and, closing the door, pray to your Father, Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.

          We are instructed to pray in all places at all times.  I Timothy 2:8 I desire therefore that in every place men should pray, without anger or quarreling or resentment or doubt [in their minds] lifting up holy hands.

It is a great joy to be able to talk with God, any time, any place and under any condition, and to know that He hears and will answer. 

 

HINDRANCES to Prayer: 

When prayers are not answered, you should examine yourself in the light of God’s Word.  If you find anything not pleasing to God, confess it, believing God for forgiveness that your prayers may be answered.  I John 1:9

          An unharmonious relationship between husband and wife will hinder prayer.  I Peter 3:1-17 …in like manner you married men should live considerately with [your wives] with an intelligent recognition [of the marriage relation], honoring the woman as [physically] the weaker, but [realizing that you] are joint heirs of the grace (God’s unmerited favor) of life, in order that your prayers may not be hindered and cut off [Otherwise you cannot pray effectively.]

          Selfishness will hinder prayer. James 4:3 [Or] do you ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives.  Your intention is [when you get what you desire] to spend it in sensual pleasures. 

          An unforgiving spirit will hinder prayer.  Matt. 5:22, 24 (at the altar offering gift…) MANY CHRISTIANS go without answers to prayer because they have wronged others; or have been wronged and have failed to humble themselves and seek reconciliation.

          Unbelief will hinder prayer.  James 1:6-7 …in faith…without wavering…let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord.   Heb. 11:1 Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith, perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

          Known sin in the heart will hinder prayer.  Isa. 59:1-2  Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened at all, that it cannot save, nor His ear dull with deafness, that it cannot hear.  But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.  Psa. 66:18  If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

When you pray, go to God in all humility.  Ask Him to reveal anything in your life that is not pleasing to Him.  Judge it, confess it, calling it by name and forsake it!  Pray in all simplicity and earnestness, believing God will hear and answer. 

 

The Bible is filled with answered prayers from Genesis to Revelation.  You are commanded to pray and God has promised to answer.  Jer. 3:3

John 15:7 If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.  Here are two requirements for answers to prayer: *you are to abide in Him, that is, to continue in Him—remain in His perfect will at all cost.  Romans 12:1-2 …as a living sacrifice  *His words are to abide in you…they are to become a vital part of your life.  You are to be filled with and guided by His words.  Col. 3:16-17Let the word [spoken by] Christ (the Messiah) have its home [in your hearts and minds] and dwell in you in [all its] richness, as you teach and admonish and train one another in all insight and intelligence and wisdom (in spiritual things, and as you sing] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to God with [His] grace in your hearts.

          The answer is sometimes immediate.  Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus, and as he began to sink, he prayed, “lord, save me.” –the answer was immediate.  Matt. 14:22-31

          The answer is sometimes delayed.  The delay is according to His will.  Romans 8:28  The resurrection of Lazarus is a good example of delayed answer to prayer.  The answer was delayed but not denied.  John 11:1-44

          The answer is sometimes NO.  When God answers with NO, He always accompanies the answer with peace.  Phil. 4:6,7 …and God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

and grace: II Cor. 12:7-10 (Paul’s thorn) …My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]

          The answer is sometimes different from what you expect.  You pray for patience and God send tribulation—because “tribulation worketh patience” Romans 5:3.  God answers all your prayers—according to His perfect will.  (Old Testament…”gave them their requests, but gave them leanness of heart” – don’t beg God for fleshly wishes