How Do We Pray?
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INTRO:
Today we wrap up with our study on prayer…
I don’t usually teach topical messages or series… but this one became necessary for multiple reasons… mostly, because the Lord was speaking through some of you, to me.
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Some weeks ago, we talked about revival… just, what it really is, and how our society is getting set up, and primed for just such a thing.
Things are changing in our comfortable, free, and wealthy world… and it is threatening the faith of Christian believers.
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I’m not talking about opposition. In fact, opposition almost always proves to be a strengthening agent for the church.
Instead, I’m talking about complacency, doctrinal apathy, and the likelihood of believers to give more authority to issues of social morality, than they do to the Bible.
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The church needs revival.
Those who are alive… but not very alive… need to be re-vived. They need more life in them.
This is what revival is… it is when the believers humble themselves and pray. It is when believers repent and renew their devotion to the Lord. It is when believers realign their priorities.
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It’s not about the masses. It’s not about huge evangelical events. It’s not about manifestations and miracles.
It’s about believers… being… revived.
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One common thing you will see… in revival… IS PRAYER. BELIEVERS RENEW THEIR COMMITMENT TO PRAYER… They commit to it. They are reminded of how vital it is. They recognize… that there is a need for God both in and out of the church… and they commit to prayer, believing that God will respond.
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so… we talked about revival.. revival in the lives of individuals, and small groups, and churches, and maybe even in cities… or nations..
Therefore...
We needed to talk about prayer.
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In our first study we asked:
“What is prayer?” - WE OFFERED THREE ANSWERS:
Prayer is communication with God
Prayer is a practice of listening and expectation
and = Prayer is a demonstration of relationship with God.
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In study number Two:
We asked the question: ‘WHAT DOES PRAYER ACCOMPLISH?” - and again: We gave three answers…
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PRAYER INITIATES AND MAINTAINS INTIMACY WITH GOD
PRAYER ASSISTS IN THE PRACTICE OF HOLY LIVING
and… PRAYER REMINDS US OF OUR POSITION WITH GOD.
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In our third study: When Do We Pray?
WITHOUT CEASING.
WHEN HEALING AND FORGIVENESS ARE NEEDED
WHEN WE ARE IN TROUBLE
WHEN WE FACE TEMPTATION
WHEN WE ARE WEAK, DISTRESSED AND W/O WORDS
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This brings us to the final, and very practical question…
4. How Do We Pray?
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And let me say this… It doesn’t matter where you are in your faith life… if you’re a brand new believer… if you’re a seasoned saint..
You can pray… You don’t need to know how. You already do. You simply talk to God.
We are going to address… the right heart… the right things… and the right doctrine…
There is always more to learn.
And God is understanding, if struggle with the ‘how to pray’ part.
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When our children begin to speak… we are excited. they are using words… they are stringing different words together. They pronounce thing so wrong… but we know what they mean.
And we love the fact, that they are communicating… even though it is so limited.
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It’s the same with us. God wants communication with us.
So… we might be stringing things together, that don’t really go together. We might not be saying things right. We might be spouting off wrong doctrine.
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God understands. He knows where you are at… He hears you. He knows what you mean.
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But… if our 16 year old… or our 20 year old son or daughter is still talking like a three year old. They’re still saying ridiculous things, and still limited to a vocabulary of about 35 words… and they are still calling random parents ‘Ba Ba’… - Well… we might think it strange.
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Over time, communication needs to improve.
The disciples realized this… and they flat out asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. … we’ll look at that lesson in a bit.
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Yes… God understands us… what we mean… what’s in our heart.
But in many ways, for our own benefit, we need to know how to pray. For our own understanding, we need to mature in our prayers. . For the simple fact that wrong prayers are often linked to wrong thinking about God.. we need to pray with sound doctrine....
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So, let’s jump into this:
HOW DO WE PRAY?
WITH THE RIGHT HEART and THE RIGHT MOTIVE
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
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If your read the verses around this one, you might be surprised to find out that James is writing to believers…
The believers are quarreling and fighting… why? because they are at war with their own passions.
Believers are so given to their desires… that they are willing to commit murder.... or fight for the things the covet.
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They are willing to stoop to the lowest level to get what they want… and James tells them, in vs. 2… ‘You do not have, because you do not ask.”
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But then, in the very next verse…
James says, that they are asking.
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Vs. 2… “you do not ask”
Vs. 3. “You ask”
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This seems like a contradiction. But in fact, with great emphasis… James is telling these misguided and broken believers… - To ask wrongly, with the intent of spending it on your own passions… is the same as ‘not asking at all’.
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At least… as far as prayer goes.
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In this… we see the wrong heart, and the wrong motive for prayer.
God doesn’t invite us into fellowship and communication with Him, so we can just ask him to give us stuff that feeds our flesh.
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You don’t ask God, to give you things that are contrary to His will.
You don’t pray for more drugs, more booze, more parties, more sex, more money, and more indulgence.
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We don’t come to God, and ask Him to give us the very chains that enslaved us to sin. He saved us from that. He broke those chains. He gave us freedom in Him.
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So, obviously, the wrong motivation, is to ask from God, the things that please our flesh.
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And no one with more than 1st grade Sunday School class knowledge of Christianity.. would obviously pray to God for these things…
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But… many Christians do… pray with the same motivation.
-We word it different… we make is sound spiritual… but we might be seeking things in our prayers, that are more about our glory, than Gods.
-We might be asking God to do things for us, that will detriment us from doing things for HIm.
-We might seek God’s leading, and claim God’s leading, in a direction that is more palatable to our flesh.
-We might claim riches… or great success and call it a blessing of God, when in fact, we just want to be rich and successful.
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The motives within our prayers… should not be… the fulfillment of our carnal desires.
That would be the same, as not asking at all.
We ask and do not receive, because we ask wrongly, to spend it on our passions.
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Jesus exemplifies a prayer life, that is driven from a proper motive. Here is an excerpt from what has been called, “The High Priestly Prayer”.
1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. 6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
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What was Jesus’ motivation?
- Father… do what’s required, in me, so that I can glorify you.
-Father… because of your work through me… many will know eternal life.
-Father… your work… your will in me, … may it be accomplished.
—Father… return me to your presence...
-Father… your name has been manifest to the people.
-Father… let them know, that my ministry, and my message is from You.
-Father… those who remain in the world… keep them in your name.
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He says more… the prayer continues on… but in these 11 verses, we learn a lot about motivation.
The High priestly prayer of Jesus… was selfless.
He was focused on God’s will… God’s plan… God’s purpose.
He declared a longing to be back in God’s presence.
He prayed, that His father’s name would be glorified.
He asked, that His ministry would be successful…
And he wanted those who are in the world… to remain faithful.
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In a minute we will be looking at the Lord’s Prayer… and in that, we will learn to pray the right things…
But even in this passage, Jesus addressed the heart.
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5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
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Jesus called out the hypocrites… who made a show of their prayers. They probably scripted them with fancy words… and spoke them loudly, hoping to impress those who passed by.
They would make themselves sound impressive… spiritual… and intelligent.
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What are they seeking to get from praying like this?
The recognition of man. They wanted people to be impressed with them… and Jesus said… ‘they have received their reward’… They got what they wanted… and that’s all they got.
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I’m sure we’ve heard prayers like this. With a tenor that rises and falls… that plays to the emotions… that draws people in.... Prayers that are not only directed to God… but they are also mini-sermons…
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The fancy orator reads from a carefully scripted prayer… directing messages… declaring agendas… often time speaking down to others, and speaking highly of himself.
We might know it’s coming… for when the orator invites the people to pray… they are unfolding their script...
This is common, when people open congress with a prayer...
And they use it, as a show…
They declare their agendas and proclaim God’s blessing upon them… they speak of the enemy, and declare God’s judgment…
And they say completely insane, moronic, and disrespectable brainless things like…
Amen, and A woman.
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Jesus said… don’t be like the hypocrites.
Your prayers are not a show, to impress people.
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He goes on to say in vs. 7…
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
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We have heard these prayers too…
Lots of words… - very little message.
To what avail? - Well, some might think, if they say a lot. If they pray longer. If they recite the prayers over and over again… - That God will hear and respond based solely on the merit, of how much you put into it.
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How long did you pray? - Well, I prayed for about 6 or 7 minutes. I had something on my heart and wanted to bring it before the Lord.
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Well.. I prayed for hours… on my knees… with tears… -
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What did you say that whole time?
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Well… I basically said the same thing over and over… but found different ways to say it . I showed the Lord how invested I am… how much I’m willing to put into it. I made my sacrifice, and you only prayed for 6 minutes.
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Jesus said… that this is how the Gentiles prayed. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
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So… how do we pray?
Well, first off… we need to check our hearts…
Our motivation needs to be, for God’s will to be done… for God to be glorified… for God’s work to be known.
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Our prayers should not be a matter of show… or a work, or a sacrifice.
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How do we pray?
Second point:
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WITH THE RIGHT THINGS
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9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
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I don’t have a problem with people praying the Lord’s prayer… word for word… IF, it is not their sole exercise of prayer.
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I don’t think Jesus intended for us, to recite this, but rather… that He gave us this as an outline, so we would know how to pray the right things.
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It starts with worship.
When we pray… we should recognize, that our first priority, is to recognize who God is. His habitation is heavenly, and His name is holy.
This is a call to praise… a call to worship.
Many people have different motivations for why they begin a worship service with songs…
Some say, the worship songs are to prepare our hearts to receive the word… and thus, they are elevating the importance of preaching over the importance of worship.
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Personally, I reject this.
I believe that we are to begin our time together, with songs of worship and praise… because Jesus said… ‘pray like this… - Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
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If we looked at that OT tabernacle as an example of prayer… it begins the same way- - Entering His gates with thanksgiving in our hearts. Entering His courts with praise.
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In prayer… one of the right things...
Is worship… praise… and thanksgiving.
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10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
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If the order here sets any kind of priority… right after praise and worship...
We are told to pray for God’s will to be done… both here on earth, and in the heavenly realm.
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This was a major theme in Jesus’ high priestly prayer...
He asked for God’s will and God’s word to be done… and for God to be glorified.
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Notice this…
No requests have been made yet.
No prayers for the sick. No prayers for broken relationship. No prayers for personal need.
It starts with worship, praise, thanksgiving… it continues with God’s will… God’s work… God’s purpose.
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Then… we get to this.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
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We’ve already talked about this in a previous message.
But the big thing to take not of here,
Is that God wants you to depend upon Him for the daily needs of today.
Trust in Him, to take care of you, in the time, in the moment… when that care is required.
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From here, we ask for forgiveness… but we ask, with a willingness to freely extend, the very thing that we want God to give us.
Lord… forgive me of my debts… my sins… my trespasses…
And Lord… I follow your example. I have forgiven the debts… sins and trespasses of others.
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And then...
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
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We’re all familiar with this part of prayer.
We know the danger of temptation… we know the regret that comes with it. We know the hardship of falling into evil.
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It’s easy to be led into temptation. It’s easy to get caught up in evil…
We should desperately pray… that God would help us, to avoid it.
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so… How do we pray?
We pray with the right motive.
We pray the right things…
AND FINALLY.
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WITH THE RIGHT DOCTRINE (pray Biblically. Pray Bible verses)
9 If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
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If you don’t understand doctrine...
If you don’t understand what the Bible says, and means...
You will probably pray, some silly things.
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In Matt. 18, Jesus lays out a principle of discipline for the believing community.
If your brother sins against you… go to them. This is the best way to resolve this.
But this doesn’t always work… so take one or two other with you the next time, so that the charge will be established by witnesses.
If this doesn’t work… tell it to the church…
And if this does’t work… let him be as a Gentile and a tax collector.
And Jesus talks about the principle of confirming decisions with the unity of other witnesses…
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And then… it says:
20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
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How many times have we heard this quoted in a ‘small’ prayer gathering.
Lord… there are only 2 or 3 of us here… but, we know, based on this scripture, that this is enough people to merit your presence.
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So… if I’m praying by myself, the Lord’s presence isn’t there? He needs 2 or 3 before He shows up?
Absolutely not.
He is present...
The context of this passage, isn’t… small gatherings… it is church discipline.
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How about… quoting Isa 53.5?
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
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How many times have we prayed for a physical healing… a miracle… and we have quoted this verse?
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Trust me… God understands. And God still heals. God still performs miracles.
But this passage has nothing to do with physical healing or miracles.
This whole passage, speaks of a spiritual healing… about redemption for our sins…
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In John 16… the disciples want to ask Jesus what he’s talking about… He had declared that in a little while, they would not see him, and again a little while, they will. Why? Because Jesus is going to the Father.
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So… they had questions.
Jn. 16:18… “What does he mean? We do not know what He is talking about.”
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They had questions about the events that were going to come…
So Jesus addressed their questions.. saying literally… “Is this what you are asking yourselves?”
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A whole lot of asking is going on..
And the context was… - the mystery that Jesus presented… He would be gone, then he would be back…
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The hard part, His death, will be like the pain in childbirth..
But the good part, His resurrection.... will be so amazing, the pain will be forgotten.
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Then He says:
23 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.
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After the resurrection, they will next experience the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is gone, physically..
But, it’s to their benefit… because the HS can be with them all, everywhere, at all times.
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In that day, Jesus won’t be there to ask these questions of..
You’ll need to ask God these kinds of questions… - Questions. Not demands for riches or healing...
Questions…
And here’s the promise. If you ask the questions in Jesus’s name, God will give you the answers.
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But… the church will demand that God bless them with riches, nice cars, fancy suits, great health, success… and when they tell God what they want… they emphasize… loudly, as if God needs a reminder of the contract.... In Jesus’ Name!!!!
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This passage isn’t a formula to get what you want, if you pray just the right way and demand payment by emphasizing ‘IN JESUS’ NAME’…
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IF IT WERE… Let’s see the fruit. You are good, faithful people who love the Lord. Are you getting everything you ask for? Why is it, that we still pray for people who are sick, or struggling, or in broken relationships?
Have they failed to hold God to accountable by declaring ‘In Jesus’ Name’????
And if they did ask… and did not receive...
Then what?
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Then they are let down.
They are led to believe that they are spiritual losers who lack the proper amount of works based super positive faith.
They are led to believe, that God has failed them.
God gives other people Mercedes Benz’s… and I’ve prayed ‘In Jesus’ Name’… and I still drive a Toyota.
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John 16:23… is about you getting answers… it is about God, teaching you. It isn’t about you, holding God accountable to meet your demands.
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Many will say, that you don’t have enough faith.
And… they are right. In yourself, you don’t have enough faith.
Jesus said, if you have the faith of a mustard seed, you could move mountains.
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Tell me, how many reports in the past 2000 years have there been, of Christians moving mountains with their faith. - None.
The message here, is that we don’t, within ourselves, even have as much faith as a tiny mustard seed.
We are utterly dependent upon God for faith.
If we move in faith, it’s because God was involved. Our will power is just that… it’s a strength of will. Our mental affirmation is just that… it’s a strength of mind.... and both of those things exist amongst believers and unbelievers.
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Those are the things, that many Christians call faith.
And if you have those things, and pray with the right words… and yell, “In Jesus’ Name”… and confess it… with the creative power of your words…
You know what you are doing?
You are praying with wrong doctrine.
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You don’t need sound doctrine to pray...
But prayer is communication.
It’s a demonstration of relationship.
And as you grow in relationship… you grow in knowledge and understanding.
May our prayers, reflect sound doctrine, so that we are not creating expectations that will lead to disappointment, bondage, legalism, rejection, and pride.
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I tell you often, one of the main things that leads us down the wrong path… is almost always… ‘WRONG THINKING ABOUT GOD’…
May our thinking… about Him, His Word, and how we are to pray… be right.
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