Pertinent Perspectives on Prayer, Part 2

We of all people, the church, should be the most powerful people on the face of the earth. There should be people who are absolutely fearful of us because the power We're able to tap into when we pray. But let me ask you a question: Do people see the power of God in the church of God?

Do people see the power of God in your life? Do people see the power of God in your family? It was one author who recorded these words about the church. The church is potentially a powerful body with a necessary arsenal at its disposal to change the moral character. of this world. The fact that it is not doing so causes us to be painfully aware that its potential is not being realized. That which is possible is not being produced. For while possessing the dynamite of the gospel, the church has lost its detonator.

It's lost its explosiveness. As a result of this inaction, the church that the world sees is weak, tim, divided, and crawling instead of flying. While it has material resources to convert the world, it is restricted by its stinginess and narrowness of v. The detonator of the church is its prayer life. That's what sets everything in motion, which moves everything to a place of explosiveness. And yet the church, the one agent that God has designed to reach and transform the world, is weaker today. than it ever has been.

You can read whatever you want, whatever magazine you want to read. You can listen to any T V program you want to listen to. I want to let you know that the church is weaker today than it ever has been in the history The church. I mean, all you got to do is look at the book of Acts and compare us with Book of Acts ministry.

And it ain't happening like it happened in the book of Acts. And it's not that the spirit's different. It's not that the spirit's changed. It's not that God has changed his method of reaching the world. It's we who have grown further and further away from God. We have forgotten God. We become very independent of Him. And we don't need him. And we try to make it on our own. And the church has lost its power. Not because. The church has lost the Spirit. It's because the church has failed to tap into that all-consuming power of the Spirit of God through the Spirit of prayer.

And so we come to Matthew chapter 6. And we began talking last week by introducing Some preliminary comments on prayer. We gave you five of them. If you're with us, we'll briefly review them. and continue with the next five. And they are just some preliminary comments. There are a lot more things I could say, but I I want to get through Matthew chapter 6. And we begin by talking about how prayer is that one element that challenges our spirituality. More than anything else, prayer is that one element that will set you in gear as to where you are spiritually.

With the Lord. Number two, prayer is that one element that clarifies our loyalty. Number three, prayer certifies our dependency.

More than anything else, prayer helps you understand whether you are a dependent being or an independent being. Number four, prayer is that which catapults our prod. There's nothing that makes us more productive than prayer. Number five, this is where we left off last time: prayer is that one element that commences our ministry. If prayer does not commence your ministry, your ministry will not continue with prayer, nor will it culminate in prayer. And number six, prayer is that which cultivates our maturity.

Prayer is that one element that cultivates our maturity. Turn with me over to Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1 Paul says this, verse number 9. For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please him. In all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all power according to his glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience.

Joyously, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Paul says, we're going to pray for you. We're going to pray that your knowledge increases. We're going to pray that you have the strength that you need to have. We're going to pray that You are able to respond joyously in every situation. We are going to pray that you grow spiritually. Why? Because Paul knew in order for people to grow, he had to pray for them. Because prayer was that one element that would stir up and cultivate maturity in the lives of other people.

Do you know someone who's not growing spiritually? Do you know someone who's walking away from the Lord? You can go after them, you can talk with them, you can confront them, but if you don't pray for them, you haven't done all you need to do for them. You can pray for them and not do anything else, and that'd be enough. Why? Because prayer is that one element that cultivates maturity in the lives of people. See, we stopped praying for people because we don't think it's going to work anyway. We haven't seen any change in our friends or in our spouse or in our loved ones over the last two, three, four, five years.

So we stopped praying. We stopped going before the throne of grace. Paul was a man of prayer. It was Richard Foster in his book on the celebration of discipline who said These words, if I can find them, I them here someplace. To pr is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives. The closer we come to the heartbeat of God, the more we see our need and the more we desire to be conformed to Christ.

To pray is to change. Think about it. Maybe we don't pray not because we don't know how to pray. Maybe we don't pray because prayer is boring. Maybe we don't pray because prayer really is that one element that changes our life, and down deep, we really don't want to change our lives. We like it just the way. it is. We're afraid to pray because if we pray, what God's going to do is bring some kind of disaster in my life and strip me of all my self-resources. So if we don't pray and don't commune with God, then I don't have to worry about him doing that.

Think about it. But next, prayer is that one element that conquers our infirmity. It conquers our infirmity. Turn with me over to James chapter Chapter 5.

Very familiar set of verses. In a few months, we'll be covering these verses when we Begin to tackle the book of James. But listen to what James says in chapter 5, verse number 13. If any one among you, is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. That's good advice. Are you suffering? James says, pray. Is anyone cheerful? Now, if you understand who James is writing to, he is saying it almost sarcastically. I can't imagine if any of you are cheerful. But is any of you cheerful? If you are, he says, let them sing praises.

Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil. In the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith, that prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, or literally, the one who is weary. And the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly. That it might not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its fruit. James is writing to people who are suffering verbally, physically. They are devastated. They are weak. They've been emotionally traumatized. And James says, Are you suffering? You need to pray. If you are suffering so bad that your prayer and solitude won't help, then you go to somebody who is stronger than you and you pray with them.

Go to someone who's more spiritually mature than you and pray with them that God will help you and give you the strength you need to raise you up that you might be for Him what He wants you to be. Prayer is that one element that conquers our infirmity. Next, I want you to see about prayer is this: prayer combats our adversary. Turn me over to Ephesians chapter 6. Ephesians chapter 6, verse number 18, with all prayer and petition. Pray at all times in the spirit. And with this in view, be on alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.

And pray on my behalf. That utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known the boldness of the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. Prayer is that element that combats our adversary. Folks, listen, you can put on the whole armor of God, you can be fitted from head to toe, but if you don't pray, On your knees, then you will be defeated in your battle with the adversary. You can't put on one piece of the armor and leave off another piece.

Paul closes out the book of Ephesians with an exhortation to pray. That's the way you combat your adversary. Next, it calms our anxiety. Are you an anxious person? You a worry wart. You worry about all kinds of things. You worry about your kids. You worry about next paycheck. You worry about how your hair is going to look next day. Are you a worry wart? You need to pray. If you're a warrior warrior, you're not a prayer warrior. Because prayer warriors don't worry. Philippians 4 verse 5 says the Lord is near.

The Lord is at hand. Therefore, because he's right there. Be anxious for nothing. Don't worry about a thing. But in everything with prayer and supplic with thanks, let your request be made known unto God. And the God of what? Of what? Peace, the God of all peace, is going to do for you what no one else can do. No over-the-counter medicine is going to do. No prescription drugs are going to do. The God of all peace is going to do for you what no one else and nothing else can ever do. That's to guard your heart and mind.

Guard it so much that it's going to be at peace because you know the God of peace. Prayer is that which calms our anxiety. But see, we it all mixed up in our modern-day Christianity. We're fearing all those other things, and we don't have any fear of God. He's just a good buddy upstairs that we call on whenever we got time or we feel like it. There's the difference. If you want the Lord to deliver you out of all your fears, you've got to be a prayer warrior. You've got to be on your knees. You've got to pray at all times.

Communing with Him. That's what God wants you to do. And lastly, turn me to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10 says this: verses 19 to 22. Since, therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he inaugurated for us through the veil that is his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God. Let us draw near with a sincere heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Prayer is that one element that celebrates our un. It celebrates our unity. That somehow I can go into God's presence. You see, before the death of Christ, there was only A surrogate access into God's presence. It was through the high priest. But when the Lord God ripped that curtain in two in the temple, from the top to the bottom. He opened up a new and living way that we might have access into the presence of God through a veil that is the flesh of the Lord God. And when I go to prayer, I celebrate the unity that I have with God.

Think of prayer that way. Don't think of prayer as going and asking God for something. Think of prayer as a celebration that you're actually entering the presence of God. Those are some preliminary comments on prayer. I wanted to cover those with you. By way of introduction, because it helps us understand some of the principal concerns about prayer that Christ addresses in Matthew chapter 6. That's our text. For this evening, turn back there with me if you would. Matthew chapter 6. And what I want to do in the brief moments that we have left is just read through.

Verses 5 to 14, and then we'll understand some of the principal concerns about prayer. Verse number 5, and when you pray, you are not to be as hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret. And your father who sees in secret will repay you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.

Therefore, Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray then in this way. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy 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 our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen. For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you.

But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive. Your trans. Christ says, Look, when you pray, this is how you got to pray.

Not this way, but this way. The Lord is very specific about giving, talked about that a few weeks ago, about prayer and about fasting. In your religious duties, I don't want you to do it this way, but I do want you to do it this way. And he explains it to us that we might understand exactly how we are to commune with him. And so he gives some concerns. Number one is the spectator.

Are you concerned that men see you? Or are you concerned that the Master of the world sees you? What are you concerned about? And then his second concern is the substance of your prayers.

Are they meaningless or are they meaningful? Are they meaningless because you babble on and on and on, not knowing exactly what your mind is saying, just saying a whole bunch of words? Or is it real, meaningful? Prayer. If it is, Christ says, then you pray this way.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. It was Martin Lord-Jones who commented in his commentary on the Serm on the Mount with these words: The Christian is to live in such a way that men looking at him and seeing the quality of his life will glorify God. He must always remember at the same time that he is not to do things in order that he may attract attention to him. He must not desire to be seen of men. He is never, never to be self-conscience or conscious. But clearly this balance is a fine and delicate one.

So often we tend to go to one extreme or the other. Christian people tend either to be guilty of great ostentation or else to become monks and hermits. As you look at the long story of the Christian church throughout the centuries, you will find this great conflict has been going on.

They have either been ostentatious or else they have been so afraid. Of self and self-glorification, that they have segregated themselves from the world. But here we are called to avoid both extremes. He says, look, are you really self-conscious? So self-conscious that it hinders how you commune with God. Some of us are, aren't we? Some of us are very self-conscious about how we pray. Some of us are so self-conscious about it that we're afraid to pray in public for fear of what someone might say or comment about how we just prayed.

We can't say it like the other guy can say it. We don't know the Christianes kinds of terms, so we don't pray out loud. Or some of us long to pray out loud so people will hear how well we do say what it is we're supposed to say. There's a balance. And Christ says, Look, I got two concerns.

One is the spectator. Those who see you. Are you concerned about those around about you that they see you? Or are you concerned that God sees and hears? Only you can answer that question. No one else can answer it for you. You have to answer it. The Lord is saying, when you pray. Make sure that you're communing with God and not performing for man. That's what he's concerned about. The scripture doesn't condemn public prayer. Acts 4:2 to 31 gives us the whole realm of what it means to have a corporate prayer meeting and to pray publicly.

Bible does not speak against public prayer. It speaks against self-centeredness when you pray publicly or privately. The point is, whenever you commune with God, don't make a public spectacle of yourself, that others might see you. And glorify you and not God. And it's there that the Lord God pours out the blessings. But there's a second concern, and this deals with the substance of your prayers.

The Lord says, And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many, many words. Vain repetitions, words of mumbling, words of muttering, constantly repeating the same thing over and over again. Now think about this. Think about this in your prayer life. How many times have you said, you know, every time I pray, it's the same thing over and over and over and over and over again? You ever been there? That's meaningless repetition.

That's murmuring the same thing without any thought behind what you're doing. The Bible never says that we are to pray not cognizant of what we're praying about and who we're praying to. N of us will want our children to come to us and speak the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over again with no meaning behind it, no feeling behind it, no emotion behind it. It'd be almost like a robot was coming to speak to us. We want to see substance behind their communication with us. So does God.

But the thing about God is, you don't need to badger him. Because the text says he knows what you need before you ever ask him. He knows what you need before you ever ask him. He says this. Therefore, do not be like them, for your father knows what you need before you ask him. Isn't that good? You ever inform God about something? You ever inform God? Lord, I just want to let you know that what happened today when I was down the road doing this, you don't have to inform God of anything. We talk to God as if he didn't know what's going on, right?

God knows everything. You're not going to inform him of something that he doesn't know. You're not going to catch him by surprise. Prayer is sharing needs and burdens, the hungers of your heart, with a God who listens and longs to respond. And when we honestly open our hearts to him, we are giving God an occasion to manifest his majesty. The occasion to perform his power, an occasion to lavish his love, an occasion to promote. Is providence through our lives. I'm afraid many of us don't know how to pray as we ought to pray.

And so God tells us how. We've a whole series on this entitled Lord, Teach Us to Pray. And we're not going to go into 12 weeks like we did when we covered that topic. But hopefully next week, we'll be able to understand more of what this prayer is all about. Because Christ says, when you pray, this is how I want you to pray.

And he tells you exactly how you should pray. And it falls into two categories. Number one is a recognition of who God is.

And number two, Is a realization of what you need.