The Priority of Prayer

If you have your Bible, turn to Luke chapter 18. Luke chapter 18, as we once again continue our journey through the wonderful gospel of Luke. Sadly, there'll be no outlines on the screen for you today or for the remaining time in Luke, because that's only for special occasions. So we're back to making sure you pay close attention to all that we have to say. Luke chapter 18, verse number 1. In the context, Christ is talking about his coming kingdom. As you recall, in Luke chapter 17, the question was asked about where is the kingdom?

And Jesus spoke to the people there about the invisible kingdom of God. It's within you. And then he talked about the external kingdom that was going to come. And the characteristics of what took place before it arrives. And it was all about destruction and devastation and death. All that was going to take place before the kingdom of God actually arrives on the earth. And then you come to chapter 18, verse number 1, and the text reads as follows. Now he was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.

That's our text for today. Christ tells them, in the midst of his coming kingdom, this is your priority. This is your responsibility. This is your duty. It is to pray and not lose heart. If you don't pray, you'll faint. If you pray, you won't. In other words, Christ is coming. What do you do in the meantime? Make sure you understand the priority of prayer. Make sure you understand persistence in prayer. That's next week. Then make sure you understand penitence in prayer. That's the following week.

But he talks to them about prayer. Because it's absolutely essential in the life of the believer. So we're going to talk to you about the duty of prayer in terms of an outline. From the duty, we want you to be able to understand the dedication to prayer. And then we want you to be able to see the discontinuing of prayer. Why is it we don't pray as we ought? And why do we faint instead of pray? The Bible says these words in Proverbs 24, verse number 10.

If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. How you doing in the day of adversity? Are you standing strong or are you fainting? Are you losing heart? In the day of adversity, if you faint, if you lose heart, that means your strength is small. In other words, where do you derive your strength from? It's from the Lord God. And the way you derive your strength from the Lord God is to depend upon him. To lean upon him that he might be strong in and through you. So let's look, number one, at the duty of prayer.

Prayer is not an option, it's essential. That's why Christ says he was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray.

You need to pray. That's what you need to do. There's a lot of things you can do in light of the return of Christ. There's a lot of things you can do throughout the day. But one thing you absolutely have to do is to pray. It's your duty. You must be committed to it. If you read the book of Acts, you begin to realize that the early church was committed to prayer. Acts chapter 2, verse number 42. They continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching. In the breaking of bread. In the fellowship. And the prayer.

In Acts chapter 6, verse number 4. The leaders of the church said we must devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. They understood about devoting their lives to communion with God. They understood the duty of prayer. They understood what it meant to spend time on their knees talking to the Lord God of Israel. If you go on through the scriptures, you realize that in Colossians 4, verse number 2, Paul said devote yourselves to prayer. The Bible says in Romans 12, verse number 12, be devoted to prayer.

You know, we could talk a lot about different things in scripture. We could advertise that we're going to talk about the second coming of Jesus.

And people would come. We'd advertise about your marriage and how to heal your marriage, your broken marriage, and people would come. But if you tell them you're going to talk about prayer, nobody shows up. Nobody wants to come. You know why? One author said it well. Prayer is like a foreign land. When you go there, you go as tourists. Like most tourists, we feel uncomfortable and out of place. Like most tourists, we therefore move on before too long and go somewhere else. That's our prayer life.

It's so foreign to us, we think that we are tourists when we go before the throne of grace. And we're not there very long before we move on to something else or to someone else. But we need to be devoted to prayer. Christ puts us here at this time to help us to understand that in light of his return, he's going to come again. But if you don't pray, you're going to faint. And that's why he says later on in the parable, will he find this kind of faith on the earth when he returns? What kind of faith?

The faith that's steadfast. The faith that's immovable. The faith that's abounding in the work of the Lord. Particularly the work of prayer so that you don't faint. Do you pray? Do you spend time speaking to God? Why don't we? Well, listen to what it says in verse number 9 of Luke 18. And he also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous. Folks, you have two options. To trust in God or to trust in yourself. And that's our problem. This is what curtails our prayer life more than anything else.

When we trust in God, we talk to God. When we trust in ourselves, we refrain from talking to God. We don't need God. One man said it this way. The self-satisfied don't want to pray. The self-sufficient don't need to pray. The self-righteous can't pray. Which are you? When you pray, you ought to pray because the Bible says men ought always to pray and not to faint.

But if you're fainting, it's because you're trusting in yourself and not in God. And so he gives these parables to help us understand what it means to pray and to commune with the living God. Which helps us understand this about prayer. That we need God more than we think we do. Turn back with me to the Bible to Luke chapter 5. Many years ago, we were in Luke chapter 5. I'm sure you don't remember the story, so let me refresh your memory.

Luke chapter 5, verse number 1. Now it came about that while the multitudes were pressing around him and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. And he got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. He sat down and began teaching the multitudes from the boat. Now you've got to remember that when you fish, you fish early in the morning.

So the disciples were already back, the boats were on the shore, and Christ was going to preach. When Christ preached, he didn't give sermonettes for Christianettes. They weren't 10-minute sermons. They weren't 15-minute sermons. They were long sermons. What we have in Scripture are just excerpts from what he says. Do you think for one moment that Jesus just said a 10-minute ditty and then went off to do something else? No, not at all. He preached. And so he went out into the boat so he could sit down and he could preach to the crowd there on the seashore.

So now it moves to noonday, where the sun is at its highest peak. Verse 4, when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch. Simon answered and said, Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. In other words, Jesus says, you know what, Peter, let's go fishing.

I'm done preaching. You've already been out. You've had breakfast. Let's go fishing. Peter says, you can't go fishing. Now, don't you know anything, Jesus? Don't you know that you can't fish in the middle of the day? Because in the middle of the day, all the fish go deeper into the lake. The nets don't go down that far. You're not going to catch anything during the noonday, during the time when it's the hottest. And then he says, but at your bidding, Lord, just to show you that you're wrong and I'm right.

At your bidding, I will let down the nets. When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish. And the nets began to break. And they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw that he fell down, he added Jesus' feet saying, depart from me for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken.

And so also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, do not fear. From now on you will be catching men. And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. The simple moral of the story is this. In the area you think you don't need Jesus is the area you need him the most. Peter, James and John are fishermen. This is what they know. This is how they grew up. They grew up on the sea. This is what they did. They did it every day of their lives.

They understand the Sea of Galilee. They know what it means to fish. They know what it means to take over their father's business and to continue that business. This is what they did. So when Jesus says, hey, let's go fishing, Peter.

Peter says, you know what, Lord, there's no more fish to catch. But at your bidding, we'll push out. And they caught a boatload of fish. And Peter was amazed. Depart from me. I am a sinful man, oh Lord. Depart from me because in the area I thought I didn't need you, I do need you. You see, this is our problem. We don't trust in God. We trust in ourselves because we have an education. We have talent. And because of our talent and education, we can do our job. We don't need God. We can go to work and just do what we do because we're gifted and talented.

And we got charisma, persona. We have what it takes. We don't need God. But in the area you think you don't need him because of your education or because of your talent or because of your ability, that's the area you need him more than any other area in your life. And we don't even know that. And we wonder why our lives are so frustrated. Why things don't work out so well. That's because we trust in ourselves and not God. You know, you think that Peter and James and John and the disciples would learn this lesson and learn it well.

But they didn't. Because there's another story that takes place in Mark chapter 9. Where Peter, James, and John are on the Mount of Transfiguration. Now, if you know the story, you understand a little bit more about why there was always this discussion about who was the greatest among them. Well, Peter, James, and John were on the Mount of Transfiguration, right? And they were able to see the glorified Christ. They saw Elijah. They saw Moses. And they were on the Mount. And while they were on the Mount, down below, the other disciples were trying to cast a demon out of a young boy.

And they could not do it. So here comes Jesus. Here comes Peter, James, and John. Who, having seen this wonderful vision of the glorified Christ. I mean, they experienced something unique. Which would add to their argument about why they were the greatest in the kingdom. Because they had the opportunities that the other nine didn't have. But anyway, they go down there. And this father comes to Jesus and says, I brought my boy to your men. To cast the demon out of them. And they could not. And Jesus says these words in Mark chapter 9.

Oh, unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to me. That's what he says to his men. Are you kidding me, fellas? You unbelieving generation. How long will I be with you? And he casts the demon out of the boy. And they journey on. And they go to the house. And they catch Jesus by himself. And they say, Lord, help us understand why we can do that. Because you see, they've already done that. They've already cast demons out of people. They've already been involved in healing people.

They've been involved in all that stuff. But all of a sudden now, they can't do it. And they say, Jesus, how come? What happened? All of a sudden, we can't do it. And Jesus said, these things only come out through prayer. You see, you forgot the one essential ingredient in your ministry. Me. You forgot me. You forgot that you need me to accomplish ministry. You forgot that you need to depend upon me for everything. But in those areas you think you're pretty good in, because you've already done a great work for God, you still need me.

And you think you don't. And that's why you couldn't do it. See, you better always pray. And not lose heart. Because if you lose heart, you're trusting in yourself. And not the Lord God. Boy, that's just so incredibly insightful. Because we tend to lose heart. We tend to faint. We tend to give up, don't we? God says you can't do that.

You need to be a man or woman of prayer. So this is our duty. Our duty is to pray. Men ought always to pray and not to faint. But let's look, number two, at the dedication to prayer.

Men ought always to pray. Text says that at all times you ought to pray. So that speaks to our dedication to prayer. What does that look like? Three things I want you to see in the dedication to prayer. Number one is the schedule of prayer.

Number two is the season of prayer. And number three is the spirit of prayer. To understand how to pray at all times, you must understand the schedule of prayer. In other words, in order to pray at all times, you better have a schedule where you get along with God and pray. That's where it begins. It all begins with a schedule. Daniel had a schedule. He prayed three times a day. And when he became high up in government, he still kept the same schedule, praying three times a day. And when danger approached and they said he couldn't do that, he still did it anyway.

In order to pray at all times, it always begins with a schedule of prayer. In other words, there is a scheduled time in your day where you pray to God on a regular basis. Listen, if you don't have a scheduled time, you won't have a seasoned time, and you won't have the spirit of prayer. You won't be able to pray, as 1 Thessalonians 5, 17 says, without ceasing. It all begins with a schedule for prayer. Listen to what the Bible says.

Matthew's Gospel. Matthew chapter 6. He says, verse 5, And when you pray, you are not to be as the 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. Notice Christ says, When you pray, when you pray, when you pray.

In other words, there is a scheduled time for when you pray. And so when you pray, don't do it like the hypocrites do it, but when you pray, I want you to go into your closet, shut the door, so that you cannot be seen by anyone else. And your Father who sees in secret, will reward you openly. But when you pray, pray this way, that He gives the disciples prayer, to help you understand the pattern you need to pray, when you go into your closet to shut the door. In other words, there is a scheduled time for prayer.

You see, we forget that. In Christ's life, there was a scheduled time for prayer. Prayer commenced His ministry. Prayer characterized His ministry. Prayer consummated His ministry. And prayer continues on from Heaven, because He has a ministry for you and me. It commences ministry in Luke chapter 3. In Luke chapter 3, this is what happens. Luke chapter 3, verse number 21. Now it came about when all the people were baptized, that Jesus also was baptized. And while He was praying, Heaven opened up.

Prayer commenced His most unlikely ministry on earth. But prayer characterized His daily ministry. Look what it says in Luke chapter 5, verse number 16. But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. Chapter 6, verse 12. And it was at this time that He went off into the mountain to pray. And He spent the whole night in prayer to God. Luke chapter 9, verse number 10. It says it this way. Luke 9, verse number 10. And when the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done.

And taking them with Him, He withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida. But the multitudes were aware of this and followed Him in welcoming them. He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who were in need of healing. And I have no idea why I read those verses, but they sound pretty good. Anyway, the bottom line is that prayer characterized His daily ministry. He would go off into the mountain to pray. He would spend all night there. He would get up early in the morning and pray because that's what He did.

There was a scheduled time in His life where He prayed. The question is, is there a scheduled time in your life when you pray? When you come to Luke chapter 24, He lifts up His hand and He offers a prayer of blessing to His men because prayer consummated His earthly ministry. And then prayer is that which characterizes His heavenly ministry. For in Hebrews 7 verse number 25, He lives to make intercession for you and for me. His whole ministry was about prayer. But there was a scheduled time that He went apart and prayed.

Is that the way it is for you? Listen, if there's not a scheduled time, then you can't pray at all times. One author said it this way. John Piper in his book Desiring God says this.

He says, unless I'm badly mistaken, one of the main reasons so many of God's children don't have a significant prayer life is not so much that we don't want to, but that we don't plan to. If you want to take a four-week vacation, you don't just get up one summer morning and say, Hey, let's go on vacation today. You won't have anything ready. You won't know where to go. Nothing has been planned. But that is how many of us treat prayer. We get up day after day and realize that significant times of prayer should be a part of our life, but nothing's ever ready.

We don't know where to go. Nothing has been planned. No time, no place, no procedure. And we all know that the opposite of planning is not a wonderful flow of deep, spontaneous experiences in prayer. The opposite of planning is the rut. If you don't plan a vacation, you'll probably stay home and watch TV. The natural unplanned flow of spiritual life sinks to the lowest ebb of vitality. There is a race to be run, a fight to be fought. If you want renewal in your life of prayer, you must plan to see it.

In other words, you must plan your time. You must take time away to pray. Do you do that? Do you have a place in your home where you go and pray every day? If not, you need to find one. You say, well, it gets too busy. I need to get up earlier. Well, if I do, then you're still going to be busy. Then you need to get up earlier than earlier. So you can be alone to pray in your closet where only your Lord sees you and hears you and will reward you openly. You see, the reason why some of us are not rewarded openly is because we're not praying privately.

Did you ever think about that? You want God to honor your life and to answer your prayers, but you're not praying with Him alone someplace where it's just Him and you when you pray into your closet. When you pray, say it this way, Christ says in Matthew 6.

There needs to be a scheduled time in your life where you pray to the Lord. J.C. Ryle said, What is the reason that some believers are so much brighter and holier than others? I believe the difference in 19 cases out of 20 arises from different habits about private prayer. I believe that those who are eminently holy are not eminently holy, pray little, and those who are eminently holy, pray much. He's right. Absolutely right. So there is a schedule, but there's also the season because men ought always to pray at all times.

That is, you pray in prosperity and you pray in adversity. You pray in pain and you pray in pleasure. You pray at all times. Some of us only pray when tragedy strikes. But when things are going good, we don't pray. You notice that, right?

You notice that when things are going well, the check's coming in, the kids are obedient, the wife loves you, the sun is shining, things are good, the mortgage is paid.

You don't pray that much. But the wife gets sick, the child runs away, you lose your job, what do you do? Pray. Because you need the Lord to answer, right? But we ought to pray at all times. In all seasons. It's like when Paul told Timothy, preach the word in season and out of season. When it's convenient, when it's not convenient. When it's the opportune time, when it's the inopportune time. Same way it goes for our prayer life. We are to pray at all times. When things are going great, when things are going bad, we spend time alone in prayer.

We schedule our time alone with God so that when we are in private prayer, we know that what he does openly, he does because of what we committed to him in our closets. And that season of prayer happens because of what I did in my closet, by myself, all alone in my house. Do I think it's good to pray with your wife? Yes. Do I think it's good to pray with your husband? Yes. But you better be praying without them. Because your spiritual life is not dependent upon their spiritual life. It's dependent upon your walk with God.

So you better make sure that you do it alone, by yourself, so that you can pray at all times. Because the natural flow of scheduled prayer is all seasons prayer. Why? Because there is a spirit of prayer that consumes your life. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 17 says, Pray without ceasing. Have incessant prayer. In other words, it's a God-conscious kind of living. You go through the day conscious of what God is doing because you've already committed the day, the events of the day, to the Lord already, in your closet, all alone.

And so that you're ready to pray at all times, in adversity, in prosperity, in pleasure, in pain. So that when you walk through the day, you are praying without ceasing. It's that constant communication because you are always conscious of the presence of God in your life. You show me a person who goes through the day without a consciousness about God in their life, and I'll show you a person who doesn't know how to pray at all times because they did not pray in their scheduled closet that day or in that scheduled corner that day because they didn't set aside time in the day.

See, why does God say to do that? If He says, pray without ceasing, and then He says, when you pray, enter your closet and pray. Why does He do that? Because that's a special time of prayer. That's a special time. It governs all the other times. Why do you gather together on Sunday morning to worship and praise God? Because it governs what you do throughout the entire week. It motivates you throughout the entire week. It's that special time where you gather together to experience the presence of God, to understand the purposes of God, the providence of God, so that when you go to work and you go home, you have that in your mind so you live for the glory and honor of God.

That's what needs to happen. So you have the duty of prayer. Men ought to pray. It's not optional. It's essential. You have a dedication to prayer at all times. But what is it that causes us to discontinue our prayer? What keeps us from prayer? And for this, you'll be so glad you came today because you'll have an answer as to why you don't have scheduled time. You'll also have an answer as to why God never answers your prayers. He does answer them, but you've missed them. And so you'll have that answer today.

Aren't you glad you came? You'll be able to eat lunch a lot better today. You'll be able to sleep a lot better tonight. What is it that causes me to discontinue praying at all times? Number one.

Number one is defilement. Sin. Iniquity. The Bible says in Psalm 66, verse number 18, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

Isaiah 59, verse number one says, The Lord's hand is not so short that it cannot save, neither is his ear so dull 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 does not hear. So many times we forget that when we harbor sin, that defilement keeps God from hearing me. It's not that he can't hear. He doesn't respond because my iniquities have separated me from my God. That's why we confess our sins to God. Right? Let me give you an example.

Let me give you three examples. Number one. The Bible says that if I harbor an unforgiving spirit, that God will not forgive me of my sins.

Matthew 6, 14 and 15. If I'm unforgiving, God doesn't forgive me my sins. Not because he doesn't want to. And not because he's taking his salvation away from me. That's not the case at all. It's simply that if you don't forgive your brother, his trespasses, neither will your Father in Heaven forgive you your trespasses. But if you forgive your brother his transgressions, so too will your Heavenly Father forgive you your transgressions. So God helps you understand that if you harbor a bitter spirit, an unforgiving spirit, it hinders your relationship with the living God.

So that your prayers go unanswered. Note this. 1 Peter chapter 3. 1 Peter chapter 3, verse number 7. You husbands likewise live with your wives in an understanding way as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman and grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. Let me tell you fellows why your prayers are hindered.

It's because you honor your car more than you honor your wife. You cherish your hobbies more than you cherish your wife. You love your work more than you love your wife. You love your money more than you love your wife. You love something else more than your wife. You honor something else above her. The Bible says you honor your wife as she is the most precious possession that you have.

Because if you don't, your prayers are hindered. Wow. That tells you a lot, doesn't it? How many times is there something more important to you than your wife? Maybe it's your kids. I've seen that many times all around. Not only this church, but many churches. Where husbands want to spend all their time with their kids when they get home. Nurturing their kids. Spending time with their kids. Loving on their kids. All the while, their wives are dying on the vine. They spend all their time with their kids.

You wonder why your prayers go unanswered. Why they're hindered. It's because you haven't treated your wife as the most prized possession in your life. If I could counsel men on one thing and one thing only, that would be it. Make sure when you go home, you honor your wife above everything else. When you're on vacation, honor your wife above everything else. When you live your life, make sure you honor your wife above everything else. Because if you don't, your prayers will be hindered. She must be above the children.

She must be above the car. She must be above the money. She must be above your work. She must be the priority in your life or your prayers will be hindered. I didn't say, I didn't make it up. Jesus said it to the pen of the Apostle Peter. Is she? You say, well, how do I know I'm doing that? Ask her. Ask her. I dare you. I dare you to go home today. I double dare you. I triple dare you. To go home today and say, honey, do you believe that I treat you as the most treasured possession in my life? Now, ladies, don't be all, sure, honey.

Sure you do. Unless that's the truth. Be truthful. Say, honey, I don't think that's the case. On most occasions. And if you're the man, don't get defensive. Don't say, yeah, but I bought you this and I took you here and I did this. Don't get defensive. Just listen.

And purpose in your heart to make the rest of the week, the rest of the month, the rest of your life, not just on Mother's Day. That was last Sunday. But every day. Will you wake up saying, baby, you are my most prized possession. I will treat you today as the most ultimate queen in the world. You are my cherished possession. And watch how your prayers. Change. The long be hindered. Because you did what God said. That's why defilement is such a thing that curtails it. It's sin to not treat her as she needs to be treated.

How about this one? This one's even more convicting. Book of Proverbs. Book of Proverbs. 28th chapter. Listen to this verse. Verse number nine. He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination. So you're here today. And you hear what we just said about 1 Peter 3.7. You say, I'm not doing that. Even your prayer is an abomination. See that? You go to church. You hear the word of the Lord. You say, I'm not doing that. Your prayer is an abomination. In other words, if you refuse to submit to the authority of God's word in your life, your prayers are an abomination to God.

Isn't that amazing? Doesn't that make you say, well, Lord, just give it to me. Tell me what it is. I'll do it. Whatever it takes, Lord, I'll just do it because I want to honor you. I want to glorify your name. I don't want my prayers to be an abomination. Don't you just want to go home and hug your wife and kiss your wife and love your wife and do whatever you can for your wife so your prayers are no longer hindered? Don't you want to forgive your fellow brethren so your prayers are no longer hindered?

I thought for sure I'd get an amen out of someplace. You know, the bottom line is that sometimes we forget that that defilement hinders my prayer life. And it causes me no longer to enter my closet and pray. So, therefore, I can't pray without ceasing in the spirit of prayer because I'm not God conscious as I go through the day. Got to hurry. Got to finish this today. We'll be in Luke 18.1 next week and I'll get some more nasty letters from you guys. Okay, number two, doubt.

Doubt's another reason. It curtails our prayer life. Doubt. Remember James chapter 1 verse number 6? Verse 5 says, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask. By the way, the wisdom you're asking for is not wisdom in parenting. It's wisdom when it comes to trials. That's the content of James 1. So, if any of you lacks wisdom concerning the trials you're facing, let him ask of God and God will give to men without holding back. So that you will no longer doubt and be tossed to and fro by the sea as by the sea.

You'll be able to understand what God's saying. But so many times we pray doubting, don't we? We pray doubting. We don't think that God's going to answer prayer. I'd love to read the story to you. I won't read it to you. I'll just give it to you. Remember Acts chapter 12? James is beheaded. James is beheaded. Herod's ecstatic. He beheads James. The Jews are happy. He goes after Peter and arrests Peter. Peter's in prison. Bible says in Acts 12 the whole church is praying for Peter. Whole church is praying for Peter.

And God, in a supernatural way, brings an angel, releases him. Peter thinks he's asleep until he gets outside the city gates. Realizes he's been released from prison. Where does he go? He goes to where the church is praying. He gets there. He knocks on the door. And Rhoda gets up. Opens it up. It's Peter. And she slams the door back again. And she goes back and tells the church, guess what? Peter is at the door. And the leaders say, no he's not. He's in prison. We're praying for his release. So let's go back to prayer.

She goes, no, no, no, no. He's at the door. Rhoda, you must be mad. No, I'm not mad. He's at the door. You see, the early church, even when they prayed, prayed with what? Doubt. They didn't think Peter was going to be released. James had been beheaded. Peter was next. It's going to happen. So why do you even pray? Unless you believe it can actually happen. And God did a supernatural work. Got him out of prison. Brought him to the church. And says, I'm going to answer to your prayer here. I stand before you today.

And they rejoiced once they saw him. But they prayed doubting. So many times we can't pray as we ought to pray. At all times because we just don't think that God is going to answer our prayers. And we don't. Oh, he'll answer your prayer. But he's not going to answer my prayer. So we pray doubting. Another reason outside defilement and doubting is delay. There's no answer. And so no longer am I entering my closet to pray because I don't have an answer. And you know, we're so impatient that when we go to God, we expect the answer before we pray.

We expect to walk out the closet door, have it pasted across the mirror in our closet. Or in our bathroom. There's the answer. I know exactly what God wants me to do. But when there's a delay. Let me give you the perfect example of that.

John the Baptist. Zacharias. Elizabeth. Remember, Zacharias was a priest. Let me take you back seven years to Luke chapter one.

Remember that? No. You don't remember that, do you? Zacharias is a priest. He's offering the priestly duties, sacrifices to God, doing his priestly duties in the temple. And the angel comes to him and says, Zacharias, the Lord has heard your prayer. Really? My wife is 80. What took the Lord so long to hear my prayer and the prayer of my wife? She's 80. Heard your prayer. Got good news. You got an answer. You're going to have a boy. But you're not going to have just any boy. You're going to have the forerunner to the Messiah.

You're going to have the boy that becomes a man that is going to be the greatest man who's ever lived. You see, God could have answered Zacharias and Elizabeth's prayer 60 years earlier. And just given them another boy like everybody else had. But God didn't want them just to have another boy. He wanted them to have a specific boy. The forerunner to the Messiah. The one who would point the way to the Messiah. Zacharias' song is so filled with scripture as he begins to give praise to God. But you see, the delay brought about the ultimate delight of Zacharias and Elizabeth.

And us, because God delayed. And in all reality, God dwells outside the realm of time anyway. So the delay is only what we think, not what God is doing. And God was going to give them something unique and special. Sometimes God just has you wait in the schoolroom of suffering. Or in the backyard of difficulty. Because he wants to do something beyond anything you can imagine. We forget that. So when God delays in giving you an answer in your timetable, just remember Zacharias and Elizabeth and what God did with them.

And you still keep going back to your closet, shutting your door. And the Lord who hears in secret will reward you openly. You keep praying at all times without ceasing. In the spirit of prayer, conscious of God as you go through the day. Communing with him because of his sovereign control of your life. So what is that that keeps us from praying at all times? Defilement? Doubt? Delay? Let me give you this one.

The devil. Ephesians 6. The whole thing about the armor of God. Paul concludes that whole aspect by talking about prayer. And the importance of persevering in your prayer life. Because Satan doesn't want you on your knees. Oh, you know what? Satan doesn't care if you come to church. He doesn't want you on your knees. He doesn't want you depending upon the sovereign God of the universe. He doesn't want you leaning upon the Lord of your life. That's why Christ said in the garden to the apostles, Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.

And they couldn't stay awake. They fell asleep. And three times Christ comes back. Watch and pray. Watch and pray. Watch and pray. Get up! Spend time with me in prayer! They couldn't do it. If you don't watch and pray, you're going to enter into temptation. What happened? They entered into temptation. Why? Because what had taken place allowed Satan an inroad into their spiritual lives. Which caused them to lack the strength they needed at the time they needed it the most. Especially the apostle Peter.

That's why with the armor of God, you pray at all times with all kinds of prayer in the spirit. So that every piece of armor you put on is saturated with prayer and communion to God. Folks, listen.

Men ought always to pray and not to faint. Don't faint. Don't fall by the wayside. Stay on your knees. Stay in your closet. Communing with God. Because when Christ comes back, He will say, Well, I find this kind of faith upon the earth. What kind of faith? The faith of persevering prayer. Persistent prayer. Always communicating with God. And next week we'll look at a widow.

Who would not accept the situation the way it was. But would continue to persevere so that the answer would be made known. That's the way we need to be. Next week we'll talk about that. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for today. The opportunity we have to spend time with you. Looking at your word. We ask that you go before us this day. That we might learn and live in the light of our Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen.