“Effective Prayer” - 2

Colossians 4:2-6 and 12

    I think about how the disciples were with Jesus constantly. They followed Him and witnessed the things that He said and did. In 2 Peter 1 we read; “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eye witnesses of His majesty” … John writes in 1 John 1; “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched, this we proclaim…”  And, in their being with him and observing him, they began to “connect the dots” and realize the importance of Prayer.

    When we read the accounts of Jesus, we notice that he finds a quiet place to pray; he finds a quiet time to pray; and he has a quiet heart - in that he truly listens for God’s voice. Jesus knew, as we must come to know, that prayer is a necessity of life.  It is through prayer - talking with and listening to God - that we really come to know Him and create a relationship with Him. It is through prayer that we come to know what God desires for us and from us in this life. Imagine what kind of relationship we would have if I never talked with, or listened to, my wife!

    Now, I also have found that just having a quiet time and a quiet place does not necessarily guarantee effectiveness in prayer. I have searched the scriptures and - although there are verses that say things like; “Call unto me and I will give you the desires of your heart”…and, “Ask, and it shall be given unto you”… Or, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer” …. There are also verses like Mark 11:24 - “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him,” which is the rest of that verse. Forgiveness is a two-way street, regardless of the hurt. If you don’t give you don’t get. I wonder how many Christians would want God to forgive them in the same way they have forgiven others?

    An unforgiving heart will stop our prayers dead in their tracks! Psalm 66:18 is a statement of the obvious; “If I cherish sin in my heart, the Lord will not listen”…If there is active sin, or if we are “continuing in sin” as John calls it, our prayers are not even heard.

    Proverbs 21:13 says; “If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.” That simply means that a lack of compassion will hinder our prayers.

    1 Peter 3:7 says; “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers…For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer.” A lack of domestic peace, or peace in the family, will affect our prayers.

    1 John 5:14 says; “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” Our prayers must be in the will of God. Notice that I did not say “if” it’s God’s will, but “in” God’s will. There are times – for instance – when seeking a job position, when we should pray “If it is God’s will”…but most often we already know from His Word if something is God’s will.

    And finally, Matt. 21:22; Mark 11:24; and Romans 14:23 say that faithless prayers are not answered. “All things are possible to him who believes”! Why ask God to heal sickness if we don’t really believe he can or he will?

So, we are back to unbelief. Jesus said; “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I put up with you?” Perhaps the right thing to do is to be like the father of the possessed boy in our scripture who cries out; “I do believe, but Lord help me overcome my unbelief!”

In our scripture today, we have another example we can look at and that is Epaphras. First of all, Paul identifies him as a “servant of Christ”…to be a servant, one must have a master. He had made a choice in life, and Christ was his master!  Second, it says that Epaphras was “always wrestling in prayer” for them. Another translation says that he “labored” in prayer. Epaphras wasn’t a “bless Mary and bless John” kind of person, he was a prayer warrior! He was the type of person described in James 5:16 where it says; “the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”! How we need those who would “labor” in prayer today!

Epaphras was not focused on selfish desires; he was an intercessor, praying for others. As intercessor’s we ought to be always praying for the church and its people as well. We surely ought to have a prayer list for the sick and the needy. But, the most important prayer list should be for those whom we know to be unsaved. In the realm of prayer it ought to take precedent because we already know that “It is God’s will that not one should perish.”

Salvation, the forgiveness of sin, and the promise of eternal life is given to every person who repents and receives Christ by faith. I think it is the responsibility of every Christian to pray for the lost. However, we won’t pray for the lost unless we have (a.) the right belief and (b.) the right burden. 

Do you believe that Jesus meant what he said that a person “must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven”? We must have the right belief. Do you believe it when Jesus said; “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father except by me”? Your brother, your sister, your Mother, your Father, your neighbor, your daughter, your son…are not good enough to get into heaven! They need Jesus! There are a lot of “good” people headed for Hell! We must have the right belief and the right burden or we will not pray!

I read that W.C. Fields was on his deathbed when a friend dropped in to see him and found him reading the Bible.  A little surprised, he asked what Fields was doing? “Looking for loopholes, my friend, looking for loopholes.”  In order to have the right belief, we need to understand that there are no loopholes! God doesn’t grade on a curve!

Hopefully, if we have the right belief it will give us the right burden. Many hearts have grown cold concerning the eternal destiny of others. We figure they will hear it sooner or later and make their own decision. Or, we may think they have heard and have already made a decision. Is that good enough for you?  Not for me either. One of Satan’s schemes is to get us to neglect praying for the lost.

I looked up the word “intercessor” and one of the meanings was “to represent”…When we pray for others, we are representing them before God. That’s what Jesus did on our behalf. He not only came to represent us before God… but to - re-present - God to us!

Let me close with this scripture from 2 Cor. 5 - “Since then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men…All this is from God, who reconciled himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation… We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors as though God were making his appeal through us.”

It is not only a responsibility to pray…it is our privilege to pray.

Effective Prayer

Scripture - Mark 9:14-29    

    I would like to re-tell this story in an expository way so we can get a better idea as to what is going on, and perhaps gain a little insight into the real story. A child, possessed by an evil spirit, was brought to the disciples, and they could not cast it out…At which time the teachers of the law seized the moment and began to argue with the disciples. They were probably arguing over the supposed power they, or their leader Jesus, did or did not have. Jesus comes on the scene - probably to the relief of the disciples - and asks what they are arguing about….But, before they can answer, the father of the child comes forward to explain the situation. Notice the words of verse 17 - “Teacher, I brought YOU my son”…. (We can assume then that because Jesus wasn’t there at the time, his disciples thought they would just do it!  After all, it says in chapter 6 verse 13 that when Jesus sent them out that “they drove out many demons and healed the sick”.) However, the words “O unbelieving generation” in verse 19 give us a bit of a clue as to part of the reason why the disciples could not cast out this spirit; neither the people nor the teachers of the law believed the disciples could do it.

    I sometimes wonder if anything has changed. Even today we have an easy time believing that God can heal - and Jesus can heal - but we look with unbelief and doubt at someone who has the “gift of healing” as we call it today. “Jesus can heal… Jesus can cast out spirits…but, these disciples are just mere men…”

    The fact that Jesus asks the question; “How long has he been like this?” would seem to shed some light on the subject as well. It would seem that the longer an evil spirit is in control, the harder it is to get it to leave. It has such great power over the person that it takes great power to over-come. The same is true by the way for some habits and sins! The longer we give them control over us, the harder it is to overcome. Just ask an alcoholic or a drug addict or even someone who has been a smoker for many years. It requires a greater power working with them on their part and it requires greater compassion and grace on our part.

    Then the father says; “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “If YOU CAN?” says Jesus. Again, with the unbelief thing!

    Then the man says; “O, I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief”… He by whom all things were created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, He whose name is Jehovah-Rophi, "The Lord that healeth thee" was standing before him, and yet his faith could reach no higher than "If you can do anything".  And yet – catch this now, Jesus did not cast the unbelieving man away from Him. Jesus never can deny that word, "He that comes unto me, I will in no wise cast out." He sent him home a happy father with his child made whole. I believe these things are written for our admonition, how unbelief appears in another… and yet how little I perceive the same dishonoring thoughts of Christ when they lurk in my own mind.  I feel as if I never could use such language to Jehovah Jesus - and yet how many times in the day do I doubt both His love and His power?  How often, when guilt is on my conscience, do I doubt whether He will be entirely willing to forgive?  How often, in an hour of temptation, do I doubt he will help me to stand. How often these words are really my words; “If you can do anything, have compassion on me, and help me." And yet for all our unbelief, He does not send us away empty. Faith, as a grain of mustard seed, obtains everlasting benefits….

    Though He had to call His disciples, "Ye of little faith", that did not hinder Him from rebuking the winds and the sea for them! In like manner though we may have “little faith" we can go to Him with such faith as we have, and He will in no wise, no way, no how,  cast us out!

    Back to our story - Jesus casts out the evil spirit and the boy looks dead…but he is not…Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up. Now, here’s the disciples - scratching their heads, going - “How come we couldn’t do that?”  And, Jesus gives us another clue when he says; “This kind can come out only by prayer”.

    This can have several meanings; one suggestion is that the disciples were taking for granted all that they were able to do in Jesus name; Another is similar in that they had forgotten where their power came from, and just assumed the spirit would come out just because they told it to! In the Book of Acts chapter 19 we read a story of some false disciples - “Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” One day the evil spirit answered them, (that’s scary…) “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them – and slapped them silly!  He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.”…. You better know what you are doing before you invoke the likes of an evil spirit!

    The third suggestion as to why the disciples couldn’t do it is a lack of prayer.  All this takes place just prior to Jesus teaching on prayer. In Luke 11:1 we read: “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray…” I would suggest that the reason the disciples could not cast out the evil spirit is for all three reasons.

    If there is a secret to effective prayer, we would have to look at the example of Jesus. First, Jesus always found a quite place…. A place to be alone with God; away from the noise and other interruptions.  Second, Jesus found a quiet time…. He usually prayed in the morning before his day was filled with the crowds and the stresses of life. If we wait until our day gets full, prayer will be crowded out.  And, third, He had a quiet heart… “Be still and know that I am God”…Jesus took the time to wait upon God, to listen, to meditate. If all the time we can spare is a couple of minutes to rattle off a few requests and say “Amen”…we won’t have a very effective prayer life.

    Jesus was an amazement to his own disciples. Life with Jesus was like nothing they had ever experienced before. They were astonished at his wisdom in the face controversy and authority. They watched him walk through life as if he didn’t have a care in the world; yet his compassion showed that he cared more than anyone they had ever met. They watched him day and night, hoping to find the secret to his wisdom and the power behind his actions. They watched him while he prayed; and it seems they finally made the connection; “Lord, teach us to pray.”

    This unknown disciple who watched Jesus pray, perhaps noticed that his own prayer life was more of an optional thing. He prayed when there was a necessity or need, or an emergency… But, we must begin to see prayer as a necessity to all of life. We need to see prayer as the way we come to know God and what He desires to do in and through us; before we can have an effective prayer life at all. God will do some things in spite of us…but, He longs to work with us. That’s why it says “All things are possible WITH God”… So, Pray…and if you don’t feel like praying, pray until you do!

A.S.K. - Part 2

    Within this command to pray I think we can see four general principles about prayer:
1. God does not promise to answer everyone’s prayers. There is a restriction to the promises given in these verses. The promises apply only to those who are really God’s children. “But isn’t God the Father of all humans?” you may ask. And the answer is, “No he is not.” He is the creator of all, but he is not obligated to answer the prayers of those who are not his children. I realize of course that is pretty narrow statement, in fact a former head of the Southern Baptist Convention once stirred up a big conflict over this statement that God is not obligated to answer the prayers of unbelievers. But he was right! And I believe it’s scriptural. God is not the Father of all men, God is the Creator of all men, but that is not the same. God is Father only to those who are born again into the family of God. God does not promise to answer everyone’s prayers. He may at his own discretion, but he is not obligated.

2. We are expected to ask for the things God has promised. “ask (for whatever God has promised) and it shall be given.” This same principle is stated in the negative in James 4:2 “you do not have (the things God has promised) because you do not ask.” And, it goes on to say that we ask with the wrong motives. We live in an age of man’s efforts and man’s determination, of man’s confidence in himself and his own power to achieve things, an age of human organization, human machinery, human push, human scheming, and human achievement; even in the church. But, where is God in the church? Jesus said; “Unless you abide in me, you can do nothing.” Oh, it may look like something, but it’s nothing!

3. God hears and answers every prayer of the believer. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” There are two certainties when we pray; one is that God hears every prayer; the other certainty is that God always answers. This verse says for ‘everyone who asks receives,” did I read that right? Yes, it says everyone receives! But we have the misconception that the only possible answer to prayer is yes. There are other possibilities; God can say, no or he can say, not yet, I have something better planned. But, God hears and answers every prayer.

4. Sometimes God gives us what we need and not what we ask for. “Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

    Even earthly fathers give good things to their children. We do not give a child a red-hot chili pepper just because they ask for it. Well, some fathers might, but with a sense of humor. My dad once had me hold on to the spark plug of the lawn mower so “I could see if it was firing!” But generally speaking we do not give things to our children that we know will really harm them. And if this true of our earthly fathers how much truer it must be of our heavenly father. So then if we ask for good things, he grants them. If we ask for things which are not good (either not good in themselves, or not good for us or for others, directly or indirectly, whether immediately or ultimately) God will deny them; and only HE knows the difference.

    Someone has written “I asked for strength that I might achieve; he made me weak that I might obey. I asked for health that I might do great things: he gave grace that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy; he did not give them so that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men; I was given weakness that I might feel a need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life; I was given life, that I might enjoy all things. I received very few of the things I asked for; but I received all the things I had hoped for.”

Sometimes God gives us what we need and not what we ask for, but then, He is God.

The good news is that God has promised that “it shall be given to you; you shall find; and it shall be opened to you” but, we can’t just ASK... We must also “seek” and we must “knock”.

“Ask, Seek, Knock”

Matthew 7:7-11

    There is nothing that reveals more about a believer than his or her prayer life. How that individual approaches God and what that individual is willing to ask for can reveal how he or she views God. We frame our requests in accordance with what we know of the character of the one we are addressing. It is very similar to how a child will make a request from their father. The child with a kind, gentle and firm father, does not fear to ask anything, for deep down they have the assurance that the father has greater wisdom and experience, and because he loves them, would not give them anything that would be harmful. The child with extravagant but uncaring father will with arrogance lay down his demand - sometimes with much weeping and wailing - knowing his every desire will be met. The child with the stingy, ill-tempered, abusive father will seldom dare to ask for anything.

    "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” It is interesting that the first letter in each verb also spells the word ASK! All three verbs in verse seven, Ask, Seek, Knock are imperatives (commands). There are two basic kinds of imperatives in the New Testament. There is the aorist imperative which is a command to do a particular thing at one specific time, and there is the present imperative which is a command not only to do something but to keep on doing it indefinitely. All three verbs in verse seven are not only imperatives but they are present tense imperatives. We are told to ask and keep on asking, we are to seek and keep on seeking and we are to knock and keep on knocking.

    There is also within this verse a progression in prayer. The very words ask, seek and knock seem to suggest an ever-increasing intensity in prayer.

1. Asking. This one is obvious. There are some things that the need is so clear that we merely must ask for them. However, there are times as James has said, when “Ye have not because Ye ask not.”

2. Seeking. Seeking is a deeper level of prayer than just asking. Sometimes we may doubt or be in darkness and we need to first seek God’s will before we know what to pray for. But God has made provision even in those times when we don’t know what or how to ask; for we read in Romans 8:26-27 “the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” If something is not the “will of God” we can ask until the cows come home, and it will do no good. Seek is (asking + effort): When someone wants something, they pursue it. To pursue something you must show effort. You can’t seek after something that you show no effort for. When Jesus said for you to pray: “Give us this day our daily bread”, he did not mean that he will pour money from heaven into your bank account! Jesus meant, God will open doors to provide for our daily needs. God is not going to do what you can, but he is more than willing to do for you what you can’t on your own.
    So, “seeking” may be seeking God’s will; or seeking after that for which we have asked God to help us with; or it may also mean just plain seeking after God while we wait for an answer.

3. Knocking. The knocking here denotes seeking entrance, or desiring fellowship with. When you knock on a door, you are looking for the door to open. Again it is also a suggestion of persistence – “keep on knocking.” Which of these three (ask, seek, knock) do we do the most? I would say - (ASK) Which do we do the least? I would say - (SEEK) Which is the most difficult for you to do? 

More in Part 2 next week...

When everything seems possible.

“When Everything Seems Possible, Pray!”

 Nehemiah 4

    This story from the life of Nehemiah is rich with spiritual insight. It is usually preached from the leadership point of view, showing how Nehemiah expressed the qualities of good leadership in the building of the walls. I am going to use this story to show that when everything seems possible, we need to pray. When it seems as though God is in control; and all is right in our world; and things couldn’t go better, we need to pray. This seems like I have it wrong, and it should be - “When everything seems impossible, we need to pray!” When it seems as though God has forgotten us; the world is falling apart; and nothing is going right, we need to pray. However, the Apostle Paul admonishes us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to “pray continuously” or “without ceasing”…and again in Ephesians 6:18 - “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”

    When I have performed wedding ceremonies, I ask the bride and the groom to love and cherish one another “for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health…” How many know that good times can be as much of a challenge at times as much as tough times? Wealth can seem good, but at times has destroyed individuals as well as entire families…. just as poverty does. Success can erode as much as failure…No wonder Paul said, “pray in all occasions.”

    I want to begin by going back to chapters one and two of Nehemiah in order to refresh our minds as to the background of this story, as well as to point out some things along the way;

    In verse 3 of chapter 1 we find the problem; (read) “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” In chapter 2 - verse 5 we find Nehemiah’s passion; (read) “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.” In verse 10 we find that there is opposition (read) “When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.” Then in verses 11-16 we find Nehemiah inspecting the needs in a time of preparation; (I won’t take the time to print it all, but verse 15 says, “so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall.” In verses 17 and 18 Nehemiah gives the people the vision and they accept the vision and it says “they began this good work.” And finally, in verse 20 we find Nehemiah revealing his power, his guidance, his source, “The God of heaven will give us success!”

    Everything is going well, times are good, He has the King’s approval, he has the people’s approval, he has the passion and the provision, the preparation and the power of God…What could possibly go wrong! Again, I say - When everything seems possible, pray.

    I know that many of you are not football fans, but have you ever seen a quarterback blindsided? He drops back to make a pass and out of the blue, somebody comes in and blindsides him and sacks the quarterback. Well, in this story we have Sanballat and Tobiah, who are like clones of Mike Ditka…Their job is to blind-side Nehemiah and take him down!  Just about the time everything seems to be going well in your life, don’t be surprised if the enemy tries to take you out of the game! Scripture says; “Satan prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour!” It’s no wonder scripture admonishes us to “be alert”…”stay awake”…”keep watch” The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;” says Jesus, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

    Notice however, in 4:4 that Nehemiah sends up what I call a “bullet prayer”…without hesitation, he just shoots a prayer up…He does not stop to calculate; he doesn’t begin to argue; he doesn’t step back in anger or feeling hurt; he just simply calls upon the one who has the power to quiet the opposition….And look at what he reports after his prayer; “So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height.” (Amazing!) This didn’t make the Arabs and the Ammonites happy, and it goes on to say that they again “plotted to fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble”….but, in verse 9 - “we prayed and posted a guard…”

    When the enemy knows he can’t come against our faith in prayer, and the vision is within sight, his next ploy is to bring weariness and doubt. Before you know it, the people start complaining that they are getting tired, there is too much rubble, and they don’t have the strength to fight. Look at what Nehemiah tells them in verse 14 - “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, and your daughters, your wives and your homes”. And, when the enemy heard that we were aware of their plot, and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work...”

    There is something very important about being “aware” of the enemy’s plots and schemes. It is when we are unaware that wealth and success and good times, which are good things, can destroy and erode. It has been said that “the problem with prayer is that you have to have a problem to pray” …We ought to be people who pray before, during, and after a problem arises.

    Notice also that there is a two-fold means of protection shown here; God is looking out for us and protecting us as we look out for and protect one another. Philippians 2:3 says “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”  There is power in numbers to be sure…there is also power in two… one plus God! Prayer is our connection…Prayer is our lifeline. So, when everything seems to be possible…Pray.

Pray and set a guard. A guard upon your body, upon your mind, upon your heart, and upon your soul…And, of course when everything seems impossible…pray! In fact, why not just pray always, at all times, continuously, as Paul suggests.