Review

Wehave come a long way now in our interview of prayer.  This is week 6now and there is only 2 or 3 weeks left before we are done.  So far wehave looked at the questions "What is Prayer?," "Whydoes prayer matter?," "Where should wepray?", "When should we pray?", and "Who are we Praying to?"

Inthe first four questions, we looked mainly at prayer from our own pointof view and how it relates to God.  We saw that our attitude aboutprayer matters and that even Jesus Christ found it important to taketime out of the day to spend alone with God the Father.

Lastweek, we change the direction a bit.  We looked at who it is we arereally praying to, after all if we are going to set aside time for God,we should know about who He is.  We looked at four aspects of who Godis.  We saw Him as the Creator.  He created everything there is in 6days.  Genesis never really tells us why God created the world,especially knowing the trouble we were going to get into.  Next we sayGod as the destroyer.  The world He had created had become so bad thatHe flooded the entire earth, killing every air breathing thing, exceptfor Noah's family and the animals on the Ark.  God knew when he createthe world He would do this someday, yet He still created the world. Next we looked at God the disciplinarian, who when some of the tribe ofpeople He chose to be His people rebelled against Moses, caused them tobe swallowed up by the earth.  Here again, because we know that God isomniscient, He knew at the time of creation that He was going to this.

Weasked the question, why did God, knowing He was going to have to dothese "terrible" things, why would He even create the world.  He hasbeen around forever and has the angels and His Son and Spirit forcompany, so why?  We looked at Ephesians 1:4 (NIV) for the answer, "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy andblameless in his sight. In love".  God actually chose us, in lovebefore He created. us!  He loved us before we even existed!  Howamazing that He could do this.  None of us loved our spouses orchildren before they were a part of our lives, yet that is what Goddid.  That is love that we will never understand, yet that is God'slove for us.  He loved us so much He had to create a place for us tolive so we could have the chance to love Him back.

Three for the Price of One

Today,as we near I can only think we have missed so much in this study ofprayer.  I have read each of the over 300 verses every week whereprayer is mentioned in the Bible, I find little gems everywhere.  Itis a shame to let them go by.  So today, we will be talking about notone, not two, but three smaller questions.  Two of them are "Who"questions and one is a "What."

Who Should Pray?

Weare going to start out with the simplest of the three.  It is a reallyeasy question that we all know the answer to, but it is importantanyway.  Who should pray?  We read in 1 Timothy 2:8 (NIV) Paul writing"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without angeror disputing."  Men (and women and children) everywhere to lift up holyhands in prayer.  Is that pretty clear to everyone?  Anyone notunderstand what that means?  Good, but I wanted to point out someplaces in the Bible that help illustrate this.

Do our Circumstances Matter

Thereal question here is can we do something that makes us unworthy topray?  Thoughts?  Let's look at the story of Jacob from Genesis.  Letslook at this verse specifically.

Genesis32:11 NIV  Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I amafraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with theirchildren.

Now, who can tell me where Jacobis right now?  He has been living with his Father-in-law, Laban. Anyone know why?  Well back in Genesis chapter 27, Jacob had lied tohis father and convinced him that he was Esau, his older brother, andhad taken the first born's blessing.  In those days, the majority ofthe inheritance went to the first born.  In lying to his father, Jacobnow had this inheritance.  And how do you think Esau reacted? 

Genesis27:41 NIV  Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing hisfather had given him. He said to himself, "The days of mourning for myfather are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob."

SoJacob had fled from his family because Esau was going to kill him, nowhe was returning.  He had done wrong and he was praying for God toprotect him from the consequences of his own sin.  Nobody here has everdone that have you?  God will hear your prayers even if you have donewrong.  He may not protect you from the results of your sin, but Hewill hear you.  In this case, Jacob was welcomed with open arms byEsau.  That to me is a miracle.

Do Consequences Matter

Isthere ever a time that we should not pray because of what will happento us?  Is the cost to pray ever too high?  Let's look at Daniel forthis one.

Daniel 6:10 NIV  Now when Daniellearned that the decree had been published, he went home to hisupstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times aday he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, justas he had done before.

Here, the king hasordered that no prayers to anyone other than himself were allowed forthe next 30 days.  Daniel, an advisor to the king, was not in on thisdecision, but he was aware the order had been issued.  The punishmentfor disobeying the order was to be thrown into the lions den.  So whatdo we see Daniel doing?  Does he go hide in his closet?  No, hecontinues to pray three times a day just as he always did.  What wouldyou do?  If praying would cost you your life, would you still pray? Here, except for a miracle Daniel was going to be eaten by lions forpraying.  Could you have done the same?

Do do the consequences of praying give us an excuse to not pray?  A resounding no.

Does Position Matter

Lastlyon this question is do you ever get to the point where you don't needto pray?  Have you ever "arrived" and your "position" in God make youso close to Him you don't need to pray?  I think this one is obvious,yet sometimes we like to ignore the obvious.  We only need to look atone man to see the answer.

Hebrews 5:7 NIV During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers andpetitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him fromdeath, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

Jesusprayed.  We talked about this before.  As far as any religioushierarchy we could create, Jesus would be at the top of that list.  Wecan't say he was closer to God because He was and is God!  Yet, evenHe, while in human form, found it necessary to pray.  I think that isthe end of that argument.  Jesus prayed, we should to, no matter howfar we have come in our walks with God.  We should pray.

Who Should we pray For?

Wealready know we need to pray for everyone, but I wanted to just pointout a few places the Bible give us more specifics on who to pray for,and a twist at the end.

Spiritual Leadership

Wehave next week, Ryan Smith and his family coming to the church.  He istrying out to be our pastor.  How many people think we need to prayabout that?  Do you think we need and deserve God's best man for thisposition?  So did the Apostles.  Judas has hung himself after betrayingChrist and the the other 11 were looking to replace him.

Acts1:23-26 NIV  So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (alsoknown as Justus) and Matthias.  (24)  Then they prayed, "Lord, you knoweveryone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen  (25)  totake over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where hebelongs."  (26)  Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; sohe was added to the eleven apostles.

Soeveryone bring your dice next week so we can decide if Ryan is ourpastor OK?  What, that's what they did?  OK, so that was a way in thosedays they used to see God's will and I won't tell you that if webrought dice and cast them to see if Ryan was God's man that God couldnot use dice, but that's not how we normally do things today.  Butnote, they did pray first for God's will.  We need to pray for God'swill next week.  I want to know this is the right guy, don't you?  Onlyone person can tell me, that's God.

Spiritual Seekers

Doyou know there are people out there that want to know God?  Okay, theymay not know they want to know God, but there are a lot of peoplelooking for answers.  Spiritual answers.  the answers are here, but dowe pray for them?  There is someone in the Bible that I want to look atthat was like this also.

Acts 9:10-15 NIV In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to himin a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered.  (11)  The Lord toldhim, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a manfrom Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.  (12)  In a vision he hasseen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore hissight."  (13)  "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reportsabout this man and all the harm he has done to your saints inJerusalem.  (14)  And he has come here with authority from the chiefpriests to arrest all who call on your name."  (15)  But the Lord saidto Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my namebefore the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.

Paulwas once a seeker.  He was seeking the truth and God, even when he waspersecuting the Christians, he was seeking God.  Incorrectly, but hewas doing what he thought was right before God.  Here he has beenblinded by a vision of Jesus, and Ananias is tasked with the glorioustask of presenting Paul with the truth and being his teacher of Jesus! He was excited right?  Well, no, he was afraid.  Saul was a murder andwas there to arrest Christians, but Ananias was obedient and went toSaul, and prayed for him. 

Bro. Johnsonhas mentioned before how we need to have a heart for the lost.  Heshared his heart with us a few weeks ago and I heard the compassion inhis voice for the lost.  Do you have that same compassion?

Those we should not pray for

Now for the twist.  Is there ever a time we should not pray for someone?  What if God tells us not to?

Jeremiah7:16 NIV  "So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea orpetition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you.
Jeremiah11:14 NIV  "Do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petitionfor them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time oftheir distress.
Jeremiah 14:11 NIV  Then the LORD said to me, "Do not pray for the well-being of this people.

Threetimes God tells Jeremiah to not pray for the people.  God had declaredit was too late for them and that judgment was coming, so don't botherpraying.  God could have been saying, that was the last straw.  Can weuse these examples to decide that someone is so far gone that we shouldnot pray for them?  No.

First of all, this was an entire group of people God was saying not to pray for.  We see that in these verses.

Jeremiah23:3 NIV  "I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all thecountries where I have driven them and will bring them back to theirpasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number.
Jeremiah31:7-8 NIV  This is what the LORD says: "Sing with joy for Jacob; shoutfor the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, 'OLORD, save your people, the remnant of Israel.'  (8)  See, I will bringthem from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of theearth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers andwomen in labor; a great throng will return.

Godknew there was a remnant of people that would still serve him.  Thiswas command to not pray for the people as a whole, not individuals.  Wecan never decide not to pray for someone even our enemies.

Matthew 5:44 NIV  But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

No, we are even told to love and pray for our enemies?  Do you have any enemies?  Are you praying for them?

Conditions of Prayer

Finally,we get to the end.  The last question for the day is "What if any areconditions of prayer?"  In other words, are there any conditions weneed to meet if we want our prays to be answered.  What do you think? Well, let's look at the Bible for answers.

Belief

Mark11:24-25 NIV  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer,believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  (25)  Andwhen you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgivehim, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

James1:6-8 NIV  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because hewho doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (7)  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; (8)  he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

Dowe need to believe that God can do what we ask.  We need to not doubt. Anyone ever prayed just for show?  I mean you prayed to support theperson but never really believed the prayer would be answered?  Idoubted I would see any hands, but I will admit I have.  I'm human.  Ihave doubts and fears.  I have done that before, and guess what, I wasdouble minded.  I don't think I am all that different from anyone else,but maybe I am.  You need to pray for me then.

Obedience

Proverbs 28:9 NIV  If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable.

Ahyes, the wisdom of proverbs.  You know that when you are not obedientto God, He has no obligation to listen to you?  When your kids are notobeying, don't we sometimes send them to their room?  Why?  Well, someof it is a punishment, but let's be honest, we don't want to listen tothem right then, so we send them away.  Ever been sent to your room byGod?  Ever feel like your prays can't make it through the ceiling onlyto realize later it was a problem with you not God? 

John 14:15 NIV  If you love me, you will obey what I command.

That's pretty plain.  If we love Him, we will obey.  If we don't obey....

Relations

Mark 11:25 NIV  Andwhen you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgivehim, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.

Herewe hear Jesus telling us that if are not forgiving someone, we need toforgive them.  The consequences of not doing that is God cannot forgiveyour sins, which sounds really bad to me.

Matthew 5:23-24 NIV  Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,  (24)  leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

Herewe see if we are presenting a gift at the alter and we have offendedsomeone else, we need to go try to be reconciled if we can before weoffer the gift.  Now, we don't give gift today like they used to in theOld Testament, but we already saw that our prayers are like incensebefore God's throne.  That sounds like the closest thing to a gift thatwe give (and tithes don't count, they are not a gift).

Lastly,my favorite.  Let me talk to just the wives for a minute.  Ladies, youknow the verse in the Bible where it says you are to submit to yourhusbands?

Ephesians 5:22-24 NIV  Wives,submit to your husbands as to the Lord.  (23)  For the husband is thehead of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, ofwhich he is the Savior.  (24)  Now as the church submits to Christ, soalso wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Has that ever gotten under your skin.  Well, you'll want to pay attention to this next part.

You husbands out there.  This is for you.

1Peter 3:7 NIV  Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you livewith your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner andas heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing willhinder your prayers.

Did you hear that? Treat your wives right so that nothing will hinder your prayer life. Wives, next time he needs it, you know where to look.  Ok, all funaside, when you combine all these verses as a whole what do we get?  Weneed to treat others correctly, whether that is our wives, ourhusbands, our children, friends, strangers or enemies.  There is no onehear that is left out.  It all points to the last point for today.

Attitude

Wehave talked about this one before and here it is again.  I'm remindedof the story of a pastor, that preached the same sermon four Sundays ina row.  When asked why by the people, he said when they get this oneGod will let him move on.  I think we need to get this, and I'm notlooking to put it in every week, it just keeps coming up in my study.

Let's look at Matthew for our example.

Matthew6:5-8 NIV  "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for theylove to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to beseen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward infull.  (6)  But when you pray, go into your room, close the door andpray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what isdone in secret, will reward you.  (7)  And when you pray, do not keepon babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because oftheir many words.  (8)  Do not be like them, for your Father knows whatyou need before you ask him.

We have alreadytalked about verses 5 and 6, how Jesus was telling us don't just prayfor show, to be seen by men.  Pray with an understanding that this istime alone with God.  So let's look at verses 6 and 7.  Here we aretold to not babble on like pagans.  Are we being told here to only askfor something once and never again?  Well, no.  Jesus taught in otherplaces that we are to ask and keep asking.

Iwas not sure what was meant by babble.  To me it is like just making abunch of noise.  Praying just to hear you own word.  So since I was notsure if that was the meaning, I looked up the original word for itsmeaning.  Guess what it said.  To Prate.  What in the world does thatmean?  So to the dictionary I went.  It said "totalk long and idly" or "to chatter".  That gave me a picture of twoladies in the beauty shop under the hair dryers just talking likethere's no tomorrow.  What do you take out of this?  What do you thinkthis means then?  I think it means when we pray, have a focus to yourprayers.  It is not like sitting in the back yard with a glass oflemonade in summer talking to you neighbor over the fence about thelatest neighborhood happenings.  I'm not saying to keep it short, buthave a focus.  Don't engage the mouth without engaging the mind also.

Closing

Ifyou read on in Matthew you find the Lord's Prayer next.  This is wherewe are going for the last weeks of the lesson when we ask the question,"How do we pray?"