Greg Laurie - The Importance of Prayer in the Life of the Believer (09/26/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie teaches from Ephesians 6 and Luke 11 on the vital role of prayer for every growing believer. He emphasizes persistent, faith-filled prayer according to God's will, using the Lord's Prayer as a model, and shows how prayer overcomes worry, brings answers, and prepares us for Christ's return.
The Importance of Prayer in the Life of the Believer
All right. Well let's grab our Bibles and turn to two passages. You may be there already. Ephesians chapter 6 and Luke chapter 11. And the title of my message is "The Importance of Prayer in the Life of the Believer". This is a part of our series that we are calling "What Every Growing Christian Needs to Know".
Now if you don't want to be a growing Christian well I guess you don't need to know this. But the fact of the matter is every believer should recognize that there is a long ways to go. I remember when I was a young believer and I met Pastor Chuck Smith. And I asked Chuck, how long have you been a Christian? And I think at that point I don't know how long it had been exactly. He may have said 30 years. But he said 30 years. Something like that.
And I was just like astounded. 30 years. I mean 30 years. I had been a Christian for like four months. And I'm thinking what is it like to be a Christian for 30 years? You are almost like an apostle or something. Well let me tell you what it is like because I have been a Christian now over 40 years. And there are a lot of things that happen in your life. A lot of changes that take place. But you want to know a little secret. The longer you have known the Lord the more you realize you need to keep growing spiritually.
I know I have a long ways to go. Those of you that know me well are saying, Amen. You sure do. Yes. And you do as well. We all do. And so if you want to be a growing Christian there are certain principles that must be constantly in play in your life.
Why Some Finish Strong and Others Fall Away
Because we look at some who start what we might call the race of life. Some just take off with a burst of energy and they go across that finish line with flying colors. Others may take off. Maybe they stumble but they get up on their feet again and they finish. And then some they get up and they take off with a burst of energy and they collapse and they never get up again. Why? Why do some make it? Why do some succeed? Why do others fail? Answer. It comes down to choices. Choices. Hundreds of choices. Thousands of choices that we make every day. Every week. Every month. Every year. We make our choices and then our choices make us.
Let me repeat that again. We make our choices and then our choices make us. It comes down to discipline. I know that is a word we don't like nowadays. You know discipline. You mean I have to actually deny myself? Yeah. There are certain things you don't want in your life if you are going to grow spiritually. And there are other things you do want in your life if you are going to grow spiritually.
You show me a person who is successful at anything. And I will show you a person that applies discipline. I heard about a concert violinist in New York's Carnegie Hall. She was asked how she became so skilled. I love her answer. She said it was planned neglect. Planned neglect. She said she planned to neglect everything that was not related to her goal. So in her case she wanted to be a great concert violinist. But in our case we want to be a strong and fruitful Christian. Right? Yes? Okay. Then there is planned neglect.
As we read earlier there in 2 Timothy 2:22, run from anything that stimulates youthful lust. Run after anything that makes you want to do what is right. Pursue faith and love and peace. And enjoy the companionship on those that call on the Lord with a pure heart. So follow those things that will build you up. Run with those people that are running in the same direction. And run away from those things that will pull you down.
So let's review what we have learned. And then we will pick up. If you want to be a growing Christian, number one, you must read, study, and love the Word of God. If you want to be a growing Christian, you must read, study, and love the Word of God. You will never reach a plateau in your life where you move beyond your need to study the Word of God. Over in Joshua 1:8 we read these words, This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth. You shall meditate in it day and night. Observe to do all that is written in it. And then you will make your way prosperous and you will have good success. So this is something we want to constantly keep in play.
Prayer: Essential for Spiritual Growth
Now this brings us to principle number two. And this is where we are going to focus on in our time together. To be a growing Christian, you must have a prayer life. You know, in the room where I was preparing for the study, I get a little audio feed of the sanctuary. And a number of you were here in the church praying before the service. How many of you were here for that little prayer meeting? Raise your hand up. I'm going to just say God bless all of you and thank you so much for that.
So I was sitting in that room and I came walking in and I heard somebody praying for me by name. And that's just really humbling to be prayed for. And I listened to that prayer and I was so touched by that. And I just thought, God bless every one of these people who came to church early and they could be hanging out talking, you know, or having a latte from our amazing new Espresso machine or eating at Juan's tacos or whatever it is and nothing wrong with any of those things. But these people said, I am going to get into the sanctuary early and I am going to pray.
And I will tell you what. If this church is blessed one of the main reasons for it is because of people like you that pray like that. So thank you for that. And I hope others will join their ranks. But if you want to be a growing Christian you must have a prayer life.
That brings us to our first passage, Ephesians 6:18. There are different kinds of prayer identified in the Bible. Ephesians 6:18 says we should pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Notice it says, pray always with all prayer. So the Southern Translation is all y'all ought to be praying. All kinds of prayer all the time by all kinds of people, y'all.
There are a lot of ways and there are a lot of places you can pray. You can pray publicly. You can pray privately. You can pray verbally. You can pray silently. You can pray kneeling down, standing up, sitting, laying down. You can even pray while you are driving. Just make sure you keep your eyes open. And by the way, in the Bible we have people praying with their eyes closed and open. Did you know that?
I think sometimes we think if you open your eyes your prayer doesn't work. Like if I am praying with my eyes closed the moment I open the prayer stops. It doesn't work anymore. No, no. You can pray with your eyes open. We read that Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven and prayed. Do you see? Now why do we close our eyes? Well it is a good way to sort of block things out as we are concentrating on what we are saying.
Pray Anywhere, Anytime, in Any Position
We have been being with our grandchildren and we have them pray before the meal. And it is always hilarious to get kids to pray. Because they are so honest. Who wants to pray? No one's hand goes up. Or you know you can't understand them half the time. But when they pray a beautiful prayer it just touches your heart. So the other day we were having a meal. And who wants to pray? And so I decided I would pray. And as I was praying I opened my eyes and I looked and my granddaughter Stella was eating her French fry with her eyes closed. It is okay as long as your eyes are closed.
Have you ever been praying with some people? Maybe you are in a little circle. You are praying about something and after a while it goes by you open your eyes and you see somebody else with their eyes open and you make eye contact. And it is a really awkward moment. Like you are both cheating. You are like oh. It is okay. It is okay. You can pray with your eyes open. The main thing is praying. You can pray in any position at any time anywhere.
Sometimes we may think as though, feel as though God hears our prayer more in the sanctuary than He hears them in the mall or at the beach or walking down the street. Well God is not anymore in a place where we gather for worship than He is in any other place. God is omnipresent, which means present everywhere. But at the same time there is no question when God's people gather together for worship and prayer the Lord manifests His presence in a special way. Right? Don't you sense His presence when you are worshiping with other believers?
Well God says He inhabits the praises of His people. That is why that is. And Jesus said when two or more are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them. So when we pray together, when we pray as a body, there is power in that prayer. But having said that, God will hear you any place.
In the Bible we find people praying in all kinds of places. Daniel prayed in a lion's den. David prayed in a field. Peter prayed on the water and under the water. Remember? Jesus said come and He came and then He was on the water and He was under the water. He went under. That was an underwater sound effect. Did you hear it? He was saying, Lord, save me. I am going to do it again. Ready? Lord, save me. It is water. Okay. Some sound effects are better than others.
But how about Jonah? He prayed from the belly of a great fish or a whale. God will hear your prayer wherever it is. The main thing, as Paul says, is praying always. By the way the word all here speaks of the frequency of prayer. The frequency of prayer. That means you pray in the morning, you pray in the afternoon, and you pray in the evening. The Bible says, pray without ceasing, for this is the will of God and Jesus Christ concerning you.
Examples of Persistent Prayer in Scripture
We all know the story of Daniel, the prophet. And he was elevated to a place of great influence in the kingdom there of Babylon. And the king trusted his words. King Darius. And Daniel had enemies. Political opponents. And they wanted him out of his place of authority. But the problem with Daniel was, well, there were no skeletons in his closet. There were no scandals. The guy just was godly.
And they said, well, the only way we are going to nail this guy is if we find something to do with him and his God. They knew Daniel had a habit of praying three times a day. He would go into his house. He would open up the windows. He would get down on his knees. He would face Jerusalem. And he would pray. Everyone knew that about him.
So of course you know the law was passed that no one could pray to any god except the king. And that law was signed. And Daniel heard about it. And he went to his house. And he closed all of his windows. And he went into a closet. And he turned off the lights. And he prayed silently. Is that what we read? No. We read that Daniel went into his house as he always did every day. He opened up his windows and he knelt down and he prayed. But here is what is significant. It says, He prayed as he always had done, listen, giving thanks to his God.
Is that what you would have done under those circumstances? Or would you have prayed, God, help. A law has been passed that it is illegal to pray. No. He gave thanks to God. Because you see Daniel understood that God was in control. We call this the sovereignty of God. The Bible tells us to give thanks unto the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever. You see, I don't give thanks because I feel good. I don't give thanks because things are always good. I give thanks to the Lord for He is good. It makes all the difference in the world. It is a good reminder that our sovereign, powerful, good God is always in control. So we give thanks to the Lord. And that is exactly what he did as he offered his prayer.
We need to always be praying. The Bible tells the story of Nehemiah. He was the cupbearer of the king. What does that mean? It means that his job was to taste the king's food before the king ate it. So basically if he ate, you know, someone gave the king a burger and he took a bite and died, the king would not eat the burger. And then he would also look for a new cupbearer. That was the job of the cupbearer. But it wasn't only that. The cupbearer, because the king would eat often, had to be in close proximity to the king. So it was more than just a guy who tasted his food. In time he would become the king's confidant. He would become the king's advisor. He would become the king's friend.
And Nehemiah, a Jew, was in a position of great influence with the king. And one day he was down a bit because he was thinking about the plight of his fellow Jews in Jerusalem and how the walls of the city lie in ruin. And the king came in and said, Hey, why is your face so long, Nehemiah? Why are you so sad? Which would say to me, most of the time Nehemiah was a joyful guy.
I have a friend. His name is Ricky. He lives in Hawaii. And he is always smiling. Maybe it is because he lives in Hawaii. I don't know. He is a pastor there, Ricky Ryan. One of the happiest guys I have ever met. Nehemiah. Always joyful. Always smiling. Always upbeat. In fact I saw him one day and he wasn't smiling. And he looked strange. Because he smiles that much. That was probably Daniel. Excuse me. Let's get our right characters and the right stories here. That was probably Nehemiah. Always smiling. Always happy. Always upbeat. But not this day. Why are you so sad?
And so Nehemiah told the king about the plight of his people. But I love what it says. It says, before he said anything to the king, Nehemiah 2:5, with a prayer to the God of heaven. He said, if it pleases your majesty and you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.
Sometimes we have the luxury of time in prayer. Sometimes we just throw up a quick prayer to the God of heaven. Because you might be called to the principal's office. Or you might be called to the boss's office. Or you might be called to the Oval Office. I don't care where it is. But it is a situation that comes up and you are saying, now Lord give me wisdom. Father give me the right words at the right moment.
Maybe it is an opportunity where you are sharing the gospel and they are asking you all these questions. And as they are talking you are just praying, God I actually don't know the answer to any of these questions. And I need help right now. And I have seen the Lord answer those prayers, haven't you? So you pray all the time everywhere.
Why Every Believer Must Pray
Okay. So let's answer question number one. Why should I pray? Why should I pray? Simple answer. Because Jesus told you to. You really don't need any more answer than that. But I will give you a few more reasons. But Jesus said in Luke 18:1, men ought always to pray and not give up. And by the way Christ Himself was a model of prayer. He was always praying.
And the Garden of Gethsemane, as He is contemplating the horrors of the cross, He is praying, Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. On the cross He is praying for His enemies, saying, my God, my God, why have You forsaken Me? And then He prays, Father forgive them for they know not what they do.
Before He raised Lazarus from the dead, we read in John chapter 11, He looked up to heaven and prayed, Father, thank You that You hear Me. And then He shouted, Lazarus, come forth. Before Jesus fed the 5,000, we read, He looked up to heaven and asked God's blessing on the food. Mothers would bring their children to Jesus so He would lay His hands on them and pray for them.
Now listen, if Jesus felt the need to pray, how much more should we feel it? And Jesus was God. And yet He prayed all the time. He would pray through the night. Do you pray? We are commanded to pray. We ought to pray. Men ought always to pray and not give up.
Now let's just say to make a point that prayer was the most painful thing you could do. Let's just say that every time you prayed it was like getting a root canal. How many of you like to go to the dentist? Do you enjoy going to the dentist? I didn't think so. How many of you dread... You like it? Interesting. Okay. How many of you dread going to the dentist? Okay. You probably have a really good dentist. That is probably your secret.
But I have a great dentist myself. But there is always pain. I don't care what they say. There is pain. Whenever there are sharp objects going into your mouth there is going to be pain. And you know what they do for me as they clean my teeth. Okay. So they are cleaning it. But first they start poking around with that little pick thing. You know. Poking, poking. Looking for trouble. I just... Oh, don't find anything. Don't find anything. And then the girl will say, Oh, doctor, I see something. And then the doctor comes in and he looks. Oh, no, no, no. Don't say it. Don't say... Don't say... Don't say... Root canal. Because then the drill... You know that sound? You know that smell? Do you know it? I hate it.
Let's say every time you prayed it felt like a root canal. That is miserable. But because of the results that would come from prayer you figured it was worth it. You would probably still pray, wouldn't you? But yet, is prayer like a root canal? No. Is prayer hard? No. Is prayer painful? No. Then why do we not do it more? We should pray because Jesus told us to.
Here is now a reason that may appeal to you as to why you should pray. Point number two. We should pray because prayer is God's appointed way for obtaining things. That is right. Prayer is God's appointed way for obtaining things. That is not the only purpose of prayer. That is not the only reason we should pray. But having said that, the Bible does say in James 4:2, you have not because you, what? Ask not.
See if you don't ask God for it there may be times in your life when you don't have what you need. Did it ever occur to you that you have this sickness and you have never actually asked the Lord to heal you? No. I think you know that I don't believe God heals everybody. But at the same time He does heal some. And it is possible you could be ill and you continue to be ill and you have never actually prayed and said, Lord, would you heal me of this?
You might have financial challenges and you don't know why the bills are always unpaid. And you don't know why you are always struggling. Question. Have you prayed about it? Have you said, Lord, would you provide for me right now? Could it be that you have not because you ask not? Well maybe you find that you never have the opportunity to lead others to Christ. Those doors never open up for you. Here is a thought. Could it be that you have not because you ask not?
Prayer is the way that we obtain things from God. We always say, Lord, if this is not your will, don't give this thing to me. But if it is, please do. Because the Bible promises that my God will supply all of my needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. It doesn't say He will supply all of my greeds. But it says He will supply all of my needs. So that is how we obtain things from God.
Prayer Overcomes Worry and Prepares for Christ's Return
Here is another one. Prayer is the way by which God helps us to overcome our anxiety and worry. Prayer is the way by which God helps us overcome our anxiety and worry. And life is full of worry, isn't it? I mean I could talk for 25 minutes about all the things going on in our crazy world. You know all the threats that we face and the dangers we face. But how about just your life? Just your own personal challenges. Life is full of troubles. There is health troubles. There is family troubles. There are financial troubles. But it has been said if your knees are shaking, kneel on them.
So here is what the Bible says about that. Philippians 4:6. These are verses every believer should commit to memory. Don't worry about anything. But pray about everything. And it goes on to say, and if you do this, the peace of God that passes all human understanding will keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
How many of you ever worry? You worry. Okay. You know I worry too. And worry is not a virtue by the way. Sometimes we may think it is. I heard about a guy that it was a real worry word. Always worrying, worrying. And finally he just stopped. And one of his friends said, I noticed you don't worry anymore. The guy says, I don't worry anymore. His friend said, what is your secret? The guy says, I hired someone to worry for me. Really? How did you find a guy like that? Took an ad out in the paper. Wanted someone to worry for me. What do you pay a guy to do that? I pay him $5,000 a day. Wow. That is a lot of money. You don't have that kind of money. How are you going to pay him? He says, that is for him to worry about.
Well if that doesn't work try praying instead. It says, if you will pray about it instead of worrying about it God's peace will keep your heart and mind. And the word there for keep means to protect or to mount a guard. And the wording that Paul uses sort of describes a Roman sentry. Like a Roman guard guarding the room. Guarding the heart. Paul says if you pray about it instead of worrying about it God will put a guard around your heart. And your heart will have peace.
So you know in the middle of the night when those worries come in like flaming arrows. Right there. Does that sound a bit better than the other one? Okay. Here is what you do. Lord I give every one of these to you. Turn your worries into prayers. Because that is how God helps us overcome our anxiety and worry.
Also prayer is one of the ways in which we make ourselves ready for the return of Christ. Prayer is one of the ways by which we make ourselves ready for the return of Christ. Luke 21 Jesus says, take heed to yourselves. Lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing and drunkenness and the cares of this life so that the day of the Lord comes upon you unexpectedly. Watch therefore and pray always that you will be worthy to escape these things.
Speaking of His coming Jesus said in Mark 13 of that day and hour no one knows. Not even the angels in heaven nor the Son but only the Father. Take heed therefore and watch and pray for you don't know when the hour is. So prayer is not an option for the believer. We need direction in life. You all have heard of Yogi Berra. Not Yogi Bear. Yogi Berra. A great baseball player who recently died. And Yogi was known for his amazing statements. It was Yogi that coined the phrase, it ain't over till it's over. And sometimes the things he said seemed to contradict themselves but they were really quite clever.
One of the Yogi Berra statements was, quote, if you don't know where you are going you might wind up someplace else. I love that. But you know there is some truth there. If you don't know where you are going you might wind up someplace else. Yeah that's true. So we need direction from God don't we. We need to pray for His will to be revealed to us.
Here is a way to sort of sum it up. When you pray about something God may say no. Consider this. If the request is wrong God says no. If the timing is wrong God says slow. If you are wrong God says grow. But if the request is right and the timing is right and you are right God says go. Want to hear that again? No. I want to do the underwater effect again. Lord say... Arrow. Okay. I will say it again. Here we go. If the request is wrong God says no. If the timing is wrong God says slow. If you are wrong God says grow. But if the request is right and the timing is right and you are right God says go.
The Lord's Prayer: A Model for Effective Prayer
So are there secrets to answered prayer? Well yes and no. I mean if you think this book is a secret maybe there are. If you have never opened the user's manual of life then I guess it is a secret. But the fact is God has proclaimed very clearly in Scripture how to have our prayers answered in the affirmative. He gives us principles to follow. And probably the greatest example of that is a template He gave that we call the Lord's Prayer. That we all prayed together in Angel Stadium. And that is not like the prayer to pull out in case of emergency. Though there is nothing wrong with praying the Lord's Prayer. But it is more than that. The Lord's Prayer is not just a prayer to pray. It is a template for prayer. It is a model for prayer.
Again remember Jesus gave this prayer in response to the request of His disciples who said you know what John taught His disciples to pray. Lord teach us to pray. So He gave them this prayer. Now if you want to get real technical this really isn't the Lord's Prayer. And by that I mean Jesus never prayed the prayer we are about to read. This is not a prayer He needed to pray because He never sinned. Thus He did not have to ask for forgiveness from the Father. It has been called the Lord's Prayer. The Bible never calls it the Lord's Prayer. It is traditionally known this way. So I will refer to it as such.
If you want to read the Lord's Prayer. If you want to read the prayer that only Jesus could pray in your spare time read John 17. That is your homework assignment. Read it all the way through. That is the Lord's Prayer. But this is our prayer. This could be called the disciples prayer. The believers prayer. But we will call it the Lord's Prayer because that is how it is known. And it is Luke chapter 11. And we are going to read verses 1-4.
Luke 11:1-4. Now it came to pass as he was praying in a certain place. When he ceased one of his disciples said to him, Lord teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples. And he said to them, when you pray, say, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins. For we also forgive everyone who has sinned against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Notice how the Lord's prayer begins. Our Father, who art in heaven. Before a word of personal petition is offered, I just sit back for a moment and contemplate the awesomeness of God. I am speaking to the Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Creator of the universe. But here is the good news. He is not just the Father. He is your Father. Father. He is your Father in heaven.
Here is a good acronym to keep in mind when you are thinking of how to pray. It is ACTS. A-C-T-S. Aren't you impressed I can spell ACTS? But it is an acronym. A stands for Adoration. C stands for Confession. T stands for Thanksgiving. S stands for Supplication. So what I am saying is when you pray it is always good to start with A, Adoration. Before you get to petition. Before you get to supplication. If you have the luxury of some time. Begin with Adoration. Contemplating the greatness and awesomeness of God. A for Adoration. C for Confession. Confess your own personal sin. T for Thanksgiving. And then ask supplication. Praying for others.
So our Father who art in heaven. So here we have principle number one. If you want your prayers answered in the affirmative you must pray according to the will of God. If you want your prayers answered in the affirmative. In other words if you want God to say yes to you when you pray pray according to the will of God.
Jesus modeled this for us when He taught us to pray. Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done. Now some would teach something contrary to this. They would say when you pray you tell God what you want and you ask it by faith. And you don't doubt it. And you speak it into existence. Because your faith is a force. And you harness the force of faith. And you pray this boldly to God. I even heard one teacher say don't ever pray. Not my will but yours be done. Okay. Whatever. You are wrong. If you hold that view. I am going to go with Jesus on this one if you don't mind. In fact I think I am going to go with Jesus on all of it. And Jesus God in human form taught me to pray. My Father who art in heaven hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven.
Here is what I have learned about myself. I don't always know what is right. Big revelation. Sometimes I think I do. But a lot of times I have it all wrong. So I am so glad that my Father who knows all things and has my best interests at heart will sometimes overrule my prayers for my own good. Lord I want this. The Lord says no. No. That is not what you want Greg. Your brain is the size of a little grain of sand. Okay. Just I am going to do this for you instead. You will thank me later. Trust me. And I do. Never be afraid to ask God to overrule your prayer if it happens to be outside of His will.
You know sometimes God answers our prayer differently than we thought He would. I heard about three men who were going through a forest. And they came to a large, raging, violent, rushing river. They wanted to get to the other side. So they decided to pray. The first guy prayed for strength to cross the river. Suddenly boom, boom. His arms were big and muscular. And his legs too. And he swam across the river. He almost drowned. It took him about two hours. But he barely made it. But he got to the other side.
Second guy. This is a true story by the way. I was there. I saw it. No. I think you know this is a joke. Right. Just so you know. Second guy. He sees what happens to the first guy. He prays. He says, alright Lord I pray for the strength and the tools to cross the river. He too has strong muscular arms and legs. But God gives to him a boat and a paddle. And it takes him about an hour to get across. He capsized twice. But he made it.
Third guy is watching this. He says, Lord I pray you give me the strength and the tools. But most of all the intelligence to cross the river. Poof. He turned into a woman. She looked at the map. Hiked upstream a hundred yards. And walked across the bridge. Aren't you girls glad you came to church tonight?
So you see. Here is the objective of prayer. The objective of prayer is not to get God to do what I want Him to do. God I love you. I have a wonderful plan for your life. Come over here. You know sometimes my grandkids want to take me places. Like Christopher. He is the little guy. He will grab my hand. He is pulling me. I am like this. And he takes me upstairs because he wants me to play with the train. Or he wants me to do something else. You know he has this little plan. And that is what we are like God come on. Come on. God. Come on. This is what I want. Here is what we are going to do. But look. That is not the objective of prayer. The objective of prayer is saying, Lord where are you going? Because I want to go there too. What do you think about this? Because I want to think that too. What is your will in this? Because I want that to be my will too. And so I want to get in alignment with God. And when I find God's will and I start praying accordingly I will start seeing my prayers answered in the affirmative. The problem is I am often out of God's will and sometimes even praying prayers that are contrary to His will.
1 John 5:14 says, This is the confidence we have in Him. If we ask anything according to His will He hears us and we have the petitions desired of Him. Listen to this. Nothing lies outside of the reach of prayer except that which lies outside of the will of God. God will only answer the request that He inspires. You see prayer is surrender. It is surrender to the will of God. And it is cooperation with that will. You say, well, I don't know. That is kind of a drag. Why even pray? Because God wants you to be a part of the process.
So here is how it works. God puts a burden on your heart. Maybe it is for a loved one. Maybe it is to pray for the salvation of someone. Maybe it is to pray for some other thing. But He puts this burden on your heart. And you pray. And then you see God do the impossible and answer that prayer. And you say, man, I am a powerful man of prayer. No. You serve a powerful God. And you have got in sync with Him. That is all.
So we need to be praying. That is why we should pray for America. Because the only hope for our nation is a spiritual awakening. And we pray a prayer like that. God is going to hear it. Because that is something I believe God wants to do for our nation. And when we pray for the gospel to go out. And that people will believe in Jesus. And we pray for Harvest America next year. I believe we are praying according to the will of God. Because the Bible says God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. So we want to get in sync with the will of God.
Personal Needs and Forgiveness in Prayer
Okay. Having said that, there also is a place in prayer for your personal needs. Because Jesus said, give us this day our daily bread. Now here is our problem. Here is how our prayers usually go. If we rewrote the Lord's Prayer it would sound like this. Our Father who art in heaven, give us this day our daily bread. Kind of like a, let's cut to the chase. Shall we? You know like when I go into a restaurant I like to order. In fact when I go into a restaurant I know what I want before the server even comes. Sometimes they will come, Oh what would you like to drink? Well I would like to drink a glass of water. But I would also like to order this. And my wife says, I am not ready yet. I will say okay sorry. And then my wife reads to the menu. And I will just say to her, you are going to order this. I will just say what she is going to order. She doesn't even hear me. Because she is contemplating the menu.
Then after the server comes back. And sometimes you know they go for water and leave us for days. Right? They are gone for days. Then they return. Oh here is your water. Mommy says quick question about the menu. Can I substitute this for that and that for this. And change this and change that. And the server will say let me go back and check in the kitchen. No don't go. Don't go. And then they go. And they are gone for two more days. And they come back. Yes we can change this to that. And then my wife orders the thing I said she was going to order at the beginning. I am just like let's get to it. Let's order. Let's eat. And then I want to go to sleep. That is pretty much it. My wife enjoys the meal. I eat it like a dog with food and a dish. This is a sad thing. But we can be this way with God.
Alright Lord. Let's just get to it. How you doing? Love you. Amen. Okay. Here is what I need. Right? But Jesus taught us this. After this matter pray, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven now. Give us this day our daily bread. But see if I have contemplated the awesomeness of God and considered His will and purpose. And if I have already surrendered my will to Him asking for His purpose above my own. That could just have a little bit of an effect on what I now pray for personally. Couldn't it?
Now I want to sort of see things a little differently because as I am looking at God now I am kind of getting things in perspective. Maybe even as I started out in prayer my need was so big and God was so small. But as I saw how big God is I saw how my need was so small comparatively. Big God, small problem. Big problem, small God. What? We just need to see who God is and His greatness. But then pray. Give me this day my daily bread. It is so amazing that God wants to do this for us.
Here is another secret to answered prayer. You may not like this one. You must forgive others. You must forgive others. In the model prayer Jesus teaches us, verse 4, For forgive everyone that is indebted to us. Now this word indebted means those that have sinned against us. Now your forgiveness is not hinging on your forgiving. But your forgiving should hinge on His gracious and generous forgiveness to you. In other words Jesus is not saying you better be forgiving of someone or you won't be forgiven. What He is really saying is you have been forgiven so forgive others. Because if it was me forgiving to receive forgiveness, I am almost establishing a works relationship with God. Like I have to do something to get something. The forgiveness that comes to me from Christ is based on His merit and on His death and His love for me.
But if I know anything about what He has done for me, if I have been forgiven, I should forgive others. Listen to this. Forgiven people should be forgiving people. Let's say that together. Forgiven people should be forgiving people. If you are a person who holds grudges, if you are a person who keeps score, if you are a person that can't let it go, you are going to be a person that suffers in life. And let me tell you something else about yourself. You are going to be a person that is going to see your prayer life come to a screeching halt.
So we have to learn how important it is to forgive when we pray. Because forgiveness is the key to all relationships that are healthy and strong and lasting. In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 5:23, when you are standing before the altar and the temple offering a sacrifice to God, and you remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then bring your gift to God.
So, right now, let me ask you this. Are you harboring a grudge towards someone? You say, well, okay, I am. But they deserve to have something harbored toward them. Because they did this to me. They said that about me. Okay, let's just say for the sake of a point they did. Honestly, a lot of the times we misunderstand, you know. Sometimes we think people said stuff about us that they actually didn't say. Sometimes we misunderstood something that someone did. But let's just say for the sake of a point they said that thing. They did that thing. And now your payback is I am not going to forgive them. And if they walk in this church I am going to just give them the evil eye. While I am worshiping. I just, Lord, I love You so much. You are just going to hold it uncomfortably long. And Father, you know, wait, wait. Stop. You got it all wrong. You know who is getting hurt? Them. The evil eye is hurting them. News flash. They may not even know about your stupid evil eye. They look at you and say, pfft. What is wrong with them? Here is who is getting hurt. You.
Not forgiving someone is like eating rat poison and hoping it kills the rat. It is going to kill you. Harboring resentment and not forgiving is going to hurt you more than the person you are harboring the resentment toward. If you want to be healthy and vibrant spiritually, you have to forgive. You know? You do. Well, Greg, they don't deserve it. Okay? Do you? Do I? No, we don't. But what does the Bible say? Ephesians 4:32. Be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.
Number 4. If you want to have your prayers answered as much as possible, stay out of the place of temptation. Verse 4. Lord, don't lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil. In other words, He is saying, Lord, don't let me be tempted above my capacity to resist. Now if you want to live in a temptation world, a temptation free world, you would have to actually leave this world. And the problem is even if you hitched a ride on a spacecraft on your way to Mars, you would still get tempted. You can't escape it.
So here is what Jesus is teaching us. Don't put yourself unnecessarily in the way of temptation. Look, life is hard enough. Don't go out there and make it harder. You know where you are vulnerable. You know where you are weak. You know where you could fall. So keep your guard up. Lord, lead me not into temptation but deliver me from the evil one.
Persistent Prayer and the Promise of Answered Prayer
One final principle about having your prayers answered. Don't give up. Don't give up. Look at verse 5 now. And Jesus said, Which of you shall have a friend? And go to him at midnight. And say, Friend lend me three loaves. For a friend of mine has come on this journey and I have nothing to set before him. Then I will answer from within and say, Don't trouble me. For the door is now shut and my children are with me in bed. I can't rise and give it to you. I say, though he will not rise to give because he is his friend. Yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
Here is the big one now. Verse 9. So I say to you, ask and it shall be given. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be open to you. Ask, seek, knock. Don't give up. In fact the words ask, seek, and knock indicate an ascending intensity. Now let me explain this scene here. He is talking about some guy that wants food late at night. Basically in biblical times they would have a home they would live in. And if you weren't really wealthy you might only have one big room that everyone sleeps in. You are there. Your wife is there. Your mom and dad are there. Your kids are there. You know Uncle Harry is there. And you know everybody is there. It is a big thing. There is a lot of people sleeping.
So you are all in this little room and some crazy guy comes knocking at your door at like 2 in the morning. I need some bread. A friend came into town. You are like go away. We are all asleep. But he keeps knocking on the door. So finally just to get the guy to go away you give him some bread. That is the picture Jesus uses. So He is saying if you would do that for some guy because of his persistence how much more will your father answer your prayer.
Because here is the good news. God wants to answer your prayer. But sometimes He won't do it as quickly as you would like because He wants to draw you out. And He wants to teach you faith. Thus Jesus says ask and it shall be given. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened. The word ask implies requesting assistance. Seek denotes asking but adds the word action to it. Meaning it involves effort. And knock means asking plus acting plus persevering.
So you pray for something one time. Doesn't happen. Fast forward a month. Now you are praying more often. You are getting some friends to pray with you. You don't get the answer. Fast forward six months. Now you are calling out to God. Because maybe it is a prodigal son or daughter. Maybe it is a desperate situation. Maybe it is a medical situation. Whatever it is you are calling out to God. I believe if we want to see a spiritual awakening in America we need to cry out to God. Cry out to God. I don't think you can be a casual Lord. Save the country. Amen. What is for lunch? But it has got to be one of those storm the gates of heaven. We are not giving up. We are going to keep praying for a spiritual awakening in our nation. Keep asking. Keep seeking. Keep knocking. Jesus is calling us to passionate persistent prayer. Maybe our prayer has no power in it because there is no heart in it. So let's pray like never before.
Now let me ask you in closing. Do you know how to pray? You know I think sometimes we say prayers. We even teach this to our children. Say your prayers at night. Right? Teach them a little prayer. Sometimes there is prayers for food. You know for this meal that we are about to receive. We truly give thanks. Or something like that. Or you might teach your child to pray. Okay, now let's pray before you go to sleep. Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. How many of you do that prayer with your kids? You do that? Don't do that prayer anymore. That is kind of a weird prayer. I am sorry. It just is.
Is that a good thing to say to a child? Okay, honey, I am going to put you to bed now. Pray this prayer. Think about the prayer now. Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Okay, so maybe I could lose my soul. Don't keep it, Lord. Just keep the soul so I don't lose it while I sleep. If I should die before I wake, Lord, if I die in my sleep tonight, I just pray the Lord my soul to take. Then we say, good night. Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite. So if God doesn't take your soul, if you don't die in bed, the bed bugs might get you. Good night. And then, you know, maybe we read them a little nursery rhyme before that. Let me read you this little story. Jack and Jill went up a hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after. That's really nice. Jack and Jill went up a hill. Jack fell, cracked his head open, and Jill rolled down after the, you know. Oh, I have one more. Rock-a-bye baby in the treetop. When the bell breaks, the cradle will rock. These are crazy things to say to kids. Stop. Don't teach them prayers. Teach them how to pray. There is a big difference.
And even as adults, sometimes we have prayers, but we don't pray. Here is my prayer. My little prayer. My pre-written prayer. I memorize this prayer. No. Pray. Prayer is communicating with God. You know it is possible to offer prayers that not be heard in heaven. It is possible to pray the most beautiful eloquent prayer ever prayed and have it not go any higher than the ceiling. God even says, these people draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from coming. Why is that? Because sometimes we are filled with sin. Maybe it is unforgiveness. Maybe it is a sin we have never confessed. Maybe it is something else. But it is just like there is a barrier between us and God. It is like we were in a phone call with God and our battery went dead. Or even worse, we hung up. We hung up.
And if you want to reconnect with God again, you need to call back. But you need to confess your sin and say, Lord, I have sinned. And admit that sin you have committed. And God will forgive you. And communication will be restored. Do you need to do that? There might be some of you that have always tried to pray, but you have never known the God you are even praying to. That is the most important thing of all. That God wants a relationship with you. And prayer is an ongoing conversation that you can have with Him all day and all afternoon and all night long. And listen to this. All life long. In your young years. In your middle years. In your older years. This conversation with the Lord. And one day you will close your eyes and wake up. And you will be there with Him in person and carry on. You will walk with Him on earth. And one day you will walk with Him in heaven.
I love the story of Enoch. It says, Enoch walked with God and was not for God took him. That just means that every day Enoch would get up and he would take a walk with God. And he did this for many years and then one day God says, You know what Enoch? We are closer to my house than yours. Why don't you come home with me? And that is life. You just walk with God day in and day out. Year in and year out. Decade in and decade out. And then one day the Lord says, Come on. We are closer to my house. Come home. Then you are with Him. That is prayer.
But you can't pray if you don't know the God that you are praying to. And that is why Jesus died on the cross. Because He died to forgive you of all those sins that you and I have committed that separate us from Him. And if I will turn from that sin and ask Jesus to be my Savior and Lord, He will come into my life and forgive me. And this relationship will begin. Have you asked Christ to come into your life yet? Do you know your sin is forgiven? Or is there something right now that is troubling you? Something you have done you know is wrong. It is causing great guilt. Great pain. Listen. Let's not just deal with the symptom. Let's get to the problem. It is sin. You confess that sin, you will come into this relationship with God.
I am going to give you an opportunity as we close now in prayer to ask for His forgiveness and start this relationship with Him. Maybe some of you have never asked Jesus to come into your life. You can do it right here, right now. Maybe some of you have known the Lord at one time but you have allowed some sin to work its way into your life and it has brought your prayer life to a halt. You can confess that sin and God will forgive you. God says if you will confess your sin, He is faithful and just to forgive you your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. You can come to Jesus right now.
Let's all bow our heads. Father, I thank you for everybody here, everybody listening, everybody watching. I pray for anyone now who may not yet know you, I pray that you'll help them to see their need for Jesus and help them to come to you and receive your forgiveness.