And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and
follow me” (Acts 12:7). Notice that the Lord takes care of the
things beyond our power, but He does not interfere with the
natural functions. The angel knocked the chains off of Peter,
but Peter had to get himself dressed. You see, some people
misapply the faith-rest technique, and they expect God to do
everything. So, with every Roman guard asleep, Peter simply
walked out of the prison. In fact, if Roman soldiers lost their
prisoner they would be killed, and all the Roman soldiers
were executed for this according to verse Acts 12:19.
The justice of God allowed this to happen because they
were so evil that it was their time to die. And he went out
and continued to follow, and he did not know that what
was being done by the angel was real, but thought that he
was seeing a vision (Acts 12:9). In other words,
The Dynamics of Intercessory Prayer
Peter didn’t even know what was going on here; how many times this is
true for all of us! As believers we have been delivered many
times and didn't even know what was happening. And when
they had passed the first and second guard, they came to
the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for
them by itself; and they went out and went along the
street; and immediately the angel departed from him. And
when Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure
that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me
from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” And when he realized {this,} he went
to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also
called Mark, where many were gathered together and
were praying. And when he knocked at the door of the
gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. And
when she recognized Peter's voice, And when she recognized Peter's voice, because of her joy [or excitement] she
did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter
was standing in front of the gate (Acts 12:10-14). She was
so excited that she didn't know what to do! Now remember,
Peter was still outside hammering on the door trying to get
someone to let him in before the Romans came again. Peter's
knocking, banging, yelling, and one thing for sure, he's wide
awake now.
In verse 15, notice the reaction of the Church that had
been praying fervently without ceasing. And they [the spiritual believers who have been praying constantly for Peter to
be delivered] said to her, “You are out of your mind,” but
she kept on insisting that it was so (Acts 12:15). They had
been praying for Peter’s deliverance, but refused to believe
that God had answered their prayer. However, note a very
important principle here; God answered the prayer even
though those in the Church did not really believe it would be
answered; that's another form of grace. When you get right
down to it, they prayed, and their prayers were answered, but
they simply did not believe that prayer would work! But Pe-er continued knocking; and when they had opened {the door}, they saw him and were amazed (Acts 12:16).
Prayer is answered because of grace, and this is probably why they
were astonished, for this was the Jerusalem church, a legalistic church.
Next, there is intercessory prayer for unbelievers, which is
legitimate, and a part of your dynamics in intercessory prayer.
Remember that we are not to attempt to violate their volition
by asking God to force them to believe in Christ. Brethren,
my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for
their salvation (Rom 10:1). Do not let anyone tell you that
you cannot pray for the unsaved. Col 1:3-12 says, We give
thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ
Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you
previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel, which
has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing
in you also since the day you heard of it and understood
the grace of God in truth; just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful
servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of
your love in the Spirit. For this reason also, since the day
we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to
ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will
in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you
may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him
in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all
power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining
of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to
the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
This is a demonstration of the
power of impersonal love, because impersonal love has the
greatest motivation in praying for those who are enemies and
for those who are unknown.
The Dynamics of
The Doctrine of Prayer
The dynamics of Paul's intercessory prayers are seen in
Eph 1:15-23 and Eph 3:14-21. In looking at this powerful
prayer it’s important to note what Paul prayed for. For this
reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus
which exists among you, and your love for all the saints,
do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention
of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you
may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the
riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and
what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us
who believe. These are in accordance with the working of
the strength of His might which He brought about in
Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated
Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all
rule and authority and power and dominion, and every
name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the
one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His
feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all.
(Eph 1:15-23)
For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from
whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its
name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of
His glory, to be strengthened with power through His
Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your
hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and
grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the
saints what is the breadth and length and height and
depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses
knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of
God. Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly
beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power
that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.
Amen. (Eph 3:14-21)
The dynamics of Paul’s intercessory prayers are seen in
these two passages; let’s go back and notice what he prayed
for.
1. In Eph 1:17, Paul prayed that God the Father would
provide for them the mystery doctrine they needed to metabolize.
2. In Eph 1:18, he prayed that the eyes of their right lobe
would be enlightened or that they would have spiritual discernment. In this verse Paul also prayed that they would understand the doctrine of election and their escrow blessings.
3. In Eph 1:19-23, he prayed that they would perceive,
metabolize, and apply the doctrine of Divine omnipotence and
the angelic conflict.
4. In Eph 3:16, his prayer was that they would be
strengthened in the new creation or the new spiritual species.
5. In Eph 3:17, he prayed that their hearts would be filled
with doctrine and impersonal/unconditional or virtue love.
6. In Eph 3:18-21, he prayed that they would know and
understand the PPOG and how to ultimately bring glory to
God.
So, notice those seven aspects of Paul’s prayer and how
they are all spiritually oriented: Mystery doctrine, spiritual
discernment, election and their escrow blessings, divine omnipotence and the angelic conflict, the new spiritual species,
doctrine and impersonal love, the PPOG and the glorification
of God. The point is that everything Paul prayed for had to do
with the spiritual realm!
The Dynamics of Intercessory Prayer
Why the Believer's Prayers Are Not Answered
Failure in prayer is related to carnality and being out of fellowship, which means you are residing in the
cosmic system. Residence in cosmic one, sin, grieves the Holy Spirit, which means your prayers cannot be answered.
In cosmic two, religion and human good, the believer quenches
the Holy Spirit (1Th 5:19), and again, your prayers cannot be
heard. In either case, the only prayer which can be heard is
rebound which is the private confession of your sins to God;
so in that sense, it is a prayer that can be answered.
The general reason for malfunction of prayer is always
related to the believer's rejection of Bible doctrine. Whatever
your reason for rejecting doctrine, it means you have no understanding of the mechanics of prayer. Only Bible doctrine
teaches the mechanics of prayer and the will of God. Your
prayers must comply with the will of God and must follow the
precise correct procedure for prayer. This means that indifference to, or rejection of Bible doctrine, produces three categories of ignorance that guarantee the malfunction or failure of
your prayer life.
1. Ignorance because of indifference to doctrine.
2. Ignorance because of wrong priorities; if wrong priorities persist in your spiritual life, you'll become a loser believer
with no prayer life.
3. Ignorance because of the arrogance complex of sins:
jealousy, bitterness, vindictiveness, implacability, hatred, selfpity, inordinate ambition, inordinate competition, slander, maligning, judging, and revenge motivation. Arrogant believers
never get through to the throne of grace. Prayer is related to
your fulfillment of the PPOG and the execution of the Christian way of life, and prayer becomes more and more effective as we execute His mandates. In fact, you can have effective prayer right from the start of your spiritual life if you live in
His plan.
However, becoming a great prayer warrior demands
your daily intake of Bible doctrine and the daily use of the
problem-solving devices. This is when you don't depend on
others to solve your problems; rather you handle your problems from the doctrinal techniques you've been taught.
In 1Jo 3:22 to do “what is pleasing in His sight” describes spiritual
adulthood when the believer reaches the peak in his prayer
life. So then, failure to execute His mandates and to attain
spiritual adulthood obstructs, inhibits, and undermines all effective prayer.
One of the least known reasons for unanswered prayer is
malfunction in marriage or lack of domestic tranquility.
Likewise you husbands, live with your wives on the basis
of knowledge as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman, and show her respect as a fellow heir of the grace of
life, so that your prayers may not be hindered (1Pe 3:7).
When there is a domestic problem, the husband is not commanded to love (as he is elsewhere in scripture where no
problem exists), but he is commanded to live with his wife on
the basis of knowledge of pertinent doctrine. From this, we
can conclude that personal love for people is not a problem-
solving device. Only knowledge of Bible doctrine and the
resultant virtue can solve domestic problems. The woman is
called the weaker vessel since she is designed by God to be a
responder. Being a responder explains why the woman must
be under more authority than the man. Let a woman quietly
receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do
not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a
man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first
created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was de-
ceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into
transgression (1Ti 2:11-14).
The Dynamics of Intercessory Prayer
The application is that an un controlled woman is an unhappy woman, one who also can
easily become a troublemaker. The principle here is that failure in your marital life spills over into failure in your prayer
life, and failure in your prayer life simply reflects failure in
your spiritual life. Of all the categories of sin and carnality
which hinder effective prayer, arrogance is the number one
cause of failure, not only in prayer, but in the spiritual life and
in fact the temporal life as well. It is the number one reason
why people are not teachable, not receptive, and why people
do not profit from suffering. We produce our own arrogance
without any help from anyone else, for we all have an old sin
nature which daily knocks at the door and says, how about a
little arrogance?
“They cry out, but He [God] does not answer because of
the arrogance of evil men. Surely God will not listen to a
phony [empty] prayer, nor will the Almighty regard
it.” (Job 35:12-13)
Prayer is also not answered because of lust, criminality,
jealousy, and false motivation, which neutralize prayer. James
4:2-3 is addressed to believers: “You lust and do not have
[what you want], so you commit murder. Also, you are jealous and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do
not have, because you do not ask. You ask [in prayer] and
do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so
that you may spend it on pleasures.” The point is that lust
and murder, jealousy and fighting, are the wrong ways to get
what you want. So, the whole system of failure in prayer becomes failure in the PPOG [predesigned plan of God]
When the client nation is under the cycles of discipline, prayer for deliverance cannot be answered. This is because the justice of God is going to remove
that nation. “You have covered yourself with a cloud
[negative volition] so that no prayer can get through,” Lam
3:44. Malfunction of the faith-rest drill in prayer means the
malfunction of effective prayer. “I say to you, all things for
which you ask and pray, believe that you shall receive
them, and you shall be given them,” Mar 11:24. With the
malfunction of faith-rest and prayer, your life eventually mal-
functions as well.
So, prayer is really an index to your spiritual life. If you're
not praying correctly, or fail in prayer for any reason, that
means there's some problem in your spiritual life; there's some
kink, syndrome, some form of arrogance, or some problem.
This is why many prayers have not been answered for those
who are physically sick (James 5:15). It is legitimate to pray for
individuals who are sick, although many times their sickness
is the result of the law of volitional responsibility or divine
discipline. In those cases, prayer for the sick will not be answered.
Another reason for failure in the believer’s prayer life is
related to concentration, namely the lack of it. In fact, all
forms of worship are a concentration test that can be divided
into these categories:
Concentration on the teaching of doctrine. This reflects
your values, your motivation, your spiritual condition, and
your spiritual status quo. Bible doctrine must be your number
one priority.
Concentration in the Communion service. The Communion service is a reflection of the person and work Christ.
Concentration in your personal and private prayers,
during public prayers when others are praying, and in
your petitions and intercessions.
The pattern of concentration in all forms of worship is esablished in the function of your perception, metabolization,
and application of Bible doctrine. If you can concentrate on
Bible doctrine in time of stress, adversity, or even in time of
prosperity, then you can concentrate in prayer. So there is a
direct relationship between concentration in Bible study under
the ministry of the Holy Spirit and concentration in prayer
under the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Why the Believer’s Prayers Are Not Answered
The Mechanics of Prayer - Special Prayers
First of all, we note that public prayer should be short
and should avoid repetition. “And when you are praying
[publicly], do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they assume that they will be heard for their
many words” (Mat 6:7). God is not impressed with repetitive verbiage. In public prayer, you always add the principles
of impersonal love, flexibility, and thoughtfulness of others.
You must be thoughtful of the others in prayer who are gathered with you. Long prayers should be reserved for private
intercession and petition. “But when you pray, go into your
private room, and when you have shut the door, pray to
your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in
secret, will provide for you” (Mat 6:6).
There is an itinerary for your private prayer:
1. Confession of sin (rebound), if necessary (1Jo 1:9).
This is to ensure the filling of the Spirit and residence in the
PPOG. Only prayer offered when filled with the Holy Spirit
will be heard.
2. Thanksgiving expresses the concept of worship in private prayer. Always giving thanks for all things in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
Eph 5:20. In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will
for you in Christ Jesus (1Th 5:18). Capacity for thanksgiving comes from your personal love for God and your impersonal love for others. The capacity for thanksgiving increases
as you grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ. It is hard to stay alert when you are in a
routine situation, doing the same thing over and over again.
However, your thanksgiving to God is a part of your personal
love for God. The more you love God and the more you appreciate Him, the greater your thanksgiving, and the greater
your alertness in prayer.
3. Intercession or praying for others (Eph 6:18; 1Ki 18;
Jam 5:16-18). This is a spiritual ministry. It usually requires
that you have your own private prayer list. Prayer is a powerful way to make a difference in the lives of others; only in
heaven will you know the full impact of your consistent prayers for others.
4. Petition which is praying for your own needs. You can
also use prayer for self in situations where you are confused
and have not yet learned a problem-solving device for that
situation. Therefore, petition is prayer offered on behalf of
self, as in Let us therefore approach boldly the throne of grace,
that we might obtain mercy and find grace to help
in time of need (Heb 4:16).
To approach boldly means you approach in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. As you grow spiritually, through impersonal love your prayer life will focus more on others; however, praying for yourself is a vital
part of your relationship with your heavenly Father. Your
volition is involved in the angelic conflict, so there are times
when God cannot come through for you unless you ask!
(You do not have because you do not ask. James 4:2b) Remember God is glorified when He can bless and deliver you!
“Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you,
and you will honor Me” (Psa 50:15).
Consider our Lord’s words regarding prayer in, “So I say
to you, 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” (Luk 11:9-10). In this case,
asking refers to prayer for yourself, seeking refers to prayer
for others, and knocking is in reference to God opening doors
in your life. The principle of seeking is emphasized here in
our Lord's example of the man who continues to ask, for his
friend's sake, and does not give up until he receives an answer (Luk 11:5-8). Asking (petition), seeking (intercession),
and knocking (moving forward through open doors) are all
vital functions in the believer’s spiritual life.
Spiritual growth will in time lead a believer to the attitude of regarding one another as more important than yourself, as described in Phil 2:3. However those who only pray for others and neglect it for themselves, can fall into the trap
described in They made me caretaker of the vineyards,
But I have not taken care of my own vineyard (SOS 1:6 b).
In fact, in Phil 4:6-7 prayers for yourself and others
(“in everything”) lead to the peace of God beyond human
understanding, which enables a believer to focus on others
even in times of adversity.
There are also special prayers found in the Word of God.
1. The sanctification of food or saying grace before
meals is a special prayer. For everything created by God is
good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with
gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God
and prayer (1Ti 4:4-5). This is a mandate for all believers.
There may be ingredients in the food that are very harmful,
but offering this special prayer will protect you. Grace before
meals is the expression of gratitude to God for His logistical
grace support, which includes food. Sanctification of that
food eliminates any potentially harmful effects.
2. There is prayer for those in authority over us, and this
refers to the physical (natural) realm and the spiritual realm.
As citizens of a client nation to God, this is a very important
function for believers. First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made
on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in
all godliness and dignity (1Ti 2:1-2). Verse one points out
that there are certain people for whom we should express our
thanksgiving for to God in prayer. In addition, there is intercession on behalf of all mankind and petition for ourselves.
Verse two gets specific; we are commanded to pray for governmental authority and all other authority. When you reach
spiritual autonomy and have impersonal love toward all mankind, this prayer really becomes effective. Having impersonal
love gives you the ability to forget about the personality, the
idiocy, the antagonism, and to actually pray for those people
with whom you do not agree. This includes those who are
leading our nation the wrong way, or who are damaging our
client nation. Impersonal love gives you phenomenal power
for such a prayer, and the confidence to offer such a prayer
comes from personal love for God.
3. There is prayer for the sick. And the prayer offered
in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will
raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be
forgiven him (James 5:15).
4. There is prayer for the unsaved. Brethren, my heart's
desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation (Rom 10:1). Paul prayed for the salvation of unbelieving
Jews. Although you cannot pray that their volition will be
coerced, you can pray that they will be exposed to the Gospel
and have the opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ.
5. There is prayer for your enemies. “But I say to you,
love your enemies [impersonal love], and pray for those
who persecute you” (Mat 5:44). This prayer reflects the
phenomenal dynamics in spiritual freedom from the confidence of mystical self-esteem and impersonal love.
6. There is prayer for spiritual adulthood. And this I
pray, that your virtue-love may abound still more and
more in metabolized doctrine and all discernment (Phil 1:9).
Virtue-love is confidence from personal love for God
and impersonal love toward all mankind. Virtue-love is not
only a problem-solving device used to pass momentum testing, but at the same time, it is maximum effectiveness in prayer. This is especially true for all of these categories of special
prayers. Like prayer for salvation, you cannot pray that their
volition will be coerced, but you can pray that they will be
exposed to doctrine and have the opportunity to grow in grace
and knowledge. So prayer for spiritual adulthood is not a
prayer which violates the volition of others.
7. There is prayer for the communication and communicators of Bible doctrine; for pastor-teachers, missionaries,
evangelists (2Th 3:1; Col 4:2-3).
8. There is the prayer of widows, that is, women who
become single either by the death, divorce, or abandonment of
their husbands. Now she who is a widow indeed, and who
has been left alone has fixed her hope on God, and continues in entreaties and prayers night and day (1Ti 5:5). This
special category of widows in spiritual adulthood can pray
both night and day (more often than once a day) for themselves and for others. As a result of their very tranquil and
uncomplicated life, they are able to be effective in continuous
prayer on behalf of others.
There is no place for sloppiness in prayer. Yet, today
many believers have failure in their prayer life because of this.
Misguided emotion, ignorance, stupidity, and sloppiness
abound when believers ignore the Biblical principles that
mandate precisely correct procedure:
1. All prayer is directed to God the Father. You never
pray to God the Son or God the Holy Spirit. “But you, when
you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have
shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and
your Father who sees in secret will repay you. And when
you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the
Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for
their many words. Therefore do not be like them; for your
Father knows what you need, before you ask him [Father].
Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father Who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name’” (Mat 6:6-9). Peter said in 1Pe 1:17 And if you address as Father the one who impartially judges according to each man's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth; Furthermore, God the Son as our High Priest makes intercession for
us at the right hand of the Father (Heb 7:25).
God the Holy Spirit
The Mechanics of Prayer.
Special Prayers The Mechanics of Prayer - Special Prayers
Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot
be uttered (Rom 8:26-27).
2. All prayer is offered through the channel of our Great
High Priest, in the name of the Son. “And whatever you ask
in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in My name, I will
do it” (John 14:13-14). You can begin your prayer with the
approach, “Heavenly Father, I’m coming in the name of the
Son;” or you can conclude your prayer with “in Christ's name,
Amen.” Whichever, you must go through channels, for this is
the precise correct procedure. There is no place for sloppiness
in prayer.
3. All effective prayer is offered through the filling of the
Spirit or the enabling power of the Spirit inside the PPOG (Eph 6:18).
The principle of precise correct procedure demands that
the believer offers all prayers to God the Father in the name of
the Son and in the power of the Spirit. As a part of the principle of precise correct procedure, prayer is a part of your escrow blessings. Prayer originates from the equal privilege of
election. You are a Royal priest; this gives you additional
ability in prayer. There is nothing for which you cannot ask
God on your own as a priest, under the principles and restrictions noted, and in accordance with His will.
Under your invisible assets, effective prayer is a part of
the production of the Christian life. Even answered prayer is
a part of the Divine decrees programmed by the omniscience
of God the Father in eternity past. Remember, For we are
His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in
them (Eph 2:10).
Included in your Christian service is the
invisible impact you can have in prayer; all designed by God
in eternity past! Therefore, accurate and effective prayer is
one of the most powerful weapons in history. In prayer, the
Christian actually takes the offensive against Satan in his world.
The kingdom of darkness will bring as much adversity
as they can against believers who are living to glorify God in
the angelic conflict. However even huge obstacles can be
overcome with prayer!
“Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be
taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his
heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it
will be granted him. Therefore, I say to you, all things for
which you pray and ask, believe that you have received
them, and they will be granted you.” (Mark 11:23)
However, prayer is not a system for controlling the lives
of others. We cannot pray a prayer which violates the volition
of someone else. The function of your Royal priesthood is for
the benefit of yourself and for the benefit of others, but it is
not a system whereby you control others. Remember that
God has only one way of doing a thing: the right way.
The right way is compatible with God's divine attributes, including
His omnipotence. God is perfect; therefore it would be impossible for perfect God to come up with an imperfect plan.
God's plan is perfect just as God is perfect. Therefore, a right
thing done in a wrong way is wrong. In the PPOG, a right
thing must be done in a right way to be right. The right thing
done in a right way is the long established code and procedure
which God has laid down for us in the PPOG. In the spiritual
realm, a right thing can only be done in a right way through
the utilization of Divine power inside the PPOG. You cannot
substitute human dynamics for divine power. In God's plan,
there is procedure for the Church-age believer, and a right
thing done in a right way is the believer's residence, function,
and momentum inside the PPOG.
The Mechanics of Prayer - Special Prayers
The Four Categories of Petition in Prayer
There are certain ways that God answers prayer that
the believer must recognize. For example, when you offer a
petition or prayer for yourself to God, there is the thing for
which you ask, called the petition, and then behind that petition is your desire or motive for it. The four categories we
will look at show that God views both parts of your prayer as
separate, and answers each part either positively or negatively.
In the first category, the petition is answered yes, but
your desire behind it is answered no. For example, if you
pray to make a million dollars, the desire behind the prayer is
to make you happy. God answers the petition yes, so you
make a million dollars; however, the desire is answered no; it
doesn’t make you happy. Let me illustrate this Biblically. In
1Sa 8, the Jews wanted to have a human king they could see
(the petition), so they could be like other nations as they
thought that would make them happy (the desire).
Samuel warned them nevertheless, the people refused
to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but
there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all
the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before
us and fight our battles.” Now after Samuel had heard all
the words of the people, he repeated them in the Lord’s
hearing. The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice,
and appoint them a king.” So Samuel said to the men of
Israel, “Go every man to his city” (1Sa 8:19-22). God answered their petition yes, and permitted them to pick out their
own king.
Prayer and the Principle of Precise Correct Procedure
They wanted someone who was taller, stronger,
and more handsome than the kings of the nations around them;
and by this criterion they picked Saul. So their petition
was answered yes; however, their desire to be happy with a
human king was answered no; Saul turned out terrible and the
Jews suffered miserably as a result.
We also have another account where the Lord answered
the prayer, but the desire behind the prayer was not fulfilled.
In Psa 106:13-15, the Jews were tired of the great divine provision of manna, the greatest health food ever, and they requested another type of food that they thought would satisfy them.
This is the grass is always greener on the other side
syndrome. They quickly forgot His works; They did not
wait for His counsel, But craved intensely in the wilderness, And tempted God in the desert. So, He gave them their request, But sent a wasting disease among them (Psa 106:13-15).
They longed for the Egyptian meat and food they
used to eat, so God answered their petition yes; He sent them
quail. However, the desire for satisfaction was not answered;
instead, they suffered terribly from it and thousands died. So
when you offer a petition or prayer for yourself to God, there
is the thing for which you ask, called the petition, and then
behind that petition is your desire or motive for it. The Lord
may allow the petition to be answered even though the desire
will not be met.
In the second case, the petition is answered no, yet the desire is answered yes. This means that the answer to the petition or to the request is no, but the desire behind the petition is
answered yes. Continuing with our example: No, you will not
make a million dollars, but yes, you will be happy.
In Gen 17:18 Abraham prayed that Ishmael, the son of Hagar, might
be his heir, And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael
might live before Thee!” God said no to Ishmael becoming
his heir, but yes to the desire behind it which was to have an
heir; he eventually had Isaac.
In Gen 18:23-33, Abraham
prayed that God would spare Sodom. His actual desire was
the preservation of his relatives there. After bargaining with God Abraham settled with asking God to spare Sodom if
there were just ten believers there; he was sure there were at
least ten believers in that large city of perhaps 200,000 people. However, he was wrong; there were only three believers.
The Four Categories of Petition in Prayer.
Prayer and the Principle of Precise Correct Procedure
The petition to spare Sodom was answered no; the desire that
Lot and his two daughters be preserved was answered yes.
In 2Co 12:7-10, Paul prayed three times that God would
remove his thorn in the flesh. “Because of the surpassing
greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me
from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the
flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, to keep me from
exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord
three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me,
‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in
weakness.’
Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast
about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell
in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with
insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties,
for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am
strong” (2Co 12:7-10).
God answered no to the petition, because his suffering was for blessing designed to strengthen his
spiritual self-esteem so that he might advance to spiritual autonomy. This is a more stable stage where one is less prone to
arrogance. Hence his desire, to continue to grow in grace and
to glorify God, was answered yes.
The third category is answered, petition yes and desire
yes. For example, in Judges 16:28, Samson was blinded and
tied up in the Temple of Dagan. Then Samson called to the
Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and
please strengthen me just one time, O God, that I may at
once be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes,” Jdg 16:28. Both his petition, to strike the Philistines, and his desire, revenge, were answered yes.
Not because God approves
of revenge, but because of the degeneracy of the Philistines.
Samson was the instrument that God used. He got his
strength back, wrapped his arms around two pillars of the
temple, and pulled the whole thing down on all of them. The
Hebrew word for revenge is naqam which means to avenge
and punish. There's a difference between revenge and avenge.
Revenge means to hurt and retaliate and it is unjust, whereas
avenge means to inflict a punishment or penalty for a real
crime committed.
In 1Ki, Elijah built an altar, dug a trench around it, and
prepared a sacrifice for the Lord. Then he instructed that water be poured on the offering and on the wood three times, and
so much water was poured that it filled the trench. Elijah then
prayed that God would light His offering on the altar with
fire, and God answered yes. Then the fire of the Lord fell,
and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the
stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in
the trench, 1Ki 18:38. His desire which was expressed in
1Ki 18:36 was also answered yes. Then it came about at the
time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the
prophet came near and said, “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that Thou art
God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that You
have done all these things at Thy word,” 1Ki 18:36.
In John 11:41-45, the petition was for the resuscitation of
Lazarus; the desire was that the bystanders who witnessed this
might be saved. So they removed the stone. Then Jesus
raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You
have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they
may believe that You sent Me.” When He had said these
things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come
forth.” The man who had died came forth, bound hand
and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped
around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and
let him go.” Therefore many of the Jews who came to
Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him (Joh
11:41-45). Here again, both petition and desire were answered yes.
Of course, the fourth category is petition no, and desire
no. Look at James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because
you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on
your pleasures.
But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. He
prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was not this
what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore
in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that
You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger
and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my
life from me, for death is better to me than life.” The Lord
said, “Do you have good reason to be angry?” (Jon 4:1-4)
The Principle of Grace in Prayer
In his prayer approach, the believer must be compatible with the throne of grace. Grace is the policy of the integrity of God in the imputation of blessing from the justice of God to the indwelling righteousness of God.
Prayer is a privilege, the function of the Royal priesthood; therefore, it is a
powerful weapon in the hands of the believer in the PPOG. Since grace is the principle of prayer, no believer can petition for himself, or make intercession on the basis of human merit, ability, morality, production, service, or spiritual gift.
Every believer approaches the throne of grace on the merits of
our Lord Jesus Christ who is our great High Priest. While the
Father is propitiated with the work of Christ on the Cross, He
is not a respecter of persons. Therefore, we must approach the
Father from inside the PPOG, in fellowship with Him, and
only in the name of Christ. Inside the PPOG our Lord, during
the First Advent, had maximum effectiveness in His prayer life.
Believers who are out of fellowship are weak, and have no
effectiveness in their prayer life. God does not answer prayer
because a believer is good, moral, sincere, benevolent, religious, concerned, altruistic, talented or possesses a pleasing
personality, but on the basis of grace alone. Answer to prayer
is a divine decision; therefore the believer's popularity with
others is never a factor in answered prayer. Prayer is a weapon, and one of our greatest grace gifts from God, relating to
the angelic conflict. Therefore, you must understand how it
functions, just as you should understand how any weapon
functions before you use it. Always remember that one prayer
can change the course of history.
The Prayer That Could Not Be Answered.
“My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me? Far from
deliverance are the words of my groaning [screaming]. O
My God, I cry by day [first three hours, 9 a.m. - 12 noon]
but You do not answer and by night, but I have no rest
[the continued prayer of our Lord during the darkness that
surrounded the Cross from 12 noon-3 PM. when He was ing judged for our sins].” (Psa 22:1-2)
Psa 22:3 tells the reason why that prayer could not be answered in one phrase. “Yet You are holy, O You Who are
enthroned upon the praises of Israel.” God the Father was
imputing our sins to Christ and judging them from His holi ness.
The Four Categories of Petition in Prayer
Therefore, He couldn't answer the prayer for deliverance on the Cross.
In Psa 22:4-5, Jesus even pointed out to
the Father that He had previously delivered Israel under severe conditions. “In You our fathers trusted; they trusted,
and You delivered them [You answered their prayers!]. To
You they cried out, and were delivered; in You they trusted, and were not disappointed.”
So why couldn't our Lord's prayer be answered? “But I
am a worm, and not a man, a reproach of men, and despised by the people” (Psa 22:6). Remember that the Hebrew
word for worm, tola, is not the word for an ordinary worm.
This worm was used for red dye in the ancient world.
It was crushed in a vat; the blood extracted was used to produce the
crimson dye used for the robes of kings and aristocrats. The
phrase “I am a worm,” illustrates why His prayer could not be
answered. He was being crushed for our sins, so that you and
I, as Royal Family of God, could wear the crimson robe of the
Royal Family forever. Christ was being judged for our sins;
therefore, prayer at that time from the humanity of Christ
could not be answered because He was made sin for us.
“All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip,
they wag the head, {saying,}” Psa 22:7
This was fulfilled in Mat 27:39-40, And those passing by
were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild
it in three days, save Yourself! If you are the Son of God,
come down from the cross.”
Psa 22:8 gives some of the verbal sarcastic abuse of the
crowd, “Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him;
let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
Our Lord's prayer was heard by all who were there, and
they saw that it wasn't being answered. However, they didn't
understand that the reason was because He was bearing their
sins and our sins in His own body on the Cross. This was the
only prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ that could not be answered, because it was the way of our so-great salvation. He
was being judged for our sins; He was our substitute; He was
taking our place. During His time on the cross, He could only
be judged; and during His judgment His prayer could not be
answered.
10 One of the greatest mistakes that a Christian
can make is to imagine that increased social or spiritual activity can be any compensation for the lack of communion with
God. A prayerful life is always a powerful life; just as a prayer less life is always a powerless life. There is a spiritual law
at work in our experience that says that the more we pray, the
more we need to, and want to; and the less we pray, the less is
the desire we have to do so.
Because prayer is a spiritual function, in order for it to become an enjoyable and lasting experience for us, we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
It’s vital to consider these two important areas: Time and
Method. Without time for prayer, nothing can be accomplished, and yet frequently many believers excuse or explain
their lack of prayerfulness by saying they don't have the time.
There's always time for business, pleasure, eating, etc., but no
time for one thing that would add so much to our lives: Prayer.
We must regard prayer to be as important to our soul as food is to our bodies. Therefore, for everyone of us some time each day must be reserved for private communion with God.
What time it should be, and how long it should be is no
one's business but your own; that’s between you and the Lord.
However, that there should be some time is not a matter of
opinion but an unquestionable necessity. So much more progress can be made in all areas of our life when it is seasoned
with prayer.
How can we improve our prayer life? The first thing must
be a recognition of our failure to pray properly (method). In
the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do
not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself
intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words (Rom
8:26).
Notice the phrase “for we do not know how to pray as
we should.” We don't even know how we should pray, so we
need to make the same request as the Disciples did, It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples” (Luk 11:1).
The manner, or method, of prayer is very important to un-
derstand. Assuming that one has put aside some time to pray,
and that one's heart and mind is adjusted to the will of God,
the most important thing in the prayer life is to have a right
method. For many of us, our perception of prayer has been
very narrow, and limited to only asking things from God.
What we need is a real understanding of what prayer is! Such
an understanding will come to us only as we bring Bible doctrine, and our prayer life into an intimate relationship. Bible
doctrine and prayer have been divorced and separated by so
many.
Notice what Eph 6:17-19 says, “And take [receive favorably, grasp, and welcome] the helmet of salvation, and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. With all
prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and
with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and
petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to
make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.”
The Word of God and prayer are to be intimately united. For
everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be
rejected, if it is received with gratitude; For it is sanctified
by means of the Word of God and prayer (1Ti 4:4-5).
When we read the Bible God speaks to us, while in prayer we
speak to God. Therefore, we need a knowledge of God
through His Word. When it comes to the subject of prayer,
there are two errors that we are in danger of making:
1) Knowing the Bible intellectually without being concerned with application and experience.
2) Striving after the experience in prayer without knowing
how to intellectually and Biblically pray.
These are opposite errors which should be avoided. You
can have an excellent knowledge of Bible doctrine, and at the
same time be blind to its Divine privileges such as prayer. In
studying doctrine something more than mental consent is
needed. For many individuals when they come to the subject
of prayer this error is generally reversed. In prayer, many
people look for the Spirit to illuminate them with some message, vision, or some emotion. This can result in our thoughts
becoming scattered and thinking that we are accomplishing
nothing; then we become weary, disappointed, and discouraged. This is what happens when our prayer life becomes forced and unnatural.
Our whole being must be involved with prayer: the mind, the heart, and the will. The mind must be at work as the apostle Paul stated “I will pray with the spirit
and I will pray with the mind also” (1Co 14:15). The heart
must be at work as David said “I will give thanks to the
Lord with all my heart” (Psa 9:1a). The will must be at
work as Jacob said “I will not let you go unless You bless
me” (Gen 32:26b).
The Principle of Grace in Prayer
So, the principle is that we must have a mental basis for
prayer, so that we don't become weary and enter into failure.
Do you realize that the most important thing you can do every
day is to have your soul filled with happiness from the Lord?
The first thing to be concerned about is not how much you
should do for the Lord, or how you should serve Him, but
how to fill your soul with happiness by learning and appreciating what He has done for you. If the soul is filled with happiness our inner man will be nourished.
We might then seek
to present the truth to unbelievers, to benefit and help other
believers. We may even desire to relieve the distressed.
However, if our soul is not filled with happiness and contentment, then we do not have the proper motivation. This is
what the Jews were warned about in Deut 28. They were serving God and following Him, but there was a problem and they
were under a curse. Deut 28:45-47 gives us the reason, “So all
these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not
obey the Lord your God by keeping His commandments
and His statutes which He commanded you. They shall
become a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants
forever. Because you did not serve the Lord your God
with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things.”
Many believers try to serve God without first receiving
strength through doctrine and prayer, while meditating on the
Word to receive comfort, encouragement, reproof, and instruction. They do not take advantage of the secret weapon
called prayer. Prayer is the secret weapon for the Christian
that secretly destroys and undermines satanic plans and
schemes against us.
One of the goals and purposes of prayer is to cause a person to talk directly to the Lord without distraction. “This I
say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you,
but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord” (1Co 7:35). Prayer is a time of extreme concentration, and worship toward the Lord.
Prayer is not a time for concentrating on problems unless God places those problems on your heart. Ecclesiastes chapter 5 gives us some excellent instruction
concerning our attitude when we come into the presence of
God. Guard your steps as you go to the house of God, and draw
near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for
they do not know they are doing evil. Do not be hasty in
word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the
presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the
earth; therefore let your words be few (Ecc 5:1-2).
We have been given the power of the Holy Spirit, and the
Word of God, the ability to hear from God, and we should be
alert to this during our prayers. Prayer is a time of communion, and to be effective in prayer you must be lined up with
the viewpoint and plan of God. If you are, you can certainly
receive guidance through prayer, as in Acts 11:6. Prayer is also taking advantage of the access that the Lord Jesus Christ
has opened up. It pleases God the Father when He sees His
children taking advantage of that which cost Him so much to
open up. “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to
the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and
find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16).
Prayer should be you and I coming boldly unto the throne
of grace; this is why distractions are so devastating. Overt
persecutions may distract your body, but mental distractions
attack your spirituality. Emptiness, vanity, and distractions
can be just as devastating to a believer as any evil the believer
is confronted with. Bible doctrine gives us the information
that we need so we won't be distracted.
The Importance of Time and Method
Concerning Prayer
With doctrine we'll have something to attend to or to concentrate on. Unfortunately many believers are so occupied with external activities
that they don't have an inner communion with the Lord. This
is where your concentration in Bible class helps your concentration in your prayer life. Prayer must be very persistent and why we are told to:
“Watch and pray” (Mark 13:33).
“Pray without ceasing” (1Th 5:17).
“I want the men in every place to pray” (1Ti 2:80.
Our Lord Jesus Christ gave tremendous encouragement to
persevere in prayer:
Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all
times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In
a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and
did not respect man. “There was a widow in that city, and
she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection
from my opponent.’ “For a while he was unwilling; but
afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear
God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me,
I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually
coming she will wear me out.’” And the Lord said, “Hear
what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring
about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night,
and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will
bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the
Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” And
He also told this parable to some people who trusted in
themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others
with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to
pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. “The
Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I
thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ‘I fast twice
a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax collector,
standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up
his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying,
‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ “I tell you, this man
went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who
humbles himself will be exalted.” And they were bringing
even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but
when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. But
Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to
come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of
God belongs to such as these. “Truly I say to you, whoever
does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not
enter it at all." A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good
Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luk 18:1-18)
“Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord
may spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also
with you; and [pray] that we will be rescued from perverse
and evil men; for not all have faith [doctrine]” (2Th 3:1-2).
A pastor-teacher can communicate Bible doctrine, but he
also must pray that people will have the deceptions of Satan
exposed. So, prayer is an excellent power base when it's released in the power of the Spirit. However, in order that the
power of the Spirit is released, concentration is necessary and
vital. In fact, the whole key is concentration which produces
unbroken communion. This is why the Lord said “But you,
when you pray, go into your inner room [a room of privacy], close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret” (Mat 6:6a).
And after He had sent the crowds away, He went up to the
mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening,
He was there alone (Mat 14:23).
On the next day, as they were on their way, and approach
ing the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth
hour to pray. (Acts 10:9)
The Importance of Time and Method Concerning Prayer
The Greek word for worship is “proskuneo”
and emphasizes the act, rather than the feeling which motivates the act. In other words, you may or may not feel like
worshipping, but it's the act that matters. In prayer our soul is
placed in a helpless position bowing itself before God in total
submission. Adoring God is one of the keys to prayer, worship, honor, and admiration which will lead to a devoted pray
er life. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must
worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Because of this,
many have a difficult time in worshipping someone they cannot perceive through their natural senses. However, God has
not left us to ourselves; instead He has given us ways whereby
we may know Him. I'm not just talking about receiving Bible
doctrine, which is the best way to get to know God; there are
also some other areas where God reveals Himself. Let’s look
at some of these briefly.
First of all we may know God through nature. “Look at
the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor
gather into barns, and {yet} your heavenly Father feeds
them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who
of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how
the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they
spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory
clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the
grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is
thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe
you? You of little faith!” (Mat 6:26-30). Think of how
powerful the One who created all things is. Think of His
goodness revealed in providing for all. Think of the stars and
the heavens which David spoke of in Psalm 8.
“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What
is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man
that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little
lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty! You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field, The birds of the heavens
and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths
of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Your name
in all the earth!” (Psa 8:3-9)
Conclusion: Prayer is an Essential Area of WorshipThe Importance of Time and Method Concerning Prayer
In other words, the glory of God can take your mind off
your own problems for a while. “Only fear the Lord and
serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what
great things He has done for you” (1Sa 12:24).
“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands” (Psa 19:1).
So God reveals Himself in nature.
We may also know God through man. Man was made in
God's image, after His likeness (Gen 1:27). Man's heart has
eternity placed within it as we have noted before, “He has
made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set
eternity in their heart” (Ecc 3:11a). Therefore, all of man's
desires, aims, hopes, and goals, insofar as they are good and
true, have their source in God. Our Lord gives us an example,
“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 what is good to those who ask Him!” (Mat 7:11).
All tenderness, affection, nobility, courage, and virtue
found in man has its origin in God. When we see these godly
qualities in one another, it gives us another reason to glorify
God. In fact, that's the true meaning of Mat 5:16 “Let your
light shine before men in such a way that they may see
your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” As you look into the mirror of the Word of God, divine
power is working in you, so that as you grow spiritually, you
will eventually reflect Who God is to others. But we all, with
unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the
Lord, are being transformed into the same image from
glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit, (2Co
3:18). So, God reveals Himself through man.
We can also know God through history. The writer to the
Hebrews tells us that it is God who has framed the ages. The
apostle Paul said, “of Him, and through Him and to Him
are all things.” It doesn't matter how strong nations appear;
when it's time for them to be destroyed, they go down. It was
also not a coincidence that on the eve of the Reformation, the
printing press was invented which gave the Bible to the whole
world. The point is that the Lord Jesus Christ controls history. God is in complete control, raising up and casting down
those things necessary to fulfill His plan. This should cause
us to respect Him, to worship Him, and to be totally relaxed
concerning current events. Things which seem to us to be
tragic are actually working out an eternal purpose and fulfilling an eternal plan.
Therefore, a right view of history will
give us another view of God. This will lead us to more worship of Him as the One Who is building the ages. So, the Lord
Jesus Christ controls history; never forget it, worship Him for
it as a part of your prayer life. Of course, God may be known
mainly through Christ. God, after He spoke long ago to the
fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many
ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom
He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He
made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and
the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all
things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty on high (Heb 1:1-3). God can be fully known only
through Christ! The Lord Jesus Christ existed in the form of
God and was made in the likeness of men. When we worship
Christ, we worship God, for He represents God, and of course
is God. Our Lord said “No one comes to the Father, but
through Me” (John 14:6b).
Therefore, there can be no acceptable worship of God which rejects the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the only way of access to God, and
therefore God is worshipped when Christ is worshipped. So,
we've seen the attitude of worship, and we've seen the object
of worship. Let's look at the character of true worship.
“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship
in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24)
Conclusion: Prayer is an Essential Area of Worship
These words are full of meaning. First of all, no one can
truly worship God unless it is in spirit and in truth. This is
why an attitude of worship and adoration is important in prayer. Therefore, those who worship Him must worship in spirit,
the filling of the Holy Spirit, and in truth, Bible doctrine.
Here we have a reference to the entire trinity. God the Father,
the author of the divine plan, is to be worshipped. The Holy
Spirit directs our human spirit to worship what is spiritual.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the truth and teaches us through that
truth to a worship which is free from error. Until Christ appeared, God was pleased to help His people in their worship
by using aids and materials such as the tabernacle, sacrifices,
etc. All these aids pointed to Christ and to His work. Things
[meat and drink and feast days] which are a mere shadow of
what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ (Col
2:17). There is no longer any need for the Tabernacle, the
Temple, the ark, altars, the sacrifices, or the priests because
Col 3:11 reveals to us {a renewal} in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, butChrist is all, and in all.
So, the worship that the Father seeks and accepts is that
which is in spirit, but it must also be in truth. Therefore, we
should never be sentimental. The woman saying the rosary
beads is not heard by God as a form of worship or prayer.
The Rosary, which is mechanical praying with beads, was invented by Peter the Hermit in the year 1090. If God hears and
accepts the rosary, He must also hear and accept the prayers
to Buddha, Mohammed, and all the rest, but He doesn’t. God
is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship in spirit
and in truth. So, if you don't know truth or doctrine, you cannot worship the true God.
If we know truth, we will come to understand the real
principle of confession, which is also vital to truly worship
God in prayer and develop a better prayer life. Of course, you
are familiar with the Greek word for “confession” in the New
Testament which is
“homologeo” meaning to say the same thing, to agree, to admit, or to acknowledge. We have already seen that prayer is
something to be practiced and that it must be cultivated. In
fact, the soul must be put under extreme concentration or else
the flesh will triumph. Confession of sin is even a result of
adoration. This was the experience of Isaiah.
In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting
on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe
filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having
six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he
covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out
to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of
hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who
called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I
said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of
unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” (Isa 6:1-5)
This has been the experience of the saints throughout the
ages. The closer their relationship with God, the more conscious they are of their sin and unworthiness. Any person
who has grown spiritually will agree that many things which
seemed to be alright a few years ago are now wrong.
This is because the keener our spiritual senses become, the more sensitive we become to sin and evil. The one thing which can
separate our soul’s experience from God is sin that has not
been confessed. There are times when it's difficult to express
and confess the sins we've committed because of the guilt and
the shame we may feel. However, confession of sin is vital in
prayer because prayer is a time of communion and concentration.
Conclusion:
Prayer is an Essential Area of Worship
Conclusion: Prayer is an Essential Area of Worship
It is very unhealthy for us to be pre-occupied with our
sins when approaching God in prayer. Sin is an ugly fact; it is
not to be ignored, but honestly faced. In fact, Christianity is
the only religion in the world which takes sin seriously and
offers a satisfactory remedy for it. The way to enjoy this remedy is not to deny the disease, but to confess it, and realize our
forgiveness is dependent on His faithfulness (1Jo 1:9). Sin
produces guilt and we can't be free in prayer while guilt is
present. We're all going to fall short of our own ideals, let
alone God's standards. We break our own rules of conduct,
let alone God's Holy laws.
So never cover up your sin. “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion” (Prov 28:13). Many believers are not prospering in the Christian life, and they are
making little or no progress because they reject this principle
of confession. It is the person who covers his sins who is unhealthy. The Bible gives us an account of the inner turmoil of
a man who tried to cover his sins. “When I kept silent about
my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all
day long.
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon
me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of
summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to You, And my
iniquity I did not hide; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord; And You forgave the guilt of my sin.
Selah” (Psa 32:3-5). Daily or even hourly confession is the
way to walk in the light and to abide in Christ.
Finally, relating to our adoration of the Lord, let's note the
means of worship. Let's begin with the subjective or inward
means. During prayer, the heart, mind, and the will must all
function properly. During prayer our heart must be set upon
God without distractions. Our mind is to concentrate upon the
facts and methods of prayer. Our will chooses to keep both
the heart and the mind focused in on our Lord. The worship
of God deserves and demands all three: the heart, the mind,
and the will. When we implement these principles we will
find our difficulties in prayer disintegrating. Then we also
have the objective, or the outward means of prayer. In worship we need to focus in on Christ. He is the goal of our communion with God, and it is only through Him that we can
commune with God. The Bible is the soil in which our faith
must take root, and out of which our prayers must grow.
Then finally there's the Spirit, who illuminates us and shows
us the hidden meanings and power revealed in His Word.
If our heart is occupied with Christ, our mind is set upon the
Word, and our will is controlled by the Spirit, then we will
develop a prayer life which has been transformed.
I want to illustrate this by using a passage in the book of
Revelation. You go into your prayer room and shut the door
and prepare to worship God. Your physical posture doesn't
really matter; you could be standing, lying, sitting, or kneeling; it's not the outward position, but the inward attitude that
matters. Now, you have a portion of scripture prepared to
read. You read it silently or out loud, asking for the Spirit to
direct you and reveal things to you. You open up with confession of your known sins, and now you're filled with the Holy
Spirit. You already want to enter into adoration; that's why
you're in the room; you've come into the prayer room not because of guilt or duty, but rather because you want to! So, you
begin to read this passage:
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind
me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, saying, ‘Write
in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches:
to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.’
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me.
And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in
the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man,
clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across
His breast with a golden sash.’” (Rev 1:10-13)
Conclusion: Prayer is an Essential Area of Worship
Think of it, it's the Son of Man who is set before you, spiritually speaking. He is the object of your worship. You think of
Him, the glory of His person, the majesty of His office. He is
clothed with a robe reaching to His feet which is a sign of official dignity. You reflect on His dignity and majesty! The
golden girdle represents His strong or everlasting affection.
You think of that and His affection toward you.
“His head and His hair were white like white wool, like
snow; and his eyes were like a flame of fire.” (Rev 1:14)
The white wool like snow represents His perfect holiness,
so you think about that! What consuming knowledge He has;
you recall Heb 4:13 “And there is no creature hidden from
His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes
of Him with whom we have to do.” So you think of that!
“His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been
made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the
sound of many waters.” (Rev 1:15)
This righteous judgment and absolute authority causes you
to have respect and awe. “In His right hand He held seven
stars; and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged
sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its
strength” (Rev 1:16). What sovereign administration, what
control of His own church. What glory, here is the Son of
man, the Son of God. Once crucified, now alive forever and
ever. “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man.
And He laid His right hand upon me, saying, ‘Do not be
afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and
I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I
have the keys of death and of Hades’” (Rev 1:17-18).
Think of it, our Eternal Savior, He holds the keys of death and
Hades, the One who conquered death eternally for our sakes!
Is it any wonder why Rev 4:11 says, “Worthy are You, our
Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power;
for You created all things, and because of Your will they
existed, and were created.” Images like that make you feel
humbled in the presence of One so mighty. The point is that
you just used a simple portion of scripture you’re familiar with
to pray. Put the method to the test and you'll find that it does
improve your prayer life.
Conclusion: Prayer is an Essential Area of Worship
The Doctrine of Prayer
The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.
