Prayer

PRAYER

1. WHAT IS PRAYER?
2. Prayer is speaking to God

Simply stated, prayer is as a child talking to his Father who is also his God. It is the seeking soul in search of God, calling out to Him. It is not for man to hear or to please man. It is communion with God from the heart. There is no hypocrisy. It is not to impress God with high sounding words and a big vocabulary. It is a child opening his heart to God with total and complete trust in his Father whom he knows will always hear his cry.

2. Prayer is the privilege of Sons

Every child has access to his own father. The believer is a child of God. “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6). As believers, we have “received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). We have access to God the Father. Every true child of God prays and delights to commune with his heavenly Father. This is his sincere genuine desire as one who has been born again by the Spirit of God and has been given the Holy Spirit. He is alive to spiritual things. The immediate impact in his life is to pray.

God does not hear the prayers of unbelievers. The only prayer of an unbeliever that God hears is the prayer of salvation. When Saul the terror of the Church met Christ on the Damascus Road, God’s light from heaven fell him to the ground, and he cried out, “Who art thou, Lord? What wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:5, 6) This was Paul the Apostle’s first prayer.  It was a prayer from the heart. It was a prayer of salvation.

3. Prayer is a means of grace

God has unlimited blessings – gifts for the asking. Prayer is our means of grace. James tells us that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father …” (James 1:17).

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy,

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and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Prayer is the means in which the child of God receives the grace and mercies of God in his life. He is conscious of God’s presence in his life as he goes through the day’s activities. This enables him to give thanks to God and praise Him when prayers are answered in his life.

This constant knowledge of the presence and help of God in the believer’s life makes it a means through which he receives God’s grace.

4. Prayer is Communion with God

Some Christians treat prayer only as a convenient means of presenting God with a string of requests, like a shopping list, “Lord, here are my needs. Kindly supply!”  This is an unbalanced and selfish approach to prayer. Prayer is more than just asking God for “things in life” although it is not wrong to ask God for things per se. But when our prayers are limited to asking only, then there is something very wrong in the sinner’s relationship with his God.

True prayer is communion with God, in much the same way as a child converses with his father. There is a closeness and intimacy as that which exists between father and son. While we speak with Him, we must also listen to Him speak to us. “Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you (James 4:8).” God speaks to us through the still small voice of the indwelling Holy Spirit and also through the Holy Scriptures.

If prayer is communion, then it takes time. It must not be hurried or haphazard. Are you prepared to devote time to prayer?

1. WHY PRAY?

Prayer requires not only time but discipline also. Some Christians take the easy way out by neglecting to pray, hoping that God being a loving and caring Father will somehow not forsake or forget them. After all, our Heavenly Father knows what we have need of, before we ask Him (Matthew  6:8). So why pray?  Can we not just leave it to Him?

Nothing can be further from the truth.

Our Lord’s teaching and example must be our guide in this. In His sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; … If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matthew 7:7, 11) If we are to receive blessing, we must ask! Prayer is for our sakes, not God’s. It is not because God is lonely in heaven that he needs to hear our voices. Prayer is to ensure that God’s children realize their complete and utter dependence on God every moment of every day of his life. There are two things in the Bible that God demands every believer to do without ceasing, he is to rejoice evermore (cf. 1 Thess. 5:16) and to pray without ceasing (cf. 1 Thess. 5:17). God does not want His children to go through life without depending on Him for He desires to help them all the time and always.

Our Lord Himself set us the example of prayer. He prayed often and was not limited by time. In Luke 6:12, it is recorded that “He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God”. “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35). In His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed a mighty prayer and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke 22:44).

If Jesus, the Son of God, found the need to pray thus for strength as He faced the task at hand, how much more do we, frail creatures of dust, need to follow in His steps.  To us, His followers, His words come down through the ages, still ringing true and fresh:  “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew  26:41).

III. CONTENT OF PRAYER

The contents of prayer should be appropriate to the occasion. Generally, these headings should be remembered:

1. Thanksgiving and praise.
2. Confession of sins.
3. Petition of wants.
4. Request for spiritual blessings.
5. Intercession for others.
6. Special items.

The order is not the focus.

1. HOW SHOULD WE PRAY?

If praying is speaking and communing with God, the Almighty and All-knowing Spirit, then we must do so in an appropriate manner, and not carelessly, haphazardly or ignorantly. There must be proper spiritual preparation and a right attitude of heart.  Our Lord taught His disciples to pray.  We do well to learn from His teaching.

Matthew 6:5-15 and Luke 18:1-4 have the relevant teachings. Briefly they are these:

1. Pray in secret. It is true that we can pray anywhere and at any time. But there must also be private time where the believer prays in secret. For personal prayer and communing with God, we should find a quiet and private place. It is a person-to-person meeting. The meeting place must be appropriate and conducive. Publicity or showmanship is hypocrisy and must be avoided.
2. Pray simply, sincerely from the heart. Openness with God like a little child approaching his own father is what prayer is all about. It is not pretentious. It is sincere and from the heart. It is child-like in all aspects, from the heart and from the lips.

Urgent and simple repetition is fine. But it is not the meaningless repetition as taught in some other religions where by mere recitation of a “set” prayer God will hear. This is clearly condemned in God’s Word (cf. Matt. 6:7-8). It is all right to keep on praying, say, for the salvation of unsaved loved ones or a son who is overseas studying and to pray every night for God’s protection. Such persistence in prayer is in fact commended in the Bible. Keep on praying and do not give up.

3. Say, “Our Father which art in Heaven”. We approach God as a child approaches the father. This sets the relationship right. Our God knows His children’s needs even better than they themselves, and He graciously awaits their calls. God is pleased when we His children address Him as “Our Father”. Never forget that although we call God our Father, He is also the Father Who is in heaven. The awe and reverence we give to Him must always be there in all our prayers.

Our prayers must be directed to the Father only. This is the teaching of God’s Word. There is no scriptural basis for directing prayers to the virgin Mary, or to angels or to any saint. To do so is superstition. We pray to God the Father in the name of the Son and with the help of the Holy Spirit. It does not mean that we cannot pray to the Son; at times a person may cry to Jesus for help. But normally we do not pray to the Holy Spirit.

4. Approach God with due reverence. Our God is holy, we are sinful. He is in Heaven, we are on earth. We must therefore give our utmost respect as we seek Him in prayer. Careless and wanton approach cannot please Him. He is not our “daddy” or “papa”. We must address Him as He has revealed Himself to us in the Holy Scriptures. God has no nickname. Respect and reverence must be the believer’s guide all the time.
5. “Hallowed be thy Name”. God’s name is high, above every name. When we seek Him, let us give Him due honour and glory. Let His holy name be praised! This is the only acceptable motivation behind all our prayers. We pray not because we have served faithfully or because it is for our children’s sake that we ask God to grant our request. It must always be for the glory of God that we ask all things. His Holy Name must be glorified in all that we ask or think.
6. “Thy Kingdom Come”. This should be our earnest desire in every prayer. Our Lord has declared, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” Every prayer should echo the glad tidings that indeed Christ may soon set up His Kingdom on earth. God’s rule on earth is our desire above all else. It is not the rule of man or self. This is the Kingdom of God that will come in due course where the earth will become Christ’s foot stool.
7. “Thy Will be done”. This must be the final objective of our prayers. Whatever we ask must be in accordance with His will. He is the Sovereign God who rules with justice and equity over all. His ways are perfect. His will is the best for us. May we always pray for God’s will to be done. God’s will is always done in heaven and so we pray that His will will also be done on earth. There is only one group of people on earth who would desire this, genuine believers. Sometimes God’s will for our lives can be painful and might not be what we expect. We need to submit to His Holy Will.
8. Pray for “Daily Bread”. This request comes only after God’s glory, kingdom and will – in that order. God cares for His children’s physical and material needs. He is pleased to supply our necessary means of bodily support and comfort, to ensure a proper livelihood.

In this request, we acknowledge His providential care. All good things come from Him. He sends the sunshine and the rain. He gives us our physical and mental capacities to think, plan and work. It is only by His mercies that we are able to acquire wealth and to enjoy this earthly life. All this is embodied in the “daily bread” we ask for.

This request is the logical progression in our prayer request. This is the life of faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. It is for our daily bread, because the life of faith is on a daily basis just as manna was provided for Israel on a daily basis in the wilderness.

9. Pray for forgiveness and for a forgiving Spirit. Our sins are our debts, debts we owe the Heavenly Father. We have no means of paying those debts, except that He in mercy cancel them, for Jesus’ sake. For Christ has paid those debts for us on Calvary’s cross. By His merit, God forgives us who put our trust in Him.

If we plead with God to forgive us, we must on our part be willing also to forgive others. For, by comparison, our debt to God is far greater than any man’s debt to us.

Therefore, in our approach to God, our hearts must have that forbearance and compassion for others, even as we request the same from God. If we will not forgive others for their minor offences, how can we hope for God to forgive us for our great transgressions?

May we therefore approach God with a humble and forgiving heart. One of the greatest hindrances to prayer is explained in Psalm 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” All known sins must be dealt with immediately. There is no sin a believer cannot forgive.

10. Pray for strength not to fall into sin again. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”. We ask for forgiveness of sins. This request should be made with the desire and willingness to be kept from repeated sinning. We should resolve and ask God to give us the strength to resist and conquer temptation.

It is only by the Spirit indwelling in our hearts that we may be kept or delivered from the attacks of the evil one. Why would the believer ask God not to lead him into temptation? The reason is that the Jews believed that God is in control of all things, including evil things that come our way. This is the proper understanding of the sovereignty of God. God is not the immediate cause and therefore He will never be held directly responsible. Satan or the sinner will be the culprit.

11. Praise and thank Him. “Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory”. When we acknowledge Him and give Him all praise, thanks and glory, He is pleased. God does not need our praise, but He deserves all of it!  When we praise Him, He is glorified and we are blessed. Praise and thanksgiving is the logical conclusion to all our prayers since God is the One who has given us all things including eternal life and all material blessings.
12. “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen”. This should be the conclusion of every prayer. Our Lord’s promise: “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it to you” (John 16:23). [Emphasis added]

Therefore, our prayers to God must not go through any other name, neither Mary nor any saint. This is not a magic formula like “open sesame” in the Ali Baba story. It is to remind the believer that all his praises and requests can be made to God only through the Lord Jesus and because of what He has done on Calvary. The believer does not have merit on his own that makes him worthy to approach God. It is only through the merits of Christ that he can come with his petitions. He must therefore mean exactly what he says when he ends his prayers “in Jesus’ Name!”

Amen: this is our true and firm request, so be it! It brings a prayer to a formal and fervent conclusion.

V. FURTHER TEACHINGS ON PRAYER

1. Pray “in everything” (Philippians 4:6,7). We are to pray “in everything” with thanksgiving. We are to commit all our cares and desires to God in prayer, and not to bear these burdens ourselves, and become anxious or disturbed! Then, God’s peace that passes all understanding shall keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

What a precious promise to every believer. “With thanksgiving” means to come with thankful hearts even in the midst of adversities. This is hard to do as the believer would be grieving. For example, it must have been extremely difficult for Job to pray in Job 1:21, “And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” He had lost all his wealth and his children; from being the richest man in his city he had become the poorest overnight. All he had then was his health and his not very consoling wife.

2. Pray “without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). This means that we are to pray at all times. On all available and needful occasions when we should pray, let nothing hinder us! Above all, may we have a prevailing mood and attitude of prayer, maintaining unbroken communion with God in our thoughts and innermost longings. Let us persist and persevere in prayer. Don’t give up easily!
3. Pray “believing”. Our Lord’s promise, “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matthew 21:22). Our God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). Let us therefore have faith when we pray, and doubt not. It must always be in His Holy Will.
4. Ask “not amiss”. “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss” (James 4:3). Prayers for the wrong things will not be answered! Let us always pray for God’s will to be done. Do not ask with the wrong motive. It must not be for self glory or for the satisfaction of the flesh.
5. Pray “one for another” (James 5:16). How wonderful it is that God has given us the blessed ministry and privilege of praying not only for ourselves, but also for others. Hence we should learn the lesson of intercessory prayer, praying for one another. In this way, believers are drawn closer together in fellowship, the Church is strengthened and God is glorified. Abraham interceded for Lot and Moses interceded for Aaron. What an amazing privilege to be able to pray for someone else and God wonderfully answers accordingly even when we pray for unbelievers.
6. Pray “with spirit and with understanding” (1 Corinthians 14:15). The Apostle Paul here instructs us how to pray in public. Our prayers should be from our hearts, sincere and intelligible, so that others might understand and join us in our prayers.

This injunction was given to the Corinthian Church which had been troubled by an outbreak of tongues. The Corinthians were much taken up with this phenomenon and some “went overboard” with it. Those who spoke in tongues or prayed in “tongues” were regarded as more spiritual and gifted. It was all wrong.  So the Apostle Paul had to put them right. Why pray in tongues?  Paul himself said that he would rather speak five words with understanding than 10,000 words in an unknown tongue (1 Corinthians 14:19).  Therefore, when we pray, let us do so with understanding! There is no such thing as praying in an unknown tongue like what the Charismatics are doing today. Tongues in the Bible always refer to languages when used in a figurative sense.

VI. TYPES OR METHODS OF PRAYER

1. Private prayer by ourselves, at home or in some other place. We may pray silently or audibly.
2. Public prayerg. in Church or at Prayer Meeting or some other gathering. Vocal corporate prayer is commonly practised in our B-P Churches as well as in Chinese-speaking congregations. It has certain benefits:
   1. All may pray at the same time, but pray intelligibly.
   2. Christians, especially new believers, soon learn to pray.    There is no shyness when all pray aloud together.
   3. Within a given time, many items for prayer can be covered,         more than individual prayers.
   4. A more fervent spirit of prayer is fostered,             but it takes a little practice to achieve this.
   5. One person can pray on behalf of the whole group.

VII. ATTITUDES IN PRAYER

During formal prayer, we may sit, stand or kneel. The physical position is not all-important, but it should be appropriate to the occasion.

The outward appearance must reflect an inward reverence of heart for God. Whenever possible, one’s head should be bowed and eyes closed so as to shut out one’s visual attention from outside distractions. This may not be practical e.g. on the road or while engaged in some task. One should then “whisper a prayer in the heart”.

Whatever one’s outward appearance, remember again what our Lord said of hypocrites who make a show of praying in public “that they may be seen of men”. We must never make praying an occasion to show off our spirituality.

VIII. HOW OFTEN DO WE PRAY?

Christians, when asked this question, give various answers: once, twice, five times, etc. How many times should a believer pray? If prayer is like breathing, then it should be an unceasing activity. And so it should be. Every child of God should have that constant consciousness of His presence and an ever ready spirit of communion with Him.

For example, one’s first thought upon waking up is, Lord, thank You for a restful night. At meal times, Thank You, Lord for the food. Before setting out for work or school, Thank You for life and its opportunities. Please guide me through this day, dear Lord.  And so on, through the day.

As a general guide, begin the day and end the day with prayer.

We should all learn to pray all the time, without ceasing! Learn the blessedness of unceasing silent heart prayer thoughout the day and during all waking hours.

The blessing is ours! Yours!

BIBLE KNOWLEDGE QUIZ 10: PRAYER

 

Fill in the blanks:

1. THE BIBLE teaches all believers to pray __ __ __ __ __ __ __
2. Prayer is simply __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __  to God.
3. God does not hear the prayers of unbelievers, only the prayers of

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ .

4. Prayer is __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __  with God.
5. There are two types of prayer:

__ __ __ __ __ __ __  and  __ __ __ __ __ __  prayers.

Underline the correct answers:

6. The motive for all our prayers must be:
   • to please ourselves                         (b) to glorify God

(c) to fulfil our lusts.

7. When we pray we call God
   • our heavenly Father             (b) our dear Papa (c) our dear Daddy.
8. One of the greatest hindrances to prayer is
   • not having a forgiving heart (b) praying in faith (c) praying persistently.

 

9. We must always end our prayers in
   • Mary’s name                         (b) our own name

(c) Jesus’ name.

10. In terms of our needs we are taught to pray
    • for our daily bread             (b) for our weekly bread (c) for our monthly bread.