Prayer — Lesson 8

1. 0:00What God wants is for you to talk to Him. What He wants is ongoing communication and relationship with Him. And prayer, of course, is a vital part of that. Secondly, I wanted to share with you some tools that I hope will facilitate your prayer life, make it easier to pray. And so we suggested such things as the ACTS acronym as a way that you can follow a kind of mental outline as you offer your prayer to the Father.
2. 0:33Last week and this week, I would like for us to look at some specific types of prayers that we can offer. And then we'll close this evening with some, I hope, practical suggestions that will help you in your prayer life. As Don mentioned, if you don't have some of the previous outlines or you misplaced them, and I'm real good at that, there are outlines for one through seven up here on the communion table.
3. 1:02if you would like to avail yourselves of them. And also, I believe that all these sessions are being taped as well. Some have asked about that. Let's discuss, first of all, this evening, intercessory prayer. Paul in 1 Timothy 2, verse 1, as he's writing to Timothy, but also to the church at Ephesus, says, 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,
4. 1:33in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. And then in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 18, the first part of verse 19, Paul urges 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.
5. 2:01The idea and concept of intercessory prayer is by no means foreign to the New Testament. In fact, it's inherent in a discussion of the importance of prayer to talk about the privilege and the responsibility that we have to intercede for one another and to pray for one another, which is what intercessory prayer is all about. One of the beauties of intercessory prayer is that it allows us to meaningfully minister in areas that might otherwise be closed off to us.
6. 2:31Due to a number of factors. Distance, lack of opportunity, other factors that might enter. In point three, under the discussion of intercessory prayer, one of the things that I've always appreciated and loved about being able to intercede in prayer is feeling like that I could do something constructive for missionaries. You know, there are times when people go off overseas and...
7. 2:58and you hear about a brother or sister, and they're working in South America, or they're working off in Southeast Asia, or something like that, and you would love to do something for them, but really there's not a whole lot physically that you can do. But the fact that you can bring them before the Father, that you can intercede on their behalf and ask God's blessings and protection on them and on their work, is a very meaningful privilege that God gives to us. And I believe it's not just a gesture.
8. 3:29But if our prayers are indeed heard in heaven, and I believe they are, and God honors our request, then we truly are blessing those works that are being done overseas or here in the States or wherever they might be by remembering them before the Father. There are times when tragedy as well as opportunity strikes in various areas. A couple who lost their son in Brazil.
9. 3:57Another couple I knew doing mission work in the mountains of northern New Mexico who lost a daughter. Both these situations were just sudden onslaught of illness and just like that. The child was gone. Heartbreaking situations. You cannot physically be there for them. You can't hug them. You can't hold them. You can't share with them in their grief. But you can pray. And you can bring them before the Father and ask the God of all comforts to grant them comfort.
10. 4:25And I believe that that is a very real ministry that all of us can be involved in, all of us can participate in, as we intercede on behalf of those who are sharing the gospel in this country and in different parts of the world. Secondly, we can intercede on behalf of those who have personal or marital problems. I'm sure that we all know people that are having difficulties.
11. 4:54that are wrestling with sins in their lives or are having difficulties in relationships. And it may be a situation where either distance is a factor and we can't actually be with them to work with them, or it's perhaps awkward in some other way and it's just difficult to talk to them. But that doesn't mean that we can't bring them before the Father and we can't remember their situations before Him and ask for His aid.
12. 5:22and his working in their lives, that the difficulties they're facing, whether it's personally or in a relationship or whatever, might be worked through and dealt with, with his aid. As Paul, in Ephesians 6, was writing to these brethren at Ephesus, he was a long ways away from them as he writes one of these prison epistles. But he says, I sure do want you to remember me. What we need to keep in mind is that...
13. 5:50that our distance from somebody here on earth makes absolutely no difference to God as far as the effectiveness of our communication with Him. Just because somebody's halfway around the world doesn't mean that they're out of God's reach. And as long as we're in contact with God and God can aid them, then if we're talking to God, we're aiding them. And so we need to share with God in prayer our concerns about those who are having problems such as that.
14. 6:18And then another situation that comes up that we often run into. I bring this out in C here. There may be some that are very close to us, but we just can't talk to. Maybe you've got a child and you're just not getting along with them. Or a brother or a sister or a friend or a neighbor. Or maybe it's your husband or your wife. And communication is just difficult, if not impossible. And yet, you want to aid. You want to help.
15. 6:50But communication with them has been cut off. That does not mean that communication with God has been cut off. As a man once told his avowed enemy, and I love this quote, you can prevent me from doing many things, sir, but one thing you can't prevent me from is praying for you. And that's right. Somebody may say, I just want to talk to you. Fine. You don't have to talk to them, but you can sure talk to the Father about them.
16. 7:17and you can pray in their behalf. In fact, one of the privileges that we enjoy as Christians is the fact that we're allowed, that we're blessed with the privilege of praying for our enemies, of people who otherwise wouldn't have anything to do with us. And technically, you know, the way the world looks at it, we shouldn't have anything to do with them. We can pray for them. Remember a few years ago when they announced Operation Desert Storm? President Bush came on television. It came on a Wednesday night, I remember, not that long before.
17. 7:47A time when we would get together like this on Wednesday night. I can remember when President Bush came on and announced that the bombers were going in and this thing was starting. And we went to services that evening. And, of course, I'm sure it was that way everywhere. But, I mean, that was what was on everybody's mind was the fact that we were stepping into this operation. And I'll never forget that night. One of the men offered a prayer. And in the prayer, he prayed for Saddam Hussein. He prayed that...
18. 8:19God would, well, here's what he prayed. He prayed that God would not allow him to do that, which would hurt a lot of innocent people. And I think God basically answered that overall, really looking at the scope of the operation. He also prayed that somehow, if possible, his heart might be touched. He might come to see that there is one true God, and he's not Allah, okay? And he might come to understand who God really is and become his child. And so far that hasn't happened. But the thing about it was, and it really drove home to me,
19. 8:47Here we were as a country going to war with another country, and as Christians, we were offering prayers, and prayers were being offered in behalf of the enemy and for his welfare. We are privileged to do that. Luke 23, 34, remember what Jesus prays on the cross? Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they're doing. As Christians, we are given the opportunity to intercede even for our enemies.
20. 9:19even for those who do us harm. Intercessory prayer moves us to focus without rather than within. And if there's a benefit to intercessory prayer, and there are many, okay? But if there is a benefit to intercessory prayer that perhaps rises above the others, to me it's this one. It is too easy to look inward and not really look outward. And it's in intercessory prayer that I believe our eyes are opened.
21. 9:50and our hearts are opened and touched by the needs around us. It's difficult to pray about the difficulties that people are in and talk about them with God and not turn around and try to do something about those if they have really touched us and moved us. And I think it's then an intercessory prayer that we really begin to reflect the Spirit of Christ. Because Jesus in His ministry was constantly concerned
22. 10:20not about what was best for him, but what was best for others. And as you look at the prayers that he offers, the real Lord's Prayer in John 17, read that prayer. That prayer focuses not on his needs, not on his concerns, but on the needs of his disciples, on the needs of his church. And I think that's the kind of spirit that we need to advance, and that's the kind of spirit that is produced.
23. 10:50by intercessory prayer. And so, consciously interceding on behalf of others and focusing on that in prayer is a blessing and a privilege and a very special kind of communication that we can have with the Father. And then secondly, there is the prayer of adoration. We discussed this to some degree when we talked about the little acronym ACTS with affirming and adoring being
24. 11:22A of Acts. But I wanted to spend a little more time on this because, frankly, I don't think we're real good at adoration. That's not our great capability in our culture. Think about it for a second. Asking comes pretty naturally to us, but adoration does not. In the raising of your children, did you have to teach your kids to ask for things? They come by that pretty naturally, don't they?
25. 11:54Daddy, can I have? Mommy, can I go? This and that. I mean, that comes pretty steadily, doesn't it? We don't have to teach our children to ask for things. But what do we have to spend years and years and years patiently trying to somehow drum into their minds? The importance of expressing compliments and evincing gratitude. Now that's something.
26. 12:22We have to work on time and time again. How many times has someone handed your child, handed my child, a piece of candy? They take the candy, spin, and head off, and you have to go grab them and bring them back and say, now, what are you supposed to say? Oh, yeah, thank you. And off they go. You see, and that's childlike, but I'll guarantee you it's all too adult-like, isn't it? And it's very easy at times.
27. 12:52to forget to say thank you. We talked quite a bit about this at Thanksgiving, but it's very easy to forget to say thank you. And I think in the process of forgetting to say thank you, also forget to adore the giver of good gifts and really express our appreciation to him for what he does for us. Paul is a great expresser of adoration. He really is. All through Paul's letters, you will find...
28. 13:20what are sometimes called doxologies, which are defined as spontaneous outbursts of praise. Paul will be discussing something that God has done for the church or something that God has done in his life, and suddenly it's like he just can't control himself any longer, and he'll just pin a doxology, these spontaneous outbursts of praise. I've given you a couple of examples of those here. 1 Timothy 1, verse 17. Now to the king, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God.
29. 13:49be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. You see, and he just stops, and right just as he's getting going in this letter, but he's just talked about how he's the chief of sinners. By the grace of God, God has not only saved him, but called him to this wonderful work in which he's involved. And he just jumps into this spontaneous outburst of praise, offering adoration to the Father. Ephesians 3, 20 and 21. That him who's able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,
30. 14:19according 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. And again, you find this beautiful expression of adoration given by Paul. I really like C.S. Lewis as an author. I have a lot of his books. In one of his books, his letters to Malcolm, he warns of four obstacles that can get in the path of our adoration.
31. 14:50of God, and I thought they were certainly worth sharing, and I wanted to acknowledge that these are not original with me at all. But one is inattention. Inattention can get in the way of adoration. It's very often easier to ignore than it is to adore. Now, what do I mean? Simply that we can get so caught up in the busyness of things, so caught up in the running, that we forget what the race is all about.
32. 15:25So caught up in grappling with getting the blessings, holding on to the blessings, dispersing the blessings, that we forget the source of the blessings. Do you hear what I'm saying? It's very, very easy to lose our perspective and to lose sight of who is the giver, who is the source of the blessings that we enjoy. And I believe that the inattention is often by no means deliberate.
33. 15:57in a very real sense, that we're not grateful. It's just that we forget to express that gratefulness and the adoration that we feel for the one who is the giver of those good gifts. But again, there's a very real sense, I think, in which we're no different than the four-year-old who has taken the piece of candy and walked away without saying thank you. If we absorb and absorb and absorb and absorb and absorb and expect, not just absorb,
34. 16:27but expect these blessings that come from God, and yet inattentively, in a childlike way, fail to express our appreciation to Him for those blessings and simply for His nature and the fact that He's willing to give us those good gifts, then we have failed to avail ourselves of a major motivator in providing adoration to God.
35. 16:54by paying attention to those gifts that he gives to us and appreciating them. And then secondly, there is the wrong kind of attention. We sometimes seek to analyze rather than to adore. There are things that happen to us. There are things that we receive. And our response, I believe, shouldn't be to sit back and necessarily analyze the gift.
36. 17:26but simply appreciate it and express thanks for it. And again, go back to the one who has given us that good gift. Several years ago, one of my favorite places in the whole world, I've told you this before, it's Telluride, Colorado. I love Telluride. It's beautiful. You're just right up there, all these 14,000-foot peaks around, just a gorgeous, gorgeous place. And I remember getting up real early one morning,
37. 17:58just as the sun was coming up. And watching the sun hit the snow-capped peaks, and the peaks had some clouds and mist up around them at that time in the morning, and the sun hitting that, and that was just one of the prettiest pictures that I've ever seen in my whole life. And I will never forget how beautiful that was. You know, it's one of those sublime things that just happens every once in a while, and it's just so gorgeous that you never forget it. Now,
38. 18:29I could have stood there and gone, now I wonder just how the refraction of light through the water molecules in the cloud is causing these colors to be produced. And I wonder how the sun moving at the angle, the light moving at the angle it has to through the atmosphere and striking the snow is causing that purplish color that I seem to be seeing. And I could have spent the whole time sitting there and trying to analyze the phenomena behind
39. 19:01what we saw, or you just sit there and drink it in, see, and just go, wow, this is really, really pretty. Moments like that, and I want to talk more about this in a second, but I believe moments like that are really gifts to us. I really believe they are gifts to us, given by God, serendipities that come our way, that are designed to draw us closer to Him.
40. 19:29It's difficult to look at beauty like that and not think about God. You've got to be pretty hard-hearted to look at something like that and God not come to mind and the glories and the beauties of the creation that He's given to us. And I really believe that periodically through our lives, God gives us these serendipities, these times when we get an insight into a special beauty that He's given to us. And it gives us an opportunity to really appreciate.
41. 19:58the blessings that he gives to us in our lives. But we can get paralysis from analysis in the process. I mean, we really can, in a very real sense, look that proverbial gift horse in the mouth. A good friend of mine who farms over in eastern New Mexico several years ago just really made a crop. Did super. Just one of those years where he hit everything right.
42. 20:31And we were talking about how well he had done, and he banked several hundred thousand dollars in the process of this one year, just done super. And I said, don't you feel blessed? Isn't this great? And he says, no, I feel a lot of pressure. I've got to figure out how I'm going to handle the tax liability on this and how I'm going to invest this money.
43. 21:02And I'm trying to decide now if I'm going to invest this in some CDs or buy some more land and I've got some equipment. You know, he had just, you see what I'm saying? He received this tremendous blessing. He couldn't enjoy it. He couldn't enjoy it for looking at all these complications that he had seen that this blessing was going to bring to him. Can't we do the same thing? You see, receive blessings and spend so much time looking at what we perceive as the complications that might come to our lives because of these blessings.
44. 21:33that we rob ourselves of the joy that's there and that's very real and that could be shared in. Greed can get in the way of adoration. We only sometimes want more rather than to adore. I mean, when is enough enough? Honestly, when's enough enough? Several years ago, I wrote an article in Gospel Advocate, and I asked that question because I'd been thinking about that and decided to write an article about it. When's enough enough?
45. 22:10If you broke your arm and God healed your arm, and your arm was healed, and it was just like it had been before, there was absolutely no indication that the arm had ever been broken, that would be wonderful. But I'll guarantee you, here's what would happen. Pretty soon people would be saying, but when I first broke my arm, it hurt for a while. God, if I ever break my arm again, I don't want it to hurt before you fix it. See, I don't want any pain. Right?
46. 22:41And I guarantee you, this would be the progression. And then pretty soon people would be saying, well, but why let me break my arm in the first place? Whatever happens, just fix it to where I never break my arm, I never have any pain, and you never have to fix it. And no matter what situation we get ourselves into, it would never be enough. Always. There would be something more that he could do. Something else that he could fix. Another blessing that he could give.
47. 23:14If our minds are focused on what we can get, we will never get enough. We'll never have enough. He'll never bless us enough. And oftentimes, we can go around grumping and griping and complaining and not appreciating what we have, not on the basis of what we've got because we've got plenty, or unhappy because we don't have more.
48. 23:43So greed can get in the way of thanksgiving and appreciation and in the process, adoration. And finally, conceit. We can become so enamored with ourselves that we fail to offer adoration to the only one that's truly deserving of that adoration. The fact of the matter is that no matter what we have, we are recipients of the blessings of others. It doesn't make any difference what we have.
49. 24:12We did not do it ourselves. If it hadn't been for the efforts of others, and here I'm not even including God, of course God's central in this, but no matter what we have, what we've earned, what we've done, if it wasn't for the aid and help of others, we wouldn't have what we do. And so the conceit that would say, this is mine because I got it, and fail to recognize the source of that blessing is truly a devilish conceit. I really believe that adoration offers a foretaste of heaven. When you have an opportunity,
50. 24:44and we don't have time because I want to get through all this, but read Revelation 7, verses 9 through 12, and look at the picture there of heaven and of the pure adoration, pure adoration that is offered in heaven to the Father. Adoration is more easily offered when motivated by awe or appreciation. I'm back now to a point I made previously, and that is seize upon such times to praise God in prayer. When those serendipities come,
51. 25:15When you see that beautiful rainbow, when you stand for the first time on the side of the Grand Canyon, when you see those gorgeous mountains, when you hold that baby boy or baby girl for the first time, you know, and those serendipities come in life, those splendid little moments that really drive home to you the blessings and the beauty of what God has given to us. I believe those are the times that we should seize upon to truly offer our adoration to Him. Now, some practical...
52. 25:46observations as we conclude this study together. First of all, learning how to pray is a lifelong pursuit. Please, don't become impatient with yourself. I love this quote. Pray as you can, not as you can't. I've been with people, we were praying together, and I truly believe they were not praying as they could. They were wanting
53. 26:22to phrase their prayers in such a way as to impress or whatever, but they weren't praying like them. Okay? Don't try to pray like anybody else. You heard somebody and they offered to impress. Don't try to pray like them. You're not them. You don't talk like them. You don't walk like them. You don't have the same pursuits. Don't pray like they do. You pray like you do. Okay? You talk to God the way you talk to God. He made you a unique individual. Okay?
54. 26:49And he doesn't want you talking to him like somebody else. He wants you talking to him because you're you. He loves you. He sent his son to die for you, okay? So you talk to him. Pray as you can. And don't worry about how somebody else prays. You pray. Secondly, in the matter of our prayers, the role of each member of the Godhead is made clear in Scripture. It is the Father...
55. 27:18who hears and answers our prayers. Jesus will drive this point home in that model prayer, Luke 11, verse 2. Our Father who art in heaven. He addresses the prayer to the Father. James 1, verse 17 tells us it is the Father of lights who is the giver of the good gifts that we receive. It is Jesus Christ who serves as the mediator between us and the Father. 1 Timothy 2, verse 5.
56. 27:46The Holy Spirit who intercedes on our behalf before the Father. In Romans 8, verses 26 and 27. In other words, Scripture clearly delineates the roles that the Godhead fulfills in hearing and responding to our prayers. Now, I think this is important in that it is needful, point three, that we recognize and honor these distinctive roles in our prayers.
57. 28:14I think in doing so, we clearly honor the distinctions, the clear distinctions that are made in Scripture, and we glorify God's wonderful plan. Now, by that I mean, I don't address my prayer to Jesus. I address my prayer through Jesus. Now, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah. There's no doubt about that. And there is a unity that exists within Jehovah that I believe is beyond our comprehension.
58. 28:43There is a oneness and a unity there that is literally perfect. Completely, always, absolutely in tune. There is no doubt about that. But at the same time, clear distinction is made in the personalities of the Godhead. Clear distinction. And clear roles are given to them. And I believe in our prayers we need to respect those roles that are given. And so it is the Father to whom we pray.
59. 29:13It is the Son who has the incredibly important role, having become man, to mediate and experience what it is to be human, to mediate for us. And it is the role of the Spirit to intercede in our behalf. And thus, all of the Godhead is clearly involved in our communication with the Father and play a critical role in that. But I think it's important that we recognize
60. 29:40Those distinctions and those roles and those responsibilities that have been given. Let's continue on. Prayer is a powerful force because our God's a powerful God. And we should never forget that truth. Prayer is not... It bothers me sometimes. Sometimes late at night, I'll watch these TV things that come on late at night, and they're talking about prayer. And they talk as if prayer is this...
61. 30:13entity unto itself that has some kind of power by itself mysteriously. And that's garbage. See? It's garbage. Prayer in and of itself has no power. Who has the power? The one we're talking to. He's the one who has the power. He's the one who makes the difference. The prayer is simply the medium.
62. 30:44the way to reach the one who can really make a difference, you see. And if we begin to focus on the medium rather than on the Father, we've missed the boat. And that's why I say, again, don't worry about how somebody else prays. Don't worry about somebody else's glibness or ability to communicate with the Father or the way in which they express themselves. What's at issue is you're talking to God. Does God hear you?
63. 31:16Are you communicating with Him? Because it's not the prayer itself that has any power. It's the Father who has the power. And it's the Father who can make a difference in your life and mine. And then point five. Prayer is no substitute for action. It's no substitute for prayer. And I worded it that way on purpose. I wasn't trying to confuse you, but I really believe that's right.
64. 31:44Prayer is no substitute for action, is no substitute for prayer. We need to understand that what we do needs to be immersed in prayer. And our prayer needs to be a reflection of what we're seeking to do. When we begin to substitute prayer for action, we've missed the boat. We fail to see what's really important. When we substitute action for prayer, we've got things all out of joint. Prayer is to be a critical part.
65. 32:16of our lives, a vital part of our spiritual lives, so is our service to God. Just as faith that is just words is meaningless, as James makes so clear in James chapter 2 and John makes so clear in 1 John chapter 3, so talking about our willingness to serve our God and talking about how we love our God isn't going to make much difference ultimately if there is no service and no true love is ultimately reflected. And so,
66. 32:48prayer and service, prayer and the actions of our lives are very much intertwined and interlinked. And sixthly, please do not allow what you perceive as your spiritual failures to prevent you from praying. And I really believe if there's one thing that gets in the way over and over again in prayer, this is it. I'm just too dirty. God's not going to listen to me. I messed up yesterday big time. He's got to be mad at me.
67. 33:19He's not going to listen to me. Therefore, I'm not going to talk to him. I know, I know that goes up as a roadblock over and over and over again. And there's nothing that the devil loves any more than to convince you that you're a failure and that God doesn't want to have anything to do with you and that you've messed up royally and you've destroyed your relationship with him and to get you to quit trying. I don't know why Demas walked off and went back to Thessalonica. I don't know why.
68. 33:49But I can't help but think that somewhere he was convinced he was a failure. Why try? Why try? And I think the devil would love to convince you and he would love to convince me that we're failures and there's no point in trying. And one of the most effective tools that he has to do that is when we sin and we feel like failures and then we decide we might as well quit. Emily Griffin has a quote, The Lord loves us perhaps most of all.
69. 34:21When we fail and try again. How did Jesus treat Peter? When Peter failed, what set Peter apart? What was the difference between Peter and Judas? Judas went off, hanged himself. What did Peter do? Came back, tried again. Okay? Took his lungs, came back, tried again. I think it's critical that we understand how important it is that we come back to the Father. Richard Foster in his book on prayer has this beautiful little prayer that seems so honest and I just...
70. 34:59wrote it out to share it with you. He writes, Blessed Father, I pace back and forth at the altar of commitment. I really do want a fixed habit of prayer. At least that's what I want right now. I'm not sure if that's what I'll want two weeks from now. I do know that without some kind of consistent communion with you, I will not know holy obedience. So, as best I can,
71. 35:29I promise to set aside time regularly for prayer, meditation, and spiritual reading. Strengthen me in this covenant. Help me to so delight in your presence that I will want to come home to you often. In your son's name and for his sake I make this covenant. He's honest, isn't he? And we need to be honest in the same way. I know we want better prayer lives. Let's ask the Father for aid and help.
72. 35:59that we might indeed enjoy better and closer communication with Him.

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