Sunday, September 20, 2015 am
GOING ON TO PERFECTION (28)
THE CHRISTIAN AND PRAYER - 2
Acceptable Prayer
This month we are studying the subject of prayer in the life of a
Christian. Last week we
defined what prayer is, noted various types of prayers (1 Timothy 2:1-2)
and what the content of prayers includes (see Matthew 6:9-13).
Today we want to address some aspects of proper prayer.
a.
It is intended for
believers – typically, prayer is a privilege believers enjoy.
i.
FIRST, the very idea of
prayer is that you believe in God as you approach Him.
True belief in God includes obedience.
Luke 6:46, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do the things which I say?”
1 John 2:3 tells us that we know Him by keeping His commandments.
That would obviously include becoming a Christian.
ii.
SECOND, The majority of
instructions dealing with prayers are addressed to believers.
James 5:16 – the effective, fervent prayer of a RIGHTEOUS MAN
avails much.
“For the eyes of the LORD are on
the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of
the LORD is against those who do evil.” (1 Peter 3:12, QUOTING Psalm
34:12-16)
As we go through this lesson we will see numerous passages addressed to
believers.
iii.
CONSIDER - Proverbs
15:29, “The Lord is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of
the righteous.” (See also Prov. 15:8, 28:9, etc.)
b.
Can sinners (the
unsaved) pray to God? Does
He hear the prayers of unbelievers?
i.
That God knows when the
unsaved are praying to Him is a given since He knows everything.
He hears their words and even knows their motives.
But does He answer them? That is the question here.
ii.
By praying to God, we
mean turning to Him with their requests in the same way Christians can
turn to Him. To ask Him to help
them with their daily needs, etc.
Does He hear and answer such prayers?
iii.
As we have noted, the
Bible shows the privilege of prayer belongs to believers.
I am not aware of passages that show those who refuse to obey God’s
commands receiving answers from Him in prayer.
iv.
What about Cornelius in
Acts 10? Cornelius was a devout man who prayed to God always (10:2).
Vs. 4 tells us that his prayers came up to Him as a memorial.
God knew the type of man Cornelius was and that he genuinely
desired to obey Him.
Therefore God gave him opportunity to obey the gospel.
He was instructed to send for Peter who would tell him what to do
(to be saved – vs. 6, 11:14).
Peter comes and preaches and as a result Cornelius obeyed the
gospel (Acts 10:48).
v.
This is the problem with
the sinner’s prayer.
1.
It is never recorded in
the Bible
2.
“Calling on the name of
the Lord” does not mean saying the sinner’s prayer.
Consider Acts 2:21 where Joel 2:32 is quoted saying, “Whoever
calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
As Peter concludes his sermon he tells them what to do – Acts
2:38 – repent and be baptized.
Some 3000 souls obeyed that day (Acts 2:41)
3.
Acts 22:16 finds Paul
being told by Ananias, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be
baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’”
This equates obeying the gospel – which includes being baptized
with calling on the name of the Lord.
NOTE: Of interest in this passage, which is a retelling of his
conversion as recorded in Acts 9, is that when Paul is told this he has
been praying to God and fasting for three days (Acts 9:9, 11, 18).
4.
According to this a
sinner cannot even pray to be saved – he must obey the gospel, and that
brings us back to our question – does God hear the prayers of
unbelievers? The answer is
no!
a.
Let him ask in faith – James 1:5-6 – when we pray we ask in faith.
Matthew 21:21-22, speaking to His disciples, Jesus associates their
asking with faith.
Hebrews 11:6, without faith we
cannot please Him, NOR come to Him.
Does God answers our prayers?
Yes – consider 1 John 5:14–15, “Now this is the confidence
that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He
hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that
we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
Numerous other passages that we will address in this study also shows
this.
The WAY He answers is a different study – in brief, while He
answers our prayers, it is His way and that may not be the same as the
way we want it answered.
b.
According to His will
– not selfishly
Jesus in the garden, Matthew 26:39, 42.
As we noted last week in the model prayer – Matthew 6:10, “Your will be
done on earth as it is in heaven.”
1 John 5:14 - “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that
if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
This should always be our desire in our prayers.
c.
Serving Him
– prayers are for those walking in the light – not for the rebellious
and ungodly.
James 5:16- the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man.
1 John 3:21-22, we receive what we ask because we keep His commandments
and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
1 Peter 3:12, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His
ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against
those who do evil.”
Prov. 28:9, “One who turns away
his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.”
Prov. 15:8 – the prayers of the upright is His delight (also vs. 29)
Isa. 59:1-2 – sins keep Him from hearing our prayers
d.
Pray with understanding
– we need to know what we are praying for.
1 Corinthians 14:15, The ESV translates 1 Cor. 14:15, “I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also.”
Matt. 6:7 as Jesus teaches how to pray He warns against vain repetitions
– that would be thoughtless speaking.
NOTE: Romans 8:26 tells us the Spirit makes intercession in our prayers
when we do not know what to pray for.
This is not contradictory.
The point is we may know how to fully word a request.
It is then that He intercedes (being God he knows our actions,
words and thoughts).
But this is not the same as one praying without thought or just
rambling.
e.
With sincerity
- God has no place for the hypocrite.
Matthew 6:5, when we pray we are not to be like the hypocrites (see more
in our next point). This
implies sincerity as we approach Him.
Matthew 23:14 speaks of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees as they “for
a pretense make long prayers.”
James 5:16 speaks of the
effective, fervent prayer of the righteous avails much.
Vs. 17 speaks of Elijah praying earnestly (fervently- ESV).
f.
With humility and respect for God – one reason we begin our prayers acknowledging Him is
to humble us. We must serve
Him with reverence and godly fear (Heb. 12:28)
In Luke 18:9-14 we find a parable of two men who prayed – the tax
collector realized who he was addressing and with humility approached
Him.
1 Peter 5:5- calls for us to be humble, including under the mighty hand
of God that He may exalt you.
Could casting all our cares upon Him include our prayers?
g.
With patience – we need to let God answer prayers in His time and His way –
Luke 18:6-8 - The very idea of persistence in prayer is waiting on Him.
Though He bears long with us, He knows our needs and cares about us.
Ephesians 6:18, “praying always with all prayer and supplication in
the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all
perseverance and supplication for all the saints—”
h.
In Jesus name
– a realization that when we pray to the Father, it is through Jesus.
John 16:23 – speaking to His apostles, “whatever
you ask the Father in My name He will give you.”
Ephesians 2:18, “For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to
the Father.”
1 Timothy 2:5 describes Him as our Mediator and 1 John 2:1 as our
advocate.
i.
Concerning confession and asking forgiveness
– as Christians we do sin.
When we do we need forgiveness.
1 John 1:9 addresses this.
Also such prayers must be accompanied with repentance - Acts
8:22. This accords with God
hearing the prayers of the righteous as well (see above – 1 John 1:5)
a.
In addition to the
attributes that make prayers acceptable, we remind ourselves there are
also things that make prayers unacceptable to Him.
Improper attitudes and conduct.
Most of these are obvious based upon what we have already
addressed, but some things are specifically stated, while others are
implied. Let us notice
a few as we conclude this study.
b.
Selfish prayers
– James 4:3 – you
ask and do not receive because you ask amiss – selfishly.
c.
To be seen by men
- Matthew 6:5, “And when you pray,
you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in
the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen
by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”
Luke 18:11 describes the Pharisee praying out loud for all to hear.
d.
Don’t expect a miracle
– the days of miracle are over (1 Cor. 13:8-12)
But that does not mean God cannot work within natural means.
However, some expect God to work miraculously in healing their
family and friends, converting lost souls, etc.
e.
Don’t expect Him to do
your part –
how many pray to God for their food, but then refuse to work?
How many pray for the lost to come to Him but never lift a finger to
find them?
How many want God to solve their problems, but they don’t put forth
efforts themselves!
For example:
They pray, “Help me get out of debt” they ask, but they keep
spending recklessly
They pray, “He me increase in knowledge of Your word”, but they never
open or study the Bible.
f.
Specific examples of
hindered prayers
i.
When a husband fails to
treat his wife properly – 1 Peter 3:7, prayers are hindered
ii.
When your brother has
something against you –
Matthew 5:23-24 - go to him and take care of it first, THEN come and
offer your gift.
iii.
Failing to forgive
others – Matt. 6:12, 14-15 – it is crucial.
If we want to be forgiven, we must learn to forgive.
Other passages could be added to these.
But with this we have a good idea about what makes prayer
acceptable to God. IF you
want to be what God would have you to be – learn to pray properly, and
that includes a proper understanding of what He expects us.
Is something hindering your prayers?
Think about it!