Praying

The goal of the Christian life is godliness born of obedience to Christ. Obedience unlocks the riches of the Christian experience. Prayer prompts and nurtures obedience, putting the heart into the proper “frame of mind,” to desire obedience.

 1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice evermore. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

In two parables Jesus teaches us concerning prayer. We learn by contrast; persistence is the issue.

Luke 11:8 I say to you, Though he will not get up and give to him, because he is his friend, still, if he keeps on making his request, he will get up and give him as much as he has need of.

Jesus says, ‘I will help you, I’m not like that reluctant friend. All you have to do is ask, all you have to do is seek, all you have to do is knock, and you will receive.’

Luke 18:5 Because this widow is a trouble to me, I will give her what is right; or she will exhaust me by her frequent coming.

God is not like a reluctant friend, or like the unjust judge. He is the very opposite of that. The first time you ask about a certain matter, He hears and He responds
in accord with your need and in accord with His will.

Prayer Changes Things

There is something erroneous in the question, “If God knows everything, why pray?” This question assumes that prayer is one-dimensional and that it is defined simply as supplication or intercession. But that is inaccurate.

Prayer is multidimensional. God’s sovereignty casts no shadow over the prayer of adoration. God’s foreknowledge does not negate the prayer of praise. The only thing it should do is give us greater reason for expressing our adoration for who God is.

Does prayer change God’s mind? No! Does prayer change things? Of course!

The Bible says there are certain things God has decreed from all eternity, and those things will inevitably come to pass. If we were to join forces in prayer or if all the Christians of the world were to pray collectively, it would not change what God, in His hidden counsel, has determined to do.

The mind of God does not change, for God does not change. Things change, and they change according to His sovereign will, which He exercises through secondary means and secondary activities. It is complex and beyond our comprehension, but: The prayer of God’s people is one of the means He uses to bring things to pass in this world.

Does prayer changes things? Yes!

It is impossible to know how much of human history reflects God’s immediate intervention and how much reveals God working through human agents.

There is freedom within limits, and within those limits, our prayers can impact and change things. Pray!

The Mechanics Of Prayer

Luke11:1b one of His disciples said unto Him, “Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples.”

The disciples did not ask Jesus to teach them how to pray; instead they begged, “Teach us to pray.” The instruction Jesus gives regarding prayer in Matthew 6 and Luke 11 begins with, “When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites.”

Prayer is never to be a religious ritual, with meaningless repetition. It is not ‘better’ if you use fancy words, or pray longer. You don’t have to repeat prayers with some prescribed formula, or with memorized words that do not exercise or tap your thoughts and authentic feelings. But Jesus did teach us to pray.

The acrostic “A-C-T-S” is useful as a pattern for prayer.

A—ADORATION Prayer must reflect the respect and the honor due to God alone. Adoration introduces us into the proper mode by which we confess our sins, give our thanks, and make our supplications.

C—CONFESSION In prayer we must come to God with hearts of confession. We must remember we have no right to come before God at all, apart from the finished work of Christ. We can make no claim to the ear of God on our own; we have no intrinsic right to His presence.

T—THANKSGIVING God is honored by thanksgiving and dishonored by the lack of it. All that we have and all that we are we owe ultimately to the benevolence of our Creator. To slight Him by withholding appropriate gratitude is to exalt ourselves and to debase Him.

S—SUPPLICATION In prayer we are to voice our needs to Him, He said to ask, and to be specific when we ask.

God cares about us, and has a desire for us to talk with Him about what is going on in our lives. Although He knows, He wants to hear from us. That is prayer. It is a privilege to be able to converse with the God of the universe, knowing that He is there, ready to hear from us.

Let’s exercise it. Let’s pray.