Prayer That Matters - 4

We begin discussing the teachings of Jesus on prayer - most notably his invitation to PERSIST in prayer on those things which are important to us and others.

Transcript

Copy

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Jeff's Bible Trek once again. And it's another gorgeous day in the Pacific Northwest. My apologies for the gap in time between episodes, but I took time out to teach this series at our church, and that has ended now. So here we are with episode four of our season on prayer that matters. We've spent all our time in the Old Testament so far, and we finished that off in the last episode. So that brings us to the teachings of the Lord Jesus on prayer. That's going to be a wild ride. But before we talk about Jesus, I want to quickly mention Anna and Simeon from Luke chapter 2. It doesn't say anything about Simeon's prayer life there, but it only says this in verses 25 to 32, that he was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God and then began to prophesy. Now, my belief is that you don't have the Holy Spirit moving in your life like this without a vibrant prayer life. You know, I highlighted three words as I was going through there. The Holy Spirit was upon him. The Holy Spirit revealed things to him, and the Holy Spirit moved him to go into the temple courts. You don't have the Holy Spirit moving your life like this without a vibrant prayer life. However, his name does mean one who hears. So I believe he put himself in a place, the presence of God, the place of prayer, to hear the Spirit. In the case of Anna, however, the Bible is crystal clear about her prayer life. In verses 37 and 38, it says she never left the temple, but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. My point? My point is that God brings people in on the secrets of the kingdom when they spend significant quantity and quality of time in prayer. Think about what it says about Jesus and the parables in Mark 4.34. It says there that he did not say anything to them, the people, that is, without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything. I believe God does that today, too. That if we will find ourselves in the secret place with Jesus, he will explain everything to us. That's awesome. The first mention of prayer in the Bible by Jesus is in the Sermon on the Mount. It's Matthew 5, verses 43 to 44. You have heard that it was said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I tell you, love your enemies, and here it is, pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. This goes back to our earlier discussion about mercy triumphing over judgment. The truth is, you can't be angry with someone you're praying for. And to hold a grudge opens the door to bitterness, which is a putrid swamp for the soul that'll only hurt yourself and no one else. You want to pray prayers that matter? Let go of things and pray for people, because mercy triumphs over judgment. James 213. The next passage we need to look at is Matthew 6, 5 to 15, reading from the Passion Translation. Whenever you pray, be sincere, and not like the pretenders who love the attention they receive while praying before others in the meetings and on street corners. Believe me, they've already received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your innermost chamber and be alone with Father God, praying to him in secret. And your Father who sees all you do will reward you openly. When you pray, there is no need to repeat empty phrases, praying like the Gentiles do, for they expect God to hear them because of their many words. There is no need to imitate them, since your Father already knows what you need before you ask him. Pray like this. Our beloved Father, dwelling in the heavenly realms, may the glory of your name be the center on which our lives turn. Manifest your kingdom realm, and cause your every purpose to be fulfilled on earth, just as it is in heaven. We acknowledge you as our provider of all we need each day. Forgive us the wrongs we have done as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us. Rescue us every time we face tribulation and set us free from evil, for you are the king who rules with power and glory forever. Amen. And it's almost as if he just took a breath and continued here, and when you pray, make sure you forgive the faults of others so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you withhold forgiveness from others, your Father withholds forgiveness from you, and by implication may withhold answers to prayers. This is not the only place in the Bible where prayer and forgiveness are linked together. So, first of all, while public prayer does happen, Jesus here instructs us to pray in secret, like he did. And he begins by talking about a class of people who pray to be seen. In another place he warns against making a show with our praying in Mark twelve, thirty eight to forty. Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely. Why do you think that is? You know, this really gets into the church's shorts like a wheat eater, because if such people are not actually praying to be seen, they're talking about their prayer life to impress people. What Jesus is telling us to do here grates against our nature, which lacks attention and recognition. Think about some of the things that we are tempted to say to our fellow Christians. Things like, I was praying the other day and God really spoke to me. Or when something really good happens to someone we know, we're often tempted to say, I I prayed about that. You'll say, Come on, Jeff, where do you draw the line on this thing? Well, I honestly don't know. I cannot judge. Only you know what your motives are. A good litmus test is to ask yourself why you're telling people about it. Are we after some credit for something? If so, impressing people is the only reward we'll get. Jesus said, I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. Jesus didn't talk about his prayer life. He just went out on the hillsides and did it. Humans tend to focus on the seen world and ignore that which impacts the unseen world. So to be on the safe side, pray in secret and leave what happens there in secret, so you have the best shot at a reward from God. Listen, here's my motive. I want you to have a warehouse full of rewards waiting for you in heaven. Jesus modeled prayer in secret, as we said a moment ago. He often went off alone to pray. In the Old Testament, the high priest going alone into the darkness of the most holy place was a picture of this. Jesus even did this in the Garden of Gethsemane. He left the disciples behind and went off alone to pray and cry out to God. And this brings us back to the topic of humility and prayer that we've seen several times in the Old Testament. Listen to this interesting story from Luke 18, 9 to 14. To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable. Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. And again, Luke twenty, verses forty-five to forty-seven, which is almost the same as Mark twelve, thirty-eight to forty that we read earlier in this episode. While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows' houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. Now I hate to read this next sentence, but Jesus said it on this occasion. Such men will be punished most severely. Well, that's a lot to think about. Moving on. Babbling. Jesus talks about babbling. He said, And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. The Passion Translation says it this way. When you pray, there is no need to repeat empty phrases, praying like the Gentiles do, for they expect God to hear them because of their many words. Now some like to point to this and say, see, tongues are not of God, but that's not what Jesus is referring to. In the Amplified Version it says, And when you pray, do not heap up phrases, multiply words, repeating the same ones over and over, as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their much speaking. Now this is me talking. Did you remember the account in 1 Kings 18, 25 to 29, the big contest on Mount Carmel between Elijah and the prophets of Baal? You know, that the prophets of Baal, they babbled. They just kept saying the same things over and over and over again, hoping for God to hear them. And then here's the message translation. The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer ignorant. Wow, that's harsh. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. What does he really think? So then we have the Lord's Prayer and verses 9 to 15. Um, and I already read it earlier, but I'm I'm just kind of speaking about the various sections of what I read. Jesus actually gives us a model for praying. Now, there have been teachings, galore about this passage, that dig into specifics about how to pray that will easily fill an hour of praying if you follow them. And those teachings are awesome. I would never take a thing away from them. I would just say that they're useless if we don't actually do them. I still see strongholds that need to be torn down and a lack of power in our praying that tells me we still need to get such teachings from our brains down to our lips. Now, here's a loose outline of the order of the Lord's Prayer. It starts with worship, it moves on to prayer for the kingdom and the expansion of the kingdom. We often never get to this. We we pray for our own needs and we get some of our needs met, but the kingdom isn't growing. He talks about personal needs, and then he moves on to forgiveness, and then spiritual protection, and then forgiveness. Wait, didn't I already say that? That's right. He addresses it twice. Think it's important? I think so. Mark 11 25, Jesus said this in the Passion Translation, and whenever you stand praying, if you find that you carry something in your heart against another person, release him and forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also release you and forgive you of your faults. It's interesting that that translation uses the word release there. The word release means to free from confinement. It's a rather mysterious thing, but unforgiveness causes us to come under some kind of spiritual confinement. And the only way to be released is to forgive. Moving on, let's consider the parable Jesus told following Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer in Luke 11, 1 to 13. This is where things start to get exciting. Then Jesus gave this illustration. Imagine what would happen if you were to go to one of your friends in the middle of the night, pound on his door, and shout, please, do you have some food you can spare? A friend just arrived at my house unexpectedly, and I have nothing to serve him. But your friend says, Why are you bothering me? The door is locked and my family and I are all in bed. Do you expect me to get up and give you our food? Jesus went on to say, I tell you, because of your shameless persistence. Shameless persistence. Even though it's the middle of the night, your friend will get up out of his bed and give you all that you need. So it is with your prayers. Ask and you'll receive. Seek and you'll discover. Knock on heaven's door and it will one day open for you. Every persistent person will receive what he asks for. Every persistent seeker will discover what he needs, and everyone who knocks persistently will one day find an open door. Let me ask you this, Jesus said. Do you know of any father who would give his son a snake on a plate when he asked for a serving of fish? Of course not. Do you know of any father who would give his daughter a spider when she had asked for an egg? Of course not. If imperfect parents know how to lovingly take care of their children and give them what they need, how much more will the perfect heavenly father give the Holy Spirit's fullness when his children ask him? Now, first of all, I find it interesting that God is the friend in this story. And I think it's awesome that Jesus compares the prayer relationship as between friends here. Secondly, Jesus, just as was stressed in the Old Testament, encourages persistence in prayer. Think of how many times it was mentioned in that translation. Even for the same things over and over. You know, they used to tell us years ago that you pray once in belief and you pray twice in unbelief. I'm sorry, prayer in let me start that again. If you pray once, you're in faith. If you pray twice, you're in unbelief. In other words, you must believe the first time you said it that it's going to happen, or else you're doomed. Um, and so, you know, that's just not right. I mean, Jesus encourages us to keep coming. This is borne out by the verbs that Jesus used here, as in the epiphy. Ask and keep on asking, and it will be given you. Seek and keep on seeking, and you will find. Knock and keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. Boy, how many of you would be honest with me and say you have prayed diligently for things for a short season, but gave up without the answer ever coming? Here's a question for you. What if we quit praying one day before the answer was scheduled to come? You know, this is why I feel a prayer list is important because it helps you stay on task on a daily basis. You remember we talked about praying in the spirit of Jacob? I will not let you go unless you bless me. It's scary to me to think how many times I've left on the table uh things in prayer. Well, let's hunker down and get into it for the long haul and see God move in your church, your region, your state, your country, and your world. Now, along this same line, let's go over to Luke 18, 1 through 8, reading once again from the Passion. One day, Jesus taught the apostles to keep praying and never stop or lose hope. Well, right there, that's the definition of persistence in prayer. He shared with them this illustration. In a certain town there was a judge, a thick skinned and godless man who had no fear of others' opinions. And in the same town there was a poor widow who kept pleading with the judge, grant me justice and protect me from my oppressor. He ignored her pleas for quite some time, but she kept asking. Eventually he said to himself, This widow keeps annoying me, demanding her rights. And I'm tired of listening to her. Even though I'm not a religious man and I don't care about the opinions of others, I'll get her off my back by answering her claims for justice, and I'll rule in her favor. Then she'll leave me alone. Jesus continued, Did you hear what the godless judge said? That he would answer her persistent request? Don't you know that God, the true judge, will grant justice to all his chosen ones who cry out to him night and day? He will pour out his spirit upon them. He will not delay to answer you and give you what you ask for. God will give swift justice to those who don't give up. So be ever praying, ever expecting in the same way as the widow. Even so, when the Son of Man comes back, will he find this kind of undying faith on earth? Wow. If ever there was another powerful case for persistence in prayer without giving up, that was it. Note that the widow kept coming with the same plea. It was the same request. And it says for some time he, the unjust judge, refused. It doesn't say why. And you know what? God doesn't always say why either. In fact, I think he rarely does. Jesus said, Listen to what the unjust judge says. Okay, so let's do that. Skipping over the part the unjust judge said and to the part God would say, because he is just, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming. Now I know it's been a while, but for some of you that will sound familiar. In the first episode of this season, we read Isaiah 62, six and seven, and here's how it reads I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem. They will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him God no rest, till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth. Wow, Jesus says the Father will give swift justice to those who don't give up. Maybe not when you first start praying about it, but when he does, it'll happen swiftly. So be ever praying, ever expecting in the same way as the widow. Even so, when the Son of Man comes back, will he find this kind of undying faith on the earth? Note that the persistence called for in prayer here is linked to faith. In that last sentence, Jesus says persistence equals faith. It's a reliable mathematical equation. Persistence equals faith, and faith equals persistence. That widow peppered the judge every day because she had faith in his ability to grant her request and his willingness to do so. Again, we have here an inverted an invitation ourselves to pepper the Father with our praying. And the questions must be asked again. How badly do we want it? How desperate are we? Well, let's settle in for a long distance run and devote ourselves to consistent, persistent, relentless praying. For it is an expression of supreme faith in God. And in your persistence, you must believe for the answer. Matthew 21 and 22 says, if you believe, you will receive. Well, that's got a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Let me start again. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. Mark 11, 24 says, Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it. That sounds like past tense to me. Believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. The truth is, the more you pray for something, the more faith you'll have for it. Let me say that again. The more you pray for something, the more faith you'll have for it. Well, that's it for this episode. Keep an eye out for our next episode, in which we will look at a few additional passages from the teachings of Jesus on prayer. Until then, may God greatly bless you.