Prayer

Introduction

One night a little boy knelt beside his bed and prayed, “God bless Mommy and Daddy.” Then at the top of his voice he said, “AND GOD, I’D LIKE A NEW BICYCLE!” His somewhat startled dad said, “Johnny, God isn’t deaf!” The boy replied, “I know. But Grandma’s in the next room, and she’s hard of hearing.”

When you pray, do you believe that God is really listening? Or do you pray because that’s what Christians are supposed to do? Or do you pray because you want to look spiritual to others?

Maybe a better question is do you pray at all? Martin Lloyd-Jones hopes you do. This is what he said:

“Prayer is beyond any question the highest activity of the human soul. Man is at his greatest and highest when upon his knees he comes face to face with God.”

I think the Lord agrees with that quote. He wants us to pray. He wants us to know that He’s really listening and really cares.

But assuming we do pray and assuming we want to pray, we still have a problem. How do we pray? What do we pray for? John MacArthur says that “For Christians, prayer is like breathing.”

Is that true? Is it that easy?

Whether it’s easy or not, a regular prayer life—conversations with and private worship of God—is essential to our lives as Christians. And I’m not just talking about the leadership of the Church: each one of us have a need and an obligation to pray. If we ignore prayer in our personal lives, we won’t grow, God can’t use us in the way He wants, and our home churches will be less effective.

You have a responsibility to yourselves and other believers. God wants to have a personal, intimate relationship with you, and it’s no more apparent than in a regular prayer life.

Because of the importance of prayer, we’re going to focus on that subject in this two-part series. By the time we’re finished, it’s my hope—and prayer—that each of us will know the basics of prayer.

We’ll begin by looking at Matthew 6 where Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray. Then we’ll actually look at a prayer in the Bible.

But before we do all of that, we need to lay a solid foundation. We’ve already talked about how important prayer is, but you shouldn’t take my word for it. Let’s look at two different passages.

Eph. 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Note that the writer tells us to pray “on ALL occasions” and to “ALWAYS keep on praying.” Now let’s look at another verse, Philippians 4:6.

Phil. 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Notice that the writer tells us that we should pray for “everything.”

Jesus Teaches Us How To Pray

Now that we know how important prayer is, let’s let the Lord Himself teach us how to pray. We’ll begin by looking at verses 5-8.

Matt. 6:5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

Matt. 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matt. 6:7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

Matt. 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

In verses 5-8 Jesus begins by showing us how not to pray. He says don’t be like the “hypocrites” who pray for the purpose of showing off. Those kind of people love to pray publicly so that they look really spiritual and people are impressed. The Lord says that whatever short term satisfaction they get from those kind of displays is all of the reward they will get. God is not going to answer those kind of prayers.

Instead, the Lord tells us not to pray to show off or act like we’re spiritual giants, but to do our praying in secret. That doesn’t mean that we can’t pray in public places, though. The idea is to sincerely seek God through prayer and stop being phony and praying out loud so you can impress other people.

In verse seven Jesus tells us not to keep repeating the same words over and over again. Before I was a Christian I took a course in transcendental meditation and I was given a mantra to say over and over again. That kind of repetition is for pagans, not praying Christians.

Verse eight is very interesting. Jesus tells us that God already knows about what we want. If that’s true, then why do we have to pray? The simple answer is because the Bible tells us to and because Jesus Himself prayed. How our prayers affect a sovereign God who already knows everything is beyond me. All we really need to know is God wants us to pray and will also also answer our prayers.

In verses 9-13, we see what is commonly referred to as the “Lord’s Prayer.” Actually, a better name for it is the disciples’ prayer, because Jesus is teaching his disciples how to pray.

While Christians have used this passage as a prayer itself—and it’s obviously a good one if it came straight from Jesus—the Lord’s primary purpose is to teach us how to pray vs. saying “say these words everytime you pray.” Verse nine says is plainly: “This, then, is HOW you should pray,” not WHAT you should pray.

The danger of repeating the same words over and over again is we may get to the point where we don’t even think about the words anymore. We don’t have to think anymore because we’ve got it memorized. I know this from firsthand experience. When I pray for the same things in the same way day after day I sometimes realize that, hey, if I’m not really thinking about what I’m saying, why should God be impressed? Why should He care if I don’t?

We also run the risk of mindlessly reciting the same words over and over again and look at God as a genie who’s obligated to respond because we’ve said the magic words.

Let’s let Jesus teach us how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13.

Matt. 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray: ” ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

Matt. 6:10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Matt. 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.

Matt. 6:12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Matt. 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (or evil)’ For yours is the kingdom and power and the glory forever. Amen.

In verse nine it says “hallowed is your name.” Hallowed has the idea of respecting the name of God, of considering the very name of God as holy and special. His name is much more than a title, it signifies his character, plan and will.

I’m convinced that God cringes when he hears people use His name lightly or in vain. How often do we say “Oh my God!” or “Jeeesus Christ!” I believe that those uses of His name are sinful. We should never use His name in such a casual and disrespectful way.

“Hallowed be your name.” When we use the Lord’s name, we’re not talking about the weather—we’re talking about the sinless, perfect and all-powerful God of the universe.

In verse ten, we’re told to pray for God’s kingdom to come.

Scripture reminds us that the kingdoms of today—including the United States—will all go away. Everything in this world is temporary. Only God is eternal and only the things of God will survive.

In a short-term sense, praying for the kingdom of God to come means to desire for souls to be saved in the here and now. Christians should be concerned—no, obsessed—with saving souls.

In a long-term sense, praying for the kingdom of God to come means to yearn for when Jesus returns and reigns with perfect justice for 1,000 years.

Verse 10 also tells us to pray for God’s will to be done, the same as it’s done in heaven. The Bible talks about heaven where God’s perfect will is done all of the time, unlike here on earth, where sinful humans do whatever they want. Jesus wants us to live out God’s will in our personal lives. That means allowing God’s will and desires to take precedent over our will and desires. Besides, Scripture tells us that God’s will is always the best option.

In verse 11, give us our daily bread carries the idea of providing for our basic needs. That includes food, water, clothing and shelter. God promises to meet all of our needs. When we fully understand that everything we have has come from God and that without the Lord’s provisions we have absolutely nothing, that’s good. God wants us to recognize how dependent we are on Him. The reality is that God is sovereign and controls everything.

Verse twelve reminds us that nobody, including Christians, is perfect. Yes, as Believers we’re part of God’s family. And yes, as Believers we have the promise of eternal life. But we still sin. We still make mistakes and need to regularly confess and repent of our sins. This verse also reminds us how important it is to forgive others when they’ve sinned. Look at verses 14 and 15:

Matt. 6:14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Matt. 6:15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

These verses are not saying that if Christians don’t forgive other people when they sin then they themselves will not be forgiven and lose their salvation. Remember, Jesus is teaching believers to pray, not unbelievers. What He’s saying is if we don’t forgive others the Lord won’t forgive us our sins either. We’re not going to lose our salvation, but our relationship with God will suffer and we won’t be in a place of blessing. In a very real sense God’s ability to use us to advance His kingdom is hindered because we have unconfessed sin in our life. Even more important, if God forgives our sins, the least we can do is forgive the sins of others.

As a footnote, some Bibles translate the word “debt” as “trespass” or “sin.” While all translations refer to sin, the original Greek term—opheilema—is best translated as “debt.” It’s used in its verb form some 30 times in the New Testament, and 25 of those usages refer to moral or spiritual debts.

For those who might wonder how sin can be a debt, listen to David confessing to God in Psalm 51:4: Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.”

John MacArthur puts it this way: “Sins is a moral and spiritual debt to God that must be paid.”

Simply put, we owe God an apology. We owe God a contrite heart. In the same way, those who trespass or sin against us are also in debt to us. They’ve let us down and owe us an apology. Of course, they need to confess their sins to the Lord as well.

While translations that use the words “trespass” and “sin” are accurate, I believe the best translation is that of “debt.”

In verse 13 the Lord tells us to ask God not to lead us into temptation and to deliver us from evil. By the way, the NIV interprets the end of this verse as the “evil one.” I think a better interpretation is evil in general, although it could certainly include Satan, the evil one.

The first part of verse 13 is interesting, because Scripture is very clear that God is not tempted and does not tempt. The idea here is not to get anywhere near sin, to avoid anything that might even lead to sin. As Christians, we should pursue personal holiness with a passion and steer well clear of anything that might even remotely draw us into a place where we sin. This verse also shows a desire to avoid evil of every kind, whether it’s Satanic activity or otherwise.

Some manuscripts don’t include the last part of verse 13. “For yours is the kingdom and power and the glory forever. Amen.” Whether it’s actually part of God’s Word, I don’t know. Regardless, it’s a beautiful ending and doctrinally it fits with the rest of the Bible.

An unknown author summarized the Lord’s prayer:

“I cannot say ‘our’ if I live only for myself in a spiritual, watertight compartment.

I cannot say ‘who art in heaven’ if I am laying up no treasure there.

I cannot say ‘hallowed be Thy name’ if I am not striving for holiness.

I cannot say ‘Thy kingdom come’ if I am not doing all in my power to hasten that wonderful day.

I cannot say ‘Thy will be done’ if I am disobedient to His Word.

I cannot say ‘on earth as it is in heaven’ if I will not serve Him here and now.

I cannot say ‘give us our daily bread’ if I am dishonest or an ‘under-the-counter’ shopper.

I cannot say ‘forgive us our debts’ if I deliberately place myself in its path.

I cannot say ‘deliver us from evil’ if I do not put on the whole armor of God.

I cannot say ‘Thine is the kingdom’ if I do not give to the King the loyalty due Him as a faithful subject.

I cannot attribute to Him ‘the glory’ if I am seeking honor only for myself.

I cannot say ‘forever’ if the horizon of my life is bounded completely by the things of time.”

Before we leave Matthew 6 to look at an actual prayer of the Bible, let’s look briefly at verses 16-18.

Matt. 6:16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

Matt. 6:17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,

Matt. 6:18 so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

While we don’t have time to cover fasting in depth here, we can’t ignore it. Notice that Jesus says “WHEN you fast” in verse 17, not IF you fast. The Lord assumes that we will fast. While most people think about fasting as not eating anything, Biblical fasting could be many things. It could be denying yourself food. It could also be denying yourself rich and extravagant foods—in other words, eating just enough to make sure you don’t starve to death.

Some people fast because they’re caught up in seeking God and literally forget about eating. (I don’t know about you, but I don’t have that problem too often!) Other people fast because they want to deny themselves and focus on seeking God. They don’t forget to eat but are consciously denying themselves. Either fast—provided your motive is pure and you’re sincerely seeking God—will be honored by God. In the Bible, prayer and fasting go hand in hand.

Here in verses 16-18 Jesus is reminds us about the same thing He did earlier about prayer. Don’t fast in order to show off and show others how spiritual you are. Fast for the right reasons. In fact, the Lord tells us not to even tell others that we’re fasting. If we look disheveled and moan to others about how hungry we are because we’re fasting, our motives are not pure. We’re trying to impress others and that’s wrong.

Daniel Prays

Now that the Lord has taught us how to pray, let’s look at an actual prayer in Daniel 9:1-17. We’re going to read the words of Daniel, one of the most Godly people in all of Scripture. As we read these verses, let’s pay close attention to what he says and how he says it.

And why? Because God answered this prayer. We can learn a lot to see what moved God to action and then use those same principles in our own prayer lives.

Dan. 9:1 In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom -

Dan. 9:2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.

Dan. 9:3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

Dan. 9:4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands,

Dan. 9:5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws.

Dan. 9:6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

Dan. 9:7 “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame -the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you.

Dan. 9:8 O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you.

Dan. 9:9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him;

Dan. 9:10 we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets.

Dan. 9:11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you.

Dan. 9:12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.

Dan. 9:13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth.

Dan. 9:14 The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.

Dan. 9:15 “Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong.

Dan. 9:16 O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.

Dan. 9:17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary.

Dan. 9:18 Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.

Dan. 9:19 O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

The first thing we notice, in verse two, is that this whole prayer starts when Daniel reads the Bible. “I, Daniel understood from the Scriptures.” Prayer and Bible study go hand in hand. While we don’t have to read the Bible when praying, it’s always best if we can.

If we don’t know Scripture, we don’t know how to pray. Without God’s Word as a guide, our prayers tend to get selfish and materialistic. I know that from firsthand experience. The only way we can pray according to God’s will is to know God’s will. And the only way to know God’s will is to read the Bible.

In verse two, Daniel reads about God’s promise to restore the nation Israel after it was destroyed and the people carried off. Daniel found out what Scripture promised, so he immediately began pleading with God to make good on His promise. If Daniel wasn’t reading the Bible—the Old Testament at that time—he wouldn’t have known what to pray for.

In verse three we see two more things: Daniel fasts—and we’ve already talked about how prayer and fasting go together—and Daniel humbles himself before God by putting on sackcloth and ashes. Daniel was well aware that he wasn’t just talking to his neighbor over the fence. He was talking to the creator of everything, God almighty. That’s important for us to remember as well.

Daniel’s humility comes through in verse five. He admits that he and his people have sinned and done wrong. Over and over again in the next several verses he says the same things. We have sinned. And in verse 11 he says in essence that they deserved everything that they have gotten. The Jews rebelled and were disobedient to God’s Word. God had promised to punish Israel if it was disobedient and rebellious and that’s exactly what happened. Daniel admits that Israel got what it deserved.

This is another good lesson for us. When we pray, we need to confess our sins, otherwise it hinders our relationship with God.

Isa. 64:7 …you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins.

Part of confessing and repenting of our sins is admitting to God that we understand what we’ve done and that we agree with Him that what we’ve done is wrong and that we don’t want to do that again. That’s the kind of confession and repentance that God wants from us. What did Jesus tells us back in Matthew 6? “Forgive us our debts.”

Also notice that Daniel prays on behalf of his people, not just himself: “WE have sinned,” WE have been wicked, “WE have turned away.” This is intercessory prayer at its best. When we pray on behalf of others—maybe it’s this church or a family or the United States—the more we can identify with the person or persons, the more effective our prayers will be. If someone is hurting, WE hurt. If someone we’re praying for needs forgiveness, WE need forgiveness. It’s putting ourselves in their shoes. It’s identifying with them. It’s passionate prayer from the heart.

In verse 16 Daniel asks God to turn away His anger and wrath from Jerusalem. And why? In verse 18 he reminds God that His reputation is at stake. Even though the Jews don’t deserve forgiveness, Daniel reminds the Lord that the city of Jerusalem bears His name and yet was desolate and a laughing stock to non-Jews. Daniel also appeals to God’s awesome mercy.

This is another lesson for us: to pray so that God will be glorified, not that we will benefit in any way, although that may be the case. We don’t deserve God’s blessing, but we want the Lord’s will and way to come about and to be visible in every way. And God is glorified when He sovereignly shows mercy on the undeserving.

And finally, in verse 19, Daniel’s passion and sense of urgency comes through. “O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! ”

God wants our prayers to come from the heart and to be sincere.

God is moved when we pray according to His will as revealed in Scripture.

And God is pleased when we come before Him humble and confessing any sins.

Conclusion

The Lord has taught us how to pray and Daniel has shown by example how to pray. Now it’s our turn to put into practice what we’ve learned.

God is listening. Will He hear from you?