Greetings to you, my friend. Welcome to our Bible study In Search of the Lord's Way to become a Christian and to live like one ought to live. Today's program could easily have been titled, “In Search of the Lord’s Way to Pray.” A viewer wrote awhile back asking for that kind of a message, and so that is our message for today.
Say, friend, it is so good to have you invite us into your home for Bible study today. I pray you will be blessed by it as much as I have been by preparing this message. In the early 1960's I delivered a series of lessons from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. You may recall that in that great sermon our Lord has a section there about prayer. In due time I came to that part and taught what He taught about it. As the people were leaving that morning, a good lady in the congregation expressed her appreciation for my having done so. And she said, "I have been a member of the church for more than twenty-five years and I must confess I don’t pray because I do not know how to pray."
Well, we will never know how many people there are out there like her, will we? Perhaps the person who requested this study is among them. I don't know; maybe not. Our text today is going to be Luke chapter 11, verses 1 to 4 in which it is seen that even our Lord's apostles needed some teaching about it.
If you would like a free CD or audio cassette tape or even a printed copy of the program, please send your request to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083. Our e-mail address is searchtv@searchtv.org. Our toll-free telephone number for your use is 1-800-321-8633. You may read it, hear it, or view it again on our website-- searchtv.org. Ok? After Ken Helterbrand leads us in a hymn I will be back and we will read Luke chapter 11, verses 1 to 4 together.
We are reading from the Gospel of Luke, the 11th chapter. And you will notice now in the reading that Luke does not record in the same words that Matthew does the entirety of what is called the Lord’s Prayer. But we will come to that. Please notice! “And it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. So He said to them, When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” And that is from the New King James Version. Now let us go to God in prayer. Holy Father, we are so thankful to You that You have given us the privilege of prayer, that we can enjoy the benefits of our relationship with You even more closely. Never in any other way do we reach You and are as close to You in Christ Jesus as we are when we pray, and we know that. And we pray Your blessings on us as we study this message today. In the lovely name of Jesus we pray. Amen!
Before we get into a study of prayer, especially of the brevity that this one will necessarily be, we need to define what it is we are talking about. If we go to our dictionary, Webster defines prayer as "An address (or as a petition) to God or to a god." But, prayer is such a grand blessing it defies any such simple definition. Now we want to be helpful and to do so we must be truthful, so we might sometimes appear not to be as tactful as you wish we were.
And so we are going to begin, then, by looking at what prayer is not. While it probably describes the most common thought about it, prayer is not an Aladdin's lamp that you can rub as sort of a magic pill of some kind. Millions of people have grown skeptical about praying because they once prayed for something they really wanted at the time-- or something they really thought they needed right then, and it didn't happen. Prayer just didn't work for them. When Jesus was preparing His disciples for His eminent crucifixion, in His longest recorded talk with them, He said, "Let not your hearts be troubled.” Then a little later on in that same message He said, “If you abide in My words, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it will be done for you" (John 14:1; and chapter 15, verse 7).
Well, neither is prayer a "fire escape-- or a tornado shelter-- or an emergency exit. I imagine the Lord hears a lot of strange voices in times of great tragedy like that. When all is going well, after all who needs to pray?
Prayer is not a "duty." It won't work, friend, if that is all it is. Oh, I need to spend a lot of time here. To a great many people, even some who profess to be Christians, God is just one more great big burden of duty that we have to carry around. Well, we are not doing much praying in some churches even nowadays; we are only "having prayers." Did you ever notice or hear-- "now let's have our dismissal prayer."
Finally, (on the negative side, what prayer is not) prayer is not a substitute for obedience to God. In spite of all that we are hearing or have been taught in years past in some churches, the sinner is not saved "by praying through." Back in the early half of the last century, during the time of the "great revival period" the theme was heralded "hit the sawdust trail!" The idea was "come to the mourner's bench and we will pray you through to salvation." Now, it is even easier than that. You just repeat after some TV preacher his "sinner's prayer," and you are saved. That is no more biblical, friend, than "the sawdust trail," and it will come to the same end as “the sawdust trail” did. It will die. The Scripture says, "Whatever we ask we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight" (1 John 3:22). He answers the prayers of those who are earnestly trying to live according to His will. And you might like to read Isaiah chapter 59, verses 1 to 3.
Turning to the positive side: (1) Prayer is power. God is the "Almighty God" (Ezekiel 10:5). And prayer is the Christian's line of access to Him and His power. "He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, through the power that works in us." That is Ephesians chapter 3, verse 20. That is why praying is so important, friend. "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (James 5:16).
(2) Prayer is conversation with God. It is communication with heaven. It has been described as a spiritual radio. Well, we are told that radio can carry the sound at the rate of 186,284 miles per second. And God has promised, "It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking I will hear" (Isaiah 65:24).
(3) Prayer is a developer. I mean, it helps to develop character. The battle isn't won when a person becomes a Christian. That is only the beginning. Immediately after our Lord's baptism by John in Jordan, He was taken up into a mountain and was sorely tempted by the devil. But, He didn't yield to that temptation. He was able to resist everything the devil could throw at Him! He was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Either the Christian will stop praying or he will stop his sinning. And that isn't all that he could-- and needs to do. And he needs to live the Christian life.
But, our viewer asked for teaching about "how to pray," and that is the title we gave to this lesson, so, we had better use the rest of our time to that, don’t you think? How to pray! Oh me! I feel humbled by being given this question even. In my years I have seen many marvelous things happen in my life, in the life of the churches where I preached and in the lives of other people which I firmly believe were answer to my prayers. But, who am I to tell others how to pray? I'll try.
First: Find you a secret or private place to pray. Jesus said, "When you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly" (Matthew 6, verses 5 and 6). Now, there is a place for prayer in the worshiping assembly of course. Christians know that. We know that from 1 Corinthians chapter 14, verse 15 that Jesus is talking here about our private devotions and not the public prayers. And that is what we are talking about. Find a place, and set a time each day to pray.
Then: Pray to God. Jesus taught, "When you pray, say: "Our Father in heaven; Hallowed be Your Name" (Luke 11:2). The old King James Version has it, "Our Father which art in heaven." Jesus also told his apostles, "I will pray the Father" (John 14:16). And He prayed that way in Gethsemane's garden that night in John 17. Verse one says, "Jesus spoke these words, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour is come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You." Nowhere does the Scripture teach us to pray to the virgin Mary, or to any person on earth called "father," or any "saint" or even to the Holy Spirit. You hear it done alright on TV, but God does not authorize or promise to hear prayers that are prayed to the Holy Spirit.
Next: Pray in the name of Christ. Now, that expression is not just a good way to end your prayers. It is more than that-- and if I may, let me throw in this thought right here: One needs not to end his prayer "in the name of Christ.” It could be as well said at the beginning or elsewhere, but all prayers to God should be in His name. You see, Jesus Christ is man's mediator with God. "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" (Colossians 3:17). To do something in the name of another is to do it by his authority. A mediator is one who interposes between two estranged people with the intent of bringing them together in a peaceful reconciliation. Man is estranged from God by his sins. Jesus Christ being the Son of God, having lived in a fleshly body but tempted in all points as we are without sin, is the only suitable mediator between God and man. The Bible says, "There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time" (1 Timothy 2:5 and 6). Fourth: Pray sincerely. I mean, hey what is the point of pretending with God. King David of Israel prayed, "O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether" (Psalm 139, verses 1 to 6). Whatever promises we make in prayer to the Lord, then, must be sincere.
Fifth: Be Thankful. We often think of prayer as a "petition,"-- I mean asking God for something or to do something for us. And that is alright. We will get to that in a minute, but we need to thank Him more for what He has done and is doing for us now. Oh my! We are such a blessed people. Even the poor in our country and in our time have so much to be thankful for, and to be thankful to God, because only God could have provided all we enjoy today. For example: our freedoms. Yes, we are letting them slip away one by one. Americans are less free now than they were a half-century ago. But, we are still the freest people in the world. Our land is blessed with productivity. Count your many personal blessings; name them one by one to God. Thank God for them. The Scripture says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ." That is Philippians 4, verses 6 and 7. Try it, enjoy it!
The sixth way to pray: "Let your requests be made known to God." Yes, He encourages you to ask for your needs. Jesus said, "Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you," He asks, "who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, (these are the two staple groceries of the time) who will give him a serpent when he asks for a fish?" (Now get this) "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Matthew chapter 7, verses 7 to 11).
Last of all-- well, no, not the last word about prayer but all we will have time for today, there is this one: Pray obediently. I remember a "chimney corner scripture" from my childhood days on the farm. You know what a "chimney corner" scripture is, don't you. Surely you do. It is something that sounds like it might be a Bible verse, but it really isn't. The one that came to my mind just now went like this, "The Lord helps him who helps himself." It isn't in the Bible like that, but it is true. We simply can not expect God to grant our prayers and petitions if we refuse to acknowledge Him in our lives and follow His teaching in the word of the Lord. The Bible says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." That is Psalm 66:18. It also says, "He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against them who do evil" (1 Peter 3:10 to 12).
My friend, are you a Christian? I mean are you honestly trying to follow in the footsteps of Jesus? Oh, I hope so. I really do. If you are not, will you listen a couple or three minutes while I say this? I am sure you already believe in Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God; else you wouldn't even be listening to this program. Granted that then, you need to repent. Repentance is a turning. It is a turning from the way of life and sin, that involves sin, and disobedience, to a life of righteousness in Christ. Jesus taught more about repentance than anyone else in the Bible. Read your New Testament. And then, you need to be baptized to wash away the guilt of stain of all your sins. Yes, you need to do that. It isn't a church ordinance of churches of Christ. It is God's word. Let us pray. Father, we thank You for the blessings, oh, the abundance of your blessings for this day. Be Thou with us. Will You keep us safely in the hollow of your hand? In Jesus’ name we pray it. Amen!
Before the hymn, we were talking about people needing to repent and be baptized. Maybe you have been baptized, but God doesn't seem to be listening when you pray. Is there a continued practice of sin in your life even after baptism? Are you serving the Lord faithfully? If not, listen to me for just a half minute, will you? It isn't that any of us will ever follow Him perfectly. But we must try sometimes-- and we must try harder. We can't expect Him to hear us when we pray if we refuse to hear Him for the way to live.
He says to us, "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess (meaning to acknowledge) our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." That is 1 John chapter 1, verses 7 to 9. Do it today, will you? Let us know that and let us know that you did, will you?
If you would like a free CD or audio cassette tape or a printed copy of this message you may have it simply be mailing your request to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083. Our e-mail address is searchtv@searchtv.org. Or, you may talk to one of us by calling our toll-free telephone number 1-800-321-8633. If you would like to enroll in our free Bible Correspondence Course, consisting of eight lessons, you may use that same address. It will appear again during the closing of this program; so you watch for it. This Correspondence Course takes you through a systematic study of the entire Bible. You may go at your own pace once-a-week, one-a-month, whatever you like; in the privacy of your own home. And we will be back next week. Say, we hope you can be back with us. God bless you now. We love you.
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