It's Time to Pray

May, 2002

by: Jack Hughes

• Prayer

In the Calvary Review we have been doing a series on prayer. We have examined some critical issues related to prayer that many people never get around to thinking about. We learned that one of the most important aspects of prayer is understanding the God to whom we pray.

We have learned that the God to whom we pray is a sovereign God. He is not partly sovereign, or mostly sovereign, He is infinitely sovereign. This means that He always has complete control of everything and nothing ever happens without God knowing about it before it happens. God either causes everything to happen directly or He allows everything to happen indirectly, but either way, He is absolutely sovereign. Job said no purpose of God's can be thwarted, and that God does what he wants (Job 23:13; 42:2). The Psalms make the same claim that God does whatever He pleases (Psa. 115:3; 135:6). God directs all things according to His will. He is able to turn the heart of the king in any direction He pleases. God has declared the end from the beginning and everything is under His control. From God's mouth both good and ill go forth (Prov. 16:33; Isa. 45:7; 46:9-11; Lam. 3:38). This is who we pray to!

We also learned that God is infinitely wise and that His wisdom is perfect (Rom. 11:33). When God plans something His plans are always without flaw. They cannot be improved upon. When you put this together with God's sovereignty you have a God who is in complete control of everything and causes everything to work out in the wisest way, so wise in fact, that it cannot be improved upon! Most are familiar with Rom. 8:28, which tells us that “God causes all things to work together for good, to those who love God, and to those who are called according to His purposes.”

When we consider that “all” things will work together for the good of those who love God it is nothing short of amazing. There are a lot of “bad” things that happen to the saints but when God is working in and through them, they are all used for “good” purposes! In the Scriptures we see God's wisdom put on display in the most difficult circumstances. God will allow something like the death of Christ to happen, and in that tragedy, work the redemption of mankind. Trials in the lives of believers are no exception. They produce in us perseverance, proven character and hope. They cause us to seek God and cling to Him, and can there be a better place for us than when we are clinging to God? Trials help us to run faster to Christ. Prosperity, health, and abundance often cause us to wander away. We pray to an all–wise God.

We have also learned that we must pray according to the will of God (I Jn. 5:14). This means we must always pray in accordance with the Word of God which is God's revealed will. If the Bible doesn't address what we are praying about, then we must pray as Jesus did, “not my will, but yours be done.” Prayers should never be offered up in accordance with “our will” and what “we want” but all should be offered up in accordance with “God's will” and what “He wants.” All prayers should be offered up with a desire that God get His way. We must pray to a God that has revealed His will to us and we pray according to His will.

We also were reminded of how sin affects prayer. When a person has unconfessed sin in their life the only prayer that God wants to hear from them is a prayer of confession and repentance. God does not hear your prayers if they are offered up from a heart harboring sin. The prayer of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord (Psa. 66:18; Prov. 15:8, 29; 28:9; Jn. 9:31). All prayers must be prayed according to God's will and it is never God's will that we pray with unconfessed sin in our heart. Many like to keep secret sins in their heart and still pray. This is like dragging a dead carcass before the throne of grace. The God we pray to is a holy God, therefore we must come before Him in holiness.

These important truths caused us to ask an important question, “Who is prayer for?” We learned that, like all things, prayer is to be for the glory of God. This is the first and foremost purpose and reason why we should pray. Contrary to most people's concept of prayer, prayer is not something given to us for our comfort, health, wealth and happiness. Prayer is one of many means by which God desires to receive glory from us. Only secondarily is prayer for us.

Prayer is for us in that it is an act of righteousness and godliness. Whenever we pray, we are obeying and trusting God, and in this way it is “for us.” Also, when we pray and God answers, it should move us to glorify Him. When we are glorifying God, we are doing what we were created to do. Prayer is also for others in that we might pray for others and when God answers they are blessed. Our joy over God's answers to our prayers should cause us to praise Him and tell others so He will receive even more praise. Prayer is for us in that it teaches us to rely on God, and it gives us and other people opportunities to give God glory. We must pray for the glory of God.

Finally, we learned that prayer is to have certain priorities. We can pray about anything, but not all things that we pray for have equal significance. Some things are spiritual, eternal, and of the utmost importance. Others are worldly, temporary, and optional. In order to find some of the priorities of prayer, we examined the prayers of the Apostle Paul in the New Testament. The top four things the Apostle Paul prayed for were: 1) the salvation of others (Fourth highest priority); 2) the spiritual growth of others (Third highest priority); 3) that believers would have a profound knowledge of God's Word (Second highest priority); and 4) the number one priority of Paul's inspired prayers is that believers would obey God. Many of the things we frequently pray for, such as financial issues or health issues, are never prayed for by Paul. The reason for this is that Paul prayed with eternity in mind. We need to do the same. There are many things that we might leave out of our prayers, but the salvation of others, the growth of believers, our knowledge of the Word, and our obedience to the Word should never be neglected. We can only show love to God when we know Him, know His Word, and obey Him. Thus, knowledge of the truth and application of the truth become the ultimate and highest priority prayer requests.

All of these truths need to stand in our minds like guardians to keep us from offering selfish, greedy, lust motivated prayers. When you pray, remember, you are not informing God of anything He doesn't already know, for He is all-knowing. When you pray you are not able to change God's perfect plan, for He is all-wise. When you pray you are not moving God, controlling God, or changing God's eternal decree, for God is all-sovereign. When you pray you must always pray according to God's will, not your will, for God is holy and desires to be obeyed. When you pray, you must never think that your prayers will be answered if you have unconfessed sin in your heart, for God does not hear the prayers of the wicked. When you pray, you need to have eternal things be your highest priority, for God desires to be glorified and we do that by believing in Him, knowing his Word, and obeying His Word.

So what now? It is time to ask yourself those hard questions. “How am I praying?” “What am I praying for?” “When am I praying?” “For what purpose am I praying?” “Do my prayers conform to the character of God and the will of God?” The Scriptures command all of us to pray:

• “Pray without ceasing.” (I Thess. 5:17)
• “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.” (Eph. 6:18)
• “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.” (Col. 4:2)
• “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Phil. 4:6)

The Apostle James said in James 4:17, “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” Thomas Watson said, “Knowledge without practice is but a torch to light men to hell.” Satan wants nothing more than for you to neglect prayer. For the person who neglects prayer, neglects to give God glory, neglects to trust God, neglects to love God, neglects to obey God, and is an easy target to be battered back and forth with temptation until at last they go out of play. Thomas Brooks in his classic work Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices spoke against those who would know the truth but do not do it:

If it be not strong upon your heart to practice what you read, to what end do you read? To increase your own condemnation? If your light and knowledge be not turned into practice, the more knowing a man you are, the more miserable man you will be in the day of recompense; your light and knowledge will more torment you than all the devils in hell. Your knowledge will be that rod that will eternally lash you, and that scorpion that will forever bite you, and that worm that will everlastingly gnaw you; therefore read, and labor to know, that you may do, or else you art undone for ever!

When Jesus was in the garden just before he was crucified, He asked the Disciples to pray, but they kept falling asleep. Why? Because they were not concerned about praying. It was not a priority for them. They were not yet convinced about the importance of prayer, and so they fell asleep. Many of us have disobeyed God's persistent call to pray. We have become petrified in self trust, self reliance, and self sufficiency. We have time for eating, time for playing, time for working, time for sleeping, but no time to pray. We need to make Jesus' rebuke to his disciples, a rebuke to our own heart, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Luke 22:46).