Jesus and Prayer

Mark Dunagan
03/13/11 - Sunday Morning

What Jesus said about Prayer

Prayer was very important to Jesus. He considered it essential to the accomplishing to God’s will (Matthew 6:10; John 17). He prayed a long time before selecting His apostles (Luke 4:42-5:11; 6:12-13). He often prayed before performing a miracle (John 6:11; 11:41). He praised God in prayer for His disciple’s success (Matthew 11:25), and prayed for them in times of coming trouble (Luke 22:32). He knew times of great personal intensity in prayer (Luke 22:44). Before an important decision He once prayed all night (Luke 6:12). Jesus is the expert on prayer.

“Therefore do not be like them: for your Father knows what you need, before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8)

Over the years too many people have read the above verse and have erroneously concluded, “Why should I pray if God already knowswhat I need?” Clearly Jesus considered God’s omniscience as an incentive to pray rather than a hindrance. If we would ask the question, “What can one tell God if He knows everything?” Many in the world would say, “Nothing”. Jesus says, “Everything!”.

Applications

• God is obviously never surprised or unprepared in reference to what we need. God already knows everything about you, and there is nothing that would shock Him. “In our Lord we have someone with whom we can share our anger, joy, fear, frustration, delight, endless struggles with sin, hurt, loneliness – our real selves. This is the powerful liberating honesty which should result from understanding God’s omniscience. With God, we can be somebody: our self; we don’t have to be somebody else” (The God Who Hears, W. Bingham Hunter, p. 43).
• In like manner, if a large store existed in town that stocked all the things that you needed on a monthly basis, you would not conclude, “They have everything I need – therefore, I don’t need to shop there”. Rather, you would think, “I am always going to shop there because they already have everything I need”.
• God is saying. “I know you perfectly. I already know everything you need to be happy, fulfilled, and content. When it comes to what you need, I am never back-ordered or ’out-of-stock’”. God is not like a small convenience store that only carries the bare minimum. Neither is God in the practice of running a very low inventory. And God is not like some stores that advertise an item, but they only have five. He abundantly gives us beyond what we know to ask or can imagine.
• We are only hurting ourselves when we pretend that we can keep an area in our life hidden from God. God sees everything (Psalm 139:1-3, 7-12; Jeremiah 23:23-24 “Can a man hide himself in hiding places, so I do not see him?”). God knows everything! “There is no joy in any relationship which must maintain deception” (Hunter, p. 44).

“What is to be made of all this? First, it is better to pour out your heart and soul to God in honest expression of hurt, frustration and impatience than it is to repress these feelings and think they are hidden from God. Second, when you are feeling this way, don’t withdraw from worship. When Asaph came into the sanctuary of God things began to make more sense (Psalm 73:16). Third, confess your sin – frustration does not excuse unrighteousness. Indulging in self-pity and persisting in isolation will only make matters worse. Fourth, spend time reading the Psalms and reflect honestly on your spiritual heritage. Others have been at such a point before and have come through it... Jesus has also been where you are. He knew suffering, grief and experienced injustice (Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-8)” (Hunter, pp. 176-177). He is compassionate and full of mercy. Go to Him in prayer.

“The prayer of the upright is His delight” (Proverbs 15:8)

“Given the perfection of the person, it is certain that God does not need us to talk to Him because He’s lonely or insecure, nor does He have to depend on our advice or help in running the universe. Yet the commands in Scripture to pray suggest that He wants us to pray; He actually enjoys having us speak to Him” (Hunter, p. 79).

“Pray, then, in this way: Our Father who art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9)

It is helpful to remember that God is a person, not a force or something impersonal. When we pray we are praying to an actual person. Yes, God is Spirit (John 4:24), yet not some abstract spirit, but a personal Spirit.

Applications

• Like all personal beings, God loathes being used by others in pursuit of objectives which are personally offensive to Him. So praying to Him to impress other people is a prayer that He would reject (Matthew 6:1-5). God’s approval is all you need.
• Prayers that ask for things that have nothing in common with seeing God’s purposes fulfilled will be rejected as well (James 4:1ff). Unite your purposes with God’s and you will have much for which to pray.
  Praying to Him while engaging in evil is offensive (Proverbs 15:8).
• Repent and pray.
• Praying to Him and then turning around and hurting your wife or children is equally offensive (1 Peter 3:7). Have mercy on others and God will have mercy on you.
• “Remember also that God, like the rest of us, finds it somewhat less than captivating when you fall asleep on Him while talking”(Hunter, p. 74). Give Him the honor due Him.

“Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2). “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2). “Be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer” (1 Peter 4:7)

One big misconception about prayer in our culture seems to be that prayer is something that just happens and is spontaneous. Yet we all know that in every other area of our lives, communication demands forethought. If we had an audience with the President, we would not “wing it”. We would prepare. The same is often true when we are going to meet someone for the first time, or an interview. Often we will prepare a list of questions. How much more when coming into the presence of God! Consider these practical ideas in reference to your prayer life:

• Be organized, have clearly in mind what you want to say.
• Use notes if necessary.
• Keep a list of people that you pray for regularly.
• Think! Where do you need to really grow spiritually right now? What attitudes are presently in your life that will hurt you in the long run?
• What can no man fix for you? Where do you really need help – the kind of help that only God can provide?
• Are my requests too small? Am I expecting too little of God?
• When you are praying for someone, think! What do they really need right now?
• Demonstrate respect for God not only by speaking respectfully, but be genuinely in tune with His desires in Scripture and with the needs of those around you.
• If we say or think to ourselves that we can’t think about what to pray for, such demonstrates how out of touch we truly are. We are surrounded by lost people, by people who have fallen away from the faith, by young people struggling with life, by marriages that are struggling, by temptation, the need for wisdom and spiritual growth and a 1000 other pressing matters. Prayer changes things, and there is much that needs changing.

“But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you” (Matthew 6:6)

I love that prayer does not depend upon externals, like being around a lot of people or being in some place with inspiring scenery. Clearly, Jesus is not teaching against public prayer, for He Himself often prayed publicly. Yet Jesus also points out the importance of praying in private. In fact, the effectiveness of our public prayers probably depends upon the relationship we are building with God in our private lives. Nothing compares with the times we take to get away from everyone and all the distractions, and simply spend time with our God.

• Do not make the mistake of thinking that engaging in public prayer can be a substitute for private prayers. Consider maintaining a prayer journal to keep track of when someone asks for prayers. It is faith building to look back on answered prayers.
• There is a world of blessings that awaits those who remember to ask. Include praise and thanksgiving for all the good God has showered on you every day of your life. Be open and honest during prayer, confessing your areas of weakness and times you have not done what was honoring to God, and ask for strength to be all that God wants you to be.
• This verse reminds us that our relationship with God needs to be very personal. There really is no relationship if there is no communication. As any relationship grows the people in it will naturally want to talk more and spend more time alone together, such is true with your relationship with your Heavenly Father. Great men in the past have greatly benefited from such private times with God (Daniel 6:10), you can too.

“How much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him” (Matthew 7:11)

What an encouragement! God loves us enough that He will refuse requests that would hurt us in the end. So instead of thinking, “God, if you loved me you would help me”, realize that God might be saying, “Because I love you I won’t give you what you asked.” Let's trust God's goodness.

Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net