In prayer we show our total
dependence on God who created all things and us and by Whom all things
continue to exist. In prayer we give praise, honor, glory and
reverence to His name for His greatness and goodness. We recognize
Him as the source of all blessings. It is also the outpouring of our
hearts desire. In Romans 10:1 the apostle Paul says, "Brethern, my hearts desire and prayer to God for
Israel, is that they might be saved." Our prayer must come
from our heart.
Prayer to God is
only reserved for those who are obedient childrenof God. We
are told in John 9:31, "Now we know that God does not
hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He
hears him." There are people whose prayer God will not
hear. Isaiah 59:2 says, "But you iniquities have
separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you,
so that He will not hear." To allow anything to
separate us from the fellowship of God, so that He will not hear our
prayers is a very serious matter. It is a sad situation for those
who try to pray to God if God will not hear them. But it is their
own fault, because they are not obedient to God. They could be
obedient if they wanted to be.
Then we read
Proverbs 28:9; "One who turns away his ear from
hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination."
God looks with disgust at the prayer of one who is not faithfully
following His will. What a pitiful situation it is for us when our
prayers become disgusting to God. Could anything be more
hopeless? We also read in 1 Peter 3:12, "For the
eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their
prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do
evil." The Lord desires to hear the prayers of His faithful
children and His eyes are watching out for them. What a great and
wonderful blessing this is.
When we pray to
God, we must be humble and not self-righteous. Our Lord gave a
parable which illustrates this requirement very well. In Luke
18:9-14 we read, "Also He spoke this parable to some
who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax
collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I
thank you that I am not like this tax collector. I fast twice a
week; I give tithes of all that I possess. And the tax collector,
standing affar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but
beat his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell
you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other;
for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles
himself will be exalted." The attitude we have when we
approach God in prayer and other worship is very important.
If we approach God
with an attitude of showing great pride and arrogance in ourselves, but
contempt and scorn for others, then God will despise thiskind of
prayer. Our prayers must be like the attitude of the tax
collector. From what our Lord is trying to teach us here, when we
approach our Creator in prayer we must be humble, not proud or
self-assertive, but modest, unpretentious and our prayer must be from the
heart. We are told in 1 Corinthians 14:15,
"I
will pray with the spirit and I will also pray with the
understanding."
Our prayers should
not be flowery and to impress other people, because God will not be
impressed with such. Jesus says in Matthew 6:5, 7, "And when you pray, you shall not be like the
hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on
the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Assuredly,
I say they have their reward. And when you pray do not use vain
repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be
heard for their many words." The only reward someone who
prays a prayer like this receives is the recognition he receives from men
because God will not heed his prayer. We are also warned not to use
vain repetitions, such as repeating something over and over. This
type of prayer makes us a hypocrite because it is pretentious.
Our prayers must be
asked in faith. Concerning our prayers James 1:6-7 says, "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he
who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the
Lord." We must have faith in God and if we are faithful and
obedient to Him then He will hear and answer our prayers, otherwise we
will receive nothing. Jesus says in Mark 11:24, "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you
pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."
So we must have faith if we expect God to answer our prayers.
Since Jesus is our
advocate or go between with God, Jesus says in John 14:13, "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son." Our requests to
God must be in the name of or by the authority of Christ.
Another requirement
of God answering our prayers is we must be forgiving of others.
Jesus says in Mark 11:25-26, "And whenever you stand
praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your
Father in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not
forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your
trespasses." How important it is to be forgiving of
others? Could the Lord be any clearer as to what will happen to us
if we are not forgiving? The Lord will not forgive us. We will
be eternally lost. According to Isaiah 59:2, it is our sins that
"separate us" from God so we cannot go to heaven. We must develop a
forgiving attitude toward all people so that God will be forgiving of us
so we can go to Heaven.
How we treat others
can also affect the way God hears our prayers. In 1 Peter 3:7 we
read, "Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with
understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, as being
heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be
hindered." Our prayers can be hindered by the way we
treat our wife, husband, children, relatives, friends, acquaintances, or
strangers.
We must pray
regularly and not just when we are in trouble and need God. As 1
Thessalonians 5:17 says, "Pray without
ceasing." Also we are instructed in James 5:16, "The fervent prayer of a righteous man avails
much." If we expect our prayer to be effective, it must be
fervent and we must be righteous. In our prayers we must, with all
earnest, show great feeling and intense devotion to God.
The things we ask
must be in accordance with God’s will. 1 John 5:14 says, "If we ask anything according to His will, He hears
us." Our requests to God must not contradict His will but
must be in agreement with it. We should not ask for anything
contrary to His will or for selfish things on our part. Our prayers
must be "in spirit and in truth" if they are to be heard by
God.
Questions Lesson 13
Prayer
(click on the button of the answer of your
choice)
1) (John 9:31) Whose
prayer does God hear?
Everyone’s.
God’s favorites.
The worshipper who does God’s will.
2)
God does not hear the prayer of those who don’t do His
will.
3) (Isaiah 59:2) What separates us from God so He
does not hear our
prayer?
A great distance.
Our sins.
Time.
4)
God will hear and answer all prayers.
5) (Proverbs 28:9) One who will not hear God’s
law
His prayer is an abomination.
God still desires to hear his prayer.
Is a friend of God.
6)
God looks with disgust at the prayer of one who is not
faithfully
following His will.
7) (Matthew 6:5, 7) When we pray we should
Try to be seen of men.
Not try to be seen of men.
Use vain repetitions.
8)
We should not try to receive recognition of others when we
pray.
9) (James 1:6-7) When we pray
We should try to impress God as to how good we are.
God may not hear our prayer even though we are faithful to
Him.
We should ask in faith, nothing doubting.
10)
When we pray we should doubt that God will hear our
prayer.
11) (Mark 11:25-26) When we ask God to forgive
us
We must be forgiving of others.
We do not have to be forgiving of others.
We don’t have to mean it.
12)
God will forgive us even though we don’t forgive others.
13) (James 5:17) What type of prayer avails
much?
A long prayer.
A prayer that impresses people.
The fervent prayer of a righteous man.
14)
If we expect our prayer to avail much, it must be fervent and
we must be
righteous.