Growing in Prayer Part 1 – Nothing Without Prayer…

I don't think there is one Christian who will say that they do not need to grow in prayer. Since I have been studying prayer recently, growing in prayer has now become a major
commitment and focus in my daily Christian life. The funny thing is, even in all my studying, preaching, and talking about prayer as of late, I still feel like I have barely scratched the surface of understanding prayer.

Prayer is an often assumed doctrine among most Christians in Evangelical circles; it's a privilege that is very much taken for granted. I do believe that the major tactic of our enemy in spiritual warfare is to create an abyss of godlessness in our lives through the absence of God's Word dwelling richly in our hearts and the absence of prayer causing us to dwell richly with God. Walking in the Word and prayer are the keys to abundant and godly Christian living.

One major conviction that I have come to is that I am nothing and can truly do nothing without prayer that is of any importance and significance in the Kingdom of God. I have no spiritual power, I will drift from God, I will give in to much temptation, I make myself completely vulnerable to the forces of darkness and I will not increase in godliness in my life if I do not pray. Prayer is an absolute necessity for the believer's life. Without it we are grossly disobedient at best and utterly godless at worst.

Some people may read that last paragraph and it seem to fly in the face of God's Sovereign grace. That is, in saying "I am nothing and can do nothing without prayer," am I not saying that God's work is dependent upon man and not God? On the contrary, what that statement says exalts and magnifies Sovereign grace all the more; to say anything different would not only diminish Sovereign grace, but would undermine it completely! One who reads my statement and asks that question has totally misunderstood prayer and grace.

When prayer is understood in its essence as drawing near to God in absolute dependence upon Him, then when I say "I am nothing and can do nothing without prayer" it should be understood I am saying that, "I am nothing and can do nothing without God!" If I say anything other than "I am nothing and can do nothing without prayer," I am saying I am completely self sufficient and have no need of God and His grace! And if God, by His grace has made me alive by His Spirit and has given me the Spirit of Adoption by which I call "Abba! Father!" (Rom 8:15) – should it not be natural for me to need to pray?! JC Ryle says this about Romans 8:15, "It is as much a part of (the Christian's) new nature to pray, as it is of a child to cry. They see their need of mercy and grace. They feel their emptiness and weakness. They cannot do otherwise than they do. They must pray." If Jesus' words be true, "apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5) then it should not be of no surprise that I would say, "I am nothing and can do nothing without prayer."

The first step of my recent growing in prayer has been God reminding me of its privilege and utter necessity. So, if you want to grow in prayer, first pray that the Lord would help you recognize and understand the absolute importance and necessity of prayer in your Christian life…that without prayer you are and can do nothing.

The Necessity of Prayer - Luke 18:1-10 (NEW SERMON)

This past Friday I was privileged to preach God's Word at Sovereign Joy Community Church on "The (Utter) Necessity of Prayer" from Luke 18:1-8

This message is a culmination of my study of prayer in the last few weeks. It doesn't comprise all that I preached in the last few weeks - but it does communicate the renewed conviction and resolve in my own heart regarding prayer. Also, I believe Luke 18:1-8 provides for us the culmination of what prayer is and does.

I do pray if you have time to listen to it (it was a longer sermon than usual), that you will be edified and encouraged to be steadfast in prayer and be prepared by prayer for the return of our Lord.

Jude 2,

Q

The Key to Advancing the Kingdom: Prayer

In the prayers of Scripture, I believe we see the specific priorities and heart of God for His people. We see what our priorities should be and that particularly for pastors. When we see what Christ and Paul prayed for – we recognize that this is what I should praying for my people and striving for in preaching/teaching and ministry.

NT prayers also provide us a rich theology of God's attributes and power, Christ's person and work, ourselves (particularly the results of regeneration within the soul of man), and specific priorities for Christian living. It's important to remember that the Paul's prayer is inspired by the Spirit of God and thus, as Paul expresses his heart in prayer, he is actually expressing the very heart and desires of God. Let me give an example.

In Ephesians 3:16-19 Paul prays this prayer for his readers:

that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

From just observing the details of this prayer we can learn a number of things about God, Christ, ourselves, and the Christian life.

About God

• God has glorious riches (or his glory is rich);
• God's power emanates from the inexhaustible storehouse of his glory
• The Spirit of God displays the riches of God's glory in believers
• God desires to strengthen His people with power
• God desires that Christ reside in our hearts through faith
• God desires that all Christians know the full extent of His love expressed in Christ
• God desires us to be filled in full measure with himself;

About Christ

• Christ dwells in the heart of Christians through faith
• The love of Christ is beyond measure
• The love of Christ surpasses our comprehension

About Ourselves/Christian life

• The Christian life is one of power
• We are strengthened with power within our inner being
• We are strengthened with power by the Holy Spirit
• The Spirit strengthens our faith in Christ
• The Christian life is one of faith in Christ
• The Christian life is rooted and established in the love of Christ
• We are to be constantly growing in our grasp of the love of Christ
• Knowing the love of Christ enables us to be filled in full measure with the life of God

As you can see – this is not only a prayer filled with awe-inspiring truths – but it is one that provides great encouragement for the Christian life. What true Christian doesn't want to be strengthened within by the power of the Holy Spirit? What Christian doesn't want Christ to dwell in their heart? What Christian doesn't want to grasp in full measure the love of Christ towards us? What Christian doesn't want God's fullness in their lives? What's more amazing is that this prayer is not outside our grasp of obtaining. We have been instructed by our Lord to "ask, and it shall be given" to "seek, and ye shall find", and encouraged that, "whatever you ask in my name, it shall be done for you." Expressing this teaching, John says in 1 John 5:14-15, "this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him." So, in essence what we learn here is that God is ready and willing to answer the prayer expressed by Paul in Ephesians 3:16-19 and any of our prayers that are in accordance to His sovereign and expressed will, if we only ask!

This is most instructive to us when it comes to prayer because we then understand that our prayers should be of the same essence of the prayers we see in the NT. When I say same essence, I don't mean just repeating the words of the prayer in rote or in religious formality – because just saying a prayer doesn't necessarily mean one is truly praying. We must "ask…according to (God's) will". Also, God has expressed clearly in his word that if we don't ask with the proper motivation – that our prayers won't be heard (James 4:3). So, when I say our prayers should be of the same essence of NT prayers – what I mean is that the heart of our prayer – it's intention – ought to be according to God's will expressed in these NT prayers. In other words, desiring the truth of the prayer for ourselves and then praying that truth for ourselves. In that way we can also pray – as appropriately applied – according to the intention of passages that aren't necessarily prayers.

So, as it relates to advancing the Kingdom we have been taught by Christ to pray "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." If we have not because we ask not, then we can only conclude that if we do not see the fullness of Christ's work and the righteousness, peace, and joy of the Kingdom advancing in our lives, people coming to Christ around us…it may very well be because "we have not because we ask not"?

Here I will not pretend to understand the mystery of God's absolute sovereignty and man's complete responsibility. But, God has ordained prayer within His sovereign purposes to not only be pleasing to Him (Rev 5:8, 8:13-14), but to move Him! Yes, to move God! "The effective prayer of the righteous man can accomplish much." (James 5:16-18) (Question for my hard deterministic friends: where will you find any teaching in Scripture that says that prayer does not move God? Or where will you find in Scripture that the righteous believing prayers of the saints were not heard by God and He acted upon it?)

If we are instructed to pray and the NT prayers involve the advancing of the work of the Kingdom, then we must realize that if we are not praying and not praying according to God's will – then it should be no surprise if we are not seeing a great work of God among us.

Prayer, believing prayer, humble prayer, and prayer according to God's will is the key to advancing the kingdom. The book of Acts teaches this, history affirms and confirms it, our present day needs it. Will you pray, pray in faith, earnestly pray, fast and pray, cry out to God (with tears) and pray, labor in prayer, bathe in prayer, stay at least one hour with Christ in prayer: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven"?

"The Lord does not play at promising. Jesus did not sport at confirming the word by his blood, and we must not make a jest of prayer by going about it in a listless, unexpecting spirit." – Charles Haddon Spurgeon (taken from 2,200 Quotations From the Writings of Charles H. Spurgeon by Tom Carter)