Sermon Tone Analysis

*The Essentials of Prayer*

 

*Selected Scriptures*

*Wednesday Evening **6~/13~/07*

 

*Introductory Verses*

*Ephesians 6:18-19 */18 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, 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel./

* *

*Colossians 4:2 states, */Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;/

 

*1 Thessalonians **5:17** */pray without ceasing;/

 

*Introduction*

*These Scriptures and many others like them make it clear that God’s people are to be a praying people.

In the series on the /Essentials of Prayer/ which I was discussing with you previously, a few months ago, I never completely finished our discussion.

Tonight I would like to finish up that series.*

As we continue to consider the /Essentials of Prayer/, let me remind you of the outline we were following for this study: *The Reasons for Prayer; The Requirements of Prayer; The Rudiments of Prayer; A Restraint to Prayer.*

* *

*The Reasons for Prayer*

*We have already discussed the Reasons for Prayer in detail.

Remember we should pray because:*

*It is the Example of Christ*

*It is the Exhortation of Scripture*

*Prayer Exhibits God’s Glory*

*Prayer Enlists Us in God’s Plans & Purposes*

*Prayer is an Effective Activity*

* *

These are the reasons for prayer we discussed previously and then we looked at:

 

*The Requirements for Prayer*

Under that heading we considered two main points: The Principles of Answered Prayer; and The Problems Resulting in Unanswered Prayer.

Concerning *The Principles of Answered Prayer* we noted several Scriptural requirements for effective praying.

They are:

 

*Ask in God’s Will*

 

*Ask in Christ’s Name*

* *

*Ask in Faith*

 

*Ask with Earnestness*

 

*Ask in Awareness*

 

*Ask with a Clean Heart*

 

Next we discussed:

 

*The Problems Resulting in Unanswered Prayer*

*Overall*—The overall answer to this question is Sin.

*Psalm 66:18 */If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: /KJV

/ /

*Proverbs 15:8 */The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But the prayer of the upright is His delight./

/ /

*Proverbs 15:29 */The Lord is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous./

/ /

(Expound – sin blocks the prayer channel).

The overall hindrance to prayer is sin, but the Bible also identifies some specific sins that particularly hinder prayer.

Note:

 

*Specifically*

·       Self-centeredness & Selfishness – *James 4:3 */You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures./

·       Indifference – *Proverbs **21:13** */He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor Will also cry himself and not be answered./

·       An Unforgiving Spirit – *Mark **11:25** */“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your transgressions./

·       Marital Troubles – *1 Peter 3:7 */You husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, *so that your prayers may not be hindered*./

·       Doubt – *James 1:5-7 */5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

6 But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

7 For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord./

This brings us then to the third major point:

 

*The Rudiments of Prayer*

What I am referring to here are the elements or content of our prayers.

Here I want to suggest 3 things that the Scriptures indicate ought to be included in our praying.

First:

 

*Confession*

*Note how the following verses indicate that confession should be a part of our Christian lives:*

* *

*James 5:16 */Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.

The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much./

*1 John 1:9 */If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness./

Note these examples of prayers of confession:

 

*Judges 10:6-16 */6 Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the Lord and did not serve Him.

7 And the anger of the Lord burned against //Israel//, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the sons of Ammon.

8 And they afflicted and crushed the sons of //Israel// that year; for eighteen years they afflicted all the sons of //Israel// who were beyond the //Jordan// in //Gilead// in the land of the Amorites.

9 And the sons of Ammon crossed the //Jordan// to fight also against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that //Israel// was greatly distressed.

*10 Then the sons of */*/Israel/**/ cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against Thee, for indeed, we have forsaken our God and served the Baals.”/*/

11 And the Lord said to the sons of //Israel//, “Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the sons of Ammon, and the Philistines?

12 “Also when the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, you cried out to Me, and I delivered you from their hands.

13 “Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods; therefore I will deliver you no more.

14 “Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your distress.”

*15 And the sons of */*/Israel/**/ said to the Lord, “We have sinned, do to us whatever seems good to Thee; only please deliver us this day.”

/*/16 So they put away the foreign gods from among them, and served the Lord; and He could bear the misery of //Israel// no longer./

Note the prayers of confession in verses 10 and 15 above.

Here we see Israel once again driven to confession and repentance by the misery of their sin.

How often must we learn this lesson?

How often must God use the miseries brought on by our own sin to break us and draw us back to Him?

 

Let us guard ourselves against the sin which so easily entangles us and be careful that we serve God and God alone.

By so doing we can avoid many miseries.

But note also the tender mercy of God toward us when we sin.

Note how upon Israel’s confession we are told in the last phrase of verse 16 that God “*/could bear the misery of /**/Israel/**/ no longer/*”.

What a comforting and convicting thought to realize that our Lord hurts when He sees us hurting, even when our hurt is brought on by our own sin.

What a marvelously compassionate God we serve.

*Job 42:1-6 */1 Then Job answered the Lord and said: 2 “I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’

Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

4 Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer //Me.//’

*5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.

6 Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”*/

In the previous example we noted that often times we are driven to repentance by the miseries which we suffer as a result of our own sin.

The example of Job teaches us something about life’s miseries in general.

We know that Job’s sufferings were not a result of any specific sin on the part of Job.

Job’s miseries were brought on by Satan with God’s permission.

The results of Job’s sufferings are seen in verses 5 and 6 above, where we see Job confessing and repenting before God.

The point is that God used suffering in Job’s life to help Job see the unfathomable “*/otherness/*” of God.

Job knew God, and believed in God, and was obedient to God, yet it took the awful miseries that Job went through for him to see his God for whom He really is.

It was through his miseries that Job came to really understand the difference between himself and the one true God.

It was through his sufferings that Job came face-to-face with the holiness of God and it was this awareness of God’s holiness that led Job to the confession and repentance that we see in verses 5 and 6 above.

It was the awareness of God’s holiness that let Job see things in their true and proper perspectives.

When we encounter the difficult providences of this life may we likewise be reminded of the infinite difference between ourselves and the perfect perfectness of Holy God.

Remember, all of our suffering can be traced ultimately to the fall of man.

Our suffering should remind us of the awfulness of sin and the absolute perfection of our God and should bring us to our knees in repentance as it did with Job.

And then like Job, we shall know the blessing of God in double portion.

*Matthew 6:12-15 /12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors./*/