How to Pray
Notes
Transcript
5 “Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words. 8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him.
9 “Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. 14 “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.
16 “Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
What can cause our prayers to go unanswered?
Sin —
2 But your iniquities are separating you from your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not listen.
David said in Ps 66:18
18 If I had been aware of malice in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
And Micah said in Mic 3:4
4 Then they will cry out to the Lord, but he will not answer them. He will hide his face from them at that time because of the crimes they have committed.
And Peter said this in 1 Peter 3:7, a little controversial passage, but ladies just bear with me, the men need to hear this, and the same applies to women just in reverse
7 Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker partner, showing them honor as coheirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.
God does not promise to answer the prayers of sinners, whether lost or saved, and that is not something you are going to hear very often but you need to know it. — James says in James 4:1-3
1 What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? 2 You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
So why does he make such big promises to those who are saved that we will receive whatever we ask from Him? Because those who accepted the gospel were committed to repentance. Repentance was not optional in the church. — You see when Jesus went from town to town preaching the gospel his message was
14 After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God: 15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
evangelion — Good news — gospel — the Christian walk that Jesus has called us to is a walk of repentance and faith. Obedience and faith are required our whole lives if we want God to answer our prayers our whole lives. — disobedience
13 Just as he had called, and they would not listen, so when they called, I would not listen, says the Lord of Armies.
and again
43 So I spoke to you, but you didn’t listen. You rebelled against the Lord’s command and defiantly went up into the hill country. 44 Then the Amorites who lived there came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir as far as Hormah. 45 When you returned, you wept before the Lord, but he didn’t listen to your requests or pay attention to you.
If we disobey God, even if we are saved, that can cause Him to not answer our prayers, — This is common sense to us in all of our earthly relationships, if you willfully disobey your parents, you shouldn’t expect them to keep giving you the things you want
13 The one who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will himself also call out and not be answered.
But James gives us another reason our prayers go unanswered sometimes, due to our lack of faith —
6 But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord,
This does not mean “name it and claim it.” This does not mean that if you want something that if you learn how to build up this spiritual mindset of faith and confidence that the power of God will be at your disposal, or that God will be obligated to become your prayer servant and begin to work for you. Remember what James says later
3 You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
The first person didn’t receive because they doubted God, the second person didn’t receive because their prayer was selfish — bless my 90 so your 10 will grow!! — Jesus taught us how we should pray, and if we follow His instructions, THEN and only THEN can we pray confidently
9 “Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. 14 “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.
(prayer for the sick — sometimes yes, sometimes no, because physical death is not the most important thing to avoid, spiritual death is, and if you pray for God to save your soul, the answer is always yes) Are you ready to die physically? Are you ready to live forever?