The daughter of
an elderly man asked her pastor to come & pray with her father -- her
father who was on his death bed.
When the pastor
arrived -- he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two
pillows -- & an empty chair beside
his bed.
The pastor
assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit.
“I guess you
were expecting me” -- the pastor said.
The old man
responded saying -- “No, Who are you?”
“I’m the new
pastor at your church” -- the pastor stated. -- “When I saw the empty chair --
I figured you knew I was coming.”
“Oh, yeah --
the chair” -- said the bedridden man. -- “Would you mind closing the door?”
Rather puzzled
-- the pastor shut the door -- & than sat down.
The man said --
“I’ve never told this to anyone -- not even my daughter. -- But for most of my
life -- I had no idea how to pray. -- At church I used to hear the pastor talk
about prayer -- but it always went right over my head.”
“I abandoned
any attempt at prayer” -- the old man continued -- “until one day about four
years ago my best friend said to me -- ‘Joe,
prayer is just a simple matter of
having a conversation with Jesus. -- Here’s what I suggest. -- Sit down on
a chair -- place an empty chair in front of you -- & in faith see Jesus on
the chair. -- It’s not spooky because He promised, "I’ll be with you
always." -- Then just speak to Him & listen in the same way you’re
doing with me right now.’”
“So, I tried
it that -- & I’ve liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every
day. -- I’m careful, though. -- If my daughter saw me talking to an empty
chair, she’d either have a nervous breakdown -- or send me off to the funny
farm.”
The pastor was
deeply moved by the story -- & encouraged the elderly man to continue on
his journey of prayer.
Then the pastor
prayed with him -- & returned to the church.
Two nights
later the daughter called to tell the pastor that her daddy had died that
afternoon.
“Did he seem to
die in peace?” -- the pastor asked.
“Yes, when I
left the house around
What a
beautiful picture of the meaning & comfort of prayer!
Have you ever
thought about your prayer life?
Have you ever
examined it -- & wished that you could be better at communicating with
God?
Apparently --
the disciples of Jesus wished they could be better at communicating with God --
for they asked Jesus one day to teach them to pray!
In Luke’s
Gospel -- chapter 11 -- we are told of the time -- upon observing the prayer life of Jesus -- that the disciples felt they needed to learn
more.
Luke’s Gospel
gives us a better overview of the prayer life of Jesus -- than any of the
gospel writers.
Prayer is a
major theme in the Gospel of
Has it ever
occurred to you -- that when you pray
-- what you are doing is of greater
significance than what I am doing when I preach?
The disciples
never once asked: -- “Lord, teach us to preach
...”
They did ask
Jesus -- “Teach us to pray.”
A prayer ministry is far more reaching
than a preaching ministry.
Preaching is talking to people; --
praying is talking to God!
Preaching only touches those who hear;
-- praying touches those both far
& near!
Prayer is so
vital to the spiritual life & development of the Christian!
Prayer is the
key to your personal spiritual growth & development.
Prayer is the very breath of the soul.
Just as you
& I need to breathe the air around us to stay alive physically -- so as
Christians, we need to pray to stay alive spiritually!
Prayer is an
essential source of spiritual nourishment.
Prayer! -- The very word has a special
charm!
Prayer is
communion -- fellowship -- between you & God!
God created you
& I so He could have fellowship with us --
& we with Him
That does not
mean -- that prayer is our running to God -- as the “Big Daddy in the Sky” --
& saying: -- “Give me, give me, give me...”
Rather prayer
is talking to God -- as a friend talks to a friend -- & prayer is also
allowing God to talk with us!
The disciples
said: -- “Lord, teach us to pray ...”
They did not say -- “teach us how to pray” -- nor when to pray -- nor what to pray; -- but “Lord, teach us to pray.”
Oh -- the importance of prayer!
I like the
story about the 3 ministers who were talking about prayer in general -- &
the appropriate & effective positions for prayer.
As they were talking -- a telephone repairman
was working on the phone system in the background.
One minister
shared that he felt the key was in the hands.
He always held
his hands together & pointed them upward as a form of symbolic worship.
The second
suggested that real prayer was conducted on your knees.
The third
suggested that they both had it wrong -- the only position worth its salt was
to pray while stretched out flat on your face.
By this time
the phone man couldn’t stay out of the conversation any longer.
He interjected:
-- “I found that the most powerful prayer I ever made was while I was dangling
upside down by my heels from a power pole -- suspended forty feet above the
ground.”
Externals such
as body position -- voice inflection -- vocabulary, etc. -- is not the issue. -- Prayers are simple in style. -- Prayer can be simply a sigh! -- Effective
praying is that which comes from the heart!
As Jews -- the
disciples were no strangers to prayer itself!
Jews were a
praying people -- & they had designated prayers for every situation!
But by
observing the place of prayer in Jesus’ life -- they realized that Jesus lived
a life guided & empowered by prayer.
As they watched
Him pray -- it caused them to realize how very little they truly knew about
prayer.
So they said, “Lord,
teach us to pray...”
There is
something tremendously important about the way Jesus answered the
disciples.
Jesus replied
-- “When you pray, say ...” -- He is saying to them “Pray in this manner” --
“Pray like this.”
And then Jesus
gives us what we have come to call The Lord’s Prayer.
The Lord’s
Prayer was given to show the disciples how to pray -- after all that is what
they asked -- that is how they should go about praying.
It’s not the
words that are important -- as much as it is the pattern.
In the Lord’s
Prayer -- Jesus gave us a simple formula.
In essence
Jesus is saying -- “When we pray -- we should acknowledge God as our Heavenly Father; - we should
reverence Him; - we should pray for His kingdom
to come -- & confess our complete dependence on Him for food -- for
forgiveness -- & for deliverance -- & we should praise God.”
Let me give you
three points on the importance of prayer in our lives!
1. The Privilege
of Prayer!
What a blessed
privilege -- what a delight & joy -- to know that you & I have access
to the very throne room of the King of kings -- & the Lord of lords -- the
throne room of God Almighty!
There is no one
so poor -- that he/she may not pray; -- no one so down-cast & forsaken that
he may not find in God a Friend; -- no one so broken hearted that he is not
able to bind up his spirit through prayer!
We all have access to the throne of grace!
We can pray any
where -- at any time -- under any circumstances.
Calls to prayer
come from the passing events of life -- & from the every day situations of
life!
One minister
used to ask the question -- “Have you ever thought that when someone has done
you wrong -- that person gives you something about which you can pray?”
The greatest benefit of prayer is that it
brings you into the presence of an
all loving -- an all caring -- & an Almighty God!
Prayer is truly
a rewarding experience! -- In fact it is such a rewarding experience that we would do well to invent occasions for
this all important exercise of
prayer!
Bishop Edwin
Hughes used to say that when he passed church steeples in his travels -- the
very sight moved him to prayer for the worshipers; -- or seeing a funeral
procession moved him to pray for the mourners. -- He always looked for
opportunities to pray!
My friends --
any news of special need; -- a revival meeting over yonder; -- a sick brother or sister; -- a defeated church; -- a broken hearted pastor; -- a broken home; -- misunderstandings;
-- worldwide mission projects -- tragic news by radio, or television, or daily paper -- are all urgent calls to prayer!
Far too often we rely on our human resources -- & fail to talk to God about our
needs -- our afflictions -- our illnesses -- or our deep spiritual needs.
But -- What a Friend we have in
Jesus -- All our sins & griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry --
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit -- Oh, what needless
pain we bear,
All because we do not carry -- Everything to God in
prayer!
2. The Obligation of Prayer!
Prayer is not
only a great privilege -- it is also an obligation!
For a long time
in my Christian life -- I thought of prayer only as a privilege -- as so many
other people do; -- a privilege to be exercised when we choose -- or to be left
alone when we choose.
Most of us
exercise the privilege of prayer -- only when we need some-thing from God.
When everything
is going along nicely & smoothly -- & the sun is shining -- we are
happy -- the family is all well -- & all of our physical needs are supplied
-- we have a tendency to push prayer into the background & forget about it!
But prayer is more than just a privilege!
In
He spoke of
their need for constant prayer --
& that they must never give up praying!
When Jesus said
“men ought always to pray” -- with
the word “ought” comes a sense of
obligation!
Why is there an obligation resting upon
us in this matter of prayer?
My friends --
it is in the plan of God that the forces of righteousness prevail in the battle
against the world, the flesh, & the devil!
That is why
Jesus taught us to pray -- “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it
is in Heaven.”
If we are to
prevail -- if we are to triumph -- against sin -- & the hosts of wickedness
in our world -- we must pray!
The work of God’s kingdom progresses only
as we pray!
The Church
moves forward & prospers -- as we pray!
The Gospel
reaches souls on the wings of prayer!
The Holy Spirit
anoints the preacher -- & convicts the sinner -- as the people of God pray!
It is part of God’s plan! -- & when God’s people fail to pray -- men’s souls go to hell -- the work of God
dwindles -- the power is removed from us -- & we become stale!
We are formal
& cold -- careless & indifferent -- when we fail to pray!
I truly believe
that is what is happening in our society today -- the reason we are loosing ground against to forces of
evil in our day -- is because we as God’s people -- have lost sight of our obligation to prayer!
Now -- if God has made it a part of His plan
-- & if souls are saved when
God’s people prevail in prayer -- if
the power of the HS comes only as God’s people pray -- if the work of the kingdom of God prospers -- & the forces of
God prevail only as God’s people
pray -- then one of the greatest sins of
which God’s people are guilty -- is
that of prayer-less-ness!
Oh, hear me my
dear friends -- we are in a terrible
plight in our society -- because we have quit praying!
We have gotten
so busy with this, that & the other
-- so absorbed in the affairs of life -- in the hurry -- in the headlong rush
of the world after things -- that we no
longer have time to pray!
If there was ever a time when we ought to be on our faces before God --
crying to Him like the Israelites did while they were in Egypt -- until a mighty cry would go up to Heaven -- & God would say -- “I have heard their cry -- & I am going to
deliver them” -- if there was ever a
time when God’s people ought to
besiege the throne of grace day & night -- it is now! -- It is NOW!
Oh how sad are the words that God spoke to the
prophet
One of the
saddest statements in all of Scripture is found in those words -- “but I found no one.”
God did not
just put out a want ad -- & wait! -- God sought!
God sought --
He hunted -- He searched for -- & He could find no one who was willing to stand in the gap of prayer!
God is looking
for someone among us -- even this very day!
The greatest
need our Nation has today -- is for people who will pick up the obligation of
prayer -- & truly pray; -- to stand in the gap before God!
My friends --
pray for the unsaved; -- pray for ourselves; -- pray for our homes; -- pray for
the church; -- pray for our Nation!
For men &
women ought always to pray -- & not to faint!
Prayer is a
blessed privilege -- but prayer is
also an obligation!
3. The Power of Prayer!
Before I close
-- let me make one more very important point on this subject of prayer!
Prayer is not
only a blessed privilege -- & an
obligation -- but prayer is also powerful! -- Oh, the power of prayer!
Prayer is not a dry subject; -- it is a power filled subject!
As Christians
we have a power that is unlike any power that mankind can ever develop; -- it is the power of prayer!
Many think that
prayer is -- such a common thing -- just a routine chore -- just a way to
release our emotions -- something to make us feel better.
But Satan recognizes the power of prayer --
& Satan does not want us to pray!
In fact - Satan
trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.
You & I have
access to that power; -- but we are
not using all of it as we should.
We are using
only a very small percentage of the power that is ours.
We have access
to unlimited power -- if only we
would use it!
In writing to
the Church -- James reminded us that “the effectual fervent prayer of a
righteous man availeth much” (James
The earnest
& sincere prayer of a righteous person -- has great power & wonderful
results.
My friends --
the prayer of a person living right with God is truly some-thing powerful!
James uses the
example of the OT prophet Elijah -- human just like you & me -- who prayed
hard that it wouldn’t rain -- &
it didn’t; -- not a drop for three & a
half years.
Then he prayed
that it would rain -- & it did!
The showers came -- & everything turned green & started growing
again
Phillips Brooks said that prayer is not
overcoming God’s reluctance -- but
rather laying hold of God’s willingness.
Abraham prayed
for a son -- & God gave him prosperity like the sands of the sea.
Moses prayed --
& an entire nation of 3 million was delivered.
Joshua prayed
-- & the sun stopped -- & stood still in the sky.
Daniel prayed
-- & the mouths of lions were muzzled.
The apostles
prayed -- & the Holy Spirit came down.
Not one of these would have happened
without prayer!
But you say to
me -- well, that was back in Biblical times!
My friends --
God is the same yesterday -- today & forever!
Martin Luther
prayed -- & the Reformation was the results.
John Knox
prayed -- &
John Wesley
prayed -- & millions were moved Godward.
Charles Finney
prayed -- & mighty revivals resulted.
George Mueller
prayed -- & more than 7 million dollars were sent in to feed thousands of
orphans in
Men & women are always praying -- & God is always answering!
Conclusion: --
Prayer helps us
to realize the presence of God in our lives better than in any other way!
The most
important thing I will do today is pray!
The most
important thing you will do today is
pray!
Keep the altar
of private prayer burning in your heart!
Like the
disciples of yesterday -- may we even today -- say, “Lord, teach us to pray.”
To really learn
about prayer -- you must pray.
The secret to
praying -- is praying in secret!
Begin today --
to recognize the privilege of prayer -- to acknowledge the obligation of power
-- & to experience the power of prayer.
No prayer is
unimportant! -- No topic is too silly! -- God is always listening
Be yourself
before God -- & talk to Him as you would a friend!
Remember -- you
don’t have to impress the Lord! -- He knows who & what you are! -- Be open,
be honest -- & speak to God in your own words
Prayer is a
loving conversation between you & a living God.
Prayer is the vital breath of your
spiritual life!
Jesus Himself
prayed frequently & fervently!
We are most
like Jesus when we do what Jesus did!
Do you want to
be like Jesus? -- Then learn to pray & pray & pray!