CE 1 YEAR: 35 Prayer

Week 35

Prayer

Why does God want us to pray?

The first Christians were devoted to “prayer” (Acts 1:14; 2:42; 6:4). We are also commanded to be devoted to prayer (Luke 18:1; Rom 12:12; Eph 6:18; Col 4:2; 1 Thess 5:17). A very important question is why does God want us to pray? Because there are good things that will not happen if you do not pray (James 4:2). There are things that God is willing to do in your life and the world, but will not do unless we pray.

Why is this? Because God wants us to recognize His work in our life and the world. If God just does something apart from us asking Him to do it, we probably will not recognize it as His work. God wants to be glorified among us and reveal His power to us. This is why He works in accordance with our prayers. He wants to partner with us in changing things in our life and world. He wants us to know He is personally involved in our lives!

The power of prayer

Scripture promises that through prayer, we can ask for “anything” and can receive “whatever we asked” (1 John 5:15). “Anything” and “whatever” are powerful words! Of course, there are requirements for such power. But notice that in these promises God is offering you His almighty power. When we pray, we are asking God to supernaturally intervene in a situation with His power. To make something happen that only He can do.

Jesus told His disciples that everything is possible with God (Matt 19:26). Jesus would say the same to you, no matter what seemingly impossible situation you find yourself in. You have a Dad infinitely more powerful than any human official, and He invites you to ask Him to do anything. One of the most painful things in life is to feel powerless in a situation. But because God is your Dad you are never powerless.

The requirements for powerful prayer

The Bible gives us two requirements for such powerful prayer. First, we must be living according to His will (1 John 3:22). This is why God warns husbands that their prayers will be hindered if they are not loving their wives (1 Pet 3:7; cf. Ps 66:18-19; John 9:31; James 4:3). Obviously, no one is perfect. But the Bible promises that the prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective (James 5:16). Therefore, the prayers of a sinful person will be powerless and ineffective.

If you are asking God for something and it is not happening, search your conscience for any sin you are aware of and stop doing it. But you should be careful not to assume this is the only reason for God’s denial of a request. Paul prayed for his “thorn” to be removed and his request was denied, but not because of sin in his life (cf. 2 Cor 12:7-10). Still, continually choosing a sin you are aware of can hinder God in granting your prayers.

The second requirement for powerful prayer is asking according to God’s will (1 John 5:14-15). How can you be certain you are praying according to God’s will? God’s will is clearly revealed in Scripture. Therefore, you can pray anything commanded, promised, or otherwise revealed in Scripture as God’s will and be absolutely certain God will grant your request!

This is why every request in “The Lord’s Prayer” is something God has already promised to do (Matt 6:9-13). Jesus wants you to pray according to the biblical will of God. Praying “in Jesus’ name” simply means praying what He would pray, or praying according to His will (John 15:16).

The Apostle Paul demonstrated such a prayer when he prayed that the Ephesian Christians would deeply grasp the full dimensions of God’s love for them (Eph 3:18-19). Scripture clearly reveals this is God’s will. Therefore, this is a prayer you can pray with absolute confidence that God will work to make it happen. And think of the amazing affect that would have on your life and the life of others!

Some might struggle with being confined to only asking things according to the will of God revealed in Scripture. But the prayers that Scripture guarantees are the best and most powerful prayers imaginable. You cannot invent or ask better things for yourself or others than the commands and promises God gives you in Scripture.

For example, the following are three prayer requests that you can be certain will happen because they are God’s will: 1) That you and other Christians would grow in your love and obedience to God (Matt 22:37-38); 2) That you and other Christians would grow in your love for others (Matt 22:39); 3) That you and other Christians would grow in your knowledge and experience of God’s love for you (Eph 3:18-19). And when God grants such prayers, all of the best and most important things in your life and the life of others will happen.

God offers you a lot of power in prayer. The requirements for powerful prayer are asking and living according to His will. Some might suggest that faith is another requirement. Such “miracle faith” will be discussed in Week 40.

Trusting God with His answers to our prayers

There is another encouragement about prayer. You can ask for “anything” (1 John 3:22; 5:14-15). You do not need to confine your prayer requests to things commanded and promised in Scripture. Your request will not have the same guarantee of being granted as discussed above. But you can ask your Dad for anything. There are all kinds of things you can supernaturally change in your life, the life of others, and anywhere in the world!

But God is no “genie in a bottle.” While He is willing to grant you His power, He knows you do not have the necessary wisdom to handle such power. The power of God requires the wisdom of God in order to avoid chaos and disaster. Therefore, all requests must be evaluated by His wisdom first, and you should be very thankful for that.

It is easy for us to think that everything that is our will, should be God’s will too. Why would He deny your request to help or heal someone? That is one of the most difficult questions a human can ask, and God rarely reveals the answer. One thing we know is that God always knows the best thing to do. For example, as discussed in Week 20, your Dad may want to change a “heart” instead of a circumstance, because this would be the best.

Jesus said something to help you trust your Dad’s goodness in His response to your prayers. He reminded parents of how much they want to give good things to their children. He said God’s desires are even greater (Matt 7:9-11). Your Dad is a very good dad and He will always give you something good in answer to your prayers. And if He does not give you exactly what you asked for, be assured He is giving you something even better.

Helps for powerful prayer

What are some other things that will help us pray effectively? First, be desperate about something! If there is no crisis in your life, be desperate about a crisis occurring in the lives of others. DESPERATION is the fuel of consistent, earnest, God-pleasing prayer. You can devise a plan to pray consistently and force yourself to be disciplined to follow it. But desperation removes the need for discipline. When we are desperate for God to do something, we will pray like we should!

Secondly, be persistent in your prayers (Luke 18:1-8). Why does God often require that we pray repeatedly for something over a long period of time? Maybe we are asking God for something long before it will be best to grant it. Also, persistence reveals how serious we are about a prayer request. God is not interested in moving Heaven and Earth according to our momentary whims. When we faithfully and continually ask for something, it demonstrates how important it is to us.

Finally, seek to be a part of God fulfilling your request. Jesus said we should not just be asking, but also acting, seeking, and knocking (Matt 7:7-8). Jesus wants you to add action to your prayers. Do not just ask God to do things if you can “seek,” “knock,” and work for them also.

God will not do for you, what He has already enabled you to do. He will not give someone more money, if He has already given it to you, to give to them. He probably will not save someone through your prayers, if you are not willing to share the Gospel with them. He may not answer your prayers to help someone spiritually grow, if you are not doing what you can to see your prayer fulfilled. Do not just be asking, but also seeking and knocking. Add action to your asking. God is expecting you to do what you can do to see your prayers fulfilled. He will do what only He can do.

Practical Application: Our confidence and faith in the power of prayer is based on our experience with prayer. It is vital that you recognize, remember, and appreciate when God has granted your prayers. Take some time to write down some of these experiences. Thank God for them and let them help you have faith that God is willing to grant your prayers.

In your small group meeting this week, share praises and prayer requests and then discuss these questions:

1) What did this chapter suggest in answer to why God wants us to pray? What do you think?

2) How would you describe the potential power of prayer?

3) What is the first requirement for powerful prayer (1 John 3:22)? How can you have some confidence this is true of your life?

4) What is a second requirement for powerful prayer (1 John 5:14-15)? How can you be confident of this?

5) What must we believe in order to trust God with prayers He does not grant?

6) Why is desperation better than mere discipline for helping us be devoted to prayer?

7) Why does God want us to be persistent in our prayers?

8) Why should we add action to our asking?

9) What was especially meaningful to you in this chapter? Why?