Try to put yourself in the disciple's
place when they were watching the Lord pray. I try to think
about what that must have been like. To listen to what he said,
was he praying audibly? I suppose he was. And they were
listening to him pray. And one time after he had ceased
praying, And I have a hard time imagining what the Lord's prayers
would be like in the sense that he didn't have any sin. And when he prayed, he prayed
as one who did not have any sin. Now that is an amazing thing.
I can't, can't identify with that, but here he is praying
the Lord and one of his disciples said, teach us to pray. as John
also taught his disciples. Wouldn't you be grateful if the
Lord taught you to pray? I want him to teach us to pray,
and I pray that that is what is going to take place tonight. Now, I preach from what is known
as the disciples' prayer on numerous occasions, but what I'd like
to do is just consider this thing of teach us to pray and look
at each part of this prayer in the coming weeks, just one phrase
at a time. Uh, but tonight I just want us
to consider, teach us to pray. In Psalm 65 verse two, David
addresses the Lord as, Oh, thou who hearest prayer. That's a
name of our Lord. O thou who hearest prayer. When the Lord made a whip to
drive people out of the temple and overthrew the tables of the
money changers and scattered the cages with the animals there
they were selling for sacrifice, He said, It's written, my house shall
be called a house of prayer. And you have made it a den of
thieves. In Proverbs chapter 15, verse
eight, we read this incredible statement. The prayer of the
upright is his delight. That means if I'm a believer
and I address him in prayer, he delights in it. Isn't that
amazing? The Lord delights in your prayer. Now, what is prayer? They said,
teach us to pray. Now there's been a lot said about
prayer and there's been a lot written about prayer. Most of
which, if not all of which is worthless. You know, I'm still
tormented by a book I read very long time ago when I was actually
in college by a man by the name of E.M. Bounds called The Power
of Prayer. And I wish I'd never read that
book. Let me tell you why. I'm just so stuck on if I don't
pray so long, it's not as good. I just can't get that out of
my mind. I know it's wrong. I try to quit thinking about
it. But if my prayer doesn't last so long, there wasn't that
much to it. And then I'll find a time where
if I spend more time in prayer, all of a sudden I feel better
about it. That was a good one. And I'm just cursed with that.
I just hate that kind of thinking. I wish I'd never read that book. So if you've got a book on how
to pray, you probably ought to get rid of it. It won't do you
any good at all. But what is prayer? I found this
statement by Charles Spurgeon that I thought it was about the
best definition I've ever heard of prayer. He said, prayer is
the footstep of God's decrees. Turn with me for a moment to
Ezekiel chapter 36. God says in verse 25 to his people
in Ezekiel 36, then will I sprinkle clean water upon you and you
shall be clean from all your filthiness, from all your idols
will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give
you. Oh Lord, give me a new heart.
Well, he says he's going to do it. A new heart also will I give
you. One that was not there before.
And a new spirit will I put within you. And I'll take away the stony
heart out of your flesh. And I give you a heart of flesh.
I'll put my spirit within you. I'll cause you to walk in my
statutes. And you shall keep my judgments
and do them. And you shall dwell in the land
that I'll give to your fathers. And you shall be my people. And
I will be your God. Don't you love the I wills and
you shalls of scripture? God says, I will, and you shall. Oh, I love that. He says in verse
29, I will save you from all your uncleannesses. And I will
call for the corn and will increase it to lay no famine upon you.
And I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase
of the field that you shall receive no more reproach of famine among
the heathen. Then shall you remember your own evil ways. and your
doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your
own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Not
for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord. Be it known unto you,
be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.
Thus saith the Lord God, in the day that I shall have cleansed
you from all your iniquities, I will also cause you to dwell
in the cities, and the waste shall be builded, and the desolate
land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight
of all that pass by. And all they shall say, this
land that was desolate has become like the Garden of Eden, and
the waste and desolate ruined cities have become fenced and
inhabited. Then the heathen that are left round about you shall
know that I, the Lord, build the ruined places and plant that
which was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken it.
I will do it. Now that's certain, isn't it? Is there any question whatsoever
that that's going to take place? Now look what he says next. Thus
saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the
house of Israel to do it for them. If you're going to have
a new heart, you're going to ask God to give you a new heart. If you're going to be cleansed,
you're going to ask the Lord to cleanse you. God decrees to do something.
He moves his people to ask for it, and he answers their prayers. Now, that's what prayer is. It's
the footsteps of God's decrees. God decrees something. And anytime
you pray, he's put that prayer in your heart. I love what David
said, that a servant is found in his heart to pray this prayer
to you because of what you determined you were going to do. He moves
you to pray for it. And then he answers those prayers. Now, prayer does not change God
or his purposes. It's how he brings his purposes
to pass. It doesn't change God's will.
It brings our will into line with God's will. That's what
prayer does. Prayer is not wrestling with
God's reluctance to bless us. It's laying hold upon his willingness
to do so. Turn with me to John 15. John chapter 15. Verse 16. The Lord says to his disciples,
I love this statement. He said, you have not chosen
me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should
go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain. It would be real that whatsoever
you shall ask of the father in my name, he may give it to you. That's a promise. What a blessed
promise. Now, we can't pray without the
gospel. I mean, you're a preacher on
prayer. You're going to preach a gospel.
I better, or I didn't preach on prayer. You can't pray without
some understanding of and belief of the gospel. When we pray in
his name, we confess. We would not dare come in our
own name. Nor do we expect to be heard
because of our merit. We say, hear this prayer for
Christ's sake, as he presents it. That's the only way we pray. We pray in his name. We realize it would not be heard
for our sakes because of our sin, but it is for his sake. Turn to Daniel 9. I love this
prayer of Daniel. It would be a blessing to us
to read the different prayers of the men of Scripture. You
learn something about prayer, but look at Daniel's prayer.
And Daniel was a very special man. I admire this man so much. But look what it says in verse
3 of Daniel chapter 9. And I set my face unto the Lord
God to seek my prayer and supplications with fastings and sackcloth and
ashes. And I prayed unto the Lord my
God, and I made my confession. and said, O Lord, the great and
dreadful God, keeping the covenant mercy to them that love him and
to them that keep his commandments, we've sinned and have committed
iniquity and have done wickedly and have rebelled even by departing
from my precepts and from my judgments. Neither have we hearkened
unto thy servants, the prophets, which spake in thy name to our
kings, our princes and our fathers and to all the people of the
land. O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee. But unto us confusion
effaces, as at this day to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem and to all of Israel that are near and that are far
off through all the countries, whether thou hast driven them
because of their trespasses that they trespassed against thee.
O Lord, to us belongeth confusion efface, to our kings, to our
princes, to our fathers, because we've sinned against thee. To
the Lord our God belong mercies. and forgiveness, though we have
rebelled against Him. Neither have we obeyed the voice
of the Lord our God to walk in His laws, which He set before
us by His servants the prophet. Yea, all Israel have transgressed
thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice.
And therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is
written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, because we
have sinned against him, and he hath confirmed his words which
he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by
bringing upon us a great evil. For under the whole heaven hath
not been done as hath been done in Jerusalem. It had been ransacked. As it's written in the law of
Moses, all this evil has come upon us. Yet made we not our
prayer before the Lord our God that we might be turned from
our iniquities and understand thy truth. Therefore hath the
Lord watched upon the evil and brought it upon us. For the Lord
our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth. For we
obeyed not his voice. And now, O Lord our God, that
has brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with
a mighty hand and has gotten thee renowned, as at this day
we've sinned. We've done wickedly, O Lord,
according to all thy righteousness. I beseech thee, let thine anger
and thy fury be turned away from thy city, Jerusalem, thy holy
mountain, because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers.
Jerusalem and thy people become a reproach to all that are about
us. Now, therefore, O our God, hear. the prayer of thy servant
and his supplications and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary
that's desolate for the Lord's sake. For Christ's sake. Oh, my God,
incline thine ear and hear. Open thine eyes and behold our
desolations in the city which is called by thy name. For we
don't present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses,
but for thy great mercies. Oh Lord, hear. Oh Lord, forgive. Oh Lord, hearken and do. Defer not, don't delay for thine
own sake, oh my God. And for thy city and thy people
that are called by thy name. Prayer is a conscious spreading
out of my own helplessness and powerlessness before God. Prayer is a belief that only
He has power. We pray to Him for forgiveness
because we know He's the only one who can forgive us. Forgiveness
is in his sovereign hand. We don't come demanding it. You
need to forgive me. No, Lord, forgive me for Christ's
sake. We pray for grace and mercy because
it's his to give. We pray to him on the behalf
of others because we know only he can give the dead life. Only he can help them. The best
thing I can do for you. Well, I preach the gospel to
you and pray for you. The best thing you can do for
me is pray for me. Pray for me. Lord, you're the
only one who can do anything for me. You can't. Pray for me. How many times did Paul say,
brethren, pray for us, pray for me? We pray to him on the behalf
of others because only he can give a new heart. Only he can
give faith, only he can give repentance, only he can preserve
Only he can guide, only he can protect, only he can bless. He
is the blesser. Prayer speaks of a relationship
or the like thereof. If you love somebody, you don't
want to be in their presence only in public, do you? If you
only want to be around somebody when they're around somebody
else, that speaks of a lack of relationship. You pray in private. You pray in secret. You enter
into your closet and pray unto your father which seeth in secret. And you know and you really believe
he's the only one who can do anything for you or for anybody
else. And that's why we pray to him.
Prayer's not a last resort. It's the first thing. And we
really believe that God hears and answers prayer. James 5 16 says the effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Now, how can you understand that
verse if you don't understand the gospel? Who is this righteous
man? What's every believer who's justified
by God? The prayer of a righteous man,
every believer avails much. Elijah was a man with like passions
like me and you. You know the things you go through?
Elijah went through them. You know the doubts and fears
you have? Elijah had them. Elijah went through times of
depression and asking the Lord to kill him and upset because
it didn't seem like his way was being done. And he was upset.
He was a man of like passions of me and you. And he prayed
that it might not rain. And there was a famine that lasted
for three and a half years. And it didn't rain in all the
earth. Now God moved him to pray that
prayer for his purpose and God answered that prayer and he prayed
again and the rain came down like nothing else. God hears
and God answers prayer. I love to think of what the Lord
said to Ananias about Paul. He said, Arise and go into the
street that's called straight and there find Saul of Tarsus,
behold, he prayeth. He never had before. Oh, he'd
gone through the motions before. He thought he prayed a lot, but
now for the first time in his life, he's actually praying. That's what believers do. They
pray. David sat before the Lord. and prayed. I love the way it
says he sat before the Lord. That speaks of this special,
intimate relationship. He sat before the Lord and he
prayed. Somebody said to me just recently,
as we grow in grace, there's less asking and more praising. I'm sure that ought to be the
case, but I'm not there yet. I'm not there yet. And when you look at this prayer,
the Lord taught us to pray, there's a lot of things we're asking
for. I love the way it begins with an hour, not my father,
but our father, you know, you can't really be a believer and
not think about other believers. Father, we're the body of Christ.
We're the bride of Christ. We're brethren. I and the children
which thou has given me. He's our elder brother. We're
brethren. Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. There's praise. We acknowledge
his name is hallowed. It's holy. Holy and reverend
is thy name. And everything else in that prayer,
we're asking for things. We're asking thy kingdom come,
Lord, let your kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth
as it is in heaven. How is it done in heaven? Perfectly?
Continually? Willingly? Oh, it's wonderful
to think how his will is done in heaven. Let it be done on
earth the same way. Give us this day our daily bread.
Give us what we need. I don't know what I need, but
you do. Give me what I need. Our daily bread, our physical
needs. And then we pray about our spiritual
needs. Forgive us of our sins. Forgive
us of our debts. I can't come into the Lord's
presence without some awareness of my sin. And I need forgiveness. I need cleansing. Forgive me
of my sins as we forgive those who sin against us. You can't
be forgiven if you don't forgive. That's how important this is.
I'm not forgiven because I forgive somebody else, but I forgive
somebody else because I'm forgiven. That's why. And then he teaches
us to pray. This is asking for something.
Lead us not into temptation. Don't let me be tempted. I know
I'm afraid that every time I'm tempted, I'll fall. I'm just
a whole lot better off in not even being tempted. Lord, put
a hedge around me. Put a hedge around me so I can't
go in these different directions or be tempted for these different
things. Lead me not into temptation. Don't even want to be tempted.
Deliver me from evil. Deliver me from the evil of this
man. Deliver me from the evil of the
world. Deliver me from the evil one. You see, we're asking for
things, aren't we? The scripture says, be careful
for nothing. Be anxious about nothing. Don't
worry. Be careful for nothing, but in
everything. By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests
be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes
all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds by Christ
Jesus. Prayer is asking for things. It's asking. It's seeking. It's knocking. It's confessing
my sins. Praying for others, the very
first word of that prayer is our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. Intercession. Now, if I pray
for you, it's a benefit to you, it's only the Lord who can help
you, and it's a benefit to me. I love that passage of scripture
in Job chapter 42, where it says, and the Lord turned again the
captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends. And what a blessing it is to
be enabled to pray, to give God thanks, thanks, to believe as
you pray and to humble yourself before him. Turn to first Peter
chapter five. Verse five. Prayer is humbling yourself under
the mighty hand of God. Verse five, likewise, you younger,
submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one
to another and be clothed with humility. For God resists the
proud and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore,
under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due
time. And here's what you do when you
humble yourself under his mighty hand, casting all your care upon
him. For he careth for you. Everything about you, everything
about me is important to him. Everything about My daughter
has always been important to me because it's her and it's
infinitely more that way with the Lord. Now, let me give you
a statement by John Bunyan. Here's another great statement
regarding prayer. He said, prayer is a sincere,
sensible, affectionate, pouring out of the soul to God through
Christ. in the strength of the spirit
for such things as God has promised. That's what we, we asked the
Lord to do what he said he was going to do. Now, let me show
you David doing this. Turn with me to second Samuel chapter seven. Second Samuel chapter seven,
David, the man after God's own heart. This prayer began sometime earlier,
but let me begin in verse 25. This is when David was sitting
before the Lord. And now, O Lord God. Verse 25, 2 Samuel 7. And now, O Lord God, the word
that thou has spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his
house. What's he asking about? The word
thou has spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house.
Establish it forever and do as thou hast said. Now there's how
to pray. Lord, you do what you said. You said grace, sin shall not
have dominion over you. Because you're not under law,
but you're under grace. Now do as you said. You said
that, Lord. I didn't say it. You said it.
Do as thou has said. Verse 26. And let thy name be
magnified forever, saying the Lord of hosts is the God over
Israel. And let the house of thy servant
David be established before thee. For thou, O Lord of hosts, God
of Israel, has revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build
thee an house. And therefore hath thy servant
found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee. And now, O
Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true. Thou hast
promised this goodness unto thy servant. Therefore now let it
please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue
forever before thee. For thou, O Lord God, hast spoken
it. You see, he's asking everything
about what the Lord has said. Thou has spoken it, and with
thy blessing, let the house of thy servant be blessed forever."
You know, you find, here's what you and I are called upon to
do. We're called upon to find out what the Lord has promised
in his word and say, Lord, do what you said. That's prayer. Asking the Lord for such things
as he promised. Now let me give some things that
are very encouraging in this thing of prayer. Turn with me
to Luke 18. And here's one reason why you
and I ought to be very encouraged to pray. Luke 18, verse one,
and he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always
to pray and to not faint, to not lose heart, to not give up. Men ought always. And I love
the way he said, he just defined here. He just said men. He didn't
say believers. He didn't say unbelievers. He
didn't say he, all he said was men. I'm in that group. It might
be, if he said only believers can pray, I might be afraid.
Well, maybe, maybe I better, but he doesn't say that. He said,
men ought always to pray and not to lose heart, not to faint.
And let's go on reading. saying there was in a city a
judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man, and there
was a widow in that city, and she came unto him, saying, Avenge
me of mine adversary, and he wouldn't for a while. But afterward
he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man,
yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by
her continual coming she weary me. be continually coming. Same thing. Don't give the Lord
any rest. The Lord said men ought always
to pray and not to faint. Here's another reason or encouragement
to pray. It's a sin not to. Samuel said, God forbid that
I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you. It's a sin not to. Here's a third encouragement.
I love this one. The Lord said to his disciples
on two different occasions. He said, if any of you, you that
have kids, if your child asked for a piece of bread, will you
give him a stone? Or if he asks for Fish. Will you give him a scorpion? You know you wouldn't do that.
And then he makes this statement, and I find this so comforting.
He's talking to his disciples at this time. He says, if you
then being evil. Does anybody think, who's he
talking to? No, if you're a believer, you know who he's talking to.
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more shall your heavenly father give good
things to them that ask him? Now, here are three great encouragements
to prayer. First, your father. I love the way the Lord speaks
of his father as your father, your heavenly father. How much
more shall your heavenly father give good things to them that
ask him? He's your heavenly father. As a father pitieth his children,
so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. He knows our frame. He remembers that we're dust. What a father we have. And here's another encouragement
to pray, your savior and his intercession. Peter, I pray for you. Can you imagine
the Lord bringing your name to his father? Peter, Satan's asked
to have you to sift you as wheat, and he did. He turned him inside
out. But I've prayed for you that your faith fail not. His
faith didn't fail. Father, forgive them. You know, everybody he prayed
for, the Father forgave. If the Lord brings my name to
the Father, oh, the intercession of Christ. Hebrews 7.25 says,
wherefore, he is able to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by him, seeing that he ever liveth to make intercession
for them. Romans 8.33, who is he that condemneth? It's Christ that died, yea, rather
that's risen again, who is also at the right hand of God, who
maketh intercession for us. Think of having the Lord praying
for you. I mean, what, what, What more assurance? He takes
my worthless prayer, presents it to the Father, and
it smells good to the Father. It's a sweet-smelling savor.
The intercession of Christ is Lord. That's why we pray in Christ's
name. Lord, hear this prayer for Christ's
sake. And then there's the help of God the Holy Spirit. Listen
to this scripture in Romans chapter 8, verse 26. Likewise, the Spirit
also helpeth. our infirmities. For we know
not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself
maketh intercession with groanings that cannot be uttered. And he
that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the
will of God. There's three great reasons to
pray. God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. Now we have a beautiful illustration
of answered prayer for tonight. I think of Savannah's getting
ready to confess Christ and believers baptism. Savannah's salvation
was decreed by God before time began. Just like everybody else
who was saved. If you're saved, Your salvation
was decreed by God before time began. Her salvation was accomplished
by what Christ did on the cross. And I wonder how many times her
mom and dad have prayed for her. Thousands, to say the least. I prayed for her. I prayed for
your salvation. Now, She wasn't saved because
of our prayers. But because of the grace of God.
And his grace moved his people to pray for her. And he answered
those prayers. That's answered prayer. Now,
I was thinking about this. Many of us have children who
were raised up in this assembly, and they're not coming here now. Pray for him. I know you already
do, but don't stop. Continue to pray. Pray for the
Lord to reveal himself to them and give him no rest. No rest. Be like that importunate widow. Be like the man who came asking
for three loaves of bread. And he said, open up, give me
some bread, I've got some company. He said, I'm already in bed,
go away. My children are with me in bed,
I'm not getting up. He knocks again, go away. He kept knocking
till the guy said, all right. He got up, gave him all he wanted.
Now that doesn't mean that the Lord is reluctant to answer prayer
and you gotta really get him to do, that's not what that's
saying at all. But it is saying this, our Lord is teaching us
to be importunate. to continue to ask for the same
thing. Same thing. Well, is there a
time you need to quit? No. No. You and the Lord might
answer your prayer after you're already dead. I realize that.
You don't know that. But the Lord answers prayer. He's a prayer hearing and a prayer
answering God, and he decrees, he purposes what he's gonna do,
he moves his people to pray for it, and he answers their prayers. John Newton said this, he said,
come my soul, thy suit prepare. Jesus loves to answer prayer. He himself has bid thee pray,
therefore will not tell thee name. Thou art coming to a king,
large petitions with thee bring, for his grace and power are such
that none can ever ask too much. May you and I be preeminently
men and women of prayer. Let's pray.