13th chapter of the book of Hebrews.
In verse 18, the writer to the Hebrews says
Pray for us, for we trust, we have a good
conscience in all things willing to live honestly. But I beseech
you, the rather to do this, pray for us, that I may be restored
to you the sooner. I've entitled this message, Prayer
for Sooner Restoration. prayer for sooner restoration. Pray for us so we can be restored,
let out of prison earlier than we would have been if you didn't
pray for us. Now, if he would have said, I'm
going to get out of prison when God decreed for me to get out
of prison, not before then. Would he have been telling the
truth? Yes. He would have been telling the
truth. And yet he prays. Pray for me that I might get
out of here sooner. I don't like being here. I want
to be out of here. And I want you to pray for me
that I might be restored to you so I can preach the gospel again
to you in person sooner. There are so many things that
I cannot intellectually comprehend, but I believe. For instance,
God is absolutely, immutably sovereign. That means that he
has a will, that he has the power to make his will come to pass,
and that he does make his will come to pass all the time. Whatever happens, doesn't matter
what it is, he is in control of. He's the first cause behind
all things, and he's Lord over every action we take. God is sovereign, and it's equally
true that we do exactly what we want to do. We're not forced. We're not coerced. We do what
we want to do. Now, both of those statements
are true. God's decrees are unalterable. Acts 15 says, known unto God
are all his works from the beginning. You remember in Revelation chapter
five, when it speaks of the book written within and without front
side and back side sealed with seven seals, nothing could be
added to it. That is God's purposes and decrees, and they cannot
be altered. He declares the end from the
beginning and from ancient times, the things that are not yet done,
saying my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. Nothing happens. But God's will
being done, and yet things are changed through prayer. Hezekiah was told he had to get
his house in order. He's going to die. And he prayed
before God so earnestly that the Lord would spare his life.
And the scripture says 15 years were added to his life. Now,
I know that it was the Lord's purpose all before that, because
through him, Manasseh came. And this is the line of Christ.
So the Lord purposed this all along, but he said to him, set
your house in order. You're going to die. And he prayed
and the Lord answered his prayer. Jacob was scared to death and
he asked God to deliver him from the vengeance of his brother,
afraid of what was going to happen. And God answered his prayer. Hannah. Broken hearted because
she was childless. She prayed. Oh, she prayed for
the Lord to give her a son. She didn't have a son. She was
asking for something specific. I want a boy. I don't have any
children. I want a son. Oh, give me a son. What the Lord
did. He gave her a son. David was delivered from all
his fears, he said. Jabez prayed for the Lord to
enlarge his borders. You know what the Lord did? He
enlarged his borders. Jehoshaphat was rescued from
a large and formidable host. Peter was freed from prison.
I love that passage. And I think it's Acts chapter
12 where Peter's in prison and the church meets together to
pray for him. They're praying for him to be delivered. So the
Lord delivers him supernaturally. And he comes up to the house
where they're praying and knocks on the door where they've been
praying for him. And a little girl named Rhoda opens up and
says, Peter's here. And she comes up and tells him,
said, Peter's here. And they said, you're crazy.
Isn't that the way we are? God, in his infinite sovereignty,
acts through prayer. What was said of Saul of Tarsus,
Behold, he prayeth. Now, whatever you're going to
have from the Lord, you're going to ask him for. Let me repeat that. Anything
you have from the You're going to ask Him for it. This is the
way the Lord works. Whatever He's going to give us,
He's going to cause us to ask Him for it. Do you want mercy? You're going to ask for mercy.
Do you want understanding? You're going to ask for understanding.
Do you want wisdom? You're going to ask for wisdom.
Do you want forgiveness? You're going to ask for forgiveness.
Do you want grace? Take it as specific as you want.
I'm afraid far too often our prayers are not specific enough.
Ask specifically. In everything, give thanks. Whatever
it is you want, ask him for it. Specifically, he answers prayers. As a matter of fact, he's called
him that heareth prayer. Turn to Mark, Chapter six for
a moment. Let me show you the way the Lord works in our life.
Mark, Chapter six. Verse 47, And when even was come, Mark
6, 47, And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of
the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling
and rowing. For the wind was contrary unto
them, and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them,
walking upon the sea. And look at this next phrase,
He would have passed them by. He would have passed him by.
He would have just kept walking. Now, why? He's going to have
them cry out to him. So as far as they could tell,
he was walking by. So this is when Peter walked
on the water, called to him and said, Lord, is it thee thou bid
me come to thee? But he's going to have them ask
him for something. Look in Luke 24. Let me show
you another passage of Scripture. Verse 28. And they drew nigh into the village
where they went, and he made it as though he would have gone
farther. He's walking with those two people
on the road to Emmaus. And he acted like he was going
to keep on going. He didn't say, let me stay with you guys tonight.
He acted as though he would continue going. But he knew he was going
to stay with them, didn't he? He knew that. But he made as
though he would have gone farther, but they constrained him. They
begged him saying, abide with us. He's going to have them ask
him to abide with us. Turn to Ezekiel chapter 36. God mentions all these things
that he's going to do. Verse 25, I will sprinkle clean
water upon you. Verse 26 of Ezekiel 36, a new
heart also will I give you. A new spirit will I put within
you. Now is there any doubt that this is going to happen if he
says I'm going to do this? He says I'm going to give you a
new heart. If he says I'm going to give you a new heart, you
know what you're going to have? You're going to have a new heart. Every time. He doesn't, whatever
he determines to do, he's going to do. He says in verse 27, I'll
put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes. He says in verse 29, I will save
you from all your uncleanness. All these things, he says, he's
going to do. Now look in verse 37 of this
same chapter. Thus saith the Lord God, I will
yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it
for him. Now, whatever you're going to
have. you're going to ask for. This is the way the Lord works. He works, he accomplishes his
purposes through the prayers of his people. Prayer. Pray for sooner restoration.
Now, regarding prayer, the Lord said men ought always to pray
and not to faint. Not to lose heart, we're called
upon to pray without ceasing. And the Lord says in Matthew
11, 24, what things soever you desire, when you pray, believe
that you shall receive them. And you'll have them. That's
what the Lord says. Believe you'll receive them.
And you'll have them. Regarding the inability of the
disciples to cast out the demons, they said, why couldn't we do
this? He said, because you're unbelief, but how be it? This
kind not cometh not forth but by prayer and by fasting. That's what the Lord said. That
demon's not going to come out apart from prayer and fasting. Now, we're told to pray in secret.
We're told to not use vain repetitions like the heathen do. And we're
assured in James 5, 17, the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous
man. And that's what every believer
is. Righteous by Christ. When I pray, that's a righteous
man praying, if I'm a believer. Every believer is righteous by
Christ. Every believer is a righteous
man, a righteous woman. And the scripture says the effectual,
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much God. hears prayer and God answers
prayer. You know, the Lord, it's pointed
out, he would spend full nights in prayer, communion with his
father, skipping out on sleep, praying all night. God hears the prayer of his son
and he hears the prayer of everybody in his son. He answers prayer. Sometimes
there's a delay in the answer. As a matter of fact, quite often
there's a delay in the answer. How many times have you prayed for
something and it hasn't happened yet? Do you give up? You shouldn't. Men ought always to pray. And if there's a delay in it,
there's a need be for that. If there's a delay, it's necessary
for you. Sometimes he says no. You know,
Paul the Apostle had a thorn in the flesh. We don't know what
that thorn in the flesh was. There's no point in speculating.
But it was painful. When's the last time you had
a thorn prick you in the flesh? It hurts. It's not going to kill
you. A thorn in the flesh won't kill
you, but boy, it'll make you miserable, won't it? And he had
this thorn in the flesh that made him miserable. And the Scripture
says three times he asked the Lord that this thorn might depart.
He said it's the messenger of Satan. It buffets me. It beats
me up. Know what the Lord said to him?
No. My grace is sufficient for thee. Evidently, Paul needed that thorn
in the flesh. And he said, My grace is sufficient
for thee. My strength is made perfect in
weakness. Turn to Luke 18. And he spake a parable unto them
to this end, that men ought always to pray
and not to faint, not to give up, not to become discouraged,
not to become disillusioned because you feel like you're praying
and it's not being answered. What does he say to do? Continue
to pray. Continue to pray. And then he gives us this story,
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 would not for a while. Her prayer was unanswered. But
afterward, he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard
man, yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by
her continual coming she weary me." Now the Lord gives me and
you this encouragement. You keep coming. And the Lord said, and hear what
the unjust judge saith, and shall not God avenge his own elect,
which cry day and night unto him, though they bear long with
them." The Lord is going to answer prayer. Now turn to Luke 11. We're going to spend the rest
of our time here. It's where the disciples ask the Lord to
teach them to pray. I want to learn to pray, don't
you? I want to know what it is to truly pray. where I'm speaking
to God from my heart, by His Spirit, and He hears and answers
what I'm saying. Don't you want to learn how to
pray? The disciples. Look in Luke 11, verse 1. And
it came to pass that as He was praying in a certain place... I like to think about this. There
He is praying. I'm not going to interrupt Him.
I'll just sit there and look at Him. I don't know what else
to do. They're probably enamored by
what he's doing. And when he ceased. One of his
disciples said to him, Lord. Teach us to pray. As John also
taught his disciples. Wouldn't it be a blessing if
the Lord teaches me and you to pray tonight? You know, we can
become so discouraged in this thing of prayer. And we can say,
what's the use? It seems like I'm not being answered.
It seems like my prayers aren't getting any further than the
ceiling. And we can become discouraged. And the Lord gives us every encouragement
in our discouragement. Men ought always to pray and
not defect. So he says to them, In verse
two, when you pray, say, actually say this. This is the content
of our prayer. Now, when he gives the same thing
in Matthew, he says, after this manner of praying, after this
spirit, it's kind of a, this is the attitude and the demeanor
of my heart when I pray. But here he says, actually say
this. So these are things, this is what you and I ought to be
praying about. And He said unto them, when you
pray, say, and the first thing He speaks of is the one we're
praying to. This is what's most important.
The one we're praying to. Not going through some kind of
form of prayer. Most people, they think they'll be heard by
their much speaking and they have formulas. Let's forget. You know, I read a book. by a
man by the name of Ian Bowes, 35 years ago, on the power of
prayer, and it's been a curse to me ever since then. I wish
I'd never read it. As a matter of fact, anything
you ever read on prayer, don't read men's books on prayer. Just
read what the Lord says. I've, you know, I've, I've, I've,
I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've,
I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've,
I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've,
I've, I've, I've, I've, I And somehow, God hears prayer.
The earlier you pray, the better. It's just awful. And I've been
cursed by that. Just listen to what the Lord
says regarding prayer. He's the one who knows. He says, When
you pray, say, Our Father, which art in heaven. Now, this speaks
of the relationship we have with him to whom we pray. He is our father. He's not everybody's father.
You know, the Lord said to one crowd, you're your father, the
devil. And the lust of your father,
you'll do. Now you think of that, he says,
I know you, your daddy's the devil. That's what the Lord said
to these people. So we can't we can't look at
some kind of universal fatherhood of God. He is the father of those
who believe. He is the father of his children. He's the father of his elect. He's the father of those that
he has saved. Now, we're his children. We're
believers. We're his children, first because
he chose us to be his children. were his children by virtue of
union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this is so mysterious, but
I'm united to Christ. I always have been. There's never
been a time when I wasn't united to Christ. Eternally, before
time began, I've always been united to Christ. Now, how that
is, I don't know. But there's a whole lot of things
I don't know. I've been one with Christ as
Christ is the son of the Father. I'm his son because I'm united
to Christ. Whatever Christ is, I am. If
he's united to the father, if he's the son of the father, I
am too. So I'm his child by virtue of union. I am his child by the
fact that he adopted me. We have the spirit of adoption
whereby we cry, I have a father. I'm his child by birth. I've
been birthed into the kingdom of heaven. And I'm his child
by faith. Here's the evidence that I'm
his child. We are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Now, if you rely upon the Lord Jesus Christ right now as your
only righteousness before God, if you rely on His precious blood
as your sin payment, if you know the only way you can come into
the presence of God is through the righteousness and merits
of the Lord Jesus Christ, you're a child. You're His child. What an awesome
privilege to be a child of God. Not everybody is. And when we
pray, we say, Our Father, who art in heaven. We never refer
to Him as the man upstairs. He's our Father who is in heaven. Hallowed This is our worship. You know,
in this thing of prayer, there's all kinds of stuff we're asking
for. I remember one time hearing somebody comment on the 103rd
Psalm. And they said, what's so beautiful
about the 103rd Psalm is David doesn't ask for anything. And
he doesn't. He just praises the Lord. I've
never been there. Every prayer I pray, I'm always
asking for something. But we've got to first say, Our
Father who art in heaven, hallowed, holy, reverend is thy name. His name is who He is. It's not
just His verbal name, His audible name. His name is His attributes. Holy is Your sovereignty. Holy
is Your mercy. Holy is Your justice. Holy is
Your wisdom. Holy is Your name. I tell you what, the only way
you pray is if you know the only way you can come into God's presence
is through the Lord Jesus Christ. You can't separate prayer and
gospel. You know the only way you can
come is by Him. And when you come, you come with
fear, respect, and reverence wholly. Reverend is thy name. Thy kingdom come. And here's
the first thing we're asking for. thy kingdom come." You even
the thief on the cross knew something about this, didn't he? He said,
remember me when you come in your kingdom. He's the king of
the kingdom. He rules and reigns, and we want
his kingdom here on earth, don't we? The opposition to you, I
want it wiped out. I want your kingdom to come. And I want your will to be done
on earth just like it is in heaven. The will of God's decree is always
done. His will of command is not always
done. You know that. His good and perfect
will is always done, but his will of command is not always
done. God commands me to be obedient.
Am I obedient? God commands me to never sin. Do I sin? You see, in that sense,
his will command is not done. And what we're taught to pray
is, Lord, let your will be done here on Earth, in me, just like
it is in heaven. Now, how is God's will done in
heaven? I love to think about this. In
heaven, God's will is done perfectly, constantly, without hesitation,
cheerfully, immediately, and without any questions. That's
the way God's will is done in heaven. And I'm saying, Lord,
let it be done like that here. And begin in my heart, cause
me to do your will. I don't want my will to be done.
I want my will to be wiped out. Cause my will to be thy will. That's what I want. Take my will
and make it thine. It shall be no longer mine. Take my heart, it is thy own. It shall be thy royal throne. Oh, I want his will to be done. And you know, I'm just so satisfied
with that. Whatever his will is, that's what I want. And if
it means I'm treaded in the dust, that's okay. Whatever his will
is, it's glorious because he's God. Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven. Can you pray that? Lord, your
will be done. And look what he says next. Verse
3. Give us, day by day, our daily
bread. Now, this is a prayer with regard
to our temporal needs. Give us, day by day, our daily
bread. Now, I think it's interesting
that we're not told to pray about tomorrow's bread. And I love the simplicity of
what he's telling us to ask for. Bread. Bread. Not riches, not
wealth. Bread. Give us day by day our
daily bread. But this has reference to every
need we have. In Philippians chapter 4, verse
6, the apostle said, Be careful for nothing. Be anxious for nothing. Don't worry about a thing. But
in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,
let your request be made known unto God. Well, that's too insignificant
to pray about. No, it's not. Not to him, it's
not. I don't care what it is. Pour your heart out before the
Lord. We're encouraged to do that. He said, 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. Well, keep your
hearts and minds by Christ Jesus. We ask the Lord to give us what
we need. And we're encouraged to do that.
And then he says in verse four, the next thing we're to pray
regarding is our spiritual needs. The daily bread is our physical
needs. And there are a lot. There are
a lot. And we're encouraged to pray about it. But then here's
our spiritual needs. Forgive us of our sins, for we
also forgive everyone that's indebted Now, is there ever a
time you can pray without praying, Lord, forgive me of my sins?
Is there ever a time when you do not need forgiving? You say,
I don't know what to pray about. Well, I know something to pray
about. Pray about the forgiveness of sins. And the forgiveness
of sins includes all of our spiritual needs. I need to be justified.
I need to be sanctified. I need his grace to reign in
me. I mean, I need him to do something for me. I need his
mercy. This is all of our spiritual
needs are summarized by the forgiveness of sins. Lord, forgive me of
my sins. And notice, he says, forgive
us of our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Forgive us of our sins, for we
also forgive everyone that's indebted to us. I think it's
interesting. This is the only part of the prayer that the Lord
commented on. Hold your finger there and turn
to Matthew, chapter six. Matthew, chapter six. Now, after he'd given this same
prayer, he says in verse 14 of Matthew, chapter six, for if
you forgive men their trespasses, Your Heavenly Father will also
forgive you. Isn't that great? But if you
forgive not them their trespasses, hear what he says, neither will
your Father forgive your trespasses. Now that's what the Lord says.
I couldn't help but think when the Lord said in Luke chapter
17, take heed. when your brother trespasses
against you. You know who's in trouble? You
are. Take heed when you're done wrong. Take heed when your brother
trespasses against you, when he misrepresents you, when he
does you wrong. Take heed. You're the one in
danger because it's so easy to develop a bitter spirit and an
unforgiving spirit. And it's just, I've been done
wrong and all that kind of, you're the one in danger. And that's
why it be quick to forgive. And remember this. I want you
to think about this in your own spirits. How the Lord forgives
you. That answers everything, doesn't
it? How the Lord forgives you. He forgives you freely. He forgives
you when you don't deserve it. He forgives you, but really,
before you even ask him to. I mean, it's a complete forgiveness.
It's a forgiveness when he doesn't remember it. He doesn't remember
it. He brings us in completely. There's no time of probation.
Think of the way the Lord forgives. That's the way you and I are
to forgive. And that's included in this,
forgive us of our sins as we forgive those who are sinned
against us. And then he says, lead us not
into temptation in verse four. And this is something I can,
I can. Lord, don't let me be tried. Now, this temptation means
two things. It can mean trial. I don't want
any trials. I really don't. I mean, I wish
I just believed the gospel. I don't want to have to have
trials to teach me. I'd rather just believe. With
you, I don't want to be tried. Lord, don't let me be tried.
I know how I do. But it also means, Lord, don't
let me be tempted. If I'm tempted, I know what will
happen, and I don't want to be tempted. Build a hedge about
me. Make it to where I'm not even tempted. Because when I'm
tempted, I always fall. So just let me not be tempted.
Prevention is better than a cure, isn't it? Don't let me be tempted. And he said, deliver us from
evil, from the evil one. From the evil one, the devil,
I'm no match for him. Deliver me from him. But who's
the main evil? Who's the main person you have
problems with? You know, in this same passage
of Scripture, the Lord said to his disciples, In verse 13, he
said, If you then, being evil. Would that describe you? If you
then, being evil. That's how the Lord spoke to
His disciples. If you know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more should your heavenly Father give to the Holy Spirit
to them than ask Him? So Lord, deliver me from evil. Deliver
me from the devil, the evil one. Deliver me from my own evil heart. I'm the one I'm the most afraid
of. I'm a powder keg getting ready to blow up. Deliver me
from evil. Verse 5, now he's going to deal
with our frustration over seemingly praying and not having an answer.
And he said He's continuing his teaching regarding prayer. Remember,
they said, teach us to pray. And he said unto them, verse
5, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight,
and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves. For a friend
of mine in his journey has come to me, and I have nothing to
set before it. that he from within shall answer and say, trouble
me not. The door is now shut, and my
children are with me in bed. I cannot rise and give thee."
Now, you see the story. A fellow comes to him at midnight.
That's late. He's had somebody come over, and he wanted to give
him something to eat, and he didn't have anything. And he
wanted to be a good host. I appreciate that. So he goes
over to his buddy's house at midnight. He knocks on the door.
He says, give me some load. Give me three loaves of bread.
I don't have anything to put out for this guy. And he says, no. I'm in bed with my children.
The door shut. I'm not going to get up. And
I'm sure he was irritated. I'm sure he was irritated. Verse eight. And I say unto you, though he
will not rise and give him because he's a friend. Yet, because of
his importunity. You know what that word means? Shameless persistence. Shameless persistence. The fellow
said, no. Did he say, well, I guess might
as well, but no. He kept knocking. He kept knocking. Shameless persistence. I'm not
going to get any sleep. I'll give him everything he needs.
Now, you know, the Lord's not like that, but he's giving us
a human picture to show that we're to be importunate. this
shameless persistence. I say unto you, though he will
not rise and give him because he's a friend, yet because of
his importunity, he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
Now I say unto you, ask, and listen to this promise, ask,
and it shall be given you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened
to you. For everyone that asketh, receiveth. And he that seeks, finds. And to him that knocks, it shall
be opened. Now, that's a promise. If a son shall ask bread of any
of you that's a father, will he give him a stone? Well, of
course not. Or if he asks for fish, will he give him a serpent?
Of course not. Can you imagine giving your child
a snake? to eat? Or if he asks for an egg, will
it give him a scorpion? Why, of course not! If you then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father give
the Holy Spirit? to them that ask Him. Now here
is what you and I, or here is who you and I need to be asking
for. God the Holy Spirit. I need the Holy Spirit to strengthen
me, to enable me, to fill me, to enable me to believe, to enable
me to ask, to enable me to seek, to enable me to knock, to cause
me to obedient, to enable me to hear, to enable me to deny
myself, to take up my cross daily and fast. I need the Holy Spirit.
Ask for the Holy Spirit. Everything you need is found
in the Holy Spirit. He says, how much more will my
Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? Now remember, all He gives us,
we're going to ask Him for. And the writer of the Hebrews
says, pray for me. So I'll get out sooner. The writer could have said, I'll
get out of here at God's appointed time and no sooner. And I wouldn't
argue with that. But he said, pray for us specifically
that we'll get out of prison sooner. Now, be specific in your
prayers. Don't pray generic prayers. They
don't really come from the heart. They're just going through the
motions of religion. Be specific. Know that whatever God has decreed
will take place. And we have that. I'm glad it's
that way, aren't you? I mean, I really I'm thankful.
I'm glad it's that way. But know this. If you pray, I'll
get out sooner. Now, can I bring that all together
intellectually? No. Do I feel the need to? No. Do I believe what God says? Yes,
I do. Brethren, pray for us. Let's
pray together.