For me, the spotless Lamb agreed
His Father's wrath to bear For me, His precious blood He shed
My guilty soul to spare I see His head, His hands, His feet. I hear His groans and cries for
me. He bears hell's awful heat. For me the surety dies. For me Christ rose, O blessed
day, In triumph o'er the grave. He rules all things with sovereign
sway, My guilty soul to save. A mighty advocate and priest,
Christ pleads for me above. My name is written on His hands,
inscribed by grace and love. For me, the Savior's blood avails,
Almighty to atone. The hands He gave to piercing
nails Shall lead me to His throne. And when I stand before my God
from sin completely free, I'll praise Him for His precious blood
so freely shed. for me. And when I stand before my God
from sin completely free, Praise Him for His precious blood
So freely shed for me Would you turn with me to the
book of Ezekiel, chapter 36? While you're turning there, I
want to remind you, this Sunday is daylight savings time. That
means we're going to lose an hour of sleep. Does that mean
you? Spring forward. Put your clock
forward. Thank you, Rich. Ezekiel, chapter 36. I'd like
to read the 37th verse. Thus saith the Lord God, I will
yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it
for them. I will increase them with men
like a flock." I'm going to try to preach tonight
on the subject of prayer, and I hope that I preach the gospel
in preaching upon this subject. I better preach the gospel in
preaching on this subject, prayer. Notice the Lord says, I will
yet for this be inquired of, of the house of Israel to do
it for them. They're going to ask me to do
these things. Anything that you and I have,
we are going to ask the Lord for. Remember the words of the
Lord, you have not. Why? Because you ask not. Now, let's start in verse 16
of Ezekiel chapter 36. Moreover, the word of the Lord
came unto me, saying, Son of man, When the house of Israel
dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their
doings. Their way was before me as the
uncleanness of a removed woman. Wherefore I poured my fury upon
them. for the blood that they had shed
upon the land, and for their idols, wherewith they had polluted
it." Here he's speaking of Israel's sin. And what he did to them by way of
chastisement because of their sin, verse 19, "'And I scattered
them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries
according to their way.' And according to their doings, I
judged them. And when they entered unto the
heathen, whether they went, they profaned my holy name. When they
said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth
out of this land, even after I chastised them, they still
profaned my name through their conduct. Verse 21, But I had
pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel hath profaned
among the heathen, whether they went. Therefore say unto the
house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God, I do not this for your
sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which
you have profaned among the heathen, whether you went." Now, here
is why I'm going to be merciful toward you. I'm going to do it
for my name's sake. Not because of you, it's not
in response to you, your sorrow, your promising to never do it
again. I'm doing this for my name's sake. Is that good news?
That's real good news. Let's go on reading. Verse 23,
And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among
the heathen, which you have profaned in the midst of them. And the
heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God,
when I shall be sanctified in you. before their eyes." Isn't
that something? God is going to be sanctified.
He's going to be regarded and seen as holy in every believer
before the very eyes of the heathen. Or, I will take you from among
the heathen and gather you out of all countries and will bring
you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water
upon you and you shall be clean. From all your filthiness and
from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I
give you. And a new spirit will I put within
you. And I will take away the stony
heart out of your flesh. And I'll give you a heart of
flesh. And I'll put my spirit within you and cause you to walk
in my statutes. And you shall keep my judgments
and do them because I'm causing you to. You shall keep them.
That's good news, isn't it? This is what God says He will
do. And you shall dwell in the land that I gave your fathers,
and you shall be my people, and I'll be your God, and I will
also save you from all your uncleanness, and I will call for the corn
and will increase it and lay no famine upon you, and I'll
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 God, 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 they
shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden
of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become
fenced and are inhabited. Then the heathen that are left
around about you shall know that I, the Lord, build the ruined
places. and planned that which was best. But I, the Lord, have
spoken it, and I will do it." Now, there's sovereign grace. I have spoken it. I will do it. Verse 37, Thus saith the Lord
God, I will yet for this, these things I said I'm going to do,
I'm going to give a clean heart, I'm going to give a new heart,
I'm going to bring them out of the land of captivity and plant
them in their own land. I'm going to bless them. I'm
going to sprinkle clean water on them. I'm going to make them
holy. I'm going to be sanctified in them. Thus saith the Lord
God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel to
do it for them. I will increase them with men
like a flock. Now listen very carefully. God said, I'm going to do these
things. There's no question about that, is there? He says, I'm
going to do them, not for your sake, not because you deserve
it. I'm going to do it for my own namesake. He says, I'm going
to do these things and you are going to ask for them. Everything you have, you will
ask for. If you ever have a new heart,
you will ask for a new heart. If you're ever cleansed, You
will ask to be cleansed. All these blessings, God says,
I'm going to do for them. He says this right at the front.
I'm going to do these for them and they're going to ask me for
these blessings. The Lord purposed to do all these
things and Israel was to ask for all these things. God accomplishes
his purposes or his purpose through the prayer and the prayers of
his people. You know, there's such a thing
in the scriptures as the prayers of the saints. What is prayer? It's speaking to God and him hearing. That's prayer. It has something
to do with the relationship with God, where I speak to him And
he hears me. It is us asking and him answering. Now most of what goes on under
the name of prayer is no different than the prayer of the Pharisee
that we read of in Luke chapter 18. Remember what it says about
that fellow? He stood and prayed thus, how? With himself. He went through that act all
the time. He'd spend many hours praying thus with himself, but
he never prayed to God. He thought he was. He said he
was. But our Lord gives this as the
summary of his prayer. He prayed thus with himself. Now, you can't do yourself much
good, can you? As a matter of fact, you can't do yourself any
good. His prayer didn't get any further than himself. But the true believer is a man
or woman of prayer. Remember Saul of Tarsus, when
God said to Ananias concerning him, he said, you go and inquire
into the street straight for Saul of Tarsus, it says, for
behold, he prayeth. He never had before. He might
have gone through that act like the Pharisee did, but he never
really prayed before. But now, behold, he prayeth. cannot be understood or practiced
apart from an understanding of the gospel of Christ. Let me
give you a couple of things I mean by that. First, when we pray,
and every believer prays, You know, that's a given. Our Lord
said, when you pray, say, Our Father, which art in heaven.
He didn't say, if you pray. He said, when you do. This is a given.
Every believer prays because they have an actual relationship
with God. They speak to Him, and He hears them. And the Scripture
actually says the prayer of the upright is His delight. It's
the prayer of every believer. Now, regarding this thing of
prayer, first of all, we pray in His name, and we understand. that the only reason our prayer
is heard is for Christ's sake. Do you understand that? Now that
can give me some boldness of prayer. Some boldness to come
in His presence and ask for things because I know prayer is heard
for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how I come into
God's presence every time I pray. I come in the name of Christ.
That means I don't come in long names. I don't come pleading
my own works, or my own worth, or my own merit. I come pleading
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the only way I come into
His presence. Turn with me for a moment to Daniel chapter 9. Daniel chapter 9. Daniel is praying, and I want
you to notice what he says. Let's start in verse 7. And now, O Lord our God, thou
hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with
a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renowned as this day. We
sinned. We have done wickedly. O Lord, according to all thy
righteousness, I beseech thee Let thine anger and thy fury
be turned away from the city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain,
because for our sins and for the iniquities of our Father,
Jerusalem and the people are become a reproach to all them
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 is desolate for the Lord's
sake. O 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 do not present our supplications before thee for
our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, hearken and do. Defer
not for thine own sake. Oh my God, for thy city and thy
people are called by thy name. Now here is only plea. Hear this
prayer for Christ's sake. Not because I deserve to be heard,
but for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. And understand
this about prayer. Only a righteous man is heard. Turn with me to James 5. And
the only way you can get a hold of this is by understanding the
gospel. James chapter 5. Verse 16, confess your faults
one to another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The effectual, fervent prayer
of a righteous man availeth much. You see, the only people that
God hears are righteous people. And the only way I can enter
into this is with some understanding of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. In Christ, I'm a righteous man. Every believer is a righteous
man, having Christ's righteousness as my righteousness before God.
I can come into his presence as a righteous man because I
am righteous through the gospel. You see, there's no understanding
of prayer apart from an understanding of the gospel. And notice what
he says. He says, the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous
man availeth much Elijah. He was a man subject to like
passions as we are. You know, he had the same problems
you do. Elijah, that special representative of the prophets.
He had the same problems you do. He had the same evil nature
you do. He struggled with the same unbelief you do. He struggled
with the same depression and all the different kind of stuff
that comes to our minds. He was a man of life passions.
And he prayed earnestly that it might not rain. And it rained
not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. He prayed. And God answered his
prayer. He said, don't let it rain. And
you know what? It didn't rain. Now, that was
God's purpose. That was the unfolding of God's
purpose. He had purpose to punish Ahab and Israel by withholding
rain. But you know what he did? He
inspired Elijah to pray for this. Oh, don't let it rain. And you
know what? It didn't rain. And verse 18, and he prayed again,
and the heaven gave rain and the earth brought forth her fruits. Now, the Lord Jesus prayed, and
he prayed much. As a matter of fact, we read
several times in the Gospels where he would spend all night
in prayer. I've never done that. But he did. He had the same limitations
of the flesh that I do. He was flesh. He was a man. He's
God. He's man. And he would spend
all night in prayer. We read of that several times. The Lord said, When you pray,
our Lord prayed, every believer prays. Now many things can be
said about true prayer. Prayer is called in the scripture,
supplications. You've heard that word, supplications.
What does it mean? It means a wanting, a need. You feel a need in your soul
that you pour your heart out to God about that need. It's
called in the scriptures a desire. Our Lord said, what things soever
you desire in prayer. I desire for him to have favor
toward me, don't you? I desire for my sins to be forgiven.
I desire to have his grace upon me. I desire to walk and talk
and think in a way that honors him. I desire to preach his gospel. I ask him to give me these things,
to do these things for me. It's a desire. Prayer is called
a request. Let your request be made known
to God. You know, when you request something,
you're asking for stuff, aren't you? You're asking for stuff
that you can't come up with. You're requesting that the Lord
do this for you. You know, I remember one time
hearing somebody preach on Psalm 103, and they said it's so glorious
in that psalm. You read that psalm, and David
doesn't ask for a thing. And I think, yeah, he did. But
I've never prayed a prayer like that. Every time I pray, I'm
asking for something. I need him. I need his mercy. There's always something I need.
And prayer is called a request. It's called intercession. Pray
for one another. Pray for one another. It's called praise. Praising
the Lord for who he is in prayer. It's called giving thanks. Thanksgiving. It's called confession. We confess
our sins before Him. It's called pouring out your
heart. Now, true prayer is inspired by God. Every true prayer inspired
by the Holy Spirit was inspired by God before it took place.
He says, I've determined these things are going to happen. I'm
going to have my people ask me for them. Turn with me to 2 Samuel
7 for a moment. I hope this message is going
to encourage us to pray. 2 Samuel 7, verse 25. Look what
David says. And now, O Lord God, the word
that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant. 2 Samuel 7, verse
25. And now, O Lord God, the word
that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his
house. Establish it forever, and do as thou hast said. You know, when we pray, here's
what we're asking the Lord to do. Do as you said. Whenever
you said your word, do as thou hast 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 a house. Therefore hath thy servant found in his heart
to pray this prayer unto thee." Now, why did he find it in his
heart to pray this prayer? Because God put it there. He
said, you're going to build my house and you're going to pray
this prayer. Now, I'm asking the Lord in prayer
to give me a heart to pray. to give me the things to pray
for. You see, true prayer is a supernatural thing. It's inspired
by the Spirit of God. We read of praying in the Holy
Ghost. And the only way I can pray is
as I'm inspired by the Spirit of God to pray. That's the only
kind of true prayer there is. Anything else is just praying
with yourself. In true prayer, God helps us. You know, the Scripture
says concerning the Holy Spirit, we know not what to pray for
as we ought, but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with
droppings which cannot be uttered. You know, droppings aren't even
necessary in prayer. It's a thing of the heart, inspired by the
Spirit of God. We read of the, let the sighing of the prisoner
come before thee. True prayer is the work of God
in the soul of a man. He inspires us what to pray for,
and we pray. Now, we pray what we desire,
no doubt. We're not trying to think, well,
what's he going to impress me to pray about? No, but this is
coming from our heart, these desires and requests and needs
we have. But it's all inspired by the
Holy Spirit of God. You know, God himself, It's called
in Psalm 66, too, O thou that hearest prayer. What a name for our God. And the Lord gave us a parable
in Luke chapter 18. I read the first verse to this
end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint, not to
lose heart. Let's turn back over there for
a moment. Luke chapter 18. Is there something you've been
praying about, and it doesn't seem like the Lord's answered
you? Keep praying. Keep praying. Look in Luke chapter
18, verse 1. He's faked a parable unto them
to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to thank, not
to lose heart, not to give up. Now here's, he's just 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, but afterwards, he said within
himself, though I fear not God will regard man yet because this
widow troubleth me. I will avenge her, lest by her
continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what
the unjust Gent saith, and shall not God avenge his own elect,
which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with
them." What should we pray about? That's a good question. Paul said, in everything, by
prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests
be made known unto God. What am I to pray about? Everything. Now, you think of your relationship
with your children. If it's important to them, it's
important to you. Anything with regard to God and
His children, if it's important to them, it's important to Him. In everything, in everything,
let your request be made known unto God, and the peace of God
that passes all understandings shall keep your mind and hearts
by Christ Jesus. Now, let me say some things regarding
prayer that the Scripture teaches. Here's the first thing I want
to say. When you pray, the Lord says,
enter your closet. Enter your closet. That means
there's nothing public about this. This is not a show of ostentation. Enter your closet. You know,
if we're in a restaurant together, let's don't pray. Pray in your
heart. I'm thankful. But when I get
in a restaurant, I can't stand to see somebody praying in a
restaurant making a show of it. And I've done that before. I've
done that trying to prove to myself that I had the guts and
the courage to pray no matter what anybody thought. But it
wasn't really praying to God. I was trying to show everybody
else something rather than praying to God. That's not right. Enter
your closet. This is a private thing. But when you enter your closet,
you're doing so with a determination. You are seeking the Lord in prayer
at that time. This is what you want to do. You have this determination.
I'm going to seek the Lord in prayer for this time. And let
me say this about praying. You can't turn on and off spirituality,
whatever that means. In prayer. It's best for us,
before we truly pray to the Lord, it's best for us to read the
passage of Scripture first. Because really, what He has to
say to me is more important than what I have to say to Him. He
already knows what I'm going to ask for. What's really important
is for me to hear what He has to say. I hate using the word puts you
more, it sets the mood of it, but that's what it does. I mean,
in the sense that you feel more of a sense of reverence in the
Lord's presence, reading his word and prayer. So the first
thing about prayer, enter your closet. And scripture says, thy father,
which seeth in secret. You enter your closet, nobody
knows about it. Your father, which seeth in secret, shall
reward thee openly. And pray in faith. Let me read
a couple of scriptures to you. Our Lord said, and this is a
passage of scripture that I've always got stuck on. He said, what things soever you
desire when you pray, believe that you receive it and you shall
have it. That's what he said. When you're
praying for something, believe you're getting it for the Lord's
sake and you'll have it. He said all things whatsoever
you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive them. You ever ask for something and
then you wonder whether or not you're going to get it? Of course
you have. I do. I guess about every time. About every time.
But our Lord says to ask believing. Turn to James chapter 1. If any of you lack wisdom, let
him ask of God, give it to all men liberally, and upbraideth
not. And it shall be given him. Now,
there's something to ask for, isn't it? Wisdom. Lord, give
me wisdom, the right use of knowledge, true wisdom. I greatly desire
to have some God-given wisdom, don't you? Now, the Lord says,
ask, and you'll get it. He gives to all men liberally,
and He does not break. He's not going to bawl you out
for asking for that. Ask the Lord for wisdom, even right now.
Lord, give me this God-given wisdom. But, verse 6, let him
ask in faith, nothing wavering, for he that wavereth is like
a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let
not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.
A double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways. Now, what
does that mean? That means what it says. I ask in faith. Well, when I ask the Lord for
something in prayer, I'm not saying give it to me because
I got it coming, because I deserve it. I'm looking to the Lord Jesus
Christ to present that prayer. And I'm to believe I receive
it for Christ's sake. This is not positive thinking,
but it is what the scripture says. You ask for something in
prayer for the glory of Christ, for his honor, if it be his will. And you believe that you receive
it. I remember reading one time where some people got together
to pray about rain. And they all got together. There
had been no rain for a long time, and their crops were drying up
and everything. And all the farmers got together, and they began
to pray for the Lord to send rain. And a little boy initially
asked, where's your umbrellas? Where's your umbrellas? Enough said on that. Believe
that you receive them and you will have them. We're called upon, as that passage
of Scripture in 1 Thessalonians 5, 17 said, to pray without ceasing
and to continue instant in prayer. We read of, in Colossians 4,
12, of laboring fervently. in prayer, and we read in 1 Corinthians
7, 5 of giving yourself to prayer and fasting. And then when Paul
talked about the ministry, or I mean, when Peter talked about
the ministry, or who else? Peter, in Acts chapter 6, he
was ordaining the deacons to take care of some of the other
things, the ministration of the widows. He said, our responsibility
is to give ourselves to prayer. To give ourselves. to give ourselves
to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. Now, our failures,
our personal failures and lack of success can be seen in our
failure in prayer. Now, let me show you that in
Scripture. Turn to Matthew chapter 17. Matthew chapter 17, beginning
in verse 16. This man had brought his lunatic
son to the disciples and asked them to cast the demon out of
him, and they could not. We read in verse 16, And I brought
him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. Then Jesus
answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, How
long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you?
Bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil,
and he departed out of him, and the child was cured from that
very hour. Then came the disciples to Jesus apart and said, Why
could not we cast him out? And that's what he didn't say.
He didn't say because God in his sovereign purpose ordained
for you to not be able to cast him out. He didn't say that.
Now, it was all part of God's sovereignty. God is sovereign. Everything that happens, happens
because of Him. He's the first cause behind all
things. He's absolutely, immutably sovereign. That's who He is. We believe
that. But our Lord didn't say the reason
you fellas couldn't cast Him out is because God in His sovereignty
ordained that you not be able to do it. He didn't say that
at all. What did He say? Look in verse 20. And Jesus said
unto them, because of your unbelief. For verily I say unto you, if
you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to
this mountain, and it is the mountain of unbelief, remove
hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall
be impossible unto you, howbeit this kind goeth not out but by
prayer and fasting." That's what the Lord says. This time cometh
not out, but by prayer and fasting. You see, we can hinder or impede
our prayers. We can create a problem. Turn with me to 1 Peter 3. Verse 7, likewise, you husbands, dwell
with them, the wives, according to knowledge, that means according
to love, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel,
and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your
prayers be not hindered. Now, if I don't conduct myself
toward my wife, as God calls me to do, you know what it does? That's what the scripture says.
And I don't want my prayers to be hindered, do you? And why,
if you don't preach your husband right, it'll hinder your prayers
too. I mean, this is a general principle
that our conduct can affect our prayers. Now, the scripture also
speaks of the church praying together. Turn to Matthew chapter
18. Verse 19. Again, I say unto you that if
two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they
shall ask. Now, when we pray publicly in these assemblies,
we're praying together. It's not just one fellow praying,
it's the whole body praying together. When a man leaves in prayer,
I'm praying with him. We're agreeing. When I'm asking
the Lord to pour out his spirit upon us, you're asking, we're
asking together. And look what the Lord says.
Again I say unto you that if two or three shall agree on earth
as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for
them of my Father which is in heaven, for where two or three
are gathered together in my name, there am I in their midst." Turn
over to Acts chapter 4. I think this is so exciting,
this passage of scripture. This is the early church, shortly
after the day of Pentecost. Verse 24. And when they heard that, they
lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord,
thou art God which hath made heaven and earth and the sea,
and all that in them is, who by the mouth of thy servant David
hath said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine
vain things? The kings of the earth stood
up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and
against His Christ for the truth, against Thy holy child Jesus,
whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with
the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together
for to do whatsoever Thy hand and counsel determined before
to be done. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings,
and grant, graciously give unto Thy servants that with all boldness
They may speak thy word by stretching forth thine hand to heal, and
that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy
child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the
place was shaken where they were assembled together, and they
were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word
of God with boldness." That's what they asked for, and that's
what they were given. Now let's close by looking at
Luke chapter 11. Luke chapter 11, verse 1. And it came to pass that as he
was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples
said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught
his disciples. And he said unto them, when you
pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven. Now notice he said,
Our Father. Not my father, our father. Oh, the union between believers. We talk about the union of Christ
and the believer, but the union between believers. You know,
we pray the same father. He's our father. And we're always
together in this thing. There's a true union of spirit. Our father. You know, the only
way he can be my father is through the Lord Jesus Christ. He's not
everybody's father. He's the father of all who believe. He's
the father of all for whom Christ died. He's the father of every
righteous man, given the righteousness of Christ. He's the father of
all who believe the gospel. Our father who art in heaven.
He said, here's what we're to say. Hallowed be thy name. I've read one fellow on this,
he said, I mean, we're to pray, let your name be glorified. No,
that's not what it means. It means hallowed is his name.
Holy and reverend is his name. We're not praying that it might
be holy or reverend. We're saying it is. This is bowing
before God for who he is. Hallowed be thy name. And here's
what we're praying for. Thy kingdom comes. We're praying for the advancement
of his kingdom here on earth. Wouldn't you love to see everybody
believe on Christ? He ought to be believed, shouldn't
he? Everybody ought to worship the Lord Jesus Christ. Everybody
ought to see His glory. Everybody ought to believe the
Gospel. And we pray that His Kingdom will come, and that His
will will be done, as we know will. We actually pray, Lord,
Thy will be done. And if there's anything in my
will that's contrary to Thy will, get rid of my will. Take my will
and make it Thine. It shall be no longer mine. Thy will be done. Is that the desire of your heart?
You know, if the Lord's will's done, I'm fine. When it comes
right down to it, and I hope I'm saying this honestly, I don't
care what happens to me as long as His will's being done. I mean, if it's over for me,
that's okay. If His will's being done, I'm
satisfied. So I am satisfied because His
will's being done. And that's it. I'm carefree. On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day, He taught us to pray. Give us this day our
daily bread. Give me what I need. Give me
my physical needs. Sure we can pray about that.
He said, give us this day our daily bread. Give me my spiritual
needs. Whatever it is I need, give me. You know, I don't even
know what I need. But whatever I need, that's what
I want. Give me what I need. Paul said in Philippians 4, Mark,
thou shalt supply all your need. Not your needs, your need. You
know, we really have one need. I need to be found in Christ.
But I also want my daily bread too. And he gives us the ability
to pray for that. Give us this day our daily bread.
And you know, you can't come into the Lord's presence without
some awareness of your sin. It's impossible to come into
his presence without saying, forgive me of my sins, forgive
me of my debts, as we forgive our debtors. You see, if you've
ever been forgiven, it makes you forgiving. If you're not
forgiving, you've never been forgiven. But if you're forgiven,
you will forgive. And our Lord makes that comment
about that. He says, forgive us all our debts as we forgive
our debtors. And in Matthew's account, He says, if you don't
forgive me and their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father
forgive you your trespasses. And then He says, lead us not
into temptation. Now, when I come into God's presence
and prayer, here's one thing I'm well aware of. If I'm tempted, I will fall. I cannot stand before temptation. I haven't, I haven't withstood
it one time. So here's what I pray. Lord,
don't let me be tempted. Just put a hedge about me to
where I'm not tempted. And deliver me from evil. Deliver me from the evil one.
Deliver me from this evil world. Deliver me, most of all, from
the evil of my own heart. Deliver me from evil. And He says, when you pray, say
this. Say this, you don't need to use the exact words, but the
principles are in every prayer. Now, I love what he says after
he taught them to pray. Look in verse 5. The thought
has been continued. And he said unto them, 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 is in his journey, has come to me, and I have nothing
to say before him. Now, I guarantee you, if I'm in bed asleep, And
somebody comes over to my house and knocks on the door and wakes
me up and says, give me some bread. I've got company and I
don't have anything to give them to eat. I'm going to get mad. Woke me up. I won't be able to
get back to sleep. I'm all good. I'm going to get mad. So what's
the... Maybe I won't. If you've run
out of food, come on over. So I guess I probably shouldn't
say it that way. But I won't. I promise I won't. If you really need it, come on
over. But at any rate, He says, For a friend of mine in his journey
has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him. And 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. I say unto you, though he will not rise and give him
because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he
will rise and give him as many as he needs. Now, what's that
mean? No, I've got to get that. What? I need bread. No, I'm not
getting up. Let's say this goes on for about
10 minutes. All right, you got anything you want. That's called
importunity. Importunity. You're going to
drive me crazy. You got anything you want. And
you know, the Lord's not like me. Somebody who would be driven
crazy. But He's given us to encourage
us to be importunate in prayer. Keep coming into His presence.
Ask Him. Verse 9, And I say unto you,
ask, and it shall be given you. Seek and you shall find, knock
and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh, receiveth. And he that seeketh, findeth.
And to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. Now this is
a promise from the Lord Jesus. It's true. You can bang on this.
If a son has bread of any of you that's a father, will he
give him a stone? Well, of course not. Or if he asks a fish, will
he for a fish give him a serpent? Of course not. Or if he shall
ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? Of course not. Now,
if you then, being evil, boy, you know, bingo, I understand. If you then, being evil, and
that's the way the Lord addressed His children. He said, 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's something I'm going to pray for
right now. Lord, give me the Holy Spirit. Enable me by your
Spirit to do whatever it is I'm called to do. That's something
to pray for. How many times did Paul say in
the Scriptures, pray for us? Pray for me, pray for one another.
A whole lot of times. May God give us this spirit of
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving and be encouraged.
The Lord answers prayer, always. Our merciful Heavenly Father,
we ask in Christ's name that we might be given the Holy Spirit
to believe on thy Son, and to be obedient. O Lord, grant us
that for Christ's sake. Forgive us of our many sins for
Christ's sake. In his name we pray.