Word of Salvation – Vol.48 No.44 – November 2003

 

Teach Us To Pray

Sermon by Rev M P Geluk

on Lord’s Day 45 (Q/A 116-119 Heid.Cat.)

Scripture Readings:  Matthew 6: 5-15; Nehemiah 1

Suggested Hymns:  BoW 178:1,2,3; 145; 86:1,2,3,4; 424

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke’s gospel speaks about Jesus praying. Observing Him, His disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Lk 11:1). It’s a request that all God’s children may put before their Lord and Saviour. Christians are not satisfied in merely learning a few prayers off by heart and then routinely repeating them at the appropriate occasion. No, we want to open our hearts to God, for He is our heavenly Father who cares for us and loves us.

Jesus’ disciples saw that their Lord received strength from God when He prayed. Spending time with His heavenly Father in prayer obviously comforted Jesus and gave Him a sense of peace. The disciples would like to have all that, too, and so they wanted to know what He prayed and could He teach them to pray like He did.

The Lord taught His disciples what to pray, and from God’s Word we know what He told them. So we, too, are shown the way to a kind of praying that is a blessing to those who practise it. In Lord’s Day 45 and following, the Heidelberg Catechism teaches us from Scripture what prayer really is and how it can become as much a part of our spiritual life as breathing is to our physical life.

So far the Catechism has been dealing with the ten commandments. They are God’s will for daily life and show us to grow in God’s likeness. That’s not always easy for us to do because the devil and our sinful natures get in the way. But in prayer we can talk to God about our growing spiritually. God is pleased when His children pray. So let us do what the disciples did, namely, ask the Lord to TEACH US TO PRAY, and we will, firstly, see why Christians need to pray and, secondly, how God wants us to pray.

Why Christians need to pray

Before Paul became an apostle of the Lord Jesus, he was very busy persecuting Christians. Whilst on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians there the Lord converted Paul and the bright heavenly light that flashed around him blinded him temporarily. He had to be led into the city by the hand like a child. In a house in Straight street, Paul struggled intensely with his emotions. All along he had been under the impression that as a pharisee he was serving God, but now the Lord had made him see that he was actually opposing God. Paul was so distraught that he hardly ate or drank. But he also prayed (Acts 9:11). The Lord then sent His servant Ananias to go to Paul’s aid and restore his sight. Ananias also had to tell Paul that from now on he was to bring Christ to the Gentiles. Before he met Paul, Ananias was in great fear, for he knew Paul persecuted Christians. But what a relief it must have been for Ananias to find Paul praying.

God loves it when we His children, in whom He works His saving grace, open our hearts to Him. But it grieves Him when we don’t open to Him.

Imagine parents and their children. They love them, provide for them and try to help them go in the right direction with good and wise upbringing. But growing up is not easy. There are many conflicts in children’s lives. Suppose a child never lets on that he’s having a struggle but his parents know that he has them. Their efforts to be close to their child in order for that child to open up and talk are met with a wall of silence. How different things would be if that child would openly speak to his parents about his hurts and joys as he tries to cope with life. Now prayer is that kind of opening up to God.

In the Old Testament book, Daniel, we read about a number of corrupt but influential officials in ancient Persia who persecuted Daniel, a God-fearing Jew (Dan 6). They wanted him thrown to the lions because they hated Daniel. Unlike them, Daniel was a trustworthy administrator to king Darius. Moreover, his enemies knew Daniel served God and that he regularly prayed to God. Driven by jealousy, they persuaded the king to pass an edict that all his subjects must pray only to him. In those days it was customary for pagan kings to demand not just allegiance but worship from all in their kingdom. As soon as Daniel heard of the king’s edict, he knew his life was in danger. However, Daniel continued to pray. He asked God to help him (vs 11).

Here we see a child of God not wanting to lose contact with His heavenly Father, especially not in times of trouble. Furthermore, we’re also told that Daniel continued to pray three times a day, as was his normal custom.

As a Christian you ought to pray regularly, by yourself and together with fellow believers. The New Testament says, “Pray without ceasing”, which means to pray continually (1 Thess 5:17). We are to be faithful in prayer (Rom 12:12). And to pray for all the saints (Eph 6:18), and to devote ourselves to prayer (Col 4:2). We don’t pray only when we feel like it, we pray because God wants us to. Prayer is being obedient to God and through prayer we learn to obey.

Most of us have been taught from early childhood to pray at meal times and before we go to sleep at night. It is a good custom and you should continue with it. We open and close all our church meetings, Bible studies, and youth activities with prayer. We pray with our family and fellow Christians. But maybe you are one of those dear children of God who keeps prayer so private and personal, that praying with one or more Christians is something you just can’t bring yourself to do.

No one really wants to use prayer as a means to look pious. The practice of the pharisees praying on street corners in order to be seen is enough for us to intensely dislike that sort of thing. But to be so desperately shy about praying in front of, or with others, is no good either. In one sense it would not matter at all if a child of God, shy and reserved, could not pray with others present, provided that this believer regularly opens his or her heart to God in personal prayer. But is that happening? Or do you keep so much to yourself that you’re not even talking to God about what’s in your heart?

If this is you, then don’t feel hurt by what I am saying. These statements are made out of a genuine concern for you as a fellow believer and not to sit in judgment of you. When Christians do not share in prayer, then the communion of saints suffers. If we cannot pray with a brother or sister in the faith, then it’s difficult for Christian fellowship to blossom. Prayer is opening up to God, and yes, that is a personal thing. And we know that the Lord Jesus said to go to the privacy of your room when you want to pray (Mt 6:6). Prayer in private keeps us from committing the sins of the pharisees. Jesus does not want us to become a show-off for it leads to hypocrisy, which can easily happen when praying in public. But the Lord never forbade prayer with others. When you are with your very own family, or with fellow Christians, and the sins of the pharisees are far from your heart, then praying aloud with fellow believers may also glorify our heavenly Father.

It can be so encouraging for a Christian husband and wife to pray for each other in each other’s presence. The same holds true for the Christian family and the church family. We ought to be able to pray with other believers and feel confident to share our joys and sorrows, our pains and hurts, our striving to be obedient to Christ, and our concerns for God’s church and kingdom. Not only is God pleased to hear His children open up to Him, but He is also pleased to see His children share their faith, hope and love.

In Acts 4:23-31 we’re told about the release of Peter and John from prison, where they were put when the Lord used them to heal a cripple. They returned to their Christian fellowship and told of their experiences. Then “they raised their voices together in prayer to God” (vs 24). They acknowledged that God in His sovereign will had caused it all to happen. And because God was over all, they also prayed that He continue to enable them to spread the gospel of Christ. It was a wonderful experience of Christian unity and of being filled with the Spirit.

Therefore, my Christian brother and sister, if you have never prayed to God together with your loved ones in Christ, then begin to do so today. If you have been used to only opening your heart to God in silent prayer, then open your heart to God also in the presence of fellow believers.

Now the catechism states that “prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness God requires of us.” We have to be careful not to misunderstand this. We cannot take the statement to mean that as long as we pray, all the other things God expects from us don’t matter so much. It’s not prayer that covers over a multitude of sins but it is love that does that.

Prayer for the Christian is also like oil is to an engine. Without lubrication the moving parts of the engine will seize up and becomes useless. Without prayer a Christian cannot function. Prayer makes you relate to God all that belongs to your life. As you grow in obedience to God, then you connect every part of your life to God. It is only normal and natural for the believer to commit all things to God in prayer.

In prayer you seek God’s will in all things. You see God’s hand in everything and acknowledge this in prayer. In that way prayer becomes an expression of God holding on to you, the believer. And this closeness between God and you, the Christian, has come about because of Christ. It’s through Christ that God is in our lives. It is through Christ that God has opened the way to Himself. Yes, prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness that God requires of us.

We must also pray for God’s gifts of grace and the Holy Spirit, for if we do not ask, then we will not receive these gifts. Spiritual laziness and illusions of self-sufficiency would come over us if God just dumped these gifts in our laps.

But this praying for His grace and the Holy Spirit does not mean that we have to beg and grovel like dogs. In Christ, God has given us a dignity. He has made us into new creatures and the power of sin and the devil in us has been broken. Yet, we are to realise our utter dependency on God. God does not owe us anything, and we are not entitled to anything. Instead, we owe God everything, and He is entitled to every part of us. And to be what God wants us to be for Him, we need to pray much for His gifts of grace and the Holy Spirit.

Then, from why Christians need to pray, let us now come to our second point…

How God wants us to pray

Yes, in what manner should we approach God’s throne so that we know He will hear our prayer? Well, it would first of all have to be coming to God as He has revealed Himself in Scripture. There are many who pray to God as a last resort and when they ask for things that are quite foreign to the Bible, then such prayers mean nothing. And the many prayers of those who are deeply committed to a religion that denies Christ as fully God and fully man, and Him being the only Mediator between God and man, also mean nothing. How can anyone expect to be heard by God when they just kind of throw up a prayer to heaven, on the off-chance that there might be some higher power who might be in a good mood to give them a lucky break?

We’ve seen sports people do that kind of thing when nothing seems to go right for them. There are people who regularly take God’s Name in vain, but when the need is there to pray, then they expect God to quickly come to their aid. They must think that God is just itching to come to the aid of those who may give Him only one percent of their time and remain indifferent to Him the other ninety-nine percent.

Some people, who openly admit to not believing in God as the Bible has revealed Him, still believe in the power of prayer. But prayer for them is nothing more than a quiet meditation in which one turns inwards and reaches deep inside oneself to tap into a reserve of inner strengths and powers normally not used. But this, of course, is turning yourself into a god.

Christians know God when they know the Bible. So, what may we pray for? Jesus said, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (Jn 14:14). But whatever we ask for will have to be in accordance with God’s revealed will in the Bible. God has never said He will help you win your sport, or pass your exams, or get you that car, or that particular house. He has said, however, that He will guide and look after those whom He loves in Christ. And His children patiently and humbly wait on Him for the outworking of His will that He has not revealed beforehand. From the Bible we learn to know the difference between our needs and our wants. God has promised to provide our needs and not our wants. And even with our needs we must learn from God’s Word what these actually are.

We may ask the Lord for strength to resist temptation. But when we still want to do the sin and not fight against it, then we should not think that God has let us down when we actually commit the sin. We may also ask God to help us rejoice in all circumstances. But when we don’t do something about our complaining and grumbling then don’t be surprised when the prayer for rejoicing is not answered. Nor will God forgive us our sin when we refuse to forgive those who sin against us.

Does that mean that God only helps those who help themselves? Not at all. That unscriptural saying comes from those who treat God like a slot-machine. Such a machine does nothing for you unless you put your money in first. It’s not the God of the Bible when God is seen as someone who only responds after you have initiated something yourself first. When we know that we should stop with something because we clearly know from Scripture it’s what God wants, then we must immediately stop doing it. Or when we know we ought to do something because it’s clear from Scripture it is God’s will, then we should do it immediately.

But simultaneously, and even well before, we humbly pray to God to give us the desire and strength. In that sense it’s both prayer and work. And when we love God more than anything else, our action will follow prayer much quicker than when we love the forbidden more than we love God. When we find it difficult to do what we are praying for, it’s then that we know that sin is still a power in our lives that can easily destroy us. We, therefore, need to pray much that our heavenly Father make us more like Jesus every day and give us His Spirit. And even that prayer has to come from our heart.

So ‘how God wants us to pray’ also means that we must know ourselves. The Catechism says, “we must acknowledge our need and misery, hiding nothing, and humble ourselves in His majestic presence.” In this connection we should take a close look at the prayers in Scripture from believers who truly humbled themselves before God.

We read earlier on the prayer of Nehemiah. There’s also the prayer of Ezra and Solomon. And of course, many psalms are wonderful examples of God’s children praying. They knew their smallness before God, whose might and majesty they confessed. Yet they also had the confidence to believingly confess that they were God’s covenant people and that for the sake of His promises God would not desert them. For the sake of Christ He will go on with His loving-kindness and mercy to His people, even though they are unworthy of Him.

The tax collector and the pharisee both prayed, but we all know who of the two knew himself best. When you know yourself the way the Bible takes your measure, then you no longer can act the self-sufficient and independent tough guy. And Christians, who have been humbled by God’s holiness and majesty, know straightaway when they or others are putting on an act. If we are the ones doing it, then we should repent of it and come to God for forgiveness.

Finally, we must pray in the name of Jesus, for He is our Mediator, the One who has opened the way to God. There is much comfort here for all of God’s children. We have been looking at prayer in the context of our striving to become more obedient to God’s commandments. We want to be holy, we want to be pure, we desire to be more Christlike. In short, we are seeking to become what we are already in Christ. In Christ, God has made us holy and pure. And now we desire to become that in our daily lives. It is not a hopeless trying, although it takes all our energy. And spending a lot of energy can sap one’s strength. We may feel we’re getting nowhere. We pray for God’s grace and the Holy Spirit and still the battle against sin and the devil rages on.

But that is the time to also remember that God will hear our prayer when we pray in Jesus’ Name.

It is true, in Christ our salvation has been secured. The Saviour has died and risen from the dead and because of that our salvation and God’s love for us is definite. Christ is our unshakeable foundation.

Therefore, when we approach the throne of grace in the Name of Jesus, then the Lord will hear us. This promise is there right through Scripture. And God is impartial to all those who come to Him with Jesus’ Name on their lips and in their hearts. The VIPs of the world or in the church will not be heard any quicker than the poor and defenceless. And those who feel their failures are more frequent than other Christians around them, may rest assured that for the sake of Christ their prayers are equally important to God. The way to God is wide open to all who put their faith and trust in Jesus the Saviour.

Once the disciples asked, “Lord, teach us to pray.” And today, we have heard why we need to pray and how God wants us to pray.

Amen.