“Lord, Teach Us to Pray” (3)

Luke 11: 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

Dearly Beloved, our teaching has been on Prayer and we have been discussing on how we should pray. In our text, one of the Lord’s disciples had said unto Him, “Lord, teach us to pray”. So we know that prayer can be taught. We can learn how to pray. Somebody once said, it is more important that people know how to pray than to get an education. Note, he didn’t say education is not important. Education is important, very important, but he said, to know how to pray is more important. When the storms of life come, and they will surely come, it will take more than education to win. You will need to know how to call on God, how to draw upon the vast resources and power of God to put you over. It will take more than mere talk and intellectual prowess to overcome the devil’s antics. You need power. Through the Holy Ghost we have power (Acts 1:8), but it will take fervent, heartfelt prayer to make this power available, dynamic in all its working (James 5:16 Amplified Classic). We need to be taught about Prayer, and the best material that teaches a lot about Prayer is the Bible. As we study the Word of God on the subject of Prayer, we come to one conclusion: God loves to hear and answer prayer.

We see from the Word of God, that we are to pray to the Father in the Name of Jesus (John 16:23). That was how Jesus taught us to pray. We don’t pray to Jesus or to the Holy Spirit or to a medium or some saint somewhere. We can talk to Jesus, we can have fellowship with the Holy Spirit, but we must address our prayers to the Father in the Name of Jesus. No where in the Bible are we instructed, neither do we have any example of the early Church praying to any saint. It is unbiblical to pray that way. Secondly, we have learnt from our studies so far that we need to ask according to His will (1 John 5:14, 15). The Bible tells us that if we ask according to His will, God hears us. What does it mean to ask according to His will? John 15:7 says, “If ye abide in Me, and my Words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done for you”. To ask according to God’s will, is to ask according to His Word. God’s Word is His Will. Your request cannot be in violation of God’s Word and you expect God to answer. No. The Bible says, God won’t hear you if your request is not according to His Will, His Word. We will discuss sometime later the vital place God’s Word should have in prayer. But for this moment, let’s look at two more things on how to pray.

James 1:5-8
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 
But 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 any thing of the Lord. 
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

From the above text, we see that God delights to give us whatever we ask Him. He gives liberally. However, the Spirit of God speaking through James tells us how we should pray in order to get results. He said to “ask in faith, nothing wavering”. To waver is to doubt. The man who doubts, should not think he shall receive anything from the Lord. So, in addition to praying to the Father in the Name of Jesus and praying according to His Will, that is, in line with His Word, we are to pray in faith, nothing wavering. If you are not praying in faith, you will not receive from the Lord. What does it mean to pray in faith then?

Mark 11:24
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Jesus said, what things soever you desire – healing for your body, finances, whatever your desires may be – when you pray, what are you to do? Believe that you have received them. And, then, you shall have them. When are you going to have them? After you believe that you have received them. When are you to believe that you have received them? Before you have them. The believing comes before the having. Before the manifestation of the answer to your prayer comes, you are to believe that you have received. Right when you pray, not after. You don’t need to feel anything either. You may feel so dry and God seems so far away or you may feel like you are in heaven, it makes no difference. Jesus didn’t make reference to any feelings. You don’t even need to have a vision that God has heard you. Jesus said, right when you pray, believe! Believe what? That God is going to do it? No. What are you to believe? Believe that you have received! Believe that you have received! Believe that you have received! Right when you pray, you are to believe that you have received! See yourself with the answer. Right when you pray, be confident enough to say, “It’s mine. I have it now”. Somebody said, “Believing prayer always ends with the glad confession, “It’s mine. I have it now””. That is what it means to pray in faith. When we pray, we believe that we have received what we prayed for. If we believe we have received, then we will praise God for the answer. If we believe we have received, then we will hold fast to our confession – “It’s mine. I have it now!”. We will refuse to doubt. We will keep thanking God for the answer till the manifestation comes. That is the attitude of faith that brings results. When we pray this way, we will receive anything we ask of the Lord.

The man, who says, “How can I believe that I receive when I don’t have it yet?”, is missing the point. Even in our secular employment, we believe that our employers will pay us before they actually pay us. You sign up for a company and you are told, “You will be paid on the 30th of the month”. You believe that! How do I know that you believe that? You draw up a shopping list and start making plans to spend the money you have not yet gotten. Why? You believed your employer. In fact, you start saying, “This is what I am going to do with my salary”. You see, you already believed it’s your salary before you were paid it. Why can’t you then believe that you are healed before the manifestation of your healing appears? When you pray, right there, say, “It’s mine. I have it now. I believe that I have received it”. Then, Praise God continuously till the desire appears. Glory to God!

Another important lesson to learn on how to pray is boldness.

Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

We are not to come to God timidly, cringing with fear or embarrassment. We are to come boldly. What makes some believers timid in prayer? Sin-consciousness. They think they are not worthy enough to stand before God. They let the devil remind them of the many times they have failed and they let Satan rob them of any faith they had already. Beloved, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to become sin for us that we might be the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. There is, therefore, now no condemnation to us who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death. Who shall lay a charge to God’s elect? Christ Jesus is at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us. We have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous, who is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. But of God are we in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. Jesus is our Righteousness. It is Christ who qualified us before the Father. In Christ Jesus, we stand without blame and reproach before God. In Christ Jesus, God accepts us. We are not just declared righteous, we are actually righteous. He is our righteousness. When God looks at us, He sees us robed in His righteousness. We are righteous. Satan’s dominion over us is broken. We are in God’s family. We are His sons and daughters. He is our loving, caring Father. We are accepted in the Beloved. Glory to God. So we ought to come boldly, friend, boldly to the throne of Grace. What if we have missed it? 1 John 1:9 says if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Hallelujah. On the basis of the Blood of Jesus, we have been made righteous. No more fear. No more timidity. Come boldly. Come unashamedly. The Father will hear you gladly. Praise God forevermore.

As we conclude on how to pray, let us briefly look at how not to pray.

Matthew 6:5-8
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 
Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

How did Jesus tell us not to pray? He said to not pray as the hypocrites and heathens pray. How do the hypocrites pray? They love to make a show when they pray. They pray to be seen of men. Jesus is not saying praying in public places is wrong. His emphasis was on “that they may be seen of men”. No, don’t do that. Don’t pray for a show. Don’t pray so men will know you know how to pray or to appear pious before them. You will have no reward. Secondly, Jesus said to not pray like the heathens do. The heathens use a lot of repetitions. Why? “They think they shall be heard for their much speaking”. We see an example in 1 Kings 18:25-29. The prophets of Baal cried and cried for hours, thinking they would be heard for their much babbling. Yes, there are times we may stay longer in God’s presence in prayer, but never think God will hear you if you speak long enough. Kenneth E. Hagin once said, “Don’t see how long you can be [in prayer]. See how short you can be…Some of the shortest prayers in the bible got the greatest results”. He wasn’t implying that praying for long time is wrong, but rather not to think that you will be heard for your much speaking. God hears us because we pray in the Name of Jesus and according to His Word. He hears and answers us because He loves us. We should come boldly to God in prayer and pour out our heart to Him. You don’t need to whine or throw tantrums for Him to hear you. We have a loving Father, who cares about us. He knows what our needs are before we ask Him. So we should pray confidently, knowing He won’t deny us what we ask of Him, for “If ye then, being evil [that is, natural], know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” (Matthew 7:11).

Child of God, your heavenly Father delights to hear your voice right now!