What The Bible Says About Prayer

(Text: Matthew 6:5-13)
By: Barry L. Cameron


Quote: John Piper, “Desiring God.”
“A prayerless Christian is like a bus driver trying alone to push his bus out of a rut because he doesn’t know Clark Kent is on board. ‘If you knew, you would ask.’ A prayerless Christian is like having your room wallpapered with Sak’s Fifth Avenue gift certificates but always shopping at Ragstock because you can’t read. ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that speaks to you, you would ask--you would ask’!”

Quote: Jim Cymbala, “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire.”
“Am I the only one who gets embarrassed when religious leaders in America talk about having prayer in public schools? We don’t have even that much prayer in many churches! Out of humility, you would think we would keep quiet on that particular subject until we practice what we preach in our own congregations.

I am sure that the Roman emperors didn’t have prayer to God in their schools. But then, the early Christians didn’t seem to care what Caligula or Claudius or Nero did. How could any emperor stop God? How, in fact, could the demons of hell make headway when God’s people prayed and called upon his name? Impossible!

In the New Testament we don’t see Peter or John wringing their hands and saying, ‘Oh, what are we going to do? Caligula’s bisexual…he wants to appoint his horse to the Roman Senate…what a terrible model of leadership! How are we going to respond to this outrage?’

Let’s not play games with ourselves. Let’s not divert attention away from the weak prayer life of our own churches. In Acts 4, when the apostles were unjustly arrested, imprisoned, and threatened, they didn’t call for a protest; they didn’t reach for some political leverage. Instead, they headed to a prayer meeting. Soon the place was vibrating with the power of the Holy Spirit. The Apostles had this instinct: When in trouble, pray. When intimidated, pray. When challenged, pray. When persecuted, pray.”

We’ve looked at…
(1) Why We Should Pray
(2) What Happens When We Pray
(3) What Keeps Us From Praying

In this final session, we want to look at:
(4) How We Should Pray.

* In Matthew 6, Jesus gives a simple prescription for powerful prayer.
(1) PRAY SECRETLY (Matthew 6:5-6)
- Some people pray in public places, at social gatherings, and at mealtimes, just so they can be seen and heard and assumed to be religious.
- Prayer is not a spectator sport. When others pray in public, we should pray silently.

* What Jesus is saying here is when you pray, go into your room and shut the door. Find a closet, an empty office, the workshop in your garage, some secret place away from people, where you can get alone with God. (That’s where you’ll pray the most effectively.)

* Once you begin to use the same place for your place of prayer, it will become to you what the garden of Gethsemane was to Jesus--a holy place.

Quote: R.A. Torrey:
“Prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of God’s infinite grace and power. All that God is, and all that God has, is at the disposal of prayer.”

When Should I Go? (The best part of your day.)
* In the early morning, if you’re a lark.
* In the evening, if you’re an owl.
- The most important thing is to meet the Lord there, regularly, every day.

(2) PRAY SINCERELY (Matthew 6:7-8)
- Avoid cliches and meaningless phrases you’ve heard other people use.
- Prayer should be personal, authentic, reverent and fresh.
* The “fresh manna” principle.
- Prayer should be honest. (“Lord, I’m stuggling with discouragement, today.”)

Verse 7. The length of your prayer doesn’t impress God.
The decibel level of your prayer doesn’t move God.

Quote: Adrian Rogers. “
The church advances on its knees. Few things are talked about more in church than prayer, yet relatively few saints know and experience the marvels of intercession. The chief weapon against Satan is prayer. Satan has many strongholds, many bastions of strength in America today. To try to break them down with Madison Avenue techniques would be as worthless as trying to remove the Rock of Gibraltar by throwing snowballs at it. Satan sneers at our schemes, mocks our methods, laughs at our learning, but is paralyzed by our praying.”

* We need to PRAY SECRETLY and SINCERELY.

(3) PRAY SPEFICICALLY (Matthew 6:9-13)
- Jesus gave the disciples a “model” prayer.
(a) The Person Of The Prayer. (“Our Father”)
* You are God’s child and you are praying to a Father who couldn’t love you any more than He already does.
(b) The Perspective Of The Prayer. (“Which Art In Heaven.”)
* Heaven has a perspective on things that we need to have.
(c) The Presence Of The Prayer. (“Hallowed Be Thy Name.”)
* We are entering the throne room of God. Consummate holiness and righteousness.
(d) The Purpose Of The Prayer. (“Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”)
* Prayer’s sole purpose is to seek and secure the will of God for our lives.
(e) The Provision Of The Prayer. (“Give us this day our daily bread.”)
* We are to bring all of our needs to God in prayer.

Quote: Corrie Ten Boom
“Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.”

(f) The Pardon Of The Prayer. (“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”)
* We need to pray for daily forgiveness and extend daily forgiveness.
* A pure heart is the only path to a powerful prayer life.
(g) The Protection Of The Prayer. (“And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”)
* Don’t start the day without the sovereign protection and armor of God.
(h) The Praise Of The Prayer. (“For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory.”)
* The ultimate reason for God to answer prayer is for the advancement of His kingdom, the demonstration of His power and the manifestation of His glory.

GOD-HONORING PRAYERS ARE NOT SIMPLY SHOPPING LISTS…
* They are more than cries for help, strength, mercy and miracles.

Authentic prayers include:
(a) Worship: “Our Father, which are in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name.”
(b) Submission: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”
(c) Requests: “Give us this day our daily bread.”
(d) Confession: “And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”
(e) Intervention: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
(f) Praise: “For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory.”

* The disciple’s prayer is an excellent model, but it was never intended to be a magical incantation to get God’s attention.

- This prayer is simply a pattern.

ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication

* If you want to learn HOW TO PRAY you need to learn the secret:
- It doesn’t come from reading all the right books.
- It doesn’t come from memorizing all kinds of neat cliches and reverential sounding phrases.
- It doesn’t come from listening to someone’s tape series on prayer.

* The secret to developing a dynamic prayer life is to PRAY!!