CHAPTER 21: PRAYER 2024
Prayer is a broad concept. In the past I would pray when in trouble, confused, or wanting something. Is that praying, probably, maybe not. People pray to God in all sorts of ways. What does that mean, really? Who is God? Concept or fact? Bible or .., what? I realized early on, people may not be praying to the same God. At that point, I wanted to be sure God was hearing me.
Jesus says in John 14:6 “that no one comes to the Father except through me.” Okay, pray to Jesus or in the name of Jesus, either way, all good. Now, I pray for what I want? Not exactly, I can talk about what I want, but there’s more to it. Luke 11:1 teaches five areas, “honoring God’s name, asking for God’s kingdom, give us our daily bread, forgiveness and deliverance. Hmm, nowhere did it say give me what I want. Matthew 6:5-14 says to go into your room, close the door and not to keep on babbling like pagans, too many words. Matthew 6:9, Jesus gives the apostles the Lord’s prayer, “Our Father who art in Heaven.., hallowed be thy Name.”
The purpose of this chapter? I noted that I could pray and possibly not understand the rules, in which case, who or what would I be praying to or for? Again God: fact, fiction, real or made-up by me or is it somebody’s version of god I borrowed?
Who is God. What does the Bible say? God is Creator and Sustainer ( Psalm 104 ), Redeemer and Savior ( Psalm 25:22 ), Vindicator of the Innocent ( Psalm 26 ), and Giver of mercy to the guilty ( Psalm 51 ). Okay, does everybody else say the same thing? Yea, but none of them rose from the dead. There are lots of religions in the world, but for the moment, I’ll focus on the big five: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. Buddhists revere a variety of divine beings, as does Hinduism, Islam worships Allah as the supreme being and Judaism reveres Yahweh, the god of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Christians are the only believers in Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior of the world and the Son in the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The jews believe in God, however they absolutely do not recognize Jesus as God, or the written, promised Savior of the Jews. And when it comes to the raising of the dead, there are all kinds of goofy stories that are not supported by history, the resurrection is in fact verified by scripture, history and eye witness testimony, many.
So, I saw and see people pray. If not Jesus, who hears the prayers? As a Believer, how do I know that I am praying to Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit? I’ll tell you how.
- Romans 3:23 states that people need to recognize their sins and the need for a savior.
- 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 states that people need to believe that Jesus died for their sins and rose again from the dead.
- Acts 3:19 states that people need to repent of their sins.
- Ephesians 2:8-9 states that people need to put their faith in Jesus alone for salvation.
- Luke 9:23 states that people need to commit to following Jesus as Lord of their life.
- Acts 2:38 states that a Christian must be baptized after repenting.
What if I don’t think I get all that? Well, I’m sure even to this day, I don’t understand all of that entirely, but God knows my heart. Jesus said so in Luke 16:15. God knows I want to understand, repent, do better, live according to His will, even if I struggle. In Mark 9:24 a man pleaded to Jesus, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Jesus answered the prayer. I’m sure we all feel like that sometimes. If you don’t believe in Jesus, I pray you change your mind, if you don’t understand Jesus, join the club, pray and have the Holy Spirit direct you in your studies for a clearer understanding, day by day. So again, how do I pray? When I want something, is that something God wants or I want?
“God who so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16. Sounds pretty serious just for me to ask for my personal wishes. When I’m mad at God will He listen?James 1:19 tells me “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” What do I do? The book says take it all to Him, the good, the bad and the ugly, and let Him sort it out for you and with you. Okay, I’m starting to get it.
Prayer requires preparation. Sure, there are emergency moments. However, consistency in prayer requires me to be honest and pray to the God in the Bible a lot, a whole lot. Like a muscle that needs to be worked. And without the Bible I will always pray for what I want. With the Bible I begin to pray for what He wants. I came to the conclusion that the Bible is absolute or obsolete.
If it is obsolete, it wouldn’t make sense and the prophecies would be hit and miss. It does make sense over thousands of years and the prophesies are 100% accurate, so no chance it is obsolete, even though the world, or more accurate, the government says it is at best out-dated.
Right now government wants to be God and without Jesus in our lives, that will absolutely happen and in the end times prophecy government will be the anti-christ, so says the book. Not to believe the book is risky at best. Not to believe Jesus is insane. Becoming familiar with God is part of prayer. Let’s take a look at some rules that could help praying.
- Believe in Jesus and pray to the Father through Jesus
- Recognize the Holy Spirit as God and pray the same
- Study the book daily to understand the voice of God
- Accept Jesus as Lord and Savior always
Question: Anyone who does not believe in Jesus shouldn’t pray? Answer: Who would they be praying to?
Something to give some thought: If an enemy knew what you wanted, could you not easily be manipulated? Who would protect you if you don’t believe in Jesus? The bible says in 2 Corinthians 11:14 “Even satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” How would I know that if I didn’t believe in Jesus, why would I read the book and that scripture? Can you imagine what could happen to you? If your enemy #1 could know what you liked, what you wanted, what you coveted? How easily could you be destroyed? You would be praying for everything you wanted on this Earth.
1 John 2:17 New Living Translation
17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
Without the Book, I don’t know who God is or what pleases Him. He might as well be Santa Claus, and if I’m a good boy, I’ll get what I want. So I guess if I’m not getting what I want, I’m not a good boy, right? Wrong. God protects me from what I want. Hopefully He will get my attention before it’s too late. In prayer, asking what I can do for Him, and thanking Him for everything. suddenly I begin to feel a peace when I’m praying to the One True God, the one written in Genesis, I personally like in the name of Jesus Christ…
Isaiah 49:16
New King James Version
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.
He stands with me and you at the challenge, the wall so to speak. Believers can be the worst, praying when God has already answered, and we don’t like the answer so we say?
Psalm 10
New Living Translation
O Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble?
Spurgeon writes, a preacher in the mid to late 1800’s describes it like this: Anyway Spurgeon said: “Sometimes, we have desires that we cannot express; they are too big, too deep; we cannot clothe them in language. At other times, we have desires which we dare not express; we feel too low, we see too much of our own undeserving nature to be able to venture near the throne of God to utter our desires; but the Lord hears the desire when we cannot or dare not turn it into the actual form of a prayer. Surely none but the Lord can prepare a heart for prayer. It is far harder work to raise the big bell into the steeple than to ring it afterwards. This witness is true. When the bell is well hung you can ring it readily enough; but in that uplifting of the heart lies the work and the labor.” (Spurgeon)
If I’m busy praying and learning, I generally don’t make as many mistakes. Prayer is my conversation with God but I gotta be ready, having prayed directly, read the book daily, with questions as well as requests, a hope of understanding His word, his still small voice!
1 Kings 19:12-13 New International Version
12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Prayer is a big deal, and talking to God is huge, He’s not Santa Claus, He’s God and God is Big. Best I learn to discuss highly important issues with Him and allow the Holy Spirit to guide.
Jeremiah 29:12 New International Version
12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
God needs to move the whole world around you, to make happen the good things He has for you. Be patient. Talk to Him in prayer, even if you don’t know how, you’ll have a Helper.
Romans 8:26
New International Version
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
Revolt against yourself, and evolve into “a new creation in Christ.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. Fear is without the knowledge and reckoning of God. With God fears fades and caution prevails, humble in the wisdom of the Lord. (Psalm 139) “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.”
What about terror? Good question. Terror is where I learned the power of prayer. Proverbs 3:25, “the Lord will be my confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.”
Colossians 4:2 – Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
“I still don’t get it, how do I pray, what do I pray for? I want what I want.” (PAUSE, SELAH) BOOM!
“Need,” there you go. “Need.” You finally got it! Want is the problem, need is the solution. God will give you what you need in prayer, what you want may not be good, I know it wasn’t for me. Let’s go back to the top and revisit.
Luke 11:1 teaches five areas, “honoring God’s name, asking for God’s kingdom, give us this day our daily bread, forgiveness and deliverance. The word need is the key. Just what I need today to serve God. Jesus help me do just that.
Luke 12:37
New American Standard Bible
37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes;
Chapter 21, Prayer 2024, if you don’t believe this commentary on prayer to the Father through the Son Jesus Christ, with the helper of the Holy Spirit, please…, change your mind. Amen.
