2. Prayer
PR

Often we find that whenever we get into trouble of one kind or another, we pray that God will get us out of it. It’s like the old saying, "There is no atheist in a fox hole." The minute we feel threatened in any way, we go to God for help. And I suppose that is right, for in many cases, God alone can help us.

But how can we expect God to help us when we don’t even know Him? He might come to our aid, and save us from the fix in which we find ourselves in the view of bringing our thoughts toward accepting Him as our God. But then again, He might say, in our language, "Who are you? Why should I help you?"

How do we get to know God? Through prayer and through study of the Bible. The Bible is like God talking to us; prayer gives us the benefit of talking to Him. So prayer and Bible study become the basis for building a saving relationship with God. When we have that kind of relationship with God, then our prayer is, in effect, the breath of the soul.

1PR 1 John 1:9 This is the one petition in which we can be certain that God has answered our prayer. God’s plan is that we become like Him and that we thus become His people. And one of the first things we need to do when we seek to become His child, is to realize the utter sinfulness that colors our lives. So the first prayer that comes to mind is: "God, forgive me."

But you’ll notice, from the text, that there’s a condition on the answer to this prayer. We must first confess our sin before He can forgive us. In fact, the verse says nothing about asking God to forgive us. It merely tells us to confess and He will forgive. (compare Ps. 51:3)

2PR Matt. 6:7, 8 God has the ability to know what we are going to need, and what we are going to ask, even before we ask Him. "If He already knows what I need, why should I ask for it?" God wants us to ask so that He knows that we know our need. Then when He answers our prayer, we will know Who answered it, and that it was not just circumstance.

Example: A family prays for food because they are hungry. "Why do we have to pray?" scoffs the oldest Son. "There’s no God up there anyway." His father tried to help him see how much they depended upon God in this time of need.

After a time there was a knock on the door, and there stood a man they had never seen before. "I thought you might need some groceries," he commented as they helped him unloaded a trunk full of groceries." Then he was gone. "I told you," scoffed the oldest son. "You went through all that prayer stuff, and that man was already getting groceries for us."

Some members of the family saw the work of an angel of God. The unbelieving son saw only that their prayers were completely unnecessary.

Some of the Jews actually stood on the street corner and prayed with a loud voice—some of them even had trumpets blow in order to draw attention to their piety. They would pray in long, loud voices. But God did not hear them because they were only trying to draw attention to themselves.

3. IN CONTRAST, WHERE DID JESUS SUGGEST THAT WE PRAY?

3PR Matt. 6:5, 6 There are, of course times for public prayer, but not for the purpose of drawing attention to ourselves. Find some lonesome place—a room, a closet, even the bathroom—and there pour our your heart to God. Tell Him your needs, your desires, your wants, you sins. No One but God will here that kind of prayer. And He is the One you really want to hear it anyway.

4PR Matt. 6:9-13 In this prayer—often called the Lord’s prayer–Jesus gave his disciples a model about which they could form their own prayers.

Here, in just a few verses, Jesus, in broad sweeps, lays out the basic needs of life and of our spiritual existence.

     •  2. We ask for our basic needs

     •  4. Finally, we ask that God won’t lead us to a place  where
        temptation will present itself to us. In such a request, we
        are asking for victory over Satan.

1. Ask in prayer

     •  Matt. 21:22

2. Ask in Jesus’ name:

3. Obey what Jesus commands:

5. Bear Fruit:

6. Love Jesus and the Father

7. Believe

8. Ask according to His will

9. Forgive those against whom you have anything

     •  Mark 11:26

6PR James 4:3 When we pray to God from a wrong motive, God cannot hear us. For instance: "Lord, if you’ll help me to win the Lottery, I’ll give half of it to You." Sounds good, but who gets the other half? The basic motive here is that of greed for gain. God cannot answer that kind of prayer.

Perhaps another motive would be better. An insurance salesman could prayer: "Lord, let me sell more policies this week. My car needs work done on it, and I need the car in order to reach my clients." We just need to check out our motives before we ask something of God.

Another example: "Lord, the Smith family down the block doesn’t have enough money to buy food for their family. I feel impressed to give them $XX.XX. Please replace it so I can meet the obligations that I have. May Your will be done."

7PR 1 Thess 5:17 We should never find ourselves in a situation in which we cannot pray. As we bring our needs to God day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment, we really come to know God, not only as our Creator, and Redeemer, but as a Friend and Companion. Then no matter in what situation we find ourselves, we know that we have a Friend and Helper near at hand.

Even if He does not save us from the immediate crisis, we know that He is there because He promised (Ps 23:4), and that He will allow nothing to come to us that is greater than we can bear (1 Cor. 10:13). The difficult situation will only drive us more closely into the arms of Jesus, knowing that He saved us from the circumstance, and that we can always depend on Him to carry us through any trial.

8PR James 5:16 This type of prayer is known as "intercessory prayer." Praying for others helps us to see beyond ourselves—to realize the needs of others and to seek God’s blessing upon them.

    •  Abraham used this kind of prayer when He interceded
       with God for the city of Sodom.

    •  Jesus often prayed for His disciples.

God is already doing all He can to aid these individuals. If He were to do more, Satan would accuse Him of taking unfair advantage. But when we pray for someone in physical or spiritual need, we give God "permission" to do more for that person that He would ordinarily be able to do (under the terms of the great controversy—explained in lesson 4).

9PR Matt. 24:20-31 Jesus explains that we need to pray that we will be faithful through all the things that are to come on the world and to be ready for Him to come.

This request is often left until the last of a prayer because it is, perhaps, the most important part of the prayer. When it is mentioned last, it will stay in our minds more readily than if it were mentioned before.

10PR Matt 26:42 We must be willing to let God make the final decision on everything we pray about. He sees the end from the beginning. He knows what is best for us. Many things He has promised and we need not ask for His will to be done in these things—such as forgiveness of sin, etc. But in requests other than those specifically promised, we will want Him to choose how to answer our prayer. It’s the only safe way to live.

In all things pertaining to the Christian life, we must be willing to surrender ourselves and all that we have to God. We must be willing to do whatever He commands. As we walk with Him with that attitude ingrained in our consciousness, we can be sure that God will lead us in everything. We will become His agents to His people wherever He sends us.