Introduction
This Bible study series began as an
earnest endeavor to understand what exactly the Bible says concerning praying
and the pray-er. This study, using the New American Standard translation of the
Bible, found one hundred thirty-two Scripture passages that spoke on the
pray-er, and praying, calling out, petitioning, supplicating, asking, and
requesting from God.
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The first lesson of this Bible study series
covered three areas.
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What is prayer?
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What do we do when we pray?
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How do we/are we supposed to pray?
Ø The
second lesson of the series covered what the Bible teaches on the person who prays. What the Bible tells is expected of the pray-er.
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Righteousness
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Belief
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Prayer in Solitude
·
Watchfulness and Alertness
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Ceaseless Prayer
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Fervency and Enthusiasm
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Approaching God
·
Self-Control
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Love of People
·
Acknowledge and Love Jesus
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Praying in Agreement
Through this series on prayer, we have learned
something greater occurs in prayer than just giving God a wish list - a “gimme”
list – or asking for His help. Prayer is a way of growing to know God better by
being in a continual close relationship with Him. You may have prayed as a rote discipline when you
first learned of it. Over time and with deeper devotion,
prayer becomes an everyday desire or irresistible urge to be with the Lord.
Through it Christians mature in their relationship with God and grow more
Christlike.
In this third lesson of this series, we
will try to understand three teachings from the Bible. The first addresses when
we should pray – morning, night, any time, and/or ceaselessly. The second
addresses our expectations for God answer our prayers. Is it too much to ask
God to listen to and answer our small human prayers when He is so great and
busy keeping the created universe in order? Is God imminent and transcendent? The
final part of this study shows us what the Bible says happens when we pray?
We have each heard of God providing a person his or her necessities, but more
than physical help occurs when God enters a situation with a person. Remember,
prayer affects the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual part of a person
if a genuine relationship/communion with God exists. A person is changed in
these areas when God is part of a person’s life. Let us begin our study now.
When Should We Pray
Night and Day.
Old Testament
First, we should consider the
occurrences in the Bible that speak specifically on prayer and when it should
occur. The first time the New American Standard translation of the Bible records
prayer at a specific time of day is in Nehemiah. Nehemiah 1:6 states, “Let Your
(God’s) ear be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer Your servant is
praying before You day and night for Your servants, the people of Israel.”
Notice here Nehemiah stated he prayed day and night to God. David, in Psalm
5:3, declared the LORD listened to his prayers in the morning when he prayed to
Him. Other places in the Old Testament we note people praying at different
times of day. Hannah went to the temple during the day and cried out to the LORD
for a child. Jacob communed with God through a dream at night. Daniel prayed to
the LORD God in the mornings to stand strong and not eat the food from the
king’s table and got down on his knees three times a day to pray and give
thanks before God before being thrown in the lion’s den. Abraham arose early
and went to the place where he met with the LORD before (Genesis 19:27). Moses
approached God and stayed in His presence on Mount Sinai forty days. He
communed with God day and night. Do these people contradict what teachers
taught us in the past – to rise early and begin our days with devotion, Bible
study, and prayer? They do not.
New Testament
Consider the New Testament
teachings of Jesus and Paul. Jesus modeled prayer at different times of day. He rose early and went
to the garden to pray (Mark 1:35-38, Luke 4:42-43). Jesus prayed at night, too.
After he fed the 5000 people on the hillside, Matthew recorded Jesus went to a
mountainside to pray by Himself (Matthew 14:23). The next verse records this
happened at night. Even Paul prayed at night. When he was in Athens, but could
not get away to Thessalonika, he sent Timothy to encourage and teach the
people. When Timothy returned and gave a report to Paul, 1 Thessalonians 3:10
records Paul saying, “Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply
what is lacking in your faith.” For Paul, prayer was not only a morning or only
a night time occurrence. Prayer was a natural outflow of his faith in God. Because
of that, it occurred any time of the day or night. Remember, we learned in the
first part of this series, prayer is more than a “gimme” list. It is praising,
rejoicing, adoring and exalting God, thanking Him, confessing and repenting,
and petitioning God for help. Many times in Paul’s writing, we read of his
imprisonment, but yet he rejoiced and sang praises to God. His circumstances
did not dictate when he prayed or what he prayed. He prayed because of His
close relationship with God, just as Jesus modeled for the disciples. Prayer is
part of building and being in a relationship with God.
Ceaselessly.
Several Scripture passages in the
Bible speak on praying ceaselessly. We touched on these in the second lesson of
this prayer series. Luke 18:1 records Jesus instructed the people to pray
always and not give up hope. God hears the prayers of His children who cry out ceaselessly
day and night. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:18 and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Christians are to pray at all times, without ceasing. Paul added to this by
modeling unceasing and faithful prayer in Colossians 1:9.
Dedicate a Time for Prayer.
The Bible teaches two other things regarding prayer and when it should
happen. First, it says, through Luke’s writing in Acts 10:9, we are intentionally to dedicate a time for prayer. People become so busy with their lives,
schedules, work, sports, and hobbies they often forget to schedule time with
God into their lives. Because of this, many Bible teachers teach people to
begin their days with prayer and Bible reading. By doing this, making God the
first part of each day, it becomes hard to forget your personal quiet time with
God. He is the first priority of a person’s day. This teaching is a great way
to begin your Christian discipline of prayer. We notice as we grow in Christlikeness, our
prayer life grows. It becomes a continual, ceaseless stream of communion with
the Lord throughout the day as Jesus, Paul, and James taught (Matthew 14:23, 1
Thessalonians 3:10, Ephesians 6:18, and James 5:13).
Pray before Service.
The second thing we must note as we
finish this section on prayer is before going out to serve the Lord, we must
pray. Luke records this occurring in Acts 13:1-3. The disciples laid their
hands upon Barnabas and Saul setting them apart for the service of the Lord,
asking God’s blessing and anointing on them for the power of the Holy Spirit to
work through them while keeping them safe, too. Before Jesus sent His disciples
out to minister, He taught them, prayed over them, and empowered them to do His
work. Jesus empowered them with His authority (Mark 6:7 and Luke 10:1). Praying
before going out appears like an obvious thing to do, but people leave their homes
each morning to face the world in their jobs and daily life without praying for
God to use them and fill them with His Spirit so they can be an effective
witness for Him to the people with whom they come in contact. Yes, every Christian
is a witness and minister for the Lord. Jesus did not tell a few disciples –
Christians – to go into all the world proclaiming the Gospel and making
disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). He commanded every Christian do this. That means every
Christian, each morning before he/she begins his/her day, should pray for God to
guide his/her steps, make him/her aware of where He is working, and empower him/her to speak
a positive witness for Him into the situations he/she faces that day.
From these examples and Bible
verses, we learn prayer can and should occur during good times and difficult
times. Prayer is not limited to either morning or night, but should and can
occur ceaselessly. To be equipped in full by the Lord for the day, prayer
should begin the day. Prayer comes from being in a close, personal relationship
with God. The Bible teaches people should persevere in prayer. This perseverance in prayer is ceaseless
praying which comes from and builds a greater relationship with God and grows
the pray-er into greater Christlikeness.
Should We Expect Answered Prayer
Along with continual prayer and perseverance
in prayer, God’s Word teaches He will listen to and answer prayer. Yet we each
have known of a person whose prayer went unanswered and questions arose of
God’s faithfulness or the rightness of the pray-er. Should we expect God to
answer prayer? The answer is yes. Should we expect Him to answer everything we
call prayer? No. The Bible teaches God hears the prayers of a righteous person,
but of the unrighteous and abominable to God He condemns, turns His face away,
and does not answer (Proverbs 28:9, Jeremiah 7:16, Jeremiah 11:14, Lamentations
3:8, Matthew 23:14, and 1 Peter 3:12). Why is that? From the Bible, we read,
too, of people who are righteous requesting God’s help and He comes in time, according to human standards.
In Psalm 5:3, David expected God to
answer His prayer because God earlier answered him. In Exodus 32:1-14, the
Israelites made a golden calf while Moses communed with God. When Moses
descended from the mountain, he saw the abomination of the Israelites
worshipping a manmade god while at the base of God’s mountain where His
presence rested. He understood God could not allow the people to go unpunished
and went before Him pleading for the lives of the Israelites. By doing this,
Moses showed he expected God to listen to and answer him. He did not assume to perceive
what God’s answer would be, but he believed God would answer. Another example
of a person expecting God to answer was Hannah. She went before the LORD in 1
Samuel 1 crying out to Him because she had no children. God attended her cry and
recognized her heart for Him. He promised her a child before she returned to
the temple for the festival the following year.
Each of these people had a
relationship with God. They each trusted Him to be faithful to them and to His character
of faithfulness and love. Each person had a heart for God and sought Him and
His will. This showed God their righteousness, their choosing His way over
their own way, and, by that, not sinning against Him. Because of their
understanding of God and their relationship with Him, they expected He would
answer their prayers. They did not realize in what way God would answer, but
they believed He would. We each can expect God to answer our prayers if we are
in a right relationship with Him. The way God answer prayers may not be the way
we think it ought to be answered, but God, in His sovereignty, always knows
what is best for us. Because of this, He may answer our prayers with a “No.”
Still, we each have heard of at
least one person for whom God did not answer his or her prayers though he or
she was righteous before Him. How can that be? Pastors, ministers, and teachers
of the Bible speak of instances like these. When God does not answer a prayer,
they say, we must understand our timing is not God’s timing. He knows when best
to answer prayer. Job’s time of trial by Satan speaks of this. Job was a devout
and faithful man of God. Satan challenged God and said Job was only faithful
because God blessed him (Job 1:9-10). He asked God for permission to put him to
the test. Satan began the trials by killing his cattle, children, and wife. Before
her death, Job's wife advised Job to curse God and die (Job 2:9). Next Satan destroyed Job's crops and his wealth. When it appeared Job had nothing left to lose, his
friends advised him God was punishing him and that he must repent and ask
forgiveness. Job explained he was innocent and had done nothing wrong against
God or His Law. He explained to his friends he misunderstood the reason God
tested him, but he refused to speak against Him. Job said, “Though He slay me, I
will hope in Him. Nevertheless, I will argue my ways before Him” (Job 13:15).
Job chose to continue his relationship with God. He did not give up on God; he
was faithful to Him. If the trials he was going through were not his own fault because
of sin, then he implied they were God’s fault. This thinking meant Job judged
God and His power and the rightness of His actions though he did not mean to imply
that. God chastised Job on this in Job 40:8. Job realized his error in judging
God in Job 42:1-6. He admitted aloud God is almighty and nothing and no one can
thwart Him. Job understood better. He had a deeper relationship with and
appreciation of God after that season of trial. The purpose of God allowing Job
to be tried was to bring him into a closer relationship with Him. Job knew how
he wanted God to answer His prayers, but God knew best. He knew Job needed to
grow more. Later God restored Job and gave him more children with a new wife,
more cattle, more grain, and more wealth than he had before the time of trial. God
not answering your prayers now may be His driving you to deepen your
relationship with Him. God is still God – almighty, faithful, and loving. He
will provide your needs. At the time He does not answer your prayer, your
greater need may be for spiritual growth – growth in your relationship with
Him. Stay faithful to Him and grow from your situation. God will always be
faithful to you.
It could be, too, that God’s answer
is negative. When you do not receive a different word from God, you continue
doing what He last told you. Though a person prays and thinks he or she needs
God to answer in a particular way, God knows best and may not answer the prayer
or may answer it in a way completely different than the pray-er thought or
requested. We need to realize God knows best and when He does not answer that
non-answer is the best way for the need of which we spoke to Him in prayer to
be met.
Yet that is not always the lesson
when God initially says no or does not answer. Jesus taught the parable of the
persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8. In this parable a man was taking advantage of
a widow. Widows in the first century had no rights, but God told the Israelites
from the beginning of Him calling them His nation they were to take care of the
widows, orphans, and foreigners. In this parable, the judge refused to listen
to her case and rule in her favor. The widow persistently sought the judge’s
intervention in her case. Finally, in exasperation, the judge attended to the
widow and ruled in her favor because, as he said, “Even though I do not fear God
nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal
protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out” (Luke
18:4b-5). In this parable, Jesus taught people persistence, earnestness, and
faith in prayer. He assured the people God will be gracious to them. Keep the
faith. God is just, unlike that judge. He loves His people and will avenge the
unjust person while giving what is needed. While the person, the widow in this
case, is waiting for God’s answer and action, this waiting causes the person to
persevere and grow in faith, too, while growing in his or her prayer life and relationship
with God. God’s seeming delayed answer is not necessarily a “No.”
If a person is not a believer, but sincerely
seeks the Lord, God said that seeker will find Him. God wants every person to
come to know Him through the redemption He provided through His Son, Jesus
Christ (1 Timothy 2:4-6). In Jeremiah 29:13, when God spoke to the Israelites,
He told them if they turned from their wicked ways and sought Him with their whole
heart, He would be found by them. God wants all people to come to Him and
become His child. He will draw near to the person and listen to him or her. If
what that saved person seeks does not come from selfish motives (James 3), but
seeks to help someone or themselves in genuine need, and God knows in the
person’s heart He will receive the glory, God will answer the prayer. Seeking
God and His will is a primary reason God will answer prayer.
Besides righteousness, persistence,
fervency, and faith, the Bible teaches what is expected and required of the
person who prays. We learned these things in part two of this prayer study
series. The attributes, actions, and attitudes of a pray-er whom God will heed
and answer includes the eleven attributes listed in the introduction of this
Bible study. What God seeks in a person is a genuine relationship with Him that
shows itself in faithfulness, righteousness, love, and obedience. Jesus summed
it up with the Great Commandment in Matthew 22:36-40. Should we expect God to
answer our prayers? Yes. Can we expect Him to answer them? That depends on your relationship with Him and your genuineness to be with Him and His divine
will. It depends, too, on His purpose for the pray-er. Will a “no” answer or a
delayed answer to prayer grow the pray-er stronger in his or her faith and relationship
with the Lord? If so, then that may be the answer to a prayer. In answer to
prayer God can say yes, provide what is requested, say no, say wait, or delay
and answer. This leads to what happens when a person prays.
What Happens When We Pray
What then happens when people pray?
This carries over from our last topic. Yes, we can expect answers to prayers.
The Bible, in forty-eight verses, repeatedly tells people God hears, and
answers or helps people because of their prayers.
Growth of Relationship with God.
Foremost, when people pray to God,
as stated in the first part of this series on prayer, the pray-er grows in his
or her relationship with God and grows more Christlike. Prayer begins as a
discipline a believer is taught to do. Over time that discipline becomes a desire
to be in God’s presence and know Him better. Prayer is one way to do that. To prayer,
add Bible study, meditation/reflection on the Word, and listening to biblical
teaching. These each add to our relationship and communion with the Lord. These
help us know God better and grow more like Jesus Christ. From this growth in
relationship and Christlikeness, we bear spiritual fruit that gives
testimony and glory to God. Relationship growth with God and personal spiritual
growth are the most important results from praying.
God’s Intervention.
As a secondary result, prayer
brings God’s intervention in a person’s or a group of people’s lives. This
occurs when the people have a relationship with God. Because the people of the
Bible had a relationship with God, they expected to experience God answer their
prayers. David begged God to listen to his cry and prayer in 1 Kings 8:28. He
prayed for Jerusalem in Psalm 122:6. David would not have expected it nor
pleaded for it from God if He did not believe God heeded and answered prayer.
He believed the LORD is near to everyone who calls upon Him in truth (Psalm
145:18). David had a close relationship with God.
Daniel believed God cared for His
people and prayed to Him for the sin of the Israelites (Daniel 9:20). He prayed
for the people to be released from bondage to their captors and to sin.
Daniel’s relationship with God was a growing and genuine relationship with Him.
Jesus taught that the Father who is
in heaven will give good gifts (Matthew 7:11, Luke 11:13); so expect to have
God answer prayers. He expressed this again in Mark 11:24 when He said, “Therefore
I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have
received them, and they will be granted to you.” Jesus taught His disciples to
ask from the Father in His name and He would do what they ask so the Father would
be glorified through the Son (John 14:13). He even said because He chose you to
be His disciples, whatever you ask of the Father in His name He would give to
you (John 15:16, 16:26). When a person asks for something of God in Jesus’
name, it shows the faith and relationship of the pray-er and Jesus. Their
relationship shows a growing trust and understanding that leads to greater love
of God and other people, and obedience to God. Jesus taught a believer who genuinely
seeks God and His will can expect God to hear and answer his or her
prayers.
James said a prayer offered in
faith (by a person who trusts in Jesus) can restore a sick person (James
5:15-16) so do not doubt, but believe and pray to God for the sick person.
Added to these verses, the person from whom prayers for healing are made must
seek forgiveness for sins, too. He added
the person who prays to God must ask in faith without doubting for the doubting
person should expect to receive nothing from God (James 1:5-7). In addition,
James taught a person who prays should do so with fervency and enthusiasm for
the Lord and His will, and God will answer – that for which the person prays
will happen (James 5:17).
Each of these people expressed God
hears the prayers of the pray-er. Besides these, other people throughout the
Bible in a multitude of Scripture passages expressed God hears prayers.
Consider these verses –
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Job 22:25-27
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Psalm 18:6, 65:2, 66:20, 102:17, 118:5
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Proverbs 15:29
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Jeremiah 29:12
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Luke 3:21
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Acts 10:31
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2 Corinthians 1:11
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1 Peter 3:7, 12
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1 John 5:14-15
God’s Love.
Believing God hears our prayers
shows great faith and trust in Him, and depth of relationship with Him. God does
more than hear prayers; He answers them. If that were not so, the people who
prayed would not expect it so readily. Their relationship with the Father had
grown to such maturity they knew, because of God’s love for them, He would
intervene.
God’s intervention is part of
relationship. In a relationship of two people, helping, being with,
guiding/teaching, and encouraging is part of a growing relationship. That is community
and care. The relationship people have with God and He with them is no
different. The relationship of one person to another is based on the perfect
relationship God offers people. God wants to help people because He loves them.
That explains how the people could have such faith in God that He would answer
their prayers (a part of communing with Him). God helps people because of His
love for them and because of their relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.
He helps/answers because of our prayers to Him and because they are in
alignment with His will. Consider the following eighteen verses –
·
Job 22:25-27
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Psalm 66:20, 118:5
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Daniel 2:23, 9:20
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Matthew 7:11, 21:22
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Mark 11:24
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Luke 11:13
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John 14:13, 15:16, 16:26
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Acts 10:31
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2 Corinthians 1:11
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James 1:5-7, James 5:16-17
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1 Peter 3:12
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1 John 5:14-15
What God Does.
How or in what way does God answer prayer? There are a myriad of ways we
ask for prayer to be answered and God often answers and helps us in ways we
could not conceive of ourselves. First Timothy 4:5 tells us God sanctifies every
created thing by His Word and prayer. He heals people, too, as James 5:15
states. God makes life occur in Genesis 20:7. He forgives because of prayer
(James 5:15). God provided a king for the Israelites because of their petitioning
Him. He gave children to Sarah and Hannah because of their prayers. A host of instances
exist throughout the Bible that tell how God answered the prayers of the
righteous who called out to Him.
These are just a few examples of
what happens when we pray. The important thing to remember is God seeks to be
in a close love relationship with each person. He created each person because
He wants to share His love with them. Because of His love, God provided a way
for sinful people to return to a right relationship with Him. He sent His Son,
Jesus Christ, to live as a man and be tempted, though not sin. God allowed
Jesus to be persecuted and crucified as the payment/substitution for our sin death
penalty due. He did not stop with Jesus’ crucifixion. God resurrected Jesus to
life again because as part of the Godhead, death has no power over Jesus. By
rising from the dead, Jesus defeated death. By dying on the cross an innocent
man, He paid the price for the sins of all humankind. God calls to each person his
or her whole life hoping he or she will accept His gift of grace to have his/her
sins washed clean and be given eternal life in His kingdom. God does not
stop calling people because He wants no one to be lost permanently. This love of
God, this desire to love us so deeply, is why we pray. We pray to be in a
growing and close relationship with the God of love, mercy, and grace. We pray
to commune with – be in the presence – of God.
Recap
Prayer is an active part of intentionally
seeking God and growing closer to Him. Through it we come into the presence of
God. When we come to Him in prayer we recognize –
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God is to be revered
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God’s mercy
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God exists
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God’s power
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God’s faithfulness
Ø
God is almighty
Ø
God deserves all the glory and praise
Added to these, prayer involves every facet of relationship we expect with
one other – adoration (reserved exclusively for God). We can remember these
things by using the acronym, A.C.T.S.
(adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication). When we petition, we request
God’s help for ourselves and other people, including the people who persecute
us.
The Bible teaches people who pray
have expectations God will listen to their prayers. The primary requirement
is the person will be righteous – be in a right relationship with God - which
comes by continual confession and repentance of sin, being cleansed from sins daily
and fulfilling the Greatest Commandment as taught by Jesus to His disciples. The
other ten attributes, actions, and attitudes of a person whose prayers God
listens to include –
·
Belief
·
Prayer in Solitude
·
Watchfulness and Alertness
·
Ceaseless Prayer
·
Fervency and Enthusiasm
·
Approaching God
·
Self-Control
·
Love of People
·
Acknowledge and Love Jesus
·
Praying in Agreement
Prayer, to be a
conduit to a growing relationship with God, should occur regularly each day, ceaselessly
as Jesus and Paul stated. It can occur during the day or night. Prayer can be
voiced by one’s self or in conjunction with other people. The main point of
prayer though is communion with God, not seeking self-importance and
showmanship, like the Pharisees.
As in any loving
relationship between people, we can expect that God wants to answer our hearts’
cries. If we are in a true and sincere relationship with God, then our will is aligned
with His will. We will pray for that which God already knows and agrees with
us. Therefore, He desires to answer the prayer requested, or the need voiced.
When God answers prayer healing happens, salvation and sanctification occurs,
forgiveness is given, life is given, and love is shared from Him to the people
who call to His heart.
Relevance and Conclusion
Each person
on earth must decide for him or herself if he or she will accept God’s love
gift - grace and mercy given through the life, death, and resurrection of His
Son, Jesus Christ. When a person accepts Jesus Christ, prayer is a conduit
available to connect God’s heart to each person’s, so that person grows in his
or her love relationship with Him. The person’s dedication to God shows in the
fruits of the person’s actions, attitudes, and attributes. We each must stop
and determine the depth of our relationship with God if we have one. We must
assess whether we are in a genuine and growing relationship with God and are
becoming more Christlike. If the result of our assessments shows we are not
Christians or have not grown beyond infancy in Christ, earnest and fervent
prayer to God can bring salvation and growth so we become united with the
Father and He can lavish His love upon us as we live to love and obey Him.
It comes down to
love:
Will you accept His?
Will you give Him yours?
Prove it. Pray.
