Prayer
1 Timothy 2:8
I will, therefore, that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." K.J.V.
A member of this church recently came to my office with several questions about
prayer.
Whenever that happens, a member has questions about anything, it makes me
think; "Maybe others have the same or similar questions."
That causes me to want to preach on that subject.
This verse hit me right between the eyes as answering some of those questions.
I want us to dissect the verse, take it in little pieces and learn from it.
1. God's Will Concerning Prayer
“I will, therefore, that men pray everywhere."
This little phrase answers the questions... when, where, how often, how much.
WHERE should we pray?
EVERYWHERE!!!
Some read the scriptures in Matthew 6:6 where Jesus says, "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand in the synagogue and on the street corners to be seen by men, ... But when pray, go into your room {closet}, close the door, and pray to your Father ... "
This can be misunderstood as saying that you should not pray in public or that you should only pray in private or that private prayers are more effective and God pleasing than public prayers.
Either of those understandings would be wrong.
The scripture says, "I will that men should pray EVERYWHERE. ... EVEN in
public.
Everywhere means ... EVERYWHERE... at work ... at school... driving ... resting .
cutting grass... doing dishes... cleaning house... washing the car
EVERYWHERE.
The scripture says, "And, when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men..."
Jesus was not saying you should not pray in church .... He prayed in church.
He was not saying you should not pray in public... he prayed before 15000.
The key is found in the phrase ... "to be seen by men ..."
They are just playing religion in order to have human approval. to get man's
praise.
God sees right through that acting job and it makes Him sick ... HE WILL NOT
HEAR THAT PRAYER.
The reason he says, "go into your closet and close the door ... " is that makes you
be real, sincere, honest because there is no reason to play act. God does hear and love those prayers.
You don't have to be in the closet... but it must be sincere and not to bring you honor.
That is why I can pray in the service and know God hears... it is real.
The scripture says in verse 6 that "then your Father, who sees what is done in
secret, will reward you."
That does not mean that there is a magic formula or way to get your prayers
answered ... it means that God sees into the secret place ... the heart .. and will
honor the sincere prayer.
You can pray a sincere, self-denying prayer in public and it be heard when a
self-serving prayer in private will not be heard.
WHERE? Everywhere.
WHEN? Everywhere = all the time
We should be in a continual prayer mode ... realizing that we are always in his
presence and can speak to him any time.
HOW OFTEN? Everywhere ... all the time ... every day ... any moment
HOW MUCH? 5 minutes? 1 hour? How much? Everywhere = as much as
you need.
Jesus taught in Matt. 6:7 that there is not a magic formula .. if you say the prayer
a certain number of prayers ... that the prayer will be answered.
Our Catholic friends were guilty in the past of this belief. A sinner going to
confession is told to pray a certain number of "Our Father’s or "Hail Marys and
he would be forgiven. Or sent to Rome and told to climb a certain set of steps
that Jesus supposedly climbed with the cross, and to pray on each step.
Jesus made it clear that repetition is not a lucky charm or a guarantee
In Jesus’ name
It is not the number or prayers .... but the quality of the prayers .... prayers that
meet the pre-requisites.
What are the pre-requisites for having prayers heard and answered?
If it is not the place or the time or the amount
Our text in ! Timothy 2:8 gives us three pre-requisites:
1. LIFTING UP HOLY HANDS ...
What does it mean to lift up holy hands?
When the Jews prayed they did so by standing .... we prefer to kneel. .. why? I
don't know.
Actually, the most Biblically precise way would probably be the way the scripture
most often speaks of and the way Billy Graham does it.. .. prostrate ... lying face
down.
And while we tend to think we should put our hands together ... the Jews prayed
with their hands lifted up ... palms turned up to the sky.
Not like Pentecostal, who do it as a sign of something
They did that in order to show God that their hands are clean ... in other words,
that they are free from stain of sin.
They are really saying ... my HEART is right, my CONSCIENCE is clear.
God says we should come to prayer WITH CLEAN HANDS ... HOLY HANDS.
That means that we must keep our hands clean ... BE OBEDIENT.
Don't think that you can live in sin, stained with sin, and then need something
and just ask God ... and He will give it.
LOOK AT YOUR HANDS ... what do you see?
What does He see?
Now even saved hands get stained occasionally.
HOLY HANDS are hands that have struggled to stay clean and when they do
become dirty {with sin} they immediately wash {in the blood} = forgiveness
Hands that sin are stained and lifting those hands up to God brings no answer,
only Godly wrath and punishment.
I have heard people who were living in sin, lost, unsaved, tell about times when
they were in trouble or need and they breathed a prayer of distress to the lord
and "a warmth came over them and they just knew that it would be OK, that God
was going to take care of them."
And I think ... that is stupid ... that is anti-scriptural.
The Bible says we have to lift up HOLY HANDS not just lift up any hands.
God is Holy... sin is anti-God ... God and sin do not inhabit the same places ..
CAN NOT. .. Will NOT. ...
God does not bless sin!!!! PERIOD!!!!!!!!!
Pre-requisite #1 = HOLY HANDS.
2. WITHOUT WRATH ...
The first pre-requisite had to do with your relationship with God.
The second has to do with your relationship with your brother.
Without wrath = without hatred for your brother... in other words... when you
come to prayer ... BE SURE that you have no hostility, no latent hatred, no
unforgiven anger toward your brother ... ANY BROTHER.
The Bible is crystal clear… unforgiveness is a sin if you don't forgive your
brother God will not forgive you ... if you are not forgiven your hands are not
holy .... God will not hear your prayers.
In fact, God's wrath is stirred towards a person who harbors hatred or
unforgiveness toward his brother but yet he would have the gall to ask God to
forgive him.
Don't think that you can come to God and be all buddy - buddy when you have in
your pocket a list of wrongs done to you by your brother.
Pre-requisite #2 = "without wrath" = Forgiveness
3. WITHOUT DOUBT.
James 1 :6f says, "But when he asks {prays} he must believe and not doubt because he who has doubts is like a wave on the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord. "
God calls a doubter a double-minded man.
James 4:8 teaches that it is a sin to doubt because he teaches that we must be
forgiven ... cleansed.
and Ps 119: 113 teaches that, as with all sin, GOD HATES DOUBT.
I know we don't like to think that because we all doubt... but the scriptures are
clear.
It is better not to pray for something you don't believe God can do than to pray with doubts.
Don't ask God to heal if you don't believe he can.
NOT BELIEVE HE WILL .... but believe HE CAN.
We are not told that He will .... we are told He CAN!!!
I don't know what He will do ... But I know what He can do ... ANYTHING!!!!! Well)what if you have doubts about God?
CONFESS them
ASK God to forgive them
Ask God to remove them and replace them with faith.
WORK to strengthen your faith
ACT on your faith
READ the word ... the book of faith
Think for a moment about your prayer life ...
Is it strong, effective, growing, vibrant, seeing results????
Or is it inconsistent, dying, in need of C.P.R., no results????
What is the problem???
Lack of prayer???
Dirty hands????
Un-forgiveness???
Doubt???
Step one confess it
Step two ask for forgiveness
Hymn 489 ... "Face To Face" ... with Christ my Savior
