Becoming A Person Of Prayer
It is said that Andrew Bonar, a great man of prayer, had three rules:
(1) Not to speak to any man before speaking to Jesus;
(2) Not to do anything with his hands until he had been on his knees;
(3) Not to read the papers until he had read his Bible.
I don’t believe that all of us need to adopt these rules in our devotion to God. If we did, many would become rigid and legalistic in our approach to the Father – and none of us should want that. However, I do believe that most of us could use some help when it comes to prayer life. Do you remember the key verse for this series? It is found in First Timothy chapter four and verse seven. It reads:
“Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” 1st Timothy 4:7 (NASV)
When it comes to prayer – many of us could use a more disciplined lifestyle. One of the greatest requests that the disciples asked of Jesus was – “Lord, teach us to pray." (Luke 11:1)
Let us go ahead and read one of the best known passages on prayer. It is found in Matthew chapter six:
"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. "Pray, then, in this way: ’Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’ Matthew 6:5-13 (NASV)
We’re going to talk today about Becoming A Person of Prayer. God wants you to have a personal relationship with Him and a major element of that relationship is your prayer life. Yet for so many people, their prayer life is non-fulfilling – or dull and boring. So the first thing we are going to talk about is:
Approaching Prayer With The Right Attitude
Let’s look at three attitudes that help us in our prayer lives:
1. Be REAL
Remember what we just read – Jesus said:
"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.” Matthew 6:5 (NASV)
Don’t try to impress others as the Pharisees were trying to do. The Pharisees were people who would stand on the street corner and raise their hands and their face to the sky and carry on in this very public way, trying to impress other people. Scripture says don’t try to impress other people.
Don’t try to impress God. Don’t pray what you think God wants to hear. Remember He already knows your heart and your thoughts and you’re not fooling him. Just speak to Him with what’s on your heart.
2. Be RELAXED
Matthew chapter six and verse six tells us:
“But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:6 (NASV)
You need to relax, you need to go some place where you can be alone, where you can be quiet and take those deep breaths, and remove distractions and concentrate. The two main excuses most people give for not praying are that they don’t have time and they don’t have a place to go. Find a quite place – get relaxed.
3. Be REVEALING
Look at what we are told in verses seven and eight:
“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Matthew 6:7-8 (NASV)
When you talk to the Lord – talk. Talk to Him like He is your friend – because He is. Talk to Him like He is you Father – because He is. Talk to Him like He is your counselor – because He is. Talk to Him like He is your Savior – because He is. That’s what prayer is with the Lord. It’s conversation between two people who love each other. We talk to Him because we have a love relationship with Him. When you come to God, be revealing. Tell Him what’s really on your heart. Just talk to Him.
A Model Prayer
In Matthew chapter six we find a model prayer. We commonly call it the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus said, "This is how you should pray" – not WHAT you should pray. He’s giving us an example of things we should use in prayer. I find five aspects of prayer in the Lord’s Prayer – these five aspects can be used in all your prayers.
FIVE ASPECTS OF PRAYER
The first aspect prayer is:
1. Come To God With PRAISE
Begin by expressing your love of God. Tell Him how great He is. Look at the first phrase of the Lord’s Prayer:
’Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.’ Matthew 6:9 (NASV)
When you come to prayer you want to begin by praising God – by expressing your love to God. I start by saying to Him, "Lord, I want to focus on You above everything else. You are Mighty. You are Magnificent. You are all Powerful. Your Name is above all names." If I come to prayer focusing on myself and my needs first – I leave prayer more depressed and frustrated than when I began. But if I come to prayer with the attitude of my focus is upon God – what I can see of Him – what I can learn of Him – what it is that He can show me – then I’m going to have the right perspective.
There are two kinds of praise.
First of all is ADORATION – which is praising God for who He is – proclaiming His character. And second there is THANKSGIVING. Thanksgiving is praising God for what He has done. We need both of these when we come before the Lord -- thanking Him for who He is and thanking Him for what He’s done. Psalm one hundred verse four says:
"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him, and bless his name." Psalm 100:4
The second aspect of prayer is:
2. Recognize Your POSITION
When I come before God – I need to acknowledge who’s will I want done. Am I coming before God with a wish list – or am I coming before Him to serve Him? Look at the next phrase in the Lord’s Prayer:
‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.’ Matthew 6:10 (NASV)
This is an acknowledgment that God is God and I am not. Remember Saturday Night live when it first came out. Chevy Chase would stumble across the stage and go, "Hi, I’m Chevy Chase and you’re not!" This part of prayer is when you acknowledge that God is God and you are not. At this time in prayer I want to pray for God’s will to be done in my family and in my church and among my friends and my city and in my world. This is where I tell the Lord, just do whatever You need to do in my life – I am acknowledging that God is God and I am will to allow Him to have control of my life. Romans chapter twelve verse one says:
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” Romans 12:1 (NASV)
We are to acknowledge who God is – not just in our prayers but also in our lives. The next aspect of prayer is:
3. Ask God For His PROVISION
I ask God to provide for my daily needs.
What needs do I ask Him for? All of them. There is nothing too great for God’s power to take care of and there’s nothing too insignificant for His concern. So all my needs I’m to pray about. Philippians chapter four says:
“My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 (NASV)
Romans chapter eight verse thirty two says:
“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” Romans 8:32 (NASV)
Saving you and me was the hardest thing that God ever did. There was nothing harder that He could do than to save you. Don’t you think now that He wants to take care of you? Wishing and hoping for something is not the same as actually asking God for something. When you have a need, ask God for it. Don’t sit back and worry about it – ask God for it. Philippians chapter four says:
“Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.” Philippians 4:6 (GN)
Ask God to take care of you – a Father cares for His children.
The fourth aspect of prayer is:
4. Ask For PARDON
I ask God to forgive my sins. This part of the Lord’s prayer says,
"Forgive us our debts" Matthew 6:10 (NASV)
There are four steps to forgiveness:
A. Ask the Holy Spirit to REVEAL every sin. That is one of the jobs of the Holy Spirit and He is good at it. When I come to Him with an honest heart, He will reveal places that there is sin in my life.
B. CONFESS each sin. Sometimes we like to get away with confession of sin by just saying, "Forgive me all my sins." But you committed those sins individually, you better ask for forgiveness individually. Confess each and every sin.
C. Make RESTITUTION to others when necessary. Matthew chapter five tells us:
"When you remember your brother has something against you, go at once to make peace with him, then come back and offer your gift to God." Matthew 5:23-24
D. ACCEPT God’s forgiveness. First John tells us:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins, and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 (ESV)
When we talk about forgiveness you need to accept the fact that you don’t have to live with our guilt forever. It can be forgiven and wiped clean. But when I seek pardon – forgiveness from God I must also:
Pardon Other People.
Let’s read verse six again:
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:10 (NASV)
Pardon from God should cause us to pardon other people. In fact look closely at the verse. What is being asked for here is that I would be forgiven – in the same way that I forgive others. That should make us hope and pray that we a very forgiving people. “Father, forgive me in the same way that I forgive others.” Wow! We need to be very forgiving people. In fact it is so important that right after The Lord’s Prayer Jesus says:
"For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:14-15 (NASV)
God is concerned about our relationships – not just our relationship with Him but also how we relate with others. Let us show mercy – let us show forgiveness – let us show love.
The final aspect of prayer is:
5. Ask God For His PROTECTION
I ask God that He will protect me. I ask that He will protect me from the Evil One. Verse thirteen says:
“And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Matthew 5:13 (NASV)
We, as believers, face a spiritual battle every day and Satan wants to defeat us through temptation and fear. If I start every day without praying for God’s protection I’m walking into battle unprotected. I’m walking into battle without the spiritual armor we’re supposed to put on. Ask God to make you aware of evil in this world. If you’re unaware of it – you can get caught by it – you can get involved in it. Before you know what’s going on – you can get trapped by it. But if you ask the Lord to make you aware of evil – you can fight against it. Remember what First John chapter four says:
"The Spirit who is in you is more powerful than the spirit who is in those who belong to the world." 1 John 4:4
Don’t be afraid. The Spirit who is in us is more powerful than the spirit who is in the world. You are on a spiritual battlefield. Pray that you may be empowered to come out victorious. Pray that you will be a prayer warrior. Pray that you become A Person Of Prayer.
