Below are the notes from last evening's talk.
November 1, 2010
Prayer – part II
Opening Question: What is one thing you usually like to say to people when you talk to them?
In our last lesson, we discussed how we can always talk to God through our prayers. We talked about some of the things we can pray to God for and how to do this. We noted that our prayers help us to focus our thoughts and our decisions on what we need and what God can do to provide for us. And, lastly we saw how God blesses us through our prayers.
Today, we are going to discuss a few more thoughts about the prayer.
1. The prayer should be a constant act in our lives
We are told to pray at all times, regardless of the circumstances in our lives. We do not pray only when things are going great in our lives nor do we pray only when things are going poorly and we need help.
Here is an example of a prayer of thanksgiving: Ephesians 1:16: I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. Paul is saying that he remembers the church in Ephesus Philippi : Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
So, in our prayers we give thanks to God for His blessings, without being anxious on what the outcome will be, because we know that God hears us and He answers our prayers.
We should give praise and adoration to God when we pray to Him. 1 Chronicles 29:11 says: Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all."
In Acts, chapter 16, we have the example of Paul and Silas praying while they are imprisoned. Let us read verses 16-25: 16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her. 19 When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice."
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
As we can see, Paul and Silas were praying when things were not going right in their lives, after they were beaten and thrown in jail. In the following verses, we read that God saved them from imprisonment and that even the jailer believed and became a Christian. So, no matter the circumstances in our lives, we should not give up praying.
When we pray, we can pray for our family and friends, for those who are sick or sad. We can pray for those who are not Christians yet. We can pray for your own spiritual growth and any other needs that you may have. Matthew 7:7 says: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
2. God answers some of our prayers with a “no” or “not now”
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, we read about Paul having a “thorn in his flesh”: 7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
Paul had some kind of physical impairment, about which he asked God to heal him. However, God’s answer was “no”.
Now, we know from other verses that Paul had the power to heal people. In Acts 28:7-9 we read: 7 There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably. 8 His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. 9 When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured.
Why did God reply with a “no” to Paul’s prayer?
God’s power was made perfect in Paul’s weakness. It is not necessary for God for us to be powerful or rich in order to be good servants to God. God has created everything and everything is His. He wants us to serve Him with our spirits and with our hearts.
Sometimes, God answers our prayers with a “no” or “not now”. It may be that our prayer was in accordance with His will. It may be that we may think whatever we are praying for will help us in our lives, but God, in his infinite wisdom, knows best and he will provide us what we need and what is best for our overall life. Like our earthly fathers or mothers that sometimes say “no” or “not now” to our requests. It is not because God does not love us, but because he loves us that he is willing to say no in that the right plan for our lives can happen.
3. Our prayers should be a reflection of our lives
In 1 Peter 3:7 we read that: Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
The verse says that if we are not acting appropriately in our lives, this will hinder our prayers.
How can our prayers be hindered by our actions?
We cannot focus on what our needs are and what we should ask from God if we are not living in a way that is worthy and pleasing to Him. While God is always willing to listen and to provide for our needs, we should also be willing and able to live our lives in accordance with God’s will, so that our actions will not hinder our prayer. We cannot do wrong things in our lives that prevent us from praying or doing the right thing, then turn around and blame God that he did not help us with the problem or request that we ourselves aren’t willing to help others on. That would be like someone coming to you and saying why did not you help me get a better mark in school? And you say, but you did not ask! And they reply, well, I was too busy partying and staying up late, so I was too tired to ask you – but you should have realized that and helped me anyway. In the same way we have to be careful not to blame God when we mess up.
Conclusions
Prayer should be a constant act in our lives and we should pray to God no matter the circumstances in our lives. God always answers our prayers, although sometimes His answer is “no” or “not now”. And finally, we should live in such a way that we will not hinder our prayers.
Campus Bible Talk 2010
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