Keys to Effective Prayer

Intro/Welcome

Praying

Do you feel like God doesn’t answer your prayers?

Probably the answer is yes. At least not always.

Yet in our text today, we have an amazing promise.

Jesus says I will do whatever you ask.

We know that we are called to pray, invited to pray

but how can we pray more effectively?

Is that even possible?

Is there anything we can do to make our prayers more effective?

I think so, according to our text.

Implications

Think about that for a moment.

Because if we can learn to pray more effectively, it has massive implications.

For as james said “the prayer of a righteous person is effective”

What that might mean for how we pray for our children?

How we pray for our church?

How we pray for fruit in our own lives?

Do you long to see the reality of God in your daily life?

Prayer is the answer

and learning how to pray more effectively, will yield results.

Text

Context:

Jesus has said I am going to the Father via the Cross (John 14:1-2) and I will come back to take you to be with me.

I am the way, the truth and the Life. (John 14:5)

I am God (I am in the Father and the Father is in me) (John 14:8-11)

Let’s look at our text today:

John 14:12-17

John 14:12–17 (ESV)

12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

1. Last Week: John14:12.

We said the works of Jesus mean all the works of Jesus: both Proclamation and Demonstration of the Kingdom of God.

2. Today John 14:13-16.

So what do we make of this statment?

John 14:13–16 (ESV)

13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,

How can this be true?

Surely we have all asked for things ‘in the name of Jesus’ and they have not come to pass.

Yet, Jesus said this so it must be true.

The keys are right here in the text.

What does it mean to ask “in the name of Jesus”?

What is the motive or heart of our prayer?

What is the link to keeping his commands?

What role does the Holy Spirit play?

I. “The heart to glorify God”

John 14:13 (ESV)

13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

This is perhaps why many of our prayers don’t seem to be answered

We are praying not to Glorify God, but to glorify something else

perhaps most often our desires and wishes.

James 4:1–10 (ESV)

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Isn’t it amazing that this is Jesus’ prayer in John 17.

John 17:1–2 (ESV)

1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

He is praying that God would be glorified as he goes to the Cross to suffer a brutal death.

He knows that God will be glorified through His plan of redemption for his people.

It’s amazing.

II. “In the Name”

Obviously it’s not just an incantation like Harry Potter — say the right words in the right way with the proper flick of your wand. — this isn’t magic.

This is the lesson the Sons of Sceva learned in Acts 19.

They saw Paul healing and driving out demons in the name of Jesus

They tried to do the same, but there were not ‘in Christ’ and so their efforts were thwarted

In the name of Jesus means:

1. We have access to God the Father

Hebrews 4:16 (ESV)

16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

It means that God the Father hears our prayers in Jesus

Because the sin that had kept us from a reconciled relationship has been removed by Christ

In Chist then we are sons of God and he hears our prayers.

2. In accordance with His charater and will.

God will not answer prayers that are contrary to His Word and his Work and his Character

1 John 5:14–15 ESV

14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

A. Praying God’s Word

This is why pryaing God’s own Words back to Him can be so effective.

We know what his heart is and he has said his Word never returns void.

Isaiah 55:10–11 ESV

10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

3. In means in the Authority of His name

It means we can pray in the Authority and Power of His name and by virture of his righteousness.

Acts 3:6 ESV

6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”

Acts 16:18 ESV

18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

Luke 10:17 ESV

17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”

Luke 9:1–2 ESV

1 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.

4. Union with Christ

It means we can pray by virtue of our union with Christ.

In John 14-16, Jesus is unpacking what are union with Him looks like.

He ends this section saying the Holy Spirit will be in us.

But he will go on to say much more about that.

What this mens for prayers is this:

There are times where we will be prompted to pray for something.

I think that is the Spirit of God whispering to us a prayer he intends to answer.

I think there are times that God puts things on our hearts that he wants us to ask Him about so that he can answer the prayers.

Furthrmore Rom 8 says that the Spirit prays for us when we do not know how to pray.

Romans 8:26–27 ESV

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

We are partnering with God to bring about his purposes — his will.

We have the ultimate insider in God.

he will put prayers on our hearts

We can ask him about anything

Summary

So praying “in the name” of Jesus means:

We have access to God the Father

Praying in accordance with His Character and Will

Praying with the Authority of Christ

Praying by virtue of our Union with Christ

III. Friendship with God

John 14:15 ESV

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

John 14:14 UBS4 Int.

14 ἐάν τι αἰτήσητέ με ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου ἐγὼ ποιήσω.

Translations will often break the thought between John 14:14-15 but I think they belong together.

John 14:14–15 (ESV)

14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

If you ask me anything in my name I will do it

If you love me you will do what I ask of you.

1. Friendship / Relationship w/ God

We will hit this more when we get to John 15 where Jesus talks about freindship.

But the essence is this:

Friends have common interests

Friends do what pleases the other person

2. Keeping my Commands

Jesus says, if you love me — you will keep my comandments.

Keep = not just obey — there is another greek word for that

Keep = to keep, guard, protect — even treasure.

It means treausring what Jesus treasures

Loving what Jesus loves

What does Jesus love?

God the Father

People.

this is his commandment — to love one another.

Praying Effectively

So then, what does this mean for our everyday lives?

What is the source of your anxieties?

Lack of Control of your circumstances

Why is one of the most common phrases in scripture “fear not”?

In prayer — we can talk to and hear from the most powerful being in the universe

Through prayer

His desires will become our desires

We will begin to delight in what he delights in.

The shift that happnes is not so much that our circumstances change (though they may)

but rather that how we think about our circumstances change — or even that we think about them less.

It means that our perspectives shift from what is in front of us, to what is above us.

It means we can learn to quiet our souls from all the distraction and hear from Him.

that still small voice

that voice of comfort

that voice of direction

that voice of truth

These are all things I need to hear desperately day in and day out.

How do I handle this particular situation?

How do I parent my children?

How do I order my day?

What priorties do I have?

Stories?

John Marc not crying on Thursday Morning

Praying Life:

Kid’s Contact

Kim Speaking

Dirty Glory: Arizona

Extra

Psalm 37:4 (ESV)

4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

John Piper: God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.

Effective prayers are prayers that seek to glorify God