Learning to Pray – The Imperative of Prayer

Introduction: George Mueller, the renowned missionary to Bristol, England once said the following, “For more than half a century, I have never known one day when I had not more business than I could get through. For 40 years, I have had annually about 30,000 letters, and most of these have passed through my own hands. I have nine assistants always at work corresponding in German, French, English, Danish, Italian, Russian, and other languages. Then, as pastor of a church with 1200 believers, great has been my care. I have had charge of five orphanages; also at my publishing depot, the printing and circulation of millions of tracts, books, and Bibles. But I have always made it a rule never to begin work till I have had a good season with God.”

As John MacArthur writes in his commentary on this passage of Scripture, “The Bible teaches a great deal about the importance and power of prayer. Prayer is effective; it makes a difference. “The effective prayer of a righteous man,” James says, “can accomplish much” (James 5:16). Abraham’s servant prayed, and Rebekah appeared. Jacob wrestled and prayed, and Esau’s mind was turned from twenty years of revenge. Moses prayed, and Amalek was struck. Hannah prayed, and Samuel was born. Isaiah and Hezekiah prayed, and in twelve hours one hundred eighty-five thousand Assyrians were slain. Elijah prayed, and there were three years of drought; he prayed again, and rain came. Those are but a small sampling of answered prayer just from the Old Testament. The Jews to whom Jesus preached should have had unlimited confidence in the power of prayer.”

And we see here in the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord’s Prayer, and it is clear that God expects us to pray. But why? Why is prayer so important, so vital? Look with me if you will, at four reasons why you and I ought to pray.

I. Because of Our God’s Creative Purpose (Gen. 1:26; 3:8-9)

A. It is emphasized 3 separate times within the first 6 chapters of Genesis (Gen. 3:8-9; 5:22, 24; 6:9)

1. Adam (Gen. 3:8-9)

2. Enoch (Gen. 5:22, 24)

3. Noah (Gen. 6:9)

B. It is emphasized by every encounter with a messenger from God

1. Hagar (Gen. 16:7-13)

2. Abraham (Gen. 18)

3. Manoah (Judges 13)

C. It is emphasized by Christ’s statement in Matt. 21:13 – “It is written, ‘My house shall be called the house of prayer’; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”

Argumentation: Philip Yancey wrote that “Human beings grow by striving, working, stretching; and in a sense, human nature needs problems more than solutions. Why are not all prayers answered magically and instantly? Why must every convert travel the same tedious path of spiritual discipline? Because persistent prayer, and fasting, and study, and meditation are designed primarily for our sakes, not for God’s. Kierkegaard said that Christians reminded him of schoolboys who want to look up the answers to their math problems in the back of the book rather than work them through...We yearn for shortcuts. But shortcuts usually lead away from growth, not toward it.”

II. Because of Our Lord’s Command (Matt. 6:5, 9; Lk. 11:1-13)

A. It is inherent in our Lord’s use of language in his instruction on prayer (Matt. 6:5, 9)

B. It is inherent in our Lord’s repeated instruction on prayer (Matt. 6:5-15; Lk. 11:1-13)

III. Because of Our Lord’s Example (Lk. 11:1)

A. He began his ministry with a concentrated time of prayer (Matt. 4:1-11; Lk. 4:1-13)

B. He was given to consistent periods of prayer throughout his ministry (Matt. 14:23; Mk. 1:35; 6:45-46; Lk. 5:16; 6:12; 9:18, 29; 11:1; 22:45; Jn. 17)

IV. Because of Our God’s Prompting (Lk. 11:1)

A. True disciples feel the need to pray (Lk. 11:1)

B. True disciples act on the need to pray (Acts 4:24-31)

Conclusion: Oh, dear friends, “Someone has said that many Christians offer their prayers like sailors use their pumps—only when the ship leaks. But to be obedient disciples of Christ, to experience the fullness of communion with God, and to open the floodgates of heaven’s blessings, believers must pray as Jesus prayed.”

If that does not describe your life; if you sense, as I do, from studying this passage that your prayer life needs work, will you join me in making a commitment that you will make prayer a priority in your life as Jesus Christ himself did? For when we talk about prayer, as Martyn Lloyd-Jones said in Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, “We are face to face…with one of the most vital subjects in connection with our Christian life. Prayer is beyond any question the highest activity of the human soul. Man is at his greatest and highest when, upon his knees, he comes face to face with God” (1 vol. [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989], 2:45). Brethren, if you would make your Christian life meaningful, make your relationship with God meaningful. And if you would make your relationship with God meaningful, you must spend time talking with Him.