Tools For Effective Prayer
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Introduction
Introduction
Greetings…
Prayer is one of those aspects of Christian life that every faithful person always feels like they are not where they ought to be.
Often the faithful are pretty good at determining if they are where they “ought to be” in their studies, giving, singing, etc…
But when it comes to praying most of the most faithful I know never feel like their prayer life is where it “ought to be.”
That isn’t to suggest it isn’t, but how most of the faithful feel.
Because of that, and because we have such passages as 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “pray without ceasing,” I wanted us to take a moment and examine, “Tools For Effective Prayer.”
Reverence
Reverence
People Lack Awe Today.
People Lack Awe Today.
Today, there is a great lack of reverence for God almighty.
People today seem to want to bring God down to our level and make common he who is holy.
I won’t repeat what many of us have heard God called today as they are blasphemous but to call God by any other name than that of utmost reverence is spiritual suicide.
As Christians, who have been saved by God, let us have a proper reverence for our Creator, Savior, and God.
Let us properly…
Awe-Inspired Fear Of God.
Awe-Inspired Fear Of God.
To revere means to be so awe-inspired.
7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
7 God is greatly feared in the council of the holy ones, more awe-inspiring than all who surround Him.
To revere means to be so awe-inspired that we are fearfully amazed.
Nehemiah 1:11 (NASB)
11 “O Lord, I beseech Thee, may Thine ear be attentive to the prayer of Thy servant and the prayer of Thy servants who delight to revere Thy name, and make Thy servant successful today, and grant him compassion before this man.” Now I was the cupbearer to the king.
Nehemiah 1:11 (ESV)
11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king.
Summary
Summary
So when we go to our God in prayer, before we ever say a word, we must have recognition that we are seeking an audience with the Creator of the universe, the Savior of our souls, and God above all else.
Matthew 6:9 (ESV)
9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”
The word “hallowed” here means to “make holy.”
When we go to God in prayer we are make sure we are making his very name holy when we address him.
That we are in so much awe of his name we are fearful seek an audience with him and address him.
Because we have an awe-inspired fearful recognition of our God when we go to him we use another tool…
Faith & Confidence
Faith & Confidence
Ask In Faith.
Ask In Faith.
The reason we don’t even start a worship conversation with God without reverence is because we cannot actually have faith or confidence in that prayer otherwise.
It is so sad when I hear of people that have said they prayed for something from God but then turn around and say they don’t expect God to answer.
Why even pray, for the simple “perhaps” of something.
Praying in faith and confidence means praying without doubt.
James 1:5–8 (ESV)
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Matthew 21:22 (ESV)
22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.
1 I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Summary
Summary
When we properly pray to God with reverence we have all the faith & confidence in the world that God will hear our prayer and answer our prayers.
21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
And when we use the effective tools of prayer that are reverence and faithful confidence we must not forget the tool of…
Humility
Humility
Praying To Be Seen By God.
Praying To Be Seen By God.
Jesus teaches us four ways we demonstrate our humility when we pray to our God.
We don’t pray to God to seek the praise of men.
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
We don’t use “filler words” when we pray to God.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
We don’t think we are any better than the next sinner in need of salvation.
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
We are grateful and thankful to be able to communicate with our God.
Ephesians 5:18–20 (ESV)
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
Summary
Summary
When we pray, we pray to be seen by God and not by man.
We seek God’s attention not man’s, we seek God’s hear not our own, we seek God’s help knowing our faults, and we thank God always for being able to come to him.
Conclusion
Conclusion
When we pray we have effective tools we can use to better our prayer life.
We have the tool of reverence.
We have the tool of faith and confidence.
We have the tool humility.
With these tools at our disposal we will grow closer to our God.
Because with these tools we will have a much better prayer life.
Invitation
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.