Prayer as a Means of Grace

Introduction

Pray.

Matthew 11:28–30 ““Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.””

Psalm 4:8 “In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.”

Psalm 20:7 “Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.”

Jeremiah 17:5 “Thus says the Lord, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the Lord.”

Romans 4:20–21 “yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.”

Prayer is a direct expression of trusting in God. When we pray, we are admitting to:

We are in need.

That God is able to do something about our situation.

That we cannot fix our problems ourselves.

Prayer is a treasure given to us by God. Prayer is direct access to the throne room of the most powerful, rather, the only powerful King. Prayer is one of the ways in which God has ordained for us to be sanctified, helped, comforted, instructed, encoruaged, etc.

My hope this evening is that we will look at prayer as a gift that we should persue every day, at all times, and with all of our heart. That we do not neglect this means of grace.

John Calvin - “To know God as the master and bestower of all good things, who invites us to request them of him, and still not go to him and not ask of him—this would be of as little profit as for a man to neglect a treasure, buried and hidden in the earth, after it had been pointed out to him.”

Some people have great prayer habits. Others have not developed any prayer habits. Others have struggling prayer lives. My prayer for this sermon is that you will be given a reason to press on in prayer and see it as a priceless benefit.

Prayer as a means of grace

Philippians 4:6–7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

“Be anxious for nothing”

What is anxiety?

A stressed reaction due to fear.

Fear - natural fear

Fear - unnatural fear

Anxious = weakness

Why does Paul have to tell the reader to not be anxious? Because we are anxious!

1 Samuel 1:10 “She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.”

Isaiah 36:1-22 The invasion of King Sennacherib

Rabshakeh speaks against Israel and the LORD.

Isaiah 37:1 “And when King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of the Lord.”

Mark 14:38 “Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

How can this command be fair, or right?

It is a command

What are we supposed to do?

Wars

Interest rates

Family struggles

Government failures

This command points us to the assurance of Christ obtained only through trusting in Christ. Prayer is the expression of trust. Anxiety is the expression of doubt.

Daniel 6 - Daniel thrown into the lions den.

New law - pray only to Darius

Daniel’s responce

Daniel 6:10 “Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.”

He knew the law.

He prays openly

A show of trust in God

“As he had been doing previously.”

The habit of prayer and trusting in God did not come about when things became more difficult. Daniel had cultivated this habit before all of these things took place.

The consequences of trusting God

Persecution - Daniel 6:16a “Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions’ den.”

TOTAL deliverance - Daniel 6:23 “So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.”

Same thing with Shadrack, Meshack, and Abendigo - not even the smell of smoke was on them.

The consequences of not trusting God

TOTAL wrath - Daniel 6:24 “The king then gave orders, and they brought those men who had maliciously accused Daniel, and they cast them, their children and their wives into the lions’ den; and they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.”

Major contrast

“…but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

“But”

Don’t do this, do this.

What is prayer?

Hebrews 4:16 “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

How do we draw near the throne of grace?

not physically

not through visions or grand experiences

but through prayer

How can we come with confidence?

We have an open invitation to come from Christ secured by His blood.

We are not only told we can come, we are also told we must come to Him.

Part of Phil 4:6 says to not be anxious but to pray. It is a command to pray.

Prayer is talking directly to God. Prayer is having unmitigated access to the Father through the Son.

Why should we pray to God?

It is a command

Hebrews 5:7 “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.”

“To the One ABLE to save Him...”

We prayer to One who is able.

Our faith roots

Our faith is not based on our ability to articulate our prayers well

Our faith is not based on how good or bad we have been lately

Former co-worker “I am not holy enough to pray”

Our faith is not based on how much we have been praying, reading the Bible, going to church, etc.

Our faith is not in our ability to make a good bargain with God.

Our faith is based on Christ, who shed His blood on the cross for us, that we might draw near to the one who is able to answer our prayers.

God wants to answer our prayers

Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Isaiah 55:1–3 ““Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost. “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance. “Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, According to the faithful mercies shown to David.”

Philippians 4:6 “…with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Our attitude

Thanksgiving

Not whining

Not demanding

This does not mean happy and carefree

Look at Christ in Gathsemene

Thankful even in distressing times

Notice these are requests, not demands

We can request things from God.

Spiritual things

Physical things

Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

One direct benefit of prayer and one reason it is a means of grace is listed here: “The peace of God which surpassess all comprehension will gaurd your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Peace - calm, assurance directly derived from presenting your requests to God with thanksgiving.

The power of faith in Christ

The kindness of God

Surpasses all comprehension -

The times when the world and the flesh say you should be falling apart with stress and anxiety, you are calm and at ease. Why? Because you have cast your burdens on the One who cares for you.

Guard your hearts and minds

Guard it from what?

1 Peter 5:8–9 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”

How do we resist him? Prayer! God guards our hearts and minds when we bring Him our requesets and desires.

Conclusion

Prayer is a means of grace because it is God giving us direct access to Him at any time to help us in our time of need.

When we turn to God in prayer, we are actively putting our faith in Him and in His ability to answer prayer.

Prayer is not a two-way street. God does not talk directly back to us in our minds, but He does speak directly to us in His word. Pray and read the Bible and pray throught the Bible. This is how we grow in understanding of who God is and what He has done.

“When the soul thus draws near to God, God draws near to it, manifests his glory, sheds abroad his love, and imparts that peace which passes all understanding” (Hodge).

God chose to give us prayer and impart to us a special grace when we seek Him earnestly. Church, go to your Father, depend on Him, and trust that He is able to not only do what you ask, but far beyond what you could ever ask or imagine in accordance with His holy will.