The Dialogue of Prayer

Introduction

Tonight I am going to keep this short since we had the camper testimonies and the video, but I want to share a study with you on a practice in prayer that I think many of us have never thought about. Tonight, I am going to talk about the dialogue of prayer; but before we get into the message let’s remind ourselves of the purpose of this series:

What have we been discussing for the past seven months? habits of grace, spiritual disciplines

What is it that we are seeking in practicing these habits of grace? a fresh outpouring of grace

What graces do we receive from God’s word?

strength

comfort

guidance

wisdom

intimacy

What graces do we receive in prayer?

intimacy

help in time of need

comfort

guidance

forgiveness

i don’t want us to forget what it is we are talking about. You might think you have all these things down so you tune out when I preach on these topics. But as we seek a fresh outpouring of God’s grace, we should ask ourselves what is missing if we aren’t receiving it. Tonights discussion is not about something that is commanded, nor is it directly taught on in scripture; however, we see it in the practice of godly men in the bible. It makes sense if we want to have the kind of relationship with God that these men had then maybe we ought to consider practicing what they practiced in their spiritual disciplines. The same lessons can be gleaned from godly Christian men of the past.

Paul said in Philippians 4:9 “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”

The Biblical Basis

In David

Psalm 50:7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.”

Notice how this psalm progresses. In vs 7, God speaks and addresses the people of Israel. In this verse he reveals two truths to his people. Just to make this clear, this is God’s word to the them at that moment:

a. I am God- God declares that he is the supernatural ruler over all creation. This is the same name that God used for himself when he created the world. This is the same name he used with Abraham when asking him is anything too hard for me.

b. I am thy God- But he is also the God that has a personal relationship with his people. This is what I want from God’s word. I want a God whom I can have a personal relationship with. It isn’t enough that dead men 2-3 thousand years ago had a relationship with this God. He is my God and I want to know Him. This is how God reveals himself in his word in this passage. But notice the expected responce:

Psalm 50:14–15 “Offer unto God thanksgiving; And pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”

Because God is our God, we are to:

give thanks

pay our vows (service)

call on him (prayer)

Because he will deliver us and we will see his glory in that moment. But notice here how prayer is a response to God speaking.

In Daniel

We see this exemplified also in Daniel. In Daniel 9, we have the prophecy of the seventy weeks which laid out the exact timing of the coming of the Messiah and prophecies the future tribulation. But how did all this begin.

God showed Daniel something in his word.

Daniel 9:2–4 “In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

Daniel was spending time practicing a spiritual discipline of reading the word. He understood as he read in the books. From there he responded in prayer to God because of what he had read. You must remember, they were in Jerusalem because of the nations sin. Daniel says he made his confession. Often you will find confession for the sins of your nation on the lips of the men of the bible. So his prayer is a response to what he read about judgment and how long it would be.

And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;”

This is the truth that I am trying to show you here: God speaks first, we respond. God initiates and we reciprocate.

“God and the praying man take shares”- CH Spurgeon

Have one of the teens come up the platform and model what most of our prayer lives is like.

We have seen biblical examples of this practice; let’s turn to the theological basis for the practice.

The Theological Basis

This practice is based on two theological premises: illumination and man’s response in worship.

Illumination

Spurgeon describes the work of illumination thus:

God, by His Spirit, brings old truth home to the heart, gives new light to our eyes, and causes the Word to exercise new power over us.

Psalm 119:18 “Open thou mine eyes, That I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”

Psalm 119:73 “JOD. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: Give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.”

Ephesians 1:17–18 “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,”

Do any of you have an illuminated Bible? "No," says one, "I have a morocco Bible,” or “I have a marginal reference Bible." Ah! that is all very well, but have you an illuminated Bible? "Yes, I have a large family Bible with pictures in it." Yes, but have you an illuminated Bible? "I don't understand what you mean by an illuminated Bible." Well, it is the Christian man who has an illuminated Bible. He does not buy it illuminated originally, but when he reads it – “A glory gilds the sacred page, Majestic like the sun, Which gives a light to every page, It gives, but burrows (hides) none.” “There is nothing like reading an illuminated Bible, beloved. You may read to all eternity, and never learn anything by it, unless it is illuminated by the Spirit; and then the words shine forth like stars. The book seems made of gold leaf; every single letter glitters like a diamond. Oh! it is a blessed thing to read an illuminated Bible lit up by the radiance of the Holy Spirit. Hast thou read the Bible and studied it, my brother, and yet have thine eyes been unenlightened? Go and say, “O Lord, gild (overlay with gold) the Bible for me. I want an expounded Bible. Illuminate it; shine upon it; for I cannot read it to profit, unless Thou enlighten me.”

This is what we are looking for in the reading of God’s word. Not merely intellectual facts or a greater understanding of dry dead truths that impact no one. We are looking for heart and mind to be impressed with the magnitude of God’s word. For him to open our eyes to see what he has for us. It isn’t new truth he reveals; it is new to us truth maybe fore sure, but it is new eyes that he gives.

Response in Worship

1 John 4:19 “We love him, because he first loved us.”

Worship at its core is a response to seeing some value and worth in God.

Psalm 100:1–5 “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: Come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, And into his courts with praise: Be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; And his truth endureth to all generations.”

Hebrews 12:28 “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:”

Wherefore here means for this reason or Since.Since we receive a kingdom which cannot be destroyed, let’s serve God now by God’s grace (you see how grace is necessary for more things in life) even in spite of coming persecution. These things are all responses to God and his truth. Worship is a response. Can I challenge you with something? Everytime the word is preached, you should have some response. Maybe it isn’t confession because you haven’t sinned. Maybe it is soberness about what God expects. Maybe it is praise for what God has done in your life in this area. Maybe it is determination that I am not going to go that direction. Maybe its dedication to serve. If you haven’t responded can you truly say you have worshiped?

Isaiah 29:13 “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, And with their lips do honour me, But have removed their heart far from me, And their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:”

This practice is intended to eliminate the tendency to jut perform certain acts or worship. It combines heart and mouth together. As God illumines his word, we respond to the truth with our prayers. This keeps prayer as fresh as the grace God provides in his word.

The Practice of Dialogue in Prayer

I always start my devotional time with a brief prayer that God would open my eyes to see wondrous things in his word. “Have you ever wondered maybe why you don’t find anything in his word? Maybe it is because you haven’t asked. Jesus said “ye have not because ye ask not”

Then I spend time reading the word. I take a smaller portion than most usually a chapter a day, but I read it twice looking for something that impresses on my heart, that God is drawing my attention to.

Then I spend time meditating on God’s word. For me that usually means journalling about what I read and how it applies to my life.

Then I begin my prayer praying about what it was that God showed me in his word.

What questions did I have that I don’t understand? Ask for answers and help finding them.

Did God convict you of some sin or error in your life? Ask his forgiveness and strength to put off these sinful or distracting elements of your life.

Did God encourage you about something? Talk to him about how it encouraged you and why you needed that encouragement.

If you are reading a lament, express to God your own lament about things in your life. If you are struggling to believe the truth the passage says about God, talk to him about it.

Did God challenge you with a command to obey? Ask him for strength to obey and opportunities to put what he showed you into practice.

Was there some beauty in God that saw? Spend some time worshipping him for that truth about him. If you struggle to see it in your life, think about and ask God to show you his goodness in your life.

As you read did God bring to mind a blessing in your life that you want to praise God for. Spend some time praising him.

Conclusion

As I said, this one of the spiritual disciplines is not a “Thus saith the Lord” thing; but it is a good, biblical practice to implement in our lives. Tonight, let’s close our service with the song Open my eyes Lord. Let that be your prayer during this invitation. If the Lord has specifically spoken to you about something tonight, please come forward and deal with him.