Praying with the Right Mindset

Prayer, as described by the Puritan Samuel Rutherford, is like Jesus, calling to His church.

“Surely it cannot be long till day. Nay, hear Him say, ‘Behold I come, my dear Bride; think it not long. I shall be to you at once. I hear you and am coming.”’

To which our hearts respond:

“Amen; even so come, Lord Jesus, come quickly, for the prisoners of hope are looking out of the prison windows, to see if they can behold the King’s ambassador coming with the King’s warrant and the keys.”

Our prayers need that holy desperation, as if Jesus is coming quickly to release us from this prison.

Prayer is a popular subject. It is something that is common to most people, though the practice of it varies among many.

Some are comfortable with spending time in prayer. Others find it challenging to fit it in their day.

For instance, the Barna Group found that...

“Prayer is by far the most common spiritual practice among Americans. But people pray mostly alone- it is a solitary activity defined primarily by the immediate needs and concerns of the individual. Corporate prayer and corporate needs are less compelling drivers in people’s prayer lives.” (Miller, A Praying Church, 13).

Some don’t think anything about praying in front of others. Then there are those of us who would rather go to the dentist than pray in public.

What I would like to address today in this first installment in our series on the Lord’s Prayer.

Out of His love for us, Jesus taught us to pray. And the gospel enlightens prayer. The action of communicating with God, thanking Him for what He has done for us in Christ and petitioning his help for the present and future reflects a posture of dependence.

Soon, we’ll be starting a common curriculum, based on Paul Miller’s book A Praying Church. Paul is a graduate of the former Biblical Seminary in Hatfield and his father was a church planter in our area.

Miller states that there is a prayer problem in the church. We do not do it together, enough.

Miller states:

“In our prayer seminars, we ask several confidential questions about a participant’s prayer life. In hundreds of seminars, we’ve found that about 15 percent of Christians in a typical church have a rich prayer life. So when someone says, ‘I’ll keep you in my prayers,’ 85 percent of the time, it is just words. This isn’t a pastor problem; it’s a follower-of-Jesus problem.” (Miller, 14)

Maybe it is because we are slaves to convenience. When the Wednesday night prayer meeting used to be the driving force of everything a typical church did, now it is a distant memory. People don’t come to a corporate prayer meeting because of several reasons, some of which have been recorded by Miller’s surveys: It’s boring; I’m too busy; It’s depressing are just a few.

In other countries on the continents of Africa and Asia, prayer is at the very heart of what they do. Christians in Uganda pray all night once per month, in addition to regular prayer meetings. My mother-in-law’s church in Kansas City, a Korean Church, holds a 5:30 AM zoom prayer meeting every weekday morning for all interested. About 30 attend.

There is no greater prayer in all of the Bible than “The Lord’s Prayer.” And that is saying a lot.

There are many dynamic prayers in Scripture.

Abraham’s prayer for Sodom in Genesis 18;

David’s prayer for forgiveness in Psalm 51;

Solomon’s prayer for wisdom in 2 Chronicles 1:7

Or his dedication of the temple in 1 Kings 8:22;

Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9:4;

Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17;

Peter’s prayer in Acts 4:24;

and the list could go on.

But no doubt the Lord’s Prayer of Matthew 6 and Luke 11 is the most dynamic, for it comes from our Lord and Savior to His disciples, teaching them how they ought to pray.

But first, it is noteworthy that Jesus teaches them how not to pray. And we must take notice because we can assume we know how, when in reality, we must always learn and be reminded. First…

Prayer is not for pretentious display, as if God must be impressed along with others.

Matthew 6:5–6 (ESV)

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.

Unlike those who say that spirituality is whatever you want it to be, Jesus faithfully teaches us how to pray by first zeroing in on how not to pray.

The word for hypocrite here is ὑποκριτής, which means: ‘play-actor, role-player’; it is synonomous with actor, in the sense pretender, dissembler. (William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 1038.)

By hypocrites here, Jesus is speaking of a broad group, but certainly some of the religious rulers. These prayed in order to be seen and heard by others. This took place in the center of religious community and education, known as the synagogue.

The synagogue was similar to a local church, and most likely its predecessor as each community had one where religious instruction took place, like the reading of Scripture, etc. These were spiritual outposts while the Israelites were in exile and afterwards. They became the hub of Jewish faith practices.

And there were times that public prayers were made. Jesus is not criticizing the type of prayer that is offered at events, but rather the goal of those who pray is to be seen and heard by many. D.A. Carson states that this is a test of motives.

“The person who prays more in public than in private reveals that he is less interested in God’s approval than in human praise.” (Carson, 165)

In contrast, prayers made in secret to a Father who hears in secret, will be rewarded.

This encouragement to pray reminds you that God loves to hear your voice. Just as a mother responds to her baby’s cry, so God is ever-attentive when you speak His name and bear your heart to Him.

You and I need the prayer closet. But we also need to come together as the church and pray. It blesses our God when we express that we cannot manage life without Him!

Prayer is not repetitive babbling as if God must hear your nervous energy, but rather intentional communication.

Matthew 6:7–8 ESV

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.

Some religions use the method of repetitious speech. The Hari Krishnas do something similar to this, thinking that they will be purified, liberated and receive peace because of their ramblings. The prophets of Baal in the days of Elijah felt that their god would hear them for their endless babbling in 1 Kings 18.

I had a friend that could not understand why God would not answer his prayer, even though he made it several times a day. But we must remember that God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. It could be that something better is in store. He reserves that right!

Let us never forget that we are praying to a person: with a mind, will and emotions. We pray to the Father, in the name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. And we always pray with an allowance of God’s way and God’s will.

One commentator states:

“The prohibition (against using vain repetitions) does not contradict the principle that one should keep asking God for what is believed to be His will, but corrects the idea that God is impressed with quantity of words.” (The New Geneva Study Bible, 1513).

In the parable of the unjust judge, the widow was persistent until she got her way. In contrast, God gives us what we need out of His fatherly love, but wants us to be determined, as it fits within his will. Luke 18:7-8

Luke 18:7–8 ESV

7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

The amount of words is irrelevant. Every time you pray, God is not looking for a 5,000 word essay. Rather, Jesus outlines a simple and direct prayer that consists of adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication.

Paul Miller is a great advocate of corporate prayer and spends 90 minutes most mornings praying with others. He says:

“I do these morning prayer times not from discipline but from learned desperation. I am constant in corporate prayer because the Jesus communities I’m in are constant in need. I have no interest in doing anything that hasn’t been prayed for and prayed over. What I pray over lasts, and what I don’t pray over doesn’t last.” (Miller, 7)

I wonder what we would see as a church if we banded together in prayer.

Some of the things that we pray for in our Tuesday noon prayer time over zoom are the following:

Our families;

New believers at Central;

The work of our boards and overall ministry of Central Church;

adversities in the lives of our church members and people we know;

For each other;

National news;

International news.

Our pastors.

You are certainly welcome to join us. Prayer should season everything we do here.

I would also say that we are headed for a time that only those who pray will remain faithful to the Lord. I would say that we’re heading to a time when it will become increasingly inconvenient to be a genuine Christian in this country.

You say: “How do you know this, Pastor David?” It is because it is happening elsewhere. You have heard this directly from Andrew Brunson. You read about it monthly from “Voice of the Martyrs.”

One woman, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, saw Islamic militants raid her village, kill and burn many, young and old. She lives in fear. She said:

“Pray that we will be able to forgive, and that faith will come, and that we won’t have to worry about something like that happening again.” (“Returning to Tchabi,” Voice of the Martyrs, September 2024, 7).

Conclusion

Charles Spurgeon was one of the greatest preachers ever. His sermons are published more than any other preacher ever. He owed the faithful prayers of his mother as that which God used to bring him to faith. He said:

“I cannot tell how much I owe to the prayers of my good mother...I remember her once praying, "Now Lord, if my children go on in sin it will not be from ignorance that they perish, and my soul must bear swift witness against them at the day of judgment if they lay not hold on Christ and claim Him as their personal Savior.”

So let us renew our desire to pray and to pray together. "Travel on your knees” as Sandra Goodwin says.

Travel On Your Knees

Last night I took a journey To a land far "cross the seas; I didn't go by boat or plane, I trusted on my knees.

I saw so many people there In deepest depths of sin, And Jesus told me I should go That there were souls to win.

But I said, "Jesus, I can't go And work with such as these.' He answered quickly, "Yes, you can By traveling on your knees.'

He said, "You pray; I'll meet the need, You call and I will hear; Be concerned about lost souls, Of those both far and near.'

And so I tried it, knelt in prayer, Gave up some hours of ease; I felt the Lord right by my side While traveling on my knees.

As I prayed on and saw souls saved And twisted bodies healed, And saw God's workers strength renewed While laboring on the field.

I said, "Yes, Lord, I have a job My desire Thy will to please; I can go and heed Thy call By traveling on my knees.' -Sandra Goodwin