THE DISCIPLINE OF PRAYER

-{Luke 5}

-During our Wednesday evening discipleship we have been talking about the spiritual disciplines. Spiritual disciplines are those spiritual exercises that helps us mature and grow into the holiness and godliness of Christ. We have spent several weeks talking about the important discipline of getting into God’s Word; and not just skimming it on the surface level but digging deep into it through study and meditation and memorization.

-Tonight I want to start talking about the discipline of prayer—spending time with God, communicating with God. Prayer is much more than offering our grocery lists of needs. So, we want to touch upon this important discipline. And it must be important if it is mentioned so much within Scripture. The terms pray or prayer are found at least 13 times in Mark, 17 times in Matthew, 21 times in Luke, 25 times in Acts, and 46 times in Paul’s epistles.

-But if you want to consider it’s importance, consider that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Himself practiced prayer. I want you to look at what Luke says:

Luke 5:15–16 LSB

15 But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But He Himself would often slip away to the desolate regions and pray.

-So often we say that we don’t pray (or any of the other spiritual disciplines) because we are too busy. But think of how busy Jesus was. He was constantly being bugged by people to do something for them. Large crowds kept looking for Him and finding Him and asking something of Him. Yet, what does it say—He would slip away to some place desolate, secluded, so that He could pray and commune with His Father in heaven. I mean Jesus—the Messiah—God the Son, in His humanity knew of the need to spend isolated time with the Father. If He needed it, how much more do we?

-Prayer is something expected of Christ’s followers. If you remember, when Jesus taught what we call the Lord’s Prayer He started by saying WHEN YOU PRAY. He doesn’t say IF you PRAY or WHEN YOU GET AROUND TO PRAYER, but WHEN. Paul tells us in Colossians 4:2 DEVOTE YOURSELVES TO PRAYER. And in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 PRAY CONTINUALLY.

During World War II, a group of soldiers faced overwhelming odds in a battle. They gathered together, not just for strategy, but also to pray. Amidst the chaos and fear, they felt a surge of strength and courage, believing that God was with them. Against all expectations, they emerged victorious. This story reminds us that prayer isn’t just a last resort.

-So, tonight as we do a general overview of prayer, I want to first consider the purpose of prayer. It obviously has much more than one purpose.

-First, prayer has the purpose of praising God—giving Him adoration. Consider David’s prayer:

1 Chronicles 29:10–13 LSB

10 So David blessed Yahweh in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, O Yahweh, the God of Israel our father, from everlasting to everlasting. 11 “Yours, O Yahweh, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the kingdom, O Yahweh, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. 12 “Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. 13 “So now, our God, we are thanking You and praising Your glorious name.

-Another purpose is to pray that God’s will would be done. Jesus Himself prayed this:

Matthew 26:39 LSB

39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”

-There is also the purpose of praying for our needs, for example for bodily health:

3 John 2 LSB

2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

-We also use prayer as a time of confession our sins, where we are reminded:

1 John 1:9 LSB

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

-We also come to God in prayer for God’s providential care in various areas of our life—for example, to direct our path according to His will. Paul recognized this:

Romans 1:9–10 LSB

9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how without ceasing I make mention of you, 10 always in my prayers earnestly asking, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.

-Prayer is also a time to express our thanksgiving to God for His many blessings, as Paul stated:

1 Thessalonians 5:17–18 LSB

17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

-Prayer is also a time to find the peace of God in the midst of our worries and anxieties, as Paul reminded us:

Philippians 4:6–7 LSB

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

-Along with that, it is in prayer where we can find strength and boldness from God.

Ephesians 3:14–16 LSB

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that He would give you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,

-We pray that God would give us opportunity to serve Him:

Colossians 4:3 LSB

3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been bound,

-We pray because we need wisdom from God on how to live in ways that are pleasing to Him in the midst of a chaotic world:

James 1:5–8 LSB

5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith, doubting nothing, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

-We also pray for the needs of others, lifting them and their needs up before the Lord:

James 5:14–16 LSB

14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

-The Bible lists many other purposes of prayer, but I think you get the idea. We have no lack of reasons to pray because there are so many purposes behind prayer. But I want to also do an overview of some of the practices of prayer. What do we need to know about how we might practice this important discipline.

-First, while there is a place for corporate prayer (which is something we’ll talk about) there is also a great importance and emphasis on our own personal prayer. And the personal prayers that we do are to be between us and God—in secret. The importance of this is so that we are not hypocritical in our prayer, doing so in front of other people so that we look all holy and spiritual. This was Jesus’ point in the Sermon on the Mount when He said:

Matthew 6:5–6 LSB

5 “And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

-But this secret prayer is also important so that you can get away from distractions:

Mark 1:35 LSB

35 And in the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus rose up, went out of the house, and went away to a desolate place, and was praying there.

-Jesus also emphasized that prayers can be simple—don’t think that you have to come up with some fancy words in order to impress God (or anybody else). Say what’s on your heart in your language. Again, Jesus told us:

Matthew 6:7–8 LSB

7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 “Therefore, do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

-And just to note, when Jesus is talking about meaningless repetition, He isn’t taking away from persistence in prayer, but He is saying don’t use the same words over and over again like they are some sort of mantra. Rather, Jesus very much also teaches us to be steadfast in prayer:

Luke 18:1–8 LSB

1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2 saying, “In a certain city there was a certain judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3 “Now there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice from my opponent.’ 4 “And for a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow is bothering me, I will give her justice, lest by continually coming she wears me out.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 “Now, will God not bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find that faith on the earth?”

-So, to give us some encouragement in the practice of prayer, consider the prayer practice of godly people in the Bible who were used by God. If we want to be used of God, we pray consistently like them. Consider David, a man after God’s own heart, and how he describes his prayer life:

Psalm 55:17 LSB

17 Evening and morning and at noon, I will bring my complaint and moan, And He will hear my voice.

-Or think of the prophet Daniel and how he prayed to God three times a day:

Daniel 6:10 LSB

10 Now when Daniel knew that the written 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.

-Anna the prophetess served God constantly through prayer:

Luke 2:36–37 LSB

36 And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.

-Epaphras labored fervently in prayers for his church:

Colossians 4:12 LSB

12 Epaphras, who is one of your number, a slave of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings, always striving for you in his prayers, that you may stand complete and fully assured in all the will of God.

-The discipline of prayer is so important to our Christian faith, Christian walk, and Holy Spirit power. As the cliche goes: “Seven days without prayer makes one weak.” So let’s commit ourselves it. And let’s put it into practice now...