Victory in Prayer

Many wonder why prayers are not answered. Many just do not experience victory in their prayer life. It would probably benefit us to discover how we should pray.

Adrian Rogers said this:

“The man who can pray correctly can do anything, for prayer can do anything that God can do, and God can do anything.”

What you and I need desperately is to link our daily lives with the omnipotent, omniscient God, and that happens when we pray victoriously.

The Bible says this, and I am going to read from the ESV tonight for those recently saved and for the kiddos.

James 4:1–2 “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.”

John 16:22–23 “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.”

John 16:24 “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Both Jesus and James tell us that we have not because we ask not. As we conclude our study in James, let’s see if we can determine how to pray in victory from victory.

1. The Presumption of “Unoffered” Prayer.

James 4:2 “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.”

God wants to bless us. God wants to give us what we need, but we are so proud and self-sufficient that we go about and do everything in our own strength.

As a result, among us, according to James in verse 1, there is fighting, quarreling, scheming, planning, hating, and conniving in an effort to get the things we need. Do you know the #1 problem in the United States of America?

Our #1 problem is a lack of victorious prayer. It is the American way to be self-sufficient, but God wants us to come to Him and rely on Him instead of relying upon ourselves.

God wants to bless us, and those blessing come through prayer. God will not move until you pray. Prayer is our line of communication to our Father. Prayer links us to our Father’s incredible love, mercy, riches, and grace.

Sometimes, we strive, fight, cry, war, and struggle. We say, “I am doing all I can.” Could it be that our struggles come up short because we have not linked our lives to God through prayer? You struggle, and GOd is saying you have not because you ask not.

Did you know that not praying is a sin?

1 Samuel 12:23 “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.”

Did you know sin in your life could have been prevented by prayer?

Mark 14:38 “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.””

Do you remember this verse?

Revelation 21:4 “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.””

We know this is describing a time in the future, but can I take a little liberty here for just a minute?

Can you imagine the tears you and I are going to shed at the Judgment Seat of Christ? I have a feeling that we will weep uncontrollably setting the scene for God wiping our tears away forever. Let me show you what I mean by using Mitzie as an example.

We get to the JSOC, and God says to Mitzie, “Come over here, I want to show you something.” Mitzie walks over, and God shows her a door. Above the door is a sign that says God's storehouse of blessings.

God tells MItzie to open the door with her name on it. Mitzie opens the door and sees all kinds of blessings that had her name on them, and God tells her this:

“Mitzie, these are the blessings I wanted you to have on earth, but I could not give them to you because you did not ask. Mitzie, you were too busy trying to get these blessings on your own. All you had to do was ask.” Mitzie sees what could have been, and she begins to weep uncontrollably, but soon those tears vanish forever as God wipes away all the former things.

Dear friend, we have not because we ask not. When I used to raise money for my high school baseball team, I used to go by the motto that you never know until you ask. Should that not be our mindset as we approach the throne of God?

2. The Problem of Unacceptable Prayer.

Did you know that God does not always accept our prayers?

On occasion, God closes his ears to our prayers.

James 4:3–4 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

Sometimes, our prayers disappear as soon as they leave our lips.

Why? Because those prayers are offered wrongly. They are offered for the wrong reasons and motivation. In effect, James is saying that Christians sacrifice the answer to their prayers on the altar of their lusts. What we pray sometimes glorifies self and not God.

Look at verse 4 closely.

James 4:4 “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

What is James saying?

When you and I were saved, we were born again, and we became part of the bride of Christ.

All brides should be pure and give herself only to her husband. In the same way, the church should belong to Jesus Christ and Him only.

2 Corinthians 11:2 “For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.”

We belong to the Lord alone when we get saved, but suddenly, a new suitor comes along. The new suitor is the world, and the world schemes to lure us from our bridegroom, Jesus Christ.

What the world targets is our old nature because the world knows it cannot sway the Spirit, and when we turn from Jesus and follow our new suitor, we become adulterers.

Do you remember what Jesus said about it?

Matthew 6:24 ““No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

You cannot serve the world and Christ, and many times we try to pray while we are serving the world, and those prayers simply are not accepted.

Did you know that we even pray for things that enable us to commit spiritual adultery with the world, and God will not allow it or answer it?

Too many prayers are not focused on the glory of God. Too many of our prayers are selfish, worldly, and ungodly, and God will not answer those prayers.

3. The Principles of Undeniable Prayer.

By undeniable prayer, I mean prayer that God will answer. It is victorious prayer. How many of you want to have a victorious prayer life? If you want to pray in victory, there are 5 principles to consider.

A. You must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

James 4:5 “Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?”

Who is the Spirit that dwells in us? It is the Holy Spirit, and the Bible says He yearns jealousy over us.

The Holy Spirit has some very strong desires in our lives. He is very jealous. The Holy Spirit in you is jealous for the cause of Christ in your life. The Holy Spirit yearns jealously for your heart to be devoted entirely to Christ.

If you are going to have victory in Christ, you must be totally devoted to Christ. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit will let you know when you are not totally devoted to Christ, and He leaves it up to you to repair that relationship.

Throughout the Bible, we are told of God’s jealousy.

Matthew 22:36–37 ““Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

Can I ask you a logical question? If you are loving God with all your heart, will there be any room for the world in your heart?

God does not demand prominence in your life. God demands preeminence. If you want victory in prayer, God must be preeminent, and if He is not, the Holy Spirit will let you know if you are sensitive to what He is saying.

B. You must be submissive to the Father.

James 4:6–7 “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

The key to victorious prayer is this.

We must not pray trying to bend God’s will to our will. Prayer is finding the will of God.

Luke 11:2 “And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.”

Do you know when mankind got in trouble?

Do you know when mankind got in trouble?,Eden when Adam acted in his own will instead of God’s will, but the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, did not repeat the choice that the First Adam made.

Luke 22:42 “saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.””

Dear friend, I want you to know that the prayer of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane is one of the most victorious prayers ever offered because it was totally a prayer offered in God’s will. If we come to God submissively, God will answer our prayers, and that is victorious prayer.

How submissive are you to God’s will? Are you completely submissive or partially submissive? I am telling you that is a trick question because no person can be partially submissive to God. You are either submissive, or you are not. There is no middle ground.

Do you know what the Bible says about the prayer of a completely submissive Christian?

1 John 5:14 “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”

Do you see what that verse says? If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

Isaiah 59:1–2 “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 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.”

Whether we believe it or not, our pride, arrogance, and haughtiness prevent us from being submissive, and as a result, we are not submissive to the Father and do not pray victoriously.

C. You must stand against the Devil.

James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Have you ever thought about the Devil fleeing from you? To most of us that sounds ridiculous. The best most of us hope for is for that joker to leave us alone, but the Bible says we have authority over the Devil. Did you know that?

Luke 10:19 “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.”

1 John 4:4 “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

When you and I pray, we are entering into warfare with the Devil. As a matter of fact, the prayer is the warfare.

Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

Daniel 10:12–14 “Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.

The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.””

When we pray, we are going into the battle against a sinister enemy seeking to destroy us, and it is serious warfare. I wished I had time to completely tell you what it means, but I can tell you that God is sovereign, and God wants you to win the war through prayer, and you better believe the Devil understands that.

The Devil absolutely hates when a Christian prays, and he will everything in his power to keep you from praying, and everything in his power to keep those prayers from being answered, but he cannot keep your prayers from being answered which is why he does all he can to keep you from praying.

The Devil knows what Jesus said. He knows that every true believer has authority over him.

The Devil will throw the kitchen sink at you to keep you from claiming your authority over him, but here is the amazing thing.

When you are submissive to God and jealous for the cause of Christ, you can tell the Devil to flee, and he will because of your authority over him. If that is the case, and it is, why do so many of us live in fear over what the Devil might throw at us? He attacks us when we are vulnerable. He has no hope launching an attack against a Christian that is Spirit-filled and submissive.

D. You must separate from the world.

James 4:8 “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

You cannot resist the Devil if you are not separated from the world, and the perfect biblical example is Lot.

Lot was not destroyed with Sodom, but he lost all authority over the devil, and more importantly he lost his witness which led to most of his family being judged.

Lot was absorbed into the society of Sodom. He was not separated. His witness was destroyed, and his prayer life was nonexistent.

Can I ask you a question?

Are you separated from the world, or has the world absorbed you?

2 Corinthians 6:17–18 “Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.””

One of the big problems in the world today is that too many Christians are double-minded. Too many of us try to serve two masters. We try to serve the world and the Father, and God will have none of that.

We cannot come to God with divided hearts, but praise God, He tells us in His Word what we need to do if we want have authority over the Devil and victory in prayer.

The Bible says that we are to cleanse and purify our hearts in order to pray victoriously.

How do we do that?

Well, there are two passages that we should link together.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Hebrews 4:14–16 “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

1 John 1:9 tells us how to cleanse ourselves, and Hebrews 4:14-16 tells us that we have a high priest in Jesus Christ who purifies us. It is absolutely incredible.

Dear friend, God did not save us and pour His Son’s blood out on this earth to have us serve the Devil, and He has incredible system of “checks and balances” in place to insure that we live in the power, victory, and authority that He intends for us to have.

You and I must be separated from the world. Lack of separation could very well be the reason that you are not praying victoriously.

Psalm 66:18 “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”

This is just a simple but deep verse.

If I have sin in my heart, if I hold a grudge, if I am resentful, I have cherished sin in my heart, and the Lord will not listen to my prayer.

E. You must be serious in your purpose.

James 4:9–10 “Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

Our prayers are to be fervent and unrelenting, and we are to approach the throne of grace reverently.

Daniel 10:1–2 “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision. In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks.”

Daniel 10:3–4 “I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris)”

Daniel was fervent and reverent. I guarantee you tears were shed. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ shed great tears as He prayed fervently. In the Old Testament, King Hezekiah was about to die, and he prayed fervently and God answered.

2 Kings 20:5 ““Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord,”

When was the last time you missed a meal to pray? When was the last time you shed tears while you prayed? When was the last time you prayed all night?

Dear friend, it is time for us to get serious about prayer. It is our greatest defense. It is time for us to enjoy the blessings God has for us by living victoriously through prayer.