The General Epistles, James 4
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Pointers on Prayer, James 4:1-10)
Pointers on Prayer, James 4:1-10)
Introduction: A fisherman...was once at sea...with his godless companions...
when a storm came up and threatened to sink their ship.
His friends begged him to pray;
but he said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve done that
or even entered a church.”
But....at their insistence, however, he finally cried out,
“O Lord, I haven’t asked anything of You in 15 years,
and if You help us now and bring us safely to land,
I promise I won’t bother You again for another 15!”
And unfortunately,
many people view prayer as an escape mechanism
rather than a constant line of communication with God.
And what they need is...some pointers...on prayer
And with that in mind
Open your Bibles, to the Book of James, once again
James, the 4th chapter
in James 4) the Bible says
beginning in verse 1 (James 4:1-10
From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Lets go to the Lord
in prayer
(Pray)
I. Avoid forsaken praying
Declaration
Now
We’ve been studying
The general epistles
For a number of weeks
On Sunday evenings
And
You will remember
We said that the New Testament
Has been divided
Into several sections
There are
The Gospels
Consisting of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
There is
the Acts
Of the New Testament church
There is the Pauline epistles
Consisting
Of Romans
1-2 Corinthians
Galatians and Ephesians
Philippians, Colossians
1-2 Thessalonians
1-2 Timothy
Titus and Philemon
. and the book of Hebrews
There is
Likewise that General Epistles
Beginning in the book of James
All going the way
to the book of Jude
And
The last section
Which we just started studying this morning
Is the book of the Revelation
But
As we study this book
The book of James
Here in the General Epistles
God
Has taught us a number of lessons
Thus far
We first of all learned
God’s purpose for trials
See
Trials are a part of life
and there are various
Kinds of trials that we face
But
James said
(James 1:2
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
And
the Word Temptations there
is describing trials
that we all face
from time to time
but
he said
in verses 3 – 4
(James 1:3-4
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
And
What he was saying was
We can be joyful
In the presence of trials
Because we know that God is trying
To make us better
Then
From verse 5 we learned
Of the importance of wisdom
James said (James 1:5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
And
In verse 12
We talked about temptation
(James 1:12
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Blessed is the man
Who is Able to persevere
In times of temptation
who can remain faithful
despite temptations
As
We turned the page
To chapter 2
James instructed us
About the folly of favoritism
(James 2:1
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
And
In the latter part of chapter 2
We found that faith
Without works is dead
And what that means is
True Bible faith will work
It will labor for God
Then
Two weeks ago
We talked about using our tongue for God
In the first part of chapter 3
And although
We didn’t talk about this
The latter part of chapter 3
Speaks of wisdom once again
In fact read with me James 3:13 – 18) It says
Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
Discussion
But this evening
As we continue our study
In the General Epistles
And particularly
In the book of James
James
Provides us as New Testament Christians
With some pointers
On prayer
Now God
wants us as believers
To pray to Him
In fact, The apostle Paul wrote
In 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Pray without ceasing.
And
The Lord Jesus said
In Luke 18:1
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
And
Because our Lord wants us
To pray
He then
Through brother James
Provides us with some pointers
With regards to prayer
and
Of all the things a believer can learn
to do in this life,
the most important thing
is to learn to pray!
As a matter of fact
One day, the disciples came to Jesus
and asked Him for some instruction.
They did not ask Him how to heal the sick.
They did not inquire about how to raise the dead.
They were not interested in Jesus’ secret
for walking on the water,
or in His recipe for multiplying the loaves and the fishes.
no
When they came to Jesus,
they asked for a very simple,
elementary thing.
In fact
Look at Luke 11:1.
They said,
“Lord, teach us to pray.”
Because see
These men knew that prayer
was central to everything else
in their relationship
with God.
so
They wanted to have a prayer life
like the one
they saw in Jesus!
And by the way
Jesus had a great prayer life
For example
The Bible says in Mark 1:35
And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
Then again
In John 11)
And in verse 22
Jesus was praying and said (John 11:22
But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
In the gospel of Matthew
And in chapter 26:36
The Bible says about Jesus (Matthew 26:36
Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
In
The gospel of Luke
Chapter 5:16
The Bible says of Jesus that
(Luke 5:16
And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.
And
On and on we could go
But my point is
The disciples wanted to have a prayer life
Like the Lord Jesus
So they asked Him
To teach them to pray
They
In effect wanted to have pointers
On prayer
So
In our text tonight
In James 4)
Once again
the Lord provides us too
With some pointers on prayer
And
Notice the first 3 versus
Here in James 4)
James,
speaking to the 12 tribes
The 12
Jewish tribes
of Christians
He said (James 4: 1 – 3
From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Deliberation
so
for the next few minutes
Let me share with you
Three pointers on prayer
And
Pointer 1
is...........
Avoid forsaken prayer
See
The truth is
If we’re not careful as Christians
Life
Can get in the way
And when it does
In order to obtain
The things that we need
We can do everything
To obtain those things
But pray
Am I right
And notice verses 1-2 Again
Here in chapter 4
James said (James 4: 1-2
From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
now
Here in this chapter
James was talking to a people
a group of Jewish Christians
They were a group of people
who were going after life.
They were trying
to get everything they could
by any means
they could
They fight,
they scheme,
they plan,
they kill If necessary
, they work,
Why
they Even war
and they hate all
in an effort to get the things
they think they need.
But
James tells them that
they lack the things
they are after in life
because
they Simply
do not ask for them!
They just won’t bow the knee
in prayer
And ask God for those things
And
Let me ask you
How many of us
Have been just like them
In our Christian life
We
Desire the things
That we need in this life
And that word desired
by the way
Means to want in earnest
But yet
We Sometimes
operate within the realm
of our own power,
To try to get those things
Or
We strive in our own energy
to obtain the things we want
and think we need,
but
we fail to get them
because we do not take the time
to ask God!
Determination
But
I want you listen please
What I’m about to say
is important
There
is no problem in your life,
or in the life
of this church,
There is
No problem in this city,
this county,
this state,
this nation
or this world
that
cannot be solved
via the avenue of prayer!
When
God’s people begin to call on His name
in the right way,
they become partakers of His power,
and His peace
see
It is prayer that links our lives
with God’s
omnipotent power!
so
We need to learn to utilize
God’s gift of prayer
By the way
I’m reminded of what God
Told the prophet Jeremiah
In Jeremiah 33)
And in verse 3
God said, Jeremiah (Jeremiah 33:3
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
And listen
The God who said that then
Is the God
Who wants to likewise
Do great and mighty things
for us now
But
We just need to learn
To call upon Him
In prayer
To get the help we need
Sadly
There are times when we do everything
But pray
To get those things
Which
Reminds me
of a little boy
who
was trying with all his might
to move a large stone.
His muscles were straining,
sweat covered his face and brow
as he tried
with everything he had
to move that stone.
Now
His father sat nearby
watching all this
with mild amusement.
And
After a while
he said to his son,
“Son,
are you using all of your strength?”
The
little boy answered,
“Yes, daddy
I’m using all the strength
I have!”
so
his father said,
“No, you really aren’t son.
You haven’t asked me
to help!
and
How many times is that true
in our lives?
I mean
We struggle and strain,
we war and wrestle,
but we cannot achieve
what we want to.
but
Could it be that we have failed
at a very obvious point?
Could it be that we have failed
to
call on the Father
and enlist His help
in the situation?
Oh listen
He wants to bless you.
He wants to move in your life
in power
but often
He doesn’t
because we do not ask!
But
May I say that Prayerlessness
is a sin!
because
We are commanded
to pray – 1 Thes. 5:17; Luke 18:1.
so
To fail to pray
is to commit sin!
but
The sad truth is
There are some who need
to repent of their prayerlessness!
Oh listen
There is no substitute
for a strong prayer life!
Your greatness
and success in your public life
and even in the ministry
God has given you
are directly tied
to your prayer closet!
And listen
What we are...
Before other people
is
not Nearly as important
as what we are
in the closet of prayer!
But
If the truth be known
Sometimes we do everything
But pray
To get the things we want
or the things we need
but again
We try
To use our influence
Our ingenuity
Our Introspection
We try
To enlist our friends
Our family
Our natural force
We
Look for answers on the Internet
On the airwaves
We look for answers in every place
But not on our knees
In prayer
It’s
Just like James said here
In verse 2
Ye have not
Because ye ask not
And
The point James was making is
As believers
As Biblicists
We need to avoid
Forsaken prayer
Somebody said
What exactly is that
Well
forsaken Prayer
It’s prayers
that are not offered
See
We are willing to go to Gary
Or George
Or Jared
to ask help
of them
But
What we should be doing
Is going to God
For our wants and needs
Because
Much of the time
Gary just can’t help us
George might not help us
And Jared
Might not want to help us
Oh
But our God
Wants to help us
In every way there is
see
God sees the needs
and He knows
all that we need
but
He expects us to pray!
Because Prayer unlocks the storehouse
of His blessings
it reinforces our reliance
up the Lord!
And prayer
allows Him to move in our hearts
and lives
in a profound
and powerful manner.
Listen please
God has so much
that He wants to give us,
but if we do not ask,
we will never have it!
and
Wouldn’t it be a shame
to get to heaven
and have the Lord show us
all
we could have been,
all we could have had
and all we could have seen
if
we had only asked Him
for it?
And my point is this
We must not neglect prayer!
Again
James said
(James 4:1 – 2
From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
So
Pointer number one is
Avoid forsaken praying
Don’t neglect prayer
II. Avoid foolish praying
Declaration
There is
A second pointer
That James gives us here
In our text this evening
And
It is found for us
In verses 3 – 4
James said
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
now
in those verses
James tells Those Jewish Christians
And by proxy
He is telling us
that
there are times when they pray
and they still don’t
get what they ask for
And
Here is why
it is because
they ask
With the wrong motive.
He said
They are asking for things
that promote
and satisfy self.
“ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”
James said
Albert Barnes
The Bible commentator said
With regards to the phrase
ye ask amiss means
Ye do it with a view to self-indulgence
and carnal gratification.
And
The sad truth is
That’s the way some people pray
They pray for things
For simple self-indulgence
They
Don’t consider God
And they sure don’t consider others
They pray selfishly
But James said
when you pray like that
you are praying unacceptable prayers
and God simply will not
answer that kind of praying!
so
What I’m saying is
We are kidding ourselves
if we think
God will underwrite our selfishness!
And
To put a finer point on it
The kind of praying James is referring to
is praying that does not even consider
the glory of God,
much less
make it
the first priority.
This kind of praying
seeks what it wants
without regard
to what God wants.
This kind of prayer
is self-centered,
selfish
and basically sinful;
and
it will not be heeded by the Lord.
But
How often
are we guilty of praying for frivolous things
without any regard for God’s will
in the matter?
By the way
What if God gave you everything
you ever asked for?
You would be in a mess today.
But James
Reminded us here that
This kind of praying gets no higher
than the ceiling.
But
The right kind of prayer
always seeks the will of the Lord first
and foremost!
I’m reminded
Of the Lord Jesus Christ
Before going to Calvary
He
Was about to become
The world’s sin Bearer
He Who knew no sin
Was about to be made sin for us
So
In the garden of Gethsemane
Listen to His prayer
In the gospel of Matthew
And in chapter 26
He said
And listen carefully
But Jesus said
In Matthew 26:39 – 42
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
Now
Did you hear that
Unselfish prayer?
now
Yes
You can hear the reluctance
Of the Lord’s flesh
To want to bear the sins of the world
Nevertheless
He said Father
Not my will
But thine be done
If it is possible
Let this cup pass from me
But not my will
But thy will be done
And
My dear friend
That’s the kind of praying
We as believers today
ought to be offering our Lord
Not
Frivolous
Self-centered
Self-promoting
Self-aggrandizing prayers
Prayers designed
To get what we want
At the expense
of God’s will
No
We ought to pray
Like the Lord Jesus Christ
But
When it comes to foolish praying
Which again
We need to avoid
But
When it comes to foolish praying
Not only should we not pray
With selfish motives
But
We ought not pray
When we are living
as sinful men
In fact
Read verses 3 – 4 together
Here in James 4)
Again James said
(James 4:3 – 4
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Now
Think about what he is saying
Some of you people he said
are praying with selfish motives
But then some of yoy people
he said
are praying
As sinful men
In fact
He called them adulterers and adulteresses
now James was using the metaphor
of marriage here
As a picture
Of the relationship between Christ
And the Christian
so
Imagine a man and a woman
Who get married,
they are in love
and things go well
for a while.
They commune together
They spend time together
But
after a time,
the wife develops a roving eye.
She finds her another man
and begins to spend her time
with him
and to give him
her love.
but
suppose while living this way
she goes back to her husband
and asks him for things like money,
or
a car to drive,
or a place to live, etc.
so
What do you think his response
will be?
well...Most men would give her
a loud, “No!”
And
Here’s the picture
James was painting
when
you and I were saved,
we became the bride of Christ,
in fact, in.......
2 Cor. 11:2. Paul said
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
But
We became the bride of Christ
Once we were saved
And as such
We
are to remain pure and unspotted
from the world.
Our love,
our worship
and our allegiance
is to be to Jesus only.
but
When we embrace the world
When we behave like sinful men
Even as Christians
and
ignore the Lord,
we Our foregoing
effective praying.
Because see
Sinful living
And effective prayer
do not go together!
And the point is
When we commit spiritual adultery
against our Lord,
it will mean
that
our prayers
will go unanswered!
Oh listen please
You cannot be a friend of the world
and walk a worldly path
and expect God
to keep on blessing your life!
Oh but listen
God loves you and me
and He desires
to meet our needs,
but
He expects us
to walk with Him
in a devoted love relationship.
Because
Anything else
forfeits His power
and His answers to our prayers, Psa. 66:18; Pro. 15:8; Pro. 15:29.
In fact
The Bible says
In Psalm 66:18
If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear me:
It says
In the book of Proverbs
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord:
But the prayer of the upright is his delight.
And
In verse 29
Of the same chapter
It says (Proverbs 15:29
The Lord is far from the wicked:
But he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
And
The point is
If you want God
To both hear and answer your prayers
You
and I better not pray selfish prayers
That forgo the glory of God
or the will of God
And
we better not Pray prayers
As a sinful men
That is
As a person who is living
A life of spiritual adultery
A lack of faithfulness to God
That kind of life
Is living life
as an enemy of the Lord
But
What great pointers these are
When it comes to our praying
God
Inspired James to tell us
as Christians
that
Pointer number one
Avoid forsaken praying
You have not
because you ask not
And
Pointer number two
Avoid foolish praying
Praying with selfish motives
And attempting to pray
As a sinful man
III. Adopt faithful praying
Declaration
But
There is one more pointer
That James provides us with
Here in this passage of Scripture
And that is
We ought to adopt
Faithful pray
And
Read verses 5 – 10
Here in James 4)
James said (James 4:5 – 10
Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Now
As I read those verses
I see some powerful principles
that teach us
about the kind of prayer life
we need to adopt.
And
Number 1
To employ faithful praying
We then
Need to Be Sensitive
Again verse 5 says
Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
now
This verse
literally means,
“The Spirit of God in your heart has strong desires
and He is very jealous for the glory of God.”
so James
is telling us
that we need to be sensitive
to the voice of the Spirit of God
in our prayer lives.
because
The Spirit Of God
only desires that
which brings glory God.
He
wants God to get
every bit of the honor and the glory.
And
Here’s the point
If we will learn to hear the voice
of the Spirit,
He
will teach us to pray for those things
which honor God.
Because see
He knows the mind of God, 1 Cor. 2:11.
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
So God’s Holy Spirit
Knows the mind of God
And
Because that is true
He will share the mind of God
with us
and teach us to pray
proper prayers,
if we will be sensitive
to Him
In fact
The Bible says
In Romans 8:26 – 27
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
but see
We just need to be sensitive
To the Holy Spirit of God
We need
to Learn
to hear the voice
of the Spirit of God
and
If we will
He will revolutionize
our prayer life.
So
be sensitive
With regards to your praying
Be submissive
Number 2
When it comes to our praying
We must be submissive
And notice verse 6
James said (James 4:6
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
And
With that verse in mind
Let me say that
One
of the things the Spirit of God
will do in our lives
is make us more submissive
to the Father.
now
Those who are proud
Are more often than not
Not very submissive
But
Did you know that prayer
is not about getting what you want
from God?
Prayer
is about God working in us
to line our will up
with His will
and
When we get to the place
where we want nothing more
than what God wants;
when
His will becomes our will;
when we are willing to surrender
all of our plans, goals,
wants and wishes,
to Him
then
we are ready to see God move
in answer
to our prayers!
And
To illustrate that
We need to remember
An incident that took place in the Gospels
Keep your place here
And turn to the gospel of Luke
In the Gospel of Luke
Jesus taught the disciples to pray
And
When Jesus taught His disciples
to pray
notice what He told them first,
The
Bible says that
“He said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.”,
Luke 11:2.
Now
The first Adam missed this
in the Garden of Eden.
He Essentially said,
“Not Thy will, but mine be done!”
and he got into trouble.
he In fact
caused so much trouble
that we are still paying the price today.
So
Our objective in prayer
is not to bend God’s will to ours,
But
it is to forsake our will
and embrace His will totally!
and
When we come to the place where
we are willing to come into His presence humbly
and broken,
God
will then
answer our prayers.
But listen please
As long as we feel like we can strut
into the throne room of grace
and call the shot,
telling God what He is going to do,
then
our prayer lives will amount to nothing.
See
God is looking for a broken, humble people
that He can pour out His blessings upon!
So
As believers
We need to take heed
To these pointers
We
Need to be sensitive
To God’s will in prayer
We need to be submissive
To our Holy God
As we approach Him in prayer
Be steadfast
Pointer 3
We need to be steadfast
In our prayers
In verse 7
James said (James 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James
Is telling us
that part of achieving a victorious prayer life
is learning
to stand Steadfastly
against the devil.
Because
Did you know
that prayer is warfare?
It really is
It is warfare
and
That’s why Some of our prayers
are not answered.
because see
The devil fights us constantly
But
The question has been asked
How do we fight against the devil?
Well
Paul shed some light
On that question
In fact
Turn to the book of Ephesians
If you would please
Chapter 6
And
In Ephesians 6)
And in verses 10 – 20
Paul said (Ephesians 6:10 – 20
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Now
So often
When we look at the accoutrements
Of the armor of God
We miss verse 18
But
Prayer is one of those Accouterments
And the point is
We are going into battle with Satan
and, to be able to stand in the evil day
we must employ prayer
But
We must stand steadfastly
As we war in prayer
by the way
The devil knows this
and that is why he fights our prayer lives
so strongly.
and
He doesn’t care As much
about you going to church.
He doesn’t care As much
about the things we do here at church.
as long as he can keep us from doing
the most important thing of all:
praying!
So
If you make up your mind tonight
that you are going to be a prayer warrior,
you had better look out!
The devil will fight you tooth and nail.
He will give you limitless reasons why you shouldn’t bother with prayer.
Oh
But if we want to have
An effective prayer life
We need to be steadfast
In our prayers
And
sWe need to be submisive
Where our prayers are concerned
And sensitive
To the Holy Spirit of God
With regards to our prayers
Be separated
Pointer number 4
We need to be separated
With regards to our prayers
Notice
Verse 8
Here in chapter 4
James said (James 4: 8
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
And
With that verse in mind
Let me say that
No one can come to God
with
dirty hands,
a divided heart
and a double mind.
Listen please
No man can come to God
with open sin in his life, Psa. 66:18.
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me
And
No man can come to God
if his heart is divided between the world
and the Lord, Matt. 6:24.
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
And
No man can come to God
if he is trying to face two ways
at the same time, 2 Chron. 7:14.
And the point is
Victory in our prayer lives demands
that we come clean before the Lord
and repent of our sins.
It demands
that we turn loose of the world
and set our hearts and minds
upon Him.
being separated
unto God
See
God cannot and will not bless the prayer life of
a person
who wants the best of both the world
and God’s kingdom.
be sincere
But there’s one final pointer
That I want to share tonight
That James shares
And that is
Be sincere
In your praying
be
Sensitive
Be submissive
Be steadfast
Be separated
And be sincere
And
Notice verses 9 - 10
James said (James 4:9 – 10
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
now
the whole point of these two verses is
that we need to take this matter of prayer seriously!
and when
we get serious about prayer,
there will be a broken heart
over Some things
There will be
Weeping over the lost sinner,
there will be tear dimmed eyes
seeking the presence and power of God
down at the church house.
And the point is
We need a return to brokenness
before the Lord!
We need to pray like Hezekiah did, 2 Chron. 32:20.
He cried out in prayer
but
but
Let me ask you
when was the last time you wept over sinners?
When was the last time
you fasted and prayed
to know the mind of God?
When was the last time
sleep evaded you
and a spirit of prayer
took you onto the battlefield for others?
When
was the last time you,
like Jacob,
got a hold of God for something
and refused to let go
until He answered?
oh listen
May the Lord forgive our weak praying!
we need to pray
sincerely
So
When it comes to these prayer pointers
Are you engaging
in faithful praying
Where you are sensitive to God’s will
And submissive to God’s will
And steadfast
And separated
And sincere
Or
Would you had to confess
That your praying
Is more foolish
Or maybe
You have all but forsaken
Faithfulness in praying
so
Let me ask you
To think about your prayer life
And as you do
Let me encourage you
To make a commitment
To pray more effectively
Or
To use this altar now
To pray to your Lord
Conclusion: Let’s close in prayer
