Prayer Chapter 6

Prayer Is For Us

That's why we pray, not necessarily to obtain what we want but to know God more intimately. Prayer enables us to see and experience God as he really is.

Blackaby, Henry; Blackaby, Richard. Hearing God's Voice (p. 115). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Prayer is to get the focus off of us and on to God. It is meant to help us get onto God’s plan.

Why Pray?

Praying is a way that God reveals His will to us. The danger in current prayer is that we presume that we already know God’s will without asking or searching.

The great danger many Christians face is in assuming we know what's best and immediately “praying in faith” that God will hear and do what we want him to.

Seeking our will rather than God's always comes at a price.

Blackaby, Henry; Blackaby, Richard. Hearing God's Voice (p. 117). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Prayer is God's way of adjusting his people to him. It is not a time for us to ask God to adapt to our plans and desires. He loves us too much to do that.

Blackaby, Henry; Blackaby, Richard. Hearing God's Voice (p. 119). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Prayer affords us the opportunity to discover God’s will and adjust our lives to it through obedience.

Prayer is not designed as a means for us to change God. It is a time for God to change us. Prayer is a transforming activity.

Blackaby, Henry; Blackaby, Richard. Hearing God's Voice (p. 121). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.

God’s Answers to Prayer

Sometimes the answer is yes!

Walking so closely with Christ that the desires of your heart are the things God longs to do is an exhilarating experience. When you allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in your praying, you will find yourself seeking answers God is delighted to give (Rom. 8:26–27). When you pray in the name of or according to the character of Jesus, you ask for things that are on God's heart and consistent with his nature. To ask something “in Jesus' name” is not simply to tack on that phrase at the end of a prayer. It is asking God to accomplish his heart's desire.

Blackaby, Henry; Blackaby, Richard. Hearing God's Voice (p. 124). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.

God’s answer is always yes when we pray according to His will!

Sometimes the answer is no!

There is a difference between persisting in faith as God leads us and continuing to cajole him when we know his answer is no. Our personal view is myopic; we don't always know the ramifications of what we are asking. We must be careful not to confuse persevering prayer with pestering prayer. Because we often pray without seeking God's will, we pray in ignorance or shortsightedness. In such cases God's answer will be no because he loves us, not because he doesn't.

Blackaby, Henry; Blackaby, Richard. Hearing God's Voice (p. 125). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Sometimes the answer is not right now

God acts in the fullness of time (Gal. 4:4). God never acts prematurely, and he is never late. God's timing never leaves things unfinished, and it always produces the maximum effect. Don't become discouraged, assuming God has said no to your prayers if the answer is not immediately forthcoming. Trust that his ways are best and adjust your life to his schedule.

Blackaby, Henry; Blackaby, Richard. Hearing God's Voice (p. 128). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.

When we pray and God's answer is “not yet,” we must understand that God has his reasons for waiting. Waiting is one of the hardest things we do! Yet maybe we need to grow in our faith first. Or maybe God is preparing us for an even greater work he wants to do in us in the future.

Blackaby, Henry; Blackaby, Richard. Hearing God's Voice (p. 129). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Silence Of God

There are times where God does not respond to our prayers. He is silent. There are 3 reasons God is silent and they all deal with areas of sin

Broken Relationship

23 Therefore if you are presenting your [a]offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your [b]offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your [c]offering. Matt. 5:23-24

This is regarding any relationship. This includes our marriage. When we try to pray while fighting with our spouse, we will find silence

7 You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with [a]someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered. 1 Peter 3:7

Unforgiveness

When we fail to forgive others, our hearts are not right before God and he will not hear our prayers. We must seek forgiveness in order to get forgiveness.

14 For if you forgive [a]others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive [b]others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. Matt. 6:14-15

Lack of faith

When we pray to Christ, but don’t really think He will do anything about it, we lack faith and he remains silent. Conversely, when we have faith, He will answer.

5 And when [a]Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, 6 and saying, “[b]Lord, my [c]servant is [d]lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” 7 Jesus *said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion said, “[e]Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just [f]say the word, and my [g]servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith [h]with anyone in Israel. 11 I say to you that many will come from east and west, and [i]recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; [j]it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the [k]servant was healed that very [l]moment. Matt. 8:5-13

God’s Pattern For Prayer

1. God takes the initiative to cause us to want to pray. We do not naturally seek God (Rom. 3:10–12). The fact that we desire to pray is evidence of God's work in us. When we pray it is because God has summoned us into his presence.

2. The Spirit of God reveals the will of God through the Word of God. The Holy Spirit takes the words and truths of Scripture and impresses them on our minds. As we pray, he will bring specific Scriptures to our mind.

3. The Holy Spirit helps us pray in agreement with what God is saying (Rom. 8:26). Our natural tendency is to meet God's Word with unbelief. The Holy Spirit works to align our heart and mind to accept all God is saying.

4. When God gives us direction in prayer, he will confirm that word to us through the Bible, circumstances, and other believers.

5. We adjust our lives to what God says. Once God speaks to us, we cannot remain the same. God's word always requires adjustments on our part. It is impossible to obey God without making adjustments.

6. We obey God. All of God's speaking to us means little unless we do what he tells us.

7. God works in and through us to accomplish his revealed purposes.

8. We experience God through our obedience as the Holy Spirit revealed we would. Experiencing God comes out of an obedient response to God's Word to us.

Blackaby, Henry; Blackaby, Richard. Hearing God's Voice (pp. 136-137). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition.