Some Helps On Prayer - Part 2 of 3.
December 18, 2009
Dr. Allen Barber
The Model Prayer
Matthew 6:5-15
5 "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8 "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
The Lord's Prayer
John 17:1-26
1 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, 2 as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. 6 "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. 9 "I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10 And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. 20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24 "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
A Reader's Request
In Part 1, we looked at the Model Prayer in Matthew 6 and saw that it is a basic guide to beginning prayer not something to be prayed by rote or part of some religious ritual nor is it a chronological mandate for all prayers. All basic prayers should (not necessarily at the same time) incorporate the elements of the Model Prayer, that is, give praise and glory to God; pray for His will to be done and His Kingdom to come; thank Him for supplying our daily needs; confess and ask forgiveness of our sins as we also forgive those who have sinned against us; pray offensively against the evil one (Satan) that we do not fall prey to his schemes; and pray for the Kingdom of God to come to the earth. At some point, all true praying will have all these elements, but again this does not mean we have to pray in chronological order this prayer or even pray it at all. Jesus did not intend for this prayer to become a stand-alone or a prayer repeated in religious circles. That does not mean we cannot voice this prayer, but just repeating it as a form of praying has no power or favor with God. The primary purpose of prayer is the will of God, and secondarily, that our prayers be answered (answered prayer is also "No" as well as "Yes"). In Part 3, we will learn the highest form of prayer is knowing and praying the will of God first before any other prayers are uttered (few understand this - I didn't for many years).
Now let's examine the real Lord's Prayer in John 17 and see how Jesus prayed and from it learn how to pray like Him.
First, and this is very important, He addresses the Father in heaven. All Christian prayer should address the Father God in Jesus name:
John 15:16
16...that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
John 16:23-24
23 "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name . Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
John 16:26-27
26 In that day you will ask in My name , and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; 27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.
From these passages, it is clear we are to pray all prayers to the Father God in the name of Jesus; however, John 16:26 is often overlooked or not understood. What is Jesus saying here? Something phenomenal that the Catholic religion ignores (purposefully in order to perpetuate the heretical doctrine of the Virgin Mary as a mediator in prayer). Jesus is saying that while we are to pray in His name, our prayers go straight to the Father God, meaning that Jesus does not have to relay our prayers to the Father. When prayed in Jesus name (He and the Father are one), they go immediately to the Father's throne. Then why are we commanded to pray in Jesus name? Simply because Jesus is the perfect man (the second man) and the last Adam, having purchased mankind's redemption by His own blood and bodily resurrection (Christ was not raised a spirit or apparition, but a man in both body and spirit); therefore, he is mankind's representative beside the throne of God the Father in heaven. Since we receive the same Holy Spirit that both God the Father and God the Son are in person and character, that is, those who have been genuinely born-again of the Holy Spirit, then our prayers have a direct line to the Father because the blood sacrifice is seated beside Him.
Romans 8:34 says Jesus is at the right hand of God making intercession for us, but that does not mean He is or has to repeat our prayers to the Father. Again, His presence by the throne of God as the blood sacrifice for our sins and as the perfect representative of man, makes it possible for God the Father to receive our prayers. After His resurrection, Jesus said He had been given all power and authority in heaven and on earth. It is really quite simple and can be likened to the power of attorney. What is the power of attorney? The power of attorney allows someone else to represent you in legal matters. I John 2:1 says Jesus is our Advocate with the Father or He is our power of attorney representing us before the Father. It is understood further in that our children bear our name. They can do certain things legally because they represent us and can use our name. If they do good things, that honors us, but if they do bad things that brings shame to us and our name. With Jesus, all that He does is honorable, perfect and just. He is the perfect man to represent us to the Father God. Since we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and God, the Father loves us equally with Jesus (John 16:27).
The reason I have covered this in some detail is that I hear much prayer in the Body of Christ that is incorrect particularly among the young people. I have noticed that Youth leaders as well as the youth they represent begin their prayers with "God". "God we thank you today for your blessings" or "God bring unity to our group," etc. Then again, I hear prayers that begin with "Jesus." "Jesus, we thank you today for dying on the cross for our sins" or Jesus, please take this offering and bless it to your glory." Last, a lot of prayers end with an "amen." None of these methods of praying are Scripturally correct. Some will say that it does not matter how we pray since God hears all prayer. Where did that concept come from - that God hears all prayer? A lot of praying falls on deaf ears, meaning that God refuses to hear it.
Jesus' instructions on prayer are commandments not suggestions. If we could just pray anyway we so choose, then He would not have given specific instructions on prayer. He would have said, just pray the best way you can and God will hear your prayers. God only hears prayers prayed in His will and His will is that we come to Him in Jesus name. All true prayer must address the Father God or it is not spiritual prayer. Now, may I say in regard to ending prayer in Jesus name, that it is not necessary to use the name of Jesus after we are through praying. Many times I pray this way: Our Father in heaven, I come before you today in Jesus name and so on.... Then I may end the prayer with an "amen" since in the beginning of the prayer, I addressed the Father in Jesus name. There is no set rule that we have to end the prayer in Jesus name only that in the prayer we acknowledge that we come to the Father in Jesus name. Why is it important to the Father that we address Him in Jesus name; for the following reason:
Philippians 2:9-11
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The Father has exalted the name of Jesus above every name - there is no greater name than the name of Jesus in the whole universe. It stands for all that God is in His character and person - the holiest of all the holies, not even the angels come close to the holiness of God. If the Father has determined that the name of Jesus Christ (not anyone named Jesus) is the greatest of all names and that we must approach Him by that name, then we have no other recourse but to obey His will. The bottom line is if someone is serious about prayer, they will pray the way the Bible says we are to pray. There is no basis for argument here.
Young people, old people, if you want to pray and have your prayers answered, then pray as Jesus taught us, - to the Father in His name! What is so difficult about that? It is a matter of obedience. Jesus said, "Why do you call me Lord, yet do not the things I command?" (Luke 6:46). We either pray the way Jesus commanded or our prayers will ascend no higher than our mouth. As I said, there is a right way and a wrong way to pray. As important as prayer is, I want to do it the right way.
Second, in this prayer, Jesus mentioned the words, "glorified" and "glory" several times. The Greek root word for glory, glorify and glorified is doxa, which means to give the highest honor and praise to God; to esteem Him as the greatest of all living beings; to bow our knees before Him as the Supreme Pontiff (not the Pope). The old Church hymn, the "Doxology" is derived from the Greek word doxa.
Notice, that Jesus gave glory to the Father and asked that He again share in that glory as He did before the foundation of the world. The Lord's prayer is full of ascribing glory to the Father as well as the desire to share again that glory. The "kenosis" of Jesus is that He emptied Himself of the eternal glory with the Father in order to come to the earth and become a man. When His work was finished on earth (the crucifixion), Jesus desired to return to the Father and share the glory He once had. We humans cannot fully understand that for we have never shared in the glory of the Father. One day we will when Jesus returns and we receive our glorified bodies (actually our eternal state and the whole man or person will take on the heavenly) in the First Resurrection and Rapture.
Well, what does this have to do with our prayers? Our prayers should be full of giving glory and praise to God for who He is not what we can get Him to do for us. If you want your prayers to be filled with the Holy Spirit, then spent time telling God how very great and wonderful He is. It is a sweet aroma in the nostrils of God. Take time in prayer, don't rush into it. Spend several minutes talking to the Father about His glory and beauty of holiness. Thank Him for His great mercy and love to save sinners like us. The Psalms are filled with prayers of praise to God. Pray them to the Father and again use the first person like the Psalms is yours alone. The Father loves this and you will get His attention I guarantee you.
Third, Jesus prays for His eleven disciples (He does not pray for Judas who betrayed Him) and not only them, but also us, which is most comforting:
John 17:20
20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
Notice that Jesus does not pray for the world, but only for His disciples and those of us who would believe in Him via the gospels:
John 17:9
9 "I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.
What does this teach us about priority prayer? We are to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ before all others even our own blood kin for the family of God is our real family. We will spent eternity with the saints, but not necessarily those of our earth kin who may be lost. While my wife is my companion on this earth, in the Kingdom to come and in reality even here on this earth, she is my sister in Christ.
Once when Jesus was teaching the people, His mother and brothers (half-brothers for Jesus had no earthly father) came looking for Him. Someone in the crowd told Him His family was waiting to speak to Him. At that statement, Jesus turned to the crowd and said, He that does the will of God is the same as My mother, brother and sister. I realize this is hard for some to accept, but it is the truth. When I went to Ohio in October and taught the prophecy conference, I met the extended family of God, people I had never met, but immediately I felt a common union with them in my spirit (not all but some). Why is that? We all have the Holy Spirit and He is the common denominator in the Body of Christ. Romans says God has poured out His love upon us by the Holy Spirit. When true Christians meet for the first time, the love of God is felt in our spirits and we naturally love the brethren. I am much closer in love and common purpose with the saints than members of my earthly family. In fact, there are those of my earthly family who hate me and do not speak to me. I have yet to meet a genuine Christian who hates me. We may differ over some things, but love is not harmed. I am not implying that we should not love and pray for our blood kin and immediate family, but we should pray for the family of God first (their needs, etc.). This should include those of our local Church family as well as the Body of Christ worldwide. The Holy Spirit will lay upon your heart who you are to pray for in the Body of Christ around the world. Sometimes, I will be prompted to pray for the Church in China or Russia that is suffering persecution or maybe a pastor in Africa (I correspond and have supported a young pastor in Nigeria - he contacted me and made his needs known to which I responded after I checked him out to make sure he was not part of some scam).
Recently, a high school classmate that I have not seen in over 20 years came up in my spirit (her name) and I was prompted to pray for her. I learned later that she is a believer and her husband of over 40 years suffers from serious illness. She shared an email with our classmates and I could discern the great burden she was under in taking care of him. The Lord knew that I was once her close friend and that she needed prayer warriors, so the Holy Spirit laid her name on my heart. This is the way God works. When God wants something done, He knows who His prayer warriors are and it is to them that He reveals His will via prayer burden. He is not going to waste His time with those who do not pray or who have not learned to pray in the Spirit and enter into spiritual combat for the saints. When I was a Marine in Vietnam, you soon learned those who had distinguished themselves in combat and you wanted to be with them when the bad stuff hit the fan. If I may say so, I never met a Marine who was a coward. We all experienced fear, even great fear in combat, but no Marine I was associated with in Vietnam was a coward. The same was true of the Army 101st and 82 Airborne whom we conducted joint operations against the NVA. They were all brave men and I was proud to serve with them,ii both Army and Marine. Lest I forget, the Navy Corpsmen, who took care of us when sick and wounded were some of the bravest guys I had ever known. We were all in the same family and fighting for the same cause. God is like that, He is the closest to those in the family of God who are the closest to him in prayer and work for the Kingdom. Of the 12 original disciples, Jesus was the closest to Peter, James and John. That did not mean He did not love the other disciples, only that Peter, James and John were the closest to Him.
When you pray in Spirit led prayer, ask the Father who in the Body of Christ you should pray for that day. If you are patient and wait on God, He will tell you. It may be that is the only thing He burdens you to pray for that day. Please understand, you do not have to pray the same prayer every day or for the same people every day. Let God determine the content and direction of your prayers. Such praying is not boring I assure you, but exciting. I will deal with this more in detail in Part 3 on the highest form of praying. The same goes for the lost. Unless your have prayer burden for them, you are wasting your time praying for them. If you are concerned about someone's salvation, if it is of the Holy Spirit, the burden for them will remain in your heart until either they are saved or reject your witness. A good way to pray for the lost is to make a list of those you want to see saved. Then bring their names before God. The ones God places a burden in your spirit are the ones His Spirit is working with. If there is no leading in your spirit to pray for some on the list, then mark them off. Perhaps God has someone else praying for them. Remember, the Body of Christ is a large number of people and you do not have to take on the whole world or the Body of Christ by yourself.
Finally, in the Lord's prayer, Jesus does not pray for the world for it lies under the power of the evil one (I John 5:19). Aren't we supposed to pray for kings and those in authority? Yes, but only in the sense they obey the will of God. I pray only one prayer for the Untied States - that it repent and turn back to God. I do not ask God to bless it or favor it for it has sinned greatly in the eyes of God and deserving of His judgment. In fact, I now pray for the United States to repent at God's judgment (for discerning Christians, God is already judging this nation and is the reason for our many problems that our leaders including Mr. Obama are trying to solve with carnal methods; unless America repents, she will continue in decline and be destroyed).
Well, these are some things we glean from the Lord's Prayer and how to pray more effectively.
Part 3 is discovering the highest way to pray and perhaps may be the most interesting to some for it gets down to the practicality of prayer. When I first learned this and began to teach it to the saints, they had a hard time with it and a only a few caught-on. Only the Spirit-filled with understand and practice this high way to way and really the only way to pray if you want your prayers answered. Why pray if you do not expect answers to your prayers. God wants to answer our prayers, but He has given some guidelines that we must follow in order to have answered prayer.
George Mueller was known as a great man of prayer (not that he was a great man, but he prayed great prayers) and it is said that he never prayed a prayer that was not answered. How many of us can honestly say all our prayers are answered? I have had many prayers answered with a Yes and No, but I also have prayers unanswered. Some prayers may not be answered until after we are gone. It depends on the will and purpose of God. We must understand that when we pray for the will of God to be done in prayer, our prayer must fit into the overall will for the whole Church. Sometimes God may delay your prayer because to answer it, it might interfere with the prayers of the Body of Christ, that is, God may have a will for the person of thing you are praying for that differs from what you want done as well as could harm the Body of Christ. Your prayer may have to wait on the more perfect will of God involving the Church. I will say more about this in Part 3.
The Lord bless you and teach us all how to pray.