Prayer Meeting 5/4/2022

The Way To Pray

Thomas Watson says:

That prayer is most likely to pierce heaven which first pierces our own heart.

Of course, even the disciples needed to be taught how to pray. Jesus responds to His disciples in Luke:

Luke 11:1-4

¹Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” ² So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. ³ Give us day by day our daily bread. ⁴ And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”

John MacArthur rightly states:

The disciples had not requested that Jesus teach them a prayer to recite, but how to pray. He responded by giving them a prayer, that while it was recited and even sung, it is not intended merely as that.

It’s easy to have mindless, repetitive prayers. Although ‘framing your petitions’, as Thomas Watson says, ‘prevents error’. But there is a huge difference in framing petitions from repetition. Repetitious prayers numb the heart. We need heartfelt, vulnerable, soul-bearing, non-performing prayers.

Often prayers are way, way too corporate. The right way to pray is always one that has come deeply from the heart. Philip Doddridge, the early 17th century nonconformist minister prayed the Lord’s prayer this way, as recorded in the book ‘piercing heaven’ (page 14):

Our Father, You are seated on the throne of glory in the highest heaven, and we bow before Your awful presence with humble reverence. Even so, we approach You with the confidence that we are Your children and You are our bountiful and compassionate parent. We join our prayers to you, with our hearts full of brotherly love and ask for each other the blessings we seek for ourselves. Above all, we desire Your glory. May Your name ne set apart and Holy, may the whole world of living creatures join us and give You the honour You deserve and require. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done among us. Help us to know, to understand and to pursue Your kingdom, and may Your will always be graciously be done on earth as it is in heaven, and may we always be wise and gracious. Teach us mortals to resign ourselves to You in obedience, the same way Your angels in heaven obey You. As for ourself Lord, help us not seek the grand things of life, help us not to worry about the future, but we humbly ask that You would open Your bountiful hand; the one on which we always depend. Give us our daily supply for what we need today and teach us to let You take care of the rest. Though in many respects we have been disobedient and ungrateful children, yet we beg You, compassionate Father to forgive us our offenses. We know we are guilty in Your book with debts we can never repay, but please forgive those debts, even as we forgive others; even those who have offended and injured us. We ask for the same kind of pardon we are willing to extend to others, and do not bring us into places of pressing temptation, where we would lose our integrity and our soul would be endangered. But if we must be tried graciously, rescue us from the power of the evil one, that he would not triumph. We know You can do these things for Your children and we humbly trust You will because Yours is the universal kingdom; the fullness of almighty power and the glory of infinite perfection. To You be the praise of all forever.

Amen

I was with some people yesterday, and we chatted for hours. One thing I noticed was how judgemental they were to almost every believer alive. No kidding. To the point I asked, “do you have any joy at all?” Anyway, it kind of bothered my soul, (that’s a good thing by the way), it’s not that I was bothered to the point it was not well with my soul, but that the situation illuminated my soul. So when I went home I spent time thinking over it, and reading etc. I then picked up one of my purchases I had acquired that same day, a book called: ‘George Whitefield’s Sermons On Important Subjects’. As I flicked through the content, I was drawn to the sermon entitled: ‘Intersession, Every Christian’s Duty’ (page 585):

If we enquire why there is so little love to be found amongst Christians, why the very characteristic by which everyone should know that we are disciples of the Holy Jesus, is almost banished out of the Christian world, we shall find it in a great measure owing to the neglect or superficial performance of that excellent part of prayer, intercession, or imploring the divine grace and mercy on the behalf of others. Some forget this duty of praying for others because they seldom remember to pray for themselves, and even those who are constant in prayer to their Father who is in heaven, are often so selfish in their addresses to the throne of grace that they do not enlarge their petitions to the welfare of their fellow Christians as they ought.

Isn’t that astounding? That’s his opening gambit on his sermon about prayer. As I came to that sermon, I was reminded again of John 13:34-35.

John 13:34-35

³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵ By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Pray for one another. Pray to be joined in heart and spirit, weep where they weep. Pray for their growth, evangelism etc. Pray for persecuted leaders. Pray for the lost, ‘the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost’ (Luke 19:10).

We do know that no one can come to God expect the Father draws them, however, we can still pray He draws them, and lift up those who we love. Paul himself even asks that they pray for him to be able to evangelise well and open doors:

Colossians 4:2-3

² Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; ³ meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains,

Lastly, we pray for our enemies. I know we were sobered by this on Sunday, that Christ still was the intercessor for the guards whom He was being persecuted by. Calvin wrote:

Not only does He abstain from revenge, but pleads with God the Father for the salvation of those whom He is most cruelly tormented.

Amen