"Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him." - 1 John 5:14-15
Think of the person/people you are the closest to. Think of the individuals who would help you out at the drop of a hat.
If the time is 3 a.m. and you run out of gas in the middle of nowhere, what number do you dial with absolute assurance that he or she will be there as soon as possible?
The "sort of" prayer answerer
I've always been a little confused when it comes to verses in the Bible regarding prayer. We all know that God answers prayer. Here are a few verses that remind us of that.
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
And whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.
If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
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The confusing part to me was that there always seemed to be a hundred different prerequisites to our prayers being heard. If you delight yourself…If you humble yourself…If you keep My commandments…If you abide in Me…If…
I kind of got the feeling that prayer worked like this…
- If you have your life pretty much completely together and only ask for things that you are absolutely 100% sure are in line with God's plan for your life today and you are 100% sure that there is no selfishness in your request and that your request helps the poor, the sinners and your Great Aunt Ruth…then you can be pretty sure that God will answer your prayer…but don't be SURE…because God can do whatever he wants, and sometimes God answers your prayer by saying no.
It was confusing, and my inner prayer monologue was something like this:
"Dear God, Thank you for today. Please give me safety as I travel to work. I mean, wait, only if that's Your will. If you want me to die in a car accident, then I want that. What am I talking about? I don't want to die today…what about my family. James, shut up. You are praying. Right. As I was saying, please help me do my job well. I mean…only if you want me to. If you want me to get fired then, please do that. Thank you for my family. Please be with my wife and son today. Please protect them and let them have a fun time. Bahhhh…..I mean obviously only it that's Your will. Oh wait, I sinned yesterday. Now, I don't even know if You are listening to me. I'm so sorry about that sin. Please help me be more loving of a husband next time and not watch TV instead of doing the dishes like I said I would. Okay, now what…"
How do I reconcile all of these verses? How do I pray without constantly worrying about if I am meeting the strict pre-payer qualifications?
Think back to the person you most depend on. What is the prerequisite to them helping you?
- You are close friends.
- Your request does no jeopardize your friendship.
If you and your best friend have a massive argument, and you know it was your fault, you may not have a lot of confidence at calling her at 3 a.m.
If you really want to ask your best friend to take his girlfriend to prom, you'll probably be out of luck.
If you completely ignored every request your mom or dad made last weekend for some "help around the house," they probably won't buy you a new car.
But, when your relationship is as it should be and your request is one that will either keep your friendship that way (or even make it closer), you can expect them to follow through.
That's the way it is with God. He understands you are human, that you make mistakes and that you have human desires. He did, after all, create you that way. He doesn't have angels at the Prayer Center in Heaven sorting through "worldly" prayers.
"Ah, Gabriel, another request for a safe drive home!"
"Hogwash! Doth not James know that the Lord may wisheth Him to crash today!"
"You speak the truth. I believe we shall altogether dispose of this prayer request."
"Truly."
In his commentary on 1 John, Warren Wiersbe said this about prayer.
"What breathing is to a physical man, prayer is to a spiritual man. If we do not pray, we 'faint' (Luke 18:1)."
When you go on a road trip, think of all the requests you make during that trip.
"Hey Sam, can you get the door for me. Hey Jonathan, will you drive. Can you turn on the radio? Can we stop at the next rest area? Can I borrow two dollars?"
That's the relationship we have been granted with God. That's why we are to pray without ceasing. There is a closeness. The reason we need to take care of sin before asking for something is because whatever we are asking for could not even be as close to as important as mending our relationship. The reason we need to ask for things that are in line with God's will is because we know that He knows best.
But I don't have to worry about asking for alertness while driving, because it may in fact be the will of God for me to crash and die, and if He gives me alertness His plans will be thwarted.
Conversation with a friend is not supposed to be burdensome. Neither is prayer.
I believe there are two verses that best teach us how to pray.
The first is 1 Thessalonians 5:17. It simply says, "Pray without ceasing." It is impossible and unbiblical to ignore everything around you and constantly be in deep prayer. Therefore, this must mean a much more laid back, constant recognition of the need for God in everything.
"God, please give me confidence to give this presentation," I pray as I walk into that conference room.
Is that a fleshly prayer? Sure. Can I pray it with confidence? Absolutely. Is it selfish? Not if my confidence lies in God. Does it point to God as the sole resource of my ability to do my job well? Yes!
That two-second prayer just said a lot about my relationship with God.
Here is another example.
"Lord, please give me humility," I pray as my wife nags me yet again for not putting my clothes away. You see, without humility this conversation is going to go very poorly. I couldn’t pray for this situation that morning. I didn't know it was going to happen. I can't ignore the situation and go outside to pray. My wife will think I'm avoiding her. Because I pray without ceasing, the phone line is always connected with Heaven.
The second passage is Matthew 6:9-13.
"In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 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."
This is how you pray in the moments that are just you and your Redeemer.
"Father. You are so Holy. You are so different and better than anything this earth could ever offer me. You are the Kind of peace, hope, forgiveness, love, restitution and joy. I want those things in my home. Help me to be a husband who is about the business of those things. Help me instill those qualities in my son. Help me to be a husband who is slow to speak, quick to listen and quick to love.
But I don't just want those things in my home. I want them in my community. Help me to be someone who brings those things into my community, and keep me from distractions that would keep me locked inside my own home. I also pray for my brothers and sisters in the faith who are about the business of these things. Give them confidence and boldness as well.
And I pray for my country. Lord, I don't pray that a Republican would be nominated or that any laws that have been passed would be overturned. That is in Your hands. I simply pray that I would be a man who would impact my country where I am by being Your hands and feet. Lord, you know it is my desire that my country would turn to you, so I pray that you would give believers everywhere boldness - not to start a spiritual war, but boldness to love those who hate the things we hold dear.
I pray for the men and women who lead our country. I disagree with many things they believe and are trying to pass into law, but I am grateful that you have placed them in a position over me, because You know how quickly I would drive this nation into the ground if I was in charge. I understand that the United States of America is not my eternal home, so for now, I am grateful for the people in charge of me who work to keep this the best temporal country that has ever existed. Please give them wisdom to continue leading me. I also pray for their spiritual state. Some of them sorely need You, not so they can become a Republican, but so they can know the joy of having You as their savior, and so they can be freed from the bondage of their sin. I think specifically of President Obama, his wife and children. I thank you that they neglected a normal life, that they might lead this nation. I thank you for President Obama's diligence these past seven years. I apologize for anything negative I have said of him. I pray that you would not only give him strength to continue leading us, but that he would also continue to be a good father and a loving husband.
Father, praying for my daily bread seems silly right now, because my fridge, freezer and cupboards are stocked. And yet, I know that, like Job, you could take any and all of it away in an instant. And so, I thank you for what you have given me. I pray that you would allow me to keep enough of what I have to make it through today, and that you would direct me as to what I should do with the extra - whether I should save it for tomorrow or give it away today.
I ask you to forgive me for the things I have done wrong since we last spoke. I can think specifically of two things, but I'm sure there are more. Help me to continue growing in faith, hope and love that I might refrain from doing those things which are of no eternal value.
And because you are so free to forgive me, help me to continue forgiving those who wrong me. I am so inclined to disdain them, but You give me strength to see them as You see me.
Keep me from sin today. You have promised that You will not lead me into a temptation from which there is no escape, so I cling to that truth. Make the way of escape so clear to me. Give me the strength to do so. Protect me from the lies of Satan today. Remind me of the things You say in Your Word when I need them. Your Word is truth.
Your kingdom is the only one that matters. Your power is the only power I care about. Your glory is the reason for my existence. Remind me of that today.
I long to see You and to be with you in eternity.
Amen.
Prayer should not be a burden. It should be the means of lifting the great weight the world places on us each day. It should deliver us from pride and selfishness and give us peace.
A three-second prayer may not seem that spiritual, but when your day is filled with three-second prayers, along with time set aside for longer conversation (such as with morning or evening devotions), suddenly your day becomes saturated in God, and you cannot possibly imagine the eternal significance of that.
"Give us boldness..." Yes! Thanks James. Super encouraging.
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