You Can Never Ask Too Much by John Piper

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! ¹² “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:7–12)

This has proved, in my experience, to be one of the most motivating passages in all the Bible to pray with the confidence of being answered.

It’s an argument. Even bad dads give good things to their children when they ask. God is not a bad dad. He’s the best. Therefore, much more will he give good things to his children when we ask. I love that argument. Jesus really did want us to feel hopeful when we pray. He is trying to overcome our skepticism about prayer.

There’s another reason why this is so encouraging for our prayers. He says that a good dad gives “good things” to his children when they ask for what they want. He does not say that he always gives these little children precisely what they ask for. What father ever does? Or ever would? We love our children too much for that.

One time when my son Ben was three or four, he asked for a cracker for snack time. I opened the box and found that they were moldy. I said, “I’m sorry, you can’t eat these. They are covered with fuzz.” He said, “I’ll eat the fuzz.” But I said no. He was not happy, but I loved him and would not give him a fuzzy cracker, no matter how much he pleaded.

So when Jesus says he will give good things, he means that. Only good things. And only he knows ultimately what is good for us. And notice, when he says dads don’t give stones when asked for bread, he does not say dads always give bread. Just no stones. And when he says, dads don’t give snakes for fish, he does not say dads always give fish. Just no snakes.

The point is this: God ignores no prayers from his children. And he gives us what we ask for, or something better (not necessarily easier), if we trust him.

One more point: The word “so” at the beginning of verse 12 means that verse 12 is an inference from this teaching on prayer. “So” — since God always gives you what you need when you ask — “whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.” In other words, because God loves and cares for you so much, you will be able to care about others the same way you care about yourself. Which means that confidence in prayer is one of the keys to love.

Thou art coming to a King,

Large petitions with thee bring;

For His grace and power are such,

None can ever ask too much.

John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org. He served for 32 years as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books. John and his wife Noël have five children and twelve grandchildren.

A (Very) Short Prayer for Joy Seekers by Tony Reinke

At the very points in my life when my soul feels most dry and joyless, I often find myself most spiritually speechless. I'm stuck. And when I get stuck in this inarticulate joyless state I turn to the Psalms. There my plea finds its language.

In a lot of ways, Psalm 86 is like the Lord’s Prayer. It's a ready-made prayer for our daily lives — short and simple, yet deeply profound. In it we read this plea:

Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. (Psalm 86:4)

Short. Simple. Articulate. And life-giving.

What is the psalmist praying for?

First, he asks to be gladdened, gladdened to his core, gladdened to every corner of his life. He seeks happiness, even in the midst of what appears for him to be painful life circumstances. Like all of us, he seeks joy for his life. And to find his joy, the psalmist prayerfully lifts up his soul to God.

Lifting the soul is a metaphor of childlike dependence and trust. It is also an act of confidence, a focused and single-hearted act that pushes away all rivals. But even more specifically, it is an act of eager anticipation. Lifting our souls to the Lord includes all of this — dependence, trust, confidence, anticipation.

Which is why Psalm 86:4 is such a beautiful and simple prayer for an often-dry, often-speechless, joy-seeker like me. Using the compacted language of the psalmist, my prayer is essentially this: “God, I lift up to you my dry, languishing soul. I turn to you because I believe you can restore its joy. I want you alone. I want you to fill me, to fill my soul — to fill my whole being — with joy. Where else can I turn, if not to you? To you alone I lift up my soul, for in you alone will I find the true gladness my soul longs for.”

---

Little Prayers by Michael Bynum

Luke 11:1
Now 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......"

This is a hard posting to write this morning....

Why?

Because pray is a part of my relationship that I have always felt I was sorely lacking in.

I pray...

In fact if I stop to think about it...

I pray a lot.

But when I read of others and their being given to prayer, I am embarrassed.
Leonard Ravenhill, noted English Revivalist, once commented that "When we stand before Jesus the one thing that we will be embarrassed by is the "Smallness of our prayers".  In other words, we never launched out into those prayers that changed the world. We prayed safe prayers...prayers that may have been full of selfish needs and wants.

I have had the book for some time...."E.M. Bounds On Prayer". But yesterday as I was in my office transferring some cassette tapes (remember those?) to digital, I pulled the book out and began to read. As John Wesley would have said, "My heart was strangely warmed." In other words, the Holy Spirit was very present as I poured over these words. The opening lines of the book jumped off the page at me...."The prayers of God's saints are the capital stock in heaven by which Christ carries on His great work upon the earth. The earth is changed, revolutionized; angels move on more powerful, more rapid wings; and God's policy is shaped when the prayers of His people are more  numerous and more efficient."

Does this mean that God is waiting upon us to pray so that He can act. Yes, and no. What I have found is that my prayers are actually me "breathing" back to God that which He truly desires to accomplish. He is giving me the incredible opportunity to be a part of this divine plan.......this divine work here on fallen, sinful earth. For this reason, I want to learn how to pray, and I told God that yesterday. "Teach me to pray."

Bounds goes on to write: Prayer is no fitful, short-lived thing. It is no voice crying unheard and unheeded in the silence. It is a voice that goes into God's ear, and it lives as long as God's ear is open to holy pleas, as long as God's heart is alive to holy things." I have got to lay hold of prayer. I have, in the past, given up to quickly. I have thrown up short bursts of emotion laced with words that I think God wants to hear. No more. Prayer has got to be the language of heaven that begins with a heart that is stirred in belief that God is who He claims to be and that He answers the cries of His children.

Everything is possible to those who truly know how to pray, and the one truth that still burns in a world gone dark is that God's ear is not so dull that He cannot hear....and His arm so short that He cannot save. I fear that my own prayers were nothing more than those like the Pharisee's. A cold and lifeless praying that was nothing more than a parody of the real thing. God forgive me. There is a part of me that finds the things of this world more exciting than spending time in prayer. This cannot be any longer. Please read my words with clear vision. I am not pontificating or posturing to lay claim that I am going to be some kind of incredible prayer warrior. I am laying claim to the fact that I have not taken the discipline of prayer as serious as God would have me. How many lives have passed by me and moved deeper into spiritual darkness because I did not wrestle for their very soul in prayer. This cannot be. I am grateful for God's hand to lay hold of me this morning and give me another opportunity to participate in His Kingdom work. Another opportunity to learn and grow. I do not want to squander this.

Don't Stop Praying by Richard Trader

Don't Stop Praying

"Pray without ceasing."

1 Thessalonians 5:17

A certain man had lived a self-centered life, focused on nothing more than his own pleasure. He had been abusive to his wife and neglected his family. One day he shocked his wife by saying, "I want to turn my life around. I need God." The wife was so happy. She invited her pastor to come to their home to talk with her husband. The pastor explained to him how God would forgive all of his sins and change his heart. They had prayer together. The man told the pastor that he wanted to be baptized and join the church. After the pastor left, the man sat with his head down as he wept. His wife said, "Honey, I don't understand. I thought that you would be happy." He said, "Oh, I am, but I wish my mother had lived to see this day. She always prayed for me."

It's easy to get discouraged in prayer, when we don't see immediate results. We prefer to have our prayers answered immediately, but it doesn't always happen that way. The apostle Paul exhorted believers to "pray without ceasing."  Don't give up. Don't let up. Pray with persistence and perseverance.

Have you been praying for someone without seeing results? Have you been praying about a personal problem without a change of circumstances? "Pray without ceasing." Just because we see no visible results does not mean that God has not heard our prayers. He always hears the prayer of faith. Surrender to God's will to answer your prayer in His time and His way. Don't stop praying.

Prayer: Father, we believe that You hear our prayers. We confess our impatience in prayer. We believe You are working to answer our prayers according to Your goodness, when we see results and when we don't. We pray without ceasing through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Oswald Chambers on Intercessory Prayer

 . . men always ought to pray and not lose heart —Luke 18:1

You cannot truly intercede through prayer if you do not believe in the reality of redemption. Instead, you will simply be turning intercession into useless sympathy for others, which will serve only to increase the contentment they have for remaining out of touch with God. True intercession involves bringing the person, or the circumstance that seems to be crashing in on you, before God, until you are changed by His attitude toward that person or circumstance. Intercession means to “fill up . . . [with] what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ” (Colossians 1:24), and this is precisely why there are so few intercessors. People describe intercession by saying, “It is putting yourself in someone else’s place.” That is not true! Intercession is putting yourself in God’s place; it is having His mind and His perspective.

As an intercessor, be careful not to seek too much information from God regarding the situation you are praying about, because you may be overwhelmed. If you know too much, more than God has ordained for you to know, you can’t pray; the circumstances of the people become so overpowering that you are no longer able to get to the underlying truth.

Our work is to be in such close contact with God that we may have His mind about everything, but we shirk that responsibility by substituting doing for interceding. And yet intercession is the only thing that has no drawbacks, because it keeps our relationship completely open with God.

What we must avoid in intercession is praying for someone to be simply “patched up.” We must pray that person completely through into contact with the very life of God. Think of the number of people God has brought across our path, only to see us drop them! When we pray on the basis of redemption, God creates something He can create in no other way than through intercessory prayer.

Binding And Loosing Prayer: Tom White

"For those in need of deliverance  I advise a two-track mode of binding and loosing prayer. I ask the Spirit to make the person sick of his or her sin, to plant seeds of truth in the person's mind and, if for an unbeliever, to stir the person to seek salvation. I also ask the Holy Spirit to silence, subdue and separate demonic influence from the person, thus allowing him/her to respond to truth. Having done this, I wait and watch for God to open doors and bring opportunity to work directly with the one in bondage."

- Tom White, The Believer's Guide To Spiritual Warfare, page 202

A Summary Theology of Prayer by John Piper

Below are five statements from John Piper as a summary theology of prayer. An assumption behind these statements is that to know more of God's purpose will deepen our commitment to pray and help us glorify God for why he does what he does.

1. God created the universe and all that is in it to display the riches of the glory of his grace.

Isaiah 43:6-7: Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14: to the praise of his glorious grace…to the praise of his glory…to the praise of his glory.

Romans 9:23: …in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory.

2. Therefore all persons should act in a way that calls attention to the glory of God's grace.

Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

3. The obedience and service of God's people will glorify him most when they consciously and manifestly depend on him for the grace and power to do what they do.

1 Peter 4:11 Whoever speaks [must do so] as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies-in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12: To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4. Prayer for God's help is one way that God preserves and manifests the dependence of his people on his grace and power. The necessity of prayer is a constant reminder and display of our dependence on God for everything, so that he gets the glory when we get the help.

Psalm 50:15: Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.

John 14:13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

5. When the Spirit inspires and directs the groanings in our hearts, the ultimate purpose of the universe happens: God gets the glory because God the Spirit creates the groanings in us; God gets the glory because God the Father is the one who hears and performs what the Spirit asks; God gets glory because God the Son purchased for sinners every blessing they ever receive; and God gets glory because our hearts are made the theater for this divine activity, so that we know and experience God's gracious intercession for us and consciously give him thanks and praise.

Not Ashamed To Pray by Cheryl Odden

"Perhaps one of the biggest stumbling blocks in our prayer life and our relationship with Christ is disappointment. We are disappointed in our spiritual life, job, country, church, and perhaps even our family.

If we get to the heart of the issue, our disappointment is directed not at these areas of our lives but at God. We may ask: How could he allow this (circumstance) to happen? Why isn’t he helping me overcome these sin issues in my life? Why isn’t he rewarding me for my hard work? Why isn’t he bringing about revival in our nation? Why isn’t he working in our children’s hearts?

The apostle Paul had every "right" to be disappointed in God. Paul was given a dramatic salvation experience and was launched into ministry. People were coming to Christ; religious and government officials were being convicted. It couldn’t get any better than that, could it? It did. Paul was thrown in jail. There he wrote several letters, which today are cornerstones of the Christian faith.

Yet Paul saw his chains not as a disappointment or a setback, but as an opportunity. He wrote to Timothy, advising him not to be ashamed of him, and used Onesiphorus as an example of one who was "not ashamed" of his chains." He invited Timothy to share in his sufferings through God’s power. Then earlier in his letter to the Philippians, he tells them that his imprisonment has furthered the gospel not frustrated it (1:12-14). And more so, his bonds have emboldened believers to preach without fear.

As we pray for the persecuted church, let us first evaluate our relationship with Christ. Spend some time alone with God, asking him to reveal any areas of your life where you are disappointed in him. If we allow ourselves to be honest, have we accused him of being indifferent toward our trials? Are we viewing our current sufferings as an obstacle for the gospel or an opportunity? Agree with him that your disappointment ultimately is sin. Thank him that he uses all things for his good purposes, and then stand on what’s true about him: Jesus is the chief cornerstone (Matthew 21:42); the earth is his and all it contains (Psalm 24:1); and he is the "ruler over the kings of the earth" (Revelation 1:5).

Then start praying for your persecuted family who is inviting you to fellowship in their sufferings according to God’s power." This artical wascopied from www.persecution.com

Why Aren't My Prayers Answered? John Piper

Back in 1996 John Piper preached a message titled, Praying From The Fullness of The Word, in which he addresses the questions, "Why aren't my prayers being answered?" - Ed Stetzer: He says in part,

It says we may not be praying according to God's will; 1 John 5:14, "If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us."
Or it could be we have cherished sin that we will not let go from our lives; Psalm 66:18, "If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear."

It could be that we have man-centered and not God-centered motives; James 4:3, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures."

Or it may be that we do not believe that God will do it; Mark 11:24, "All things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you."

Or it could be that God wants you to persevere, and is testing your obedience to his command in Luke 18:1, "At all times [you] ought to pray and not to lose heart."

Or it might be that God is, in fact, doing far more every time you pray than you can imagine and is daily putting in place a part of the mosaic that will in good time be the full answer to your prayer (as in Daniel 10:2,12).

4 Ways To Pray The Gospel Over Your Life - J D Greear

One of the revolutionary ideas of the gospel is that we begin to do what we ought for God as we are captivated by the story of what he has done for us.

Spiritual fruits do not develop in us as we focus on them; spiritual fruits come as we abide in Jesus (John 15:5). Spiritual “fruit” is much like physical “fruit.” When a husband and wife conceive physical “fruit” (i.e. a child), they are not thinking about the exact, scientific mechanics of making that child. They get caught up in a moment of loving intimacy with one another, and the fruit of that loving intimacy is a child. In the same way, spiritual fruits do not grow by focusing on fruit production, but by becoming intimate with the doctrines of the gospel.

Grow Your Fruit with the Gospel

Jesus said that saturating ourselves in the gospel, or “abiding” (lit., “making our home”) in it, is the way to abundant fruit. Sanctification is the daily process of pulling up the roots of our hearts from the flesh and grounding them in the soil of the gospel. Or, to change metaphors, we must send out missionaries to the unreached parts of our heart to preach the gospel and bring our heart under the subjugation of the gospel.


Things like radical generosity and audacious faith are not produced when we focus on them, but when we focus on the gospel.


A Prayer of God's Righteousness

About four years ago, I wrote a prayer for our church to help to this end. We often talk about “preaching the gospel to ourselves daily,” but how can you do that? This four-part prayer confronts us with the reality of God’s gift-righteousness and love:

1.“In Christ, there is nothing I could do that would make you love me more, and nothing I have done that makes you love me less.”

Pray about this “gift righteousness” of the gospel (2 Cor. 5:21) and go to war against the incipient works-righteousness hardwired into our hearts.

2.“Your presence and approval are all I need today for everlasting joy.”

Pray about this value of God’s presence in our lives. It’s one thing to know that Jesus is your possession; it’s another for that approval to have such weightiness in our hearts that our captivity to other idols is snapped.

3.“As you have been to me, so I will be to others.”

Pray about and consider the extravagant generosity of God toward us. His generosity toward us leads us to radical generosity toward others.

4.“As I pray, I’ll measure your compassion by the cross and your power by the resurrection.”


Pray that God would help you view the world through the lens of the gospel. Seeing the compassion and power of God revealed in the gospel produces bold, audacious faith in our hearts.



Focus on What Jesus has Done For You

Things like radical generosity and audacious faith are not produced when we focus on them, but when we focus on the gospel. Focusing on what we ought to do for God creates only frustration and exhaustion; focusing on what Jesus has done for us produces abundant fruit. Resting in what Jesus has done for us releases the revolutionary power of the gospel.



J.D. Greear is the pastor of the Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, NC. This article is adapted from his newly released book, Gospel: Recovering the Power that Made Christianity Revolutionary.

Scraps of Thoughts on Daily Prayer by Tim Keller

There are three kinds of prayer I try to find time for every day - meditation (or contemplation), petition, and repentance. I concentrate on the first two every morning and do the last one in the evening.

Meditation is actually a middle ground or blend of Bible reading and prayer. I like to use Luther's contemplative method that he outlines in his famous letter on prayer that he wrote to his barber. The basic method is this - to take a Scriptural truth and ask three questions of it. How does this show me something about God to praise? How does this show me something about myself to confess? How does this show me something I need to ask God for? Adoration, confession, and supplication. Luther proposes that we keep meditating like this until our hearts begin to warm and melt under a sense of the reality of God. Often that doesn't happen. Fine. We aren't ultimately praying in order to get good feelings or answers, but in order to honor God for who he is in himself.

There are two kinds of Bible reading that I try to do. I read the psalms through every month using the Book of Common Prayer's daily office. I also read through the Bible using Robert Murray M'Cheyne's reading calendar. I take the more relaxed version - two chapters a day, which takes you through the Old Testament every two years and the New Testament every year. I do the M'Cheyne reading and some of the psalms in the morning, and read some Psalms in the evening. I choose one or two things from the psalms and M'Cheyne chapters to meditate on, to conclude my morning devotions.

Besides morning prayer (M'Cheyne, Psalms, meditation, and petition) and evening prayer (Psalms and repentance) I try as often as possible to take five minutes in the middle of the day to take a spiritual inventory, either by remembering the more spiritually radioactive ideas from my morning devotion, or by a quick look at my most besetting sins and idols. I do that to see whether so far that day I've given in to bad attitudes such as pride, coldness and hardness of heart, anxiety, and unkindness. If I see myself going wrong, the mid-day prayer can catch it. The problem with mid-day prayer is finding a time for it, since every day is different. All I need is to get alone for a few minutes, but that is often impossible, or more often than not I just forget. However, I carry a little guide to mid-day prayer in my wallet which I can take out and use.

The last form of prayer that I do daily is prayer with my wife, Kathy. About nine years ago Kathy and I were contemplating the fact that we had largely failed to pray together over the years. Then Kathy exhorted me like this. "What if our doctor told us that we had a serious heart condition that in the past was always fatal. However, now there was a pill which, if we took it every night, would keep us alive for years and years. But you could never miss a single night, or you would die. If our doctor told us this and we believed it, we would never miss. We would never say, 'oh I didn't get to it.' We would do it. Right? Well, if we don't pray together every night, we are going to spiritually die." I realized she was right. And for some reason, the penny dropped for us both, and we can't remember missing a night since. Even if we are far away from each other, there's always the phone. We pray very, very simply - just a couple of minutes. We pray for whatever we are most worried about as a couple, anyone or anything on our hearts that day. And we pray through the needs of our family. That's it. Simple, but so, so good.

It is very hard to stick with this regimen, especially when I'm traveling. But every so often I buckle down for a 40-day period in which I push myself to do every one of my stated times of prayer every day. This creates habits of mind and heart that stick with me, so that even when there are very busy times, I find I am able to stick with some of my disciplines, and I don't find myself getting cold and hard toward God.

Robert Murray M'Cheyne was reputed to have said to ministers, "what your people need most from you is your personal holiness."

Prayer and Fellowship

Prayer is one of the foundational disciplines of a disciple. In John 15:4 Jesus tells his disciples “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” When the disciples said to Jesus, “Lord teach us how to pray,” it was because they knew that he was a man of profound devotion and prayer. They walked with him and talked with him. But perhaps more importantly for our study, they saw that he was a true man of prayer.

Pray like Jesus

Jesus is the primary example for prayer to his disciples. The Gospels tell us Jesus prayed at every major event in his life: his baptism (Luke 3:21); the choice of apostles (6:12-12); his transfiguration (9:29); before the cross at Gethsemane (22:39-40); and on the cross (23:46). And he continues in prayer for us. Hebrews 7:27 says, “He always lives to make intercessions for them.” He sets the example for us to follow.

Disciples are to follow Jesus’ example of prayer. Prayer is personal communion with the living God. It refers to the greatest privilege a Christian can have—access to God himself. Through prayer, disciples become intimate with the Lord.

It's personal

There are several keys to personal prayer. First, seek God with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:10-14). Second, schedule a daily prayer time. The important thing is to be consistent. Third, choose a private place to pray. A prayer closet could be anywhere, as long as it is private. Limit distractions. Last, the best way to learn how to pray is to do it!

A disciple is devoted to fellowship

When reading the book of Acts, we can see that the life of the early church revolved around fellowship. Acts 2:42 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Fellowship is an intimate union in which Christians share. This is not just friendship, but also the deep bond that only Christians can know as the family of God. At the heart of the word for fellowship is the idea of participation together. The Christian life is living together in community with Christ and one another. The cultivation of fellowship is very important in living the Christian life.

Two are better than one

The Bible says that it is not good to be alone, and that two are better than one (Ecclesiastes 4:9). God made us for community and right relationship with others. Martin Luther said, "God has created man for fellowship, and not for solitariness." Disciples of Christ need one another to live for God in the world.

“Fellowship is one of the main ways disciples grow in the Lord.

”God has given believers the blessing of fellowship to provide a place for spiritual growth, intimacy, accountability, and protection. The church is a place where fellowship happens. It is not a building; it is the family of God and the body of Christ. The church is a spiritual family that supports and encourages believers. Through true fellowship, disciples experience and share the love of God with other brothers and sisters in Christ. Disciples also take part in discipling others through the blessing of fellowship. (The article by Winfield Bevins was taken from the Resurgence blog.) www.theresurgence.com

Dudley Hall on Kingdom Prayer

This post is an excerpt from Dudley Hall's monthly message entitled, Praying As Sons, June 2010. You can get read this message in it's entirety by going to Dudley's website. Dudley has been a tremendous help to me on my spiritual journey since 1983. www.sclm.org - Bobby


"Prayer is talking and listening and waiting in the presence of the Father. What could be more satisfying than visiting with the person who knows everything and is essentially good? The more we know him, the more we will love him, and that love is the highest form of life. Prayer then is not primarily a duty. It is the high privilege that sons have because of Jesus’ work.


Prayer is a partnership. One day the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. This is interesting because they probably already knew how to go to the temple and pray. They knew the posture and the words, but when they watched Jesus pray, they knew something was different. They wanted to be able to fellowship with the Father like Jesus did. He granted their request with the model prayer.


“When you pray, say, ‘Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven….’” Jesus was telling them that they would participate in the expression of the kingdom of God, which had come to earth in him.


Remember, the first man was given partnership with God. Now the last Adam was restoring the dignity destroyed by sin. The followers of Jesus would work with God by praying his kingdom into the earth.


So how would praying the kingdom to come look?


For government, we can pray that God will lead the leaders to make clear and simple laws that will protect the citizens from internal and external oppression, and free them to manage their own lives with opportunity to trade with each other. That is the purpose of government in society.


For the church, we can pray that it will awaken to its societal responsibilities of defining and declaring truth while equipping its members to demonstrate the kingdom of God in every sphere of influence. If it gets distracted from this role, all of society will suffer.


For the home, we can pray that families will model the family of God with mutual submission and clear division of labor, that the members will be nurtured and empowered to discover their destiny in relation to God’s purpose.


For individuals, we can pray for unbelievers to have their eyes opened to see the gospel in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:3-5). We can pray for believers to have eyes opened to see their inheritance in Christ and to walk in it. Both have a “seeing” problem we can address in prayer. Remember, when we pray, God sends lightening and thunder. They can see and hear the truth that will set them free.


This is a day when God is calling his people to take seriously their privilege in prayer. We are partners with him."

First, You Listen

First, You Listen
Discover the key to seeking what's on God's heart

by Lee Brase

Several years ago, God urged me to develop a deeper prayer life. I chose as my mentors the praying people of the Bible. Their words gave me a language for my own prayers. They also taught me other valuable lessons. One of them was the need to listen to God–to wait on Him–before and as I pray.

This attitude of listening was a challenge to my activist tendencies. But as I studied my mentors from Scripture. I became convinced that the habit of waiting on God was key to a transformed prayer life.

Waiting in Silence

"My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation. . . . My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him" (Ps. 62:1, 5, NASB). There are different ways to wait on God, but perhaps the most intense is the one described here by David: waiting in silence. When we wait in silence, we give God an opportunity to communicate His thoughts to us. David closes Psalm 62 with two thoughts that God spoke to him during his silence: "Power belongs to God" and "Lovingkindness is Thine, O Lord" (vv. 11-12, NASB). Though distressed by his circumstances and the wickedness of men, David found assurance in the character of God because he took time to listen to God.

A group of us were trying to learn to pray from God's heart rather than from our own thoughts and emotions. One person described a very difficult home environment. Our first inclination was to rush into prayer to ask God to rescue our friend from her painful circumstances. Instead, however, we spent several minutes in silence to do what David did in Ps. 131:2: "I have stilled and quieted my soul." In that silence, we asked God to prompt our hearts and minds to know what He wanted us to pray.

It was amazing how united we were in our asking. For about 15 minutes we built upon each others' prayers. When we finished praying, I turned to our friend and asked: "Did you notice what God did not lead us to pray?" Her immediate response was, "I certainly did. I think God must want to change me rather than my circumstances." We had entered the silence expecting God to use our prayers to change her circumstances, but God had something more important in mind for her. To accomplish His purpose, God changed what we asked of Him.

A Listening Attitude

Asking is the easy part of prayer; knowing what to ask is the difficult part. That's why waiting on God is so critical when we intercede for one another.

How can you learn to listen to God before you rush into asking? Begin by placing yourself in a listening attitude. Think of a time when you were listening intently to someone. You focused your attention on them, you were quiet, and you absorbed their thoughts. That's what you can do with God.

Solomon urged, "Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God" (Eccl. 5:2). Instead of blurting out your list of requests, enter into this silence and stillness with one question: "Lord, what do You want me to ask of You concerning the need before me?" Expect God to remind you of a Scripture passage or to put a thought in your mind. If you have already decided what you think God wants to say, you will close your heart to any other thoughts from Him, so give Him the opportunity to say anything He wants to you.

There is great safety when a group takes the time and effort to work toward finding God's will in prayer. From time to time, my wife and I do this with Mt. 18:19 in mind: "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven." After a time of silence, we make a list of prayer requests that we agree we need to see God act on. By listening to God and coming to agreement, we enter prayer with greater faith and fervor.

Where's your focus?

Another key to listening to God is to focus your attention on Him. The most powerful prayer meetings I have experienced have been the ones where we focused first on God. The longer a group stays focused on God, the more united it is in prayer. Dwelling on God causes us to become absorbed in Him and His desires. This is a form of listening because our hearts are drawn into His heart and our wills are lost in His will.

David's prayer when he was running from Saul is recorded in Psalm 63. David was in great danger, and we'd expect his prayer to begin with cries for deliverance. But David was so absorbed in focusing on God that he didn't mention his distressing situation until the end of the psalm.

One way to focus on God is to look at how He has acted in biblical history. In Acts 4, Jesus' followers faced great danger. Their lives were threatened by the same people who had condemned and crucified Jesus a few months earlier. The disciples were told "not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus" (Acts 4:18).

What would you pray in these circumstances? I can imagine asking God, "Protect us from these evil people. Give us a more acceptable method to preach Jesus. Do away with those on the council. Don't let us get caught proclaiming Your name." But listen to what the disciples prayed (vv. 24-30).

Sovereign Lord . . . you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: "Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One." Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

These threatened believers probably didn't know what to ask when they first approached God. So they recalled a time in biblical history when people made threats against God. Then they traced God's response in history. The disciples saw that Jesus' suffering and death in the hands of rulers was something that God "decided beforehand should happen."

After reviewing how God's victorious plan had involved suffering, the disciples did not ask God for safety, comfort, or an easy way out. They gained the courage to ask for those things that would best advance God's kingdom during their time on earth. They made two requests: one for boldness and one for miraculous works to give their bold words credibility. God answered their prayer.

Reviewing God's work in history can be a form of listening when it is done to discern His plan and purpose. It helps us look beyond immediate needs to see how God might be using the present difficulties for eternal good.

From God's Heart to Yours

If we are to colabor with God through intercession, we need to learn to listen before we ask. Silence and waiting will not come easily at first, but as you practice this discipline, you will grow in it. Begin this week. During your time of intercession, wait silently before God before you speak. Begin with short segments of silence: They will expand as you become more comfortable with waiting. In time, you will discover that your prayers are coming right from the heart of God. You will be part of the magnificent process described by S. D. Gordon in his book Quiet Talks on Prayer:

It begins in the heart of God, sweeps down into a human heart upon the earth, so intersecting the circle of the earth, which is the battlefield of prayer, and then it goes back again to its starting point, having accomplished its purpose.


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About the author:
Lee Brase is the director of The Navigators' Prayer Ministry, a member of the National Prayer Committee, and member of the facilitating team for Pastors' Prayer Summits.

Lee coauthored, with Henry Helsabeck, the Bible study guide Praying from God's Heart (NavPress). He likes being with people who "know how to live a relaxed lifestyle among the lost."

A.C.T.S. Prayer Model

(This article was taken from the Mana Bits Of Daily Bread website.)


The Bible identifies several different types of prayers we can pray. One model for how we should pray is captured in the acrostic A.C.T.S. Each letter stands for a specific aspect of prayer, arranged in a very natural order.

A: Adoration (Worship)
C: Confession (Of Specific Sins)
T: Thanksgiving (Gratitude)
S: Supplication (Specific Requests)

Adoration: Jesus essentially taught us the same thing in the Lord’s Prayer, which begins, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name” (Matthew 6:9). This puts things in perspective for us. A good example of this type of adoration is found in Psalm 95:1-7. When we take time to praise and worship God in our prayers, we are placing God where He rightfully belongs. As a result, our problems and needs come into their proper perspective.

Confession: The closer we draw to God, the more we sense our own sinfulness. When Isaiah came into God’s presence, he said, “Woe is me, for I am undone!” (Isaiah 6:5). The confession of our sin removes any barriers and clears the air of anything that would cause God not to hear our prayers. As 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us . . . ” This is, once again, modeled in the Lord’s Prayer. After “Our Father who art in heaven,” we find, “Forgive us our sins” (Matthew 6:12).

Thanksgiving: Our immediate response after confession is thanksgiving. We should be thankful that God would indeed cleanse and forgive us. Should we give thanks because everything is going perfectly in our lives or because we are in a good mood? No, we should give thanks because God deserves our praise. Psalm 118:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For his mercy endures forever.” As another translation puts it, “His love endures forever.” By giving thanks, or simply expressing gratitude for what we have, we prevent our focus from shifting to what we do not have.

Supplication: If we are faithful in the first three steps, the last step will not degenerate into some spiritual shopping list. Too often in prayer, we cut to the chase instead of spending time in adoration, confession, and thanksgiving first. Yet, God does want to hear our needs and requests. Scripture tells us, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6-7). We are also promised, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:l9).

Do not neglect this vital part of your Christian walk. As someone has said, “Prayer is the breath of the newborn soul, and there can be no Christian life without it.”

Kingdom - Centered Prayer

(This article was taken from the Redeemer Presbyterian Church website.) www.redeemer.com

People are used to thinking about prayer as a means to get their personal needs met. However we should understand prayer as a means to praise and adore God, to know Him, to come into his presence and be changed by Him. We need to better learn how to pray, repent and petition God as a people.

Biblically and historically, the one non-negotiable, universal ingredient in times of spiritual renewal is corporate, prevailing, intensive and kingdom-centered prayer. What is that?


1.It is focused on God's presence and kingdom.
Jack Miller talks about the difference between "maintenance prayer" and "frontline" prayer meetings. Maintenance prayer meetings are short, mechanical, and totally focused on physical needs inside the church. But frontline prayer has three basic traits:

a.a request for grace to confess sins and humble ourselves

b.a compassion and zeal for the flourishing of the church

c.a yearning to know God, to see his face, to see his glory.
It is most interesting to study Biblical prayer for revival, such as in Acts 4 or Exodus 33 or Nehemiah 1, where these three elements are easy to see. Notice in Acts 4, for example, that the disciples, whose lives had been threatened, did not ask for protection for themselves and their families, but only boldness to keep preaching!

2.It is bold and specific.
The characteristics of this kind of prayer include:

a.Pacesetters in prayer spend time in self-examination. Without a strong understanding of grace, this can be morbid and depressing. But in the context of the gospel, it is purifying and strengthening. They "take off their ornaments" (Exod. 33:1-6). They examine selves for idols and set them aside.

b.They then begin to make the big request–a sight of the glory of God. That includes asking: 1) for a personal experience of the glory/presence of God ("that I may know you" – Exod. 33:13); 2) for the people's experience of the glory of God (v. 15); and 3) that the world might see the glory of God through his people (v. 16). Moses asks that God's presence would be obvious to all: "What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" This is a prayer that the world be awed and amazed by a show of God's power and radiance in the church, that it would become truly the new humanity that is a sign of the future kingdom.

3.It is prevailing, corporate.
By this we mean simply that prayer should be constant, not sporadic and brief. Why? Are we to think that God wants to see us grovel? Why do we not simply put our request in and wait? But sporadic, brief prayer shows a lack of dependence, a self-sufficiency, and thus we have not built an altar that God can honor with his fire. We must pray without ceasing, pray long, pray hard, and we will find that the very process is bringing about that which we are asking for – to have our hard hearts melted, to tear down barriers, to have the glory of God break through.

Conquering Prayerlessness by Andrew Murray

"This article was taken from the Redeemer Presbyterian Church website.) www.redeemer.com

The greatest stumbling block in the way of victory over prayerlessness is the secret feeling that we shall
never obtain the blessing of being delivered from it. Often have we put forth effort in this direction, but in
vain. Old habit, and the power of the flesh, our surroundings with their attractions, have been too strong for
us. What good is it to attempt that which our heart assures us is out of our reach?
The change needed in the entire life is too great and difficult. If the question is put: “Is a change possible?
Our sighing heart says: “Alas, for me it is entirely impossible!” Do you know why that reply comes? It is
simply because you have received the call to prayer as the voice of Moses and as a command of the law.
Moses and his law have never yet given any one the power to obey.
Do you really long for the courage to believe that deliverance from a prayerless life is possible for you, and
may become a reality? Then you must learn the great lesson that such a deliverance is included in the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, that it is one of the blessings of the New Covenant which God Himself
will impart to you through Christ Jesus.
As you begin to understand this, you will find that the exhortation, “Pray without ceasing,” conveys a new
meaning. Hope begins to spring up in your heart, that the Spirit – who has been bestowed on you, to cry
constantly, “Abba, Father” – will make a true life of prayer possible for you. Then you will hearken, not in
the spirit of discouragement, but in the gladness of hope, to the voice that calls you to repentance.
Many a one has turned to his Inner Chamber, under bitter self-accusation that he has prayed so little, and
has resolved for the future to live in a different manner. Yet no blessing has come – there was not the
strength to continue faithful, and the call to repentance had no power, because his eyes had not been fixed
on the Lord Jesus. If he had only understood, he would have said, “Lord, Thou seest how cold and dark my
heart is. I know that I must pray, but I feel I cannot do so, I lack the urgency and desire to pray.”
He did not know that at that moment the Lord Jesus in His tender love was looking down upon Him and
saying “You cannot pray; you feel that all is cold and dark; why not give yourself over into My hands?
Only believe that I am ready to help you in prayer; I long greatly to shed abroad My love in your heart, so
that you, in the consciousness of weakness, may confidently rely on Me to bestow the grace of prayer: Just
as I will cleanse you from all other sins, so also will I deliver from the sin of prayerlessness – only do not
seek the victory in your own strength. Bow before Me as one who expects everything from his Saviour.
Let your soul keep silence before Me, however sad you feel your state to be. Be assured of this – I will
teach you how to pray.”
Many a one will acknowledge: “I see my mistake; I had not thought that the Lord Jesus must deliver and
cleanse me from this sin also. I had not understood that He was with me every day in the Inner Chamber,
in His great love ready to keep and bless me, however sinful and guilty I felt myself to be. I had not
supposed that just as He will give all other grace in answer to prayer, so, above all and before all, He will
bestow the grace of a praying heart.
What folly to think that all other blessings must come from Him, but that prayer whereon everything else
depends, must be obtained by personal effort! Thank God I begin to comprehend – the Lord Jesus is
Himself in the Inner Chamber watching over me, and holding Himself responsible to teach me how to
approach the Father. This only He demands – that I, with child-like confidence, wait upon Him and glorify
Him.”
If fear and hesitation still remain, I pray you by the mercies of God in Jesus Christ, and by the unspeakable
faithfulness of His tender love, dare to cast yourselves at His feet. Only believe with your whole heart –
there is deliverance from the sin of prayerlessness. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). In His blood and grace there
is complete deliverance from all unrighteousness, and from all prayerlessness. Praised be His Name
forever! Rev. Andrew Murray, in The Prayer-Life (1920

Praying The Psalms

(This article was taken from the Redeemer Presbyterian Church website.)

1."The Psalms teach us to pray through imitation and response...Real prayer is always an answer to God's revelation. The Psalms are BOTH prayer and revelations about God�the perfect ideal soil for learning prayer.

2.The Psalms take us deep into our own hearts 1000 times faster than we would ever go if left to ourselves...Religious/moral people tend to want to deny the rawness and reality of their own feelings, especially the darkness of them...The secular world has almost made an idol of emotional self-expression...But the Psalmists neither 'stuff' their feelings nor 'ventilate' them. They pray them–they take them into the presence of God until they change or understand them.

3.Most importantly, the Psalms force us to deal with God as He is, not as we wish he was. 'Left to ourselves, we will pray to some god who speaks what we like hearing, or to the part of God we manage to understand. But what is critical is that we speak to the God who speaks to us, and to everything He speaks to us...the Psalms train us in that conversation." (quote from Eugene Peterson's Answering God)' "

Additional Note: The Imprecatory Psalms can be confusing with their cries for vengeance upon Israel's or the psalmist's enemies. "Basically, realize that calls for justice are absolutely right, and remind us how important God's holiness and justice are. But secondly, recognize that the Psalmists did not have the justice of God completely satisfied in Christ. Thus we pray for our enemies, not wish them ill. Yet we as Christians can pray these Psalms as longings for social justice and hatred against the 'power and principalities' behind the world." Quotes from Dr Tim Keller's January 2006 MCM teaching notes, c2006, used with permission.

Suggestions:


1.Try to understand a psalm before praying it. A commentary is particularly helpful to understand the context of the Psalm. What was the Psalmist going through when he wrote this particular Psalm? The Psalms also point to Christ. Where might this psalm fit into His life? (see example on p 2)

2.Linger over a Psalm. Is there a particular verse that is particularly relevant to your life right now? Chew on it. Read it aloud over and over, with a different emphasis on each word. Why is this word chosen or important here? What difference would this make in my life if I believed this with all my heart? If I applied this to my life? Pray for yourself and others from it.

3.Use the Psalms to praise God for different aspects of His character.

4.Use an order to guide you: chronological; Book of Common Prayer schedule (see p 2)
Trying it out:

Try out the above suggestions. (If you want to experiment, Psalm 131 is short, yet speaks richly to New Yorkers today. Commentary notes for this psalm are on the back). Take small steps. 15-20 minutes a day would be a great starting point. Don't rush. Don't worry about doing this perfectly, just start! Invite the Holy Spirit into these times and let His grace and truth shape your prayer and heart. Stay at it for three weeks - research shows that it takes about 3 weeks to build a habit. Be alert to what differences might be happening in your relationship with the Lord and your life as a result. (If helpful, go for a leisurely block of time on a Sunday! Or discuss/pray a Psalm in community.)

Psalm 131

My heart is not proud, O LORD,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, put your hope in the LORD
both now and forevermore.Commentary #1: New Bible Commentary, 21st edition, p 575.

Psalm 131. Rest In Psalm 130 the exhortation to hope arose from what is true of the Lord; in 131:3 it arises from what the psalmist has found to be personally true. He has taken a lowly place (1); his inner being (2) is at rest - like a child grown past the instinctive demands and fretfulness of infancy and now content, as a toddler, simply to be with mother. What kind of an original journey out of self-confident pride into humility and rest first prompted this beautiful psalm? We do not know, but its call to hope in the Lord links it with 130 and makes it the testimony of a sinner forgiven: humbled by the mercy of God, at peace within because at peace above.

Commentary #2: Notes on the Psalms, G Campbell Morgan, p 260.

Psalm 131: Jehovah the Satisfaction of the Pilgrim This is a brief psalm, but it very full of beauty, as it sets forth the contentment of a restless soul in the will of God. It follows the last as an advance of experience, and as a sequence. Its peculiar note is not that of a natural contentment, but of a satisfaction won in spite of all contrary tendencies. The thought of weaning is the dominant one. That for which a child craves it at last becomes content without. So the soul of the singer, which once was ambitious and restlessly attempted to walk in ways for which it was not fitted, is with Him in quietness and contentment. The secret of victory over feverish ambition is divulged in the psalmist's appeal to Israel to hope in the Lord. That, interpreted in the light of the previous psalm, means that in the gracious sense of His forgiving love is the secret of a content which puts an end to all false ambition. Redemption truly apprehended, is more than forgiveness. It is restoration to the quiet peace of being in harmony with all the forces of nature, because governed by the will of God.

From The Book of Common Prayer, 1662: Read 1 or more psalms selected by the schedule.

Day AM PM Day AM PM Day AM PM Day AM PM

1. 1-5 6-8 8.38-40 41-43 15. 75-77 78 22. 107 108-109

2. 9-11 12-13 9. 44-46 47-49 16. 79-81 82-85 23. 110-113 114-115

3. 14-17 18 10. 50-52 53-55 17. 86-88 89 24. 116-118 119:1-32

4. 19-21 22-23 11. 56-58 59-61 18. 90-92 93-94 25. 119:33-72 119:73-104

5. 24-26 27-29 12. 62-64 65-67 19. 95-97 98-101 26. 119:105-144 119:145ff

6. 30-31 32-34 13. 68 69-70 20. 102-103 104 27. 120-125 126-131

7. 35-36 37 14. 71-72 73-74 21. 105 106 28. 132-135 136-138

29. 139-140 141-143

30. 144-146 147-150

THE PRIVELEGE OF PRAYER: Ken Boa

KenBoa.org - THE PRIVELEGE OF PRAYER

Charles Spurgeon On The Lord's Prayer

"After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, etc."

Matthew 6:9
This prayer begins where all true prayer must commence, with the spirit of adoption, "Our Father." There is no acceptable prayer until we can say, "I will arise, and go unto my Father."

This child-like spirit soon perceives the grandeur of the Father "in heaven," and ascends to devout adoration, "Hallowed be thy name." The child lisping, "Abba, Father," grows into the cherub crying, "Holy, Holy, Holy."

There is but a step from rapturous worship to the glowing missionary spirit, which is a sure outgrowth of filial love and reverent adoration—"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Next follows the heartfelt expression of dependence upon God—"Give us this day our daily bread."

Being further illuminated by the Spirit, he discovers that he is not only dependent, but sinful, hence he entreats for mercy, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors:" and being pardoned, having the righteousness of Christ imputed, and knowing his acceptance with God, he humbly supplicates for holy perseverance, "Lead us not into temptation." The man who is really forgiven, is anxious not to offend again; the possession of justification leads to an anxious desire for sanctification. "Forgive us our debts," that is justification; "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," that is sanctification in its negative and positive forms.

As the result of all this, there follows a triumphant ascription of praise, "Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever, Amen." We rejoice that our King reigns in providence and shall reign in grace, from the river even to the ends of the earth, and of his dominion there shall be no end.

Thus from a sense of adoption, up to fellowship with our reigning Lord, this short model of prayer conducts the soul. Lord, teach us thus to pray.



—From Spurgeon's Morning and Evening