Today we continue our series entitled, “The Benefits of Prayer and Fasting,” with an emphasis on “The Power of Prayer.” In our last couple of messages we looked at John 16:22-24. Yesterday I did not focus on verse 24. I want to go back to that verse this morning. Jesus said the following to His disciples about prayer: “You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.” When we pray and God answers our prayers, it truly ignites our joy. When you know that the God who sits on the circle of the earth is actually LISTENING to you, and responding to your prayers, it does something for you (on the inside) that cannot be shaken. When you think about it, it is truly amazing that God would hear our prayers. He does this because He loves us and because He is dedicated to the plans He made for us before the world began. However, while the feeling that God hears you is amazing, the opposite feeling can be demoralizing. That’s what I will focus in on today.
Many believers simply don’t pray. They have come to the conclusion, consciously or subconsciously, that prayer isn’t very important to everyday life; that prayer doesn‘t apply to the real world. So what are they left with? They look primarily to themselves or others to meet their needs in order to get by everyday. While millions of people live this way everyday, the problem with living this way is that it is NOT a picture of God’s best. Our heavenly father earnestly yearns to be part of our daily lives and prayer has a lot to do with it.
I am convinced that the lack of prayer is connected to a failed understanding of prayer. In general, there is a lack of teaching, interest and working knowledge about prayer amongst believers. This lack of understanding has caused many to THINK that their prayers have been unanswered. Perceived unanswered prayer can cause deep and devastating spiritual and emotional pain. This type of pain can lead to sorrow, despair, bitterness and rebellion. If not addressed, these feelings can undermine the foundation of our faith and lead to the following:
1. When we don’t believe God hears our prayers, we feel abandoned and isolated from God, imagining that He doesn’t care about us or our problems.
- When this happens we begin to doubt His love for us.
- We view God as someone who is either against us (at worst) or just indifferent towards us (at best).
- Once we get to this point we no longer see God as a loving, caring and sharing heavenly Father.
2. When we don’t believe God hears our prayers, we come to premature conclusions about our prayers and ourselves. We try to make sense out of why our prayers are not effective and we say things like:
- I must not have enough faith.
- God answers other people, He just doesn’t answer me.
- Why can‘t I pray like… so and so?
3. When we don’t believe God hears our prayers, we doubt our calling as intercessors. Although the Father expects and requires us to pray for others, we begin to think:
- Well, answered prayer must be for an elite group of super-spiritual Christians.
- Maybe God did not “call” me to pray.
- Once we get to this point we simply stop praying.
I can relate. In 1997 I was part of an evangelistic street outreach team. We went door-to-door evangelizing on Saturday mornings. I was the youngest person on the team and one of only two men. Before we went out we circled together, held hands and prayed. The prayer went from person to person. As I heard these women pray, it seemed like they were immediately translated to heaven and they were praying at the feet of Jesus. Whenever they opened their mouths, I felt God’s presence and it was amazing. However, when the prayer got to me, I often stumbled my way through a few lines, feeling inadequate and intimidated. I know I did not know how to pray, but pride would not allow me to ask for help.
So what does this mean to you today? A few quick things.
- You will never maximize what you do not understand. Like anything else, if you do not understand prayer, you won’t be good at it. But all is not lost. God gave us His Word, His Spirit, and ministry gifts (leaders) in the Body of Christ to teach us. The Father expects you to pray daily, and throughout each day. Don’t let frustration stop you. Determine right now that you are going to study what God’s Word says about prayer and to put what you learn into practice. This important, because you will never maximize your purpose and potential without a prayer life.
- Don’t allow pride to keep you where you are. Humble yourself before God and He will exalt you. The more you humbly acknowledge what you know and do not know, the more God can teach you.
- Never blame God. If you are not where you want to be in life, in any area, then don’t blame God as if it is His fault. God has given you all you need to succeed. God’s grace is on you to do what He requires of you. Make a determination, right now, that you are going to embrace the grace of God and become the man/woman you are called to be.
- Never give up. The only way you can lose is if you quit. Never give up on God, never give up on your prayer life, and never give up on yourself. If you keep going, you will keep growing!
Closing Confession:
Father, this is a season of expectation for me. I thank You for what You are doing in my life. You are taking me higher and higher in You as I develop my prayer life. I acknowledge the frustrations I have had with prayer in the past, but I refuse to allow past pain to keep me from future success. I open my heart, my mind and my spirit to learn of You. You teach me to pray and I get better at it day-by-day. I resist frustration as I keep a firm grip on my faith in the area of prayer. I will grow, I will pray, You will hear me, You will respond, and I will experience abundant joy! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
