Clear instruction as to prayer
Mark 11:22-24 “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
Prayer is us, as God’s sons and daughters, talking to Him, to ascertain and find help to do HIs Will, for ourselves…or others.
Coming before His throne for mercy and grace (Hebrews 4:16)
Prayer is a great privilege. It brings us before HIs throne, through Christ’s merits, and lets us have a blessed fellowship,….a time of intercession for our troubles, or others….a time of telling God what is in our hearts (whether joy, hurt, or sorrow).
Though He knows all things….yet in prayer we enter His Presence in spirit, and find HIs Will and grace.
And when we do not know even what to pray…..”..the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Even our moans and sighs, in sorrow, worry, or pain are heard.
But there are a few conditions to prayer….in scripture:
The first is….”Believe” It says plainly that we are to ask, believing that we will receive them….and ye shall have them.
(Think of the father who brought his son to the disciples and they could not heal him. When Jesus came…the father begged “If Thou can do anything…help us”. Jesus said, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” Mark 9:20-24
And Jesus showed that it is acceptable to ask for help to believe.
Or think of the centurion, for Jesus said, “…as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.” Matthew 8:13)
The second condition to prayer is: to forgive.
Mark 11:25-26 “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
But if ye do not forgive, neither will you Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
To forgive here is to send forth, to put away. When we forgive we are set free from the influence of the “trespass” against us. We send it away, put it away from us….by forgiving.
(And again this is an act of the will, for Christ’s sake….not of the emotions. It is something which is done in us by the Holy Spirit…and through us by our will cooperating with the Holy Spirit.)
The trespass is a “side step”….whether in error, or intentionally….the trespasser is the one wrong…out of place, whether in word or deed.
But we are forgive,…remembering that we also have done many “side steps” or trespasses against God. And we want to be forgiven….and have our prayers answered.
(As Paul wrote the churches: “To whom ye forgive…I forgive also..” 2 Cor. 2:10.)
The third condition is to do no evil.
1 Peter 3:12 “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”
Isaiah 59:2 “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.”
We have been called to confess our sins, and to turn from them. (1 John 1:7-9) And when we do, we walk in the light….and have that fellowship with the Lord and with each other that encourages and build us up in the faith.
Prayer is our privilege.
Prayer keeps us from temptation (Matthew 26:41, Luke 21:34-36)
Prayer brings down the blessing for ourselves and others
Paul asked for prayer for himself 2 Cor. 1:11, Phil. 1:19, 1 Thes.5:25, 2 Thes. 3:1, Eph. 6:18-19….
….and one of the first things spoken about Paul after his conversion is….”Behold, he prayeth..” Acts 9:11…
….Paul tells of his prayers for the believers Ro. 1:9, Eph. 1:16, Col. 4:12, 1 Thess. 1:2, 2 Thess. 1:11, 2 Tim.1:3, Philemon 4.)
Prayer was the first thing that those in the upper room, before Pentecost, were doing. Acts 1:14
After the first threats against Peter and John (Acts 4:21-23)…they went back to the gathered church and prayed.
James says, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16
In the last book before the Revelation….Jude, in his final exhortation says,
“But ye, beloved building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” (Jude 20-21)
It is our great privilege to pray to the Lord Jesus….and our great blessing to have our prayers answered.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 