The Pressing Priority
Introduction
After Jesus concluded a prayer cession, one of His disciples said, “Lord, teach us to pray…” (Luke 11: 1c). The teaching that followed is what is commonly referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer,” or “The Model Prayer.” As one might assume, prayer was no casual practice in the life of Jesus. He had much to say about its necessity in the Christian’s life.
If we would be real honest with ourselves, we’d probably have to admit that prayer often takes a backseat in our everyday practice. Our attitude towards prayer could probably be described as more of an afterthought than an appointment. We all know of course, that this is not the way it should be. We should not only plan to pray, but practice prayer.
Today I want to focus on what the Bible has to say about the way we should pray. Prayer is not merely high-sounding monolog. It is heart to heart communion with God. Since prayer is indeed the pressing priority, let’s examine how we should go about it.
Theme - The Word of God teaches us to…
I. Pray Always
I Chronicles 16:11, “Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.”
Luke 18:1, “And he (Jesus) spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”
I Thess.517, “Pray without ceasing.”
The Amplified Bible translates Luke 181 as follows:
Also [Jesus] told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to turn coward— faint, lose heart and give up.1
I fear many Christians’ problem these days is that they find it easier to give up than to pray. God help us not to be passive, but praying. And as we pray, may we pray persistently.
I look at a stonecutter hammering away at a rock a hundred times without so much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the 101st blow it splits in two. I know it was not the one blow that did it, but all that had gone before.2
II. Pray Aggressively
Sidlow Baxter has said, “...Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons—but they are helpless against our prayers.”3
John Knox, the founder of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland, prayed with such power that Mary, Queen of Scots, once commented, “I fear John Knox’s prayers more than an army of ten thousand men.”4
A. We Cannot Be Bashful In Prayer
Matthew 7:7, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:”
Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
B. We Must Continually Do Battle In Prayer
Paul said that we must recognize that we fight a spiritual adversary.
Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Paul then advises us to put on our spiritual armor.
Ephesians 6:11, “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
Finally, Paul says that we must pray always.
Ephesians 6:18, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”
We must be careful to remember that prayer is a great weapon in the arsenal of the Christian.
Andrew Murray said, “God’s child can conquer everything by prayer. Is it any wonder that Satan does his utmost to snatch that weapon from the Christian or hinder him from the use of it.”5
Fervent prayer enables the Church to take ground from the enemy, as is mentioned in the following statement:
Rulers who try to destroy the church will be rendered helpless in the face of prayer. The praying church is the church that will invade Satan’s territory and return with the spoils of victory. It is the praying church that will win the world to Jesus. We need congregations who make prayer a priority.6
Prayer must become the first priority of the Church in these last days.
The Western world today does not need better preachers. We need better prayers. Samuel Chadwick said, “The one concern of the devil is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.”7
Mickey Bonner once said, “All real prayer is warfare.”8
III. Pray Authoritatively
A. Our Authority In Prayer Rest With Our Position
1. We Exercise The Authority Of Christ
Ephesians 1:20-21, 26, “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 26 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”
2. We Share Christ’s Victory Over Satan
Colossians 2:15, “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”
2 Corinthians 2:14a, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ…”
B. Our Authority In Prayer Rest With God’s Promises
2 Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.”
2 Peter 1:4, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
When we stand on God’s promises we are assured of praying according to God’s will. The Apostle John said, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us” (I John 5:14).
Someone has said, “You can’t break God’s promises by leaning on them!”9
C. Our Authority In Prayer Rest With Our Purity
Psalm 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:”
Prayer, as well as any Christian ministry, cannot be effective when it comes from a dirty vessel.
Robert Murray McCheyne wrote to Dan Edwards after the latter’s ordination as a missionary, “In great measure, according to the purity and perfections of the instrument, will be the success. It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.”10
IV. Pray Agonizingly
Jeremiah 9:1, “Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!”
Jeremiah 29:12-13, “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall go and pray with all your heart.”
Luke 22:44a, “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly…”
The following account from Martin Luther illustrates the idea of earnestness in prayer: When Luther’s puppy happened to be at the table, he looked for a morsel from his master, and watched with open mouth and motionless eyes; he (Martin Luther) said, “Oh, if I could only pray the way this dog watches the meat! All his thoughts are concentrated on the piece of meat. Otherwise he has no thought, wish or hope.”11
Speaking of praying in earnestness, John Bunyan once said, “When thou prayest, rather let thy heart be without words than thy words without heart.”12
V. Pray With Anticipation
Jeremiah 33:3, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
James 1:6-7, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.”
Faith is the foundation of prayer. If we are praying according to God’s will, we should anticipate God’s answer. Clement once said, “Faith is a voluntary anticipation.”13
The idea here is much like this missionary couple: Faith honors God and God honors faith! A story from the life of missionaries Robert and Mary Moffat illustrates this truth. For 10 years this couple labored faithfully in Bechuanaland (now called Botswana) without one ray of encouragement to brighten their way. They could not report a single convert.
Finally the directors of their mission board began to question the wisdom of continuing the work. The thought of leaving their post, however, brought great grief to this devoted couple, for they felt sure that God was in their labors, and that they would see people turn to Christ in due season.
They stayed; and for a year or two longer, darkness reigned. Then one day a friend in England sent word to the Moffats that she wanted to mail them a gift and asked what they would like. Trusting that in time the Lord would bless their work, Mrs. Moffat replied, “Send us a communion set; I am sure it will soon be needed.”
God honored that dear woman’s faith. The Holy Spirit moved upon the hearts of the villagers, and soon a little group of six converts was united to form the first Christian church in that land. The communion set from England was delayed in the mail; but on the very day before the first commemoration of the Lord's super in Bechuanaland, the set arrived.14
1. The Lockman Foundation, The Amplified Bible, published by Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; The Amplified New Testament, pg. 116.
2. Reader's Digest, Jacob Riis.
3. Sidlow Baxter.
4. Mary, Queen of Scotland.
5. Sammy Tippit, Fire In Your Heart, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; pg. 30.
6. Ibid, pg. 31.
7. Ibid, pg. 33.
8 Mickey Bonner, Prayer Is Warfare, published by Mickey Bonner Evangelistic Association, Houston, Texas; pg. 14.
9. Source unknown.
10. Paul Borthwick, Leading the Way, Navpress, 1989, pp. 65.
11. Luther's Tabletalk.
12. John Bunyan.
13. Clement of Alexandria.
14. Source unknown.