Privilege of Prayer
“What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!”
This is a line from the song “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”, a poem written by Joseph Scriven in 1855 to his dying mother, but not put to music until almost 13 years later. The story behind this hymn is quite touching: https://youtu.be/tKjUoE2fack .
While a young boy, I remember my great-grandpa Isaac sitting in his rocking chair and singing and also playing this song on his harmonica. Prayer is a privilege!
And prayer is such an awesome mystery! Just think about this: God could so easily do anything He wants to do — and He could do it all without any human intervention. In fact, the Psalmist declares that very same thing like this:
Psalm 115:3 “But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases."
And YET — Our Creator and Heavenly Father actually lovingly chooses to do everything through the prayers of His people! How humbling is that!
John Wesley (1703-1791) was a theologian and evangelist and his brother, Charles, wrote many of the famous hymns and Christmas carols we sing. John Wesley made this statement about prayer:
“God does nothing except in response to believing prayer.”
And while on earth, Jesus Himself prayed. Jesus, the Eternal Son of God need to pray? Yes, of course! He wanted to pray!! Because that is how God, in His infinite wisdom, designed our fellowship with Him to be! And notice what kind of praying Jesus did. It was not some formal, pre-scripted prose that He read. Rather, it was loud cries from the depth of His heart and with tears of passion—
Hebrews 5:7 (Amplified Bible) "In the days of His flesh [Jesus] offered up definite, special petitions [for that which He not only wanted but needed] and supplications with STRONG [loud] CRYINGS and TEARS to Him Who was able to save Him [out] from death, AND HE WAS HEARD because of His reverence toward God [His godly fear, His piety, in that He shrank from the horrors of separation from the bright presence of the Father]."
Wow! What an example Jesus is for us! And Jesus clearly taught His disciples about the necessity, urgency, power, and wonderful privilege of prayer!
It is common to hear well-meaning people partially quote Romans 8:28, saying “God works all things together for good…” — but the rest of the verse reveals that this promise is not a blanket over the whole world, but rather a specific truth available for those “who love God and are called according to His purpose.” His purpose? What is that? Well, Scripture reveals that part of His purpose for our lives here on earth involves prayer and our fervent calling out unto Him to fulfill His promises. Ezekiel prophesies a whole chapter all the wonderful things God was promising to do. From verse 9 to 37, God says “I will” twenty times! However, at the end of those powerful promises, God gives one more “I will” statement:
Ezekiel 36:37 Thus says the Lord God: “I will also let [or wait for] the house of Israel [to] inquire [ASK] of Me to do this for them...”
James 4:2 says, “You do not have because you do not ask.” That’s quite clear, right?
All throughout the Bible, it is obvious that God wants us to “partner” with Him in the blessed privilege of prayer.
Here is a verse that showcases the right attitude about this privilege called prayer:
Deuteronomy 4:7 “For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?"
Deuteronomy 4:7 (Message Bible) “Yes. What other great nation has gods that are intimate with them the way God, our God, is with us, always ready to listen to us?”
Both Matthew and Luke tell us of Jesus saying this about prayer:
Mat 7:7; Luke 11:9
“And I say unto you, ASK, and it shall be given you; SEEK, and ye shall find; KNOCK, and it shall be opened unto you.”
ASK, SEEK, and KNOCK are three key words Jesus uses in describing prayer as God’s heart longs for and desires it from us:
(1) ASK
Prayer and silent meditation are NOT the same. Prayer (as the Bible uses this word) involves using our mouth to speak out our requests. This is just God’s way. It is simply what He says in His Word. Prayer without speaking is NOT prayer, in much the same way in which a river that does not move is no longer a river (it’s just a stagnant pond).
Paul says, “Make your requests KNOWN to God” (Phil 4:6). God already KNOWS our requests even before we speak them out (read Mat 6:7-8). He knows EVERYTHING, yet He wants us to partner with Him in this privilege of prayer by specifically speaking out our requests.
In the four Gospels, there are many occasions in which Jesus asks sick people what they would like Him to do for them. Now Jesus obviously already knew what they wanted. In fact, anyone could logically see what those sick people want. They want to be healed! Nevertheless, Jesus told them to TELL Him specifically what they wanted. The moment they spoke out their need, Jesus healed them and told them that their FAITH had made them whole. Wow! Somehow, in God’s heart and mind, being specific in our request, and speaking it out loud to Him reveals sincerity and is an avenue for faith to work!
(2) SEEK
Prayer involves reading God’s Word, the Bible, and seeking out His Will and His promises in His Word which are often quite contrary to life’s situations. What Jesus is making clear by using the word “seek” is that, as Christian Believers, we are NOT to passively sit back and say like Islam teaches its follower to do: “Masha’Allah” (“Allah [god] wills it”); neither should we feebly say, “Whatever will be will be” (“que será será”)… No way!
A clear example of this is Daniel who knew his situation and that of all his people (the Jews) was NOT something to just accept and live with! (The Jews were being held as captives by the pagan nation of Babylon.) Daniel SEARCHED and read through the Scriptures for God’s promises until he finally found one in the book of Jeremiah. Once he found it, he began to cry out in prayer. (See Daniel chapter 9 and also the promise Daniel found in Jeremiah 29:10-14.)
See what God tells us to do:
Isaiah 43:26 (NASB)
“Put Me in remembrance [of what My Word says], let us argue our case together; State your cause, that you may be proved right.”
As God’s children, He is advising us NOT to always accept everything life hands to us. There are times when God wants us to seek and discover what His Word says and then we must speak out our desire to walk on the water of the storms in our life! He loves to surprise us by doing the impossible, so shouldn’t we pray and plan for that? Yes! What an amazing God we serve!!
(3) KNOCK
Prayer is often listed with words like “supplication,” “petitions,” and “requests”. The Bible’s definition of prayer involves “IMPORTUNITY”. According to the dictionary, “importune” means: “to press or urge with troublesome persistence”.
In two very unusual parables, Jesus describes the importunity of faith in the kind of praying that God loves to hear from His dear children. Both parables show how IMPORTUNITY (persistence to the point of even being annoying!) was what put those individuals in a place to receive their requests!
(A) Parable of the man who goes to his friend at midnight to ask for bread (Luke 11:1-8).
This Parable was given right after His disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. Notice they did NOT say, “Teach us HOW to pray.” Instead, they said, “Lord, teach us to pray.” In other words, the disciples did not just want to learn “how” to pray, but rather, they sincerely wanted Jesus to help them to JUST DO IT!
(B) Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge (Luke 18:1-8).
Luke tells us that Jesus taught this Parable to teach that we need to “pray always” and not give up or get discouraged (Luke 18:1). Jesus ends this Parable by making a statement that indicates that the tears and persistence of importune prayer can actually be a sign of the kind of faith Jesus is looking for when He returns:
Luke 18:7-8 “And shall not God avenge his own elect, WHICH CRY DAY AND NIGHT UNTO HIM, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find FAITH on the earth?”
ASK, SEEK, KNOCK! Three key words to understand what God means when He tells us to pray. We must remember: prayer is not a “duty” to be done with drudgery; nor is it a “chore” that brings some kind of “merit” with God. Not at all! “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:18) is not a boring command! It is God’s amazing invitation to us as His precious children to enjoy the wonderful PRIVILEGE of continual conversation of partnership and fellowship with our Creator and Heavenly Father! Amen!
