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The supreme importance of prayer!In a sense, prayer cannot be analyzed, since it is a unity and is the outpouring of the life of the one who prays. Yet in another sense, it can be divided into its constituent elements. There are at least five elements that should be present in a well-balanced prayer life.They are:
Our Lord's immediate answer to the request of His disciples, "Lord, teach us to pray," was, "When you pray, say
Christ's law of prayer may be thus summarized: He grounds prayer upon relationship, and reveals God as freely charging Himself with all who believe on Jesus Christ (Matthew 6:25-32; 7:9-11). Prayer, therefore, is a child's petition to an all-wise, all-loving, and all-powerful, Father-God. In the so-called Lord's prayer Christ gives an incomparable model for all prayer. It teaches that right prayer begins with worship; puts the interest of the kingdom before merely personal interest; accepts beforehand the Father's will, whether to grant or withhold; and petitions for present need, leaving the future to the Father's care and love. Used in a form, the Lord's prayer is, dispensationally, upon legal, not church ground; it is not a prayer to Christ. It is a prayer to the Father! But we pray in the name of Jesus Christ because we come to the Father only through Him! No other way! This is a supremely important lesson. If God is not given the chief place in our praying, our prayers will be anemic. When our thoughts begin with Him, love is kindled and faith stimulated.
The Old English form of the word worship, (worthship), gives us an interesting insight into its meaning as if it implies worthiness on the part of the one who receives the honor. This implication is reflected in the apocalyptic ascription of praise to Christ: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive . . . honor and glory and praise" (Revelation 5:12). Worship flows from love, and where there is little love there will be little worship. But even in our love there can be an element of selfishness. We can and should worship God in gratitude for what He has done for us, but our worship reaches a higher level when we adore Him simply for what He is, for the perfection and excellence of His own being. Worship, then, is the loving ascription of praise to God for what He is, both in Himself and in His ways. it is the bowing of the spirit in deep humility and reverence before Him. God has granted a partial revelation of Himself in the wonders of nature. "The heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1). We learn there of His almighty power, His transcendent beauty, His unsearchable wisdom. But nature does not reveal Him as a God of love and mercy. Only "in the face of Christ" will we see the full blaze of the divine glory (2 Corinthians 4:16). All the fullness of God dwells in Him in bodily form (Colossians 1:19), and no worship that ignores Christ is acceptable to God, for it is through Christ alone that we have access to the Father. So go boldly before His Throne of grace in the Spirit and worship the only True God, for He Himself states: "For thy maker is thine husband; the LORD of Hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called" (Isaiah 54:5). And all worship must be in truth , for to worship Him in truth is to acknowledge Him to be what He is and to acknowledge ourselves to be what we are.
Thanksgiving is the glad and appreciative acknowledgment of the benefits and blessings God gives either to us or to others. It is an integral part of prayer, not an addendum to it. Thanksgiving is to be distinguished from worship, for thanksgiving is not so much occupation with the perfection of God as it is the grateful acknowledgment of the love and kindness He has lavished on us. Worship easily and naturally leads us to thanksgiving, for God's perfection finds expression in the daily gifts and blessings He gives. Even if Scripture did not exhort us to give thanks always and for all things, common courtesy would accord a prominent place to thanksgiving in our prayer lives, for we are constantly at the receiving end of God's generosity. Appreciation is the basis of healthy human relationships, and it is surely no less important in our relationship with God. Our Memory is sometimes called the "scribe" of our soul, and it is good to let her do her work as she recalls to our minds all of God's help and blessings in the past. The Psalms abound in thanksgiving. "Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits" (Psalm 103:2). "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever" (Psalm 118:1). The prayers of our Lord were not lacking in this element. The occasions on which it is recorded that He gave thanks are significant but rather unexpected: At the grave of Lazarus (John 11:41); when He fed the five thousand (John 6:11); when the seventy returned with shouts of victory (Luke10:21 KJV); when He instituted the Lord's Supper, giving thanks for the bitter cup He was to drink (Luke 22:17, 19).
When we recall the all too frequent times we have failed to give God thanks, we realize we have often deserved the rebuke that our Lord directed to the nine ungrateful lepers whom He had healed, but who failed to return to thank Him: "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?" (Luke 17:17). Ingratitude is not an amiable infirmity but a sin. Shakespeare called it, "Ingratitude, thou marble hearted fiend." "Ungratefulness is theft," said Martin Luther. And we must all plead guilty to the charge in greater or less degree. The book of Psalms abounds in thanksgiving, and can be described with equal truth as the world's greatest confessional literature. It is surprising that the place where God is most praised should be where we read most about penitence? Should it not be what we might expect? The more we think of God's gifts, the smaller our own gifts to Him appear. No one suffers from self-righteousness who spends much time in prayer. The Greek work for confession means "to say the same thing, to admit or declare oneself guilty of what one is being accused of". When we confess our sin to God, we are agreeing with Him in His judgment of its guilt and seriousness. We are viewing our sin from His perspective. We are talking the same language about it, and we are taking sides with Him against it. Note the operative verbs in David's confession recorded in Psalm 32:5: "I acknowledged . . . (I) did not cover up . . . I will confess." No confession that is not sincere and explicit will either reach God's ear or quiet an accusing Holy Spirit. This is made clear in 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Our confession, to be acceptable, must be not of sin in general but of sins--individual acts of sin. A general confession is sometimes appropriate, for there are many sins of which we are unconscious or that we may have over looked. This, however, does not dispense with the necessity of a frank and full confession of specific sins. The confession should be made the moment we are conscious of having sinned and should not be delayed until a more convenient time. We have the assurance that the moment we sincerely confess, that moment God freely forgives us and fellowship is restored. The extent of confession poses a problem to some sensitive and over scrupulous hearts. It is sufficient to make a confession to God alone, or should we confess to others or make public confessions? The answer it that there are three kinds of confession that correspond to three kinds of sin.
When the sin is against God alone, then the confession need be to God alone. To confess to someone else would serve no purpose other than to give that person a knowledge of the sin, and there is no benefit in that.
Some sins are against people as well as against God. The general principle is that the confession should be coextensive with the sin. Whenever possible, we should make confession to the offended party as well as to God. The prodigal's sin was against his father as well as against his God. When he made confession, he confessed rightly: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you" (Luke 15:21). Confession to God would have been inadequate and would not have brought peace of conscience, nor would it have restored him to the old filial relationship with his father. Once full confession was made, restoration was complete. Our Lord gave clear instruction on this point. "Therefore, if you are offering your gifts at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift" (Matthew 5:23-24). The order is: First, go; then be reconciled; then, come to present your gift.
When the sin is public---against some group or church---the confession should be as public as was the sin. In this way the sin can be forgiven, confidence can be restored, and fellowship can be renewed. The very act of public confession often has a salutary effect that is likely to deter a repetition of the sin. Some people suggest that even secret sins should be publicly confessed. Scripture does not seem to warrant it. It is our social sins that we need to confess publicly, not our secret thoughts and secret acts of sin.
We turn from godward aspects of prayer to those with respect to people. These are petition, when we are concerned about our own needs, and intercession, when we are concerned with the needs of others. There are no fewer than twelve Hebrew words in the Old Testament and five Greek words in the New Testament that are translated "prayer." Let us focus on three of these New Testament words that are used by Paul in 1 Timothy 2:1. "First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be offered for all men" --petitions, prayers, intercessions. Lets look at them more closely.
This word petition is derived from the Greek word meaning "to beg, or lack." It can be and is used of both God and humans. It refers in 1 Timothy to petition for one's personal needs. The picture behind the word is that of a beggar sitting at the side of the road, begging for help of the king as he passes by. It expresses destitution and inadequacy, inability to meet one's own needs, and total dependence on another. It is need expressed in a cry. When we come to God with our petitions, we come humbly and expectantly to the throne of grace, deserving nothing, but hoping in God's mercy. We respond to the gracious invitation: "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). So petitions are pleas for the supply of a definite need keenly felt. Petition always has specific situations in view.
The English word prayers in 1 Timothy 2:1 does not accurately or adequately reflect the meaning of its Greek equivalent. It is a more general term than petitions and is used of God alone. The Greek word is a combination or pros, "by the side of," and euchomai, "to wish." As used here, then, the word prayers means prayers-wishes that are expressed in the presence and by the side of another. The other is, of course, our heavenly Father. One good suggestion concerning the application of prayers is that the word refers to needs that are always present, in contrast to petitions, which have a specific situations in view. For example, we offer prayer for the forgiveness only He can impart or for the strength only He can give. The word is very wide in its meaning. The term prayers, then, expresses the Spirit-begotten instinct to turn to God in every hour of need and breathe out our prayer-wishes to Him, just as John's disciples did to Jesus (see Matthew 14:12).
In petitions and prayers, we are concerned about ourselves and our own needs. In intercession, we are concerned about the needs and interests of others. Intercession is the unselfish and altruistic aspect of prayer. The idea behind the Greek word is "to fall in with a person, to draw near so as to converse freely, and hence top have freedom of access." It is the word used to describe a child who goes to its father in behalf of another or a person who enters a king's presence to submit a petition. In intercession, the believer is acting as an intermediary between God and other people. We forget ourselves and our own needs in our identification with the needs of the one for whom we pray. The prayers of Abraham for the people of Sodom (Genesis 18:23-33) and of Moses for Israel (Exodus 32:1-14) are classic examples of intercession. In intercession there are reflex benefits to the one who prays, as well as direct benefits to the one for whom intercession is made.
In order that God's glory may be secured and our prayer lives enriched, it is suggested that we review our daily prayers and so arrange them that each element--worship, thanksgiving, confession, petition, and intercession--finds a place. In the morning, perhaps worship, petition, and intercession will have prominence; in the evening, confession, thanksgiving, and intercession again. But no matter what, go before the throne of grace. He enjoys you company, and He will give you the things that He sees fit. Maybe not at that moment, but in His time. For does He not know all things, and give freely to His children? He waits for His Children to approach His throne, and it is pleasing to Him that we come. He always hears, He always helps, and He always cares. Call upon His name and reason with Him. Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool".Isaiah 40:28 "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of His understanding".Isaiah 40:29 "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength".Isaiah 40:41 "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint".So what are you waiting for? |
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