Quality Prayer

Rev. David G Bostick
09-13-09

Introduction

The key verse for the Sermon on the Mount is found in...

Matthew 7:24 (NASB)
Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.

It states the purpose for the Sermon on the Mount and gives us the secret to living a successful life here on earth. Part of Jesus' teaching on that secret is His teaching on prayer.

Text

The portion of the Sermon on the Mount we will look at today deals with Quality of Prayer and is found in...

Matthew 6:7-15 (NASB)
[7] "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
[8] "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
[9] "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
[10] 'Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
[11] 'Give us this day our daily bread.
[12] 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
[13] 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]'
[14] "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
[15] "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

The Mechanics of Prayer

There are many passages in the Bible that deal with the topic of prayer. I call this passage in Matthew 6 The Mechanics of Prayer. I call it the mechanics of prayer because in this passage Jesus does just that; He tells His disciples how to pray.

In his book, Invitation to a Journey, Robert Mulholland gives us some good insight into the mechanics of prayer, although he does not use mechanics to describe it. Here he talks about the posture of prayer. He says...

"Thanksgiving is the deep inner posture of joyful release of our life and being to God in absolute trust, without demands, without conditions, without reservations.

"If we have not first entered into the posture of prayer and supplication, our requests tend to be very narrowly focused upon our own agenda and have their center in our self-referenced matrix of life. The posture of prayer and supplication, however, places us and our situations into the deeper matrix of God's presence and purpose. While still shaped by our perception of the situation, our requests begin to become the bridge between our own desires and the purposes of God. When this happens, our requests become the practice of forbearance. We begin to place the situations of our lives into the deeper matrix of God's presence and purpose and find that we can release our tenuous control and fragile ordering of life to God.

We are called "...to be continually turned to God as the source of our sufficiency in every circumstance. Prayer and supplication, then, are not reactions to circumstances; they are the habits of the heart by which we meet the troublesome events of life. (Mulholland, 91)

That's what Jesus wants us to understand about the mechanics or the "how to" of prayer. When we turn to God as the source of our sufficiency in every circumstance, we understand the purpose of prayer Jesus wanted to get across.

That brings us to the heart of Jesus' teaching on prayer in our text for today. I believe, more than the mechanics of the prayer, more than the words uttered in prayer, Jesus wanted His disciples, then and now, to understand what quality prayer was all about.

Quality of Prayer

There is a simple prayer in the Old Testament that helps us grasp the idea of Quality Prayer. It is found in...

1 Kings 18:20-39 (NASB)
[20] So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel.
[21] Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him a word.
[22] Then Elijah said to the people, "I alone am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal's prophets are 450 men.
[23] "Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it.
[24] "Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, He is God." And all the people said, "That is a good idea."
[25] So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it."
[26] Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, "O Baal, answer us." But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made.
[27] It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, "Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened."
[28] So they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them.
[29] When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.
[30] Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD which had been torn down.
[31] Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Israel shall be your name."
[32] So with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two measures of seed.
[33] Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood.
[34] And he said, "Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood." And he said, "Do it a second time," and they did it a second time. And he said, "Do it a third time," and they did it a third time.
[35] The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.
Elijah's Prayer
[36] At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, "O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word.
[37] "Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.
[38] Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
[39] When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God."

It was important to read that simple prayer of Elijah's in it's context. This context shows how Elijah turned to God as the source of Israel's sufficiency. Elijah was called to reacquaint Israel with the God that had called them out from among all other nations to serve Him.

Now Elijah comes on the scene and finds himself in the midst of an ungodly community that turned from, and had eventually forgotten their God. Elijah is here to do God's will and he accomplishes that will with a very short prayer.

It is helpful to compare the prayers of the prophets of Baal, Elijah's prayer, and the Lord's prayer. If we think about how we pray today, we may find parts of our prayers in some parts of all three of these prayers.

• The prophets of Baal ask for their own bidding, their own will. In other words they wanted their god to do what they wanted and for their purposes.
   
  In the Lord's prayer God's Kingdom comes when His will is done. A statement of surrender to whatever God's will might be in any given situation.
• They prayed, and danced and did all kinds of public ritual to try to convince their god to do their bidding. From morning until evening repeating themselves over and over again.
   
  Jesus says, don't use meaningless repetition. In other words, simply state your requests to God and then leave them in His hands, and then trust His answers and His will for your life and circumstances. God knows what your need is before you even ask Him.
• Verse 28 is very revealing. They cut themselves until their blood gushed out. This placed them in great danger of loss of life. These people were serious, even sincere, but they were dead wrong.
   
  In the Lord's Prayer, prayer is an indication of our relationship and trust of Him. That relationship flows out of the blood He shed on the cross. There is no need for me to cut myself or give my life's blood so God will do what I want. Nor do I need to do that because of my sins. He does that for me.
• With all of that, there was no answer.
   
  The answer of the God who Jesus taught us to pray too is much different. His answer was an empty tomb, and a promise that He is coming back one day.

This passage also shows us what makes a prayer, a prayer of quality. A quality Jesus wanted His disciples to understand. If you look closely, there are some important similarities in this prayer of Elijah and the Lord's prayer.

• Elijah acknowledges God, as the one true God. The God of Israel's history, which Israel recognized as the One who created everything.
   
  The Lord's prayer acknowledges a Holy God in Heaven.
• Elijah declares that He is a servant of God. He does not seek to serve his own purposes but God's purposes and will.
   
  The Lord's prayer declares that God's Kingdom comes when His will is done both in heaven and on this earth.
• Elijah shows his relationship to God as the priority of His prayer. "Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God..." Elijah's prayer calls for an answer to his prayer that brings honor and glory to God.
   
  The Lord's prayer gives honor and glory to God. It is the simple asking of God to supply our daily bread, deliver us from evil, and forgive us our sins. These are the things that give God honor. In all of these things in life, we need Him.
   
  In this prayer, we acknowledge that it is God who supplies our daily bread. It is God who gives us the power to resist temptation and evil. And it is God who forgives us our sins.
• Elijah's prayer is short but meaningful. It was probably well thought out and rehearsed.
   
  As Jesus gives His disciples the words for a good prayer, He is helping them to pray well thought out and rehearsed prayers. Certainly not word for word all the time, but prayers that follow this structure of quality and purpose.

Results

Probably the most important aspect of prayer is in understanding the results of our prayers. So! What are the results of the three prayers we have looked at today?

• The prayers of the prophets of Baal fall on deaf ears. Nothing happens. At the end of the day, the prophets are exhausted, bruised, bleeding, and disappointed.
• After the short prayer of Elijah, the fire fell.
• After the Lord's prayer, the man or woman of God has an assurance by faith that God is working out, and will work out, His divine will in their personal life. This assurance comes because...
   
  • ...in Bethlehem there is a manger where Almighty God stepped down from His throne and became a man to do for mankind what mankind could not do for himself.
  • This assurance comes because near Jerusalem there is a hill called Golgotha where God, in human form, gave His blood to cover the sins of all mankind. A hill where God showed the ultimate love for you and I.
  • This assurance comes because in Jerusalem there is an empty tomb that stands as proof that the man called Jesus Christ was the Son of God and that He has won the victory over sin and death for all of us.
• At the end of the day the Lord's prayer will be answered in ways that we could never have imagined.

What is the difference between the power behind the results of these three prayers?

One prayer seeks to satisfy the selfish personal needs of men and women who have forsaken the one true God.

The other two prayers, by faith, tap into the resources of the Creator of the universe.

Intentions of Prayer

The real intention of prayer is communication with God. He is the creator and sustainer of the universe and we can have personal relationship with Him. Listen to the words of the prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 10:1-16 (NASB)
[1] Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel.
[2] Thus says the LORD, "Do not learn the way of the nations, And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens Although the nations are terrified by them;
[3] For the customs of the peoples are delusion; Because it is wood cut from the forest, The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.
[4] "They decorate it with silver and with gold; They fasten it with nails and with hammers So that it will not totter.
[5] "Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, For they can do no harm, Nor can they do any good."
[6] There is none like You, O LORD; You are great, and great is Your name in might.
[7] Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed it is Your due! For among all the wise men of the nations And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You.
[8] But they are altogether stupid and foolish In their discipline of delusion—their idol is wood!
[9] Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, And gold from Uphaz, The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith; Violet and purple are their clothing; They are all the work of skilled men.
[10] But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation.
[11] Thus you shall say to them, "The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens."
[12] It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.
[13] When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings out the wind from His storehouses.
[14] Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols; For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them.
[15] They are worthless, a work of mockery; In the time of their punishment they will perish.
[16] The portion of Jacob is not like these; For the Maker of all is He, And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; The LORD of hosts is His name.

Conclusion

Listen to Robert Mulholland again. He begins this comment with a quote from the Trappist monk Thomas Merton:

"We awaken not only to a realization of the immensity and majesty of God "out there" as King and Ruler of the universe (which He is) but also a more intimate and more wonderful perception of Him as directly and personally present in our own being. [...] If we are involved only in our surface existence, in externals, and in the trivial concerns of our ego, we are untrue to Him and to ourselves. To reach a true awareness of Him as well as ourselves, we have to renounce our selfish and limited self and enter into a whole new kind of existence, discovering an inner center of motivation and love which makes us see ourselves and everything else in an entirely new light." (Mulholland, 95-96)

Then Mulholland says; In this stage, prayer becomes the flow of our life as God is experienced in all things. I think what Paul speaks of as unceasing prayer is a life that is increasingly attuned to God in all things--not in a privatized withdrawal from the world, but in the midst of the hustle and bustle, busyness and pain, hurt and brokenness of our life and the world around us. (Mulholland, 96)

Please stand with me as we read the Lord's prayer together in closing this morning.

Matthew 6:9-13 (NASB)
[9] ...'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
[10] 'Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
[11] 'Give us this day our daily bread.
[12] 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
[13] 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]'

Works Cited Section