3 Observations about Prayer

Taken from a chapel "speech" I gave on April 18, 2006. Cut and paste from Word -- sorry about the messy formatting.

“Prayer is an offering up our desires unto God, in the name of Christ, by the help of the Spirit, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.”
Westminster Catechism, question #78

1 – You have to know to whom you are praying.
2 – Prayer is a delight of God 
3 – Prayer is a discipline.

1. You have to know to whom you are praying.

• I have come to the realization that I cannot have too high a view of God. He is infinitely above and beyond me. The amazing thing is—there will always be more and more of Him. While I cannot have too high a view of God, I can have an inaccurate view of who He is; one not in agreement with Scripture.
• It’s important that we don’t shape God into what we want Him to be … something that He’s not.
• If you have an inaccurate view of who God is, then you will most likely address a holy and just God incorrectly.

  “We must know the majesty and holiness of God, so that we may be deeply affected with reverence when we come before him.” (Thomas Watson)

Ecclesiastes 5:2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven, and you are on earth.

Psalm 80:4 O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?

Isaiah 45:5 I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me.

• Mark McGuire did not have an accurate view of God when he said something to the effect of, “The big guy upstairs was good to me tonight,” in an interview after a game. 
• Are you praying to the God of the Bible?
• The God of the Universe? The alpha and the omega? The Lord who is a Warrior? (Ex. 15:3) A God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness? (Ex. 34:6), and yet will not let any sin go unpunished?
• Are we worshipping and praying to the God who to the Pharisees said, “Before Abraham was, I AM” (eternal) and the God who is perfectly satisfied in himself and the fellowship of the trinity?
• Or maybe we are like the people of Israel in Isaiah 29 who….

  Isaiah 29:13 And the Lord said, “…this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men…”

• If this verse were to be re-stated in the form of a positive commandment, it would say something liek this: Don’t come to God in fear merely because you should, but rather because you have such a high reverence and respect for Him, because you know who He is.
• An accurate view of who God is found in His revealed Word to us- The Bible.
• I often think that if I could see God for who he really is in all of his Glory, EVERYTHING in my life would fall into place.
• “Show me  your glory, send down your presence – I want to see your face.” Third Day

• The way we perceive who God is determines the way we view all of His creation.
  • An accurate view of God prodcues an accurate view of life.
  • An accurate view of God prodcues an accurate view of myself.
  • An accurate view of God prodcues an accurate view of others.

2. Prayer is a Delight of God.

Proverbs 15:8 The prayer of the upright is His delight.

• He loves to be asked!
• Why? Because “Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. Prayer humbles us as needy and exalts God as wealthy.” (Piper)
• “God ordains prayer because he wants us to see him as gloriously self-sufficient and ourselves as totally needy.” Which is what we are.
• A large part of prayer is an offering up of our desires. Jesus makes it clear in the gospels that if we truly knew the Father, we would ask.
• “A prayerless Christian is like a bus driver trying alone to push his bus out of a rut because he doesn’t know Clark Kent is on board. “If you knew, you would ask.”

James 5:16 The effectual fervent prayer…availeth much. KJV

• Jesus promises to us that “Whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, so that the Father maybe glorified in the Son.”  (John 14:13)
• It is clearly seen that prayer is a delight of God because not only will he freely do whatever we ask so that the Father may glorified in the Son, but God himself will do the praying for us!

Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

• Prayer is a delight of God.

3. Prayer is a Discipline.

• Prayer is a tough thing to do.
• In my life, I would say that prayer is even the most difficult thing for me to do, even harder than getting in the Word much of the time.
• The minute I’m quiet—other thoughts flood my mind. Temporary ADD sets in.
• Hans Engebretsen says, “Discipline breeds focus and desire.”

Hebrews 12:11 “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

• Prayer is still a discipline though, similar to the discipline of lifting weights or working out. To get started consistently lifting—to begin to consistently work on your ball handling is hard. Much of it is painful. But the results are worth it.
• The Girls Varsity soccer team serves as a good illustration to this.
• The soccer team is enjoyable to watch, not because soccer is an exciting sport (it can be at times), but because even from distant observation you can tell that they play hard/together/to win.
• They don’t just show up on March 6 for practice, but they’re in the gym and the weight room in the pre-season, post-seaon, offseason conditioning and working on their skills.
• They are intentional and disciplined, because, although it may sound corny, they have tasted greatness – they have tasted that state championship—and they want more.
• If only we could “taste and see that the Lord is good”—and see him for who he really is (to “see and savor Him”), then we would want more. We wouldn’t be able to help it.

Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

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