Bible Lesson 60

PRAYER 2ND IN SERIES
MARK 12:38-40

In our last lesson we began a series on prayer and today we want to expand what we learned in that first part of the series. Prayer has undergone a radical makeover, by people who are not equipped to pray. Churches began to receive as members those who had not been saved and an unsaved person has no spiritual power to reach God in prayer. I can only suppose the reason why church officers would determine to accept as members those people that, if they had been tested would have failed the test for church-membership, but it cannot have been for any useful purpose to the Kingdom of God. Now that we have fooled these people who have never been called, convicted, converted, and recreated by God, we have people that are no different now than they were before they joined the church.

We have overstepped our authority and we have decided to go into business for ourselves and have left God out of the salvation process. Now, isn’t it strange that men and women who have been to seminary will decide all of a sudden, once they have a church to lead, that perhaps Dr. so and so at their Seminary was right, perhaps God meant for us to use our extreme knowledge to dress up and make the message of the Bible a little more compassionate or a little more pleasing to the sinners we preach to.

That has to be the thought process of any preacher who does not open his copy of God’s Word and read and speak, ‘Thus saith the Lord’. That little side-step or step back is easy to take because it surely makes the preacher’s job easier and it creates a lot more unity in the kind of congregations that are found in churches in the 2000 era.

Just think of the great numbers of members that churches have been able to add to their congregations, using that simple system. That may sound good and look good to the denominational systems that abound in our time; but what that has assured us all of is that there will be many disappointed church members who will have died and gone to hell, thinking that they were safe in their neo-salvation. Their comfortable self-styled attempt to set God aside and do their own thing, will without fail to be the thing that will dump them into the flames of hell for eternity.

When God speaks to His creatures and we are creatures of God, He means for us to strictly observe all that He has spoken. When God dealt with the nation of the Hebrews as He brought them to the Jordan River with the Promised Land just across that river, God warned them not to be drawn away by the pagan gods and worship styles. In Deuteronomy 12: 29-32, God warns them about false gods and the way that these people worshiped their false gods. God told them in verse 31 of Deuteronomy chapter 12, ‘You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates, they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it: you shall not add to it nor take away from it’.

That scripture is God telling them and us today that He has given us His Word and Will in written form and we must follow it exactly. We find that same exhortation from God to the Prophet Jeremiah when God speaks to Jeremiah as Jeremiah speaks to Judah, and God says ‘Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, all the words that I command you to speak to them.

Do not diminish a word.’ We find also in the book of the Revelation in its closing verses God places a solemn warning to us when He says beginning in verse 18 of the 22nd chapter, ‘For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book’.

Jesus Christ the Sinless Son of God, who was crucified for those who would obey Him, preached in the Sermon on the mount and said this about the law, the law being the entire Bible, ‘For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. A jot is the smallest Hebrew letter, which is a simple stroke of the pen, like an accent mark or an apostrophe. The title is a tiny extension on a Hebrew letter, like the serif in modern typefaces.

God gave mankind the Written Word of God as a lamp unto his feet, and a light to his path, God will not tolerate man’s editing his Word, or departing from its letter and Spirit. God gave us the Living Word, Jesus Christ, to empower us to be radically changed so that our lives would glorify God. Now let’s see how that applies to our subject for this lesson which is prayer.

First, when we pray who are we praying to’ That may sound like a funny question but let me assure you that there are many who pray to gods who are not the God who hears and answers prayer. Those who presume to pray to the god that is not their Lord and Master, are wasting their breath, they will not be heard (John 9:31). Only those who have been quickened by God and have seen their terrible plight before our Holy and Majestic God Jehovah, can pray and be heard by God.

That is agreed to by the model prayer that was given the disciples by Jesus Christ, God in the flesh. In Matthew 6:9-13, we find this as the way to pray: ‘Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be your name.’ Now God is Father only to those who have been recreated in Christ by the Father, so anyone who is not truly saved, cannot pray this prayer. Every lost person is the child of the devil (John 8:44).

That’s the truth but that doesn’t mean that you should have no hope. No, rather that should give you cause to begin to cry out to God, and to seek His face in His Word the Bible. Your eternal life depends upon what you do now that you know the truth. Once you have sought Christ until He finds you, and you have submitted yourself completely to him and have been regenerated by God then you have the great and glorious privilege of communing with God, and that is what we call prayer.

We learned in the last lesson that the primary purpose or at least one of the primary purposes of prayer is to adore God, to love Him, and tell Him of that love. Have you found the absolute necessity of adoring God’ Can you pass a day and not tell God how much you love Him and why you love Him so much’ If that is not a primary concern of yours, then I recommend that you go back to square one and rehearse what you were, and who God is, and what your future was and is unless you truly know Him?

If you do that you will come to the knowledge that God is all and in all for you and for every other person who is not reprobate. Apparently, many people do not see the need to pray, because they think, ‘If God already knows, why to pray?” Certainly God is omniscient (knowing all things) but that does not change the need for us to obey God’s commandment to pray. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God in the flesh, prayed Himself on many occasions, and he commanded us to Pray for those who spitefully use us, (Luke 6:28), Christ also taught the disciples how to pray (Matthew 6:9-13).

Christ commanded His disciples in the garden of Gethsemane, to watch and pray, lest they enter into temptation (Mark 14:38). In Luke 21:36, Jesus admonished His disciples to ‘Watch and pray always, that they would be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man: these things refer to that which would occur at the end of time.

Spurgeon said, ‘A true prayer is an approach of the soul by the Spirit of God to the Throne of God. It is not the utterance of words, it is not alone the feeling of desires, but it is the advance of the desires to God, the spiritual approach of our nature toward the Lord our God. True prayer, is not a mere mental exercise, nor a vocal performance, but it is far deeper than that’..it is spiritual commerce with the Creator of heaven and earth. It is a spiritual business from beginning to end, and its aim and object end is not with man, but with God Himself.’

God is always involved in true prayer because the only acceptable prayer is a prayer that is energized by the Holy Spirit of God, and presented to the

Father by Christ who is our High Priest, Prophet, and King, because He was our sacrifice. (Romans 8:26-27; Hebrews 7:25-26). I sometimes think about how eager most of us would be to be near the President or the Queen of England or other famous people; and how utterly unconcerned we are about having a close and intimate association with the Creator of heaven and earth. We have been given a great privilege of ‘Coming boldly unto the Throne of Grace’ and yet we do all kinds of mental gymnastics to keep from praying and having that precious intimacy with the Great ‘I Am’.

We should look for the opportunity to pray and set aside time to pray and study to know more about the object of our prayer, and more than that we should pray at all times, remembering that it is not necessary for anyone other than God to hear our prayer. A.W. Tozer said, ‘Prayer at stated times is good and right; we will never outgrow the need of it while we remain on the earth. But this kind of prayer must be supported and perfected by the habit of constant, unspoken prayer’.

Prayer is the preface to the book of Christian living, the text of the new life sermon, the girding on of the armor for battle, the pilgrim’s preparation for his journey; and it must be supplemented by action or it amounts to nothing. There is nothing that lies beyond the reach of prayer except that which lies outside the will of God. With that in mind, how can any truly saved person, wake up every morning and never seek that time before the Throne of Grace’ When we pray, it is not to overcome God’s reluctance, it is laying hold of His highest willingness; because God gives His children nothing that is harmful and withholds nothing good.

Prayer is our lifeline, our support system, our only connection to the power of heaven. So, instead of asking why pray, we should be seeking every opportunity to pray and adore, thank, praise, ask for daily bread and forgiveness of our sin, to lift petitions and to intercede for others; and we should always be looking for every opportunity to enter into the Throne room of Glory.

Perhaps you are one of the people who don’t like to pray because you don’t think you can pray like some other people. Don’t ever think that way because in prayer it is only you and God, so just pray as you can. God never has saved anyone and left them alone beside the road, so to speak, God always provides all that we need to do everything that He requires us to do. To assist everyone who truly prays, God has given the Holy Spirit, and the Advocate, the Son of God, and they take your attempts, regardless of how feeble and they perfect them and pass them on to the Father.

Someone has said, prayer may not get you what you want, but it will teach you to want what you need; and what we need is a strong relationship with the Creator. Think about what your daily routine consists of, and then ask yourself if you are actively seeking the face of God. God has decreed all things that are to happen to us, but we dare never attempt to use that blessing against God. We should seek every opportunity to pray because God has created us not to be proactive, but active along with Him in His watch-care, provision, and in a sense the operation of His world, and He allows that as we pray for ourselves, and others.

God created mankind to be a special creature and He gave man dominion over the rest of the world until Adam sinned. Now that Christ has come and sacrificed Himself for us if we have submitted ourselves to God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ, God has given us the great privilege of working with Him in bringing about His plan for His creation.

We are ‘thinking creatures’ and we should awake every morning to pray and work with God as He wills to use us. Instead of jumping in the shower as we think ahead about all the problems of the day, we should wake up with God on our mind and as we pray to thank Him for a night of relaxation we should take time to place ourselves at His service. Certainly, we have jobs and God expects us to work to provide for ourselves and our family; but we must make time for that most important thing of the day and that is coming unto the Throne of Grace. Prayer is simply speaking our hearts to the Creator God. As the old song goes’.have a little talk with Jesus.

Speaking of songs, there is an old song that speaks to most of us about our prayer life and it goes’.’ How long has it been since you talked with the Lord, and told Him your heart’s hidden secrets’ How long since you prayed’ How long since you stayed on your knees till the light shone through’ How long has it been since your mind felt at ease’ How long since your heart knew no burden’ Can you call Him your friend’ How long has it been since you knew that He cared for you’

That’s a good thought to close this Bible Lesson on prayer with, but before I go, let me do my main job and that is to give you the good news of the gospel of Christ. There is only one way that I can do that and that is to ask you a question. Be honest with your answer because it may impact your eternal life.

Think about this question ”.’ If you were to die today or tonight, what would happen to your soul’ Would an angel caress it and take it to heaven to be with the Savior for all of the eternity’ Think about heaven for a moment, that place where Christ is and where no sin, no misery, no pain, no sickness, no tears, no disappointment; just peace and security and love and assurance and the presence of the one who loved you enough to give His life so that you could have that blessing.

There is another place where many will spend their eternity and that place is called hell. That is a place where there is no light except the light of fires which are never quenched, a place where there will never be a friend or anyone to speak to, only pain and the torment of your flesh as it burns but is never destroyed. Hell has no doors that swing out, so once you are there you will be aware that you have no hope; and that awful gnawing of the worm that continually reminds you that you did not have to come here.

How many chances have you had to cry out to God to take your life and make it worthwhile’ What did you do with Jesus Christ’.I know, you had so much fun going, and you thought it was such fun, that you just couldn’t take time to seek the face of God. You are alive right now but you don’t know if you will see tomorrow and the only time you have to ask God to save you so you can gain the pleasures of heaven is while you are alive’.so you choose today to either get serious with God or to cast aside my concern for your soul and go to hell. You can cry out to God and seek Him in the only place He can be found and that is in His Word the Bible. Won’t you do it today’

Until next time,

may God bless and keep you

This is Bro. Bob