WALKING WITH GOD #5 THE PARTICULARS OF PRAYER 2 CHRONICLES 7:14; 1 THESSALONIANS 5:17 INTRO: In this series on WALKING WITH GOD we have seen the importance of two-way communication with God. God speaks and we must listen. We speak and God listens. We all know the importance of prayer but knowing doesn t necessarily lead us to doing. We have been taught the fundamentals of prayer. Why do we emphasize the fundamentals? Because we need to have a disciplined prayer life. The Bible tells us that prayer should be offered with earnestness, eagerness, and expectation. Friends, I think we need a reminder on the fundamentals of prayer. The question is, Do you and I practice the fundamentals of prayer? My guess is that many times we do not. Many do not even know what the fundamentals are. I want to close out our series on WALKING WITH GOD by considering THE PARTICULARS OF PRAYER. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 we read If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. This verse gives us some great fundamentals. What is happening here in this passage of Scripture is that King Solomon has just built the temple. This was a great accomplishment and blessing for the people of Israel. They had a great mountaintop experience. They were enjoying a spiritual high. In 2 Chronicles 6:40 Solomon asked God to listen and answer the prayers offered in the temple. We read there Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. 2 Chronicles 6 ends with Solomon s simple, but yet powerful prayer of dedication of the temple to God. We read in vv. 41-42 Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness. O LORD God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant. God is telling Solomon how to get the prayers that are offered in the temple answered. Friends, we need to get back to the fundamentals of prayer. What are THE PARTICULARS OF PRAYER? Let us consider first (1) THE WHO OF PRAYER 2 CHRONICLES 7:14a If my people, which are called by my name A. THE PEOPLE ADDRESSED. The who in this passage is my people. The who is you. The who is me. God tells all His people to pray. Friends, prayer is not something that the people asked the priests to do for them. God s people are praying people. It is fundamental. We should make prayer our practice. There is a chorus the children sing which goes: Why worry when you can pray, Trust Jesus He ll be your stay. Don t be a doubting Thomas, Rest firmly on His promise.
Why worry, worry, worry, worry, When you can pray. B. THE PEOPLE ASSURED. Friends, we should practice prayer so much that it becomes natural for us. We should be able to pray anywhere at any time. We should not be ashamed to pray in public. Listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:32-33 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Prayer is serious stuff! Friends, we better get comfortable with Jesus. We better be willing to minister to and pray with those we meet who need it. According to this verse in 2 Chronicles 7:14, we are God s people. We can talk to Him wherever we want. No prayer is too small, and we don t have to be a poet to talk to God. We just need to be genuine. Be real. God wants us to talk to Him. Listen to the promise God makes in this verse: If my people, which are called by my name shall then will I. Friends, God is more willing to answer our prayers than we are to offer them. The Lord said in Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened and in John 14:13-14 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. We read in 1 John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. We have considered THE WHO OF PRAYER but let us also see (2) THE WHAT OF PRAYER 2 CHRONICLES 7:14b If my people shall humble themselves, and pray A. THE ATTITUDE. As we have already seen the who in this verse is you and I. The what is prayer. Friends, we must pray. But there is more to it than that. This verse says shall humble themselves, and pray. We should come before the throne of grace in humility. Humility here means that we come before God realizing that we sin and that we need forgiveness. God s desire is that His people be humble and holy people. 1 Peter 1:15-16 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. We need to practice holiness. In the context of 2 Chronicles 7:14 God is telling His people to be faithful to be holy. The Lord told Solomon in v17 And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments. B. THE APPROACH. The what is prayer and to pray effectively we must come in the right way humbleness and holiness. Friends, none of us are perfect. That is why we are to approach humbly. That is why we see the word humble here. We are to live as holy as possible. God expects each of us to be holy. That is a fundamental. God s desire is that we practice our faith, be involved in Church, use our spiritual gifts, and reach others for
Christ. Psalm 66:18 tells us If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. If you are slack in your Church attendance, do you think you are practicing the kind of holiness God speaks of here? If the only time you pick up your Bible is when you come to Church, are you practicing the kind of holiness God is talking about? If you go to Church on Sunday and then go to work on Monday and curse, tell dirty jokes, and cheat your way throughout your week, are you practicing the holiness God is speaking of? Friends, we must humble ourselves and pray. WE must practice holy living. We should come before God acknowledging that we so often have fallen short of God s best and desiring to do better next time. We have considered THE WHO OF PRAYER and THE WHAT OF PRAYER but let us also see (3) THE WHEN OF PRAYER 1 THESSALONIANS 5:17 Pray without ceasing. A. THE CONSTANCY IN PRAYER. The when of prayer is simple. This verse says pray without ceasing. The words speak of constancy. We are to pray constantly. We must have the attitude of prayer at all times. That is what it means to pray without ceasing. Friends, we are dependent upon God for everything. Without Him we are nothing and can do nothing. If we feel that dependence at all times we will always be in the spirit of prayer. B. THE CONNECTION IN PRAYER. Friends, we don t have to talk the whole time but we do need to have an active connection. That is what the when of prayer means. We need an active connection. I think the reality for most of us is that we don t do this. We talk to God only when we cannot handle things on our own. Friends, we must stay connected to God. This is a fundamental. We should be in an attitude of prayer at all times. ILLUS: Prayer pulls the rope below, and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell for they pray so languidly; others give but an occasional pluck at the rope. But he who wins with Heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously, with all his might. SPURGEON. (PEARLS FROM MANY SEAS by J. B. McClure, editor. The Master Christian Library. Version 5. Copyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany, OR). We have considered THE WHO OF PRAYER, THE WHAT OF PRAYER, and THE WHEN OF PRAYER but let us finally consider (4) THE WHERE OF PRAYER 2 CHRONICLES 7:14c If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face A. THE SEEKING IN PRAYER. The Lord here says that His people are to humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face. Although this verse does not explicitly state this it does imply that the where of prayer is EVERYWHERE! If we are to pray without ceasing then everywhere is a place of prayer whether it is in the car, at school, the office, the store it is everywhere and anywhere. B. THE SOLITUDE IN PRAYER. To truly experience God s presence and hear from him and seek His face, as 2 Chronicles 7:14 tells us to do, we must get alone away from all the distractions. There is nothing than can compare to getting rid of the distractions and getting alone with God.
Our Lord knew the importance of this while here on earth. He got alone with the Father many times. Mark 1:35 tells us And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. Luke 5:16 says And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed. And in Luke 6:12 we read And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. Jesus did not get alone because He wanted to get away from people and didn t want to be around them. He got alone because He knew being alone was the best place to meet God. Friends, we need time with God daily. We need some alone time with God. I know it is difficult. Being a pastor I know the rigors of ministry. It is difficult for all of us, but it is essential and it is fundamental. CLOSING: Friends, these are some of the fundamentals THE PARTICULARS OF PRAYER: THE WHO OF PRAYER, THE WHAT OF PRAYER, THE THE WHEN OF PRAYER, and THE WHERE OF PRAYER. Friends, prayer should be simple and regular. Prayer should come natural for us. Sadly, what many Christians do is that they neglect their time with God until some tragedy strikes and then try to get close to God quickly. Friends, that is not how it is meant to be. I believe God will still hear your prayers if you do that. But it is not ideal. Prayer takes practice. A team that never practices cannot expect to win many games. A runner that never trains cannot expect to win many races. And a Church that never prays cannot expect to see many additions. YOU cannot perform well if you neglect the fundamentals. Christ must be first in our lives, we need to pray, and to pray without ceasing. Will we commit ourselves to this? PREPARED BY BROTHER BRYAN L. BROWNING, PASTOR OF BEECHMONT BAPTIST CHURCH, BEECHMONT, KY FOR SUNDAY EVENING, JANUARY 4, 2009.