Prayer has always been part of the human experience. From earliest times men and women have prayed. Prayer is not a uniquely Christian spiritual discipline. The Bible acknowledges that all religions practice prayer (Isa 40:18 ff; 46:5 ff). Through prayer man expresses faith in a perceived divine being, acknowledging, amongst others, the superior nature of that being. Prayer reflects a deep need in man, to look beyond himself to someone greater, who he may entrust with his own well-being and destiny. Without this someone greater, man is fundamentally insecure in a harsh and hostile world. Although pagans practice prayer, it is only the God of the Bible who answers prayer (Isa 64:4). The Bible teaches that fellowship with God is one of the key elements of prayer. In prayer we identify with His will for us, and consequently, walk in fellowship with Him (1 Jhn 1:7). True identifying with the will of God in prayer, will always reflect in life-style. Biblical teaching was never meant to be only doctrine in a book. It should always be a dynamic in one’s life. Biblical teaching always requires a response. Such a response must move beyond intellectual assent and acceptance, to life-style application. The truth of the Bible will always reflect in the life of the true believer. Believers are recognised not primarily by what they say about God, but by how they live for God. Jesus said that a tree would be known by its fruit (Matt 8:20). The lives of believers should clearly reflect the fact that they honour God, not only verbally, but in lifestyle. The earliest record of man having fellowship with God is found in Genesis. Adam heard the sound of God walking in the garden, and hid from Him (Gen 3:8-10). The implication is that, before Adam disobeyed God, he walked in His will, and had regular fellowship with Him. Once he chose to sin, his sin became a wall of separation between Him and God (Gen 3:23-24; Isa 59:2). He lost his fellowship with God because he knowingly ignored the will of God. That both Cain and Abel practised prayer is clear from the fact that they both brought of the proceeds of their labour, as an offering to God (Gen 4:1 ff). The biblical account tells us that Abel was godly (Heb 11:4). Cain had an outward form of godliness which proved to be totally inadequate to protect him in his time of temptation (1 Jhn 312). The New Testament warns against a form of godliness which is powerless to protect in time of need (2 Tim 3:5). Prayer is never an end in itself! It is always a means of contact with the only One who has the power to keep us in life (Jude 24,25). The Bible nowhere challenges us to believe in prayer. It does challenge us to believe in the God who answers prayer (Matt 21:22; Jhn 14:13)! Not long after the Cain and Abel tragedy, mankind polarised into two basic streams. The ungodly, who became known as Canaanites, with Lamech as their ancestor. The godly, who became known as Sethites, with Seth as their ancestor. At this point in the history of man, a division arose in religious practice. The Sethites began to call on the name of the Lord, invoking all that His name stands for (Gen 4:16-26). They worshipped Him as Elohim, the God of greatness and glory. They knew Him as the omnipotent Creator of everything, who rules His creation sovereignly (Deut 10:17). They also worshipped Him as Yahweh, or Jehovah, the selfexistent, eternal God of the covenant. They knew Him as the holy God, who always deals with Fellowship with God is one of the key elements of prayer.1 J Oswald Chambers, Men from God’s School, p. 50 His creatures in righteousness and love. Men and women increasingly turned to God, calling upon His great name. They identified with Him in prayer, and confidently trusted Him with their past, their present, and their future. The Canaanites increasingly slid into a godless existence (Gen 4:16-24; 6:17), characterised by self-indulgence and debauchery. However, self-indulgence did not bring them joy and fulfilment. They had turned their backs on, what they considered to be, restrictive religion. But, as they walked away from God, they blundered straight into a spiritual wilderness. They had long since forgotten that they, like all men, are created in the image of God. They could turn their backs on God, but they had no answer to the dilemma of the spiritual vacuum, in which they found themselves. The image of God in all men causes man to hunger for a reality greater than himself. This is true, even of unbelievers. The Canaanites soon learnt that man has to worship someone, or something. Man, created in the image of God, needs to worship in order to experience meaning in life. The Canaanites needed someone to pray to. If it was not going to be the only true God of the Bible, it would be some other god, or object. But worship would always be an integral part of their continued existence. Out of that situation came pagan worship, and the practice of prayer to heathen gods. There are numerous other examples in the Bible of man exercising faith in the God who answers prayer (Heb 11:1-40). Enoch walked with God (Gen 5:24). The birth of his son, Methuselah, was the event which precipitated this walk. J. Oswald Chambers writes that the name “Methuselah” means “when he dies it will be sent.”1 The fact that Methuselah died just before the flood means that God revealed to Enoch, at the birth of his son, that judgement would come upon the world after his son died. Enoch took the revelation from God seriously, and from that moment on walked with God ( Jude 14,15). Noah was a just man who walked with God, and who built an altar in order to bring an offering to God (Gen 6:9; 8:20). Abraham was a righteous man. He left altars behind him as he moved through the land of Canaan, evidence of his devotion to God (Gen 12:7; 13:8). He was by no means perfect, but he was a man of prayer, with a contagious faith. Years later, when his chief servant was sent to find a wife for Isaac, he called upon the same God that Abraham worshipped (Gen 24:12 ff; 27). Both Isaac, and his son, Jacob, were men who practised prayer. 1 Chronicles records the account of a remarkable prayer by a man called Jabez (1 Chron 4:9-10). One of the most outstanding prayers recorded in the Old Testament is the magnificent prayer of worship, praise and intercession, prayed by Solomon at the time of the dedication of the temple (1 Kings 8:22). We could go from example to example in the Old Testament. Think of the prophets, the way in which the Word of God came to them, and how they responded to that Word (Hos 1:1). They were men in vital contact with God. What else is that but prayer? But the record does not stop at the end of the Book of Malachi. The New Testament too, is a record of men and women who engaged in vital prayer. The most outstanding example is Jesus Christ. His commitment to God reflected in His commitment to prayer. He did not say prayers, he prayed! It was not uncommon for Him to spend entire nights in prayer (Lk 16:12). When, in Examples in the Bible of man exercising faith in the God who answers prayer.the Sermon on the Mount, He specifically taught on prayer, He did not say if you pray, but when you pray (Matt 6:6). To Him prayer was not an optional extra, but an imperative. His example made it clear that He considered prayer to be the life-blood of the person devoted to God. Once, when the disciples were not able to cast a demon out of someone’s son, Jesus said to them “..., this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matt 17:21). Jesus practised prayer. His disciples saw Him pray. They heard Him pray. They longed to be able to pray as He prayed. They said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Lk 11:1). It is in response to that request that Jesus taught the prayer which has become known as The Lord’s Prayer. It is this prayer which we want to study. In longing to pray effectively, we are in a long and blessed tradition of believers who had the same longing, and who trusted God for its realisation. They believed His promise that He would answer their prayers (Jer 33:3). Based on this assurance, they trusted God for His presence with them in their life experience. They were able to say with David, “For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall” (Ps 18:29). Or as Paul put it, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31). Every born again believer experiences this desire for a confident, victorious and intimate relationship with the Father. So, join me as we study The Lord’s Prayer together, and discover the principles of prayer which Jesus taught His disciples.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Jul 2013 21:49:45 +0000
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