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If we are not convinced of the importance of prayer we shall obviously not give much attention to it. The more we are convinced of its importance the more we shall be serious about it. We must surely see its importance when we consider: The Example of Jesus The Bible is full of fascinating people from whom we can learn much, but obviously the most important figure in the entire Bible is the Son of God Himself. He is our supreme example. He is of course much more than our example. He is our Saviour. We do not subscribe to the idea that Jesus came merely to show us how to live. We believe passionately that He came to die for our sins, to be our substitute on the cross and to ransom His people by the shedding of His blood. We do not consider that to be a point for debate: it is settled. However we do recognize that our Lord and Saviour is our example. He is our pattern, and we are called upon to pattern our lives on His. If you want to learn how to live so that you please God you must study the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now when you do that you will discover that the Lord Jesus Himself was clearly a man of prayer. Jesus prayed. Notice these occasions in the Gospel of Luke when the prayer life of Jesus is brought into focus:
Luke 5:16 "And He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed”. Clearly these verses indicate that prayer was a very central and crucial part of the life of Jesus. If we claim to have Jesus Christ as our example then prayer must have a real place in our life. Now let us add to the example of Jesus. The Teaching of Jesus Two passages in this same Gospel of Luke will demonstrate to us that Jesus taught His disciples the importance of prayer. Look again at the 11th chapter. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray He responded by giving them what has become known as the "Lord's Prayer". We have this recorded in Luke 11:2-4. This was given to them as a model prayer. It was not intended to be repeated in a mechanical rote fashion with scarcely any thought given to the words being repeated. There is nothing wrong with Christians praying these exact words of course, and often it is helpful to do so; but we must beware of merely repeating the words without feeling or meaning. The account in Matt.6:9 puts it more clearly for us - "In this manner therefore pray". In other words Jesus is saying "pray like this; here is a pattern for prayers"; and it most certainly is just that. Now back in Luke chapter 11, after he gives them this model prayer He then tells them the parable of the friend who came to borrow loaves at midnight. The whole purpose of that parable is to teach the disciples to pray, and to teach them to pray earnestly and with great desire. He concludes the parable with the words, "And I say to you ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you". Again in this Gospel of Luke, in chapter 18:1 we have this statement, "And He spoke a parable to them to this end, that men always ought to pray, and not lose heart". Then He tells them the parable of the Unjust Judge, and in this parable as in that of chapter 11 He is teaching them to pray, and to pray with tenacity, to keep on praying. You could hardly have stronger teaching as to the importance of prayer than these two parables by the Lord Jesus Christ. Both by example and by teaching Jesus shows us that prayer is important. Our conviction as to the importance of prayer may be deepened as we also consider: The Example of Paul This great apostle, truly following in the footsteps of His Master demonstrates by His life that prayer is indeed crucial to the Christian. His letters give us moving and inspiring examples of prayer for other Christians. Listen to him as he prays for the believers at Ephesus: Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power... (Eph. 1:1 5-19) Or again listen to him as he prays for the Philippian Christians: And this I pray that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and in all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.(Phil.l :9-l 1) If you read Paul's letters in the New Testament you will find in many of them such prayers; fervent, beautiful, mighty, reflecting the apostle's conviction that it was vital that intercession be made for the people of God. The inspired apostle, like His Lord, was a man of prayer. However, it is interesting to note that Paul's conviction as to the importance to prayer is not only revealed by the fact that he prayed for others, but also by the fact that he begged others to pray for him. For instance to the Colossians he writes; “continue in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us that God would open to us a door for the word..." (Col.4:2,3). To the Thessalonians he writes, "brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me"(Rom.15:30). Paul knew that prayer was essential; he needed to pray and he needed others to pray for him. Both the example and the requests of Paul underline what Jesus has already set out before us - the importance of prayer. Other Great Men of Prayer The fact is that the greatest of the servants of God were all men of prayer. The Bible records specifically that they did pray, and in some cases records their prayers for us. For instance in Gen. 18:22,23 we read "but Abraham stood yet before the Lord, and Abraham drew near and said.." The rest of the chapter is taken up with Abraham's remarkable intercession, his prayer that God might spare Sodom, because Abraham was concerned about his nephew Lot. Exodus 32:10-13 records a wonderful example of the prayers of Moses as he intercedes for the rebellious nation of Israel. It is a prayer of passion and boldness. In 1 Samuel 12, though we do not have an example of Samuel's prayer, we do find the people begging him to pray for them. It is clear that Samuel must have been known to them as a man of prayer. Samuel's comment in the chapter is interesting - "God forbid that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you". Obviously to this man of God prayer was of such importance, and such a necessary duty that he considered it sinful not to pray for these people. Now let us add final confirmation to our conviction concerning the importance of prayer, by noting that God conditions the giving of His blessing upon the offering of prayer. Prayer - The Condition of Blessing Prayer consists in more than just making request, but it is significant that God does make the bestowment of His blessing conditional upon the offering of prayer. It is not always that way. God is sovereign, and is therefore free to work any way He chooses, However the normal way of operating is that He grants His blessings to those who seek them in prayer. Take for example the text which is a favourite of many, 2 Chron.7:14 “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". Here are people envisaged as being in great need; but the blessing which they need is only given if they pray. We will of course note that other duties are also laid upon them, but our focus at this point is upon the need of prayer. We see the same principle in the words of Jer.33:3 "Call unto me and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not". You see the connection - you call, and I will answer. I will show you great and mighty things, but you must ask for them. Perhaps one of the most glorious passages in the Old Testament is the latter part of Ezekiel 36. Here God gives wonderful promises about giving a new heart and a new spirit to the people. He emphasizes the blessings which He will bestow; the focus is upon what God will do, and yet he ends the chapter by saying "I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them"(v.37). In other words God says "does this all sound good to you? Is this what you want? Very well then ask for it, seek me concerning this, make it a matter of prayer; you call and I will answer. We have already seen how Jesus links these things together in the N.T. "ask and ye shall receive...." Do we wish to receive from God? Then we must ask of God. You see God has ordained that He will work in answer to the prayers of His people. It is not that He could not work without them. I have already said that God is sovereign and can work when and how He wants. The fact is that God has been pleased to ordain that it shall be this way; that He will work in answer to prayer; his blessings will be given in answer to prayer. God's people will suffer if they do not pray. Prayer is essential for our spiritual well-being. The uniform testimony of the entire Bible is that prayer is of supreme importance.
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