THE ELEMENTS OF PRAYER

THE ELEMENTS OF PRAYER
How We Ought to Pray and not Lose Heart
Luke 18:1-8

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Introduction:
Children can teach us a lot about spiritual things. For instance, there was a little boy who had been misbehaving all day so his mother sent him to his room. After a while he emerged and told his mother that he had thought it over and then said a prayer.
"wonderful", said the pleased mother. "If you ask God to help you to behave, He will can do it."
"Oh, I didn't ask God to help me to behave," said Johnny. "I asked Him to help you to put up with me."

Prayer is the Christian breath. You will just as soon see a living man who does not breathe as see a Christian who does not believe in prayer. Prayer is vital to the Christian walk and maturity. Prayer was a habit of Christ himself and stood at the forefront of Apostolic responsibilities (“But we will give ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word” Acts 6:4). Paul talked about labouring fervently in prayer (Col 4:12). Prayer is the Christians secret weapon in our war against the Sin, Satan and the World.

Let’s look at Jesus’ teaching on Prayer:
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, (v.1).

Just by means of an introduction I want to point out two components that stand out in Luke’s introduction to the parable:

First, notice that Luke uses the word “ought”? Let’s not miss the weight of this word. This is an important ethical term. What I mean by ethical is the study of how people ought to live. It is not a suggestion, it is a command.

The dictionary of Philosophy explains ought this way, it “is the principle term with which we express obligation and duty.” In other words it is the duty of Christians according to the gospel is prayer.

Ought here is the Greek word dei. To emphasize the weight of this word in scripture lets look at how it is used elsewhere in relation to salvation, character and the obedience of Christ:
1. Salvation: in the book of Acts the Philippian Jailer asked Paul “What must (dei) I do to be saved? (Acts 16:30)
2. Character: We read in 1 Timothy 3 that a man must be blameless, the husband of one wife, of good behaviour, hospitable and so on…
3. Finally, Obedience: Remember that Jesus said often that the son of man must suffer many things.

So you see that if duty is critical to salvation, character and the obedience of Christ, duty must also be critical in the area of prayer as God’s means of grace to accomplish his will and to give us the desires of our heart.

The second point in Luke’s introduction that I want to point out is the exhortation not to “lose heart” in praying.


Remember that Jesus said where your treasure is, there also will be your heart (Luke 12:34)? Treasure prayer; make it the most valuable thing that you possess- because it is. Should you lose heart and shun prayer, your heart will become dull and lose all spiritual insight, your thinking will become worldly and lose power (Matt 13:34). For it is with the heart that one believes, resulting in righteousness (Romans 10:10).

Therefore, “let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (Gal 6:9)

Now let’s turn to the Words of Jesus in verse 2 to 8
2 saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.' 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' " 6 Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"

I. As much as I like exegetical preaching, I want to remain more thematic here and only point out a few things before we move into some application:

First, I want to point out some similarities between this parable and reality. After all a parable is a similitude, meaning one thing is similar to another. A parable is like a sign: baptism is a sign of the Lord’s death and resurrection, the Lord’s supper is a sign of the body and blood of Jesus. But the sign is not the thing, it only signifies the thing.

That’s real important here: it is similar because God is a judge, and we are like the widow. Notice the cultural disparity between these two people. Remember that Jesus is talking to a patriarchal society, where men, particularly a judge are the ideal. Moses was a judge.

Also, in a patriarchal culture, women, particularly a poor widow, were at the bottom of society. The disparity between the judge and the widow could be no greater, except maybe if she were a Gentile or a Samaritan. It’s like that in the disparity between us and God- we are finite, sinful, selfish creatures; God is infinite, Holy, selfless, creator.

Another Similarity is that, persistent prayer, like this widows persistent petitioning of the unjust judge, avails much. Persistence in prayer prevails on God like persistence before an unjust judge can cause a just judgment.

The final similarity is that, just as the judge responds and answers the persistent widow; God will respond and answer the persistent prayer. The woman’s persistence is given by Jesus as an example of how we ought to pray and not lose heart.

But there are also some dissimilarities. Remember this is a parable, a sign; it is not the thing.

The most important dissimilarity and the one that I want to underscore is that, unlike the judge, God is just. In fact, because he cannot sin, justice is the very essence of His being and something that none can escape.

Just to review then:
1. Prayer is our duty, we ought to do it
2. We should not lose heart in prayer
3. God is a judge, a just judge
4. there is an immeasurable gulf between God and ourselves
5. Persistence in prayer prevails upon God for an answer to our prayers.

II. So, how ought we to pray and not lose heart? I want to suggest five elements of prayer that are essential to effective prayer and modeled to us in various modes by righteous men and women throughout scripture. I’ve chosen the acronym wrist, it should be helpful, because often when we pray, we clasp our hands together.

1. Worship: as Michael Patrick says, “True prayer is an exercise in divine worship.” It requires slowing down the pace of our lives to contemplate and adore God and his attributes and being. “Be still and know that He is God” (Psalm 46:10). Worship reminds us to whom it is we speak. It warms the heart and tunes it giving liberty to our requests and intercessions.

Worship involves adoration of God as well as exaltation:
“3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. 4 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.” (Psalm 63)

“2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.” (Psalm 34)

“O Lord, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, For You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.” (Isaiah 25:1)

2. Repentance: Worship goes hand in hand with repentance. As John Owen said, “He that has small thoughts of sin never has large thoughts of God.”

One thing is necessary as a precursor to repentance and that is forgiveness. Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they too will obtain mercy. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Mat 5:7; 6:14).

Forgiveness of others is essential to our own forgiveness and Unforgiveness may be the very thing that has hindered your prayer life and caused you to give up on praying altogether. I wonder if a man or a woman who says that pray doesn’t accomplish much is a man or woman who is harboring unforgiveness in his or her heart.

CS Lewis recommends this approach, when you pray and seek to forgive someone who has wronged you, try to remember a time when you may have committed a similar sin or wrongdoing. There is nothing more humbling then recognizing that the sliver in my brother’s eye is a reflection of the log in my own. I find that the faults I find in others are often faults that I struggle with myself, particularly the petty ones.

Confession is an admission that we have sinned. Remember David’s confession?
“4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah 5 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah” (Psalm 32:5).

Peter said, “Repent therefore… that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).

“9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn 1:9).

Confession has three essential components:
1. A sense of our own sin
2. Godly sorrow, not pretense: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a contrite heart” (Psalm 51:7)
3. Acceptance of God’s ability to forgive. Jesus satisfied the justice of God at the cross.

3. Intercession: Pray for others. On their behalf make the same requests that you made for yourself.

Here is an order for remembering people to pray for;
1. Begin with your family: spouse, children, parents, other family
• 7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
2. Pray for world leaders: Our Prime minister, the President, Koffi Anan; the leadership of Iraq and North Korea as well as for our Premier and even our mayor and city council.
3. Pray for your pastor; for your teachers and for your students
4. Pray for your neighbours and your friends
5. Pray for the helpless, for the lost, for the single moms in this community and their children.

4. Supplication: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Phil 4:6). Another word for supplication is requests. It is the selfish side of prayer.

As Spurgeon said, “Every promise of scripture is a writing of God, which may be pleaded before Him with this reasonable request, ‘Do as thou hast said.’”

First, let me say prayer is a very practical means of personal achievement and gain. Prayer should always have personal needs as one of its chief components. I used to think that it was wrong to go before God and ask for selfish things.

“I should be praying for the homeless, the poor in Africa, the sick woman in the church, not for myself.” All that says to God though is that I can make it on my own- I don’t need you. That is true selfishness, because God is deeply concerned with your needs and your fears and He can help you as well as the homeless, the poor in Africa, the sick woman. God is infinite and all powerful.

When you pray, let me suggest some requests:
1. For God’s will in your life
2. For God’s help in your labour, in the things that you are striving for.
3. For personal health and well being
4. For finances
5. For your daily bread
Three characteristics in your requests: Simple, sincere, scriptural

5. Thanksgiving: Recite to God a catalogue of his blessings toward you. Thank him for things He already done: salvation, healings, restored relationships, jobs, finances, etc. Thank him for what he is doing: providing your daily needs, giving you directions, hearing your prayers. Thank him for what He will do in advance, even if it is not what you ask.

“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving” (Col 4:2).

Thanksgiving in Greek is the word Eucharisto, it’s the word for the Lord’s Supper.