Prayer
(1)
Course: The Importance of Effective Prayer.
Lesson
7
Lesson Title: Hindrances to Prayer.
Lesson
Text: 1
John 3:22.
Introduction: Our prayers will be answered if we pray
right. Scripture clearly teaches
this. When the disciples were unable to
cast out a devil Jesus told them it was because of unbelief, Matthew 17:20 ‘And Jesus said unto them, Because of your
unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard
seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it
shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.’
If we want our prayers to be answered it is essential that we fulfil God’s requirements.
· We must continuously walk in obedience to God’s word and fulfil the conditions that God requires, such as, abiding in Christ (John 15:7).
· We must be led by the Holy Spirit.
· We must keeping right relationships with God and with others.
We should expect our prayers to be answered. If they are not answered there is a reason.
Introductory
illustration: Charles Finney – Prayers not
answered.
I
listened to the prayers which I heard offered in those prayer meetings with all
the attention that I could give to prayers so cold and formal. In every prayer they prayed for the gift and
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Both in
their prayers and in their remarks, which were occasionally interspersed, they
acknowledged that they did not prevail with God. This was most evident, and had almost made
me a sceptic.
Seeing me
so frequently in their prayer-meeting, the leader, on one occasion, asked me if
I did not wish them to pray for me. I
replied: "No," I said: "I
suppose that I need to be prayed for, but your
prayers are not answered. You
confess it yourselves."
(Power from on High p.26-27)
Exposition: Reasons for unanswered prayer.
1.
We will not see answered prayer
if we pray selfishly with wrong motives or wrong desires. James 4:3 ‘You ask, and receive not, because you ask
amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts.’
· Our prayers must always put the glory of God first. See Acts 4:23-24, the disciples had no concern for their own welfare – their prayer is answered in power because the disciples were concerned only for the glory of God.
·
Prayers of George Müller; first
priority ‘the glory of God’. The prayers
of George Müller were answered in a tremendous.
Although he had great needs at the orphanages in
2. We will not see answered prayer if we doubt that God will answer, James 1:6 But let him ask
in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven
with the wind and tossed.
·
Answered prayer is dependent upon having faith that
God will answer. Mark
11:23 ‘For verily I say unto you, That
whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into
the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things
which he says shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says.’ We must build up
our faith so that our prayers have power with God. Mark
Ways of building
up our faith:
(a) Filling our minds with the word of God, Romans 10:17.
(b)
Fellowship with God’s people and building one
another up in the scriptures.
Heb
(c) Testimonies of answered prayer.
· We can have great faith because God has promised that if we ask anything according to His will He will answer. 1 John 5:14 ‘And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us:’ We must know His will, Romans 12:1-2.
1.
If we keep sin or idols in our
hearts, Psalm 66:18 ‘If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear:’ Sin in hearts will stop our prayers from being answered. Sometimes when we pray we are aware of
something that needs to be put right. Jesus told His disciples, ‘And when ye stand
praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is
in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.’ (Mark 11:25). We become aware of the sin of unforgiveness when we pray because
it becomes a barrier between us and God.
·
We must keep our hearts free
from wrong relationships, Matt.
5:23-24 ‘Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar,
and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go
thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.’ It is our responsibility to
approach someone in a reconciliatory manner when they have something against
us.
Christians
must be
(a)
easy to approach and
(b)
not easily offended.
·
We must keep our hearts from
wrong desires and from idolatry, Proverbs 4:23 ‘Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out
of it are the issues of life.’ The prophet Ezekiel prophesied concerning the idols in the hearts
of Israel. Ezekiel
14:3 ‘And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols
in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face:
should I be enquired of at all by them? The Apostle John warned
against having idols in the heart, 1 John 5:21 ‘Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.’ An idol is something that takes
the place in our hearts that only God rightfully owns.
4. Our relationships with others - If we do not care for others or forgive them, 1 John 3:22 ‘And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.’
· The Lord’s commandment is that we must love one another, John 13:34 ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.’
· We must forgive others, Matthew 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
·
If we do not have a right
relationship in our marriage, 1 Peter 3:7 ‘Likewise, ye husbands,
dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as
unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that
your prayers be not hindered.’ The
husband must love his wife, and the wife respect her husband, Ephesians 5:33 ‘Nevertheless let every one of you in
particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.’
Summary:
We are assured our prayers will be answered when we meet the conditions God has set in scripture.
1. We must pray with right motives and right desires.
2. We must pray with faith that God will do what He has promised.
3. We must not allow sin or idolatry to enter our hearts and lives.
4. We must walk in love, keeping right relationships especially within the home.
Question
checklist:
1) In making all decisions ask 'Will this glorify the Lord?' Only go through with it if the answer is yes.
2) In things I do ask 'Am I sure this is not sinful or idolatrous'. If there is doubt then reject it.
3) In relationships ask ' Am I showing love and forgiveness?' If not then repent and put things right in my heart.
4) In marriage ask 'am I showing love and respect towards my husband or wife?' If not then ask forgiveness and begin anew.
5) Check that our prayers are being answered if not then ask the Lord to show us why not.
Textbook
R.A.Torrey
‘How to Pray’