The New Testament teaching on prayer. This is in addition to what we've already studied in the words of the Lord Jesus and his own precepts and his own prayer life. Number one, God is the father of believers. One, religionists did not know him. nineteen and forty two he says you have neither known me nor my father and he said if god were your father you would love me now i know that there's a great deal of teaching about the universal fatherhood of god and the universal brotherhood of man well the bible doesn't teach it The Bible teaches that God is the creator of all and the father of a limited number. They teach that he is the father of all and he didn't create anybody. We evolved, so they missed it on both counts. The religionist did not know the father. Second, he is revealed by the son. Matthew eleven twenty seven said, No man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom he will reveal him. There is no way of knowing the Father apart from the Son. Now you may know God as Creator. Romans one says that there are many things that you can know about God from the creation, but you can't know him as Father except through the Son. In John fourteen, six to eleven, He said, you have known me. And he said, since you know me, you should know my father. Thomas said, show us the father, and it's the face of that. He said, have I been so long time with thee? And now it's not known me. So when you know the Lord Jesus, you know the father. You know what God is like because you know Christ. And third, Christ attached his disciples to the father. Now the last part of John chapter sixteen, and I'd like you to give some real attention to this, you read it carefully, you will notice that from verses twenty-two to thirty-three the Father is mentioned seven times. In verse twenty-three whatsoever you shall ask the Father. In the twenty-five you will show you plainly of the Father. Twenty-six I will pray the Father. Verse twenty-seven, the Father himself loved you. Verse twenty-eight, I came forth from the Father, and I go to the Father. And in verse thirty-two, the end of the verse, because the Father is with me. Now seven times in that short section, and that's at the close of the Paschal Discourse, that's the last sermon that he preached to them before his crucifixion, just the night before the crucifixion. And because he was going to leave them, he wanted to attach them firmly to the Father. Now, B, he promised that the Father would send the comforter. In John, verse sixteen, you'll remember that promise. And C, he promised the Father's love for us in the twenty-third verse of John fourteen. Oh yes, A. He called his father our father. John twenty in verse seventeen. He said, tell my disciples I go to my father and your father. Now number four, God is called our father frequently in the epistles. A, in greeting. Romans one, seven, first Corinthians one, three, and right on through. In fact, every epistle, he refers to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and of God our Father. So he is frequently called our Father in greeting. And then B, as the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ in Ephesians he refers to him in this way now it's important that we remember that he is our father because he is the father of the Lord Jesus Christ and see he is called our father as being a comfort to us in second Thessalonians two sixteen and seventeen he says the father has given us everlasting consolation and he says he will comfort your hearts it's a great comfort to christians to be able to look up to god as our father and then he is presented in james one seventeen as giving good gifts every good gifts and every perfect gift come down from the father of lights the film is no variable in me the shadow of turning He gives good gifts. And last of all, there is special emphasis on the Father and children in First John. Special emphasis on the Father and the children. Now, Paul, in all of his epistles, puts the emphasis on the Church. And the key word is faith. Peter places the emphasis on the flock. And the key word is hope. And John places the emphasis on the family. And the key word is love. So you've got faith, hope, and love. In the writings of Paul, Peter, and John. Now, whenever you remember something about the flock, you can be pretty sure that you will find this in Peter's epistle. The shepherd looking after the flock and so on, you can be pretty sure that'll be in Peter's reign. However, if you're going to study about the church, you'll be pretty sure to find this in Paul's reign. The Spirit of God used these men to present this relationship in these different ways. Now John's emphasis then is on the father and children relationship, the family. I'm always a little bothered when I hear people praying to the Almighty God or praying, dear God, and they never use the name Father. This always bothers me because we should be enjoying, we should be appreciating what it means to be able to go to God and our Father. that close relationship of the children to a father. Now the teaching, or second section, on the effectiveness of prayer. One, it is called effectual when it is fervent. In James five and fifteen, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. So it is called effectual when it is fervent. The word fervent means very hot, white hot. Now A, Paul asked for striving together in your prayers to God for me. And that word striving together is the word agonizomai, from which we get our word agonized. Agonizomai. You can see the word agonize in that Greek word. Striving together in your prayers to God for me. And then B, we're told that Epiphras laboreth fervently in prayer. Colossians four, twelve and thirteen. So where you have the two words brought together, the word labor is is the word for striving or agonizing, and the word fervently is the word for fight heat. So that's a double emphasis on the fervency of prayer. Now secondly, prayer is considered effectual by those who ask for prayer. There'd be no point in asking people to pray for them. unless it was like some dishonest so-called preachers today who send out appeals, please pray for us and leave the R out. They really want you to please pay for us. They're not really concerned about your prayers with the concern about your donations. But this was not the case with the writers of the New Testament epistles. The Spirit of God led them to ask for prayers. Now, A, First Thessalonians, five-twenty-five, when discouraged in Athens. If you read in the book of the Acts about Paul's time in Athens, you'll see why he was so discouraged. And he wrote this first letter to the Thessalonians from Athens, and he said, brethren, pray for us. And then, B, He prayed for blessing on the preaching in second Thessalonians three, one to two. He wanted that the word of God, the word of the Lord should have free course and be glorified. And then he said, pray that we may be delivered from unreasonable men for all men have not faith. So above all, he wanted that the word of God should be blessed. and then see he prayed for help in godly living or asked for prayers for help in Hebrews thirteen and eighteen he said pray for us we trust that we have a good conscience that we are willing to live honestly so he would he evidently considered the prayers of Christians to be effective he wanted their prayers he coveted their prayers for his own spiritual life And finally, in Philemon, verse twenty-two, there's only one chapter in Philemon, he prayed for or asked for prayer for deliverance from Rome. He said, I trust that through your prayers I shall be given to you. That's when he asked Philemon to get the guest room ready for him. He was in jail at the time, but he said, I expect that God will see that I am set free. While there's some question about this, I believe that Paul was set free for a while and then was in prison the second time and finally put to death. Now, number three, the reason for effectiveness. A, because one is righteous, but not superior. James VIII, where he says, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. And then he said, Elijah was a man of like passions as we are, and he prayed, and God answered his prayers. So it wasn't the value of the man, but it was the righteousness of the man. We'll see in other passages that The answer to prayer depends upon our obedience to some degree. Now, B, the second reason for effectiveness is because our prayers are offered by our high priest. And you get a picture of this in glory in Revelation chapter eight, when an angel or messenger was seen to take his place at the golden altar. Now the word messenger is applied frequently to the Lord Jesus in glory, although he was not a created angel at all, but this is applied to him, and undoubtedly this is he who appears in the eighth of Revelation, and he added incense with the prayers of the saints. We have a song about that. To all our prayers and praises, Christ adds his sweet perfume, and love the censer raises their odors to consume. And this is exactly what we're thinking about in this verse. The Lord Himself makes our prayers effective because He presents them. Now we already have seen, I believe, that the Holy Spirit does this. He tells us in the eighth of Romans that we don't know what we ought to pray for as we ought, but the Holy Spirit makes an intercession for us. So the Holy Spirit helps our prayers from here. and then the Lord presents them there with the incense of his own worthiness. Well, this is why our prayers are effective. Now, number three, promises of answers to prayer. One, when in the name of the Lord Jesus. John, sixteen, twenty-three and twenty-four. Now, the reason I have included some of quotations from John's gospel in this section is because John wrote his gospel and epistles long after all the rest of the Bible is completed. While he's recording what the Lord Jesus said, yet these were things which were given to the church in the body of New Testament teaching. That's why I've included these here. And then number two, He promised answer to prayer when it is in the will of God. First John five, fourteen and fifteen, if we ask anything according to his will, we know that he heareth us. And if we know that he heareth us, we know that we have the petition that we desired of him. So it's actually possible to thank God for what you're praying for before we get it. If you are sure that you're asking according to the will of God, and we're not always sure. But there are some things we are sure about. And you can thank God for the answer to that prayer immediately after you've asked it. And then third, when we are righteous in life, First Peter, three twelve says, the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and his ears are open into their cry. This is quoted from the thirty-fourth Psalm. And Peter reminds us of this. So it's carried over into the New Testament principles as well. And First John three, twenty-one and twenty-two, he says, Now if our hearts condemn us not, then have we confident? You'll find that when your conscience is clear, when things are right between you and God, you'll find that you have more confidence in praying. And number four, when we are thankful. Philippians four six says that we are to continue in prayer with thanksgiving. Let all your requests be made known unto God with thanksgiving. And first Thessalonians five eighteen says in everything give thanks. I had a friend whose wife was disturbed about being thankful for some things that she was not too happy. It happened in her life. And her husband said to her, Remember, the Lord said, In everything, give thanks. Yes, he says it says in everything, but it doesn't say for everything. Well, he said Ephesians five and twenty says, Giving thanks always for all things. So we're to give thanks in everything, and we're to give thanks for everything. Now, you don't give thanks for them simply because it's no worse than it is. But you give thanks for it because your Heavenly Father saw fit to do this for you. If God has seen fit to give you a weaker body than you would like to have, thank Him for it because He has some good reason. He did have in Paul's case. He knew that Paul was better off to be weak. And when you and I are thankful, we can be more sure of answers to prayers. Now the fourth section of our study, Perseverance in Prayer. This is encouraged by the use of several words. Put that down under heading number one. This is encouraged by the use of several words. A, pray without ceasing. And I have underlined without ceasing. First Thessalonians, five and seventeen. I've left the blank space there as you can fill in between A and B. This indicates a continuous spirit of prayer. Now you can't be always on your knees and you can't always be verbalizing your prayers, but you can't always be in the spirit of prayer. And that's what's indicated by this. So perseverance is indicated by that expression, pray without ceasing. And B, Christ in Ephesians six, eighteen, Colossians four, two, we're told praying always and watching there and to with thanksgiving. So here you have always and watching. And this indicates expectancy. And C, continuing instant in prayer. Now the word instant is translated in the modern translations, diligently, or diligently, continuing diligently in prayer, Romans twelve and twelve. And this indicates sincerity. And D, I will, therefore, that men pray everywhere, First Timothy two eight, underlining the word everywhere. And this indicates universal location. There is no wrong place to pray. There's a wrong place to do a lot of other things, but there's no wrong place to pray. If you find yourself in a place where you ought not to be, you ought to be praying about that and confessing it, get out of there. And last of all, Philippians four, six tells us in everything by prayer and supplication, in everything. And this indicates unlimited subject. So all of these words are used to indicate perseverance in prayer. It's much more important than we usually think it is, but we continue in an attitude of prayer. All godly men, not only in Bible times, but in history, And I can certainly say in my half a century of association with godly men, all godly men whom I have known have been men of prayer. I used to travel where the man was not uncommon at all for him to spend two, three, four hours on his knees in prayer when he was troubled about something when he was trying to get an answer from God, when he was trying to find out the will of the Lord, was not uncommon at all. It said of Martin Luther that he was such a busy man that he had to spend four hours a day in prayer. We would say, I'm such a busy man, I can't spend more than about four minutes in prayer. But he said he was such a busy man that he had to spend four hours a day in prayer. It's that of George Mueller that he was continually dropping on his knees in prayer. When he was visiting with people, when he was in their homes, when they came to see him, and he might get you down your knees three or four times in the course of an hour's visit with him. Whenever he thought about something that ought to be prayed about, he just stopped right there and prayed. A very godly man whom I knew in Kansas City, used to go along the street and if he'd see a little stairway that was vacant he'd just slip in there and kneel down there and have a little time of prayer now you don't have to always kneel of course to pray but the idea is to be in a continual attitude of prayer a continual persevering in prayer but now let's consider a little bit number five subjects for prayer Number one, I would suggest, should be worship, praise, and thanksgiving to God. Now, let me define those again. We thank God for his gifts. We praise him for his acts, and we worship him for his person, for who he is. They're not interchangeable. They're not synonymous. Most of us are concerned, I would think, most of the time with Thanksgiving. God gave me something nice, so I'll thank him for this. Little children are like this. They're not able to understand your worth. They're not able to understand your actions, but they understand a piece of candy or an ice cream cone. And they are taught early in life to say thank you. I think we ought to rise above Thanksgiving to praise God for the things that he has done, to praise our Lord Jesus. But I think we should rise above that to worship him for who he is. They tell of a man whose little boy came into his study and he said, what do you want, Sonny? He said, could I have a nickel? So he gave him a nickel. He thanked him and laughed. came back again he said well what do you want this time he said my kite's broke will you fix it so he fixed his kite for him and how he went then he came back a third time and his father said well what do you want now sonny he said i don't want anything daddy i just want to be here with you now any father would know which one of those visits he appreciated the most how many times do you make a visit into the presence of god How many times you call him in the day to let him know that you appreciate his person, that you enjoy his company? That should be a subject for prayer, and this will occupy you a great deal of time. Now second, there should be confession of sins. First John one and nine, it might be that you'd have to put this first in actual order if you're coming to God. Realizing that you have sinned against him, this might have to take place before the other, but I put the other first in order of importance. Remember that confession of sins is not asking for forgiveness. You could ask for forgiveness a hundred times and still not have done what the Lord asked you to do. He asked you to acknowledge what you've done. Name the sin. And then third, intercession. Intercession is said to be A for all saints. Ephesians six, eighteen and twenty. Praying always for all saints. And Paul says for me. So your intercession ought to include all believers. But then it ought to be specific. You ought to name individuals as well. And then B, it ought to be for all men. First Timothy, two and one. I will, with supplications, prayers, intercessions, giving of thanks, be made for all men. You don't know who may need your prayers the most, but if you are willing to pray about whoever the Holy Spirit brings to your attention, you may find names coming to your mind quite often. And if you make a habit of praying for those people, no matter if it's somebody that you don't know at all, if that mind comes to you, if that person's name comes to your mind, pray for that person. You may be used of the Spirit of God in special way, in intercession. And then see for all that are in authority, for the second verse of First Timothy, two says, for kings and for all that are in authority. I hope you're praying. for our president and those in authority under him. Or whoever may be in authority over you. This could be in a business way. This could be in many ways. All who are in authority. And then forth there are the requests. Philippians four and six. Let your requests be made known unto God. Here again, we know that God knows what things you have need of before you ask him. And yet he has definitely said that he wants you to name these requests in his presence. One of the advantages of naming these requests is that you can be in fellowship with God about this thing. And if this request is not a good request, as you're praying about it, the Lord can show you that that isn't the best thing. and he can substitute in your mind another request instead of that you may find yourself starting out to pray about a certain thing and then finding that as you have spent time in the Lord's presence that you see that another request would be an even better one and then according to James one and five there should be inquiry inquiry coming to God to ask him or wisdom. He says, if any man like wisdom, let him ask of God, who give it to all men liberally, and abrade it not, and it shall be given him. We're not wise enough to handle our lives. We ought to inquire in his presence. And last of all, communion. Song of Solomon, I think is the greatest incentive in the Bible to pray. And there the bridegroom is saying to the bride, let me see thy face, let me hear thy voice. Now he isn't asking to hear her voice at a distance over the telephone. He says, let me see thy face and then let me hear thy voice. And if the Lord really wants your company and really wants to hear your voice, What a wonderful privilege it is to make him glad by coming into his presence to pray.