Robert H. Hitchcock
Sugar Land, Texas
January 10, 1997
TAKE TIME TO PRAY |
Luke 18:1
1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Daily living, daily pressures of life can cause us to be pressed, to be uptight, to be angry, upset, and so on. When these pressures come about in our lives, we don't faint -- we pray.
Phil 4:6-7
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
There it is. An unbelievable way to live; but so few people practice it as a way of living. We are very well trained by our society to be pressurized, to be in a hurry, to be upset, to run, run, run all the time. The cure is not a better "Day Timer", or more channels, or more hours in the day (which, by the way, you cannot get) -- the answer is to PRAY. The result can be the peace of God rather than the anxiety with which most people are so very familiar.
Matt 5:44
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Got anyone "bugging" you? Pray for them. Yep, there it is.
Matt 26:41
41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Got any rivers.....Pray. Notice that the spirit is willing; and the flesh is weak.
Matt 6:5-8
5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
Prayer is between each of us and God. It is our communication line with Him. Not that He doesn't know anything that's going on with us, it's us getting Him involved in what's going on in our lives. He knows what we need {duh}.
Matt 6:9-10
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Yes, this is the "Lord's Prayer" of the gospels. What "will" do we want to pray for to come to pass? It's not that we don't know what His Will is -- His Will is written in the Word of God. Not like the religious misunderstandings of so many... "Lord, IF it be thy WILL...heal me...or prosper me"...or whatever. But, shouldn't we be praying for GOD'S WILL TO COME TO PASS?? Sure takes a lot of guess work out of life, doesn't it? "Father, what should I do in this situation?" Or, "Father, your Word says thus and so, and I ask you to bring it to pass on earth." Seems simple enough for everyone. It's not that we decide what God ought to do, but He makes known His Will for us in the Word, we pray, and He answers. It is, by the way, HIS IDEA to supply all of our need, to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, to be our sufficiency.
1 Cor 14:14-15
14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
As born again believers we have something new and additional in our repertoire of prayer. We can pray in the spirit! This prayer is directed by God...it is ALWAYS according to the Will of God. It it also something that we can do continually, because it bypasses the understanding. We can pray and pray and pray and pray and pray.
Acts 3:1
1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
In those days, there were hours devoted to prayer. Pretty neat idea don't you think? They set aside times to pray throughout the day. Well, we've got it even better. We can pray WHILE we are on the job, at school, in the car, at the store, doing the dishes, or whatever. However, we have to decide to do it. To make Prayer a Priority in living.
Rom 12:12
12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
We just keep on keeping on. We stay at it.
Eph 6:18
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
We stay with it until God brings it to pass.
Mark 11:24
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
One requirement of receiving is to believe. Pray and believe. That seems simple enough. That IS THE WILL OF GOD. If we ask anything according to His Will, He hears us. And if He hears us, we know that we have what we have asked of Him.