Lesson 2 on
Learning How to Really Pray
James 5:13-18
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
DATE: 27 April, 2008 AM
PLACE: BBC Ballincollig
www.biblebc.com
I.
Introduction (Luke 11:1)
A.
We are finishing our
1.
We heard first from
Bro Kevin O’Keeffe on “How to Get Into and Enjoy God’s Presence”
2.
Then Bro John
3.
Then last week I spoke
about “Gethsemane Praying” – having our own
4.
This morning I want to
try and conclude with “The Power of Believing Prayer”
B.
Some fundamental truths about
prayer:
1.
There are no easy
prayers – praying is not chit-chat, it is a definite effort to communicate
how you feel to God, and a desperate effort to hear God reply! That doesn’t
happen flippantly!
2.
You only learn how to
pray when you have to – they are not memorized words you pray, but words and
feelings that come out of need!
3.
There are no
convenient times to pray
4.
Real praying is borne
out of confident faith – it is not a guess, or a hope, or a feeling, or a
stab-in-the-dark – it is a firm belief that you are being heard in heaven,
and will be answered from heaven!
5.
Praying is the most
life-and-death act you will ever do as a Christian. Preaching, soul-winning,
loving, giving, caring, blessing, ministering, sacrificing… they all are
empty acts without prayer!
C.
The Bible is Our Prayer Book
1.
It teaches us how to
pray – every chapter of every Book in the Bible shows us our need for
reliance on God instead of on ourselves
2.
Better than that even,
it teaches us about how to get answers to prayer – how to obtain what we
need, on a moment by moment basis
3.
Prayer is not an act
that you just do, but rather an interaction, with God, that unlocks what you
need!
4.
The Epistle that James
wrote talks about prayer – and more than that, it shows us the power of
Believing Prayer
5.
That’s what I want us
to have because of this study this morning – to go out of here, not only
believing in the power of prayer, but having power in prayer. We all know
when we have wasted our time in prayer, and when our prayers are powerless!
Really, there is nothing more grieving than to have prayed and known that it
was useless
6.
I am here to tell you,
that may be your experience, but that is not what prayer was designed to be!
7.
Prayer, real prayer,
is powerful, and effective! It actually is THE most powerful act you will
ever do
a.
More than preaching
b.
More than fighting
c.
More than loving
d.
More than dying
e.
Prayer is powerful!
D.
James is writing this
letter to Christians who are encountering a variety of trials in their
lives. They are finding that their faith in God does not keep them from
having to deal with difficult and often very painful circumstances. James
does not write them to tell them how to avoid all trials and live a
pain-free life. He says that the trials are going to come. Instead, James
tells us how to go through our problems the fastest!
II.
Message
A.
The Opportunities for Prayer
(James 5:13-15) – look at all the opportunities you and I have to pray…
1.
When Afflicted
– under attack, troubled, like Job was.
2.
When Blessed
– when your are on the mountain top, and you find life easy… that’s time to
praise God in prayer
3.
When Sick
– Instead of turning only to pills and doctors alone, when you find yourself
sick, and bed-ridden, that is time to pray. We have lost the idea that it is
better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in men! Doctors are fine,
and thank the Lord for medicines, but whatever happened to praying?
4.
When in Bondage to
Sin – Oh here is a big one! What hypocrites we
are when sin and temptation enslaves us and ashames us, that we do not cry
out to God for deliverance and complete victory over the devil! The name of
Jesus is still mighty!
5.
There really isn’t any
time that you shouldn’t be free to pray (“Men ought always to pray” Lk 18:1)
– there are no inappropriate times for prayer.
B.
The Five Big Obstacles to
Prayer (James 5:13-16a) - all of these are
iniquities/sins (Psalm 66:18) that need to be pondered and looked for in
your heart!
1.
Neglect
– I think we forget/neglect to pray too often. It is no longer part of our
culture!
a.
It ought to be
something we instantly remember when we are sick, when we’re in troubles,
when we’re blessed, when we’re battling sin
b.
Hey, if you have to,
write these words on every wall in your house… “Pray… NOW!”
c.
What a terrible reason
not to pray – simply because you forgot!
d.
It would be like
getting into your car and driving away and not putting your seat belt on,
simply because you forgot!
e.
It is like too many
Christians today sitting down to a meal, and just diving in and not stopping
to be thankful! Oh how far a small act of gratefulness before a meal will go
in helping you remember to pray at other times too!
f.
I believe prayer is
nearly gone, not because the world doesn’t pray, but because Christians
think it isn’t important anymore!
2.
Pride
a.
Unable to be honest
with God or people – Unable to confess your failure to God, your fault
towards other people
1)
This is NOT about the
confession of sin – you confess to God
2)
But rather admitting
that you are at fault – not constantly rejecting your fault
3)
Admitting you have
hurt someone, and agreeing that it was wrong, and destructive
b.
Unable to be exposed
for the fraud that you are – people fight and run away because they would be
exposed as frauds
1)
No one in this room is
without sin
2)
It is wonderful to be
amongst sinners who don’t go around claiming to be perfect, only forgiven,
and growing!
c.
Unable to submit to
the help of Christian leaders, elders
1)
Never joining up with
a church, and leaning on spiritual leadership – always the rogue, always so
independent
2)
Elders, mature
Christians are here for a purpose, just like parents are – to help you
THROUGH afflictions, sicknesses, struggles with sins
3.
Unforgiveness
(James 5:16)
a.
Mutual forgiveness is
mandatory – “one to another”
b.
Pray for one another –
not judge each other
c.
When you hold grudges
and bitterness aginst each other, especially when they are trying to get
right and do right, you put up and instant wall between you and God
4.
Unbelief
a.
People turn only to
doctors, and drugs, and depression
b.
If you believed God
answers prayer, you would pray all the time
c.
What stops most people
from praying, truly, passionately praying is unbelief – they only go through
the motions!
d.
Is it true that God
wants to answer our requests? See Mk 9:14-24
e.
The problem, most
often is unbelief
5.
Impatience with God
– part of prayer is being willing to come to God with your request, and
being able to rest, while you wait for God to work everything out. If you
are impatient with God, you won’t pray – you will end up turning to another
source of help, or just end up doing something yourself about your problem –
end up messing things up worse!
6.
I believe all five of
these things are all on the same level – not one of them is less powerful in
blocking, or more important to get rid of!
C.
A Great Example of Powerful,
Believing Prayer – Elijah (James 5:17,18)
1.
James uses the
illustration of Elijah to show just how effective prayer can be from a
righteous man.
2.
He chose Elijah
because the biblical story of this prophet brings out his passionate—and
sometimes still carnal—nature. Nevertheless, he prayed earnestly for
drought, and God responded: No rain fell on the earth for three years and
six months! When he prayed again for rain, God again heard and acted. What
tremendous power can be unleashed through determined prayer that conforms to
the will of God!
3.
Elijah was not
perfect, but he was righteous
4.
And he had four great
characteristics that we all need, in order to pray through our days, and win
our battles
D.
The Kind of Prayer that Works
(James 5:16b)
1.
Effectual
Prayer
a.
The kind
that work
1)
The ones that get
answers, are the ones we should be after
2)
Not Novenas, or
Rosaries, or any kind of prayer that is formulated, or pre-written. You all
have seen the listing of novenas in the back of newspapers that are
“Guaranteed to work”
3)
Most people only know
ineffective prayer – God invites us to be effective in our prayers
b.
Prayer is nothing less
than contacting and employing the power of God; it is the channel through
which the strength and grace of God is brought to bear on the troubles of
life.
c.
Simply then, Effectual
prayers AFFECT your world: Move mountains; Open doors; Rebuke devils
d.
Effectual means (Eph
3:7; Gal 2:8)
1)
A prayer that is full
of confidence in the God you are talking to – not wavering
2)
A prayer that is
thorough – not in bits a pieces. Not “general” but specific and well thought
out! You hate it when you go to a mechanic and he is not thorough in
repairing your car! Well, the best praying is thorough!
3)
Effectual Prayers are
“To the point”
a)
That’s why you should
have a list of people and needs to pray about
b)
That’s why you should
never try and hide your sin from God – don’t beat around the bush – be open,
honest, straight up with God. A lost art that is!
c)
You don’t have to pray
for 8 hours about something to be heard
d)
You definitely don’t
have to repeat yourself over and over to be heard
e)
Just get to the point,
and believe!!!
4)
Effectual Prayers get
down to business and get business done – they don’t float around with
flowery words, or empty words, but like when you are talking to your Doctor
– you get right to what you need! Amen
2.
Fervent
Prayer
a.
Everything about a
Christian should be this way! Passionate, full of energy (1Pet 1:22; 4:8) –
“on fire” – fanatical!
b.
Not wimpy in your
prayers – whimpering, mumbling
1)
Wimpy prayers are the
norm instead of the exception. God hears the weakest of prayers, but He
delights to answer the most fervent of prayers – the most desperate of
prayers, like
2)
Most of us are too
used to our problems
a)
So we are not
desperate anymore to get God to answer our prayers
b)
Not willing to stay
praying about a need
c)
Not willing to clean
up our lives so that we are worthy of great answers to our prayers
c.
Not depending on
will-power
1)
Will-power won’t
change anything, but fervent prayer can change everything
2)
Why? Because it
invites into your life and into your troubles the ALMIGHTY, ALL-POWERUL GOD!
d.
Here is where faith
comes in – belief in God (Jer 33:3; Ps 50:15)
e.
Fervent prayer is when
“all your heart” is in it
1)
Like at Salvation (Act
8:36-38) – not flippant
2)
Like when reading our
Bibles (Luke 24:25)
3)
Just all the time (Rom
12:11)
3.
Righteous
Prayer - God hears only the clean heart
a.
God CAN’T hear you
when you pray with sin in your heart (Isa 59:1,2; Ps 66:18)
b.
When you start off
praying, get right with God – on HIS terms! That is the first part of prayer
so that he can hear the rest of your praying!
1)
Examine yourself, find
out what is blocking the relationship
2)
Deal with every
obstacle to getting answers to prayer
c.
Answers are worth
doing whatever it takes
1)
Answers to our needs
are the supply lines in the battle – like in WW2
2)
An army HAS to have a
constant supply of food, ammo, fresh troops coming in – supply lines
3)
If they don’t keep
those supply lines open and free-flowing, they will starve, run out of ammo,
and die!
d.
Starts with God’s
righteousness – imputed righteousness
e.
But answers to prayer
are linked to how clean our hearts are (James 4:8; Listen to
f.
Did you know that if
your heart is right with God, you can ask God for absolutely anything, and
He will give it to you?
g.
I think it is worth it
to live clean – no MTV, no filthy mouthed friends, no porn on the internet,
no erotic romance novels
h.
And when that stuff
has affected you, then purge it, dump it, switch it off, and confess it, and
start getting answers to prayers again!
4.
Availing
Prayer (Philp 4:19)
a.
How rich is God?
b.
Just how MUCH can you
ask for? How BIG a problem can you ask God to fix? How much help can He
actually give you?
c.
Availing Prayer is
when you and I gain access to that great storehouse that is referred to as
God’s riches
1)
It is like a great
Hardware Store for the builder
2)
It is like a great
Pharmacy for the sick
3)
It is like a great
4)
It is like a great
Justice Hall for the oppressed
d.
Here is the point
1)
God is not poor – His
arm is not short – His grace is not limited
2)
We come only so far in
our asking things of God…
a)
Without really
believing we are going to get anything
b)
And without believing
it will be enough
c)
When all the while,
there is enough for everyone, for all time!
3)
Availing prayer means
prevailing prayer
4)
It means, actually
accessing the biggest bank account in the universe
5)
It means actually
finding the cure to your deepest hurt
6)
It means actually
gaining access to all the tools you could use to fix your situation
e.
God makes “”His
Riches” available to us – and waits for us to “avail” of them – to access
them, to get our hands on them!
1)
He doesn’t have grace
on display only for show
2)
He doesn’t put His
love only on a pedestal
3)
He simply waits for
someone to really want what He has to offer
f.
What does God offer?
(Heb 4:16) Get access to absolutely everything He has to offer!!!
1)
Salvation from hell –
the Forgiveness of our sins
2)
Strength for every day
3)
Sustenance
4)
Satisfaction to the
highest level
III.
Conclusion
A.
I want to pray knowing
that it is going to work… that means:
1.
Effectual Prayer
2.
Fervent Prayer
3.
Righteous Prayer
4.
Availing Prayer
B.
When prayed like
Elijah, it is the most powerful act you will ever attempt
C.
What do you need? Come
boldly to God; let’s ALL get answers to our prayers
1.
For forgiveness for
sins so awful
2.
For help through dark
valleys
3.
For grace to
strengthen you
4.
To a new heart, soft
heart
5.
For a renewed passion
for God, and for souls