The Foundation of Prayer

Transcript

GR 1104
3/27/1983

1 John 5:13-15
Gil Rugh

I John chapter 5 in your bibles. I John chapter 5. Coming to the closing portion of this epistle of John in our study. Encourage you in the coming weeks to maybe take time to sit down and read through I John at one sitting just to get something of the continuity of the book since again we have taken a number of months in moving through it piece by piece. We are going to be picking up with verse 13 this evening, which is where we left off in our last study. We noted verse 13 forms a transition. It is a good transitional verse because it ties in with what goes before and it also is the basis for what he is now going to develop. The focal point in verses 13 to 17» connecting verse 13 with what follows this evening, is going to be on the believer and prayer. We as believers in prayer. One of the greatest privileges that we have as God's children is to come into His presence and talk with Him. To bring our requests, our desires, our burdens before Him and be assured that He hears us. You stop and think about it, and this is remarkable that we, human beings, fallen humanity that have experienced redemption, are now privileged to come and we'll see with confidence, into God's presence and talk with Him about the burdens of our life. The amazing thing, I guess, about prayer first is that we have that privilege and second, that we take so little advantage of it. That we fail to talk with Him as often as we should. We are invited, we are encouraged, we are commanded to pray. And yet, it seems to be one of those things which we neglect and the communication breaks down. In verse 13» "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life." This verse really is the foundation for prayer. The basis for being able to pray. Not everyone can pray. I mean not everyone is privileged to come and talk with God.

Old Testament tells us that the prayers of the wicked are an abomination to God. They are not something acceptable or pleasing to Him. So in this statement which I understand to summarize the purpose of the book, John also gives us the basis for prayer. The ones he is addressing are those who are believing in the name of the Son of God. That present tense. You began to believe the moment that you trusted Christ, but that faith is a continuing thing. I trusted Christ as my Savior 30 years ago, but I am still trusting Him, still believing in Him. Ones believing in the name of the Son of God. And to believe in the name of the Son of God is to believe in His person and work, all that He is. The name stands for who He is. So when you believe in the name of the Son of God, you're believing in the Son of God as He is. God's Son, Jesus Christ, deity and humanity, who Himself provided redemption through His death on the cross. Those of you believing in the name of the Son of God, "in order that you may know that you have eternal life". "You may know" refers to a knowledge that has been obtained or acquired that is settled and sure. John wants us to have the settled assurance, the sure knowledge, that we have eternal life. And that "have" is in the present tense. We are those who presently possess eternal life. That's not something we will have — it’s something we do have right now. I am a possessor of eternal life. Now this statement of his purpose also ties to what he wants to say about prayer. As I mentioned, this verse is the foundation for prayer. If you don't have confidence in your salvation, you won't have confidence in your prayer life because if you are always unsettled on whether you are saved or not, how can you be confident to come and talk with God? And some of you have gone through this where you've been in doubt about your salvation. Perhaps you've been part of a group that taught that you didn't have security as a believer, an assurance. And it's hard to have confidence in prayer and most of your prayer time is spent praying about being saved. But John has written that we might have assurance of salvation so that we might have confidence in prayer. So we have another step. The true foundation for prayer is a right relationship with God, and the whole book of Hebrews develops this. The only means of access into God's presence is through Jesus Christ. He is the High Priest who enables us as believer priests, to come into God's presence.

And anyone who does not have Jesus Christ as High Priest by virtue of coming to trust Jesus Christ and His finished work, has no access into God's presence. No privilege to address or to talk to Him in prayer. Now those of us who have believed in Jesus Christ need to have that settled assurance regarding that relationship.
The fact that we do possess eternal life, so that we can have the kind of prayer life that God intends us to have. And I really believe the devil works hard in the area of assurance and undermining the assurance. Many believers are taught that you don't have assurance of salvation, that you don't have security in Christ, and what that does is just unsettle the prayer life. So John has laid the foundation here that you may know that you have eternal life. And you see how verse 14 flows out of it. "And this is the confidence". When you know that you have eternal life, that you are confident before God of that possession, you possess eternal life, then you possess confidence in prayer and regarding prayer. So one leads to another.

Our study of I John, I trust, has given us that confidence regarding our relationship with God as believers. "This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." And he gave us the basis or foundation for prayer in verse 13. Now in verses 14 and 15 he talks about our confidence in prayer. "This is the confidence". And that word "confidence". Let me give you the Greek dictionary's definition. It means courage, confidence, boldness, fearlessness, especially in the presence of persons of high rank. So it comes naturally to be used of God. It's a word that would be used of a person who had boldness or fearlessness. In the presence of a person who has high rank. And we as believers in Jesus Christ are those who are privileged to have boldness and fearlessness in the very presence of God Himself. Now that is remarkable. We have confidence. "This is the confidence which we have before Him." This word confidence used here is used four times — this passage and three other times in the first epistle of John. And interestingly, in two of those passages, it refers to confidence in connection with judgment and in two of the passages it refers to confidence in connection with prayer. Look back in chapter 2 verse 28. In connection with confidence connected with judgment. I John 2:28, "And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence". There's our word. Boldness. Fearlessness. Courage. "And not be put away from Him in shame at His coming." So believers are those who have a fearlessness, a boldness, in the context of judgment. In chapter 4 verse 17, he uses this word in the context of judgment. "By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence." And there's our word. "In the day of judgment". So you see, as regards judgment, we as believers are those who are privileged to have a boldness and a fearlessness regarding judgment. Now let me make an observation here. This is different from a cockiness. The world is often cocky about judgment. Indifferent. That comes out of ignorance. They are ignorant of the reality of a coming judgment and the seriousness of the matter. They are like small children, ignorant of certain danger. So it is with those who are cocky, smart aleck, regarding judgment. They are only manifesting their woeful ignorance of the seriousness of the subject. But believers are privileged to have a boldness and a fearlessness.

We understand and recognize the reality of judgment. The seriousness of judgment. But we also have the knowledge and understanding that we are those who have been redeemed and perfected in Christ and can anticipate boldness and fearlessness in the day of judgment. So we have a true boldness that comes out of the knowledge of our position in Christ. Over in chapter 3 of Ephesians. Back up to Ephesians if you would. Just before the book of Philippians which we are studying in our morning studies. Ephesians chapter 3« This boldness is the result or the accompaniment of faith in Christ. In Ephesians 3 verse 11, "This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him." We have access with fearlessness, boldness, through faith in Him. It's faith in Christ that provides the boldness, the fearlessness, in access to God. Now as John has developed it, that faith in Christ, we need the assurance that goes with it. That that faith in Christ has accomplished what God intended it to accomplish — eternal redemption. And that brings confidence and assurance to us. One other passage with this word. Hebrews chapter 4 verse 16, "Let us therefore" and the "therefore" ties to what he has been developing on the high priestly ministry of Christ in verse 14. "Since then we have a great high priest" and on in that discussion then. Verse 16, "Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need." Since you have this high priest, come with fearlessness, boldness, to the throne of grace. Now again, there needs to be respect as we come before God's throne. We've talked about this before.

The scripture nowhere allows for flippant attitudes, light attitudes, as we address God. Some seem to want to emphasize the familiarity they have with God by using rather flip expressions. That's not the case in scripture. We always find a reverence and an awe. A respect and honor that is there. Just like we want our children to come with fearlessness and boldness to us with their requests and desires, but don't want them to come with flippant attitudes. Don't want them to come without the proper respect and honor in that relationship. So it is with us as believers. Sometimes, you know, we have an emphasis that we ought to spend so much time in asking God for things. And yet verse 16 tells us to come to receive mercy and to find grace to help in time of need. I'm impressed in studying the prayers of scripture and the emphasis in those prayers that much of them are taken up with requests and desires. You study Paul's prayers. It's what he was requesting, not always for himself but often for other believers. But nonetheless, they are things that he is asking God to do and to accomplish. Okay, come back to I John 14. "This is the confidence which we have before Him." Let me say just one thing. It amazes me how we as believers are often intimidated by people of importance in the world, people of possession and prestige. I think we ought to honor people and that's just part of proper life style. But often we as believers are intimidated by other people. 0, they are more important. They are more wealthy. They are more influential. They are more significant. And I forget who I am in Christ. I am one who is privileged to come in before the throne of God with boldness and I should be intimidated by the people of this world? You can appreciate why Paul could be so bold. If he is one who can speak fearlessly before God Himself, should that not also characterize us in our lives here? I mean, I don't have to be intimidated in coming before God. I am exhorted to come with boldness — and I should be one who is caused to run and hide or make fearful by mere man? Again, there are those I am to respect and I am to honor and I am to show them the proper respect for their position and so on. But I need not be intimidated. I am one who is privileged on a regular basis to address God Himself and so that ought to affect the way that we live our lives and the confidence we have in making Jesus Christ known in other situations.

I John 5 conditions this. "This is the confidence that we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." Now you note, we have the confidence that He hears us IF. And that IF is a third-class condition. I was doing some study on third-class conditions recently. I was reading and reviewing a doctoral dissertation on the book of Hebrews and it was an interesting exercise for me because this individual took a different position on the warning passages and thrust of the book of Hebrews from what I have, so it was a challenge to read it. And he made some points on the use of third-class conditions to support his view and that drove me to a study of third-class conditions, which I found interesting.
A third-class condition expresses possibility. It may be so and it may not be so. And if some of you have studied Greek and have been told that there is a difference between third-class and fourth-class conditions, more probability and less probability.

And as I studied this, I really believe that that's a mis-emphasis. There is no distinction. And so the third-class condition simply indicates possibility. It may be so and it may not be so. Now that's important here because he conditions God's hearing us IF we ask according to His will. So we have the confidence He hears us IF. And here is the possibility. It may be so and it may not be so. "If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." I take it what this indicates is it is possible some of our prayers are not heard. That we as believers pray and are not heard. Now, by "not heard", I take it the emphases is on the fact they are not received with acceptance. God knows and hears and sees everything that goes on in the world. It’s like God seeing sin. God cannot look with favor or acceptance on sin, but God sees every sinful act that ever occurs. The eyes of the Lord roam to and fro on the face of the earth beholding the evil and the good. The prayers of the wicked are an abomination to God. But as far as hearing them from a standpoint of accepting them and honoring them to respond positively to them, well it's limited to believers and it limited to believers who pray according to the will of God. In the open forum we were talking a little bit about sin and how that comes into play here. I take it that will come out in the development that we want to go through in several verses. But what happens, I have to pray according to the will of God. In other words, prayer does not give me the opportunity now to dictate to God.

Some prayers make me terribly uncomfortable as a person proceeds to tell God what He is expected to do. That's not what prayer is all about. That does not give me the right to tell God what He must do. Now God will honor His word and I can pray according to His word. God is in control, not me and I need to keep that in mind. If sin is in my life, that hinders my sensitivity to the will of God and so hinders my ability to pray to God in an effective way. Because sin is a barrier and you know what it's like. If you are involved in sin, it's hard to carry on an open and honest prayer life, just like in your relationship with other people. You know what sin does? It makes you a liar. It makes you a hypocrite. Because when you have sin in your life, you are aware of it and you begin to pretend that you are something that you're not. What happens in a marriage relationship where one of the partners is in sin or immorality trying to cover it up? The openness in that relationship collapses. One of the parties is playing a game. So it is when I come to speak to God and I have been indulging in sin and continuing in sin and know it — I don't want to talk to God about that unless I am open to deal with it. So I want to push it to the side, but act spiritual. Now how can I carry on prayer life as a hypocrite when God sees my heart and my mind? So my prayer life is stymied. I'm just saying words to make myself feel better or to put on a show for someone else, but I'm not coming to grips with reality before God, so He doesn't hear that from the standpoint of honoring it. And that's what's going to be the development in verse 15» the response in giving us what we have asked for.

Back up to Romans chapter 8. We'll look at a couple of passages in praying according to the will of God. What Romans chapter 8 does is talk to us about the Spirit's role in prayer. Romans chapter 8 verse 26, "And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." Now this verse has nothing to do with praying in tongues. Talks about the Spirit interceding. We don't know how to pray as we should pray. I don't have perfect knowledge, perfect insight. I am praying for things, but I don't see the total plan of God, the perfect plan of God. So I am praying according to the knowledge I have. The Spirit intercedes on our behalf before God "with groanings too deep for words", I take it in communication that goes on between the members of the Godhead that does not find expression in words we can voice and mouth. And what it does, the one who searches the hearts "knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes . . . according to the will of God." In other words, the Spirit intercedes on my behalf and He always intercedes according to the will of God. I Corinthians chapter 2 develops the fact that the Spirit knows the mind of God, and only the Spirit knows the mind of God in the full sense. Now we have the Spirit and He unfolds to us the mind of God. But the Spirit of God indwelling the believer is interceding for the believer. He moves us to prayer. But He goes beyond what He is able to move us to pray, to pray for us according to the will of God. Now that's encouraging. Say I'm in a situation where I don't know what to pray for. I can pray for God to give me wisdom and discernment to lead me step-by-step even though the total path is not unfolded. And I have the total confidence that the Spirit of God is representing me in prayer before the throne of God, and He always prays according to the will of God. So the Spirit's ministry is a key aspect in praying according to the will of God and He is representing us according to the will of God, and even goes beyond our verbal prayer life. In connection with the will of God, look over in Romans chapter 12. This ties to the issue of the way we live our lives and so on.

Romans 12 verse 1, "I urge you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." The will of God is that which is good and acceptable and perfect. My ability to prove, discern and recognize the will of God is tied to the submission of my life to God. So that’s where sin becomes a problem where I am resisting the will of God. I am resisting submitting my life to Him. How am I going to discern the will of God? And that's why it is a progressive deterioration and wandering from the track. As I resist God's will, I become less sensitive to what God's will is. I refuse to submit to the control of the Spirit in an area, thus I become insensitive to the will of God. Then what? I begin to stray further and further and come into more difficulty. So, to pray according to the will of God necessitates the ministry of the Spirit in my life. The submission of my life to the Spirit and recognition that this life is His, this body is His. I am allowing Him to conform it to His purposes, not to be conformed and fashioned after the world's purposes. I take it the will of God is revealed in the word of God and it is as we are in the word that the Spirit of God enables us to understand the mind of God. So a person who has a superficial acquaintance with the word of God is going to have a terribly difficult time praying according to the will of God. Because this is the revelation of God's mind.

God's purposes and God's plan. It’s just as though you left detailed instructions in writing for your children when they come home from school because you were going to be absent and they didn't take time to read your instructions and guidelines, yet they spent all kinds of time discussing with one another, I wonder what mom and dad want us to do today. I wonder what they would want us to do. I wonder if we should . . . you know, prepare dinner or if we should go outside and play or if we should clean the house or if we should do the dishes or if we should wrestle in the living room. I just wonder what they want us to do. And so you come home and they haven't done anything. They say, well we didn't know for sure what you wanted us to do, so we watched TV. What do you say? I left you instructions. Why didn't you read them? 0, I didn't think of that. It's frustrating, isn't it? Now here God has given us all the instructions, the revelation of His will, and we have Christians prancing around saying 0 boy, I just don't know what the will of God is. How am I ever going to know the will of God? Well, perhaps we ought to just sit down with the word and read it and see what God has to say. Now I realize a lot of our problems come because God hasn't spoken to this particular area. And I say 0, I wish there was just a verse that said, Gil, do this at 9*30 tomorrow morning this way. Boy, that would sure help.

But you know what does happen? The more we're in the word, the more we become sensitive and aware of God’s purposes and plans for us, the more we are able to discern in these kinds of areas — just as our children. The more they mature and the more they grow, they know what is expected of them in a situation. In effect, they are sensitive to our desires even though we haven't expressed them in that particular area. That's the way it is for us as believers as we mature. We become sensitive to God's will for us even in these areas. That's why it's so important that we be maturing and growing step-by-step. That just can't happen.
Here I am with a crisis decision. Now I need sensitivity to the will of God. Well, I must be growing along the way and I handle those in the natural flow of things as I develop to maturity. So exposure and knowledge in the word of God is crucial.

Turn over to I Peter chapter 2. This section begins with chapter 1 verse 22 on the word of God. We are born again by the living and abiding word of God in verses 22 to 25* Then down into chapter 2, "Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation." This is God's purpose and plan for our nuture and nourishment. That we grow with respect to our salvation. We develop to maturity in Christ. And with that comes the developing sensitivity to the will of God and the plan of God. Even in areas that are not specifically delineated in a certain passage of scripture.

Back in I John 5, "that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." I take it asking according to His will would be similar to asking in Jesus' name.

Over in verse 22 of chapter 3 of I John. I John 3i22, "Whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight." There in the context of prayer, whatever we ask, we receive from Him "because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight". That area of functioning in harmony with the person of Christ. Over in John chapter 14. The gospel of John beginning with verse 13, Jesus talks about this kind of matter. John 14:13, "And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do." We've talked about in the name of Christ. You ask in His name.

What does that mean?It means asking consistent with His person and character. That’s the same thing as asking according to His will. You ask in Jesus' name, you're same the same thing in effect as asking according to the will of God. You're asking consistent, something that is consistent with the person and character of Jesus Christ. So you're asking for the will of God. So we pray in Jesus' name, amen. We are in effect saying we are praying according to God's will. I realize that becomes an expression we tack on without thinking, but the expression is the same. It is consistent with His character. In accord with His character, His person, and who He is. "If you ask anything in My name" verse 13 of John 14, "I will do it. If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you." There you come to the ministry of the Spirit as He talks in the context of prayer. I think what happens in prayer as the Spirit works—we’ve seen how the Spirit intercedes for us—but in prayer generally, as I am submissive to the Spirit of God and His control of my life, He burdens me for certain things. So as the Spirit of God burdens you over a matter, what do you do? You go to God in prayer about it. And you go to God in prayer about it and He responds and answers the prayer and you see God is in control of the whole process. Because as you are submissive to the Spirit of God, where do the burdens come from? From God and the motivations from God. Who is in control? The Spirit of God is. So He moves you and burdens you to pray about something.

Why? Because God is determined that He wants us to do this and accomplish His purposes. I see prayer as perfectly consistent with the sovereign, determinative will of God that I'm not coming up with ideas and I take it when I'm burdened to pray about something, that's the work of God in my life. I take it often I'm not burdened to pray about some things I should because I am resisting the work of the Spirit in an area of my life, so I am not sensitive to Him and what He would have me pray for and I miss the blessing of being involved in that process of being privileged to address God and have Him respond and accomplish His purposes in answer to my prayer.

Back in I John 5 let's look at the next verse. Verse 15, "If we know that He hears us in whatever we ask." "If we know" and that’s a first-class condition and that assumes the reality of something. "If we know" and we do "that He hears us" and we know that He does hear us because He just told us. He hears us when we ask according to His will, so we know that. We gain knowledge from the word of God. "If we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him." "We know that we have" present tense. It doesn't say we know that we shall receive. It's been granted. Now the outworking of it may not be realized until the future. When I come and pray according to the will of God, I have the answer. I have the request. He has granted it. Now it will be worked out in actual realization according to His timetable. So you see why the condition is important. Everything that I ask according to the will of God, I will get. That's a promise. We have the request which we have asked from Him. But that means it must be asked according to His will. Now I don't think that ought to put us on shaky ground. 0, I never know whether I can pray confidently or not because I never know for sure whether I am praying according to the will of God. That would be just the opposite of what God wants to accomplish here. He wants to give us confidence in our prayer life, not to make us vacillate, not to make us wonder, not to make us shaky. He wants to make us bold. So as much as possible, I am coming before God with this request and burden that I believe is according to His will. If it's not according to His will and you don't think it is, then what are you asking for it for? Now some try to take this and misuse it. And in situations, not so much at Indian Hills, but in groups that have this kind of emphases where people begin to tell God what to do, they begin to command the spirits, they begin to rebuke sickness, because we have whatever we ask.

So claim it. It's done. Well, I begin to play God in that perspective. I don't have the total picture on these things. But that doesn't mean I don't come with boldness. I have the full assurance when I come and pray, speak to God, that He is hearing and will answer. When I come with the full recognition that I don't have full knowledge. And I take it there are times when I come, desirous to pray according to the will of God, but for whatever reason because of whatever weaknesses as Romans 8 said, the Spirit of God takes those prayers and translates them into the presence of God. That's encouraging. So my attitude and desires, I am growing and maturing in the word, desirous of being the person God wants me to be. I come with full boldness into the presence of God in prayer. Even where, because of whatever reason I have not yet accurately discerned the will of God, the Spirit of God takes those prayers and carries them in an acceptable way according to the will of God, into God's presence. So I come with full boldness. Now again, the respect and the honor, that also helps me appreciate that sometimes the answer is a little different than I expected because I did not understand God's purpose and plan at that time. There was a time in my life that I prayed where God would be preparing me to make me an effective evangelist. I did not realize that that was not God's plan for me. I take it the Spirit of God took those prayers and carried them into the presence of God according to His will. Now it fit because in my desire and in my prayer, God worked in the preparation that I would need, but He was going to use it in a different way. I would be speaking forth His word, but not in what we would generally think of in an evangelistic kind of context, but in ministering the word primarily to believers. But as much as I understood and knew of God's will at that time, I was praying earnestly to that end. I take it the Spirit of God translated it. I didn't have to be fearful.

I look back and say oh boy, I really fouled up my prayer life there. No. I was praying as much as I could according to the will of God. The Spirit of God took those prayers into the presence of God according to God's will and God honored those. And I didn't get exactly what I asked, but I got something better anyway. I'd far rather be ministering the word to you week after week than out chasing around someplace else. God knew what was best. So I think you ought to have full confidence in prayer. The foundation though for this is a right relationship with God through faith in Christ and then growing with a submissive life to Him that the Spirit of God might control my life in every area, might move me to pray according to the will of God, might make me more discerning according to the will of God. You find the more you mature, the more sensitivity you have in praying about things. I have things that I am asked to pray for that I cannot pray for confidently because I have serious doubt whether that is the will of God and so I cannot approach it that way and I cannot pray for it that way and I cannot assure people that I will. But I can pray boldly and confidently. That's a privilege I have. A privilege that we must take advantage of. This, quite frankly, has been one of the most exciting things to me in our recent weeks and the last couple of months and the emphases we've been having in our Body Building program. To encourage one another to pray. There are things that the scripture says that we ought to, we must be praying about. And that's foundational. If we're developing a prayer life around those clear guidelines, we’ll find that our prayer life grows in other areas as well. Good to be reminded to pray. Good to work at praying, if you will. It's a spiritual battle. You think satan is desirous of me going into God's presence and talking to God? Laying my requests before God? No. Not at all. So he works against that. So when they talk about our boldness and our fearlessness, I don't want to give you the idea that praying is easy. From a standpoint, we are in a spiritual warfare, and the devil works in various ways
.
He wants us to be busy. He wants us to be tired, on and on and on. So I recognize the privilege I have. I recognize the responsibility. Then I get about doing it and I may use things to remind me. I may make notes of things to pray for. Some people say, 0 I only pray for the things the Spirit brings to my mind. Well, that's fine. There are things that I pray for like that. There are also things that I make special note of that I believe God would have me remember in prayer. People that I believe God would have me remember in prayer. And I make special note of that so I remember, realizing that I am fallible, that I do forget. I bring notes to the pulpit often to preach from. I believe that God could bring it to my mind on the spare of the moment. I believe also God could bring it to my mind in my study through the week. So we just need to be sensitive in this area. I think those things that encourage us in prayer, recognizing the foundation, recognizing it's the ministry of the Spirit. We're not trying to overstep that. But we also recognize that we ought to be praying for one another. There are things we are commanded, to pray for in the scripture. And if we are diligent in those things, then the report with God grows. Just as the more time you spend in the word, the more ability you have to assimilate and understand what God is saying. You have a new Christian who opens up the word and says 0 my, I don't understand any of this. I was reading the book of Leviticus and it doesn't make any sense. So I decided I'd go over and read Revelation and, you know what? It doesn't make any sense either. What do we say? Well, maybe you ought to read the gospel of Mark or the gospel of John. Why? Because the more they are in the word, the more comfortable they will be and the more they develop the ability to understand and assimilate what God is saying. That goes the same way in the other end of the communication. In the word, God speaks to me. In prayer, I speak to God. God speaks to me in His word. I speak to Him in prayer. The more I speak to Him and with Him, the more comfortable I become. Ever have a person whom you're not very familiar with and you're going to be out for the evening. Boy, what are we going to talk about? What am I going to say? But you are together with them several times and what happens? You become very comfortable in talking with them. That's true with our relationship with God. The more you do it, the more comfortable you become with it. The more confident you become in it. The more assured. So spend time in the word and spend time in prayer. How you work it out, that's up to you. Whether you like to get up in the morning, whether you set aside a certain room, whether you like to make a big block of time or little blocks of time, whether you like to get on your knees, whether you like to walk back and forth, whether you like to talk out loud, silently. It doesn’t matter. These are things that you work out, and it will vary. But we ought to be about prayer. The greatest resource we have. I really believe that if we as a congregation get serious in prayer upholding one another, upholding the ministry, upholding the work of God in our lives, that's according to the will of God, we'll see God working in greater ways in the accomplishing of His purposes. And we are privileged to be vehicles in that.

We are going to be looking next time at a couple of verses which follow which really are an example of prayer in a specific situation. Praying in a specific situation for a specific need and how God responds. And times when we don't pray and aren't exhorted to pray, because it's not God's intention to answer that prayer. We'll look at that next time.

Let's have a word of prayer together.