Prayer - by Tim Burkholder

The Bible says we are to "redeem the time." Just sitting through a church service doesn't redeem the time. Lazy singing doesn't redeem the time. And lazy praying doesn't redeem the time.

When the Bible tells us to pray, I believe it means we are to go about the business of praying, to set a time for it and make it happen. How many of you pray before you enter a church service? How many of you ask for a message from the Lord?

If you went to McDonald's and didn't ask for anything, you would go away empty. How many of us who have entered the Christian life never ask for anything? Or how often do we ask in unbelief, going through the motions but not really expecting anything?

I want to exhort us to pray--not just to bow our heads and say "Thank you, Lord," but to pray.

Last night I was at home getting ready to study. Often in the evenings I like to get my mind off the day's work by enjoying a good book or the Bible, getting into the things of God. As I sat reading, I found myself preparing a message--but then I realized I had not even asked for a message yet. How can we receive if we don't ask? So I laid down my book and got on my knees. I began to ask.

I believe that if God by His grace has invited us into His presence, He also will answer our prayers. He hasn't washed us clean from sin just to keep us like we were. He wants us to be one with Him, to know Him and be known by Him.

We don't pray just for ourselves and for our own relationship with the Father, of course. We pray to lift up our brothers and sisters in the Faith. I have found at times that as I ask diligently I receive. Then at other times I "bum along" on somebody else's prayers. Somebody else does the asking and I receive, or I am in the presence of others when they receive and I am blessed as well.

We need the fellowship of the brethren and their encouragement and songs, but we need their prayers more than anything else. We must be diligent in our prayer for one another. We must ask for the blessing of God to come on us when we are in the presence of others so together we all can benefit. A few weeks ago I was struggling at work and nearly overwhelmed. I asked the church to pray for me, and I obtained mercy. Things went well. Brother Keith recently had seven ulcers on one eye. We prayed, and he obtained mercy. The Body of Christ is knit together through prayer.

In 1 Timothy 2, Paul says, "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men. . . ." That word "exhort" means to urge by "strong argument." Paul's first and strongest argument is for us to pray. Do we have counter arguments for why we don't? We have to get the kids ready, we have pressing work to do, we don't have time. . . . Whose arguments are stronger?

Paul says to pray "first of all." First of all in the morning, first of all in church, first of all in every circumstance. "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour." Verse 8 adds: "I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." Some people reading this verse wonder why he says to "lift up holy hands." Lifting hands is an act of worship. When you see pictures of rock and roll concerts you see many hands lifted up. Why? There is worship going on. If rock and roll singers get hands lifted to their honor, how much more should God Almighty know the honor of uplifted hands.

"Without wrath and doubting. . . ." The Word exhorts us to not let the sun go down on our wrath and to forgive others as Christ has forgiven us. We cannot truly worship with anger in our hearts. And we mustn't come to the throne of grace lightly, but lay aside doubt and cynicism. We must believe that God in his love and mercy will answer.

Let's take an inventory of the past week. Did you pray once? Twice? Only when you were in trouble? Even the world prays when trouble comes, and God often allows afflictions to drive us to our knees, as James says. If you haven't prayed, how dry are you? I know the dry times come to everyone, and many Christian writers give good help on getting through those times. But how many of us are dry simply because we haven't prayed?

How many of us go through unnecessary temptation because we fail to pray? Again, temptation comes to all of us, but often we open ourselves up to temptations that would never come if we were in prayer.

In James 5:13 we read, "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms." We pray in every kind of circumstance. Verse 16 says, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Most of us feel uncomfortable with that verse. We don't think our prayers avail much, and deep in our hearts we wonder what's the use in praying at all. We look at Elijah and see that when he prayed it didn't rain, and when he prayed again it did rain, and we think, "Well, if I could have the power of Elijah, I would pray too. He was a man of God and had power with God." But the Word says that Elijah was subject to passions like we are. He, too, was tempted to look at things he shouldn't look at. He was tempted to hate and to steal. We all have passions and human frailties like Elijah; the difference is we don't pray like Elijah.

In Hebrews 4 we see that Jesus, our high priest, knows our infirmities and waits to help us. Verse 16: "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain. . . ." The word "obtain" means that we may get hold of and claim for our own. We don't come to the throne for a casual visit, just like we don't go to McDonald's to look around and leave empty. We walk in boldly and say, "I want a Big Mac." We aren't timid about it: "Maybe, if you have an extra one, could I possibly get a Big Mac?" No, we go boldly to the throne to "obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Like "obtain," the verb "find" is a strong, positive action. We go to the throne to get something. We aren't laid back, careless, unconcerned. How often do we come before God with true faith and determination to get something? "Lord, I'm struggling and I'm hurting. You know what I'm going through. You've faced it yourself. I need to obtain what you have so I can get victory over this temptation. I need your grace to get me through this adversity."

One time at a prayer meeting at a church in another state, I tried to pray with a brother but grew more and more frustrated because he clearly didn't think he was going to get what he was praying for. He was laid back, timid, and lazy. I said, "I'm sorry, that is not a prayer to obtain." Why pray at all if we don't mean it? Why sing at all if we don't mean it? We are commanded to come boldly, in all earnestness, to the throne.

When we moved here I was a nervous pastor, believe me. I was young and scared. But Merv was my right-hand man. If something went wrong, he was there to bolster me. Sometimes he would leave for a week or two, and after each service I would think, "Whew, we somehow made it again." But when he came back my confidence rebounded.

Philippians 4 says, "The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing. . . ." The Lord is at hand like Merv was at hand for me. "In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." How many of us are overtaken with cares, when all we have to do is lean upon the Lord like I leaned upon Merv? Through prayer we can have that rich promise of verse 7: "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." The Bible says that in the last days men's hearts will fail them for fear of what's coming on the world. But our hearts need never fail us, because we lean on someone far bigger than the world.

Pray in such a way that you know you have thrown your cares upon Him. Pray in such a way that when you get done, you are not anxious any more. Pray until you know you got through. And then let the peace of God keep your heart and mind.

When the New Testament church started, God poured out his power in wonderful ways, as we read in Acts. One particular characteristic of the early church was answered prayer. In chapter 10 we read how Cornelius prayed and an angel came and told him he needed to talk to Peter. At the same time, Peter went up to a housetop to pray, and a vision came to him, preparing him to meet Cornelius, a Gentile. Through prayer the two men came together.

Later, when Peter was thrown into prison, the church prayed for him without ceasing. God answered those prayers. But many of the petitioners were just like us. When Peter showed up at a prayer meeting, they didn't believe it was him. "You are mad," they told Rhoda, who had answered Peter's knock. Most of us pray that way. When the answer comes we are astonished. We don't pray to obtain.

Paul and Silas knew how to pray to obtain. After being beaten and thrown into prison, they began singing, praying, and rejoicing. I can promise you their prayers weren't light or careless, but honest outpourings from the depths of their hearts. Heaven responded, an earthquake shook the jailhouse, and people got saved, because Paul and Silas cried out to the Lord.

II Chronicles 7 promises that if God's people will humble themselves and pray, God will heal their land. If there's one thing America needs, it's healing. We live in perilous times, when justice is perverted, responsible people penalized, and irresponsible people helped. Sin is glorified and righteousness ridiculed. How many of us are praying diligently for healing?

When healing takes place, sin comes out in the open. Sometimes we hear confession of sin and get discouraged, thinking, "Oh my, I didn't know that was going on." But we should be encouraged, because the land is being healed. When people repent, the land is being healed. The time to get discouraged is when there is no repentance and no confession of sin. In Acts, the Holy Spirit revealed the sin of Ananias and Sapphira. That was not a negative act but a positive act, an act of healing. We need to humble ourselves and repent of our own sins and find healing for our land.

In Luke 11 the disciples saw Jesus praying with all the fervor of one who knows and loves God, so they asked Him to teach them how to pray. We often do that, don't we? We see the shallowness of our prayer lives, so we look for new teaching on it. But new teaching is not what we need. It's not hard to pray. The last time you had an accident, did you pray? Did you pray with fervor and intensity? You cried out, "Oh, Lord." No fancy words, no lifting up of yourself. You just prayed, honestly and sincerely.

That's all it takes. We don't have to make sure everything is in place and everything just so. We just need to pray, to get hold of God. Quit trying to learn more and just do it, practice it, make it an unceasing part of your life.

Jesus told his disciples about the persistent petitioner who, needing bread to feed a friend just home from a journey, went to a neighbor late at night to ask for some. The neighbor said, "Don't trouble me. I'm already in bed." But the petitioner, needing the bread, kept asking, and the neighbor got out of bed and gave him what he needed. That's how we're to pray, Jesus said. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth. . . ."

I don't know if you are receiving anything from your church services, but I challenge you: do you ask? If you don't ask, then don't go home and complain about the church. If you go to McDonald's and don't ask for anything, you'll look a little foolish complaining about the lack of food. The same is true of the church.

Jesus continues in Luke 11: "If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

If you find yourself saying, "Well, I have messed up so bad now that I don't feel like I can pray," that is the very time to pray! Confess. Pour out. Seek God in earnest. Pray that you may obtain. God wants very much to give to you.

If you have a temptation you have a hard time overcoming, go home and pray. If you are in the midst of a trial, go home and pray. If you are in the midst of blessing, go home and pray. Pray without ceasing.

Meditate with me on this splendid old hymn:

Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer

That calls me from a world of care,

And bids me at my Father's throne

Make all my wants and wishes known.

In seasons of distress and grief

My soul has often found relief,

And oft escaped the tempter's snare

By thy return sweet hour or prayer.

Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer

Thy wings shall my petition bear

To Him whose truth and faithfulness

Engage the waiting soul to bless.

And since He bids me seek His face

Believe His word and trust His grace,

I'll cast on Him my every care

And wait for thee sweet hour of prayer.

Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer

May I thy consolation share

Till from Mount Pisgah's lofty height

I view my home and take my flight.

This robe of flesh I'll drop and rise

To seize the everlasting prize

And shout while passing through the air,

Farewell, farewell sweet hour of prayer.