Secrets Unsealed

What Jesus Said

Stephen Bohr

1. The Word of God

2. The Unconditional Love of God

3. How Jesus Understood His Self Identity

4. Good and Evil

5. Moses and Jesus

6. Overcoming Life’s Mistakes

7. How to Pray

8. Family Values

9. Relief From Stress

10. History’s Greatest Hoax

11. Holy Spirit Baptism

12. Life and Death

13. Peace in the Middle East

14. The Rapture of the Saints

15. The Final Judgment

16. The End of Evil

17. The Secrets of Health and Wealth

18. The Return of Elijah

19. Religion and Politics

20. The Abomination of Desolation

21. The Unpardonable Sin

22. Prophets and Psychics

It sure is a blessing being alive, isn't it?

When you really think about it, it's the greatest blessing that we can have, is to be alive.

Not only for our physical life, but also for our spiritual life.

And tonight we want to talk about our spiritual life, 1 of the aspects of our spiritual life.

And so let's get right into our subject, our subject of study is how to pray.

Now I have read many books on prayer and I have read many definitions on prayer and I'd like to share with you 4 of my favorite definitions of prayer, based on my own prayer experience.

The first 1, the 1 I like the best, is that prayer is the breath of the soul.

What that means is that as you cannot live without breathing physically, you cannot live without breathing spiritually.

You know, we said in a previous lecture that food is God's word as we study it.

You know, you can live several days without food, but you can only live a few minutes without breathing.

And so Prayer is 1 of the indispensable elements, perhaps the indispensable element of spiritual life.

Another definition which I like of prayer is that prayer is when the weak arm of man grabs on to the omnipotent hand and arm of God.

When our limited resources are combined with God's limitless resources, when the weakness of man takes hold of the strength of God.

Another 1 which I like is prayer is the key in the hand of faith that opens heaven's storehouse.

In other words, heaven is like a storehouse and with the key of faith through prayer, we open that storehouse and God is able to pour out his blessings abundantly upon us.

And then there's probably my second most favorite after the breath of the soul, and that is Prayer is like speaking with God as you would speak with a friend.

What were the habits of Jesus in connection with prayer?

What conditions did Jesus lay down that we need to meet in order for our prayers to be answered?

I'd like to share with you this evening several principles that our Lord Jesus gave and which are also found in other portions of scripture on how to get our prayers answered.

The first thing that I would like to deal with is the best time and place to pray.

You know some of the best prayer experiences that I have are when I'm riding my bike in the morning.

And I have my little loop there, it's a mile long, I go around 5 times, and during the times that I'm going around, I'm able to reflect on spiritual things, I'm able to pray to the Lord.

Another of my favorite times to pray is when I'm studying God's Word, and I do quite a bit of that.

Some of you come to the office here and you'll see me in the fellowship hall with books all over the table.

And at certain times when I get to a place where I cannot go any further, I can't understand what I'm studying, or I'm at a point where I can't understand a certain issue, I raise a little prayer to God.

And it's amazing how frequently God is right there ready to give me a clear way and to explain what I am not able to understand at that particular moment.

Now let's take a look at the best moments that Jesus chose for prayer.

Go with me to the Gospel of Mark chapter 1 and verse 35.

The best time to pray is not in a public service.

It's not when you're surrounded by the hustle and bustle of life.

Jesus chose a particular time and place to pray.

It says, now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, he went out and departed to a solitary place, and there he prayed.

And this isn't the only time that we find this concept in the Gospels.

Notice here that it tells us the 2 favorite things, or the favorite place and the favorite time that Jesus chose to pray.

It says in fact in verse 35 that it was a long while before daylight.

Now why do you suppose Jesus chose this particular time and this particular place to pray.

Because at this time, everything is quiet.

You can concentrate on what you're saying.

And you can also hear the voice of God more clearly speaking to you.

And so the best prayer life that we can have is not the prayers that we utter in church or the prayers that are uttered in public.

The best prayers, the best experience in prayer is in a solitary place early in the morning.

And by the way, the Lord Jesus also prayed in the evening after everybody had gone to bed.

So his favorite times were early in the morning before everybody got up and also in the evening after everyone had gone to bed.

In fact, let's read Matthew 14.23, which refers to this experience of Jesus in the evening.

It says there in Matthew 14.23, it says, And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up on a mountain by himself to pray.

Let's also notice what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 6.

We've already noticed 2 verses where it refers to Jesus's favorite time and favorite place to pray, but now let's notice his counsel to us.

Jesus says, but you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place, and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

In other words the best prayer that we can have is in our room by ourselves when we speak to our Heavenly Father.

Whenever we pray according to Jesus, we need to pray to God as our Father.

Jesus, when he taught his disciples to pray, he said, you will pray like this, our Father who art in heaven.

And as you go through the gospels, you will find that time and time and time again, the Lord Jesus addresses God as his Father.

Unfortunately, in this world, many of us, and I'm not speaking of myself, but I'm speaking corporately because I had a very, very good father.

Praise the Lord, I have a wonderful mother.

But some fathers have abused their children and mistreated their children.

And unfortunately, the image that we have of our earthly father is usually the image that we also have of our Heavenly Father.

Because as we see our earthly Father, we see in Him a reflection of our Heavenly Father.

That's the reason why if we have a Father who is very stern, a Father who is abusive, we will have the same concept, basically, of our Heavenly Father.

But when we address our Heavenly Father as Father, we need to remember that He is the perfect Father.

He's not like our earthly fathers, who are prone to mistakes, who are prone to sin, who are prone to not be perfect in their fatherhood, God is the perfect Father.

Notice what it says in Matthew chapter 6, and let's read several verses here, regarding our prayers to God as our Father.

You'll notice the number of times that Jesus tells us that we're supposed to pray to the Father.

But you when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father, notice, who is in the secret place, and your Father, who sees in the secret place, will reward you openly.

Notice verse 8, therefore do not be like them for your father knows the things you have need of before you ask.

And then verse 9, in this manner therefore pray, our Father who art in heaven.

Verse 14, for if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Verse 15, but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." These are only just a few verses in Matthew chapter 6, but if you go through the rest of the Gospels, you will find that the Lord Jesus constantly taught us to call God our Heavenly Father.

In fact, he not only taught us to do it, but he practiced it himself.

For example, if you go to John chapter 17, several verses there, you'll find that the Lord Jesus addresses God as, Oh Father.

Sometimes he calls him in his prayer, Holy Father.

And sometimes he refers to him as Righteous Father.

In fact, the Bible tells us that we are supposed to call on earth no man our father, speaking of religious leaders, because 1 is your father, Jesus says, your father who is in heaven.

There is no evidence, folks, in the Bible that we are supposed to pray to Jesus.

It's very common today for people to say, dear Jesus, There's no evidence in the Bible that we are supposed to pray to the Holy Spirit.

The Bible uniformly tells us that we are supposed to address God as Father.

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Series

What Jesus Said

7. How to Pray

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