Heaven’s Response to Prayer

Introduction

Someone said to me this morning as I was coming in, welcome home. And it really does feel that way. This feels like home in a lot of ways. We’ve had long connection with this congregation for a long, long time. Many of you here knew my father and mother for a long, long time. And that’s, I say that because he lived 102 years. That’s a long, long time. And was here a lot and a part of this congregation in many ways. So we do feel a closeness to you. And it’s a real pleasure to be back. I’ve chosen a theme this week that surely everybody knows is close to our hearts. I’ve called it Christians facing a corrupting culture. Those of you with gray hair or less hair, like I have, surely have recognized that our culture is in a direction that is not pleasing to God.

And that we are watching it in many ways crumble before our eyes. That is a discouraging thing for Christians, and yet I want us during this series to be reminded that there is nothing new about that. God’s people have always faced challenges. And while during certain periods of a certain culture’s existence, it seems things are worse than they are at other times. God’s people have always faced challenges. So let’s not be discouraged by that. And let’s begin with the book of Philippians, chapter 2. I want you to turn there with me, and it will be our theme passage for the week. Verse 14 is where I want to begin. Philippians chapter 2. Do all things without murmuring and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.

So you see, that letter written in the first century to the Christians was telling them, you live in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. Shine as lights at that time. Hang on to the word of life, be what God wants you to be, and do not allow your culture to corrupt you. The same message is true today. So I want to begin in this series of lessons by looking at a topic that it seems to me is fundamental to a Christian’s facing a corrupting culture. Heaven’s response to prayer. And I appreciate the selection of songs this morning that all built around that general theme. I have one major point to make.

1. God Rules Over This Universe

Obviously, we’ll make some subsidiary points, but there’s one primary point to be made. The title for our lesson, Heaven’s Response to Prayer, to pray and not lose heart, comes from a parable of Jesus in Luke 18, where he says he was giving that parable for that very reason. And we’ll come back to Luke 18 a little bit later. But I want to turn first of all to this point as we begin this lesson on heaven’s response to prayer. God rules over this universe. That is true in this corrupting culture. It’s true in every circumstance, and we need to be reminded that he’s in control. So turn to Colossians 1, verse 15, as a beginning place. Colossians 1, verse 15. It says, and he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Speaking, of course, of Jesus Christ, God the Son. For by him all things were created, that are in heaven, that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, principalities or powers, all things were created through him and for him. He is before him, before all things, and in him all things consist or are sustained. And he’s the head of the body of the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he may have the preeminence. That passage clearly teaches that our Lord is in control. He started it all, everything was created by him, and it continues to exist because of him. He sustains it all. Colossians 1. Acts 17 was read to us just a moment ago, so I’ll just ask you to remember.

The apostle Paul in the city of Athens told those religious people who were very superstitious. The God who made this world doesn’t need us, nor can he be contained in temples made with hands. He’s over everything, and he’s not far from any one of us. He wants us to reach out and find him. Our God is in control. And then turn to 1 Timothy chapter 6. I frankly would recommend this passage to you as one to memorize to use in your prayers as you begin by praising the great God who made us. Verse 15 says, which he will manifest in his own time, he who is the blessed and only potentate, my version says. Probably a better word for our generation would be, he is the blessed and only sovereign, the King of kings, the Lord of Lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power.

Amen. Now let me speak to you just a moment about what sovereign means. A sovereign, beloved, is one who does not have to answer to anyone. A sovereign is one who can make the decision about what to do and not to do independently of all others. We are worshiping and we are under the control of a sovereign God. This universe is His to do with as He chooses. And He is the King of all kings, the Lord of all Lords, the one whom no one can even approach, and whom no one has seen. He dwells in light unapproachable, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I want you to know that I spent some time this morning praying specifically that I would be able to have the words to properly honor the one we serve.

2. The Prayers of Believers Can Impact His Rule

It is a responsibility, weightier by the year for those of us who preach to be able to represent God and his word to an audience. And I want you to know that I do not consider myself worthy of that task. But I wish to get across at this point that we serve a God who’s in control of everything, who is sovereign over all, which leads to the point I want you to remember from today. I am fully convinced that this God has so established and circumscribed his rule in such a way that the prayers of believers can impact his rule.

I’m pausing on purpose. Our sovereign God rules this universe. I am convicted that that same sovereign God who can decide to do whatever he chooses has chosen that the prayers of believers can impact his rule. That is an astounding statement. And it is one that I don’t comprehend fully, I can tell you that. Because how is it that a sovereign God who is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipowerful, could in any way allow his rule to be impacted by puny, sinful, mortal humans. How can that be?

What I hope to convince you of today is that that statement before you on the screen is absolutely supported by Scripture. God has established and circumscribed his rule in such a way that the prayers of believers can impact his rule. Turn to Revelation chapter eight. The symbolism in Revelation chapter eight finds us in the presence of the throne of God. And here’s what the passage says. When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about a half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar, and he was given much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints ascended before God from the angel’s hand.

This passage teaches that the prayers of the saints are brought up into his presence as the smoke of incense arising before him in his throne room. That in itself is amazing. And verse 5 says Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth, and there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake. Now I don’t know that the actions of verse 5 are directly in response to the prayers of the saints that came up before him at that time. I like to think they were. But the fact is, beloved, God has so ordained it that the prayers of saints come to his presence in his heavenly throne room. If you and I really believe that, wouldn’t that encourage us to give more full devotion to prayer if we said nothing but that?

Godly men like Abraham, Jeremiah, Moses, Nehemiah, godly women like Hannah and Esther. Were all men and women devoted to prayer? You watch and you listen as you study. And would we not be encouraged if we truly believed that our prayers, by his decree, the sovereign God, could impact his rule. So I ask you, you believe that with all your heart.

Does prayer life reflect that? I’m not convinced all Christians truly believe that. So that’s my job for the next few minutes. I want to convince you what I’ve said this morning, the one point I want you to carry home with you, is absolutely supported by Scripture. So I want to build the case as if you were the jury. And I’m trying to convince you that this is an absolutely verifiable statement. So let’s start. Well, first I should mention Jesus Christ our Lord also was a man of prayer while he was a human on earth, was he not? And there’s a lesson tied up in that that I’m going to bring up in our third lesson this morning. So I’m postponing my discussion of this point until that lesson.

3. Exhibit Number One: Elijah Prayed Earnestly

I hope you can be here then. But I do want you to turn now with me to James chapter 5. This is the first piece of evidence to support the statement that was made earlier. James chapter 5. Let’s begin in verse 16. Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. So let me put on the screen before you here what that passage just said. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man matters. It makes a difference. That’s what the passage teaches. Then it proceeds to give an illustration. Verse 17. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. In other words, Elijah wasn’t any different from any other human being in the sense of his human nature.

He was like the rest of us. So, dear Lord, why are you putting this example here in James 5 in the New Testament for all people? Because Elijah was like we are. Now, what’s the example? He prayed earnestly that it would not rain. And it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. Now, Bible students are very familiar with the case of Elijah. Ahab called him the trebler in Israel. Because he was constantly telling Ahab what was wrong with him and the whole nation of Israel, as they were defiling the very principles of God. But during that awful time, you talk about a corrupting culture. Elijah’s prayers impacted what God did.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury.

Elijah, a man like me and like you, impacted what God did by his prayers. I believe it teaches precisely the point I’m asking you to take home with you. How did God do it? Well, he stopped the rain for three and a half years. And then you may remember the incident that was taking place when Elijah prayed again. He had come to Mount Carmel to face the idolatrous servants of Baal. And you remember he set up a contest where they built altars to their God, and he built an altar to Jehovah, and they spent the whole morning trying to get their God to send fire down from heaven, cutting themselves, crying out. And Elijah said, Maybe he’s asleep, or maybe he’s on vacation. And then when he came to the forefront and called upon Jehovah after pouring water all over that thing, so it ran out into basins.

God sent fire from heaven and destroyed it all and burned up the offering. And all the prophets of Baal were killed that day.

4. Exhibit Number Two: Pray and Not Lose Heart

And six times he went up there and came back and said, I don’t see anything. But the seventh time he came back and said, I saw a cloud about the size of my hand. And Elijah said, You better gird up and run, because the rains are coming. And they did. This passage says, beloved, Elijah prayed again, and God sent rain. I don’t consider that necessarily miraculous. He used the things nature normally does and providentially manipulated nature. How does rain come? Clouds. He made clouds and they rain. Or he stopped them. But it was in response to the prayers of a human being. That is exhibit number one. Now would you turn with me to Luke 18? This is exhibit number two. By the way, can I add a side note here?

I like when I hear pages turn. So if you’ve got an electronic version of the Bible, that’s not helpful. Unless one of you youngsters can write an app so that when they turn pages in the thing, it sounds like pages are turning. I would really like that. Luke 18, verse 1. Then he spoke a parable to them that men ought always to pray and not to lose heart, saying, There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city, and she came to him saying, Avenge me of my adversary. So let me set the stage here before we finish our reading. The purpose of this parable was to tell us never to give up praying.

And he uses a widow. I’m convinced to represent us. And why would he do that? Because, folks, you may not realize that in the first century, a widow was probably a representative of the weakest human being there was.

She had no power, no authority. Her only hope was the judge to avenge her of her adversary. That’s us. Have you ever felt weak and hopeless? And like you had nothing on your side? Look, folks, when we’re praying about world affairs or some hugely important thing, do we seriously think we’re anything worth even appearing in his presence? We’re not.

Verse 4 says. But afterward he said within himself, Though I do not fear God, nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

What happened here, folks? If you imagine this being the dais where the judge was sitting, the woman comes before him and begs for him to avenge her. She’d been wrong. He could care less about that woman. Some widow out of the village out there? Get her out of here. So she comes back the next day and makes the exact same appeal. And he sends her out. And it’s repeated over and over and over and over till finally he gets so tired of seeing her, he responds to her appeal. Now, what does the Lord do with that? Would you read on with me, verse 6? Then the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge his own elect who cry out day and night to him, though he bears long with them?

I tell you, he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he really find faith on the earth? Are you listening? It seems to me what the Lord is saying in that passage is, will he find us continually coming back to him in prayer, no matter how discouraging it gets, no matter how corrupt our culture has become, will he find us people of faith, who will not be stopped, who have no hope but God? Isn’t that what this is teaching? I tell you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, it tells us that God is so circumscribed his rule that the prayers of believers can impact what he does. If that’s not what this teaches, I don’t know what it’s teaching. We can affect God’s ruling.

5. Pray for Kings and All in Authority

Now let me remind you that in 1 Timothy chapter 2, if you’d turn there for me, please. We are told by God to pray for folks. Verse 1 says, Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, for all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. We’re to be praying for kings and those in authority that we might live a peaceable life and everybody can be brought to the truth. Listen, folks, you live in a culture that’s had more freedom than any culture in the history of mankind.

6. As the Clay Is in the Potter’s Hand

The United States of America. Is it worth praying for to preserve the freedoms we have in this country? Who’s going to do it that impacts Jehovah? Saints. Is it good to God when there’s freedom to tell everybody about Jesus? We know it is. Do my prayers impact that? Well, he says they do. Now turn to Jeremiah chapter 18, a passage that ought to be marked in your Bible if it is not. Jeremiah 18. Ken, what time do we stop here? Okay. Jeremiah 18, everyone. The picture here in this chapter is God sent Jeremiah to watch a potter make pots. You don’t know anything about that. I don’t much. But there are people that can take a potter’s wheel and they can take clay and mold it and make pots.

So that’s what he sent him to do. What happened this time is, as the potter was making the pot, he messed it up, so he just redid it and made another pot. That’s what Jeremiah saw. Now, what did God do with that? Verse 5. The word of the Lord came to me saying, O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter, says the Lord? Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so you are in my hand, O house of Israel. The instant I speak speak concerning a nation, concerning a kingdom to pluck up, pull down, and destroy it, if that nation against whom I’ve spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster I thought to bring upon it.

And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to build and to plant it, if it does evil in my sight so that it does not obey my voice, then I will relent concerning the good which I said I would benefit it. Is that the sovereign God saying, I will change my mind? Yes, it is. You change, I will change my mind about your eternal destiny. Do you know that’s what happened with every one of us when we became Christians?

Our eternal destiny was set for hell. But when we obeyed the gospel through the grace and majesty of God was none of our doing. But by his sovereign rule, he decided when you obey the gospel, your sins are forgiven. And your eternal destiny is changed. And he was begging the Israelites, change your ways, and I will change my mind. Does that support the notion that God is so circumscribed his rule that the prayers of believers, and may I add the actions of believers, can change his rule.

Can you give me examples of righteous prayers who gain who changed God’s decisions in the Bible? Don’t answer out loud because you’re not supposed to at this hour. But could you? I hope so. Bible students know Abraham changed God’s mind a bunch of times, didn’t he?

How about Moses? Repeatedly Moses changed God’s mind. How about Hannah, who was childless? And finally, like the widow, after coming to him over and over and over, he answered her prayers. Now, could you give me examples of righteous prayers who did not change God’s mind even after repeated times? I hope so, because there are those. Like Paul’s thorn in the flesh in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. God told him it’s better for you to have the thorn. So I’m not here to tell you that just because you come repeatedly to God in prayer, he’s going to change his mind. But I’m telling you, he’s made it so he will and can if he decides to. And does he want me coming? Yes, he does. And the other example I’d put before you is Jesus.

Conclusion

Didn’t he pray three times that this cup be removed? And the answer was no, this is eternally important. You must bear the sins of all mankind. So what have we learned? I believe we’ve learned that God has chosen that the prayers of his faithful disciples can affect his decisions. We’ve learned that he’s demonstrated that he will respond to their prayers. We’ve learned that he’s responded both miraculously and providentially. So my question to you then, in conclusion, would be if we truly believe these things, surely we will be more intense and more continual and more determined in our prayers. Would we not? I’d like to close with a quiz. Can you tell me the one point I tried to get across today? I hope so. And I hope it empowers you that you’ll leave this assembly today and never be the same again with regard to your prayer life.

Because God cares about your prayers. Amazing. Let’s bow our heads and close with the prayer. Our great God, who is above all and through all and in us all, the one who is the all ruling and all powerful sovereign, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. We are deeply humbled as we are reminded today that you have given us the power to impact what you do. We know we don’t deserve such a position. And we are deeply humbled by it, and recognize our inabilities to understand and comprehend what should and shouldn’t happen, but yet we are so thankful that we can pour out our hearts to you, that you care about what we think and what we do and what goes on in our lives.

May we be reminded today of the depth of the importance you have placed upon this connection with the great God of the universe. In Jesus’ holy name. Amen.