Resolving The Priority of Prayer

Introduction

Good morning. If you will open your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. And as you’re turning there, I have to confess that a correction was made to me about my sermon at the 9 o’clock hour. And speaking about Abraham’s faith that was able to withstand any and all obstacles, I have to admit I made a mistake. I had said that we were here, and I was thankful to everyone for being here, despite the fact we gave up an extra hour of sleep. But Andrew Fix made it clear to me, it was not an extra hour of sleep. It was truly a very necessary hour of sleep that we lost. So I must apologize and make the proper corrections.

If you look at verse 17, perhaps you don’t need to. One of the most well-known Bible verses there are. It’s not quite John 3.16, but its simplicity makes it stand out. Perhaps we can say it. Pray without ceasing. Yes, we can do that. We pray without ceasing. When we think about that command, often we say, well, I’m not really that good at that. And you might say, well, the good news is that’s not meant literally. You don’t spend every single waking moment with your eyes closed in prayer. Well, the truth is, if that’s figurative, if there is a meaning behind praying without ceasing, that means we have an attitude of prayer, a constant mindset that seeks God’s wisdom, that seeks God’s ways, that seeks his help.

And yes, even beyond our needs, seeks to give God the praise, glory, and honor that he deserves as our creator, as our master. When you think about this world, though, when you think about all that we live through and all that we go about doing, we are pretty busy. And sometimes we’ve allowed prayer to fall lower on the priority list than where it belongs. In Matthew 5 and verse 6, Jesus says, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Prayer and Bible study are linked because it is our communication to learn from God when we read and study the will of God, when we read our Bibles. We’re seeing what is God’s word for me for my life. And when, of course, we pray to God, we are pouring out our hearts to Him.

And so both scripture reading and prayer will be on the agenda for this morning’s lesson, but primarily focused on prayer. I doubt that I’m alone, but I must confess that I don’t always do the best job of praying without ceasing. It’s pretty easy to do when you think about it. You have your task to do, you have your life to live, you have family, you have friends, you have loved ones, you have need, you have crisis. And there are times that we carve out to pray, yes, and that’s good. But could it really be said of me that I always pray without ceasing? And if I’m honest about my life, I have to say there are times when I go far too long without praying. It may be that you’ve been a week without praying, a day, but frankly, if we’re going even periods of time within a day without praying, without giving things, without trusting and relying upon God’s wisdom for our life to help us make the decision, to guide our lives.

I think it could be said that we’re perhaps missing out. I think one of the problems with the reason we don’t pray as frequently as we ought, is because, like with Bible study, sometimes we think of prayer and singing with fellow Christians as something that belongs only here in this building. And yet that’s not at all what the scripture reveals. Look at Ephesians chapter 5. You consider one of the well known passages about singing together. And when you consider Ephesians chapter 5, there’s an interesting absence in Ephesians chapter 5. When you think about Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 15, look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Let me make a side note.

Certainly, prayer would be a good use in redeeming the time, taking advantage of what God has allowed us to live and function as. But in verse 17, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery. But be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. And in verse 19, you see a couple points that we often make about singing. And in verse 19, we see, first of all, the audience we know is God, but notice the first people designated in verse 19.

Addressing one another in these psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. So we have the type that we’re to sing, the psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. We know it’s to God. We know it’s with our voices. And yet in verse 19, it says addressing one another. It’s often brought up by those who are challenging the use of instruments in worship. They say, you make Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 19 about the worship, and yet it nowhere talks about worship. And yet, Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 19 makes it clear that who has to be together? Christians. If we are to address one another in these psalms, in these hymns, in these spiritual psalms, we must be together. And so that, of course, destroys that idea that this is only for the worship or not for the worship.

Because you see, if we say that worship’s not in there, which it is not, and that any time Christians are together, we are to praise God. We are to sing and encourage and admonish one another. And that implies that there might be times outside of this assembly that we would be together. That it would be beneficial to praise God, to give him the thanks and glory that belongs to him in verse 20, to encourage one another, to submit to one another out of our reverence for Christ in verse 21. And the same goes for Bible study and prayer. I wonder if sometimes we think of the worship service as the epicenter of Christianity. Have you ever thought of it like that? As if this is the time we’re going to come together, and this is where I show my Christianity.

And it is true that gathering together with the Lord’s people on the first day of the week, remembering the death and burial of Jesus to Christ, as the scriptures and Acts make plain, we should do, and singing these praises as Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 make clear, and praying together, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 17, giving of what we’ve been blessed with, 1 Corinthians chapter 16, are all godly things that God expects of his disciples, his Christians, as we call ourselves to be doing. And it certainly is important. But if you think about our life, if you think about your calendar, you spend more time as a Christian Monday, Tuesday, I won’t even name Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, living as a Christian, and there’s something in common about those days.

For the most part, we don’t come and gather here together. Yes, the local church has responsibilities. Yes, the local church has a time for us to come together to worship God and provide a great avenue for encouragement, and we are to not forsake the assembly. But we just realize that in our prayer life, in our Bible study, this is where we go to supplement our relationship with God, to grow closer to God and closer to others. It’s not intended to be the basis. It’s not intended to be the only of our faith. If so, that would be like saying that we can rely on God just twice a week. Or that we only need, how about food and water twice a week? If you consider that Jesus made it clear to the woman in the well in John chapter 4 that he gives the living water, and that he is the bread of life in John chapter 6.

If we are only partaking of his blessings on Sunday and Wednesday, certainly we see that we fall short in that way. And so as we think about prayer, let’s consider that it goes far beyond what someone comes through a microphone and does in a group setting. But we as individuals, as Christians who say we have a relationship with God, or perhaps those who are considering a relationship with God, we must take advantage of this wonderful opportunity that God makes clear to us that we can approach his throne and talk to our God. We should praise him for allowing us that wonderful opportunity. As we think about that opportunity, though, we have to say that sometimes we don’t use it as we should. I think there’s a few things we have to realize in significance about this.

1. We Need to Hear From God

If you look at Matthew chapter 4, we realize we need to hear from God. In Matthew chapter 4, of course, in the first 11 verses, you see that Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. And in Matthew chapter 4, you see time and again the answer of Christ is the same. But let’s read this to get an understanding of needing to take in the will of God. In Matthew chapter 4 and verse 1. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become motives of bread. But he answered, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple. And said, Then, if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you. And on their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, Again, it is written, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test. Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to them, I said to him, All these I will give you if you will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, Be gone, Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.

Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. We see that Jesus had instilled the words of life, the words of God, his Father, our eternal Father, into his heart. Three times the devil tempted him, and every time Jesus said, It is written, and he knew the scriptures. It is written, and he gave a complete understanding of the scriptures. It is written that I must submit to my God, that I must submit to the ways of the Father. Jesus is the perfect example of internalizing Scripture. The reason we have to communicate with God, the reason it’s so critical to read our Bibles, not just Sundays and Wednesdays, but every single day, is so that we will grow in understanding of what God wants for us, and so that we can live the life God expects us to.

2. We Need to Speak to God

But second, secondarily, we not only need to hear from God, we need to speak to God. Of course, in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 17, a theme you’re going to see on every slide, we are to pray without ceasing. But perhaps it’s intriguing to find that in Ephesians chapter 6, prayer is in an interesting place. In Ephesians chapter 6, turn with me there. As we consider the armor of God, I hope you’ll turn in your Bibles with me to Ephesians chapter 6. I want us to see this important aspect of prayer. As you’re putting on the armor of God, as we’re being strong, as verse 10 says, in the Lord, and in the strength of his might, you are to put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand firm. Stand, therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, praying.

Do you see this in verse 18? At all times in the Spirit. With all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep a Lord with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me, and opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak. You know, we often think about prayer as something that helps me, and it helps us rely on God. And that’s true, and we certainly can address that this morning. But consider Ephesians chapter 6, when Paul writes this, he’s making a strong point. What is the purpose of putting on the armor of God? Well, in verse 11, put it on that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

In verse 13, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand firm. If we expect to win this war of temptation, if we expect to win the battle of temptation with Satan, we must stand with the whole armor of God. And part of that armor of God in verse 18 is praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. It is unthinkable to the New Testament and to the New Testament Christian that we would live lives devoted to God and not speak to him and not rely upon him in prayer. That is incongruent with biblical Christianity. You cannot be a faithful Christian and not communicate with God. It is not possible.

And so if we’re not reading the will of the Lord, if we’re not praying to Him, what does that mean for our state? Perhaps we’ve been busy, perhaps we had a tough week and we didn’t quite get to it. But just know that when Satan comes, when the schemes of the devil, when the darts are fired at you, there will be a weakness in our armor. If we are not praying at all times in the Spirit. If we have not taken on the whole armor of the Lord.

3. Our To-Do Lists Are Full

So the question then is why don’t we pray more? And let’s just be very honest about that this morning, that we don’t always do the best job that we could. We could be better. And I think there’s a few reasons. First of all, our to-do lists are full. I don’t think almost anyone in the assembly this morning says, you know what, I gotta make sure that I do not pray today. The last thing I want to do is pray and give thanks. I just don’t want to do that. That’s not at all what it’s like. But in Matthew chapter 13, unfortunately, this puts us in camp with people that we don’t want to be associated with. In Matthew chapter 13, you see that Jesus had given the parable of the sower, the parable of the soils as we might know it.

And as he’s explaining it, note one of the explanations of the soils and see where praying, not being able to pray because of our to do list may fall. In verse 18, hear them the parable of the sower. Anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who receives the word and immediately receives it with joy. Yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word.

But the cares of this world and deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty. And the Luke account of this says this is the one who has a good and honest heart. But did you see that in verse 22? As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but what happens? The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches chokes the word, and it proves unfruitful. I think the words of Matthew are clear and strong. The deceitfulness and the riches of this world.

Those give a very negative view. But I don’t think it has to be a negative problem that gets our to do list too full that knocks down prayer down our list to where we forget about it or don’t communicate with God as we should. It doesn’t mean that you’re doing wrong things if you don’t make the time to pray. It may be that you’re not putting prayer in its first priority place. How many times do we sign up for things thinking that we have time because we have that night available? Or we have that hour free, rather than first booking ourselves to get one with God, setting aside time first to read the will of God, and to set aside time to pray. Rather than making our schedule so full with work, committing the jobs and operations of this life that leave us trying desperately to put in God in the gaps of our time.

4. We Feel Self-Sufficient

Rather than trying to put in the things of this world where they belong, second and distant to our God. See, there’s a big difference in the one who puts God first and the one who puts God in where they can. Sometimes I think we don’t pray as we ought because our to-do lists are just plain full. Secondly, and this is perhaps the most troubling, it may be that we don’t pray like we should because we feel self-sufficient. Or more frankly put, we don’t feel the need. It’s interesting, my favorite story, and I love to bring it up whenever I can. In 2 Corinthians chapter, excuse me, 2 Chronicles chapter 33. We learn about King Manasseh. Will you turn there with me, 2 Chronicles chapter 33? Of course, you know him in word association as a terribly wicked king.

And perhaps those who know the chronicle account know that he turns. But note when it was that King Manasseh turned. You’re going to see that he humbled himself and he entreated the favor of the Lord. But there was a certain time when it happened. In 2 Chronicles chapter 33, beginning in verse 10. This is after the list of Manasseh’s wickedness has been compiled. And in verse 10, the Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. By the way, it’s not just Manasseh who’s rejecting God here, the people as well. In verse 11, therefore the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon.

And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord as God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prayed to him. And God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God. This is a wonderful story of Manasseh, who turns, and as you read the rest of the chapter, you see he tries to undo some of the wrongs. But no, when was it that Manasseh did humble himself? When did he pray to God? After he had been disciplined by the Lord, after he had been captured with hooks in verse 11, bound with chains of bronze, and dragged away to Babylon in his humil in his humility that was forced upon him by the world, forced upon him, you might say, by God.

It says in verse 12, when he was in distress, is when he entreated the Lord and humbled himself greatly. You know, that’s a good story, and I think that we can relate around 9 11. How many people did you hear saying, We need God, or please pray for us, pray for our nation. How many people came to churches around the time of that great scary attack? But how quickly did the world move on? Did the world forget the great need for God? The problem with self sufficiency is again like the first one, not as if we’re actively seeking to avoid prayer. It’s that we could possibly, as people who know about God, who know about the goodness of his riches and mercy, that think we could go a day or several hours even without seeking him in prayer to give thanks or to guide our lives.

I think it’s wonderful that God heard Manasseh, and it should be powerful to ask that no one is too far gone. But we shouldn’t have to get there first to realize who God is. As Christians, we should know better than anyone that God has deserved all glory and all thanksgiving. Because without him, we are nothing. We have nothing, and we are going nowhere good. God makes all of that possible. God lets us have the faith, the hope, the trust that we can be forgiven, that we will be with him. And it’s not just a hope in the way that we use it, but a biblical hope, which means an assurance that what God has promised is possible to us. That is amazing. But if we’re not praying for it, how thankful are we really?

I think about a word I heard on an online post one time. What if you only woke up with today what you thanked God for yesterday? I gotta say, that pretty much cuts at the core. It kind of hurts me into my heart to think I wasn’t thankful for a lot of things. And I don’t think that every day you must sit down and thank God for every little thing to make sure it shows up in your life the next morning. But doesn’t that give us a little dose of perspective? To say, wow, I could be much more thankful. I could be much more grateful, let alone trusting in God for his guidance, let alone realizing that I can’t pilot my own life. That if I want to be pleasing to God, I have to read his will, be surrounded by it in my heart every single day, and seek his ways and his will for my life.

That’s a very different life than one that says, I’m going to live the way I want to. I’m going to live and live out this world the way I think is best. And if I need God, I’ll pray to him because he’s there for me. It’s true in the case of Manasseh is a good example of knowing that God is there for us. But perhaps we should have the idea that Paul had in 2 Corinthians chapter 3. Note the attitude, note the disposition of Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 3. Perhaps it was not a good idea to have chronicles in Corinthians right near each other. 2 Corinthians chapter 3, though. Note in verse 5. As Paul is the author of this, you note, he says, not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the spirit.

For the letter kills, the spirit gives life. In the midst of this interesting section about the Ten Commandments and on the better aspect of the law of the Spirit, of what Jesus has brought. It’s noteworthy that Paul says, By myself, I’m insufficient. All that I have, all that I am, is from God. And he wasn’t just making a treaty in this verse. He wasn’t just writing down in this chapter, I gotta make sure that everyone knows I’m so thankful. This is what Paul knew in his heart to be true, and it came out in his writing on an unrelated subject. Because he felt it. Because he knew there was a need. If we don’t feel the need, perhaps we’re not reading the scriptures as we should.

And if we’re not reading the scriptures as we should, how can we say we know what the will of God is? It’s striking that in Romans chapter 1, when you consider the debauchery that the world would descend into, in Romans chapter 1. Know with me in verse 21 what starts this descent. Three times in Romans chapter 1, it said that God gave them up. God gave them over. But in Romans chapter 1, what started it all? In Romans chapter 1 and verse 21, for although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. They did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. You may not think that if we don’t thank God every day that you’re instantly going to turn and apostasize from the church, you’re not going to turn and apostasize from the grace and the salvation that is only in Jesus.

5. Be Willing to Eliminate the Distractions

But it has to start somewhere. And if we’re not focused on pleasing God, if we’re not focused on thanking God, if we’re not pouring our hearts out before God every day, are we growing closer to Him? Then it means we must be drifting apart from Him. And what an unfortunate, scary, unnecessary fate to be found drifting from the Jesus who provides us life. We have to think about these things. And then consider one final point. Of course, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 17 would find its place at the conclusion of the lesson, just like it found itself at the beginning. If we are to pray without ceasing, we have to be willing to eliminate the distractions. This is a little different than our to-do list being too full.

Because the truth is, even with our full to do list, even when we have to drive here and drive there, we have to sign up for this game and go attend that game. We have to fulfill this task, we have to work this number of hours. We have plenty of time to pray. Have you ever been in a car? You have time to be mentally praying to God. That does not mean you close your eyes, you fold your hands, and hope that your car does not wreck. We should have an attitude of prayer. We said praying without ceasing at the beginning was figurative. What does it mean? We have a lifestyle, an attitude that is focused on seeking God in prayer. It is on our hearts always we will be thinking while we’re driving, we’re making the best use of the time, redeeming it by trusting in God.

Say, make me your servant today. Allow me to have courage to stand up to temptation and shine as a light in a world of darkness. Help me to be as you want me to be. We can use that time. How about at home? Yes, we have, as Edwin Crozier calls our night-night prayers and our prayers before meals, and those are good times that we have ingrained in our lives to stop and give thanks to God and hopefully to glorify Him. But that shows us something important. That we can learn to pray. We can make time in the day. Often we make it before meals. Often we make it before bed. And you know what? Sometimes maybe you’re like me, do you ever feel guilty if you don’t?

Because we’ve grown accustomed to praying. I don’t think we’re locked into doing that, but that tells me I can establish a pattern of seeking my God in prayer. What a blessing that God lets us do that. So let’s not be distracted by the world. Let’s focus on putting God in the place he belongs as first and only in our life. And the rest will follow. Because that’s how God has designed it. If we trust that God’s ways are best, why don’t we seek them? If we know that God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts, why don’t we pray that we see them and can understand them for our life? If we know that without God we are nothing, have nothing, and are going nowhere good, why don’t we thank Him for the intervention he made by sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins that we may have life?

Conclusion

We have much to be thankful for. And we haven’t even touched the idea of all the physical blessings. The fact that we’re blessed with cars in this country to drive, to have a chance on our rides often, to think about godly things, to be praying to our God. We have wonderful homes where we’re not really that worried about attack. We’re not worried about people coming in. We have televisions that fill our minds for the good, unfortunately, more often for the bad. How much time are we devoting to Christ? Are we putting God first? The truth is, in answering the question, why don’t we pray more? Is because we just don’t make the time. What does that say about my life? If I choose not to make the time, what does that say about my commitment to God?

If we’re to take up our cross and follow after Jesus, denying ourselves daily, that means putting Christ in my place and submitting myself completely over to God to be a vessel for his holiness and a light into the world. We need to pray to God each and every day. I think it’s appropriate this time to say a word of prayer. Our dear God, we praise you as the King. We praise you as the Creator. We praise you as our master. We’re so thankful to you for freeing us from the bondage of slavery to sin. And we pray that we will be servants of yours that are pleasing to you, focused on taking advantage of all that you have so richly blessed us with. And not just in a physical capacity.

But help us to seek you in prayer, to take advantage of this avenue that Jesus made possible. Thank you so much for all of your blessings. We pray that we always use them in a way that will not only encourage us to grow closer with you, to continue on the narrow way, but that will lead others there as well. Help us to pray as Jesus did. Help us to live in submission to your will as Jesus did. Help us to be holy as you are holy. We ask that as we go from here, we remember to put you first always and not just today. We thank you for this opportunity. We thank you for this congregation and the leadership that’s here, and we pray that we submit to them in so submitting to your will.

We pray all these things in Jesus the Christ’s name. Amen. As we consider what we need, as we consider what God expects of us, and as we consider our plan, our plan needs to be God’s plan. And what Jesus says is clear. And what the apostles taught is very obvious. Outside of the body of Christ, there is no salvation. There is no forgiveness of sins. That the beauty is Jesus died on the cross. Jesus made the way of salvation possible. If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, if you are willing to confess that He is to be Lord, He is our Savior, He is to be Lord of our life. If you repent of your way of sin and realize you need to turn your life to match that of God, to submit yourself to a lifetime of righteousness and holiness.

You can be baptized today into the death, burial, and yes, even resurrection of our Lord. If we can help you in any way, coming back to God, recommitting to God, or coming to Him for the first time, come forward now. Make yourself right with God as we stand and sin.