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Sermons from 1 John |
SECRETS TO EFFECTIVE PRAYER |
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Other sermons from 1 John
Sharing The Word Of Life (1:1-3) Other sermons in this study is being added as they are prepared & preached.
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A Sunday School teacher was struggling to open a combination lock on the supply cabinet. She had forgotten the combination. Finally she went to the Pastor and asked if he could help. The pastor came to the room and began to turn the dial. After the first two numbers he paused and stared blankly for a moment. Finally, he serenely turned his face toward heaven, his lips moved slightly and then he looked back at the lock and turned the final number. The lock opened. The teacher said, "Pastor, I am amazed at your faith and how you can pray and get an answer like that." The pastor replied, "Oh, its nothing. The number is on a piece of tape on the ceiling.” I once saw a cartoon of a little boy praying. The caption read, “Dear God, Aunt Harriet hasn’t got married, Uncle Herbert hasn’t any work, and Daddy’s hair is still falling out. I’m getting tired of praying without results.” As we continue looking at 1 John, he now teaches us some of the secrets to effective prayer. In verse 22 he speaks of praying and getting answers to our prayers. We read the words, “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him. . .” God intended prayer to be a means whereby we could ask things of Him and receive the things for which we ask. Yet, if most were honest, they would admit that they do not get answers to their prayers or do not expect to get an answer when they pray. A man was interviewing people in the Holy Land about prayer. He came to a Moslem and asked, “Do you pray?” “Five times a day,” was his answer. He then asked, “Does it work?” The Moslem said, “Every single time.” He then came to a Christian and asked if he prayed. “Certainly,” was the Christian’s answer, “I pray every single day.” “Does it work?” “All the time,” was the Christian’s answer. He then came to a Jew who was praying at the Western Wall. He asked him if he prayed. “What do you think I am doing,” said the Jew. “Does it work?” The Jew replied, “Forty percent of the time.” “What about the other 60 percent?” The Jew answered, “Its like talking to a wall.” When you pray, do you feel like you are talking to a wall? If so, let’s examine what John had to say about prayer and see if the reason can be found in the secrets he gives us to effective prayer. First, notice with me that he speaks of:
1. PRAYING WITH A CLEAN HEART
The Psalmist said in Psalm 66:18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” The word “regard” simple means “to see” and speaks of that which is present. The Psalmist is saying that if the Lord sees sin in our heart, He will not answer our prayers. The prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 59:1-2, “Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: [2] But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” God wants to answer our prayers but He will not and cannot if there is sin in our life. As we look at our text in first John we see that John reminds us that we cannot have whatsoever we ask if there is sin in our heart. In verse 20 he speaks of a heart that is condemning. The word “condemn” means to “note against, i.e. find fault with.” John is describing how our hearts have a way of telling us that we are not right. In this condemning heart we see:
A) God’s Dealings With Our Sin
Warren Wiersbe says that another way of describing a condemning heart is an “accusing conscience.” In his book Meet Your Conscience he describes how our conscience works. “In the inner man is a courtroom. A judge sits at the bench, and that judge is also the witness and the jury! That whole group in the courtroom is known as conscience. The judge does not make the law, he applies the law. When you and I do something right, then our conscience says, ‘That’s good! That’s good!’ It does not accuse, it approves. When we do something wrong, that inner judge, that inner witness, says to us, ‘You are wrong! You are wrong!’ And it hurts.” An American Indian who was a Christian put it this way: “In my heart there is an arrowhead with three points to it. If I do wrong, the arrowhead turns, and it cuts me.” When a believer sins, his heart condemns him. Or to put it another way, when a believer sins, he is bothered by what he does. There is that on the inside that says we have done wrong. There is something in us that will not let us feel good when we sin. This is one of the ways God deals with our sin. He has made our hearts ultra-sensitive to sin and when we sin, our hearts condemn us – it finds fault with what we have done. John has spoken much about the evidence of the new birth. One mark of a true believer is that when they sin they are bothered by their sin. If a person has truly been saved, they will feel guilty, dirty, and defiled when they sin. The reason sin bothers us is for the purpose of bringing us to God confessing our sin and finding cleansing for our sin. It will bother the believer when he or she sins and will continue to bother them until they confess that sin and find cleansing for it. Secondly, in John’s words we see:
B) God’s Discernment Of Our Sin
John tells us in verse 20 that although our heart acts as blaring siren when we sin, “God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.” It is possible for our hearts to be cold and calloused toward sin. Yet, God is greater than our hearts and He never becomes insensitive to sin. He knows our heart through and through. He is knows if there is sin in our hearts. He knows about every sin we commit. The Psalmist said in Psalm 139:2-4, “Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. [3] Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. [4] For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.” As believers, we must never forget that our sin is always open to the eyes of God. The cover of darkness does not hide our sins from the eyes of God. Any attempt on our part to hide our sins is in vain. God always knows. When it comes to having an effective prayer life we must have cleans hearts before God. We cannot come to God with unconfessed sin and expect Him to answer our prayers. A second secret to effective praying is:
2. PRAYING WITH A CONFIDENT HEART
Another great secret to effective praying is confident praying. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is a rewarder of them diligently seek Him.” The writer is speaking of how we must pray with confidence. We must come to God with the believe that He can and will answer our prayer. We read in James 1:6, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” Jesus said in Matthew 21:22, “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” I have always been fascinated with what Jesus said in Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Jesus tells us that we when we ask for something that are to believe that we have already received an answer before we receive the answer. At the beginning a New Year, David Livingstone would write in his diary the prayer that it might be “a year of great believing.” Coming to God ought to be a time of great believing. We are to pray confidently! We are to come to God with a clean heart and a confident heart. John tells us in verse 21, “Beloved, if our heart condemns us not, then we have confidence toward God.” John describes someone who is bold before God, not bothered by God. The word “confidence” speaks of someone that is “out-spoken” and “bold in their speech.” John's words remind me of what the writer of Hebrews said Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” The word “boldly” is the same word in 1 John 4:21. The word describes how a person can come to God. First, there is:
A) Boldness in our Approach
If the heart is condemning one cannot approach God boldly. One would be ashamed. On the other hand, if the heart is not condemning, one can come to God boldly, without fear or reservation that God will turn them away. When our hearts are clean we can come to God boldly. We do not have to fear our prayers being hindered or rejected. Secondly, there is:
B) Boldness in our Asking
We don’t have to be timid in our asking. We can come with boldness that God is able to hear and answer any prayer we pray. Does not the Bible say in Ephesians 3:20 that God “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” We do not have to fear that we will ask God something that He can’t do. We can be bold in our asking. As one writer said:
Thou art coming to a King, With thee large petitions bring.
With a confident heart we can approach God boldly and ask God boldly. A third secret to effective praying is:
3. PRAYING WITH A COMMITTED HEART
We read in verse 22, “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.” Behind an effective prayer life is the keeping of His commandments. The word “keep” means “to guard from loss or injury.” It implies a faithful keeping of the commandments of God. John is speaking of a committed heart. A life committed to the Word of God and the Will of God is essential to an effective prayer life. If we will not do what God asks, why do we think He will do what we ask? In verse 23 John says, “And this is His commandment.” John is getting very specific about the commandments of God. First, notice:
A) The Commandment Defined
John defines this commandment as twofold. First, he speaks of the commandment as being Godward, “That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ.” We often think of salvation as a choice. In one sense it is. But John tells us that it is more than a choice. It is a commandment. Secondly, he speaks of it as being manward. “ We are to love one another.” As we saw in our last study, we are not to close out hearts to the needs of others, but reach out to them in the time of need. Secondly, we see:
B) The Commandment Displayed
Obedience to God’s command is displayed in our life. Obedience is seen! Notice how he describes how obedience to God’s command is displayed. First, he speaks of how keeping God’s command pleases our Saviour. In verse 22 John speaks of doing "those things that are pleasing in his sight." Secondly, he speaks of how keeping God's command proves our salvation. We read in verse 24, "And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us." How is your prayer life? Do you get answers when you pray? A clean, confident, and committed heart is the secret to an effective prayer life. |