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Presented January 15, 2006

ACCEPTABLE PRAYER

                It is no secret that prayer is an important part of the Christian’s life.  As you study the Bible, both Old and New Testament, you frequently find fervent prayer in the lives of the godly.  Yet it is also a subject that is misunderstood, misapplied and often neglected. 

HOW IS YOUR PRAYER LIFE?  As you examine your life, do you pray as often as you ought to? Are your prayers acceptable to God?  Are you sure?  Do you know what it takes to make prayer acceptable? 

The Bible has much to say about prayer.  Tonight, we will begin our study by addressing what makes prayer acceptable to God.

I.                     What Is Prayer?

a.        Prayer is the general term for us addressing God.  It is the way He has provided for us to communicate with Him.

b.       It is asking, seeking and knocking – Matthew 7:7-11.  The point of this is that while we ask God for those things we need (according to His will); we still need to seek and knock to have the door opened.

c.        It is a mental exercise requiring concentration.  You cannot just mutter words without thinking and expect God to answer you.

d.       More will be presented on this in a future lesson.

II.                   What Makes Prayer Unacceptable?

a.        Wickedness – if we are living a wicked life in rebellion, God is not going to hear our prayers. 
Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.”
Isaiah 1:15 – condemning the sinfulness of Judah the Lord said He would not hear their prayers.
Also, Psalm 128:9, “One who turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.”

b.       Substituting prayer for obedience.  There are many who reason that as long as they pray, it doesn’t matter what they do.  Some reason, I will keep doing this sin and then later on I will repent and pray to God to forgive me.
Matthew 7:21 – “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, …”
Hebrews 5:8-9 notes that our salvation depends upon our willingness to obey.

c.        Selfishness – there are preachers saying that God is going to give you whatever you want in this life.  Their appeal is for physical success and prosperity. 
James 4:3 notes that they were rebuked because their prayers were directed in order for them to spend it on their own pleasures. 

d.       Offered with an improper attitude toward others.
If we are unwilling to forgive others, God will not hear our prayers asking for forgiveness.  Matthew 6:14-15
If you refuse to work out your differences with your brethren, God is not ready to listen to you – Matthew 5:23-24.
John drove this point home in his first letter when he equated loving God to loving your brethren – 1 John 4:20-21

e.        Vain repetitions and pretentious prayers –
Matthew 6:5-6 – this describes some of the religious leaders of that day – praying long prayers and using meaningless repetitions.
Matthew 23:14 speaks of those who for a pretense made long prayers.
Luke 18:10-12 describes the Pharisee praying in the temple.  He was bragging and praying to be heard by those around.  And he was!  But God was NOT impressed.   

There are others that could be added to this list, but these are sufficient to warn us that it is possible for our prayers to NOT be heard.  That having been said, what are some things needed to ensure that our prayers are acceptable?

III.                 Acceptable Prayer Involves

a.        A godly life – Just as the prayers of the wicked are rejected by God, a godly life is an important element in God accepting them (not that this is the only prerequisite).
1 John 3:22 says, “whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”
James 5:16 says, “…the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much
1 Peter 3:12 quotes Psalm 34:12-16 which says the Lord hears the righteous.
So if we are not really willing to obey God, or putting forth the necessary effort, we ought not expect Him to listen to our prayers.

b.       A godly attitude – is needed for God to accept our prayers.
We need reverence – In Matthew 6:9 Jesus began teaching about prayer by addressing God in a reverent manner.
We need faith – James 1:5-7 warns plainly that in whatever you ask of God, it must be with faith.  To doubt or lack faith is a sure way to guarantee God will not hear you.
We need sincerity – Just as hypocrisy and pretension will make our prayers unacceptable, a sincere attitude is needed for God to hear. 
We need humility – Luke 18:9-14, the tax collector in the parable of Jesus bowed his head, beat his breast and said simply, “God be merciful to me…”  That is the attitude God is looking for.
1 Peter 5:5 says that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
We need thankfulness - our prayers ought to ALWAYS be accompanied with thankfulness.   Before we begin making requests, we need to thank Him for He has already given us.
Ephesians 5:20 tells us to always give thanks in the name of the Lord Jesus.

c.        Proper authority – by this, we mean simply that we are offering proper prayers.  We understand our place and we understand His place.
Our prayers must be offered in the Name of Jesus -
Ephesians 5:20 – speaks of giving thanks to God in His name
John 14:14 speaks of asking “in His name”
According to God’s will – we don’t pray to God with a personal agenda.  Everything we do and request is according to His will.  
1 John 5:14 says that our confidence is in the fact that whatever we ask according to His will, we know that he HEARS us.

Thus we can see some things that will make our prayer acceptable to God.   But for prayers to be acceptable, one must first obey the gospel.  Contrary to popular preaching, salvation is not obtained by praying the sinner’s prayer.  It is found by believing, repentance, confession, and baptism for the remission of your sins.  As you study the New Testament you will find it clearly taught that the privilege of prayer belongs to God’s children.  So what about you?  Are your prayers acceptable to Him? Do you pray as you ought to?  If not, why not make your life right today.