True Praying in the Holy Spirit
The Seven Laws of Prayer
1 John 5:14, Hebrews 4:11-16
Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor
- Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote: “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”
- John Wesley said: “God does nothing except in response to believing prayer.”
- M. Bounds said: “The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day.”
- Andrew Murray said: “Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things above all that we ask or think. Each time you intercede, be quiet first and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, of how He delights to hear Christ, of your place in Christ, and expect great things.”
In 1 John 5:14, the Apostle said: “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
- “God in heaven, I know that you are faithful. I have confidence that you hear and answer all my prayers. I will try to do your will, serving and loving others. I ask that you be with me and give me the opportunities to share with others the confidence I have in you. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.”
In Hebrews 4:14-16, we read. “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession, for we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
- “Heavenly Father, in the name of Your Son, Jesus, I come boldly to your throne of grace this morning, in search for Your mercy and Your grace in my time of need.”
Most Christians no longer expect answers to their prayers because they rarely see actual answers to their prayers.
- These are not “unbelievers,” or those who have “unconfessed sin” in their heart, but rather believers, who haven’t met the spiritual conditions to receive God’s answers to their prayers.
- The tragedy of unanswered prayer is passed down to our children, for if they hear us pray, but never see God’s answer, on what basis do they believe in God?
- Certainly, we should not stop praying, but rather we should start praying in the power of the Holy Spirit and according to the seven laws or principles of prayer outlined in the Bible.
The First Law – Asking
- Some might ask, “If God already knows our needs, why doesn’t He supply them whether or not we ask for them in prayer?”
- If God met our needs, without us having to ask:
- It would make God our servant and us His master.
- We would take His blessings for granted and not be thankful.
A pampered child does not develop that sense of responsibility or accountability for their provisions – they have no idea what it is like to not have everything they want, even before they want it. A child that gets everything it wants without having to ask for it will grow up to be selfish.
- God asks us to ask Him to “give us our daily bread” because the depths of our prayers reveal the depth of our understanding of who He is.
- Daniel prayed three times each day until God finally released His people from the bondage He had imposed upon them.
- Elijah prayed for the rain not to fall on Israel, to teach them to cry out unto God, and it didn’t, and then he prayed that it would rain on Israel, and it did.
- Hudson Taylor depended upon prayer for his mission work in China.
- George Muller depended upon prayer for his provisions for the 2,200 orphaned children in England.
- David Brainerd depended upon prayer for his work among the Indians of Western Massachusetts, Eastern New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
- In his book, “The Collected Prayers of John Knox,” Queen Mary of Scots was quoted as having said she was “more afraid of John Knox’s prayers than more than all of the assembled armies of Europe.” Why? Because Knox dared to pray: “Give me Scotland or I die!”
The Second Law – Asking in the Will of God
- “No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11).
- “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18)
- “The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)
- “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us, and if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” (1 John 5:14)
- “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men liberally, and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5)
In Proverbs 3:5-6, God promised to give us His guidance, but only after we have met certain conditions:
- “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
- Total trust in the Lord – not praying about it, and then seeking the advice and counsel of others, but trusting in God and God alone, so much so, that, if God doesn’t answer our prayer we will fail, for God guides as He provides!!
- Lean not unto thine own understanding – if God has called you to do something, He will enable you to do it, even if you don’t fully understand what He is calling you to do, or why He is calling you to do it. God is simply calling you to obey Him without hesitation, reservation, qualification, or equivocation – blind obedience.
- In all thy ways, acknowledge Him – there is a difference between living the Christian Life, trying to live like Christ, and simply allowing Jesus Christ to live His life through us.
- So, am I allowing Christ to live His life through me as a man, a husband, a father, a son, a brother, cousin, etc.?
- How about as a neighbor, an employer, or an employee?
- How about as a church leader or a church member?
- If someone followed us every hour of every day, would they say, “Now there goes a real Christian!
- He will direct our paths – We can go forward in peace, believing that God will direct our paths through His Word, the leading of the Holy Spirit, the wise counsel of others, the circumstances of our lives, and plan old common sense.
- We will walk along our way of life and when we come to the end, we will see that we have been on the path God intended all along.
- Regarding this text, G. Campbell Morgan wrote: “The measure in which I have trusted God and acknowledged Him, has been the measure of walking in the paths of real life.”
- The Bible becomes a new book when we study it to find promises we can claim in prayer to obtain God’s power for our daily problems. However, we must also make sure that we have met the conditions for those prayers to be answered.
