`SS02-08-04
“DISCIPLINED PRAYER.” EZRA 8:21-23, 1 THESS. 5: 16-18; JAMES 5: 13—18
EZRA 8: 21-23; 1 THESS. 5: 16-18; JAMES 5: 13-14, 15-16a, 16b-18.
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO EZRA 8.
Last Sunday we began the five session series with the “Discipline of Worship” as it is the foundation of the other four spiritual disciplines to follow. We are challenged in Matt. 18:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” We learned that Spiritual Disciplines are means whereby believers regulate their activities so as to become more like Jesus. The objective of this study is that we may grow in holiness and godliness.
The life of a child of God is a work of progress. That means, we should always desire to develop our personal relationship with God. Prayer plays a central part in that process. In three different texts, the biblical writers in today’s lesson teach us about prayer.
Dwight L. Moody was addressing a crowded meeting of children in Scotland, and in order to get their attention he asked, “What is Prayer?” He expected no answer, but several hands were raised.
One little boy answered quickly and precisely, “Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God for things agreeable to His will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgment of His mercies.” Moody was pleasantly surprised. But, I wonder how many of us today could give this kind of definition of prayer.
Most Christians would say, prayer is asking things from God. Prayer is not just a way to get things from God, but rather a way to get to know God personally and intimately.
E.M. Bonds stated, “Prayer is the channel through which all good flows to man. Prayer is a privilege; a sacred, princely privilege. Prayer is a duty, an obligation most binding, and most imperative, which should hold us to it. But prayer is more than a privilege, more than a duty; It is the appointed condition of getting God’s aid. It is the avenue through which God supplies man’s wants. Prayer is the under-standing of the will of God and releasing that power in our life that His will may be accomplished.
Prayer is asking. Jesus said in Matt. 7:7-8 “Ask, and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you; for everyone that asketh shall receive, and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
The one concern of the Devil is to keep Christians from praying. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.
You will remember that the disciples of Christ, as far as we know, never asked Jesus to teach them to preach, debate, or heal. They did ask Him to teach them to pray. Yet, the only prayer Jesus taught the disciples, was the Lord’s Prayer.
It is sad that some church members never learn to pray. Some pray only when they need or want something they cannot get any other way. Some claim they don’t know how to pray. Most do not have a disciplined prayer life. Prayer and the result of prayer is that God may be glorified.
Prayer must be cultivated as a spiritual discipline if one is to become Christ-like. When you meet a spiritually growing Christian, you can be sure that person practices the spiritual discipline of regular prayer.
In today’s lesson we will seek to answer the question “How can I improve my daily prayer life.” Prayers are required in that man may be made better. Sin is the greatest roadblock to prayer; so early in your prayer time confess ---agreeing with God about your sin, and seek forgiveness.
PLEASE READ EZRA 8: 21-23.
Three groups of exiles returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity. Zerubbabel led the first group in 539 BC. Ezra led a second group in 457 BC. Nehemiah led a third group in 444 BC.
According to Ezra 7:10 “Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statues and judgments.” Ezra was a spiritual man. He was a “teacher well versed in the law of Moses” and “devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.”
No one ever had a higher ideal of prayer than he Jews had; and no religion ever raised prayer higher on the scale of priorities than the Jews did. In John 15 :7 Jesus said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.“ We must never think of prayer as overcoming God’s reluctance, but as laying hold of God’s highest willingness. Prayer is our highest privilege, our greatest responsibility, and the greatest power God has put into our hands.
Ezra was a man who was known for practicing Bible study and prayer. These two disciplines ae closely related. Most believers who practice a daily time of devotion include both spiritual disciples. Having one without the other would be like a conversation in which only one person speaks. God speaks through His Word, and we speak to Him in prayer. Our next Sunday’s lesson focuses on the discipline of Bible Study.
God had promised in 2 Chronicles 7: 14, “If my people which are called by May name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from haven, and will forgive their sins; and will heal their land.”
Ezra wanted to go to Jerusalem because he feared that the people were not following the Law of the Lord. King Artaxerxes granted Ezra permission to lead a group of Jews to Jerusalem. The king even wrote a letter authorizing the trip. Silver and gold were given by the king, and other Persians, as well as some Jews.
Ezra and the others gathered for three days. The made all the travel arrangements for the long journey of about 900 miles. Anticipating the long journey and realizing the many dangers they would face during the four-month trip, Ezra called for a fast. He wanted the people to humble themselves before God and ask Him for a safe journey. Ezra was concerned for the people, their children and all their possessions. Many potential dangers lurked on their long road to Jerusalem, especially if others knew of the gold and silver they carried. They made the journey safely, averaging about seven miles a day in spite of children, equipment and animals.
Humility is a key characteristic of an effective prayer life. Ezra though a great man of God and honored by the Persian King, humbled himself before God in fasting and prayer. He knew that without God he would probably not make the trip to Jerusalem safely. Also, he believed God could and would help him. A disciplined prayer life is a good way to cultivate and demonstrate the godly characteristic of humility y before God.
In John 16:23 Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say unto you, whatever you ask the Father in my name He will give you.” He repeats this promise in John 16: 24.
PLEASE READ 1 THESSALONIANS 5: 16-18.
These three verses contain three of he several commands Paul gave to his readers. His commands were designed to help them continue their growth in their faith, their love, and their hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. Each command is in the present tense, which means each one was to be done habitually. Doing so would make them stronger in the Lord and prepared for His return. Charles Wesley once said, “The world has yet to see what one man fully yielded to God might accomplish.” God has said, “Call upon me and I will answer thee.”
How can a person pray constantly? Thomas Kelley gave this advice: “There is a way of ordering our mental life on more than one level at once. On one level we may be thinking, discussing, seeing, calculating, meeting all the demands of external affairs. But deep within, behind the scenes, at a profounder level, we may also be in prayer and adoration, song and worship, and a gentle receptiveness to divine breathings.” Paul’s exhortation in Vs. 17 is a reminder that prayer is both verbal and nonverbal. Paul reminded us in Phil. 4:6 “be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
A prayerful attitude and short prayers are not a substitute for a daily time of prayer. At some period during each day (morning, noon, or night), every believer needs a daily prayer time. That usually calls for a definite time, a definite place, and a definite procedure that one practices. A consistent daily quiet time is a spiritual exercise designed to allow God to help us grow in godliness and transform us into Christ-likeness. Paul told Timothy to “discipline our-self for the purpose of godliness. In 1 Timothy 4:7 he wrote, “But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather to godliness.” Spiritual exercise, like physical exercise, is needed by every believer. Both require commitment and discipline.
The Living Bible says in Matt. 21:22, “You can get anything you ask for in prayer---if you believe.”
Paul’s third command was Give thanks in everything. A joyful and praying Christian will have many reasons to be thankful. Christians can thank God even in times of trouble because they know they have God and the avenue of prayer open to them. Jesus taught in Matt. 5:10-12 that even the persecuted can rejoice. Such joy is a fruit of the Sprit.
Vs. 17 is a key verse in this lesson. It does not mean we are to spend all our time in what we think of as prayer. It does mean two things. It means, first of all, that we are always to practice the presence of the Lord. We are to walk with God in an ongoing relationship. He second application is the need to have regular times when you are alone with God in prayer. Jesus taught us in Matt. 6:6 to go into a place where we can concentrate on speaking with God in prayer. Some people excuse their neglect of prayer by saying they are too busy or they just forgot. Establishing prayer into our daily routine avoids those two snares.
Paul said that it is God’s will for Christians to rejoice always, pray always, and give thanks always. Prayer is the answer to many things that dampen our joy and the reason for having much for which to be thankful
This kind of living and praying is clearly the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us. The will of God about the distinctive path you should take is not always easy to discern, but some aspects of His will apply to all people. These aspects are clearly revealed in His Word. No on needs to seek to know whether God wants us to rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in every situation; these are God’s will for all Christians. John Blanchard said, ‘Jesus ascended into heaven to represent us before the Father. He left you and me here to represent Him on earth.”
PLEASE READ JAMES 5: 13-14.
James, the half brother of Jesus, also wrote about the importance of prayer. We can learn much from him as we note the three types of conditions all of us experience. The first is suffering. Suffering describes undergoing any kind of hardship. Rather than complaining about our problems, we should pray. Prayer expresses trust in our Heavenly Father’s love and care for us. In response to our payers, sometimes God changes our circumstances; at other times He changes our attitude about those circumstances and enables us to cope. In either case, prayer brings God’s help. Praying in faith is a far better option than feeling sorry for ourselves or being angry with God.
The second condition is cheerful. Happily, life has its ups as well as its downs. Recognizing the Lord as the source of whatever causes us to be cheerful, our response should be to glorify Him by singing praises. Some of us are blessed with a temperament that tilts us toward a bright outlook. Others of us by nature tilt toward the gloomy side. Thankfully, the “life…in abundance” described in John 10:10 is determined by our relationship to Christ, not by our temperament. All of us have abundant opportunities to sing joyful praise to our gracious Lord.
Finally, in the third condition James addressed the sick. Christians get sick like everyone else. Illnesses may have many causes, but the result is the same. When we are ill, we need help.
We should call the elders of the church. Sometimes the word translated elders refers simply to older people, but throughout the N.T. it generally refers to those who carry out the function of pastors. Spiritual maturity should be a hallmark of every church leader. When we are seriously ill, we usually call for the doctor. These days we go t\o the emergency room. Do we ever call for a minister to pray over us? Only for the last rites.
In Judiasm there were societies of religious men who visited the sick and sought to minister to them. They would clean the sick person’s room, remind him to make a will, pray for him, and exhort him to confess his sins.