Ingredients of Effective Prayer (Part2)

‘O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come’ – Psalm 65:2

It’s instructive to me that in Genesis 18:16-33 when Abraham learnt of the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the thrust of his prayer was not just the salvation of his nephew, Lot, but rather the salvation of the entire population.

There is a way in which a ‘me-centredness’ can rob our prayer of power. There needs to be something of a pursuit of, ‘Thy kingdom come’ in our prayers for them to have the backing of heaven. Prayer is not a means by which man pushes his agenda on God but a means by which man partners with God to see God’s will done on earth. And his will includes our well-being, but it is counter-productive to think it is as narrow as that. No, the chief purpose of prayer is not to secure our well-being, but God’s will and his glory. This is why effective prayer starts by answering the question ‘What is God saying about this situation? What does God want?’ Whether it be our personal need or situations concerning others, we must seek to pray God’s will and God’s heart. It takes knowing the Word of God to know his will. It takes a walk with God to develop in us a heart that shares God’s heart, so that we are not just wanting to use God to meet our needs, but rather standing in the gap to see God’s will done. Abraham walked with God and so shared God’s heart for the lost. He knew that God’s heart was not to destroy Sodom if it could be avoided.

Then we see in Abraham’s statement in Genesis 18:27 the two seemingly paradoxical ingredients of effective prayer.

‘Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes”’

Firstly, we see boldness as he says, ‘I have been so bold as to speak to the LORD’. I mentioned this ingredient last week but let me deal with it again so as to explain this paradox. Our prayer must be bold and expectant. We need to have the audacity to ask God to do something specific and to expect him to do it. The Bible tells us to ‘…approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive’. (Hebrews 4:16, NIV). Abraham had that audacity – that boldness in his prayer. We can come boldly because it is the Lord who has given us access. He himself has said, ‘Ask of me’. We do not honour him if we are timid before him, acting as if we have no access – as if he cannot be taken at his word. Prayer is not trying to overthrow God’s reluctance but rather the making of a way for God’s willingness. God takes us seriously when we pray. He hears and he answers. ‘This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him’ (1 John 5:14,15, NIV)

But along with this boldness, we see here another element. Abraham says, ‘though I am nothing but dust and ashes’. Here is the paradox – we are to approach with boldness, and humility, at the same time. We are to approach with confidence in God’s ability and willingness, and at the same time approach with no confidence in our worthiness to deserve to be answered. We need to recognise that there is nothing of ourselves that qualifies us to stand before him. There is nothing we have given him that entitles us to a reward.  It is his graciousness that gives us access not our worthiness.

It is possible to approach God with some sense of entitlement. We think of all we have given to him and we feel that somehow he owes us something. Listen, God does not owe any man anything! There is nothing we have that we have not first received. So, how dare we approach with a feeling of entitlement? It’s like my little son who sometimes asks me for money to buy me a birthday present, and it makes me think, ‘Who is giving a gift to whom here?’ Yet like me, our Heavenly Father sees, applauds and appreciates all of our giving to him, and out of his graciousness he rewards our giving. But we have not really given him anything! That’s why the Lord says, ‘So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ” (Luke 17:10 NIV).

We must be free of this sense of entitlement that is rampant among believers today. Often my wife and I are shocked to hear a believer say that they are upset with God because he didn’t come through for them. We don’t deserve the least of his mercies!

These two ingredients may look like a paradox, but every Spirit-born person will have no problem in understanding this. We see it so clearly over and over again in the great pray-ers of the Bible:  on one hand a bold confidence that God will answer, and on the other hand a lack of confidence in any personal merit. David’s prayer in 2 Sam 7:18-29 has these two elements. First he says ‘Who am I?’ – (v.18) – he considers that he does not deserve the thing God has promised to do for him. He is grateful. There is no sense of entitlement. He understands that God acts ‘for the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing’ (v.21). But he goes on to say; ‘And now, Lord God…Do as you have promised’ – He is boldly requesting God to act. He is saying, ‘I expect you to do what you said’. We must learn to come in the same way – with boldness and humility.

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Comments? Questions? etc. If these messages have been helpful or unclear it would encourage us to hear from you, please write to chim_ibidun@hotmail.com
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PLEASE are you born again? It is not enough to believe in the existence of God, to go to church, or be interested in spiritual things. Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus died to deliver you from sin so that you can come to God. (John 3:16) If you ask him to forgive you and give you a new heart he will. (Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9-11).Try it. I’d love to hear from you @ chim_ibidun@hotmail.com
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Chim’sWRITE are regular articles on Christian living and cross-cultural missions from Chimezie Onyebilanma a cross-cultural missionary with Calvary Ministries (CAPRO). CAPRO is an indigenous African non-denominational cross-cultural  mission agency involved in reaching the remaining unreached peoples in 22 countries of Africa and the Middle East as of present. CAPRO is involved in missions mobilization, training, and research as well as church-planting and mercy ministries (literacy, rural development, primary health-care, relief and rehabilitation). CAPRO is a faith mission, both the ministry and its missionaries depend on God’s provision through the giving of his people. None of its missionaries are salaried. All gifts are used as designated.

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