Increase Our Faith A Sermon on Prayer, by Lynn Martin

In this sermon, I'll speak about prayer. As David says in the psalm I just read, God already knows our inmost thoughts and foresees all our ways. He has created marvelous works, and He doesn't simply forget about them when He has created them, but instead He dwells with them in heaven and in Hades and beyond the furthest boundaries of the sea. He has come near to us and knows us, and He gives us an opportunity to speak to Him through prayer.

First, what is prayer? In this sermon, I'll define it as communicating with God by means of words. Now, the English word "pray" didn't always mean that. It simply meant to ask or beseech someone for something. For example, in the King James Version, we see this word used a lot.

For example, Abraham says to Lot, "Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen, for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me."

So with this broader use of the word, you are able to pray or beseech anyone. But by now, we use the word basically only for prayer to a deity. However, I think that one thing the word "pray" has brought along with it through the years is the idea of prayer as supplication. When we think of prayer, we usually think of it as asking for something.

But though that's an important part of prayer, I think that we can get too caught up in that aspect to the exclusion of the others. Instead, we should also pray in thanksgiving, as Paul usually does when he begins his letters. For example, he writes to the Colossian church, "We always thank God when we pray for you, since we've heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints because of the hope laid up for you in heaven." And to the Philippians, he says, "I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making my prayer with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now."

And to the Corinthian church, he says, "I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you are enriched in Him in all speech and all knowledge."

So clearly, our prayer needs to be full of thanks, especially for the church, our brothers and sisters, and the way God works in their lives. Another aspect of prayer is praise. James says, "Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise." And the psalms are full of praise. When we address God, I think we would do well to praise Him for His deeds, not only to us, but also for the wonders He's created in the world, as we did this morning in Bill's Sunday school. And we should also praise Him for His many divine attributes.

So the prayer is rightly a time of petition, and I think a lot of what I'll be saying this morning will be about prayer as petition. I think we should start off by remembering that prayer is not only about petition; it's for other things as well.

And I wonder sometimes, is the reason we think of prayer as only petition because sometimes we desire our own good too much. We forget to love God with our whole heart. I think it's telling that the Lord's Prayer begins with praise of God. We say, "Hallowed be Your name." And we pray, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." So we remember in our prayer that our faith rests on the success of the kingdom of God and not only to God's gifts to us as individuals. So I encourage us to be sure when we pray that we praise and thank God for His wonders and for His kingdom.

As I was studying, I looked through the Old Testament to see some examples of prayer. And one thing I noticed was that in those times, it seemed, at least as often as it's mentioned, prayer seemed to be done by prophets on behalf of the people. For example, God tells Abimelech the Philistine, "Now then return the man's wife," that's Abraham's wife, "for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you and you shall live." In Numbers 21:7, we read that the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord that He takes away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people.

And Samuel the prophet says to the people of Israel, "Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and right way."

But even in the Old Testament, God also heard the prayers of those who weren't prophets. For example, when Hannah prayed for a son, He answered that prayer and gave her Samuel and many other children. Of course, in the New Testament, we must—I think it was—I think she had other children too, right?

I think so. All right. I didn't want to say something wrong. Of course, in the New Testament, we must all pray. We don't need a prophet to pray for us since we can have a relationship directly with God.

So what are some occasions for prayer? Well, we can pray for salvation to come to those outside the kingdom, as Paul does in Romans 10. Also, Paul tells the Colossian church to pray for open doors for the gospel.

We can also pray for the spiritual enrichment of our brothers and sisters, as in Ephesians 1, that God may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you.

We can also pray for physical needs as well, as James says, to pray for the sick. But in any case, we should be praying continually. Paul says to be constant in prayer, to pray at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication, and to keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. He says, "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." And like I said, though most of the references I have here are about petitionary prayer, it seems that even that should be full of thanksgiving.

And sometimes he says we should also fast and abstain from distractions in order to pray. That's one reference for that is 1 Corinthians 7:5. So this brings me to the main part of my sermon. What is the effect of prayer?

Of course, the point of prayer is to communicate with God. As David says in Psalm 33, "God hears the righteous, though He won't hear those who do evil," David says.

"The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their supplications. The Lord's face is against those who do evil, so as to destroy their remembrance from the earth. The righteous cried, and the Lord heard them, and He delivered them from all their afflictions. The Lord is near those who are brokenhearted, and He will save the humble in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but He will deliver them from them all. The Lord shall guard all their bones. Not one of them shall be broken. The death of sinners is evil, and those who hate the righteous shall go wrong.

The Lord will redeem the souls of His servants, and all who hope in Him shall not go wrong."

Also, Jesus tells us in Luke 11 that God will hear the prayer of His disciples. He says, "I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds. And to the one who knocks, it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent, or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"

So God is willing to give us what we ask, and particularly to give the Holy Spirit to whoever asks Him.

Also, prayer has physical effects and can save the sick. James says in James 5, starting at 14, "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed." The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months, it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

But what about prayers that aren't answered? I'm sure all of us have asked God for things that we haven't received, and I have. Well, in the passage I just read, James mentions a key aspect. It is the prayer of faith that will save the sick. If we aren't faithful, we can't expect an answer from God. And Jesus says the same when the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you."

That's from Luke 17, verses 5 and 6. So if our prayers aren't answered, maybe the case is that we don't have faith. Of course, this isn't the only reason that a prayer wouldn't be answered in a way that we wish.

After all, I don't think that Jesus was lacking in faith when he asked for the cup of suffering to pass from him, and it didn't. I don't think that Paul was lacking in faith when he asked God to remove the thorn in the flesh, as he calls his affliction.

And it wasn't. In some cases, God chooses a different path than the one we ask for. But this shouldn't scare us. We know that in each of the cases that I mentioned, God gave strength. In the one case, he sent an angel to minister to Jesus. In the other case, he told Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

So whether or not the object of our prayer is attained, I think that we can conclude that when we pray in faith, God will give us strength to endure whatever task or suffering that he's chosen for us. We can say with Paul, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.

For when I am weak, then I am strong."

That's from 2 Corinthians 12.

But as I said, sometimes it is a lack of faith that keeps us from getting a response. So how do we respond to an unanswered prayer if that's maybe the reason, or if we're concerned that our faith is lacking? Well, like the disciples, we can ask for the Lord to increase our faith.

And James tells us that if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

So he says, if we want wisdom, we need to ask with no doubting. Some translations translate this as without wavering. And I don't think that James means, when he talks about doubting or wavering, that he means like unintentional thoughts that might pop into our heads when we might have a worry that God won't answer us.

But instead, here are some ways I think we could be unstable. We could ask for one thing at one time and then ask for something else another time. We might ask fervently, but not steadfastly, remembering that thing that we prayed for.

After all, do we really desire the things that we pray for if we forget about them or if we get tired for asking for them? So if we want to ask without wavering, we can live steadfastly for the goal that we ask for, for the things that we're praying God for, trusting in God's power to answer. We can spend our energy not in worrying, but in hope and continual prayer.

And if we ask without wavering, God will give us wisdom, James says. And I think that the same principle applies when we ask God for faith. If we don't have enough faith, we can ask God to help us increase our faith. James also tells us to draw near to God, and he will draw near to us in James 4:8. We need to cease to be friends of the world and choose to be friends of God, he tells us. And God will be willing to come to us if we're willing to come to him. Of course, so I said, if we're willing to come to God, God is willing to come to us. And of course, we need faith to draw near to God in the first place.

The writer of Hebrews says that whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. So like the father of the boy from whom Jesus cast out a demon, we need to say, "I believe, help my unbelief." That's from Mark 9.

I think it's verse 23. Also, we can have our brothers and sisters pray for us so that we can gain the faith that we need. Like Paul, they can pray for us, asking that we may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him. That's from Colossians 1:9 and 10. Also, that our love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment so that we may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

That's from Philippians 1:9 to 11. Now, one thing that I should mention here is that I think we can be misguided about the effectiveness of our prayers. Often, our prayer time may feel more or less fulfilling because of the emotions that we feel when we pray.

And I know there are some times when I feel closer to God and sometimes when I don't feel quite as close to God. Often I feel like my prayers aren't doing anything. I just don't feel very inspired about them. But I think we can easily fall into the trap of mistaking emotional fervor for effective prayer.

And nowhere in scripture do I read that if we feel more in tune, our prayers will be more effective. I think that whether or not we feel right, whether or not we feel like our prayers are effective, that we need to continue to pray faithfully, and God will work through that. And I think that God will train our emotions to reflect the truth.

I said that God helps us by increasing our faith. But as Christians, we have still another way in which God aids us. That's through the Spirit of God. Though we ourselves might not know how to pray according to God's wisdom and plan, we have someone who will help us. In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul talks about the things that God has prepared for those who love him. Things, he says, quoting the Old Testament, that no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagines. But he says that these secrets are things that we can know. He says, "These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

For who knows a person's thoughts except the Spirit of that person, which is in him?" So also, no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. And we, if we're Christians, we have the Holy Spirit, as Paul says in Ephesians.

But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

In him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. So by his blood, Jesus gave us membership in the household of God, the community of the church, which is being built together into a dwelling place for God. We have the Spirit of God in us. Furthermore, Paul says in Romans 8:10, "But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness."

In verse 14, he says, "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God, for you did not receive the Spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. But you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God.

And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him." So if we have the Spirit, we are children and heirs of God. We suffer with Christ and are glorified with him. In the psalm we read at the beginning of the sermon, David says that God knows us deeply, but we can also know God by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who is in us.

Thus Paul says in verse 26, this is the same chapter as we've been reading, Romans 8. Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is in the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

So the Spirit assists our prayers, interceding with God in ways that we don't know how to do. So if we want to pray effectively, if we want to have our prayers answered, we need to open ourselves to the working of the Spirit of God.

And what will the effect be when we pray according to the Spirit? Well, all those things that I mentioned earlier, salvation for the lost, spiritual strength for the saved, and physical healing will at times come to pass. We can actually help each other through prayer, and we need to do so. Paul tells the Corinthians, "You must help us by prayer so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many."

Our prayers are a factor into what happens to our fellow Christians and in the work of spreading the gospel. In this verse, we also see that Paul asks for prayer so that many will give thanks. This thanksgiving is to him one of the main purposes of prayer.

Paul also says that prayer and thanksgiving make the food we eat holy, for everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God in prayer in 1 Timothy 4:4 and 5.

And prayer also gives us peace from our worries and anxieties. Paul tells the Ephesians, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

And here's another thing that I believe prayer does for us, and this is something I think I need to learn in my own life. We all have to deal with tensions between ourselves and the people around us, whether in church, family, or our job. And one thing that always makes these tensions worse is when we spend too much time talking and complaining to others about these tensions.

Of course, we need to know how each other's lives are going so that we can assist each other and pray for each other. But I think that we would find that if we prayed for each other as much as we talked about each other, that it would strengthen our relationships. It would help us love each other more.

And I doubt many of us pray that much about the people, or to that extent about the people around us. Probably some of you do. I know I don't. Prayer opens us to the working of the Spirit, and I think it teaches us to think and love like God does. I think prayer helps us open our relationships, heal our relationships with others.

I'll close with a reading from Ephesians 3. This is Paul's great hope for the family of God in Ephesus, and it's my hope and prayer for our church today. For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

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