How then shall we pray?
Posted by appolus on September 8, 2022
You have to establish a non petitioning heart before you can truly petition the Lord. What do I mean by that? Does your prayer life consist mostly of petitions, meaning, is it just about you asking for things? Take a moment and reflect upon your prayers. I want to give you some examples. In Acts 16 we see Paul and Silas in a terrible situation. They were hungry and thirsty. They were seriously injured. They were held captive. They could well be killed. And here is what we know about their communications with God. ” At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.” There is nothing to indicate they were praying for their personal needs, no, rather they were praising God in the midnight hour. That very same hour, the jailer, after crying out “what must I do to be saved,” got saved, his family got saved, Paul and Silas were delivered from their bonds, the stripes upon their backs were tended to and food was set before them.
In Acts chapter seven we see Stephen in a terrible situation. He had just spoken mightily by the power of the Holy Spirit and the crowd were riled up and they had murder in their heart. Did Stephen cry out for deliverance? Did He petition God to shield him in that moment? Here is what happened “He, being full of the Holy Spirit gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God…..then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not charge them with this sin. That day a young man called Saul witnessed what had happened and the seeds of his own salvation was planted.
Brothers and sisters, there is much power in not giving heed to the situation you find yourself in. The Kingdom of God transcends all situations, if only we had eyes to see the glory of God through the darkest nights, the good news is that we do. Every night is like the noonday sun to those with eyes fixed upon Jesus. Now, is it right and proper to petition the Lord? Yes, of course. Yet, we all know someone who only ever talks to us when they want something, is that not right? How do you feel when you see that person approach? Does your heart not sink? Does it not sink even deeper when they pretend to be nice to you? We have names for people like that. Hypocrites? Fair weather fans? People who only come around to get what they want or to be part of a success.
First and fore-most in our lives we have been called to glorify God. No matter what our situations are, no matter what chaos the enemy might have caused, we need to stand in the power that comes from glorifying God in our prayers. We need to lift up the name of Jesus. We need to glorify the Lord our God. We need to see Him high and lifted up and then we need to lift up our eyes to that vision of Him. He is with us and He is preeminent not just in our hearts but in every aspect of our lives. Glorifying God and praising His holy name causes the foundations of our captivity to begin to shake. God is not in the business of building prisons, He is in the business of tearing them down. He does not throw people behind prison cells, He throws open the doors. He breaks the bars of captivity. He is worthy to be praised and He has given us the way. Establish the proper order. Love Him, praise Him, give Him honor and glory. Let the principalities and powers know that no matter what, The Lord Jesus Christ will be praised, before any mention of our needs.
Philippians 4:6 Tells us “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” We see a very similar text in Matt 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body than clothes? And so we see the two sets of instructions from Jesus, be anxious for nothing, or the almost identical phrase “take no thought for your life.” What might be the primary petitions of the saint? And how are these petitions to be framed? Well we see from Phil 4:6 that they are to be framed by, or bathed in, thankfulness. It is the thankful heart that breaks through to the throne-room. And with this thankful heart we pray, we glorify God, and into this heart He pours in His desires. And His greatest desire is that we would be like His Son.
And therefore, having put the cares of this life aside we stand devoid of distractions. We cry out to God that He would help our unbelief. That He would give us wisdom, that He would glorify Himself in whatever situation we find ourselves in. Whether in the depths of a dungeon or kneeling before an angry mob who is about to kill us. Whether we face bankruptcy or the grievous loss of a loved one, how shall we glorify you in this Lord? Job’s prayer was to praise God and acknowledge that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord. Brothers and sisters, there is a tremendous power at our disposal if we would only lay down the distractions of this world and lift Jesus us in our minds and hearts and spirits. There are walls to be shaken. There are captives to be set free. Yet we must be free ourselves from the distractions of this world in order to be used in setting at liberty others. Is it possible to live an anxious free life and walk in the power of God? Yes it is. Is it possible to “take no though for your life?” Yes it is. Jesus commanded that we do it and we must decide to do it. It is our decision.
A Call To The Remnant 
Anonymous said
Amen..
Lisa said
What a wonderful encouragement. This thing on prayer. How exactly do we commune with God? What does it sound like? What does it look like?
Years ago, I used to pray and talk to the Lord about everything. I would share with him all of my anxious thoughts, all of my troubles, my worries, all of my cares. And I loved my time alone with God in prayer. But then my prayer life changed. It wasn’t about me anymore. I for real, heard him say to me one day loud and clear, “Seek my face.” So not even understanding what that meant, I began to seek his face, saying, “Lord show me your face. Let me see your face.”
It wasn’t long afterward that I began to sense a change on the inside. I was always a sensitive person, but I began to feel such depth of emotion, such passion for certain things that I never bothered much paying attention to before. The tiniest things I began to notice and suddenly became so significant where they weren’t before. In me and around me. I was well aware that something was going on inside me and I thought something was wrong with me. I really did. I began to cry out to the Lord. “Lord, what is wrong with me? Why am I feeling this way?” Then I began to understand, he began to reveal to me he was answering my prayer. The one he told me to pray. He he was sharing his heart with me. He was opening the eyes of my understanding. He was allowing me see things as he sees them, from his perspective, and not just from my own. He was sharing his joys, and his angers, and his sorrows, and his pains with me. I never knew we could have such intimacy with the Lord in this way before. Not many want that. Not many seek after it. Not many can bear it.
There are two men I have listened to in all of my years I can think of off the top of my head who had such intimacy with the Lord that they bore his burdens and you could hear it, as it came out in their messages. Leonard Ravenhill and David Wilkerson. Unmistakeable.
Lately here again, now for the past 3 or 4 months probably especially, I have been coming to understand that my own prayer life is beginning to change again. A shift. I have been coming to understand, the need to pray more for grace. We do tend to find ourselves praying for God to change our circumstances. To remove the fire or to pluck us from the fire. Take away the suffering. Fix all the problems. Make it all go away. Make it better. But he doesn’t do that. That’s not how he grows us up. It’s not how he refines us and makes us grow and bear fruit for him. Good fruit. Much good fruit. It’s through suffering. He’s not so much interested in making our lives better for us, as he is in making us better for him. His methods are not always pleasant, but praise the Lord that he takes an active interest in his own in whom he delights in. He loves us so.
You mentioned, “the depths of a dungeon.” I listened to a 9 minute old clip yesterday evening that sermonindex put out on some years ago about Richard Wurmbrand, entitled: Suffering. After listening to Richard Wurmbrand tell it in his own words, I was deeply convicted. I had this…awakening, if you will, take place on the inside of me. Something happened to me, really, after hearing him tell it in his own words in his own voice.
He never had a bible. 14 years in prison. Tortured. Never had a soul to talk to. Never saw any colors. Never saw the sun or felt the breeze on his face. Never heard the birds sing. Never felt a warm embrace or exchanged a laugh with a friend. Never had the liberty to go for a walk or get into his car and drive down to store. 14 years of solitary confinement. Sometimes getting to eat only just 1 slice of bread in a week.
Hearing his testimony, it changed me. Really. I can sense once again, something happening on the inside of me, in my own heart. A shift taking place on the inside of me, once again, like it did many years ago when I began to seek the face of God. I’m seeing a different side of the Lord that I never knew before. I’ve seen Father. I’ve seen provider. I’ve seen protector. I’ve seen teacher. I’ve seen friend. Now I am seeing King. Now I’m seeing master. The King of kings and Lord of lords.
God bless you all ✝️
appolus said
Amen Lisa! Wonderful and rich testimony of prayer in all its many facets as God reveals Himself to us. If you look at the right hand side of my homepage, you will see a search box. If you put in “an unsung hero,” it will bring up a letter written by a soon to be martyr, just three weeks before he would be boiled and then burned to death. For three long years he was tortured for Christ. Yet, you shall see if uou read it, what happens when we no longer struggle “against the nails.” ……bro Frank.
Lisa said
Hey brother Frank, I went to read that Unsung Hero you cited for me and what a blessing it was to read. My oh my! Made me think of Corrie Ten Boom’s testimony about her time in concentration camp with her dear sister Betsy. I have a few of her books in my collection. I have also listened to her share her testimony about the faithfulness of God throughout those years and beyond. I watched that movie The Hiding Place a few months back, and even though it being an older movie, it was so well done! I loved it. I may watch it again tonight before I retire for the evening. But hearing the words that came out of that young man made me think of Corrie’s story about her dear sister Betsy. She said sweet Betsy was just the same. And she said she wishes she could have been more like her sister, and I have to say I share the same sentiments as she. Just wow. They make me feel ashamed. What beautiful souls those treasures were. It’s a no wonder the Lord brought them home to be with him. If I was him, I know I would want them to be with me where I was too. Those are the 100 fold fruit bearers I say. So admirable. I could only hope to bear that kind of fruit for the Lord one day. Thank you for sharing that with me, brother Frank. It really blessed my soul.
Thank you for being such a wonderful man of God to your fellow brethren. And thank you so much for your prayers, brother Frank. You and Matthew, and I think one more, told me you were praying for me and I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. The Lord heard your prayers and it seems that the Lord did answer. The Lord showed mercy towards me. Hubby wants to make a change and work on the marriage together. So as of now it seems we are on the mend. And I have you wonderful gentlemen to thank for that, I’m sure of it. I pray the Lord bless you sooo much!!! for your sacrifices and offerings 🙏🏻😊✝️ and the selfless giving of yourselves with your time and your prayers. You don’t just love in word, but in deed and in truth. You obey the master when he says, “Love one another as I have loved you.” I do love you, my brothers in Christ. If there is anything I can ever do for you, please don’t ever hesitate to reach out to me. Much much love to all my faithful brethren. The ones who build up and don’t tear down. You are the very best! 🙏🏻💛 ~ Lisa
appolus said
I am so delighted to hear your good news and the good report sister. My prayers will be with you and your husband as you move forward in this. I wonder if your husband would consider fasting and praying or fasting together for a time? I am so glad you read the letter from Algerius. What a wonderful young man he was. What depths of glory he plunged in that aweful place. God’s glory knows no bounds. Perhaps I can make a reading suggestion for you. Its John Bunyon’s “Seasonable Counsel.” I know that it would bless you mightily. Thank you for your kind words sister. They are much appreciated…………….bro Frank
Lisa said
Thanks for the reading recommendation, brother Frank. The only book I have of John Bunyon’s is Pilgrim’s Progress. I will take you up on that. I will look up that book and order it. Many blessings. 🙏🏻✝️💛😁
appolus said
Amen, I look forward to your thoughts on the book, he wrote around 60 of them I belive and you can still get about 55 if them.
belovedlittlelamb said
Without choosing to exercise our faith in all the spiritual riches we have to draw upon, we won’t be singing like Paul and Silas, but instead will be singing like this:
As soon as I hear “poor me…..” self-pity, I know I have failed to exercise my faith. The more I indulge in it and collect people to sympathize with my we is me stories, the more trips around the desert I get to go.
Prayer is my communion with my faithful God living with expectation upon every resource He has given, being thankful.