Troublesome Topic: GOD-GLORIFYING PRAYER
Lesson 4 of 12The third element of “the big stuff” is prayer the right kind of prayer, God-glorifying prayer. Prayer is the only specific act of the believer mentioned in the book of Revelation!
Go to footnote number 1Yet despite its importance, time in prayer is probably one of the greatest things lacking in modern-day Christianity in America. “At the judgment seat the most embarrassing thing the believer will face will be the smallness of his praying.”
Go to footnote number 2If an American visits a mission field he will notice a different level of spirituality. That is because, while we know how to pay, they know how to pray! We are more willing to give God money than time. We are so busy we think we can only afford a few minutes to connect with God each day. Many believers who achieve their goal of a few minutes of prayer and Bible reading each day think they are strong Christians because they are faithful to do this. What does God think of the meager morsels of time we offer Him? It hurts His heart. What does Satan think of the same? He laughs!
Yet we have time for many other things. Even though we are busy we seldom miss a meal. That must be because food is very important to us. So what does that say about the things we squander our time doing? “A Christian, dreaming before his television night by night, has a dead brain and a bankrupt soul.”
Go to footnote number 3Leonard Ravenhill wrote that in 1959! What would he say today of the time we squander on face book, video games, following our favorite teams through interminably long seasons, or many other time-wasters we get hooked on?
Prayer Always Works!
God always answers true prayer with a “Yes.”
You may think that is a huge over-statement. Examples may already be coming to your mind of times when you prayed and God did not answer “Yes.” But hold on with me for the next few pages and allow me to explain.
There is much confusion about prayer, what it is, and how well it works. We want to believe there really is power in prayer, but our personal experience causes us to doubt. Eric and Leslie Ludy have this to say about how Americans feel about prayer: “Our beef with the powerlessness of prayer is actually a beef with the powerlessness of unbiblical prayer. Prayer, as built after the biblical pattern, works—it is that simple.”
Go to footnote number 4God has given us two options, asking for favors, and true prayer. Acquiring the mind of God is what the Christian life should be all about. True prayer will help us do just that, but since it requires work, we usually choose the weaker, less God-like option of asking for favors.
The next lesson is
Footnotes
1
Perseverance and righteous living are also mentioned in Revelation, but they are general things, expressed in many different ways.
2
Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries, p. 15.
3
Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries, p. 148.
4
Eric & Leslie Ludy, Wrestling Prayer, pp. 173-174.