Currently, we’re in a message series called “Teach Us To Pray.” In order for learning to occur, there must be a teacher and a learner. If you’ve got the best teacher in the world, but an unengaged student, then no learning will occur. If you’ve got an engaged student, but a poor teacher, learning will be minimal. In this message series, we’re looking at the teaching of Jesus on prayer. So, we’ve got the very best teacher in the world. You couldn’t find a better teacher than Jesus. Jesus was God, so He knows better than any of us will ever know, exactly how to effectively communicate with God through prayer.
So, this morning, we need to ask ourselves, am I an engaged student of prayer? In order to be an engaged student, you first of all need to believe that increasing your understanding of prayer would be beneficial. You also need to have the humility to acknowledge that you need to learn more about prayer. How many need to learn more about prayer so their prayers are more effective? I sure do. Learning about prayer is not just something you study for a few years and then graduate from the school of prayer. No, learning about prayer is a life-long process. Learning about prayer is not just about reading a book or memorizing some Bible verses. No learning about prayer is taking the truth of God’s Word and learning how to put it into practice.
The Summer Olympics has just finished. Many athletes have spent years preparing for the Olympics. Now, did those athletes just study about their particular sport in a book? The answer is No. While they may have read many books about their sport, until they began to put their knowledge into practice, their learning was not truly effective. So, to learn how to pray, we must both understand Jesus’ teaching on prayer and then put it into practice with God’s help.
So today, my message is called “Instructions for Effective Prayer.” We’re going to be looking at Jesus’ instructions on prayer in Matthew 6. In this chapter, Jesus taught on the Lord’s prayer, but He also gave a number of other very important instructions.
James 5:16b (NIV) The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
We all want our prayers to be powerful and effective, right? God wants your prayers to be powerful and effective. But who does this verse say can pray powerful and effective prayers? Anyone? No, “the prayer of a righteous man.” Powerful and effective prayer is not just about getting the words right. Powerful and effective prayer comes from righteous people. Righteous in this verse does not mean just any believer. Righteous in this verse means someone who is living rightly, someone who is living wisely, someone who is living a holy life in keeping with God’s standards and instructions. The prayers of such a person are powerful and effective.
The instructions of Jesus we will be looking at today have to do with being a righteous person, so that our prayers are powerful and effective, so that our prayers are answered. Jesus’ instructions for us today are directed to our heart’s attitudes regarding prayer.
Listen to or watch my August 26, 2012 message Instructions for Effective Prayer.