Ep. 8 | How to Sound Proficient in Prayer

Speaker: Jesse Turkington

Summary: Prayer is vital to our spiritual growth. But what is its purpose and how should we practice it?

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Music created by Chad Hoffman
Artwork created by Anthony Kuenzi

Jesse’s Personal Notes:

How to Sound Proficient in Prayer

Introduction

Hey welcome to Pickled Parables! My name’s Jesse. This episode is the last of our little mini-series, the Do Not’s. So far, we’ve looked at the value of the Bible and the importance of church. So, today we’ll wrap it up with a look at prayer.

Again, we’re take the perspective of how it can be misused and then use that understanding to learn its value and how to practice it correctly. 

So, this week, we’ll be looking at how to sound proficient in prayer. 

And I want to be gentle with this topic, in comparison to the other ones, because for a lot of people, we weren’t taught how to pray. I mean, other than receiving the encouragement to talk to God as if you’re talking to another person. That’s great encouragement and totally on point, but we typically learn to pray by listening to other people pray. 

So, for this lesson, I’d like to specifically focus on Biblical examples that could help us understand prayer better. 

But first, let’s take a look at what not to do. 

Framing Prayer

Jesus liked to teach with parables and one of His teachings was about the prayers of two men. One was a pharisee and one was a tax collector. 

This is how Jesus told the story in the book of Luke:

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-14 ESV)

Now this story has more to do with self-righteousness than it does about prayer. But something that is made clear, is that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. 

And that’s something we can take into our topic. It helps us frame the mindset behind prayer. 

So, let’s set up that framework. In the book of Hebrews, we’re told that God knows the attitude of our hearts. In chapter four, it says:

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13 ESV)

We also know from 1 John that God hears us when we pray in His will.

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” (1 John 5:14 ESV) 

Back again, in Hebrews, we find that we are encouraged to approach God with confidence. 

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16 ESV)

And lastly, in 1 John chapter 1, we can see that God is generous in His favor towards us and justified in offering it to us.

“If we confess our sins, (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 ESV)

These verses help set up a biblical understanding of prayer. One result that comes from prayer, according to these verses, is that it pulls our desires and our plans into alignment with God’s will. It pulls out confession. Timothy Keller said it well when he said, “The basic purpose of prayer is not to bend God’s will to mine, but to mold my will into His.”

Prayer is an intimate appeal to God made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit. Every barrier between mankind and God has been removed.

The only thing left that stands in our way is mankind’s pride and our selfish desires. That’s why we’re told to come with a humble heart. 

We’re supposed to approach the throne of grace with confidence and maybe even a little bit of excitement but with a mind of reverence. 

We’re supposed to present ourselves with exposure and confession. This humility is born out of a natural reaction of approaching an all-knowing and all-powerful God.

Divine Intersession 

This is amazing because we’re able to bring our anxieties and concerns to God through the intermediary work of Christ and the assistance of the Helper Holy Spirit. 

 Listen to this from Hebrews chapter 7:

Consequently, (Jesus) is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25 ESV) 

And this from 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 (who is God) knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-17 ESV)

And finally, 1 Peter 5:7 says – 

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7 ESV)

Prayer’s not supposed to be a ritualistic practice or a mechanic observance. 

 The idea of sounding proficient in prayer comes from a from a desire of impression. Sometimes pastors want to sound good in front of a congregation. 

Maybe a person in a prayer group wants to impress their friends.

The attitude behind this idea can be one of self-consciousness. Right? We want to sound like we know what we’re doing. 

Another attitude that this could be is one of devoted religiosity. Like, it’s a tradition. Something you do because you either think you should do it or maybe you just want to fit in.

The way in which Jesus prayed in the Gospels is an excellent example of humility and submission to God’s will. 

In Matthew chapter 11, it says:

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and (the) understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. (Matthew 11:25-26 ESV)

That doesn’t sound like a typical modern prayer does it?

What about this one from John:

“… my soul (is) troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” (John 12:27 ESV)

 Now, this is really fascinating, especially when we consider that Jesus intercedes for us. His entire life on earth was devoted to fulfilling God’s will.

 Listen to this – this is right before Jesus was arrested.

(Jesus) withdrew from (His disciples) about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. (But), not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:41-42 ESV)

Even up to the point of death, Jesus humbled Himself and aligned Himself with God’s will. 

When we pray, we should imitate Christ. We’re not trying to impress anyone with our words or with our religious observance, we’re trying to align ourselves with God’s will. 

Now at this point, we need to ask a very important question: what is God’s will? 

This question could be a series in itself. There’re so many books that have been written to address this question. There’s also a lot of different opinions about this topic. But for the sake of our subject today, I’ll just present three Bible passages that outline God’s general desire and I’ll make one observation from each passage.

The first one comes from 1 Timothy chapter 2. Starting in first verse, it says:

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:1-4 ESV)

An observation that we can make from this, is that God wants (or its pleasing to God that) Christians, those who have confessed Jesus as Lord and have been indwelled by the Holy Spirit, (God wants Christians) to pray for and interact with the people of the world in an effort that they may saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. 

That’s just one observation.

This next passage is 1 Peter 2:13-16 – 

“Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. (1 Peter 2:13-16 ESV)

One observation that we can make from this passage, is that it is the will of God that Christians live out Jesus’ teachings of right conduct in an effort to highlight the truth of God and silence the lies of men. 

Lastly, I present 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8.

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 

For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 ESV) 

The last observation that I’ll offer, is that it is the will of God that Christians be sanctified by the Holy Spirit through the teachings of Jesus Christ. 

So, from these three Bible passages, we can find the general desire of God. 

1.     God wants to partner with people in order to save other people. 

2.     God wants truth to triumph over lies. 

3.     And God wants to sanctify and renew those who come to Him. 

These revelations help inform the mindset that we would need in order to align ourselves with God’s will. 

By reading the Bible and making observations we will become more and more informed about what God’s will is. 

Different Prayer Situations

Now, when we pray, we’ll gonna find ourselves in different situations. 

We might sometimes, pray by ourselves. Other times, we might pray with a group of people. And then, for some, we might lead a congregation of people in prayer.  

Who we’re praying to doesn’t change but how we pray could change. If you’re praying and then you bring in more people who are also praying then you’re going to make accommodations so that you can pray together.  

So, let me first talk about personal prayer. We have excellent biblical examples of personal prayer in the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms. David wrote a lot of prayers that were very personal in nature. Like Psalm 51 and Psalm 63. 

These stand in contrast to Psalms that were meant to be public, such as Psalm 60. 

Here, let me read them side by side so you can hear the difference. 

This is the first four verses of Psalm 63:

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
    my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
    beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
    my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
    in your name I will lift up my hands. (Psalm 63:1-4 ESV)

And here’s the first four verses Psalm 60:

·      O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses;
    you have been angry; oh, restore us.
You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;
    repair its breaches, for it totters.
You have made your people see hard things;
    you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger. (the cup of God’s wrath)

You have set up a banner for those who fear you,
    that they may flee to it from the bow. (Psalm 60:1-4 ESV)

So probably the first thing you noticed is that the pronouns changed.

“My God … I earnestly seek you …my soul thirsts for you...” and then “You have rejected us…broken our defenses… restore us…”

When you pray in a group it becomes more corporate. You’re praying with each other, sometimes for each other, to God.  You can still pray for personal things in groups, that’s totally fine. 

I mean, you heard David, he was crying out for very personal help in a corporate setting. It was communal in the sense that everyone needed that help and they agreed with this prayer.

Now, in David’s personal prayer, he was praying in a more individual way. He was presenting personal feelings like in the other prayer but they were individually personal. It was David before God, not David and his friends before God. 

Also, when you pray to God in a group setting or in front of a congregation, you are representing and speaking on behalf of the people. You’re leading the people in prayer.

A great biblical example of this leading prayer is Solomon’s prayer of dedication. 

Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. (1 Kings 8:22-24)

Solomon was leading the people of Israel in prayer. Now this might not have been what everyone in that congregation would have prayed. Maybe someone had something else on their mind. But Solomon prayed on behalf of them and directed the focus and attention of his prayer on divine truth that had been formally established.

Whether we’re praying alone or with people, we can’t forget that prayer is meant to align our desires and our minds with God’s will. 

This is where the whole idea of sounding proficient in prayer gets started. Especially, when we pray in front of people. 

But we can’t forget the purpose of prayer. We get to reach out from a place of grace and approach our Heavenly Father. 

So, I encourage you, approach the throne of grace boldly. We’re not trying to impress God with how we sound, we should be more focused on what God’s will is and pray in accordance with it. 

Conclusion

Hey thanks for joining me today. 

Prayer is vital to our spiritual growth and I would encourage you to practice it daily. If we truly pray in accordance with God’s will then we will become more and more sensitive to His desires. And that’s important if we are to be renewed into the image of our Creator.

This is the last of our Do Nots. Hopefully, this was a fun little series for you. I certainly enjoyed it. It was kind of fun putting these lessons together. 

But starting in the next couple of weeks, we’re gonna move on to a book of the Bible. I’m really excited to start these exegetical studies in place of a topical lesson. 

Next week, we’re gonna ease our way towards the epistles in order to help give context for the book that we’ll study. We’re going to study Galatians so it’ll be a good time. 

But until then, thank you again for listening. We’ll catch you next week.