Disciples have a duty to pray to God. This daily devotional looks at what obedience in prayer entails.
Nuggets
- Our hearts should yearn to be obedient to God’s Will, leading us to prayer.
- The purpose of prayer is also to remind us of God’s superiority.
Devotions in the Conditions of Power in Prayer series
Spurgeon told us the conditions and essentials that are needed to be met in order to access God’s power when we pray. The essentials are having child-like obedience, reverence, trust, love, ways, and spirit.
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We said that faith and love had to be prevalent. The next thing on Spurgeon’s list is obedience.
Let's Put It into Context #1
Here is a running list of nuggets for the series.
Let's Put It into Context #2
Prayer is a two-way communication with God in which we pour out our soul to Him.
The Universality of Obedience
“Now he told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up” (Lk. 18: 1 CSB)
Our hearts should yearn to be obedient to God’s Will, leading us to prayer.
Prayer is not an option for a disciple. It is, though, one of the things that we struggle with the most.
Robinson discussed that, while prayer may seem fruitless to worldview people, disciples have a duty to continue praying. He wrote, “Christians ought to be able to reply that prayer follows laws and respects intelligent conditions, just as every other part of God’s plan of redemption does.”
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Ooo, baby. Let’s think about that a second.
Prayer follows laws. No, we don’t have to fulfill the ceremonial law anymore, but we do need to keep the moral laws the way God intends. “Anyone who turns his ear away from hearing the law — even his prayer is detestable” (Prov. 28: 9 CSB).
Remember, Jesus said that He came to fulfill the law. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Mt. 5: 17-18 ESV).
The laws point us to God. We need to pray that we obey the laws.
Prayer respects intelligent conditions. That is true.
I know some worldview people have the mindset that God’s laws are just to enslave us to do something that is horribly wrong.
They are the ones that are wrong.
God gives us a choice whether we are going to follow Him or not. It takes intelligence and knowledge about Who God really is to make a conscious, informed decision.
What we have to remember is that what worldview people consider intelligence isn’t always intelligence in God’s eyes. Our quest to understand things does not lead to intelligence.
It leads to self reliance. That leads away from God.
The Duty of Obedience
The purpose of prayer is also to remind us of God’s superiority.
When we obediently come to God in prayer, we acknowledge our dependence on Him. We show Him that we know we cannot rely on ourselves to complete and fix things.
Essex Remembrancer’s The Nature and Duty of Prayer reminded us that we have an obligation to God. He wants us to be committed to Him.
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We have to be genuine in coming to God in prayer. We have to sincerely believe that He is Sovereign God.
God will know if we are faking our sincerity.
A big clue will be the attitude in which we approach Him. A cocky attitude or a prideful one will not cut it. We need to humbly approach God.
So, a huge component of our prayers is attitude. That is not an attitude we are supposed to slip on and off. Our soul is to “pray without ceasing” (I Thess. 5: 17 ESV).
No, it isn’t us physically praying all the time. That just isn’t possible.
Currier quoted Augustine as saying it is “… another interior prayer without intermission, and that is the longing of the heart.”
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To me, that is an interesting explanation of what praying without ceasing means. In a way it is an unconscious prayer, but it really isn’t.
It isn’t a run-your-mouth type of thing. It is a constant aching and craving to be in communion with God.
Making the Connections
It isn’t about it just being our duty to pray. Yes, it is our duty.
But we can pray for any need. We can pray anytime, anywhere.
God will hear our prayers when we come to Him sincerely.
We talked about our response to praying within the law. Robinson reminded us that, no, God does not always hear prayers.
“Anyone who turns his ear away from hearing the law — even his prayer is detestable” (Prov. 28: 9 CSB).
Why do we think God has to always answer our prayers our way when we refuse to follow Him and His laws?
No, He doesn’t. He is Sovereign God. He is not obligated to fulfilling our every whim.
Instead, God is all-knowing. He knows past, present, and future. He knows us and what we are truly capable of doing.
God knows what is best for us.
How Do We Apply This?
- Make a habit of praying.
- Always have an attitude of prayer.
- Acknowledge our responsibility to pray for others.
- Unlatch from worldly distractions before we pray.
- Focus solely on God when we pray.
- Expect answers to our prayers.
- Be patient when God doesn’t answer our prayers on our timetable and confident that He will answer them in His Will.
- Pray because the end is drawing closer every day.
Resources
God is our holy Father. We should want to communicate with Him. Being obedient in prayer is how we do that.
Father God. We praise Your name. Even when You knew we would disobey You. You designed a plan so that our relationships with You can be restored. Help us to long for that relationship before it is to late. Amen.
What do you think?
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