J A M ES  1

Following my previous sermon on The Lord’s Prayer.

The  subject to-day is  prayer.

There are very few people who can say they never pray.  There are different standards of praying. True Christian prayer will have concerns for praying for the gospel, to glorify God and Jesus Christ, for the Church, for the good of the country, peace, human tragedies.

Personal praying for family, and personal problems. The selfish praying when in some difficulty or need, and expect a God they never think about to just attend to then and answer.

There are conditions for when praying.  Writing in his bible Letter, James the leader of the early Church at Jerusalem, and brother of Jesus stated, when you ask God, be sure in your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea, that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect anything from the Lord.

In clear statement, you must have faith in God.

When a child asks an earthly father for something, he/she does so in a personal relationship with trust in each other. When we ask God to help us we should be able to do so as children of God, approaching our (heavenly) Father with complete faith.

The Bible makes it perfectly clear that there is only one way to God, and that is by Jesus Christ. We should have accepted, that Jesus, by his sacrificial death on the Cross, has made God accessible to all who accept Jesus as their personal Savior. He has created a way for us to approach God in a direct way, without needing a priest or anyone else as an intermediary. 

We are then talking to the creator of the world, the God of Abraham, David, the great prophets and apostles; the Father of Jesus Christ. You are in fact knowing the God you are speaking to.  I had a problem with a lady Deacon.

. She saw an elderly lady who suffered a lot with arthritis, and had medication from a doctor. She told the lady to throw away the tablets, and she would lay hands on the lady for healing and pray for her. The lady did dispose of the tablets, but the consequences led to her becoming seriously ill.

It does not need a genius to realize, that all who are ill may not be answered as we wished by God, for if so there would not be a need for as many hospitals as we have, and fewer Christian people dying.  But God does indeed answer favorably to  prayers people make.

 Some of you who will be reading this sermon, will remember five years past, I asked for prayers for my wife who was seriously ill, when two vital body organs failed.  Her Doctor stated she would die if medication failed but difficulty was proving hard to trace.

 I had a few years earlier,  met a lady who originally came from Africa to live in this country. In over all the years in the Church ministry, I never met any man or woman with such a capacity for praying. In addition, she has been most supportive and inspirational for me personally

In addition to asking on Facebook, to  which some kind people responded  ,I asked this lady to pray for my wife, she had Pastors over a large area join her in praying for my wife. Two days later, my wife began to recover.
I did and still do, believe those prayers were answered not by medicine, but from heaven.  Few people had such belief, even two Pastors. And no doubt that some reading this sermon will find it hard to accept.

Some prayers are better unanswered.  In my previous occupation I moved upwards reasonably quickly to a good position, and seemed destined for a senior post, but it never happened.  I was very disappointed at the time, but now I thank God deeply, for if it had have taken place I would have gone to an end with nothing to show for in my life.  Instead, I was led into ministry and have had many happy years in the Church, led people to find Christ, and made so many lovely people, some of whom have kept contact still. So do not be despondent and sad if things have not happened as you wished, God does know what is best for you.

In other cases, there delayed answers.  Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth had to wait years before their son John was born. Hannah, in the Old Testament prayed fervently for a child, for it was deemed a disgrace for a woman not to have a child, but God answered her to give a son named Samuel.

Elijah became despondent and pleaded with God to let himself die. God did not answer that way, but made him a great prophet and servant who destroyed the pagan enemies of God at Mount Carmel.

Sometimes prayer happens when we do not expect it.  God knows what we want and in his goodness gives it us.  In Acts 12 Peter was in prison, and his friends held a prayer meeting where they prayed fervently for his release, despite him being held in a prison with guards, in addition to a barred cell. Whilst his friends were praying, an angel of the Lord helped Peter to escape the prison, and he arrived at his friends door.  When Rhoda answered, saw Peter and told the meeting, they didn’t at first believe her.

There is answered prayer when God grants forthwith for what you prayed for. Often this is received and you are relieved and overjoyed; but do you thank God for answering or just accept it as a matter of course?

Often it appears as prayer is not answered, and there are explanations when it is not.   Consider now some of the essential necessities for praying.  For true Christians, (as opposed to just Church members) there has to be a belief in God.  This means more than just accepting there is a God, even the devil knows that.  You need to know God, and recognize you are in God’s family, which you can only be when you have accepted being a follower of Jesus. Remember, for Christians, there is only one God, the God of Israel and Father of Jesus, which other faiths don’t recognize.   You must have a clean life, there is no point in praying to God if you are living in a sinful way, any way which is contrary to the teaching of Jesus , for God will not answer any who are disobeying.

You have to ask in the name of Jesus and with faith. God will not answer if you are dishonoring Jesus by acting against Jesus teaching.      Pray as Peter’s friends did ‘fervently’.  Speak to God as you would to your own father, no need for dramatic tones and actions.  Let God know your need. Have as James stated, with complete faith.  Just as you would appreciate being thanked for any effort you made for someone, show your thanks to God for his answer.

Finally, we all like to be appreciated when we help others and we are ready to help further.  So does God; in addition to asking, give thanks.

 

May God bless you, be with you, and treat you kindly. May God’s holy Name be praised.