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Written by Donald Thompson   

God's Call to Prayer

Matthew 7:1 – 12

Jesus lived in an attitude and atmosphere of prayer. He was in continuous communion with the loving God. This is not to imply that he always had his head bowed or that he was always on his knees. But he was always in immediate contact with God. He was open to God, and responsive to God. On many different occasions Jesus went apart into a private place for prayer (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; 9:18, 28).


I. WHY DO WE SO OFTEN NEGLECT TO PRAY?

 

  1. Is it because we feel self-sufficient in our own human ability? Is it that we feel no need for the wisdom, power, and grace of God?
  2. Is it because we do not have our heart in the work of God's Kingdom? Perhaps we don't have a burden of compassionate concern in our hearts for the needs of people about us?
  3. Do we neglect to pray because we are too busy with the common tasks of life in which we are seeking to feed our stomachs and clothe our backs?
  4. Maybe we neglect to pray because we do not like to face our sins? It's too painful and humiliating.
  5. Do we neglect to pray because of our blindness to our own spiritual poverty and to the needs of those about us?


II. PRAYER HAS GREAT REWARDS

 

Repeatedly Jesus encouraged his disciples to believe that the heavenly Father is a prayer-hearing and a prayer-answering God.

  1. Prayer brings salvation to all of those who call upon him in repentance and faith (Rom. 10:13).
  2. We can experience forgiveness of our sins when we respond to the call to prayer and confess those sins.
  3. We can be blessed with the guidance of God's Holy Spirit as we come to him in our times of uncertainty.
  4. We can receive the power of the Holy Spirit for victory over evil in our own lives or for a ministry to others (Luke 11:13).

 

Charles Haddon Spurgeon said that the Christian who departs for the day’s work without first talking to God is like a soldier who departs for battle without his weapons. By prayer we check in with the heavenly headquarters. It is in the experience of prayer that the heavenly Father communicates his wishes to us. It is when we pray that he gives us commissions and responsibilities.