The misuse of Prayer

The Misuse of Prayer

Let me ask you a question: ‘Do you think it is possible to misuse prayer?’ I mean is it possible for us to pray in such a way that we are actually abusing the privilege which is ours through prayer? I think we misuse prayer far more often than we think or would like to think.

The Prayer of Jabez

1 Chronicles 4.9-10 contains the prayer of Jabez. A few years ago a Christian author called Bruce Wilkinson wrote a book with that title and it became an instant best seller. Some of you may have even read it. When I read the book, and listened to Christians discuss it, I was immediately uneasy with it. The gist of the book was that we too could ask God to bless and enlarge our territory and that if we were righteous God would answer positively. Many people bought into the ‘health and wealth’ premise of the book without realising that was what they were doing. Let me explain why. The prayer itself is a classical Jewish prayer in which the presence and protection of God is desired and requested. Jabez’s prayer was in fact a direct response to God because of his name (‘I bore him in pain’). The context of the prayer is that his name meant one thing but he desired that under God his life would in fact be the opposite. The prayer of Jabez is in fact similar to us praying ‘lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil’ when we pray the Lord’s Prayer.

Secondly I believe the context makes it clear that the prayer was specific to Jabez and not a general prayer (and promise) to all believers for all time. I think the reason a lot of Christians bought into the prayer of Jabez was a desire for blessing from God (nothing wrong with that) but that the methodology they applied was wrong – because the premise and the motive were both wrong. Let me explain a little further. I think that taking the prayer of Jabez and applying it as a general promise/prayer to all believers was actually to lift it out its context – as one of my lecturers use to say ‘a text taken out of context becomes a pretext.’ Meaning that it becomes the pretext for teaching something which it was never meant to teach. So how is this a misuse of prayer? Well, I believe we misuse prayer when we pray to ask God for His presence and blessing in order that our ‘territory might be extended.’ The motive is wrong. The motive is personal gain. I believe that praying the prayer of Jabez out of context is actually to misuse prayer because the motive is wrong. Listen to these words from James 4.3 and I Samuel 16.7. God told Samuel that it was a man’s heart that He examined when it came to anointing (blessing) him. According to James the purpose in asking and the purpose to which the answer will be put is of prime importance to God. In other words ‘What is my heart’s desiring in prayer?’ ‘Why is my heart desiring this in prayer?’ ‘To what purpose will I put it?’ Those are three very important questions to answer when we come to pray. They will, at the very least, flag up wrong motives in prayer and move us away from misusing prayer.

Two Men at Prayer – Luke 18.9-14.

I think another misuse of prayer is revealed in this parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Verses 9-10 set the scene and the context for the parable. In verse 9 the reason for the parable is revealed – ‘those who thought themselves righteous.’ We can misuse prayer if we use it as a means of displaying our piety before others. The scene is the Temple, a place of both public and private prayer. The danger in such a setting is to pray for the benefit of others and not to actually focus on God. Let us look at the rest of the parable and see what it teaches us about the misuse of prayer.

The Pharisee

In verses 11-12 we have the prayer of the Pharisee. His prayer is summed up in the words of Jesus ‘he prayed about himself.’ There is the key to the misuse of prayer her – the focus was not on God but on himself. Friends I want you to listen carefully to what I am about to say here. Every word the Pharisee prayed about himself was true. His prayer was not unknown amongst the Pharisees. The Pharisee was a man dedicated to upholding and living by the teaching of the Law. In fact he went beyond the Law in both fasting and tithing. His prayer focused on what he abstained from and what he engaged in. The reality of his prayer was that it was a time spent contemplating himself and not engaging with God. He may have looked to God but he was actually focused on himself. There was no sense of sin, no sign of humility and he saw no need for the mercy or grace of God. His concern was not that God was present but who else was watching. He was more concerned with his status before men than his standing before God.

Before we jump on some high horse and proclaim that we would never be like that in prayer ask yourself; ‘Have I ever been at prayer and begun to think of how sinful someone else has been? Have you ever found pride entering your heart as you pray? Have you ever, with a certain satisfaction on your soul, prayed thanking God for saving you?’ Have you ever found yourself praying for the benefit of other people’s ears and not the ear of God? Have you ever found yourself kneeling in prayer and wondering what other people are thinking about you? Is there not a little bit of this Pharisee in us all at times of prayer?

The Tax Collector – verse 13.

What a contrast to the Pharisee. Jesus’ listeners would have expected to find a Pharisee in the Temple praying but not the Tax Collector. Tax Collectors were the social outcasts of the day. Hated by their own people for working for the Romans. Despised because they general overtaxed the people and kept some back for themselves. I want you to note that what this man said about himself was also true. But look closely at what he says – read verse 13. He places himself in a special category – he calls himself ‘the sinner’ not just ‘a sinner.’ What this man said of himself is in fact true of all mankind. There is nothing this man can do but throw himself on the grace and mercy of God. The prayer of the Tax Collector, like that of the Pharisee, revealed his heart. Listen to what Christ Jesus says in verse 14 READ. Once more we are reminded that it is what comes from our hearts in prayer which is examined by God.

Both of these men’s words were true. Both of these men lifted their voices to God in prayer but only one of them did so for the right reasons – namely the need of God’s grace and mercy. You see it is what comes out of our hearts that God examines in prayer. The selfish heart of the Pharisee was reflected in the words of his prayer. The repentant heart of the Tax Collector was also revealed in the words of his prayer. What about you? What do your words of prayer reveal about your heart?

To finish let me point out the main misuse of prayer which I believe these two passages speak of – wrong attitude of my heart. Prayer is misused whenever my heart is not right before God. Prayer is misused whenever the motive for my prayer is not the glory of God and the extension of His kingdom in the lives of others and in my life. Prayer is misused when my heart is more concerned about what others think and hear than what God knows about my heart. Prayer is misused when I forget before whom I stand in prayer.

I think there is only one simple application for us all. When we come to prayer we should do so with the warning of James 4.3 ringing in our hearts – read. Let us come to prayer with the right motives and seeking answers for the right reasons


Thanks to Alan

Prayer gets you there

When you read the bible God speaks to you. When you pray, you speak to God. Both are necessary and complementary in the Christian life. We are at time in history were prayer is very important. Yes prayer is important at all times but as we look and see what is happening in our world today we can see how urgent prayer is now. In Eph 5v16 "The days are evil" the Apostle wrote.

Ask yourself as a Christian "Do I believe prayer works?"

I will go out on a limb here and suggest that many Christians have never had their prayers answered. Sure they have read books that tell of others who have, and they may even know someone that has had their prayers answered but they themselves have not.

The key point to prayer is belief. Not that you believe you will get what you ask for, but that you believe God hears your prayers.
Old Mr Simpson from a church I went too was a great believer in prayer. He would spend the night in prayer if he knew someone needed support. Can you imagine praying all through the night?

Prayer is a gift from God.
Prayer is like a new tv. We may understand something about the tv but we also have to tune it in and get used to how it works. Sometimes we need to adjust the picture and fine tune it.
Prayer does not come naturally to us. If we are honest many of us rush out the house forgetting to ask for God's blessing on our day and go through the whole day without even saying hello to God.
I am as guilty as the rest and what a missed opportunity that has been.

A good way to help us pray is to pick a person to pray for each day


Be blessed

prayer

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.
(Matthew 21 v 22)

Do we believe this statement from Scripture?

How many times have you asked in prayer for something and not received it? I am sure most of us can honestly answer, quite a few times. Yet Scripture says If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.
(Matthew 21 v 22)

So can we say that we don't get because we don't believe? I think we would be wrong to come to that conclusion but I believe we have to think about what we are praying for.

1. Will it bring glory to God
2. Will it further His kingdom

For me these are the two questions we must ask ourselves.

I am sure we are all aware of the "name it and claim it" preaching that goes on within some churches but is that really what this passage is teaching?
I know for sure that I prayed 2 times with all my heart and never got what I asked. The death of my father and mother. I begged God to make them well again but sadly they both died. Now did I pray with faith and total belief that God would heal them? I am positive that I did!
Yet God did not heal them and they died. So can I conclude that God never answered my prayers? At first glance yes but if I look a little deeper I have to ask myself, "was it better for them to die and meet God or keep them here were they may have went on to suffer because of their illness"?

How can I really answer that, but what I can say is; that God knows better than me what was the right outcome.
I believe that praying in faith brings us to deeper faith even if our prayers are not answered in the way that we desire. If we look at the lords prayer for a moment "Thy will be done"
So when we are praying we are praying that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Yet we tend to forget that when we pray and seek our own desires and our own will.

As we grow in faith our desire is that God's will is done in our lives and the more we grasp that the more content we become in serving the One True God.

Be blessed

Never leave the house without this

Can you imagine the looks we would get if we left the house without getting dressed! Its something that we would never do but we do leave the house spiritually undressed and the truth is its so important that we are spiritually dressed or to put it another way "spiritually prepared to face the day".

Our attitude to prayer is a reflection of our relationship to God.

Prayer gets you there