BEFORE WE PRAY (MT.
1. Eight men decided to go on a deer-hunting trip.
2. These men also decided to go hunting in two man teams.
3. By mid afternoon on the first day all but one of the hunting teams had returned.
4. Finally there was a knock at the door.
5. The 7th man in the group was standing at the door with a trophy buck.
6. The other hunters asked about the man’s partner (Harry).
7. The proud hunter said, “He is about 2 miles up the trail. He had some kind of attack and I left him.”
8. The fellow hunters said, “You left Harry in the woods and brought back the deer?”
9. The man replied, “Well, I didn’t think anyone would steal Harry.”
IT IS POSSIBLE TO MISALIGN OUR PRIORITIES.
1. One of the priorities we can get out of place is prayer.
A. Some of us have heard someone say that prayer should always be at the top of our list.
B. Before we do anything we should pray.
C. This may be a good general rule but there may be exceptions to it.
D. The Bible teaches there are times when prayer is not the priority.
E. Consider the scripture that was read.
F. The Lord spoke of someone who came to worship God.
G. Worship is a time to be in the presence of God, just as prayer is.
H. Both worship and prayer are important.
I. Worship and prayer are both required.
J. Yet, Jesus said that before worship was offered something had to be done.
K. Let’s take a second look at what Jesus said. Mt. 5:23-24.
L. Before going to worship a problem with a brother is to be corrected.
M. This principle may be applied to prayer as well.
i). We need to pray and prayer needs to be a priority.
ii). However, prayer may not always be our first priority.
iii). There are times when there are some obstacles to successful prayer.
iv). Mt. 5 teaches us that when these obstacles exist they need to be removed.
v). Some seem to go through life and never realize that there are obstacles to praying.
vi). The thought is we can pray whenever we want and God will respond to us.
vii). Mt. 5 affirms that there can be some spiritual roadblocks in our life.
viii). Before we worship, or before we pray, these roadblocks need to be removed.
N. The Jews were familiar with this principle.
O. I want to turn back to the book of Leviticus.
P. In Lev. 6 Moses described an Israelite who sinned.
Q. The first 6 verses of Lev. 6 reveal to us something about God and priorities.
R. Leviticus 6:1-6
i). Verses 2 and 3 of this chapter deal with possible sins.
ii). Verses 4 and 5 address the matter of restitution.
iii). The third point (which is found in verse 6) shows that God was to be approached with an offering.
iv). In considering these six verses when was the worship to be offered?
v). It was to come after restitution had been made.
vi). This is consistent with the material in Mt. 5.
vii). After the roadblocks had been removed people were ready to worship and serve God.
viii). This principle may also be related to prayer.
ix). If there is a matter in our life that is amiss we must take steps to quickly correct it.
2. THIS
INFORMATION IS MATERIAL THAT GOD CONSIDERS TO BE VERY IMPORTANT.
A. The Lord dealt with this subject again in Mk. 11.
B. Jesus spoke of people who were praying.
C. These people were in the process of sending a petition to the throne of God.
D. The Lord indicated that these prayers were a little premature.
E. He said, “When ye stand praying forgive” (verse 25).
F. Why would Jesus say this?
G. The text gives the answer—so you may be forgiven.
H. Before the people’s prayers would be successful there had to be some preparation.
I. In this context the preparation is the forgiveness of others
J. In everyday life there are many things that require preparation.
i). If we are going to grow crops in a garden the ground needs to be prepared.
ii). If want to have a nice bed of flowers we must first pull out the weeds.
iii). If we want to grow grass from seed the ground needs to be properly worked.
iv). This is what the Bible teaches about both prayer and worship.
v). Before we engage in activity that involves God our heart must be right.
vi). There may be some things we need to correct before coming to God.
3. Even in the so-called model prayer Jesus made this point clear.
A. He
said (Mt.
B. Before
we
C. We must make it a priority to forgive others and then come to God in prayer.
D. The point is stated again in Mt. 6:14.
E. Only if we forgive those who sin against us God will forgive us.
4. In thinking about this idea there is another passage that we may interject.
A. This verse is 1 Tim. 2:8.
B. Most are familiar with this passage because it mentions the lifting of hands.
C. There is more in the passage than the lifting of hands.
D. 1 Tim. 2:8.
E. Paul spoke of prayer. He also spoke of holy hands.
F. What kind of hands is holy?
G. Holy hands represent what is taught in the passages already cited.
H. We are trying to live as a Christian.
I. We are not aware of any roadblocks regarding our worship and prayers.
J. We have a conscience that is clean.
K. Our relationship with fellow Christians is as good as it can be.
L. When we pray we want to come to God with a clean heart and hands.
5. This is a lesson that some have not understood or applied.
A. Jesus once told a story about a Pharisee and a publican.
B. Both men went up to the temple to pray (Lk. 18:9-14).
C. The Pharisee stood up and prayed.
D. He said to God, “I am grateful that I am not an extortioner, unjust, an adulterer, or a publican.
E. He then told God how good he was.
F. This man had some things to correct before he prayed.
G. According to the text he didn’t bother to fix what needed to be fixed.
H. He, like many others, went to worship and prayed.
I. He
must have thought that because he was at the right place and spoke to the right
God all was okay.
J. The Lord’s comment about this man should never be forgotten.
K. Jesus said this man was not justified.
L. God didn’t respond to this man’s prayer because he did not have his priorities right.
M. Throughout the Bible God says to get things straight in our life before we pray and worship.
6. TO THIS SOMEONE MIGHT SAY, “MY LIFE IS A MESS. I AM INVOLVED WITH SEVERAL THINGS THAT ARE WRONG, THERE ARE NUMEROUS PROBLEMS IN MY DAILY LIFE, AND IT’S A STRUGGLE TO COME TO WORSHIP. YOU MUST BE TELLING ME THAT PRAYING AND COMING TO WORSHIP ARE USELESS UNTIL I GET THINGS STRAIGHTENED OUT.”
A. Some do have this kind of belief but this is not
what the Bible teaches.
B. When the Bible talks about righting thing emphasis
is placed upon the attitude.
C. The man in Mt. 5 had the right attitude. He was willing to leave worship and correct
the problem.
D. The situation described in Lev. 6 related to
attitude.
E. People were willing to correct the problem and then
come to God with an offering.
F. 1 Tim. 2:8 also indicates an attitude – people want
to come to God with holy hands.
G. They are not going to be sinless, but they are
trying to do what is right and live in the right way.
H. The people who forgive others before they pray for
forgiveness have the right attitude.
I. With the right attitude we remove many spiritual
roadblocks.
J. 1 Jn. 2:9 says, He that saith he is in the light and
hateth his brother, is in the darkness even until now.
K. A wrong attitude hinders our prayers and worship.
L. Wrong attitudes are often responsible for creating
problems and sin.
M. Most of us have known someone who saw flaws in their
life and would not come to worship.
N. I have heard people say, “I will come worship after I correct a problem in my life.”
O. Others come to worship but they will not partake of the Lord’s Supper.
P. Those who do not participate in the Communion usually do so because of some sin.
i). Folks, these people are the very ones who should partake of the communion and be at services.
ii). Why? They have the right attitude.
iii). They realize that there are things that need to be corrected.
iv). They are willing to admit sin and wrong.
v). When a conscience is this tender sensitive people are on the right road.
vi). They may have a long trip ahead of them but they are on the right track.
7. In Mt. 7 Jesus said, ask, seek, and knock.
8. The people who are struggling with sin are entitled to ask, seek, and knock.
9. God welcomes them at worship and is willing to hear their prayers.
10. Cornelius wanted to do what was right but he needed help. God sent a preacher to him.
11. Another man (Acts 8) was looking for the right way. God sent someone to help him.
12. As a closing thought and passage I would like for us to consider Jas. 5:16.
A. Many of us have read this verse dozens or hundreds of times.
B. Perhaps we have never given much attention to a small point from the text.
C. Here is how the passage reads. Jas. 5:16
D. James said, “Confess your faults.”
E. Notice that confession comes before the prayer.
F. James forever shows the need for the proper attitude.
G. People were to right the heart and and then to expect help from God.
H. If we want to be successful in prayer, look for spiritual roadblocks and remove them.
13. Perhaps someone here has been hindered by spiritual roadblocks in the past.
14. Will you decide to, this morning, to remove them?
15. Will
you overcome the things that are holding you back from praying, worshipping, or
serving God,
or even becoming a Christian?