Telling the Truth

Jill Briscoe: Next on Telling the Truth with Stuart and Jill Briscoe.

Stuart Briscoe: When we look into this whole topic of prayer, I think that probably most of us would admit it's a bit of a mystery.

Guest (Male): But what's the problem with prayer? Well, there's the sort of thing that I hear all the time. People would say to me, "The Bible says that God knows what we need and he will give us what we need. And it says that if our prayer is going to be any good, we've got to pray according to God's will. So if God's already made his mind up and he knows what we need, what possible difference could us talking to him have on this thing? We can't change his mind, we can't twist his arm, so it's a waste of time, so I don't do it." That's about as far as it goes for many people.

Jill Briscoe: Even the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Today on Telling the Truth, Stuart Briscoe shares how important prayer truly is and how you can do it more effectively. But first, building a consistent prayer life can be a challenge. That's why we want to let you know about a special opportunity to soak in Stuart and Jill's wisdom on prayer through a newly curated collection of their messages called Powerful and Effective Prayer.

Announcer (Male): This resource is our thanks for your gift today to help others experience life in Christ through the global ministry of Telling the Truth. So call today to request your copy of this special collection: 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388. Or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now, here is Stuart Briscoe with his message, "How Disciples Pray."

Stuart Briscoe: We're going to look into Matthew's Gospel again, and the passage we will study today is commonly called the Lord's Prayer. Let me just put it into context. We are studying Matthew's Gospel, a very important document given to the burgeoning, small, perhaps struggling churches thirty or forty years after Jesus had ascended into heaven. There must have been times when, because of the pressures they operated under, they wondered if they had been caught up in some crazy sect, that they were being taken over by the latest fad, that they were into a trendy thing, and it really didn't have an awful lot of substance to it.

But when they began to read this document that was written for them and circulated among them, they realized that one of the great themes of this document was fulfillment. In other words, Matthew was going out of his way to show the things that were actually happening in their lifetime were actually a fulfillment of what God had been predicting for hundreds of years that he would do. They were realizing this was not trendy or faddish. This was part and parcel of the great eternal purposes of God.

Imagine how that must have given them a sense of belonging, a sense of continuity, a sense of being part of something greater and grander than themselves. Which led, of course, to the question, what was this great and grand thing that they were part of? The word for that was the kingdom, which is a second key theme of Matthew's Gospel. The kingdom means the rule of God being reinstated, being reestablished in the world that he created but was sold out to the enemy of our souls.

As the Scripture says, "The whole world lies in the wicked one." Even people who are not theological would have to agree that makes a lot of sense because there is an awful lot of garbage going on in our world at the present time. God says, "That's my world, and I'm going to get it back." The business of getting it back is, in biblical terminology, establishing his kingdom. What is happening to this little group of Christians now as they read Matthew's Gospel is that they realize they are not only part of what God is committed to doing in the long haul, but they realize that what he is committed to doing is establishing his kingdom, and they're invited to be part of it.

They are being challenged to be part of it and to begin to propagate this rule of God in areas of their own lives and in areas of the world around them where it is clearly not the case. This idea of being initiated into the kingdom and taught and trained to live as members of God's kingdom and to know how to go about propagating this kingdom has a word for it. This is the third key word of Matthew's Gospel: discipleship. They were being trained, equipped, and introduced to what it meant to live as members of God's kingdom.

But there was another thing that these disciples needed to learn, and that was they needed to learn how to pray. That is why we come to the section in the Sermon on the Mount that we call the Lord's Prayer. That is probably not the best title for it; it is not the biblical title for it, because John chapter 17 is a very detailed prayer that Jesus prayed. That probably is more accurately the Lord's Prayer, but we won't quibble on that.

When we look into this whole topic of prayer, I think that probably most of us would admit it's a bit of a mystery. In fact, I think some people have decided it's such a mystery it doesn't make any sense at all, therefore forget it. Other people have said the only time you really pray is when we've tried everything else, nothing works, and in sheer desperation we pray. There are no atheists in foxholes. Even if they've been atheists up until then, when somebody's trying to shoot your head off, it's amazing how you believe in prayer.

What's the problem with prayer? The sort of thing that I hear all the time is people would say to me, "The Bible says that God knows what we need and he will give us what we need. And it says that if our prayer is going to be any good, we've got to pray according to God's will. So if God's already made his mind up and he knows what we need, what possible difference could us talking to him have? We can't change his mind, we can't twist his arm, so it's a waste of time, so I don't do it." I can understand that thinking. It's very convenient as well if you don't want to be bothered doing it. You can rationalize the thing and say, "I just don't get it."

Let me give you a different angle on prayer. This is the kind of stuff that you read in your Bible about prayer. The first thing that I want you to notice is this: the Bible says that there are times when we have a desire to pray, to reach out to something or someone greater and grander than ourselves because we recognize we have needs that are just not being addressed or met. Maybe even desperation. Sometimes this sense of longing, this sense of unsatisfied desire, this sense of dissatisfaction and frustration leads us to reach out to something or someone, but we don't know what to say.

We don't know who we're talking to or where to go. Well, the Bible says that in situations like that, even if we've just started a relationship with the Lord, his Holy Spirit can work in our inner longings and desires and begin to stimulate them. It explains it this way: who knows the mind of a man? Who knows what's going on in a person's mind? The answer is only the spirit of that person really knows. In the same way, who knows the mind of God? The answer is only the Spirit of God.

The believer is somebody in whom the Spirit of God has come to dwell. He, knowing the mind of God, is able to work in our inarticulate longings and steer them in the right direction. Pop that in the back of your mind. In addition to that, it says that Jesus, who died and rose again, ascended to the Father's right hand in a place of great authority. What is he doing? Is he twiddling his thumbs? Is he waiting for the whole mess to get sorted out until the Father says, "Okay, go on, establish your kingdom now"? Is he learning knitting? What's he doing up there? The answer is he is interceding for us.

Put those two things together. In our most inarticulate aspirations, the Holy Spirit who knows the mind of God is working, stimulating our praying. It is being presented to Jesus at the Father's right hand; he perfects our prayers and presents them to the Father, who is totally committed to his greater glory and our greatest good. In response to this, he begins to deal with our praying. You have a great big cycle here. What it means, looking at it this way, is that you and I are actually invited into the most intimate inner workings of the Holy Trinity.

You might say, "That doesn't make any sense at all to me." I can understand that, too, because I would find it very difficult to believe in a wonderful God if I could figure him out. There is a degree of huge mystery in this whole thing, but that is precisely what Scripture teaches. We don't simply dismiss it and say, "I've thought about all this and it doesn't make any sense." Look at the bigger picture. That is what the Scriptures actually teach about prayer.

Announcer (Male): You're listening to Stuart Briscoe today on Telling the Truth. He's coming right back with more, but before he does. Let's be honest, prayer can sometimes feel like a bit of a mystery. Some people feel so confused by how prayer works that they'll just forget it all together. But Scripture paints an exciting picture of what a life of prayer can be and how you can experience it yourself. That's why we want to send you a newly curated collection of messages from Stuart and Jill called Powerful and Effective Prayer.

These five eye-opening messages will help you push past today's common platitudes on prayer and develop the rich and vibrant prayer life you're longing for. We're excited to send you this one-of-a-kind resource as thanks for your gift today to help keep sharing the life-changing truth of God's love with people around the world through Telling the Truth. So call today to request Powerful and Effective Prayer when you give: 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388. Or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org.

For many, our smartphones have become our social connection, but we want to help you make a spiritual connection with the Telling the Truth mobile app. You can listen to daily programs, engage in Bible reading plans, journal, and share your thoughts and prayers on the community wall. Get the Telling the Truth app through your App Store or log on to tellingthetruth.org/mobileapp. Now here's Stuart with more of today's message from the Briscoes' series, More Effective Prayer.

Stuart Briscoe: Let me give you a different picture on prayer. There's a great story in Genesis chapter 28 about Jacob, who was bad news, finally left home, and I'm sure everybody breathed a sigh of relief that he had gone. He has gone off on a mission, he does his first day's journey, has nowhere to stay, and so he settles down for the night. He gets a nice comfortable rock and he makes it into a pillow. When I read about that, I thought, "I've stayed in lots of motels like that." He has a troubled night; he has a dream.

In this dream there's a ladder, and the ladder touches earth and reaches heaven. Standing at the top of the ladder is the Lord himself. It touches earth, reaches heaven, and at the top is the Lord himself. There are angels running up and there are angels running down. Here's your picture: a ladder touching earth where he is, reaching heaven where the Lord is, angels running up and angels running down. What are they running up with? Prayers. What are they coming down with? Answers. There is a picture for you.

It's one way of illustrating this. If you are an audio learner, maybe you're taking this into your mind and trying to figure out the intimate inner workings of the Trinity. If you're a visual learner, you've got a nice picture of this ladder. Do you know what the reaction of Jacob was to this picture? It was very simple. He said, "Wow, this is awesome. This is awesome." Then he said, "Surely the Lord is in this place." Here is the greater picture: at any point on this earth where you find yourself, there is a ladder touching that point that reaches into the heavens.

The Lord is on the top of the ladder, and where you are, it is possible for you to have a communication with him that he will respond to wherever you are at any given moment. That's awesome. Surely the Lord is in this place. There are some pictures of prayer for you. It's still a mystery. Now let's get to the Lord's Prayer. Three things I want you to notice. Disciples pray in such a way that it does not become a performance, which is a strange thing to say, but that's exactly what Jesus talks about in Matthew 6:5.

"When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men." There's the key: to be seen by men. In other words, it's quite right that they pray, but the way they're going about it shows that this is not a spiritual activity, this is a performance. We know the word performance is legitimate here because the Greek word that is translated "to be seen by men" is a word from which we get the English word "theater." It's a huge performance they're putting on.

Very simple statement Jesus is making. It is possible for us, even in our spiritual activities in the community of believers, to make our spiritual activities a performance because we're more concerned about how we appear to the people around us than what is going on in our relationship with him. Jesus says his disciples don't pray like that. He said they don't pray like the pagans either. He says, "When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans. They think they will be heard because of their many words. Don't be like them."

How do pagans pray? Pagans pray because they have got some idea of some spirit out there. They don't know what these spirits are, they're not too sure what they're doing, but they don't like them and they're trying to placate them. They don't know what to say to them, so they keep on babbling incoherently. Some people can start doing that, just babbling incoherently and calling it prayer. Jesus said his disciples don't do that. The key thing about prayer is getting yourself deep down in your heart into a relationship with the Lord where you're actually talking to him because you are hearing from him.

His disciples pray in such a way that their focus is unmistakable. He says, "This is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." That's very straightforward. The focus is very sharp indeed. It's addressed to our Father. So this is a place for corporate prayer. Together we come, even though deep down in the solitary place we pray as well. What matters is whether we're in the crowd or whether we are alone, we're making contact with God. We're not putting on a performance.

To whom do we pray? We pray to our Father in heaven. And what do we pray? We pray about his name being honored, his kingdom coming, and his will being done. How many mentions of me? None. How many mentions of us? None. What's the focus? It is very clear indeed. It is a focus on the glory of God. Notice where this starts. To whom is the prayer addressed? It is addressed to our Father in heaven. Here's a question for you: what is the most important aspect of prayer? What is the most important aspect of prayer?

Announcer (Male): That's Stuart Briscoe on today's Telling the Truth. We'll be right back with some answers from Stuart about today's message. But before we hear from him, you probably hear people talk about prayer all the time. But aside from knowing that you ought to do it, how much do you truly know about prayer? For example, how does God want to use prayer in our lives? Is he listening to every single request, and can prayer really make a difference?

We'd love to help shine some much-needed light on the subject of prayer by sending you Stuart and Jill's new five-message collection, Powerful and Effective Prayer. This specially curated set of messages is our thanks for your gift today to share the life-changing truth of God's word around the world through Telling the Truth. It's only thanks to the support of generous friends like you that broadcasts like this one can keep going out, reaching others with God's love so they can experience life in Christ.

So if you haven't given before, please consider a gift today and remember to request Powerful and Effective Prayer when you call and give. Just call 1-800-889-5388. 1-800-889-5388. Or you can give online when you visit tellingthetruth.org. Stuart, you said today that the Holy Spirit stimulates our prayers and then Jesus perfects them by interceding. How should this mind-blowing concept affect our prayer life?

Stuart Briscoe: I like the idea of it being a mind-blowing concept that the Holy Spirit stimulates our prayers and Jesus perfects them. Let's see if we can blow the minds a little further than that. Not only do we pray when the Holy Spirit stimulates us to pray, and not only are our prayers ascending up to Jesus who lives at the Father's right hand and makes intercession for us, perfecting our prayers, but the heavenly Father is open to hearing Spirit-inspired, Son-perfected prayers, and he steps into action.

What this actually means then is when we are invited to pray, what we're actually being invited to do is to enter into the most mysterious workings of the Trinity. As the Holy Spirit inspires, the risen, exalted Son perfects, and the heavenly Father, the ruler of all things, hears and answers our prayers. It's all dependent on being caught up into what God is doing. It's not about us; it's about him.

Announcer (Male): Stuart, why should our prayers not be a performance, and how do we keep them from becoming one?

Stuart Briscoe: Jesus had a lot to say about people praying. It seems that one of the problems that he was encountering in the culture of his day was that people were standing on street corners and performing in public their prayer rituals and duties. As he looked at them, Jesus seemed to conclude that these people seemed more interested in making an impression on the people that were observing them than they were really speaking to the Lord.

He said a very simple way of coping with that excessive approach was, "Look, when you pray, go away quietly. Go away quietly and give yourself time to really think about what God is revealing to you and then respond to him in loving, joyful response to what he is saying to you." Now, that does not mean that we should not pray in the community of believers; clearly we're called to do that as well. What we are told not to do is make a performance out of prayer.

Announcer (Male): Thanks so much, Stuart. Before you go, we want to remind you to request Stuart and Jill's newly curated five-message collection, Powerful and Effective Prayer. It's our thanks for your gift today to continue sharing God's word through Telling the Truth broadcasts and resources. So please request yours when you call and give: 1-800-889-5388. 1-800-889-5388. Or you can give online when you visit tellingthetruth.org. Thanks so much for joining us today. Come back tomorrow and listen in as the Briscoes share more powerful truth with you from God's word. Experience life next time on Telling the Truth.