Monday September 19, 2016
Psalm 34:15-16 (NKJV) The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
A PRAYER PRIMER (1)
To whom should we pray?
Prayer is a popular subject today. On social media, people ask for prayers and offer to pray for people. People offer to add others to their "prayer chains." There are even websites on which you can request a prayer!
It's because prayer is such a popular topic that it's important that we talk about what the Bible says about it. Why? Well, because not every prayer is heard, because not every prayer is offered up to the One True God (who reveals Himself in the Bible) who alone answers prayer.
It's become popular to say: "Prayer changes things." But the truth is God changes things. In prayer we lay our needs (in faith) before the One True God who hears the prayers of believers in Christ. Prayer merely lays the matter before the One who can and who does change things. Prayer itself is no means of grace.
Why does the "effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avail much" (James 5:16)? Because God hears and answers the prayers of those who have been declared righteous through faith in His Son, Jesus the Christ. God's ears are open to their cry. Therefore, we always address our prayers to the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
On the other hand, prayers offered up (no matter how earnestly) to false gods (cf. Prophets of Baal, 1 Kings 18:19-39) are neither heard nor answered. So you see what a tremendous blessing we have in prayer! Our prayers are heard by God and answered because of Jesus, whose life and death have reconciled us to God!
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
