Prayer Rendered Powerless

In his book Real Evangelism, Bailey Smith, a past president of the Southern Baptist Convention, offers the shocking proposition that we can nullify the power of prayer.  He suggests that we do so by our inaction.  If we fail to act on what we pray about, we give prayer no outlet to complete its purpose.  He draws an analogy with electrical power which must complete a circuit to release its energy.  Any "short circuit" disrupts the flow leaving the intended use powerless.  Smith applies this concept to our praying for God to make us a soul-winner, but then failing to make any contacts, in effect choking off any avenue for God to answer our prayer.

In previous posts I have tried to demonstrate the connection that Jesus and others in the Bible made between prayer and faith.  It is important to realize that faith is a two-sided coin.  One side is that of receiving a word from the Lord.  If God does not speak to us, then we do not exercise faith but presumption.  When Jesus told Satan that it was wrong to tempt or test the Lord His God, He meant that He would not jump off the pinnacle of the temple unless the Spirit told Him to, regardless of what promises could be found in the written word of God (Matthew 4:5-7).

But the other side of the coin is obedience.  William Carey preached, "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God."  Both parts of that statement are about faith.  Just as there is no faith without a word from God, there also is no faith without a work from man.  What I mean is that if we believe, we will act.  This teaching is clear in what James says about faith and works.  Much so-called faith is dead, useless (2:14-26, especially verses 20 and 26) because nothing comes from it.  While works do not produce faith, true faith always produces works.  When God's Spirit leads us, and He always does if we are truly children of God (Romans 8:14), our faith in Him and His word is revealed by our obedience.  Failure to obey is unbelief.  It is sin.  When we don't do the good we know we are to do, it is sin (James 4:17).  When we act apart from a faith-creating word from God, it is sin (Romans 14:23).  True belief always leads to action.

Of course, the act of praying is itself a work produced by faith.  We pray because we believe God will hear and do things in answer to prayer that He would not otherwise do (James 4:2).  However, let's not nullify the power of our prayers by failing to do the things consistent with what we are praying for.  The disciples, who were told to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers into the harvest, were themselves sent into the harvest by Jesus.  As we pray for God to extend the gospel to the unengaged unreached people groups of the world, let us do all we can to go ourselves if at all possible.  Let's not short-circuit prayer's power by inaction.

Unanswered Prayer

It is popular to say that no prayer goes unanswered as long as we take "No" as an answer.  Other possible responses to our prayers, other than getting what we asked, include "Wait" and "No, but here is something better."  However when God responds in one of those ways, we can know it.  We "hear" His answer in our spirit.  What about when nothing at all happens?

Hindrances to prayer, things that keep us from communicating with the Father, fall into two basic categories.  There are things that keep us from being heard.  Then there are things that keep us from asking.

Jeremiah found out that there were conditions under which the Lord would refuse to hear His people's cries (7:16; 11:14; 14:11-12; 15:1).  The Psalmist wrote, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear" (Psalm 66:18 NKJV).  Examples of sins that block prayer (Isaiah 59:1-2) include idolatry in the heart (Ezekiel 14:3), failure to help the poor (Proverbs 21:13), mistreatment of one's spouse (1 Peter 3:7), self-indulgence (James 4:3), and lack of faith (James 1:6-7).  This list is representative, not exhaustive.

One preacher who grew up on a farm told how he would sneak off behind the barn to hide his smoking from his father.  Once while he was indulging his habit, he heard his father coming.  Hiding the cigar behind his back, he tried to distract his father by calling attention to a circus poster on the barn wall and asking if he could go.  His father replied, "Son, never ask for a favor with a smoldering disobedience behind your back."  Those who would approach the Lord must have "clean hands and a pure heart" (Psalm 24:3-4).  Only through Jesus may we approach the throne with confidence of receiving what we need (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Sin may keep us from receiving what we ask.  However, in His grace God often gives us what we don't deserve.  He uses kindness to lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4).  So even non-believers will sometimes have their prayers answered.

But there is a prayer that goes unanswered 100% of the time--the prayer that goes unoffered.  It is like the basketball player who said he failed to score on all the shots he failed to take.  James said, "You have not because you ask not" (James 4:2).  If we are too lazy or too distracted or too busy to ask, then God will not answer.  Just as there is a vital connection between prayer and faith (Mark 11:24), so is there a link between lack of prayer and unbelief.  The more we believe in the God who answers prayer, the more we pray.  The more we pray, the stronger grows our trust in Him who answers.  On the other hand, if we have little faith that God will answer, it is unlikely that we will pray.  Then when we don't see answers to prayer, what little faith we might have had diminishes.  Soon we find ourselves going without prayer, serving Him in our own way and in our own strength.  Such a life is doomed to fruitlessness.

Just as the only way to learn to swim is to get in the water, so the only way to learn to pray is by praying.  Let's start with baby steps or by crawling.  And if we can't do either of those, let's learn to roll over.  But we must begin.  God will be as delighted with our efforts as a parent is in his child's first steps.  He will help us.  He will teach us.

Let us pray.

Understanding Prayer

I just bought a new smartphone.  Already I miss my old phone.  Using my old phone was easy because I was so familiar with it.  I don't really understand how my new phone is set up to be used.  Not understanding how something works always makes using it more difficult.  Sometimes we get frustrated and give up.  Sometimes we figure out a way to do what we need to do in our own way.  But if I will take the time to learn and understand the way my phone is to be used, I will be able to do much more than I could before or than I could in my own way.

Prayer can be difficult if we don't understand how it works and what it is all about.  For example, I suppose the most common view of prayer is that of asking-and-receiving.  In fact, there is quite a bit of Scripture to support this view (e.g., Psalm 50:15; Jeremiah 33:3; Matthew 7:7-8; John 16:24).  But anyone who has prayed very much will testify that we don't get everything we ask for.  There are various reasons for which the Lord may justifiably deny our requests, not the least of which is when what we desire is contrary to His will (1 John 5:14).  Someone I know said she wasn't going to pray anymore because God was going to do what He wanted to do anyway.  To a small degree she was wrong because there are some things God will do when we pray that He won't do if we don't pray (James 4:2b).  But to a large degree she was right.  She just didn't understand what prayer was all about. 

Prayer is not about getting our will done in heaven but about getting God's will done on earth (as S.D. Gordon taught in Quiet Talks on Prayer).  Jesus said to pray, "Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).  Why God chooses to work through the prayers of His people is debatable, but the fact that He works this way is undeniable.  Regardless of any other reasons involved, one benefit of this arrangement is that it connects us to God more surely than anything else could.  In fact, it would not surprise me if it turns out that God designed prayer primarily as a way for us to truly know Him by spending time in His presence.

As we pray, let's not just present God with a list of petitions.  Let's spend time in His presence, getting to know Him, hearing His voice, becoming familiar with His ways, and discerning His will so that we may pray as we should.  After all, it is His plan to extend His glory to all nations.  We just need to follow Him.