Monday night prayer closet: a prayer God hears (part 2)

Greetings, last week we talked about how to get the ear of God, and that it starts in the heart. Nothing is hidden from God, and he knows what the actual motive for our prayers are. It is a heart condition. One that we must examine and make sure is right with God. When we do this, we will love what he loves and hate what he hates, we will know what to pray. We learned what to pray as Luke 18:10-14 "Lord I am a sinner". That humble contrite spirit that just wants a relationship with God and when we have that relationship, we have his ear. 

The second part is how to say it. That is the execution of the prayer that is a sweet aroma to him not a stench.  That is calling on Him to make his will here on earth as it is in heaven.  That is one that has his ear, and we know that he is listening. 

First what not to do: In Matthew 6:5 Jesus says, "And 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. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full."

Another place in the Bible is Luke 20: 46-47 Jesus says, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation." 

Jesus isn't playing around. All he sees here is not the contrite and humble spirit but a prideful, hypocritical one. One that a person is pretending they have the relationship with Him, at the same time sinning against him. This is a prayer of just words, not for him but to been seen by other men.  Once again back to the heart condition which is so intertwined with him and thus our prayers to him. 

Now how do we pray:  first Jesus tells us in 6:6-7 “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words”

Now we have the setting, next the wording. Looking at the Lord's Prayer given in Matthew 6:8-15:

1) We are praying to the Father 

2) We give him all the glory and honor, praising who he is. 

3) we pray for God's plan in our lives and others in this world 

4) we ask God for what we need 

5) we confess our sins and forgive others

6) we ask for protection against the enemy and victory over sin. 

This is an example, maybe your prayer is only 1,2 and 6 that time. But guess what, David, Daniel and may others in the Bible prayed at least 3 times a day. We are lucky if we pray one a day or even once a week. That is not having his ear. 

Finally, we are instructed in Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

And I can't end this here without James 5:16, The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.  Digging a little deeper: An upright, virtuous believer who is seeking and putting in the work and power, in an earnest, passionate request will gain the attainment of that goal and purpose (through the Father). Why? Because we have his ear, our Father is listening to us.