We are pleased to welcome back as a guest writer at SBC Today one of our more frequent commenters, Chris Johnson. Chris is currently the Pastor of Grace Church at Hermitage which is located eleven miles east of downtown Nashville. He is a full-time employee of Fresenius Medical Care, the world’s largest dialysis provider, with headquarters in Bad Homburg Germany. Chris is the Manager of Information Systems specializing in Network Architecture and Engineering for over 2200 clinics serving 175,000 patients.
In a day where there seems to be confusion about prayer, it is important to understand the model for prayer as commanded by Jesus Christ to the founding members of His body, the Apostles, who were filled and led by the Holy Spirit. Preceding the apostolic questioning of Christ about prayer, Jesus spoke in public to those who are called out by God, who will soon serve His body in a new profound way as an advance on the commonwealth of Israel in the world. (Matthew 6) They were commanded to pray in the manner that Jesus has commanded. Jesus Christ is the supreme commander of how to pray in the Spirit of God, and teaches all of His followers the language of private prayer. Is what Christ offers as instruction for prayer sufficient for communion with Him? A simple question to ask yourself when you pray….. “Do I pray as Christ has commanded me to pray or am I offering to Him more than he commands?”
Jesus, in His public ministry, taught “the people” the supreme meaning of the language of private prayer and to whom this prayer was to be petitioned. According to Christ, the initial and highest purpose of prayer is not to petition for personal edification and fulfillment; but in contrast, Jesus makes it clear to His followers that God is the object of authentic prayer. The language of private prayer is petitioning the will of God, His kingdom and His eternal glory.
The language of private prayer is also clear, so that when private prayer is offered to God it is offered with a sincere heart and without distraction. God knows our need for prayer and our need for Him before we pray. In times that we do not know how to pray, which is most of the time, the Holy Spirit is faithful to intercede on our behalf.
Romans 8:25-27 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. (26) In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; (27) and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Christ instructs us to recognize to whom we pray, and to what extent it will be received from a humble heart. God rewards those who know Him and seek Him.Matthew 6:6-18 “But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. (7) “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. (8) “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. (9) “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. (10) ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. (11) ‘Give us this day our daily bread. (12) ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (13) ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]‘ (14) “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. (15) “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. (16) “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. (17) “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face (18) so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
The primary thrust of Jesus’ private prayer language was obedience to the Father and obedience to the Father’s will. In the height of all human emotion that anyone can possibly imagine, Christ’s agonizing realization of the weight of sin and His incarnate purpose is seen in His private prayer. Christ’s chief act of selflessness was that the will of the Father be accomplished. It is hard to imagine any prayer that may be full to capacity with more sincere emotion than the private prayer of Jesus Christ to the Heavenly Father. His spirit was clear in its intent and purpose for the kingdom of God.
Matthew 26:36-44 Then Jesus *came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and *said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” (37) And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. (38) Then He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” (39) And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” (40) And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? (41) “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (42) He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” (43) Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. (44) And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more.
The instruction that Christ gives to His followers concerning prayer is with authority and without any ambiguity. He commands His followers to pray privately in a language that glorifies the Father, without vanities and without emotional selfishness, as demonstrated by his own private prayer. The language that Jesus commands with authority is focused on the glory of the Father and in His glory for all of eternity.
Matthew 7:28-29 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; (29) for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
In every recorded instance of the private prayer language of Jesus Christ, he commands prayer to be directed to the Father and to the will of the Father for all eternity.
Luke 11:1-4 It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.” (2) And He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. (3) ‘Give us each day our daily bread. (4) ‘And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.’”
Eph 6:18-20 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, (19) and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, (20) for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
The content and persistence of prayer is vitally important as the boldness of the gospel is made know in the world. Praying in the Spirit, shown by Christ in all aspects of His prayer life, is the model and command for the life of any Christian. Praying in the Spirit brings glory to the Father and petitions His will for all eternity.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-25 Rejoice always; (17) pray without ceasing; (18) in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (19) Do not quench the Spirit; (20) do not despise prophetic utterances. (21) But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; (22) abstain from every form of evil. (23) Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (24) Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. (25) Brethren, pray for us.
Jesus Christ continues to present the most excellent definition for the language of private prayer. It is a language of unceasing honor, hallowing the God of glory. It is a prayer of thankfulness declaring God’s justifying will among His people found in Christ Jesus; and His sustaining work by His Spirit delivering to His people sanctification as they eagerly await His return.
All Christians should learn to pray in harmony with the private prayer commands of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
[You may download a .pdf of this article by Chris by going to our Resources page and following the link to Print Resources.]
Brother Chris,
Good word. You certainly have presented a great theology on prayer.
Blessings,
Tim
Chris,
Very thoughtful post. It’s good to see someone who is Reformed being allowed to post here for a change. :)
les,
you are sounding like an extreme calvinist with statements like that. :)
chris,
good to see that you’re a tn boy. i’ve been to the hermitage several times. my dad was born in middle tn. wayne county.
also, the verse, romans 8:26, that some use for a ppl, or praying in tongues really does not teach a ppl. the Bible says that the Spirit intercedes for us with GROANINGS TOO DEEP FOR WORDS. if someone is praying in tongues…is that not “words?”
this verse absolutely does not teach a prayer language.
i really appreciate the way you spell out things from the bible on all the different blogsights where i see you respond to things….especially about tongue speaking. keep up the good work.
david
David,
Thank you for the kind words…. You’re right on target with the Romans 8:26 passage. If one was to dig into this text and its context Paul is giving us great insight on how our changed and renewed spirit is longing for the revealing of the Glory of God. Even creation itself is “anxious” for our revealing.
Romans 8:19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
That’s and interesting concept…. God is redeeming those whom He has elected before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) and creation is longing for it to come to pass….. Wow! …and all to the Glory and Praise of Him.
That groaning is way beyond “tongues”! That groaning is not a sign to unbelievers; that groaning is a reality of the children of God.
Blessings,
Chris
Chris,
Great post. I appreciate the consistency and depth in thinking on this issue.
Sola Gratia!
What you all don’t know is the incredible family this man has? Can you believe we used to hang out together in Seminole, Texas? You may have got the lead in the play with that incredible talent and voice, but I got the leading lady. :0. If you want to know any more to make you jealous, he’s a scratch golfer that played at a Mickey Mouse outfit up in the HQ of Texas.
Brother Chris,
I enjoyed reading this article. Does this mean that I have to stop speaking in tongues?
You wrote:
“Jesus makes it clear to His followers that God is the object of authentic prayer. The language of private prayer is petitioning the will of God, His kingdom and His eternal glory.”
Amen Brother. There must, above all else, be a deep longing and desire of submission to God to bring Him Glory in every word that we utter to our Father in prayer.
I look at prayer as a mechanism that God uses to conform us to His will and to Christ and not as a time where I can effect a change in the mind of God as many do(as if this were even possible). A time where we set aside our flesh and truly ask God to do His will in our lives. “God grant what thou commandest, and command what thou wilt”.
*carefully straddling the third rail*
Forgive me for getting off topic a bit, for I believe that Bro. Chris handled the subject of personal prayer beautifully, but a matter that I am personally trying to understand in light of scripture is our “prayer services”. Most of these questions are not rhetorical and I would appreciate any exhortation you could give me. Are the prayers in our “prayer service” to reflect our “closet” prayers? Is the “prayer service” where we are called by our leaders to pray for Aunt Bessie’s ingrown toe biblical? I don’t mean to sound cold hearted, for I pray for God to give peace and understanding to my brothers and sisters who are in pain, but what is the end result of this type of service? I find myself uneasy when I am in the midst of one of these services as they often become 30 minutes of catching up on what’s going on in the community. How often do we see Aunt Bessie’s toe actually become infected requiring the amputation of her foot and suddenly “God has not answered our prayers”? In an age where open theism has crept into our churches unawares, people ask “Where is God?”. Is God not sovereign over everything, including Bessie’s toe and His will will be done?
Should the thrust of both corporate and personal prayer alike be praying that God grant us the ability to be conformed to Christ so that we may glorify Him all the more? Just so this type of prayer doesn’t sound self-serving, we must realize that conformity to Christ leads to a passion for Him and the spreading of His Word to the ends of the earth, causing us to therefore pray for all the things that bring glory to God which are ultimately important (from missionaries to the work at the food pantry).
Brothers, correct my faulty understanding. I just want to be in God’s will.
With all the love that a sinful worm can muster,
A. Clay
No Bible degrees whatsoever (but I have been called a “bible nazi” )
oh, the tongues comment was just a joke. Relax.
Les
You “hyper-extremist” :)
Calvin did have some good things to say about prayer in his “Institutes”
BOOK III.,CHAPTER XX.
OF PRAYER–A PERPETUAL EXERCISE OF FAITH.
THE DAILY BENEFITS DERIVED FROM IT.
He even dives into the Romans 8 passage…..
Blessings,
Chris
My Brother Joe,
Several things…..
You did get a wonderful “Woman of God” – how that happened I can only speculate…..
I may have at one point been a “scratch” golfer, but now I am a “scratch at-it” golfer.
Brother Joe,….It would be an honor to sing with you sometime…you’re an awesome tenor. And I really mean that….
Finally, most people are not aware of your skillful, but brief “bullriding” profession.
:)
Blessings
Chris
Brother AB,
God demands all of our attention. I believe that in prayer His demand is no different. Since we are not like God, our demands tend to be selfish…i.e. “toe problems”, “backache”, etc., yet God is faithful. Look at …
1 Samuel 12:18-20 “So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. (19) Then all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil by asking for ourselves a king.” (20) Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.”
We don’t become sanctified by praying. Sanctification is a fact of the Christians life, and prayer agrees with that type of thinking. God’s Word through Samuel’s encouragement is…. do not turn from following the Lord, but serve Him instead with all your heart.
Pastor’s should lead their people to understand why a prayer of righteous man or woman can accomplish much….. because God is sanctifying His people to follow and serve. Serving and following do not create sanctification. God’s sanctification creates following and serving.
James 5:16-20 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. (17) Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. (18) Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit. (19) My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, (20) let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”
James had it right,… “let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”
Christ has done this….
Blessings,
Chris
I don’t disagree with your post. It was theological, but as the Dean of Preaching would say, “So what? What difference does it make?” The article was good, but seemed to need some “snap, crackle, and pop.”
The play on Private Prayer Language? It didn’t work.
Alan,
That seems to be the problem with a lot of things these days…. we have been convinced we must have “pop”.
Fortunately for prayer, Christ gives the best and most profitable command. And yes, He instructs it to be private and He also gives us the language to use.
What “pop” are you looking for?
Blessings,
Chris
Bro. Chris,
Thank you for taking the time to respond, it was beneficial.
I am sorry if it came across like I thought that prayer was “the” mechanism God uses to sanctify us; I believe it is “a” mechanism.
Bro. Alan,
I thank God that because Jesus died to sin and I am crucified with Him, I am no longer a slave to sin, but I am enslaved to God. I have the promise that submitting the parts of my body to righteousness will result in sanctification; behold I am a New Creation. But wait a minute…What a wretched man I am! What I don’t want to do I do, and what I want to do I don’t do. There is a war going on within me! I want to submit the parts of my body to righteousness, but how? My mind seems to be a slave to the Law of God, but my flesh is a slave to sin even still? Oh God, how can my flesh be crucified so that I can be conformed to the image of Christ?
God, You tell me the mindset of the flesh is death and hostile to You. God, my flesh isn’t just indifferent, it is at enmity with your commands and I can no more please you in my flesh than a leopard can change its spots. Oh God…Help.
But what the flesh could not do, God did. “Ka-Pow”. And we are told that we are sanctified, we fulfill the righteous requirement of the law, and we are conformed to Christ when we walk according to the Spirit; and the Spirit is within all who are in Christ Jesus.
How does the Spirit do it? One way is through PRAYER. But how can I pray properly; wicked man that I am? My mouth is a part of my body, the best thing that I can do is keep it shut, or else I might blaspheme God. Praise God, He sees the heart, and the Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God when we do not know what to pray. For WE KNOW that all things work together for the good of those who love God who are called to be conformed to the image of His Son.
I mean no disrespect, and sorry for the run on, but brother, there is enough “Pop, Wham, Ka-boom, and Wha-Blam” about our personal prayer life to preach for years.
The benefits and blessings brought by our Private Prayer life are not quantifiable.
With all the love that a wretched man, struggling with sin can muster, I am…
ABClay