Prayer

James 4:2

Please turn in your copy of the
Word of God to the New Testament, to the Epistle of James. Our reading today is from James
chapter four, verse two, and we’ll read chapter four, maybe
verses one through four. Remember a few weeks ago, we
began a little series on the means of grace. And the means
of grace are those means or those ways by which God communicates
his grace to us. In our shorter catechism, it
lists them as the word, as the sacraments, as prayer. And our Christian history and
many theologians throughout the centuries, in addition to the
word, sacraments and prayer, add fellowship. and suffering
as the means of grace. And so God uses his word, his
sacraments, prayer, fellowship, and suffering. And there are
other means as well to communicate his grace to us. Today, we look
at the subject of prayer. So let us give our attention
to God’s word. James, the half brother of the Lord Jesus. He
writes in chapter four, what causes quarrels? and what causes
fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions
are at war within you? You desire and you do not have,
so you murder and you covet, and you cannot obtain, so you
fight and you quarrel. You do not have because you do
not ask. You ask and you do not receive
because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions. You adulterous
people, do you not know that friendship with the world is
enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to
be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Pray with me. Our Lord, we ask
that you would bless now both the reading and the preaching
of your word. May it be to us a means of grace. May it speak
to our minds. May it penetrate our hearts.
Fill our souls with joy and with energy to serve you. And we pray
that as we leave this place today, as we go with your blessing,
that we would go with a word from you that we can hold on
to as promise, that we can live by as marching orders, and that
it would give us a mission as we go into the world and proclaim
the goodness of Christ. Help us in this by your spirit,
we do pray in Christ’s name. Amen. In the Old Testament, there
is a wonderful old story about a young lady named Hannah. Hannah
was married to a man named Elkanah. Hannah also had a rival wife,
if you will, and her name was Panina. Panina had children,
but Hannah did not. And every year, as this faithful
and pious family went up to worship the Lord, as they kept the feast,
every year, Penina would taunt Hannah in a sense saying, I have
children and you do not. And Hannah would go before the
Lord every year. And as she entered the presence
of Almighty God, she would pray. She would pray that her womb,
which had been closed by God, would be open. and that God would
give her children. And year by year, she put up
with this taunting by this rival wife. Year by year, she would
go into the house of God and she would pray. And in one specific
case, as she enters the house of God, she is particularly troubled
in heart. She’s praying with tears in her
eyes. She is weeping. The word of God
says she is deeply distressed. She is pouring out her soul before
the Lord with great anxiety and vexation. And the priest who
is on duty that day observes Hannah. He sees Hannah praying. Her mouth is moving, but no words
or sounds are coming out. Now, Maybe pastoral wisdom would
have been a good thing for his seminary education, for he approaches
Hannah and says, What are you, drunk? And she says, No, I am
praying. I am pouring out my heart before
the Lord with great anxiety, for the Lord has seen fit to
close my womb. And I desire a child. And somewhere
in her prayers that day, she told the Lord, if you give me
a child, if you give me a little one, I will return him right
back to you. He will be as if yours and he
will serve you. Oh, the priest, the priest told
Hannah that day, you go, you go in peace and may the Lord
do for you as you have asked. And we know the rest of the story,
Hannah, Went home, she became pregnant and she gave birth to
Samuel. Samuel, one of the great priests,
one of the great prophets of Israel. And she named him Samuel
because the name Samuel says it means I have asked for him
from Yahweh. Contrast that with the words
of James. James, the half brother of Jesus, same mother. One conceived
by the power of the Holy Ghost, the other, the son of Joseph,
the carpenter. James is a rather black and white
preacher. James was the lead man of the
early church. The book of James, one of the
early books of the New Testament, contrast his words with the actions
of Hannah. You have not because you ask
not. And then he goes on to say, you’re
a prayerless, you’re a worldly, you are a wicked generation. James says about those who have
not because they ask not, you’re prayerless. And why is it that
you’re prayerless? Well, it’s because there is a
war within you. Now, we talk from time to time
about that remaining sin that is in us. In our salvation, we
are justified. God declares us righteous. Our
past presence and future sins are pardoned. They are paid for.
We like to say this. It’s just as if we’ve never sinned
and just as if we have always obeyed. Where do we get that
justification from? God declaring us righteous, not
because of any works done with our human hands, not because
We have been able to earn his salvation and him then does declare
it so. No, he sees us as he sees his
beloved Christ. There was a great exchange at
the cross. Christ at the cross took on your
sins. He who knew no sin became sin
for us in order that we might become the righteousness of Christ.
There was a great exchange. Christ took your sins and he
gave you his righteousness. But though we are justified,
Though that sin is pardoned, it remains in us until we die
and are made perfect in holiness. That sin which is pardoned is
also in us subdued, and we like to say it rears its ugly head
at times. As we nurture that remaining
sin, as we feed it and fuel it, there’s that war within us. We cannot get what we want, and
so we kill and we covet and we fight and we destroy. There is this war within us,
this war within us. Jesus challenges us as his disciples,
seek first the kingdom. Our problem is that we seek first
our kingdom. I want, I want, I want, I must
have. We seek first our own kingdom,
and so we are conflicted. There is this war within. We desire what the flesh desires. We want what the world offers,
and we take Satan’s bait, and who says to us, as he’s done
since the day in the garden, God doesn’t really want you to
be happy. You serve you, and you go after
whatever pleasure and pursuit you desire, and then you’ll be
happy. And so James, the brother of
the Lord Jesus, the apostle of the early church says, you do
not have because you do not ask. You have a prayerless life because
there is a war within you and you’ve let that war continue
and you’re conflicted. And that war then leads to a
war with others. Why is it that you’re fighting?
Why is it that you are quarreling? Why is it that you are coveting
and killing? Well, it’s because your flesh,
it’s because your remaining sin has reared its ugly head and
it’s doing what it does best. It’s creating chaos when God
offers peace. There’s a wonderful story in
the Old Testament, in the book of Exodus. where Moses, the deliverer
of the people Israel, has brought them out of the land of Egypt.
They’ve had triumph over Pharaoh and his army. They’ve crossed
the Red Sea on dry land. They’ve entered into the desert.
They’re on their way to Mount Sinai and they’re on their way
to Canaan and to the promised land. And there’s a day that
comes where the Israelites battle with Amalek. Amalek was one of
the great kings. He was one of the kings that
all people during that time should have feared and worried over. And as Israel goes out to battle,
Moses, their leader, says, I will go up on the hill and I will
take the staff of God and I will stand on that hill with the staff
of God in my hand and I will raise that staff while the soldiers
of Israel battle. And Moses went up on that hill
with that staff and Aaron and her went with him. And so long
as Moses held that staff in the air, Israel prevailed over the
Amalekites. But his arms got weary. And as
he lowered the staff, anytime the staff was lowered, the Amalekites
prevailed against God’s children. And so Aaron and her sat Moses
down on a rock. And after they seated him, they
stood one another on each side of him and they held up his hands
and that staff. And Israel that day prevailed
against the Amalekites. His hands were steadied and the
sun went down and Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the
sword. Contrast that with James, the brother of Jesus’
words, you have not because you ask not. Let me ask you this,
are you praying? And this is no time to be pious
and to say, oh, I’m a man of prayer, I’m a woman of prayer,
I love to pray, I got a prayer list. This is be honest time. Because you know, none of us
really prays like we ought. Halfway through a meal, we say,
oh, oops, we forgot to say the blessing. Or maybe our prayer
life is like this. We get in such a rough situation. Things aren’t looking so good
and say, well, maybe we ought to pray. It’s come to that. Things have gotten so bad. Maybe
we’ll try prayer. Are you asking God for the things
you need? Are you asking God for the things
you desire? This word that James uses here
is a big, wide word. You have because you do not ask. He literally says, you do not
have because you are not asking. It’s a continual behavior. You’re
not a praying person. You’re not an asking person.
That’s the trajectory of your life, he’s saying. You’re not
a praying Christian. But by asking, he means ask,
beg, crave, call for, require, demand with urgency, plead to
God for the things that you need. And instead of taking our words
to God. We’re not asking. We’re coveting,
we’re fighting and we’re quarreling and we’re killing. And James
simply says, pray, ask. Go to the Lord, take it to the
Lord in prayer. So how do we ask? What’s a good
recipe for prayer? What’s a good way to pray? Let
me just encourage you in this way. Don’t be discouraged. Don’t
feel like you have to be like one of those Puritans or one
of those so-and-sos who we read about in church history and their
knees were so worn out because they prayed all the time because
you won’t reach that standard. Don’t be or don’t try to have
a prayer life like someone else. Just start. Start by simply saying,
God, I know I need to be praying. I know I need to be asking. I
know this is one of your means of grace. And so I wanna start
simple. If you’re not saying the blessing
at the table, start there. Dear God, so many don’t have
food. I’m grateful for it. I was getting
weary and I was getting tired and you have provided. And I
remember when you gave bread from heaven to your people in
the wilderness. I remember when water came from the rock. Oh
God, it’s such a privilege to eat. You provided for your people
throughout history. And here I am sitting and eating. Thank you. Amen. Start there. Say a bedtime prayer. Lord God,
as the day ends, it’s been busy. I hadn’t thought about you as
much as I would like, but I’m grateful you’ve been with me.
You haven’t forgotten me. Lord, I need sleep tonight. I’m
tired. I need health. I’m sick or weary. I want my children and my grandchildren
or my friends or my neighbors and my loved ones. I want them
to have blessings. I want them to know Christ. Lord,
let me have success tomorrow. You know what’s on my plate.
You know what’s in my day timer. Give success. Amen. Simple. Just pray what’s on your
mind. Pray what’s in your heart. Be
honest with God. You know, it’s a gadget world.
I know not every one of you is plagued by it, but if you have
a smartphone, you probably also have some form of ADD. And maybe it’s the remote control.
You can’t live a moment without touching your gadget. You can’t
live a moment without thinking what other people are thinking.
You can’t live a moment without reading updates from Facebook
and tweets from Twitter. And you can’t fathom not responding
to the ding of your phone or the buzz of your text messages
coming in. And you know what it has done
to us? It really has. It’s made us non-thinking people. We respond, we react, and we
do not live a thoughtful and even prayerful life. But if you
start out your praying just simply at meals or at bedtime, maybe
as you rise in the morning, put a note on your mirror as you
brush your teeth or whatever your first routine is, a reminder. A good way to pray is this, acts,
A-C-T-S, adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication.
We adore God, we praise him for who he is and what he’s done
and what he’s promised to do. We confess our sins to him because
he’s faithful and just and will forgive us of all our unrighteousness.
We thank him for little things and big. We take our supplications
to him, we say, for my children, for my health, for my heart,
for my doctor’s appointment, for my financial needs, for my
job needs. But you see the trajectory of
prayer. It starts with God adoration. It leads us to confession. I
am not worthy to be in your presence, but for Christ. So forgive me. We come with an attitude of thanksgiving
for you have answered many prayers and I’m grateful. And then we
bring our supplications. Well, what kind of supplication
should we pray for? Well, think of the Lord’s prayer,
our father who art in heaven. There’s adoration. Hallowed be
thy name. More adoration. Thy kingdom come. Do we ever think about all the
people around us who are not in the kingdom of God, who haven’t
come to faith in Jesus? Oh, thy kingdom come, Lord, build
thy church, strengthen thy church. May the truth of God as it is
proclaimed, as God is worshiped, may it be contagious in our world
and may more men and women and boys and girls come to faith
in Jesus and bow their knee to him in this life and the life
which is to come. Thy will be done on earth as
it is in heaven. You know, the news would be very
different If thy will was being done on earth as it is in heaven,
we would not be killing and destroying and worshiping other gods. We
would not be lying and cheating and stealing and adulterating.
The world would be very different if thy will was done on earth
as it is in heaven. Give us this day. Give us this
day, our daily bread. Lord, I just need enough. I’m
not asking to get rich. I’m not. Really wanting to be
poverty stricken, but give me enough. Give me a day’s bread. Lead us not into temptation.
Forgive us our debts. Forgive us our debtors. And then
it ends with adoration. Thy kingdom come, thy will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. How does it end? For thine is
the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. Those are things that we can
pray for. It’s not that complicated, but we must take time and we
must free up our minds. We must free up our minds in
a sense so that we can have time to pray. Maybe it’s on a morning
walk and you leave the telephone in the drawer at home. Maybe
it’s a special place you have in your house, a rocking chair
or a quiet cup of tea at the breakfast table. Set a time and
a place and a routine. Read your word and pray back
God’s word to him. Write notes, think thoughtfully
about it, but take a few moments to pray. There’s a story in the
New Testament. It’s a gospel story that Jesus
tells. It’s about a judge. It’s about
a judge who neither feared God nor loved his fellow man. And
a widow kept coming to him. She kept coming to him and saying,
give me justice against my adversary. And he thought to himself one
day, this wicked man, if I keep refusing her, she will keep bothering
me. But if I no longer refuse her,
she will leave me alone. I’ll give her justice. She’s not gonna beat me down
by her continued coming. And Jesus, after he tells this
little parable, he says, will not God give justice to his elect
who come to him day and night? Will he delay long? No, he will
answer them speedily. Contrast that to James words,
you have not because you ask not. And he goes on to say, you
ask and you do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on
your own passions. Think for just a moment about
Hannah and her persistence for a child. Think about Moses and
Aaron and her and their arms raised towards heaven during
the great battle or this persistent widow that demanded justice. They believed God. They had faith
in God. As they prayed to God, they believed
that God could change their situation, that he could indeed answer their
prayers. We remember that the book of
Hebrews teaches us about Jesus. Jesus, our great high priest,
he’s not a high priest like Aaron, who would die and his sons after
him. He’s not even a high priest like Melchizedek, for he is a
priest forever. It says of Jesus, our high priest,
he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through
him. Because he always lives to make
intercession for them. One last reminder from the scripture. I remember Jacob. Jacob was on his way somewhere
and one night as he laid his head on a pillow of a rock, He
wrestled with God. And do you remember what Jacob
said? I won’t let you go until you
bless me. Pray with me. Our Lord and God,
we want to be a praying people, an asking people. And so Lord,
get us to asking, get us to praying, move in our hearts and our minds
to see needs, to see needs great and small. Give us hearts and
minds to pray with and to pray for others. It would help us
to start by praying at our meals, to pray at bedtime, to pray as
we rise in the morning. Give us a quiet moment each day
to pray with your word open, with your promises before us,
and with a pen and a paper and our needs on them. Let us persist
in prayer with our hands held up. Let us persist in prayer
with our tears flowing. Let us persist in prayer before
the great Judicial bench of heaven, give us justice. Lord, we don’t
want to let go of you until you bless us. But get us praying,
get us laying hold of you. So that we will see your kingdom
come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Hear us now
as we pray in Christ’s name. Amen. Let us respond to God’s
word. Number four hundred and thirty
five. What a friend we have in Jesus.