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The Key to Continued Prayer

The key to being a real man of prayer is to believe God.

How could Daniel keep praying toward Jerusalem when Jerusalem was gone? How could he maintain his prayer life when God seemed to have lost? Reason and circumstance seemed to have shouted, “Stop! It’s no use!”

How can we continue to pray and to believe God when everyone around us seems to shout, “It’s not working! He is not listening!” We don’t have to be in the world very long before we encounter trials and difficulties. When we face confusing or baffling times, and perhaps, long before we experience it personally, we observe it around us.

1. What did Eliphaz say in Job 5:7

 

No Exemptions from Trials

Life is hard, and Christians are not exempt from difficulties.

2. What do the following New Testament passages tell us about trials and difficulties?
3. 1 Peter 4:12

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1. Philippians 1:29

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1. 1 Thessalonians 3:3, 4

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1. 2 Timothy 3:12

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One of the many challenges that we faced in our ministry to athletes was the challenge of the athlete’s responding to Christ’s offer because he thought it would advance his career. We always had to be sure that we didn’t present a “watered-down” presentation of the gospel that was more “palatable” to the athlete. In other words, if you trust Christ as your Savior, God will make you an all-star, you will get more playing time, and you will get a bigger contract!

Athletes are no different from anyone else. If they trust Christ, at some time they will face trials and challenges. Time and space do not permit for me to list the times ballplayers have really determined to live for Christ, and the result was that they were either traded or released, or they even suffered an injury. Satan is displeased when someone gets serious about his walk with God. Not only that, but trials still seem the best way to grow a Christian and the best way to allow Christ to be seen in our lives.

Immediate Rewards?

Several years ago I was speaking to two minor league baseball teams. After chapel, several players approached me and began a conversation. One of the players asked me if I had heard that So and So (a former baseball player) had become a Christian. I said that I had heard; then the player directing the question said, “I’m praying he will hit forty home runs, drive in one hundred runs, and bat over .300—wouldn’t that be great for God?”

I looked at those young men, their bright, eager faces reflecting their youth and strength. I knew they were hoping that what the first player had said was going to come true. If it was, then if they loved God, they would advance to the majors and become stars!

This is what I answered: “Maybe, but what if he has his worst year? What if he gets injured? Can God still use him? Maybe it would be a greater testimony if he loves God in spite of adversity. Anyone can say they love God if everything is going well.”

You would have thought I’d let air out of a balloon. My answer was not what they wanted to hear. By the way, that athlete, the superstar, developed cancer and had to leave his career early.

We all struggle with disappointment, and when it seems God is not consistently or powerfully answering our prayers, we are tempted to give up.

3. What was the key to Moses’ perseverance, according to Hebrews 11:27?

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4. Where was the apostle Paul’s vision directed, as seen in 2 Corinthians 4:18?

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Daniel kept praying, because he believed God. It didn’t matter what circumstances seemed to indicate. He still believed all the promises about Jerusalem, the temple, God’s people, and especially the Messiah. He was undaunted. In fact, it could be said of him that “he heard the inaudible, saw the invisible, believed the incredible, and thought the unthinkable.” Years ago someone challenged me with these words: “Bruce, is there anything happening in your life that cannot be attributed to you?” That question was very convicting.

Prayers Coupled with Faith?

5. Has God challenged you to trust Him for something specific? What?

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6. Can you think of something that God would receive incredible honor for if you trusted Him?

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Remember the story of the pastor who came to see me? Near the end of our conversation, I shared that I, too, have struggled at times with unanswered prayers, probably more than that young man. But I believe there are simply two choices: Either we believe God or we don’t. I certainly don’t believe Satan, who is the father of lies. I don’t always understand God, and I am often ignorant of His ways, but He is the only choice. I then said something that may bother you: “I have decided to go down with God.” Now, obviously, God is not going down, but we are putting all our trust in Him.

7. What did Job say in Job 13:15?

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8. What do you think Job meant?

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The key to praying regularly, the key to being a real man of prayer, is to believe God. I have been with many men who have experienced tragedy and heartache, men who are experiencing things that “don’t make sense.” I think of the man who has an anorexic daughter who has been in our prayers for years, the man whose sixteen-year-old son committed suicide, and the man whose eighteen-year-old son was found out to be in a sexual affair. The list could go on and on. But these men—all with godly home situations, all walking with God—have kept trusting, kept hoping, and kept praying despite the hurt and confusion.

The book of Job records a cruel accusation directed toward Job, but it is really an accusation directed at God.

9. Read Job 1:9–11 and 2:4 and 5. What did Satan accuse Job of? How does this accusation reflect on God?

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A Critical Question

Why do we serve God? Why do we say we love God? Is it because of what we hope He will do for us? And I’m not referring to His saving us. If we view Him as a “cosmic genie,” when He stops granting our wishes, we lose confidence in Him.

One day in basketball chapel, I was talking about God’s giving us the strength for trials. I gave each of the players a laminated card with the verse Philippians 4:13 on it: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Later on, just before the game, the star player, who didn’t attend chapel, came up to me and asked if he could have one of the cards (he had seen other players with them). I gave him one, and that night he had a fantastic game. He called me over and said, “Bruce, I had it in my shoe!” He thought it was some type of good-luck charm!

 

Daniel prayed because he loved God and he believed God, in spite of circumstances. The church and the world need more men like Daniel today. A century ago, E. M. Bounds wrote,

Christianity needs today, above all things else, men and women who can in prayer put God to the test and who can prove His promises.

10. Is there anything right now that could keep you from becoming a man of prayer?

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That day, in my office, the young pastor stood up and said, “I’m going down with God!” It was a great moment in his life.

We know, of course, that God is not going down! He is exalted and victorious over all. But even when all seems dim and frightening here, we will trust the Lord.

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A Verse to Memorize

“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed” (James 1:6).

Next, I want to explore some practical ways to assist you in praying. We’ll look at these ways in the next lessons.

 

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Obstacles to Prayer

Everyone who is committed to God and to prayer has experienced some disappointment, but God is always faithful. 

As we saw in the previous lesson, there are many obstacles, or challenges, to a consistent, aggressive prayer life.

Undoubtedly, some of the obstacles you listed had to do with schedules, work, family, and sleep. I must admit that when I hear of some men’s schedules, I’m impressed with how they carve out time for prayer. But, as we’ve already seen, if prayer and our relationship with God are a priority, we will make time for prayer.

Are full schedules a deterrent to prayer?

Daniel had a full plate! He was high up in government and had many responsibilities. But all of those obligations were subservient to his prayer life. Indeed, they depended on his time with God. I remember years ago reading of how President Abraham Lincoln could be seen upon his knees early in the morning in the White House. At the time of this writing, President George W. Bush has been reported to be on his knees in prayer each morning before he faces his day. The attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon have prompted President Bush to call for prayer, and even a special day of prayer. These requests have come out of his own personal practice of prayer. I can’t imagine anyone with a busier schedule than the president of the United States!

Daniel had not only a schedule to deal with; but as we have seen, he also had a death threat! Real men pray no matter what obstacles they face. I have had prayer modeled before me all my life. One of the greatest prayer warriors I ever knew was my father-in-law, Donald Hare. Dad has been at Home in Heaven for a while now, but his life still impacts my life. When he was suddenly taken into the hospital and his health took a rapid turn for the worse, we received a call to immediately head to Ohio, where he was hospitalized. My wife and I drove through the night and arrived the next day. God would end up calling him

Home in the next two days. When I first got to the hospital room, Dad was on a respirator, and we thought he was unconscious. After talking briefly with other family members, I walked over to Dad’s bed. He suddenly opened his eyes, grabbed his oxygen mask, and lifted it off his mouth. And then out came these words: “Bruce, how did your meetings go? I was praying for you.” Wow! I was stunned. Here was my father-in-law facing death, and he was praying for me! What had been true all his life was true in his death.

1. What times do you find it easiest to pray?

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2. Name two people you know who impress you with their prayer lives.

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3. What impresses you about these prayer warriors?

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What are the top two reasons we don’t pray?

Daniel reveals for us what I believe is the greatest hindrance to effectual, fervent prayer (James 5:16). To be sure, there are many hindrances, and some are valid. Although I do recall the words of my former pastor, Lynn Rogers, who said, “Excuses are the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie” (Ouch!), I may be so bold as to say what I believe are the top two reasons we don’t pray. I know of these reasons from personal experience as well as from personal observation.

I believe the second greatest reason we don’t pray is because of sin in our lives. But this reason pales in comparison to the first reason. In fact, the first reason can lead to the second, which I want to address a little later. But right now, let’s consider the first reason. Are you ready for it? Here it is: “We don’t believe God answers prayer!” I’m serious about this. Either we don’t believe He answers prayer, or we don’t believe he answers our prayers. I believe I can support this statement experientially and Biblically.

Daniel revealed for us something wonderful about believing in prayer.

4. Read Daniel 6:10 again. What does it say about Daniel’s windows?

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5. Is there any significance about the direction his windows faced?

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First of all, it is easy to overlook the phrase “his windows being open . . . toward Jerusalem.” But even if we notice it, we fail to grasp the significance. Why Jerusalem? Perhaps the most immediate answer is, “Well, that’s God’s city; the temple was there. God’s people were there.” To be brutally honest with you, “No, not really!”

6. According to 2 Kings 25:8–10, what happened to Jerusalem and the temple?

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By the time the events of Daniel 6 took place, Jerusalem had been sacked and leveled! Think about it. Though Babylon was hundreds of miles from Jerusalem, and Jerusalem couldn’t be seen out Daniel’s window—even if he could have seen that far—he knew there was no more holy city and temple. Daniel knew what had happened to his homeland.

 

God Lost?

Do we really understand what the destruction of Jerusalem meant? God had lost! The Babylonian gods and armies were greater than Jehovah! All the promises of the prophets, all the predictions of future glory—including a messiah—were ashes.

The inevitable had happened. The moral and spiritual backbone of the nation was broken. It was over—completely!

7. What was the feeling of the prophet and people in Israel at that time? Read Lamentations 4:9 and Ezekiel 37:11.

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All reason shouted, “It’s over—no hope.” I used strong words in saying “God lost,” when, in fact, He didn’t. We know that, but it sure seemed like He had lost.

What do we struggle with most? I believe it is the silence of God, the slowness of God, and the seeming unconcern of God. We start off filled with confidence; we’ve heard great stories of God’s answering prayer. But, gradually, we experience silence. It wears us down, and we lose our confidence in prayer, and most of all, in God.

I’ll never forget the visit of a close friend of mine who pastors a large church. He had called earlier to ask if he could come to see me. My friend is a godly man who walks with God, and he was in an enviable position. But he came to talk to me about unanswered prayer. It began with his prayer for a couple in his church to be reunited; however, they weren’t. Then a rebellious teen to be restored; he wasn’t. Oh, there had been many victories, but also many prayers that seemed to go unanswered. Those “unanswered” prayers eventually took its toll. My friend was losing his confidence in God, or at least his confidence that his prayers were making a difference.

8. Have you experienced disappointment in prayer? If so, in what ways?

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9. Have you had a specific prayer request that you feel has been repeatedly unanswered?

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Everyone who is committed to God and to prayer has experienced some disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, Jesus never fails and God is always faithful, but from our finite view, prayer sometimes seems to “not work.” And this disappointment affects us. Have you prayed for a spouse, a child, a job, or an ongoing illness for a long period of time? The temptation is to give up, to stop.

 

10. In Luke 18:1, what is the admonition from our Savior?

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11. Is there any significance in the picture Jesus used about prayer in Matthew 7:7 and 8?

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In the next lesson we will continue to look at how Daniel persevered in prayer, although all seemed hopeless. But I close with these encouraging words from Leonard Ravenhill:

Hidden prayer is like heat smoldering in the bowels of the earth far beneath the still cone of a volcano. Though to the eye there may be years of inactivity, sooner or later there will be an explosion. So it is with prayer in the Spirit. It never dies. There may be a long birth pain in the Spirit, but birth there will be.

A Verse to Memorize

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous Man availeth much” (James 5:16).

 

LESSON 3

When

to Pray?

A real man knows he can do nothing without Christ and responds with prayer.

 My wife and I were having lunch with some close friends. Randy and Lisa walk with God and are a constant source of encouragement and blessing to us.

Lisa shared with us, much to the embarrassment of Randy, that Randy has a practice of getting up at 4:30 to go to work, where he can be alone for an hour’s prayer time. This couple’s life certainly bears out their commitment to prayer.

But what comes to your mind when you read of this man’s prayer life? Four-thirty in the morning—are you serious!? Praying for an hour—get real! And added to this commitment, the couple have six children with the seventh on the way. Plus, Randy has a very demanding, time-consuming job!

Perhaps stories like these discourage you. How can I get up early? Where can I find the time? Is it realistic to expect me to be committed to prayer?

Obstacles to Prayer

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Real men pray because real men understand that we can do nothing without God, the God Who desires our prayers.

Joni Eareckson Tada has been a constant source of blessing and encouragement to me. Though I have never met her, I have tried to read everything she has ever written. Joni, as you may know, is a quadriplegic. She has been confined to a wheelchair for more than thirty years. Yet she sings, writes, and even paints—with a brush in her mouth! She has impacted the world for Christ in an amazing way. She writes a lot about Heaven. People have asked her if she longs for Heaven, when one day she’ll have use of her legs and can run, jump, and skip across fields. She responds, “I want the use of my legs so I can fall on my knees before Jesus!” I believe that Joni has already been on her knees before Jesus—at least in her heart! We all have that incredible privilege and opportunity, the opportunity to fall on our knees, figuratively and literally, before our wonderful God.

 

 

 

A Verse to Memorize

 

 

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that adibeth in me, and in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).