Thanksgiving and Prayer

Colossians 1:1-2

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Please turn to the book of Colossians 1:3-8. Today, we begin a new section, and our subject is "Thanksgiving for the Colossians," segment number one.

Paul's salutation to the Colossian Christians, which has occupied his attention in verses 1-2, ends with a prayer for God's grace and peace to be upon them. The source of grace and peace is the one God (one in essence), and the God who is the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Paul then expresses his thanksgiving for the Colossian Christians whom he has never met, but about whom he has learned a great deal through their church leader, Epaphras, who is visiting Paul in his Roman imprisonment.

Thanksgiving

Verse 3 says, "We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Praying always for you, we give thanks." The word "give thanks" in the Greek Bible looks like this: "eucharisteó" (yoo-khar-is-teh'-o) E U C H A R I S T E O. Eucharisteó denotes giving gratitude in the spirit of joy. Sometimes, in more formalistic churches, when they observe the Lord supper, they call it the Eucharist. And they announce that: "Tonight we will observe the Eucharist." They get it from this Greek word, because what they are doing is observing a meal of thanksgiving to God for salvation. And it is quite proper to view it in that way. But it's a word that denotes gratitude and a deep sense of happiness. In the grammar, it is in the present tense, which tells us that the Apostle Paul constantly has this attitude of thanksgiving. It is in the active voice, which means that this is done by Paul to God. He gives God the thanksgiving. It's indicative mood. It's a statement of fact.

Now, this word actually in the Greek Bible begins a long sentence which goes on from verse 3 all the way through the end of verse 8. And they try to convey that, as you follow that in the English translation, by the fact that there's no period until you get to the end of verse 8. This sentence begins in verse three, and Paul just dangles, and hooks on, and adds, and couples more and more, and just goes on and on, with one long sentence. This is called a periodic sentence in Greek. The name means "speech turned or guided to an end," and there's a metaphorical component - the idea of guiding a racehorse around a track with the start and finish in the same place. It has a beginning, a turning point, and an end – a purpose.

He uses the personal pronoun "we" in the beginning, to says, "We give thanks to God," because he is including Timothy, his associate in this thanksgiving. What Paul is doing is expressing his thankfulness for the good report which he has received of the vigorous spiritual life of the Colossian Christians from their leader Epaphras. Now, you and I can certainly enter into that, when we receive a good report about somebody, particularly whom we have trained in spiritual things, and whom we have taught. This is someone that you're associated with, and someone we know. We like to have good reports about what Christians are doing.

Years ago in Berean Christian Academy, we had a boy whose father was a medical doctor here in the city of Irving, and he was a very supportive man. He attended a very large church here in the city. And about the time the boy was in the fourth or fifth grade, the father told me, "Now, pretty soon he's going to have to drop out of the academy, and get into the public school, so that he can get in touch with the real world – the way it is." And I suggested to him that the real world was not in public school. That was a very unreal world. It was a disoriented world. The real world is the world where God dominates; where God is sovereign; where God governs; and, where the principles of God are inevitably victorious, and that here at the academy is where the real world is.

Well, the father didn't agree. Indeed he did take the boy out. But the problem was the boy was already contaminated. He had a teacher who had been a missionary, and who had had great heart for Christian service in reaching people for Christ, and the kid was infected. He listened to that teacher, and he was thrilled. It caught his soul. And instead of growing up to be a self-oriented, sin-nature-dominated creature, just plodding through life, he became a boy with a vision. Last week, he was in town, and he stopped by to say, "Hello," and to reminisce on the impact of Berean Academy on his life. His father wanted him to be a doctor, but instead he ended up as a pastor of a church in West Texas. He ended up being a spiritual leader instead of a person who could have had a very comfortable life; a lot of money; a lot of prestige; and, a lot of esteem. Instead, the call of the vision of that teacher overwhelmed what the father wanted. The boy came to the real world – the world of God's mission for him.

So I can relate to Paul's saying, "We give thanks to God for these Christians in Colossae who have responded in such a way to the teaching of their leader Epaphras. It is indeed proper and wise to thank God for believers who are faithful to God's Word; who are consistent in their integrity; who are diligent in their Christian service; and, who are supportive of genuine Christian ministries. I have a lot of respect for people like that. And I indeed have a lot of thanksgiving to God for people like that. We indeed thank God for believers who are faithful to God's Word, who will not compromise on the principles of the Word of God.

Noah

Now, that's hard to do today, because you're surrounded by a society that's wrong, and do you dare stand up and say, "I'm right and you are wrong? I know the word of truth, and you are violating it. The rest of you are wrong, but I'm right because God's right." That was the thing that Noah faced. Noah had to get up and say, "I'm right and you people are wrong, because I have the Word of insight from God, and you don't.

So anybody, especially a young person, who can have faithfulness to the principles of the Word of God when he's surrounded by low-life peers, as mostly they are, who are dragging them off to prematurity in their lives, beyond what they're capable of rising to at that point, and being corroded by the fact that it's fun to be evil. When you find someone like that, you should say, "Thank God for that kid. Thank God for that man; for that woman; for people who are consistent in their integrity; and, for people who are just going to do right. When you find someone that's going to be a person who's going to just do right, even if it costs him something, you should thank God for that person, because most of us are very much tempted to cut the corners and do wrong, when it's going to be to some stupid, short-term advantage to us, that we value more highly than we value the opinion of God about us. And when you have somebody who is diligent in their Christian service, boy, do we ever thank God for that person – the person who carries a responsibility in the local church?

We know that when the time comes to perform, that person's going to be there. We know that when it's time for that person to be in his place of service, he's going to be there, and he's going to be prepared, and he's going to be competent, and he's going to do a good job. And we don't have to call him up. We don't have to remind him. We don't have to push him. We don't have to get in there and try to get him with the program. Why is that? It's because he lives the program. His life revolves around his ministry. Therefore, he knows when he's on deck. He knows when he's on duty, and he acts accordingly.

His mind isn't spinning around out here with all the things of life that are preoccupying him, and all the good things of life that he's accumulating. That's the outer orbit. The inner orbit of his focus is always, "What's happening next to church? What's happening next with me in my ministry?" And when the time comes for him to be on duty, he's there, and he's prepared. And boy, do we ever thank God for people like that?

Also, for those who are supportive of a genuine Christian ministry, we thank God for those people. There are people all over this country who daily fill my mailbox, in one way or another, with their offerings and their envelopes. They are tapers and people who are dependent upon us, and who send money into our ministry in considerable sums because they're at a distance, but they know that this is a genuine ministry, and whatever comes (ups or downs), this place is worth supporting. This place is worth standing by. This place deserves to be loyal to, because this place is loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ. This place is loyal to doctrine. Therefore, these people, who wish that they could live down the street from us so they could sit in this auditorium, say, "I can't do that, but you do send me the tapes, and I can therefore share with what you're doing. Therefore, I want to see to it that what you're doing keeps doing, and keeps getting done.

It is proper and wise for us to thank God for that kind of a believer, and certainly to thank God for the believer who is loyal to the Lord Jesus Christ in the world of great temptation to evil. That's the kind of a person that I'd really appreciate, and I commend, as disloyalty should be condemned.

Sometimes we have people who drift off into the world, and that's all we sad. And then they come back, and everybody bubbles and makes a great deal of them. Baloney! The person that receives my highest esteem and my highest condemnation is the person who never deviated in the first place – who always was loyal and on the line in battle. And I guarantee you that when I have to go in spiritual combat, and I look over, I'm not going to pick some young person who's been a deviant; who's been a deserter; or, who's unfaithful to the Lord in some way, who then gets his head screwed on straight and comes back. No, I'm going to pick the consistent, solid kind. Those are the people that I esteem.

I'm amazed how many times I hear about somebody being featured: "I grew up in a Christian home. I had all the great advantages and opportunities. But I got off into the world." And people flocked to listen to a person like that. But here's a simple little Joe: "I grew up in a Christian home, and I kept living by the principles that my parents taught me, because I found, as I grew older, that they were confirmed in the Word of God. That was the lifestyle. And I never got out there in the world. I never had to learn what it was to take drugs, or to smoke, or to be a hoochie-coochie, sweetie pie, or anything else. I just believed what my parents taught me, and I loved it." That's the person I have seen. That's the real man. That's the real woman. That's the quality.

So, when Paul says, "We give thanks," I guarantee that this man has a deep feeling, because he knew nothing but traitors around him as most of us never will know. He knew hardships. He knew undermining. He knew people who were giving him the back of the hand, who owed everything to him spiritually. And the two books of 1 and 2 Corinthians record the whole sorry story for you. People gave Paul the back of their hand; they ridiculed him; and they said to him, "You're a big mouth when you're away, but you're not much when you're with us." And Paul said, "Well, we'll see about that. I'm going to visit you, and we'll see whether my bite is as big as my mouth or not." And you could almost sense Paul saying, "Now wait a minute. You have to take the flak. You're the spiritual leader. You must be stable when the rest of them are as crazy as Christians out of sync with God can become.

So, Paul gets this report from Epaphras. It says that the Colossians there have very carefully obeyed the doctrines that I've taught them as I've learned them from you, but they're being bombarded with the pagan philosophies left and right. And Epaphras says, "I personally am under attack as an okay teacher, but these teachers have something more. They are in advance over what I'm doing. And they have a sophistication. They have a style that I don't have." And some Christians are wondering, "Maybe Epaphras is not the guy that has it all together." But most of the people, he was happy to report, have stayed with the word of doctrine, and they weren't impressed with those who were the incipient type. That is what became later the great gnostic heresy – one of the first hearses of the Christian church. And the Apostle Paul was deeply appreciative of people like that, and he commended them. When our Christians, young and old, do right, we are all grateful for it, and we should tell God that we are appreciative of that.

"Something More"

Epaphras had taught the Colossian Christians true doctrine, and they responded with positive volition. They were bombarded by these false teachers who had something more, they claimed. This is interesting. This is Satan's technique. Satan's fingerprints can be seen on his work through the centuries. And this is precisely what charismatics tell you: "Yes, what you have is true. What you have is wonderful, but there is something more. There is something more. There are all these supernatural things that you don't know about, and that you haven't entered into." And these are the very words that charismatics will use on you: "We have something more that you don't have." Well, they don't. They have something more, but it's not from God.

So, Paul wants the support, and he wants to dignify Epaphras, the spiritual leader there, among the Colossian churches. He wants to make it clear in this letter to these churches that Epaphras is the guy who's in the know. He is the one that they should be listening to, and not these pseudo-teachers who are false to the core. Standing by a true teacher of doctrine is very important, because the agents of Satan zero in on him in order to overwhelm and silence him. So, he's overwhelmed with the most outrageous kinds of attacks that Satan devises through people who often are Christians themselves, but out of sync with the mind of God. So for those among us who are true teachers; who teach our children accurately; who lead our children with dignity; and, who have style and class that they are giving our children, we should say, "Father, thank you for people like that." Paul's gratitude is not for some personal benefit that he has received from the Colossian Christians. His gratitude is for what God has done for them.

Now there are times, like with the Philippian Christians who sent him great offerings, when he was grateful to them for what they had done for him personally in his ministry. But to the Colossians, it is for what God has been able to do for them because of their positive volition to sound doctrine. And he is focusing on that rather than on something from them.

So when you pray, bring to mind the individuals that we are associated with, at our ministries, who serve faithfully because of what God's grace has done for them. And just name them and say, "God, I sure want to thank you for Sam Jones. This guy has responded to the Word of God. He could be a clown like so many other people, but he is standing by Christ, and he is standing by the enormously sophisticated worthy ministry of Berean Church. Therefore, I want to thank you for him."

Paul says, "We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Here again, the word "God," as we learned last time, stresses the unity of deity, the oneness of God in His essence. Then it uses the words "Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." And there we have, as we learned last time, the emphasis upon the Trinity, the first and second members of the Godhead.

The Lord Jesus Christ

Now Paul says that he gives us thanks to "God the Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." In the phrase "The Lord Jesus Christ," the word "Lord" indicates His deity; the word "Jesus indicates His humanity; and, "Christ" is the noun for His Messiahship to Israel.

So Paul is thanking, and he says that he: "Is praying to the One who is revealed by Jesus Christ, the Father in heaven." You will notice that Paul does not thank, nor does he pray to, someone who's dead. The Catholics do that. Catholics pray to people who have dead bodies like the virgin Mary; St. Joseph; St. John; or, St. Bernard. Those are all those good people that they love to pray to. Every one of them has a dead body someplace. They pray to dead people. The souls of those people – they're alive somewhere. That's true, either in heaven or in Hades. But these are human beings who do not have resurrected bodies like Jesus Christ. You pray to someone who has resurrection power, not to someone who's still waiting for it.

So, Paul says, "I give thanks to God the Father for this report," and what he has received is going to be detailed now in the verses which follow through the rest of this long sentence. He's going to tell the things that these people picked up, and how grateful he is that they were faithful to it. And he thanks the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom he is: "Always praying – always for you."

Prayer

So let's talk about prayer – praying. Here's the word for praying. It's "proseuchomai" (pros-yoo'-khom-ahee). Now I knew that there would be a comparatively smaller attendance today, once I got into this text, and saw that we were going to be in the subject of prayer. I knew that the devil had sent the signal out. He kicked the computer into high action. He went into every Berean contact, and he made sure that, as much as possible, he dissuaded people from being here. He even kicked in an early rain, so that those who loved to stay home when it rains settled that they were not coming. And then God dried it up, and so now they're losing out on "proseuchomai."

This word is used in the New Testament only in terms of prayer to God. It is never used for petitions to people. It is a very sacred word. Only to God is this word used. And Paul does not pray to dead human beings. He prays only to God, and this word is exclusively used in that way. Now this is a very informative word. This first part of this word, "pros," is a proposition in the Greek language, and it means "face-to-face." This last part, "euchomai," is a verb, and it means "to pray." So what this word says is "talking face-to-face," or "praying face-to-face." This is a very strong word of direct confrontation with God on some issue. And that's what prayer is about. It is eyeball-to-eyeball, so to speak, with God Himself on some issue. Now it is very important that you understand that.

You and I get excited about talking to certain individuals. Somebody is coming, and we're going to talk to this person – somebody that knows something. And we want to ask them something, and we want to get to this person to discuss things. And we forget that when we pray, we are face-to-face with God. Our spiritual lives are required to see Him. Our physical eyes cannot see Him, but he is there, and very real, and He is listening. And He is acting upon what we say. This is face-to-face confrontation with the living God.

Now you are eager to run to somebody who's an expert in some field and say, "I'd like your advice. I'd like your information from you." Why on earth are we so reluctant to go running to God for infinitely superior information and orientation? And it's the last thing we do. When we can't figure it out, and when we can't work it out, and when we can't do something, then we go, and we start praying.

How much praying do you young people do? How much praying have your parents taught you that you should do? How much praying have you picked up at home, which is an off-the-cuff incidental thing instead of the core thing of your life? If you don't pray, you don't go anywhere in life. If you don't pray, you have no contact with God. That's the key. And you can cover it up with all kinds of things of your own. You can create all kinds of substitutes for it, and you can even look very successful, and look like things are really clicking and going your way, but that's just you in your human abilities, carrying through, and it's worth nothing. This is not your life. Your life is out there, over the hill, in eternity. And that's what you're preparing for. And that's what you're concerned with. And prayer is what enables you to pick that life, and put it together, and carry out there what you should carry with you.

So, this word is in the present tense again, which in the Greek tells us that this is something that Paul does all the time. It's constant practice. It's in an active meaning, which means that he does the praying. And it's in a form that says that this is a spiritual principle.

Always

Furthermore, he adds another word. He says, "praying always." This word "always" looks like this in Greek" "pantote" (pan'-tot-eh), PANTOTEH. "Pantote" means "at all times". Now let me see if I can simplify here a little of the Greek language, because when you look at that word, especially the way they put the word "always" in English, you have to ask yourself: "Does the word 'always' go with the word 'thanks,' or does it go with 'praying?'" Does it go with "thanks," or does it go with "praying?" Well, they've made a decision here, in the New American translation. They have put it with praying. And you would get the idea that what Paul is saying is that he prays always. Well, that's true. He does a lot of praying. He does obey his own admonition: "pray without ceasing." But the translation is not well-taken there.

They have made an interpretation that I think is the weaker one. That is for this reason. This word is an adverb. Adverbs, as you know, say something about verbs. And in the Greek sentence, the verb comes first, and then comes the adverb, which is modifying the verb. It's just backwards from what we do in English. First comes the verb, and then comes the adverb. So, that way we know which verb it's attached to – which verb it's supposed to modify.

Always Give Thanks

So, "always," here in the Greek sentence goes with "give thanks," not with "praying," because in the Greek sentence, "always" follows "giving thanks." And the adverb goes back to the verb ahead of it. The verb "praying" comes after "always." That way we know it is not "always praying," but it is "always giving thanks". And that's important. What Paul is saying is, "We always give thanks." Furthermore, this is a form of grammar called the present participle, which tells us that it takes place the same time as the main verb. The main verb of this sentence is "give thanks."

Now that's not too complicated. "Give thanks" is the main thing. And the grammar says that" praying" and "giving thanks" go together. But the order of going together is this: that Paul and Timothy pray for the Colossian Christians, they express thanks to God for them. So, we translate it better this way: "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you:" "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you."

So, what Paul is saying is, "When you're praying, that's the time to start thinking about these terrific Christians who serve God so well, and are such a great blessing to us, and that's when you thank Him for it." While you're praying, bring them to your mind, and thank God for them. And that makes considerably different sense: "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you."

So when Paul and Timothy sat down to pray for the Colossian Christians, they always thanked God for them before they finished praying. While they were praying, they always thanked. The "always" goes with "thanks."

Now, what they were thankful for is going to be spelled out for us in verses 4-8. That's the reason for his thanksgiving. It is a great blessing to be able to thank God for Christians for whom we pray. We pray for certain believers, and they're great spiritual disappointment to us, and we can't thank God for very much about them at all. But it is so refreshing to be able to pray for somebody, and to be able to thank God for that person: for what they are; for their integrity; for their loyalty to the Word of God; and, for their esteem for the genuine work of the ministry of God. That is a tremendous kind of person, because that person has God's thinking in his mind. He's on track with reality. And he says that he does this for you.

Pray in the Spirit

A little more orientation on this matter of praying is Ephesians 6:18. Ephesians 6:18 is part of the warrior's (the Christian soldier's) armor. Parts of the armor have been described. And when he gets to verse 18, he says, "Here's the tactic for using the armor," and the tactic is prayer: "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." With all general requests – that's prayer; and, with intense crises situations – that's petition. Prayer is to be exercised at all times. This intercession is to be in the form of general prayer; and, it is to be in a form of petitions for desperate needs for the saints. And it is to be done in the Holy Spirit. "In the Spirit" – you are to be in temporal fellowship when you pray.

Don't try to pray when you're out of step with God; when there's bitterness; when there's sin; or, when you're hopping mad because your lifestyle is being criticized by the Word of God, and you prefer your lifestyle to the Word of God. You know that that praying is useless. You should know it. Effective prayer can only be done under the guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Paul in Roman says, "None of us knows how to pray as we should." Therefore, we lean back on the Holy Spirit, and we say, "God, I am asking this. This is the best that I understand. I think this is right. I see no condemnations doctrinally or otherwise for this. And I now put it back on the Holy Spirit to send it up to heaven or to cancel it out." That's what's wonderful about praying in the Spirit. And when you're in fellowship with Him, He will short-circuit the prayers that you should never have uttered; and, those that you should, He will send them by express speed before the God of the throne of grace. It'll get their immediately, and it'll get direct attention.

Now, either you're going to believe this because this is what the Bible says, or you're going to say, "Gee, that's nice, but it doesn't work like that for me." What doesn't work like that for you is what's out of sync, or it's the answer that God has given you. If it doesn't work, it means that God has said, "No." If it doesn't work, it means that God the Holy Spirit has said "No, I'm not sending this one up. You shouldn't ask for this. I'm bypassing this request for you." Therefore you can boldly come to the throne of grace. You don't have to say, "Oh, should I ask this or should I not?" Don't become another one of those little wimpy Christians that doesn't know what to do. You boldly come to the throne of grace, and you do the best of your understanding at that time, and God will carry you through. That's the job of the Spirit of God.

Furthermore, in the tactic of prayer, you are to be on the alert with all perseverance. That means you're to pay attention to what you need to be praying for, and what others need your prayers for. And you should not ease up on your prayers to God the Father in behalf of other believers. Pray with perseverance, especially in the urgent crises – with all perseverance, and in their petition. And there you that that "crises" word again – the time when the roof is caving in on people. That's when they need prayer. "Be on the alert" means to be vigilant in using the technique of prayer in the face of the angelic warfare.

The Principles of Prayer

So, the technique of prayer is one that is essential to your progress and to your survival in the devil's world. And we have to understand certain basic principles that relate to prayer.

1. Only Believers

   Only a believer has the right to approach God in prayer. Only a believer has the right to talk to God in prayer. God has not said that he's going to listen to the communication of anybody outside his family. Union with Christ through salvation is required for you to be able to communicate with God in prayer. Those who are unsaved who go through prayer are only expressing a meaningless ritual of religion. And you and I have all seen the movies. Here are these guys. They have just been shot down during the war. They're out there floating around in a life raft in the Pacific. Things are getting very bad now. The sun is hot. There's no water. They have no food. So, somebody says, "Let's pray." And so they all go: "Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name." And they go through their little ritual, thinking that there's some kind of a magic by repeating those words, and they call it prayer. And the implication is that these are just ordinary unsaved Joes. Well, those ordinary unsaved Joes don't get two feet above that raft in what they're saying, because God does not hear it.

   Could God respond in mercy to them? That's right. But if He does, it is because a sovereign God decided to act in mercy toward them for some purpose that He has. But they have no right to go to Him. Do you understand? You have a right to go to the throne of grace. It is your family right, let alone your duty. Nobody can keep you from it. Not even God can deny you access to His throne of grace. That is your right because you're in the family.

2. Asking God

   Secondly, prayer is basically asking God for something for yourself and others. Get over this notion that it's selfish to be asking God for things. That's what prayer is all about. Prayer is backing your 10-ton truck up to the dock, and shoveling in the requests as fast as you can get them answered. That's what prayer is all about. Matthew 21:22: "And all things you ask," Jesus says, "in prayer, believing, you shall receive." If you take the technique of prayer seriously, and you believe it, then what you ask, you receive, because you believe the technique of prayer, and you're operating on the technique of prayer. This verse does not apply to your being out of fellowship. Now you're not operating on the technique of prayer. You have violated the system. But if you obey the system, and you follow the rules, everything you ask for will be dealt with by God.

   Matthew 7:11: "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him."

   If you go through the model prayer that Jesus gave in Matthew 6:9-13, and His high priestly prayer that He gives in John 17, you will see that those prayers are nothing but a series of requests – a series of asking for things. That's all those two major prayers in the Bible are. It's just one thing after another: "God, I want this; I want this; and, I want this. That's what prayers all about. It's asking God. But it is asking God for that which is legitimate.

3. In Jesus' Name

   James, in his book, tells us that we don't get answers to prayer because we ask amiss. We ask in a way that is oriented to our sin natures, he says, and that doesn't go anywhere. But if we ask according to the principles, we will receive. The ultimate principle, of course, is: "In Jesus' name," which means that Jesus could utter that prayer. That is because His name represents everything that He is. And if you ask something that is completely incompatible with the character and the person of Christ, then you are not praying in Jesus' name. But that which is done in His name will receive God's immediate attention and response.

4. Thanksgiving

   Next is a very good thing, as we've already stressed today, as Paul has called our attention to. And that is that when we pray, we should also thank God. Philippians 4:6: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" – with thanksgiving.

   Many times, as I read those prayer requests on Wednesday nights, I'm pleased to see that people put the code letters "PAP" up at the top. And I know that what that means is: "Praise for Answered Prayer." And you should not become indifferent to putting that on your prayer request. Here's your doctrinal principle. What this principle is saying is: do not, on Wednesday night, write out a prayer request if you have something to praise God for answered prayer without expressing that thanksgiving by putting "PAP" on the request. Now please don't go out and get a little stamp that you bring to prayer meeting, and stamp every one of your requests "PAP." If you have a real reason to have an expression appraised, then put it down. Otherwise, don't do it. Our prayer meeting is long enough as it is. But thanksgiving should be part of prayer.

5. Spirituality

   Next: prayer, obviously, as we've already indicated, has to be offered in the status of spirituality. John 15:7: "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall will be done for you." What a promise that is! That can't be so. Praying must be done while you are in the status of spirituality. What does that mean? It means that you are in the status of temporal fellowship. You are filled with the Holy Spirit so that the Spirit of God can effectively respond and deal with your prayers.

   Ephesians 6:18: "With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit." This is the verse we had a moment ago. It has to be in the Spirit – in temporal fellowship.

   That is reiterated in the book of Jude verse 20, "But you beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit." Now, we've shown you enough verses that that is the doctrinal principle. You must pray through the Holy Spirit. That means you must be in fellowship with Him.

   Now let's go back to John 15:7 on that basis: "If you abide." What condition is this? You would probably suspect a third-class of this "if". And you're right. It is a third-class condition, which means "maybe you will abide in Him; and, maybe you won't abide in Him." The Greek word for "abide" looks like this: M E N O, "menó" (men'-o). You must know what that word means. The word "menó" means "fellowship:" If you are in fellowship with Him. If you are in temporal fellowship with God your Father. This does not deal with the fellowship of salvation. That, of course, is the first requirement. But this is the fellowship of abiding in the Father.

   Jesus Christ, in His humanity, needed the same thing. Notice John 15:10, "If you keep My Commandments, you will abide in My love just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." The word "commandments" obviously stands for doctrine: "If you keep My doctrine, you will be in fellowship with Me. You will abide in My love," which means that everything you want and that I can do for you will be given you. And He says, "I have to do the same thing. I have to stay in fellowship with My heavenly Father. I have to keep in touch with Him by being obedient to His commandments." And of course, He was never disobedient.

   So at any point, when a believer is filled with the Spirit, because he has actively confessed his known sins, it is potential for him to ask God and receive answers to prayer – if he asks under this status. That's the potential: "If you abide in Me (temporal fellowship) My words (doctrine in the human spirit) abide in you, it shall be done for you." Whatever you ask, it shall be done for you. So this business of temporal fellowship is extremely important.

   "What you ask: ask whatever you wish. This word "ask" in the Greek Bible is a command. Isn't that interesting? It's not the future promise. It says, "Ask whatever you wish." Praying is asking. There you have it – right there. And it's in a middle voice, which means that you will personally benefit by asking. Isn't that interesting? But it is a command. This is at any point in time that you are in temporal fellowship with God the Father (you're abiding in Him and in Christ, and you are functioning on the word of doctrine. You are not breaking the rules of the Word of God for what you do with your life (your lifestyle). Then you are commanded to ask whatever you wish. You're not invited. You are commanded to do it. And you are to take whatever you wish, because, under the guidance and the filling of the Holy Spirit, controlled by the principles of the Word of God, you're not going to ask God to do something that you already know is sinful. You're not going to ask God to do something that you know is stupid. You're not going to ask God to do something that would violate a moral code or a proper law: "And it shall be done for you."

   That is future. It'll come about. It's an affirmative declaration, and it's going to be for your personal benefit. It's that middle voice again, a statement of truth about the tactic of prayer. Prayer is to be offered in faith rather than as a mere hope or a doubtful speculation. That is what is so important – for us to know that when we pray, we're face-to-face with God. We're told: "Do it." And we are not to do it unbelievingly, but knowing that the system works when what we're asking for is in the will of God. Mark 11:24, "Therefore, I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you receive them, and they shall be granted you."

   James 1:5-6 gives us a good insight on this too, that we ought to add to this: "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to all men generously, and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, without any doubting. For the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind." Don't insult God by praying and saying, "Gee, I hope this works." If you do it right, it's going to work.

We must close by adding 1 John 5:14, "And this is the confidence which we have before Him: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." There's your doctrinal principle. You will ask according to His will if you are in Christ (you're saved), and if you are in temporal fellowship (if you are being guided by the principles of doctrine) – then you will ask according to His will, and He will hear. This is praying in the name of Christ. God knows our need indeed before we ask Him, but He has ordained prayer as a channel of blessing (Matthew 6:32, James 4:2-3). He knows, but we are to ask.

James 4:2 puts it this way: "You lust, and you do not have. So, you commit murder. You are envious, and you cannot obtain. So, you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask, and you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures." Then he goes down the line and condemns these people who are out of temporal fellowship. How dare they even come to God to be speaking to Him.

So prayer is a grace operation. Its blessings are in no way earned or deserved. Hebrews 4:16 points that out to us, "Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." What is your need? The throne of grace is there for you. The throne of grace means that you don't deserve it, but God is going to give it to you if you come on His principles (on His basis).

Prayer is always directed to the Father. It is in the name of the Son, and it is in the power of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 6:9, John 14:13, and Ephesians 6:18 all tell us that. You do not pray to Jesus. You do not pray to the Holy Spirit. You pray to God the Father. It is addressed to the Father, in the power of the Holy Spirit, on the basis of the authority of the Son of God.

So, what we said? Prayer handled in the right way plays a vital role in the life of the Christian, and in the life of the local church. Prayer plays a vital role when it is handled in the right way.

Now there are some problems with prayer: hindrances, some of the most innocuous things that you wouldn't think: "I'm slamming heaven's doors against myself, because of these things – these hindrances to prayer, and we shall look at those next time.

Dear God, we ask Thee to enable us to have a new appreciation for the fact that reading the Word of God so that Thou can speak to us is important. But equally important is that we speak to Thee as Thy children through the technique of prayer, properly executed. We thank Thee that the Lord Jesus Christ, in His humanity, could spend a whole night in prayer. And He did it because He had to do it. He needed to do it. He couldn't function in His own mission without it, let alone for us to function in our mission; in our family; in our ministries; in our testimonies; and, in our church work.

So we pray that Thou will give us great appreciation for prayer, and we pray that those who hear what we have said today, on tapes, will be greatly blessed, and scores and scores and hundreds of people would be moved toward Thee, so that heaven's doors of blessing, that are just waiting to be opened upon them, can be opened. We ask Thee for positive volition in Christ's name, Amen.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1995

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