Andrew teaches on how prayer is something that every Christian knows they need to do, but very few Christians feel like they do it successfully. In this series, Andrew counters many modern religious traditions about prayer and establishes a foundation upon which a rewarding and effective prayer life can be built upon.
welcome to our Wednesday’s broadcast of
the gospel truth this week I’ve started
a new series entitled a better way to
pray I have a book on that in English
and in Spanish and then we have CDs and
DVDs that were taken from our television
program on this and I tell you this
teaching on prayer is I’ve said this on
Monday I think it was but it’s one of my
most loved teachings by those who
receive it and it’s also one of my most
hated teachings by those who can’t
stomach it because the very first thing
I do and this is based on the leadership
of Jesus when he started talking about
prayer here in Matthew chapter 6 the
very first thing he did was say don’t be
like the hypocrites they love to pray
and he showed that you can be a hundred
percent hypocritical and pray these long
prayers and do all these things and he
started just attacking the wrong uses of
prayer and when I start teaching I do
the same thing and this week I’ve been
talking about how that there’s so much
hypocrisy and just religious stuff
that’s in prayer and boy this turns a
lot of people off and as I get further
into this series I’m going to go to
teaching against the predominant way
that intercession is taught in the body
of Christ today I believe it is not
godly at all it actually causes a lot of
problems and boy there are some people
that this is like a sacred cow to them
you can’t talk against intercession and
I’m going to be giving a lot of
specifics and showing you things from
Scripture that in the New Testament we
pray differently than we prayed in the
Old Testament and boy this gets a lot of
people upset but at the same time it
sets a lot of people free and I tell you
there’s just a lot of people that are
under bondage because of traditions and
doctrines of men Jesus said in mark
chapter 7 verse 13 that your traditions
and doctrines of men make the Word of
God of none effect and we have a lot of
religious traditions and doctrines about
prayer that are not compatible
with Scripture and it voids the word and
it makes your prayers ineffective I tell
you we should be praying for results not
just praying for the sake of praying and
if you are looking for results if you
want prayer that works there is a better
way to pray and the very first thing
we’re going to have to do is come
against the religious traditions and
doctrines of men so let me go back and
read these words of Jesus again in
Matthew chapter 6 verse 5 and says in
when thou pray us thou shalt not be as
the hypocrites are for they love to pray
standing in the synagogues and in the
corners of the streets that they may be
seen of men verily I say unto you they
have their reward but thou when thou
prayest enter into thy closet and when
thou is shut that door pray to thy
father which is in secret and thy father
which seeth in secret shall reward thee
openly
but when you pray use not vain
repetitions as the heathen do for they
think that they shall be heard for their
much speaking that’s where I quit
yesterday and I was just emphasizing
that there are so many people that think
the longer you pray the better and
that’s not the way that God looks at it
he says it’s not vain repetition it is
an error to think that you will be heard
more because you talk longer man that’s
just wrong and yet this is pretty much
the way most people think at one time I
thought this same thing I thought if
pray in an hour a day was good pray in
two hours a day would be better pray in
four hours a day would be better and I
used to do that I used to pray three and
four hours a day and I still pray all
the time but now it’s more just
conversational prayer I’m in constant
communion and fellowship with the Lord
and praying about things certainly there
are times that I have something specific
that I’m dealing with and I’ll focus
just on that and I may be focused on
something for an hour or two to the
exclusion of everything else and I have
those times but the vast majority of my
prayer time is just constant communion
with the Lord it is not thinking that
I’ll be heard and some are another have
a better relationship with God if I pray
periods of time Jesus is saying that’s
not true and he said that they think
that they shall be heard for their much
speaking in verse eight it says be not
ye therefore like unto them for your
father knoweth what things you have
needa
before you ask him now this is an
important piece of information and this
is coming from Jesus the perfect
representation of God God manifest in
the flesh and he’s telling us how to
relate to the Father and he says that
prayer is not an opportunity to inform
poor misinformed God of your situation
and I tell you I am shocked I hear the
prayers of a lot of people I go into
many churches and people write and tell
me what they’re praying and stuff and I
tell you it is just nearly you know
predominant that people think God
doesn’t know what’s going on and so they
have to tell him the whole thing they
spread out their doctor’s report Oh God
the doctor says this and this is
happening and and they just and it’s
like they’re somehow or another having
to impress on God how serious their
situation is if you think that if you
feel like you just have to tell God
every single thing that’s going on
because otherwise he may not recognize
how important it is how serious your
situation is he may neglect it well then
you’ve already started from a totally
wrong place God is all-knowing God knows
everything about you he knows your
situation better than you know your
situation prayer is not an opportunity
to inform poor misinformed God about
your situation you need to take the
words of Jesus here and recognize that
he knows what you have need of before
you even ask him now let me just say
some things and I’ll answer this later
in this series but if you are following
what I’m saying it’s not your long
prayers it’s not your mannerisms
standing on the street corner praying to
be seen of people it is not your you’re
going to be heard more if you talk along
God knows what you need
for you even as if you really understand
what Jesus is saying well then this
raises a question well then why even
pray why even tell my problems to God
why even ask God for help if God already
knows everything about it well then what
is the point of me praying I’m going to
answer that later I’m not going to
answer it right now but let me just say
that if you are truly tracking with me
and if you are following what Jesus said
that should be a logical question it
comes up well that if God already knows
everything if it’s not the length of my
prayers is going to gain the extra
credit and stuff like this well then
what is the point of praying there’s
there’s still a lot of benefit to prayer
and I’m going to be talking about this
as we go through the series but I’m
saying that that should be a place that
every person watching this program comes
to alright if God is already all-knowing
if God already loves me if I don’t have
to convince him and stuff well then why
do I have to pray why do we have to go
through all of this keep that question
because I’m going to answer that later
but that is a logical question you are
not trying to inform poor misinformed
God and I tell you I just get it’s
nearly amusing if it wasn’t pathetic it
would be amusing too you know when you
listen to some of the prayers of people
in the way that they pray in a way that
they talked to God you know we’ve got a
song that I used to sing and it to me is
just the epitome of an unscriptural
songs catchy tune but it’s one day at a
time sweet Jesus and it starts by saying
Lord you know if you’re looking below
it’s worse now than then what a stupid
statement like if if God is looking
below if God is paying attention I mean
to think things like that are completely
an insult against God as if God isn’t
paying attention what’s going on and but
we sing things like that we pray like
this we pray stupid stuff I know that
some of you think well man you’re making
me so self-conscious about the way I
pray now
I’m not sure that I’ll feel free to go
in and just pray to the Lord well I know
that this has the potential to unsettle
you but sometimes you got a terrified a
fine
you got to tear down the junk in their
life that is hindering their
relationship with the Lord and get down
to just the bare rock so that you can
put in a good foundation and build the
proper things this is exactly what Jesus
did I feel a hundred percent secure in
approaching prayer from this perspective
because before he talked about what
prayer was he talked about what prayer
was not he countered the religious
traditions and doctrines of man and I
tell you what we are as religious and is
messed up today as the Jewish system
that Jesus came into and he was walking
here on this earth the so-called
Christian Church today is just full of
religious traditions and I tell you it
is is dominant in prayer as in any place
else so this may not have felt good but
it’s the truth and it’ll set you free so
Jesus goes on to say in Matthew chapter
6 verse 9 after this manner therefore
pray ye our Father which art in heaven
hallowed be thy name I’m going to go
through this prayer but let me just say
that some people think that this is a
prayer that you just have to recite that
these are the exact words that you need
to pray let me just make a couple of
comments I’m not going to spend a lot of
time I could defend this more but this
isn’t a New Testament prayer the New
Testament did not really go into effect
until after the death and the
resurrection of Jesus and Jesus told us
that in the New Covenant we are supposed
to pray in his name whatsoever will you
ask the Father in his name the father
will grant it for us this prayer is not
prayed in the name of Jesus this isn’t a
New Testament prayer this is not a
prayer that we are supposed to recite
these words but I believe that this is
more like a model prayer it gives us the
elements of prayer that we are supposed
to use just as over in the Old Testament
in the Book of Psalms you know it says
enter into his gates with Thanksgiving
and into his courts with praise be
thankful unto Him and bless his name for
the Lord is good and His mercy endures
forever that’s telling you how you’re
supposed to approach him and this does
the same thing in verse 9 here’s how you
start your prayer our Father which art
in heaven hallowed be thy name
now see I think it’s good that when you
enter in instead of just coming out with
your need with your problem you first of
all you glorify God and you say you know
that our Father which art in heaven
hallowed be thy name and then the second
thing here in verse ten Duyck kingdom
come Thy will be done on earth as it is
in heaven you start talking about how
awesome God is instead of talking about
how terrible your problem is start
talking about how God is how awesome he
is now see I believe that this is the
point that’s being made not that you’re
supposed to say these exact words but
instead of coming with your problem like
you you’ve got this thing the doctor
says you’re going to die and so you’re
just so focused oh god here’s my problem
and you spend 30 minutes talking about
your problem all that’s done is
discourage you to rehash all of these
negative things but instead what you
should do is come and say father I
follow it to art in heaven you come in
and you say father you are in heaven you
are above everything else
you are the one that created everything
nothing is impossible with you your
kingdom come your will be done I believe
that your will is coming to pass and by
the time you get through glorifying God
then you come to your need and oh yeah
the doctor said I was going to die but
you know you’ve in your word you raised
people from the dead
all things are possible to him that
believes if I will speak to this
mountain and doubt not in my heart it’ll
be cast into the sea and by the time you
have praised God well then it shrinks
your problem down to where instead of
you speaking all of your fear and
unbelief you now have already praised
God and praised the answer more than the
problem and then he ends it you know
down here with saying for thine is the
kingdom the power and the glory forever
so you start with praise unto God you
end with praise unto God and if you
would approach God in this manner this
method not necessarily using these exact
words but if you would approach him in
this
method where you start with praise you
in with praise you slip your request in
between well then you know what it would
keep you from being overwhelmed with the
impossibility of your situation it would
put it into its proper context into its
proper perspective and it would keep you
built up instead of discouraged but see
there’s a lot of people when they come
to God they just Oh God and they talk
about their problems and they just talk
about how horrendous it is and this is
impossible the doctor says I’m going to
die you never even mention what God says
you don’t quote the scripture in Psalms
118 I will not die but live and declare
the works of the Lord and you just spew
forth your doubt in your fear in your
unbelief that’s not what God is telling
us to do this is telling you the way to
pray not the exact words but you were
supposed to come in and start saying our
Father which art in heaven hallowed be
that name that’s talking about praising
him talking about how holy how great he
is above everything Philippians chapter
2 that he has been given a name which is
above every name and at the name of
Jesus every knee is going to bow every
tongue is going to confess anything
that’s got a name has to bow the need of
Jesus if it’s cancer if it’s leukemia if
it’s AIDS if it’s anything it’s got a
name it’s got a bow the name to need of
Jesus see if you would start worshiping
him and remind yourself of these things
before you slip your request in then
you’d be so much better and this is what
the Lord is talking about so you enter
into his gates with praise you thank him
you pray for his will to be done on
earth as it is in heaven you know
there’s lots of people that recite this
and say these words hundreds of times
but then they’ll sit there and say well
it’s not God’s will for us to be well
it’s not God’s will for us to prosper we
have to suffer it’s our pain it’s our
suffering that makes us better and they
will be praying these words and yet
living something contrary to it it says
we are supposed to pray for God’s will
to be done on earth as it is in heaven
in heaven there isn’t sickness there’s
not pain there’s not sorrow there’s not
depression there’s not
all of these things if you really
believe the words that we were saying we
should believe for Supernatural results
in this life as it says in Galatians
chapter 1 verse 4 that Jesus gave
himself for our sins to delivers from
this present evil world not just the one
to come
not just hell but he gave himself to
deliver us from this present evil world
God’s will is to be done on earth as it
is in heaven
in verse 11 give us this day our daily
bread you know this isn’t a request in
the sense that Lord will you give me my
bread but it’s a demand it is a request
but it’s a request that’s a demand it
just says give us this day our daily
bread and you know this shows a
familiarity it shows first of all the
grace of God the goodness of God towards
us that hears Almighty God that we can
come up and just say give us this day
our daily bread that’s not because we’re
arrogant and thinking that you know
somehow or another we can force God to
do it but it’s similar to a little child
a little child just comes running into
the kitchen it says mom I’m hungry give
me something to eat
and that’s familiarity that’s not
disrespect it’s actually it’s a
recognition that that parent loves the
child so much that the child can come
and just make a demand like that if if I
was at your house and your child came in
and then they fell on the floor and they
just laid before you and said I know I’m
not worthy and I know I didn’t make my
bed and I know I didn’t take out the
trash and I know I haven’t been kind of
my brother or sister the way I should
have been but please I’m hungry could
you please spare me just a little bit of
something if that’s the way that your
child approached you I would think there
is something seriously wrong in this
house your relationship with that child
is not good it’s really good when the
child just come jumps up on your lap and
tells you what they want and stuff it’s
a familiarity it’s it’s love and this is
the way that he’s saying right here he
didn’t say Oh God we’re unworthy but
could you please spare us a little piece
of bread today no you just come and say
give us this day our daily bread father
we
know that you want to do it see this is
this is in faith this is in trust that
God is for us and not against us he’s
already provided our needs and all you
got to do just reach out and take what
is yours you just are boldly coming in
and saying father I’m receiving what is
mine today so you say give us this day
our daily bread and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors in other words
you need to operate in love towards
others you need to receive God’s
cleansing for yourself but you need to
expend extend it towards others there’s
a place for that in prayer and in verse
13 and lead us not into temptation but
deliver us from evil in other words this
is praying for guidance that God will
will lead you around obstacles and
around problems keep you from making
stupid mistakes you’re spending time
asking God for His wisdom that’s what
this is talking about and then you end
it with saying for thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory forever you
started by talking about hallowed be
your name that he’s in heaven he’s above
all you ended by saying yours is the
kingdom the power and the glory forever
if you will sandwich your request in
between praise to God for how awesome he
is you know it’s like a slice of bread
you have to have a slice of bread on the
bottom and on the top and then you stick
the meat or whatever on the inside well
you need to sandwich your request in
between praise start and praise talking
about how awesome he is he’s higher than
anything and you ended with his is the
kingdom the power and the glory forever
this is the way that you’re supposed to
pray and so these things right here this
is just so against religion and I love
the way that Jesus introduced this
rather than just talking about prayer
and leaving all of these wrong
conceptions about prayer out there that
people are going to bring it into their
relationship and they’re going to mix
the way the Pharisees did it and think
you have to pray long periods of time
and you got to explain everything to God
instead God just eradicate all those
things he gets rid of it and then
teaches them the correct way to pray
that’s what I’m trying to do
years before I get into the heart of
talking about what prayer is we’re
talking about what prayer is not and I
know that some of the things I’ve said
may have been offensive to people you
may feel like that I’m criticizing the
way that you’ve always done it but let
me just present it to you this way
how is prayer working for you the vast
majority of people that I ministered to
their prayers are not working very well
they believe God can heal but they
struggle to be healed they believe that
you are supposed to have joy and peace
but they don’t walk in and very often
they believe that you’re supposed to be
prosperous but they aren’t experiencing
it they’re praying for it they’re asking
for it and yet they aren’t saying their
prayers work and yet when I come out
against it and start challenging our
attitudes towards prayer people just
swell up like a toad they get offended
and start saying you’re critical of me
well how is the way you’re praying
working for you if it’s not working then
maybe you ought to consider that there
is a better way to pray I mean that’s
just as simple as it can be I know that
the vast majority of people watching
this program do not feel like that you
really have an effective effective
effectual prayer life you know that
there’s lots of things you’ve been
praying for that you haven’t seen come
to pass and yet when I start countering
some of the things that Jesus said were
the problem and that we’ve got to get
rid of this kind of stuff people get
offended because I’m countering their
traditions man that’s just crazy if what
you’re doing isn’t working that well for
you you should be open to at least
listen to something that’s different and
you know it may be that that the way
you’re praying is just fine but I mean
you ought to be open to what the word
says you ought to go in and consider
these things do you really love the
praise of men do you pray to get
attention do you brag about how much
time you spend in prayer do you think
that the longer you pray the more God is
prone to listen to you do you go in and
have to explain to God what your
situation is because you
think he doesn’t know I mean are you
guilty of these things that the Lord is
talking about if you are then you need
to humble yourself you need to change if
you have to change your whole
personality in your voice when you go to
praying and you can’t just be real with
God and talk to him like you talk to me
or talk to anybody else then you need to
consider these things that we’re talking
about you need to make some adjustments
and so the very first thing that we’re
doing is before we can get into what
prayer is and how to effectively pray we
got to get rid of some of these
religious concepts that have been
crammed down our throat and get back to
what the Word of God teaches well this
is just really really simple I’m out of
time today but I do have this book
entitled a better way to pray I also
have it in Spanish and we would love to
send this book to you we also have it in
CD and in DVD form if you’ll listen our
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because of the many lives that have been
changed by this teaching we’re excited
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right right going into he said what
you’re doing wrong is that you’re not
praying right you need to pray
differently now for the very first time
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