Prayer — John Musser

Prayer as a Daily Refuge

I believe that every one of us should have a place in our homes, our attics, basements, somewhere, where we can get along with Christ. If we don't, we're going to see in this message, there's not going to be the peace, there's not going to be the spiritual alertness.

And I believe one day, without that time of prayer, we can fall into error. One time without that closeness and intimacy with God, we can fall into error. We can make rash decisions, we can make mistakes.

And we're going to try to get into a little of the Greek and here in Philippians chapter 4 and share what Paul has promised through prayer, what God has promised through prayer. It's therapeutic. The word of God in prayer is therapeutic.

We're going to see this afternoon also, the Renewing the Mind seminar. Please come. If you've got question marks in your mind, just at least try it out. The first session is going to be overhead transparencies of how the word of God affects you mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

We're going to be talking about how the word of God gets right into your bloodstream. Right into, like Spurgeon said, our blood must be vivid. And I did that. Because that is scriptural, there's scriptural basis for it.

Jesus' Teaching on Feeding Upon the Word

Jesus said, men should not live by their own, but by every word they receive about the love of God. We're going to talk about eating the Word. Father, thank You for these people. We love these people.

We thank You that some of them have been so faithful to be with us every day. And others, Lord, because of long distances, have not been able to be with us. But we thank You for the times that they can be with us, Lord.

And then others, new today, Lord God, help us to be able to speak to all the hearts and in the direction of Your Spirit. And we'll thank You in Jesus' name. Philippians chapter 4, 4 -9. If you've been around me long, you know that's my favorite portion of Scripture.

Scripture Memory and Experiential Faith

I love Philippians chapter 4, 4 -9. I memorized it a long time ago. In fact, most of the messages that I share in the Revival Crusade have come out of my Scripture memory box. Out of memorizing the Word of God.

Because there's an incubation period, and then I experience these truths in my own life. And then I have a life message, and then I can share it with others. If we don't have a life message, we can't share it with others.

We've got to share reality with people. You can't just share doctrine without experience. And that's why Paul said one of the reasons why the apostles and the preachers went through an abundance of tribulations, that they might learn the victory through the Word of God, and then they might be, in turn, be able to teach others.

They said, as the tribulations abound in us, so are consolations toward you abundant. So Paul, going through all the trials and tribulations, he digs into the Word of God, or by revelation at that time, receives insight from God, and puts these truths into practical application, and then he shares with others the victory he's received through these truths.

And that's basically what we're doing in these days. A head will communicate to the head, but hearts will communicate to hearts. And that's true also of our witnessing and sharing with unbelievers, and sharing with other people that need Christ.

It has to be a heart message. In Philippians chapter 4, verse 9, Paul, I believe, is giving one of the secrets of his life. I believe that he's just opening up the curtains of privacy in his own daily life with God.

Paul's Financial Trials and Contentment

Here he was in a prison cell, and the Philippians, of course, they sent a financial gift to Paul through Epaphroditus. It's interesting to me, and I'm just making somatic comments here, before I'm getting to the core of the matter, I guess, but do you know that Paul the Apostle struggled with finances many times?

Do you know that Paul went through financial heartache? I know some of you have gone through some real tribulations in this area, but Paul says to the Philippians that there was no church at the beginning that communicated with Paul the Apostle, but the Philippians also, and then the Philippians got discouraged, and they stopped supporting him for a while too.

And then he said, I thank God that your care for me has flourished again. Not that I desire a gift, but fruit may have fallen on your account. And it's interesting, as we study this out, of how Paul went through these times, but Paul learned to look at life from God's perspective.

And this is the very reason why the book of Philippians was written. It was occasioned by Epaphroditus coming to him with a financial gift, and it really relieved some pressures in the life of the Apostle Paul.

It took away some pressures he's going through at the end of the chapter we see. But as he sends this letter, after Epaphroditus bringing the financial gift to Paul, Paul is telling them that his eyes are on the Lord Jesus Christ, that he's looking at life through God's eyes from God's perspective.

And he says there in Philippians 4, verse 4, it says, Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. You can't always rejoice in your circumstances, but we can always rejoice in the Lord. Because he's unchangeable, and he's always the same.

He's always Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever. You can always rejoice in the Lord, no matter what's going on. The outward conflict, the financial dilemmas, the physical heartaches, the pressures, the discouragements of life.

We can always rejoice in the Lord when you get your eyes elevated. Of course that's what David did many times when he was going out into the field of battle. Many times he would rejoice in the Lord, he would praise God, and praise is really magnifying the attributes of God in your heart.

And it's delighting oneself in the Lord regardless of circumstances, regardless of pressures of life, regardless of whether or not you have that job. Because we can always delight ourselves in the Lord Jesus Christ, because he's the same.

Men may fail us, but Jesus never. Amen? We can all say that. You know something? I will fail my wife, and my wife at times will fail me, and my children, and one another. But God will never fail you. Never, never.

And he'll never, never forsake you. And so even though seemingly, Paul, no one was helping him financially, no one was intervening in his life, and now he's revived and flourished again, because Epaphroditus did come and says, Praise God, when he was saying that Philippians, their love for me, has revived again, it's blossomed, it's revived.

And that just puts so much joy in the heart of Paul. But Paul says, I want you to know something. We see it in other scriptures. He says, I've learned the secret of life. And that literally means to be content in whatever state I am.

And maybe I'd better just turn there, because I think maybe God's leading me in that direction before we get to the Philippians 4, 4 -9. Let's look at it over there in Philippians chapter 4 and verse 10.

But I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at last your care for me hath flourished again. Wherein ye were careful, but ye lacked an opportunity, not that I speak and expect and want. For I have learned in whatsoever state I am, even if it's Nebraska, Michigan, wherever it is, of course you know you're not talking about that, or whatever the circumstances, the trials, therewith to be content.

And in the Greek it literally means that Paul was exclaiming, I have tapped in and I have learned the secret of life. I've learned the secret of living, and that is godliness with contentment is great gain.

I know both how to be amazed, I know how to be humiliated, Paul says financially. I know how to be amazed and I know how to abound, I know how to take care of my finances with God's real blessing. I know how to handle them biblically.

We're going to be talking about that Wednesday night. Everywhere and all things I'm instructed by the Lord Jesus Christ both to be full and to be hungry. Even the great Apostle Paul? Yes. Both to abound and then to suffer need.

And in the most strict context he says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And he's talking regarding financial matters and the needs, the basic needs of life. Notwithstanding ye have well done in that you did communicate with my affliction.

He was going through intense affliction because he did not have the proper arraignment, the food and many other things as we see in his personal testimony. Now you Philippians know this, that in the beginning of the gospel when I started preaching out in my evangelistic campaigns and missionary crusades, that when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as giving and receiving but you alone.

Can you imagine that? One church and we read about the life and times of the Apostle Paul and God used him to write 14 books in the New Testament. And at one time there was only one church that was supporting him and then they stopped.

This is not that I desire a gift, but I desire a fruit that may abound your count. Sometimes I believe I can identify with the Apostle Paul, the gospel, there's so much that could be done and revival work and evangelism and many other things.

But we cannot get our minds on the adversity and the heartaches of life. Paul is teaching us here what he had learned in his own personal experience and now he's communicating it to the Philippians and to the whole body of Christ.

And how bad the Philippians bore. Paul says rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. Look at life from God's perspective. Look at life in God's eyes. And I believe that's one of the greatest challenges that we have every day of our life.

Rejoicing in the Lord Above Circumstances

And you will not be able to look at life through God's eyes and I know this so much personally, unless you're meeting with God on a daily basis. Now watch it. You want to look at life through God's eyes?

Verse 5, let your reasonable sweetness be known to all men the Lord's at hand. And here it is, be careful for nothing. Be anxious, be worried, be troubled for nothing. It talks about carnal anxiety. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6, four times to take no thought for the basic needs of life.

He says, otherwise it is in a way worshiping manner. Because you're under the burden and servitude and bondage of finances instead of trusting in the Lord. He said take no thought, take no thought. But he said seek ye first the King of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.

He said get your priorities straight. Because all of these things, he said, do the Gentiles seek after unbelievers? But he says your Heavenly Father knows that you have need of these things. I believe most of us do not come to that very simple realization that our Heavenly Father knows that we have need of these things.

And we get anxious and we get worried and we fret and we wonder and we lag in the past and project in the future. But there's only one way that you're going to be able to walk day by day with Christ and moment by moment and hour by hour and that is you must be careful for nothing.

I want you to underscore that word nothing, that you'd circle that. He says not one thing that you're to allow, not one thing bring anxiety into your heart. Now he's not talking about legitimate concern because you could become passive.

There's a lot of passivity today and I think Christians many times don't know the difference between passivity and legitimate concern because Paul had legitimate concerns and many times his heart was so burdened that he said I'm willing to give my soul, he said, for the children of Israel.

So he wasn't passive, he was willing to give his never ending soul that Israel might be saved. And he was on many campaigns, but he says don't let carnal anxiety bring you down. Be anxious for nothing.

Prayer, Supplication, and Thanksgiving

He said, but, and that's a strong contrast, in everything, and I've underscored that word in everything, in everything by prayer or via prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.

You see, we're like human pressure cookers. You cannot, we have not been created to handle fear, bitterness, anxiety, worry, fretting, and all these things that we have not been created by God to handle these things and are devastating to the human body chemistry.

In fact, the human mind is so constituted that it can only effectively meditate on one thing in the heart. And that's why Paul said this one thing I do. You cannot worry and fret and be anxious about all your problems and all your family tribulations and all your financial tribulations or your physical problems and have your mind at Christ.

And so Paul says take them one by one and their heavy burdens and God says, casting all my care upon you, on me, because He cares for you. God commands us to take these mental weights and that's what they are, casting all your care, that's what it is.

They're like mental weights and anxieties. When we share people with people, Psalm 37, the committed way, we teach them that when they've got many vexations and many trials, like Martha, she was covered about with many worries and many contemplations in her mind.

Many times we encourage people to come before God and just picture in their mind's eye coming before Heavenly Father that's on mission and knows all of our needs and one by one taking all those problems and putting them into a basket.

Take the physical dilemmas. Take the worries about the future. What's going to happen next year? We may not even be here next year. We may be ever with the Lord Jesus Christ next year and you may be wasting hours of energy and thinking about next year and we're going to be into the eternal realm next year.

Who knows? And you take those problems one by one and you say, Lord, this thing has vexed me for years but I can't handle it no more physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. I know that it's wrong against you, Lord, here it is.

I confess that I've worked against it and I've underestimated your power and Lord God that I have sinned against you and I've doubted you in this area, here it is. Bang, right now, it may be ten things, it may be twenty things.

Put it all in that basket and then you say, what do we do next with the basket? You take the basket and give it to God. You say, Lord, here's the problems. Lord, I'm going to obey your word and you know whatever you commit into God's hands, He'll take care of.

God has a divine obligation that whatever you commit into His hands that He will take care of and He will intervene. Dear friends, I want to tell you through personal, practical experience that it is so true.

That God never fails. Great is His faithfulness. And He always will intervene. But until you're willing to learn in this committed way, now put Psalm 37, if you would, beside verse 6 of Philippians chapter 4.

Just write the reference down, Psalm 37. And also if you'd write Psalm 91 down there beside that reference. And so it's a commandment, be worried for nothing. But all your trials and tribulations you bring to God through the avenue of prayer and thanksgiving with supplication.

Supplication with thanksgiving. So we see three things right here. We take these mental pressures and anxieties, financial needs, or whatever it may be. Paul's exposing the secret of his tranquility of mind, his peace, his joy that he has in the midst of all circumstances.

He's teaching us right here of what he was talking about in the latter verses of how he learned the secret of life. Now prior to being divine is asking. James says we receive not because we ask not. Jesus said ask and it shall be given you.

Seek and you shall find, not that it shall be asked of you. But the great prayer warrior James says one of the reasons why we are not entering into the promises of God is because we're simply not asking.

We saw this morning in Sunday school. But the word supplication is earnestly beseeching God. Coming to God. And it's a heartfelt supplication. It's a burden that you're lifting up to God. And you're giving this burden to God.

Supplication is more of an intensified prayer. We are coming to God and you say Lord this is something I've had so long in my life. I give it to you or we're interceding for someone or whatever it may be.

And then it's all this debate balanced out as we saw this morning with thanksgiving. Let your requests be known unto the omniscient God. Jesus said that your heavenly father already knows that you have needed these things.

Then why do we pray? Because we've been commanded and there's a mystery in prayer. That God wants us to bring our burdens to him. Specifically and definitely. I find one of the major problems in the Christian life is that we're not definite in our burdens.

We're not specific and we've generalized. But he says everything and underscore the word things. So it means definite things and specific things. Bring them to God via prayer and supplication through thanksgiving.

And this is the fruit of it. This is one of the most beautiful verses that I know of in the New Testament for the spiritual Christian. And he says the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The Peace of God and the Renewed Mind

He said that if you look at life through God's eyes as we see in verse 4. He says if you allow the weights and anxieties and tribulations of this earth to weigh you down. But in all these problems you will constantly commit them into the hands of God.

And live the committed prayer life. He says God's peace that transcends all human understanding will baptize your spirit in your heart. Or make a garrison around your innermost being. It's like a guard or a garrison that goes around a city.

And he says God's peace will literally bathe your spirit in your mind. And will keep you through the energy and the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's exciting. You know what that tells me? That you can't abide in Christ and I can't abide in Christ unless I have a daily meeting with God.

That there's no way that I can have the strength to live the Christian life. Without committing myself and drawing upon God every day. Feeding on the Lord. And I want to tell you something. I don't know who you are today.

But if you do not have a daily quiet time. I will guarantee you that you are a defeated Christian. And you have no power and you have no victory. And you have no peace of mind. And anxieties and tribulations and worries are constantly bombarding your mind.

Because there's no other escape route. This is the only way. He didn't give us five or six alternatives. He gave us one specific route to victory. And there's victory no other way. And he said God will make a garrison around your hearts and your minds.

The peace of God which is the fruit of the spirit of God. And then he goes over there verse 8. Finally brethren what sort of things are true? What sort of things are honest? What sort of things are just?

What sort of things are pure? What sort of things are lovely? What sort of things are good reported? If there be any virtue. If there be any praise. Meditate or fix or fasten your mind upon these things.

And then he goes on to say that God had learned in talking the secret of life. Anybody that will study the word of God on a regular basis. Will see that prayer is one of the most prominent themes from Genesis to Revelation.

Just recently we were in a church in Michigan. And I challenged someone to take their concordance. And look at all the times the word prayer or praying or prayest or pray. The word pray is following the Bible.

One man said I'm going to go to my computer system. And just make a print out of the New Testament alone. And I believe that there are at least 10 to 15 pages of extra long paper. 17 inch paper that was printed out on praying prayers and praying in the New Testament alone.

Prayer Throughout the Psalms

And we find this from Genesis to Revelation. You read through the Psalms. And you see this man that had a heart after God. That panted after God. Trace all the times that you find the word prayer mentioned in the Psalms.

It breathes through the Psalms. The word of God in prayer is breathed into every Psalm that David sang. And all the songs that the children of Israel sang. It was a life of prayer. And he said evening, morning, and at noon.

Will I make my prayer and cry aloud unto thee. You know something? You know why? Because prayerful spirit is the end of the self-life as we talked about the other day. Because a person who will pray has to be crucified with Christ.

There's no way that he's going to maintain a daily prayer life. Because he knows and he's understood that I cannot survive spiritually. I can't even please Christ unless I draw all my strength and power from him.

That there's no other way. It's through Christ. It's by Christ. If you abide in me, Jesus said. And my words abide in you. And we see that Daniel. That prayer was so important to Daniel. That he was willing to give his life.

Sometimes I've meditated upon Daniel. Just recently I was reading through the book. And studying late at night. I was trying to every night meditate on the book of Daniel before I went to bed. And I said Daniel was not trying to be haughty.

He was not trying to be arrogant. When they made that decree. And said that no man is going to be able to pray before any god but the king. And when he went to his prayer closet. Or he opened his windows toward Jerusalem three times a day.

And kneeled and prayed toward Jerusalem. He was not doing it. Because I know the heart of Daniel. You don't even find a blemish in the book of Daniel toward this man. This man. But there's only one way I believe.

There's no way that Daniel was totally convinced that he could not survive. In a wicked and idolatrous Babylon. Without coming to God. And praying. There's no way that he was going to be able to show these kings.

That God reigned over the fears of men. There's no way that Daniel was going to be able to stand up against the tide of the times. People trying to kill him. Throw him into a den of lions. And from the very beginning.

God sparing his life. And we see the secret of Daniel's power. That he could conquer everything. Through prayer. And only if we would take the tribulations. The burdens. And get along with Christ. Until the thing has been prayed through.

You would see miracle after miracle after miracle in your life. We give up too soon. And we let the devil defeat us and discourage us. And we run away. And we don't persevere in prayer. And we give up.

And we throw in the towel. We see Nehemiah. And how I love the book of Nehemiah. I've studied it many times. We find an intensely spiritual man. The importance of prayer and work. Whenever you've got that reversed.

You have chaos. But Nehemiah, this great man of God. Under circumstances that we can't even conceive of. He was the king's cup bearer. And given to those conditions under a heathen king. He received permission from the king.

To rebuild the gates and the walls of Jerusalem. Even during troublous times. And even when Samballot and Tobiah and all the adversaries. Constantly were against Nehemiah. Everything was against him. But he was a man of prayer.

Biblical Examples of Persevering Prayer

Sometimes we read over these books. And we don't realize the odds that these men were up against. We don't think about David. How many times he was outnumbered. A hundred to one. That when he was going to the battlefield.

That he could have easily been taken over. And sometimes we can identify with these men. And we don't realize that there are men of like passions. As we are. Just like you and me. But they knew how to totally abandon themselves to Christ.

To God. If Elijah is going to stop the heavens. He must pray. If he's going to open up the heavens again. Then he must pray. We read in the book of Luke. About the prayer life of Jesus. And I love to go over these truths.

As we went in this morning to the prayer life of Paul. But you look in the book of Luke. And there's another beautiful Bible study. Go to each time that you see Jesus in prayer in the book of Luke. You'll find him.

He was engaged in intercessory prayer at his baptism. And then the Spirit of God came down from heaven. And descended upon him like a dove. You'll find that before he chose his disciples. That he spent an entire night in prayer.

Praying for those disciples. An entire night. And he wasn't deceived. Because he even said from the very beginning. Have I not chosen you and wanted you as demon possessed? He knew that Judas was a traitor from the very beginning.

But he still chose him. And then we find that Jesus went to a solitary place. Because the crowds in the thrones were coming up against him. And he'd gone to a solitary place and prayed. Gethsemane. We believe in Hebrews.

We see the light of prayer that characterized the Lord Jesus Christ. The disciples were crying out for wisdom and illumination from God. From Jesus. And I can almost see the disciple. When Jesus is engaged in prayer.

We've got it in Luke chapter 11. You need not turn there. But when he stopped praying. The disciples said Lord teach us to pray. We want to see the results. They'd already been taught the disciples prayer.

The formula for prayer. But the disciple says Lord how do we get the results? Extraordinary unceasing importunity in prayer. Shameless persistence. Not always to pray Jesus said. And not to faint. But we faint.

It's so easy today to go to the bank. And buy the thing through the bank. That's one of the easiest things to do. Instead of waiting on God. And there are many things that we can bring into our lives.

And we can think about these things. We're always going to man. We always want to resolve to something. Apart from God. But God keeps on bringing the roof down on us. God keeps on taking the floor away from us.

And all he wants us to do is to be totally and completely dependent upon him. That's the message that I received from Genesis to Revelation to the Christian. It's total allegiance to God. Dependency upon God for everything.

Dependence on God in Times of Crisis

Because I want to tell you friends. If this nation survives. There's going to be a day in the near future. Where God's people will have to depend on God. When the economic system is going to crash. As most men in Washington.

Many of the scholars and people believe that we are on the very threshold of an economic crash. This world that we live in today is in crisis. Many things are taking place that most Christians are unaware of.

And they are literally deceived. And blinded. And it may be because of ignorance. That we are on the threshold of a multitude of crises around the world. And if anybody does any study. And they will read along these lines.

I'm going to be sharing a Lord willing this week. A world in crisis. A message. And I'm going to try to take all the universal crisis we see in the world. Jesus said. At that time. The Son of Man would come.

But we have to learn in America. How to be totally dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ. Because it could be in the very near future. All taken away. And the indebtedness that many of God's people have incurred.

Will be a temptation to them. To be involved. I believe personally. And I'm just going to give you a little thought here. I believe. Do you know why many people are going to receive the mark of the beast during the tribulation hour?

I believe because of the crash of the economy. That they are going to be so indebted. To the banks. And those banks are turned over to the government. That they are going to be pressured. That they will lose everything.

That they had. Unless they are willing to receive the mark of the beast. 666. And I believe that's why so many people today. Will go in. After the rapture of the church. During the tribulation hour. And receive the mark of the beast.

Is because of their great indebtedness. It's all a program of Satan. To bring people to such a point. Where they are totally dependent upon the government. Instead of God. And the time is coming. And it's nearer than what we think.

And this is the day and hour when we need to learn God. And learn His ways. And assimilate the word of God. And fill our hearts with the word of God. Because times of great adversity and tribulation. Are in this nation.

And they're coming. For some reason. Many Bible scholars believe. That before the elections of 1988. That things are going to take place. It's going to bring many Americans. To their knees. And we've got to learn to draw strength and peace.

From Christ. And we can do it. Even in the middle of heartaches. And even as Paul said. Even though this outward man. This body perishes day by day. The inner man is renewed day by day. But I want to tell you something.

If that inner man is not renovated every day. Through prayer and the word of God. You won't make it. Because when the outer man is battered. And the inner man is battered. There's no spiritual survival.

Self-Sufficiency, Sin, and Spiritual Examination

There's oppression. And fatigue. And discouragement. And loss of testimony. When will we as Christians. All of us. Every one of us. Come to the conclusion. That these are imperative commands. They're not optional.

We measure sin in our mind. We talk about all the drunks. That weave down the road. And how we see them every day. Filled with alcohol. And how they're hooked on drugs of all kinds. And thieves and all these other things.

But do we ever think of proudness. As one of the highest forms of pride. That there is. And it is. Because it's self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency. And really it's taking away the place of God. God has made us to the point.

Where we cannot exist without him. But we'll try to fill it with the world. And the many ambitions of life. And many things. But Paul. We looked into his life this morning. He had some prayer list. And that's why Paul says.

I learned the secret of life. If anyone was battered. It was Paul. You read his personal testimony. Of the Jews. He said I was five times received. I had 40 stripes saved. One a night and a day. He said I've been in the deep.

He said wild animals. Ripped at his body. He said that he'd been deceived by false brethren. He said he'd gone to places. Where he thought that they were Christians. And had deceived him. In perils of robbers he says.

Of perils of my own countrymen. Going to Damascus. They want to kill him. They stoned him in Lystra. How could this man keep going on. Because he'd learned the secret of life. And he just gave it to us.

In Philippians 4. He learned to depend on God. For everything. Going in heathen nations. Going to Ephesus. And causing such a riot. And such a ruckus. That they all want to stone him. And kill him. They cried out.

The greatest Diana of Ephesus. Can you imagine this little Jew. Coming into town. And just turning the town's right side up. Even though he was battered and bruised. Yet he had a power that most of us don't understand.

He was tapping into something. And we begin to equate. We do this so many times. We have a tendency to do it. But God told us not to do it. James told us not to do it. Many of the scriptures that we find.

Teach us not to do it. Not to put these men on a pedestal. And say we can't experience the same peace. The same joy. And the same power. Because James says that Elijah was a man. With like passions as we are.

And Paul says be followers of me. As I'm a follower of Jesus Christ. Corrie Ten Boom tells us. Some of the preachers were in that area. Before it fell into communist hands. And she tells the story. All around the nation.