Why Pray — John Musser

It's good to be here with you and I slept almost all day Saturday. I tell you I was just so tired. We had two crusades back-to-back and we just got back from Canada. And then I came home for a few days, and I was just literally tired out, but I thank the Lord.

I know many of you are praying for us because I've experienced God's strength and his power and I feel ready to go and So we're just praising God for what he does. It's true those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.

I Praise God for that promise Father we thank you for your people this morning. We love them with all of our hearts. We thank you for them Lord. We know that many of them are at different stages in their life.

Some of them Lord going through some troublesome times discouragement mental oppression financial tensions physical Adversity and many other things Lord God. Maybe some have been ensnared by the devil and some self has become Lord instead of Christ.

Some of them Lord God on their satanic Assailment Lord and we pray that in these days that you bring a refreshing to our hearts Oh Lord Jesus, and that you'd quicken us Lord God, we know that revival is intensely personal and father We should pray Lord revive me and Lord before we can pray Lord revive us we've got to pray Lord revive me and Father, so we just pray that we would not look at one another but Lord that we would Pray for your personal movement in our own hearts.

Now father open our eyes and our ears as we study the subject of prayer this morning in Jesus precious name Amen, you may be seated. I have found through much experience that most of our spiritual conflicts come By neglecting the basics and that is neglecting the Word of God because the Word of God teaches us that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word and prayer and seeking God that daily meeting with God and We read in Philippians chapter 4 4 through 9.

The Peace of God Through Prayer

I believe that this is Paul's formula for the peace of God that passes all Understanding and for victory and he's not only relating his personal experience. But under the inspiration of the Spirit of God He's commanding us to obey these same principles and it says in verse 4 rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice.

Let your moderation or your reasonable sweetness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Now here it is. Be careful or anxious or worried for not one thing, but the strong contrast but in everything by prayer and Supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be known unto God.

Our requests are to be made under the omniscient all-knowing God. He knows all things but he says everything by prayer. Now the simplest definition for prayer is simply coming to God and asking. James says you receive not because you ask not.

He says this is one of the reasons why you're not entering into the promises Of God because you're simply not asking Jesus and ask it shall be given you seeking you shall find. Knocking it shall be opened unto you for everyone that asketh receiveth and him that seeketh findeth and him that knocketh it shall be open and So Christ encouraging his disciples to pray and supplication now, that's a stronger word.

You've seen it again and again. You've seen this combination prayer and supplication throughout the New Testament and in the Old Testament. Prayer is simply asking that supplication is a stronger word.

It means to earnestly beseech God. You remember when Isaiah cried out? Oh that thou wouldest win the heavens. Beloved in Christ. There's times when you're praying for your prodigal daughter or your prodigal son or that unsaved mother that unsaved aunt or uncle that Frustration your heart and you come under the burden and you say Oh God, I need to see you meet this need.

That's earnestly beseeching God. It's when the Spirit of God has borne a heavy burden upon your soul. And you've got to lift that weight up to God. There's no human element that's going to help you to escape that pressure only Christ can release you because you see all of us are like human pressure cookers and We build up this tension and pressure and we unbent those anxieties and pressures to God Almighty and There is a throne of grace flowing.

That we can come a mercy seat that we can come always and bring in our tribulations. And he says there he's there always in our time of need. Word Thanksgiving has to be balanced. I would Thanksgiving you also see this with prayer and earnestly beseeching God and Balancing it out with Thanksgiving.

He said let your request be known unto God now in verse 7. There's a beautiful picture and the peace of God now. This is not peace with God peace with God comes when you come to Jesus Christ for eternal life.

And then you have peace with God this is the peace of God. It's the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 22 and 23. The fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace. The peace of God we see the same thing in Colossians.

Let the peace of God rule in your heart. Do the umpire of every decider every decision that you make the peace of God which passes or? Transcends all human understanding. It is a tranquility of mine. It's the greatest tranquilizer.

I know. You know, I love that song that we sing. Oh what peace we often forfeit. Oh what needless pain will bear all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer my friends. I know that just as well as you.

There are times of anxiety every one of us experienced that. But if we were just get on our knees and get alone with God and take all those pressures and frustrations To Jesus Christ. I've never had a time in all my Christian experience when he hasn't met my needs when I came to him.

And so the Lord God, I can't handle anymore. I need your help. And he says this tranquility of mine shall keep your hearts and your minds through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says that I can do all things through Jesus Christ.

It's synonymous you compare that with Philippians chapter 4 and verse 13 through Jesus Christ through his enabling power. That we receive in prayer and searching the Word of God and a proper relationship with Jesus Christ.

And so God says I'll put a garrison of tranquility Around your heart and your minds like a force builder like peace. It's like the inner man being clothed with might. Remember so many times Paul says be clothed with might in the inner man.

Prayer as Spiritual Armor

And he says in Ephesians chapter 6 to put on the whole armor of God. I believe that this much has much to do with it. God is clothing us with supernatural power and he says that this peace will compass or it will Envelop your innermost being it will guard your innermost being like a garrison around a city.

Now isn't it interesting that Paul the Apostle? Exhorting these Philippians to come to God and to bring everything to the Lord in prayer. He would experience God's peace that passes all understanding.

Because my friends Paul was not writing from the holiday in he wasn't writing writing from luxurious in Somewhere where he had all the food and clothing but in cold and nakedness and probably lashes upon his back.

He was writing to these Philippians and he says rejoice in the Lord. Don't be worried and frustrated but bring all these Things to Christ to God and as we go on in the week we're going to see why. Because all of these things are unbelief and when we begin to allow pressures and tensions and anxieties to Cause our eyes to slip from Jesus Christ looking under Jesus the author and finish of our faith.

We fall into unbelief and then there's confusion and discouragement and heartache. Why should we pray? Because of the extreme importance of prayer in the Word of God anyone who read the Bible on a regular basis you'll find that prayer is one of the keynotes of the entire Word of God.

And The Spirit of the Lord lays heavy emphasis on prayer and we see exciting stories in the Bible of prayer from Genesis to Revelation. Get your Strong's Concordance out one of these days. You know what they say you take the Strong's Concordance for the strong the crude for the crude and the young for the young.

It doesn't matter. What kind of concordance you have. Take one of those concordances and look up prayer. And you'll find that it is indeed the keynote of the Word of God. In fact one man has calculated, and I don't know the pains that he took to calculate 30 ,000 promises in the Word of God and he said all those promises are received through prayer.

Biblical Examples of Answered Prayer

We are saved by calling upon the Lord. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And we are kept by the power of God as we continue to ask because it's the law of the kingdom. Asking God commands us to ask.

He says call unto me I'll answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. He says open your mouth wide and I'll fill it. And Moses is exciting the stories that we have of this giant of prayer and one day Israel had sinned so grievously against God that God was going to cut off the apple of his eye and the fear of the Lord broke loose on the children of Israel and Moses fell down in the space and traveled in prayer until the wrath of God was turned away from the children of Israel.

David you read through the Psalms and you find many of you read through the Psalms every day. And you'll find that prayer is one of the key words in the five books of the Psalms. Again and again David said evening morning and at noon will I make my prayer unto thee again and again?

We see David faced with dilemmas. He's outnumbered maybe 100 to 1 he's going against the enemies of the Lord. What is he going to do? He prays and he seeks God and God Supernaturally intervenes isn't a wonderful testimony to David that he never died by the thought they ill that flyeth by they and by the chariot.

But he died in the ripe old age. And we see him agonizing in prayer in the Psalms. We see them sometimes consumed in pressure and discouragement and Depression and he just is literally like Paul. He says just pressed out of measure, but then you see him at the end of that psalm experiencing God's victory and joy and that peace and power because he had poured out his complaint to God and his supplication to the Lord God of Israel and All how we see David crying out to God a man of prayer and then Daniel you see my friends.

Prayer was so important to Daniel that he was willing to give his life for it and Samuel. He shows us that prayerlessness is sinning against the Lord. And did you know that every time in the Old Testament that you have prayerlessness?

It is always without exception linked with idolatry. Something is taking the place of Jesus Christ in our lives and One woman just recently in Pennsylvania said God so convicted me about my daily prayer time.

I'm gonna exchange that one hour that soap opera that I'm addicted to every day and I'm going to give that to Christ. Amen. Ain't that wonderful? She says God has convicted me and I'm gonna exchange it for one hour alone with the Lord Jesus Christ.

And then we see in Nehemiah the importance of prayer and work. But so many times we get it reversed. We work and then we get discouraged and we fall on our face and then we pray and ask God to put the whole mess together.

Spirituality today is buried in activity and that's the great need of the hour. I want to tell you something every crusade my friends is a fight to get alone with God. To get alone with God and I believe that this is the urgent desperate need of the hour.

But if we're going to be men and women of God, we must take time to be holy. To be off with our Lord in the holy Consecration in the word and prayer and without it you're going to fail you're going to get discouraged.

Especially in these end times when the devil is just so feverishly working against all of us. I don't know if you've sensed this in the last six years, especially I've seen the rise of demonic activity in the church and I've seen people literally Bombarded their minds.

There's no stability. There's a double-mindedness. They're going after the world. There's no depth and There's no power and the devil is literally afraid is today because we've given place to him my friends.

I'm going to be sharing later on this week the Lord willing of just how far he can go on a Christian's life and it Open your eyes to see how far he can go and get in the position in our lives and we need to learn today to pray.

If you're not just going to stop the heavens He must pray and if he's going to open them up again He must pray and we'll see if the burden room is going to bring forth a child. Then Hannah is praying and you're looking in New Testament times and you read about the life of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ as the Model of Prayer

Especially in the book of Luke what a beautiful study there is on the life of Jesus in prayer. We see him at his baptism that he's engaged in prayer and the Spirit of God falls upon him. And then we see all night.

He's alone with his father in before he chooses the disciples. You know something scripture teaches us that he chose all of those disciples all 12 of them. And he knew that Judas was demon-possessed.

He'd spent the whole night alone with his father even though my friends. He was the omniscient God the God man God in the flesh and yet he prayed and you know something my friends. This helps me as an evangelist so many times.

I know why again and again the Bible says looking under Jesus. Looking under Jesus was the author. He's the beginner and he's the finisher of our faith and I look under Jesus and I say why did he have to spend so?

Much time alone with his heavenly father. Why did he spend. I've read the biographies of? Hundreds of Saints of the missionaries of the great men and women of God have been used one Characteristic characterized their life and it was extraordinary prayer.

But I look under Jesus and see him praying in the night hours praying watching on the prayer and yet He was the sinless Lamb of God the undefiled Lamb of God and my friends in Christ. He's our example.

And you know something many of us say we don't have time to pray and We've missed out because we've we need to see it's paradoxical and given it shall be given unto you. I have found that the more that I pray the more that I want to pray and I find myself praying without ceasing.

Wherever I am whether I'm on my feet or sitting down, but if I don't have that daily meeting with God I won't be praying without ceasing, but the less I pray the less I want to pray. Because you see that old flesh just it's like lifting weights and you know If you lift those weights the first time it's hard to push that weight over your head and you struggle with it.

But you try day after day and prayer is a mental and spiritual exercise and the nature of the flesh hates prayer. There's one thing that will battle you have a battle with until you do you meet Christ and That's what the area of prayer.

But I found that the more that we do pray it's highly contagious. Amen. It is highly contagious because it brings the serenity and peace of God that passes all understanding and this joy unspeakable and full of glory and the power of God Returns into your life and the spiritual discernment and the sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and the sensitivity to the Word of God.

You know something I find that I can't even really read the Bible unless I've had a good prayer time. You know first of all it's kind of Reciprocal you've got to get the Word of God into your heart opening God open your eyes and then prayer and then so many times.

Having a Bible study again, and I'll tell you something it'll be amazing to see how your spiritual eyes are opened. And then Christ in a solitary place a great while before the dawn he got along with his heavenly father.

You see because the throngs had come and the people wanted to be healed and they came in the cities and it came to the point where Christ had to go into a ship and preach the Word of God and so he had to get up earlier and earlier to meet with his heavenly father, and then we see him at the Garden of Gethsemane and Sweats mingled with blood there pouring out his heart and soul travail in agony to the heavenly father in Prayer and in the book of Hebrews we see that was strong tears and crying that he was heard of his heavenly father.

And then the disciples came to Jesus one day and said Lord teach us to pray. Now you need to underscore that in your minds because you see the disciple did not ask Jesus how to pray to teach them. But they said Lord we don't want to know how to pray or to pray teaches to pray.

It already had the formula they wanted to see the results and So Jesus taught them to pray. The early church born in the prayer meeting you remember that they continued in prayer with Peter and Mary. And Martha and all the disciples gathered together in extraordinary prayer.

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come God met with them. Have you ever thought about the prayer list of Paul? I was reading last night as I was reading through the New Testament I saw that Paul says I make mention of you always he's praying for Titus.

He's praying for Timothy. He's praying for the Colossians, and he's praying for the Ephesians. He says I bow my knees to the father. And he's praying for all of these people and praying for all the churches and for the work of Jesus Christ to go on.

He had some prayer list. He was praying for the Romans. Have you ever read about the man who made it as ministry to the labor and prayer? Paul spoke of a man who labored fervently in prayer as we read church history.

We see the church of history emphasizes the extreme importance of prayer as I mentioned previously. I love to read biographies, and I want to encourage every one of you. I believe it's important to read Biographies of great men and women of God.

Prayer, Revival, and Christian Biography

Let this be the monarch of all books. I'll tell you you know if you've read a good biography always lead you back into the Word of God and prayer. Anything that takes away and will drive you away from the Word of God and prayer.

I believe it's not a God Anointed book. What I mean by that it'll meet anything out of the ordinary. I mean that God's hand is upon that book and that literature, and I've read biographies like this. But we need to know and learn how God has used people in times past.

It does something to every one of us it inspires us. It encourages us to have faith that God will do the same thing through me and you. I Don't believe today personally I would be Serving the Lord in the capacity that I am if I did not read many of the biographies of the past.

Because I had such an inferiority complex, and then I read that God used DL Moody with a sixth grade education. I said if he could use him with a sixth grade education. He can use someone like me. And I began to see that DL Moody.

He made a covenant with God as a man said it's yet to see what God would do through a man. That is totally yielded to the Holy Spirit and DL Moody said I'll be that man. Although he slaughtered the English he never preached a homiletical sermon.

He was empowered by God and DL Moody was a man of prayer. And it learned these things and you'll learn these things too. You see we're ignorant of history. I want to tell you something the communists aren't and he calls us.

They're not Ignorant of history and the communists are learned in the area of history. And I believe that we need to learn about these men and women of God. I found today that we're consuming too much time with sensual novels and light novels that will never do anything for your Spirituality and all they do is waste your time.

Christ says his word says redeeming the time for the days are evil. And it is a wicked day an hour and we've got to wake up to the commission of the church. Moody Finney Brainerd Hudson Taylor. The Sun never rose but what.

Hudson Taylor is on his knees in prayer deal. But he said the first essential means of grace are the Word of God in prayer right back to the basis. And I like this one man said this labor prayer then watch God work.

And how true it is. John Wesley said that great man of God. God does nothing, but my prayer and everything with it. I'll a toy he was a successor to DL Moody. He said if you won't stay long with him you won't be much like him because Christ was a man of prayer.

Andrew Murray has so many books on prayer. He said God's child can conquer everything my prayer. Mountains removed obstacles, and it's true. How true it is. Hudson Taylor said Satan the hinder may build a barrier about us.

But he can never with us in so that we cannot look up. Have you ever had times like this when the pressures were all around about you? You didn't know what you're going to do. And then you found yourself alone with God with the Word of God open claiming some promises turning those promises into petitions and the anxieties begin to leave and the pressures begin to vent out and you begin to experience that tranquility of mind that peace of God and Begin to experience the joy of getting alone with God.

David Brainerd the missionary to the Indians exclaimed Oh the pure delight of a single hour that before my throne I spend when I kneel in prayer with the old God. I commune his friend with friend. God used this young man the most unusual way died before the age of 30.

He's effective missionaries more missions missionaries been called to the field to reading his journal than any other man. I'll tell you a dynamic young man that was empowered by the Spirit of God, but he lived the life of prayer.

Says a T Pearson the Word of God represents all the possibilities of God at the disposal of prayer. In fact my friends I Cannot find one scripture in all the Word of God that does not come and answer to prayer.

Either the prayer of appropriation or the prayer of asking everything that you have. Appropriating your position in Christ crucified with Christ alive under God resurrected with him. All of these things come through prayer and just just for a few moments as We see our personal experience proves the extreme importance of prayer.

You look at the times when you lived in the atmosphere of prayer. Were they not times of peace and power so many people said John I know that I'm not Experiencing the joy and peace that I used to have when I met with God in the daily basis.

Today my life is discouraged. I let little things get me down. I'm so frustrated. I'm so full of anxiety. I remember the days when I used to take everything to Christ. What can prayer do. What are the possibilities?

Prayer, Repentance, and National Revival

We've already mentioned that God used Moses the spare nation. In fact We see that prayer and repentance will spare any land according to 2nd Chronicles 714 if my people would you call them my name? Humble themselves and pray and seek my face.

That's an extraordinary prayer seeking God's face and turn from their wicked ways. And by the way you can't turn from your wicked ways my friends unless first of all you humble yourselves and Pray and then seek God and then and only then can the strong roots of sin be broken away.

And then God says I'll forgive your sin and heal your land. And God says that that type of prayer will spare any nation or family or home or country or church. The son stood still an answer to Joshua's petition.

The baron received strength. Illumination in the Word of God. David says Oh God open my eyes. Now maybe all the wondrous things that are by law. Mountains removed. Jesus said say to this mountain be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart.

But you believe that those things which he say shall come to pass. He shall have. We'll sort of say a soul saved in the world. I've seen souls say because my friends we can use the Old Testament example.

It says when Zion travail shall bring forth their children and how true that is. We see it again and again when God's people meet him a revival and begin to pray we begin to see that when revival becomes the experience of the church that evangelism becomes the expression of the Church of Jesus Christ and souls are born into the kingdom and The promises of God received.

Doors open. Paul said pray that the door would be open unto me pray for me. And all my friends the list goes on and on and on but also we see I want you to turn with me very quickly to Hebrews chapter 4.

Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 16. I want you to see today. What am I trying to prove to you? What am I trying to say? I want to tell you this that a daily meeting with God is absolutely Mandatory for a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

You'll have no spirituality. You'd have no power with God. You have no peace and you're going to be full of frustration unless you learn to meet with God daily. In fact, unless you're willing to discipline yourself to meet with God in a daily basis.

You might as well turn in your badge as far as discipleship is concerned. You're going to be a defeated Christian. I know that I can say that with all authority my friends because I know it's true in my own life.

The Throne of Grace and Daily Dependence

I can't go a day without real prayer and Bible study and if I attempt to do so I Have no control of my thought life. I'm frustrated. I'm discouraged. Little things get to me little boxes and they spoil the vines little anxieties.

I need to be closed with that armor every day. And if I find myself tempted in an unusual way or discouraged or letting pressures get a hold of me I always think in my mind. I don't have the armor on and I don't When I come under the pressure.

But I know when I keep in that quiet time and that daily meeting with God I can through Christ overcome so many trials and tribulations and we see in Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 16. Let us therefore on the basis of what's just been said previously.

Because Christ sits on the right hand of the Father. Interceding for us he ever liveth to make intercession for us. He prayed all the days of his life and he's been in the prayer meeting for 2 ,000 years in the heavenlies.

Even now Christ is engaged in prayer. He's our high priest in the heavens. Let us therefore come boldly through the blood of Jesus Christ to this throne of grace. That we may obtain mercy. All of us need mercy today and Grace to help in the time of need in the time of trouble and he says this throne of grace is readily available always and Coming to God to find help mercy and grace.

Jesus said without me you can do nothing. You know something God wants to be God in our life. That means if you can exist one day without God's help that you're not where God wants you to be. We fall into some form of idolatry.

Because you see my friends Christianity is some people say it's a crutch. No, it's not. It's a total life support system. Amen. Jesus said without me you can do nothing. You can do nothing and that echoes in my mind.

Then without him I can do nothing that will be pleasing to him. I'm gonna fall on my face if I try to do the work of Christ and the energy of the flesh. And so I desperately need him every hour. I need him every day.

I dare not go to pulpit without prayer and seeking God as Paul says. I don't want to preach in word only but in demonstration of the spirit and of power clothed with spiritual power and so we need him and I want to tell you something.

This is where revival starts when we get back to the basics and when we repent of the sin of prayerlessness. And we realize my friends that is an awful sin in the sight of God. There's someone taking the place of Christ.

It's timeless television. It's people or friend.

Please turn this tape over for the continuation of this message. Thank you.

I could you not at least spend one hour with me as he said to the disciples One hour and Bible study and alone with God and you know something if you neglect that time. You're going to be the loser because you're going to get frustrated and you're going to get discouraged and you will be Uninsensitive.

There's a numbness that comes to prayerlessness a callousness that when we cease to pray We're insensitive to spiritual realities. Because you see when you begin to engage in prayer the things of earth grow strangely dim and eternal realities.

Begin to brighten and that's why the Word of God says such affection on those things which are above or Christ. Sitted on the right hand of God. And I've noticed this again and again that extraordinary prayer and Bible study subdues the flesh.

It's one of the ways of mortifying the old man and bringing them into subjection. And we need to understand these things. You see my friends if you want wisdom. Or does the Bible says if any man lack wisdom let him ask of God.

It's the only way you're going to give wisdom. You must come to God. Nearness to God you say I'd like to be near to God. The Bible says draw near to God, and he will draw nigh to you. He never left you in the first place.

It's a repentance drawing near to God in prayer and he'll draw nigh to you. Power of the devil. Ephesians 6 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit and Watching there unto it all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

There's no other way to have power of the devil, but through prayer. It's the only way my friends to maintain Fellowship with God if we walk in the light as he is in the light if we confess our sins. He's just and righteous to forgive us and so we know that that comes through that daily quiet time.

Of course you can confess your Sins any place any time anywhere, but you see that quiet time is so mandatory. Obtaining the peace of God that passes all understanding. Philippians chapter 4 4 through 9 obtaining the promises of God.

Utter dependency upon him. Are you totally dependent on Christ this morning? You see why don't we pray if it's so important first of all being believed because of spiritual blindness. Blindedness. The children of Israel walked through the Red Sea they saw the exploits of God.

They saw the miracles of our ten gods were judged in Egypt and blindedness and they saw God's power. They were fed with manna and yet they continued to what murmur and Complain and turn away from God and they forgot the glory and dear friends in Christ all of us.

We forget the glory we have with Christ. Don't we? We forget the intimate times because our minds alienated by carnality from those times. Spiritual blindness. We sin against God. The fellowship is broken.

We forget about the times. Ignorance unaware of the blessings that come through prayer. Practical experience. Idolatry something taking unbelief in the heart is the word of the matter and it truly is because God says without faith.

It's impossible to please him for he that cometh to God Must believe that he is and he's a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. You see that tied in he was 11 sex without faith. It's impossible to please him for he that cometh to God in prayer Must believe that he is and that he's a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Unbelief in the heart sin in the heart. We see Self-sufficiency. One deacon was convicted during one crusade because he didn't realize that prayerlessness is one of the highest forms of pride that there is.

You know, why? It's self-sufficiency it's saying to God that I can make it through a Demon infested world without God's power and without the armor on and this is I can make it. It's self-sufficiency.