(Audio Sermon Clip) Pray, Pray, Pray — John Piper

Praying for Healing, Against Temptation, and Without Ceasing

James 5 16 this is God tell us to pray. Pray for one another that you may be healed. How many sicknesses are there in the church because they don't pray for each other that God would be willing to heal?

First. Thessalonians 5 17 pray without ceasing. Luke 22 40 pray that you may not enter into temptation. That you may not enter into temptation. Luke 18 1 he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Luke 6 28 bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you. You in a rotten situation. Getting ripped off being lied about. Pray pray pray for them. Matthew 6 9 pray like this. Our Father in heaven, that's number one.

Prayer as Obedience and a Means of Joy

We pray because Dozens of times in the Bible we're told to pray and God loves us. He wouldn't tell us to do something. That's bad for us. It's good for us. Number two. We pray because It is a means to the increase of our joy.

Now you might think well, that's what we expect you to say but You expect me to say it because I'm a Christian hedonist. But the case is I'm a Christian hedonist because of texts like this that blew me away 35 years ago.

John 16 24 Until now Jesus said you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and You will receive that your joy may be full. I.

Mean ask.

Ask. Because in coming to me as a needy person and depending upon me for everything you need Your joy will be fuller than if you try to get that need met another way. He wants you happy in him and he says ask.

And your joy will be.

Full. Number three for why we pray because It is simply a staggeringly.

Awesome privilege it is simply a Staggeringly awesome privilege now you got to think of this. We just we just must be blown away by this. God runs the world with infinite wisdom. You and I Never Inform him of anything.

He doesn't already know. We never add to his wisdom ever when we pray. We do not Improve upon his knowledge about what he should do next. This is really basic. This is who God is Romans 11 34 who has known the mind of the Lord or Who has been his counselor or who has ever given a gift to him that he should be repaid.

For from him and through him and to him are all things to him be glory forever. Nobody ever counseled him. Nobody ever gave anything to him that he didn't already own. We are never Obliging God to act out of his need for us.

He doesn't need us. He doesn't need your prayer. He doesn't need anything about you. He's God. That's the meaning of God. No needs. We have needs. He's the need meter. And how the need meter gets glory is by hearing the prayers of the name and It's simply staggering That God would ordain I get this.

Prayer as a Cause in God's Sovereign Purposes

That God the sovereign ruler of the universe would ordain that. Prayers cause things they do prayer. Prayers cause things to happen. That would not happen if you didn't pray. I Wonder if any Calvinists out there squirming.

Listen to this when James 4 2 says You do not have Because you do not ask. That does not mean You would have any way even if you didn't ask because I got a plan. The verse doesn't mean the opposite of what it says.

It says you have not. Because you ask not that means prayer causes things to happen that Wouldn't happen if you didn't pray. This is why this is a staggeringly glorious privilege to be taken by the sovereign God of the universe who runs all things according to his infinite wisdom and Fold it in to his causality.

The Responsibility to Use the Privilege of Prayer

This is breathtaking if you Do not avail yourself of the privilege of bringing to pass events in the universe. That would not take place if you didn't pray. You are acting like a colossal fool.