Devotional #117

Question 117. What is in a prayer that pleases God and is heard by God?

Answer: First, that we from the heart pray (a) to the one true God only, who has manifested Himself in His word (b), for all things, He has commanded us to ask of Him (c); secondly, that we rightly and thoroughly know our need and misery (d), that so we may deeply humble ourselves in the presence of His divine majesty (e); thirdly, that we be fully persuaded that He, notwithstanding that we are unworthy of it, will, for the sake of Christ our Lord, certainly hear our prayer, (f), as He has promised us in his word (g).

(a) John 4:24: God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Psalm 145:18: The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

(b) Revelation 19:10: Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
John 4:22-24: You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

(c) Romans 8:26: Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
1 John 5:14: And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
James 1:5: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

(d) 2 Chronicles 20:12: O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

(e) Psalm 2:11: Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Psalm 34:19: Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

Isaiah 66:2: All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

(f) Romans 10:14: How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
James 1:6: But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

(g) John 14:13-14: Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

John 16:23: In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
Daniel 9:17-18: Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.

(h) Matthew 7:8: For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Psalm 27:8: You have said, “Seek my face.”  My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.”

For your personal reflection:
Luke 18 (v.13) records one of the most powerful prayers in Scripture.  It’s short, it’s terse, it comes from the heart: “God be merciful to me a sinner!”   The tax collector recognized his compete unworthiness and desperate need.  God is not looking for eloquence – or even coherence – in your prayers.  He seeks a heart that knows its need and knows the One to whom to turn.  Our deepest need is for mercy and Christ alone is the answer to our heart’s cry.  Having satisfied our deepest longing and greatest need by the gift of His Son, we may with confidence approach His throne making known the reality of our lives without fear.
What keeps you from prayer?
Is there a sense of confidence in your prayers?  Why?  Why not?