Pray Boldly

In this episode, we're going to talk about the Word of God. Welcome to Grace to You with John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson. If you're like many people, you want prayer to be an important part of your life, but frankly, there's a lot of room for improvement.

So get ready. John is about to launch a study that could forever change what you put into, and what you get out of, your communication with God. John calls this study, Don't Be Afraid to Ask. All right, a bit of context. The messages you're going to hear in this study caused a lot of buzz around Grace Community Church when John first preached them.

So, John, maybe you could give some background. Why did this study get people talking? Because they believe in the view of God, and they should, and because they believe in the sovereignty of God and that God wills what he wills and does what he does because of his own sovereign choice. Believers can be a little reluctant in praying boldly. You almost always feel like you need to say whatever your will is. You know, do this, do that, I pray for this, I pray for that, but Lord, whatever your will is. There's almost a sort of an automatic response. Now, I'm not pushing you.

God, I'm not really pushing you. Sort of the default position is to pray for something and then back out of it and say, yeah, well, I understand if you don't want to do that, God. But it's a form of grace to seek help in time of need.

So, this boldness is striking in the account of Luke chapter 11. We have this distorted view of God's sovereignty that not only causes us to kind of back out of requests, but may even cause us not to pray at all because we have such a strong view of God's sovereignty, he's going to do what he's going to do, and so the prayer could be as simple as, okay, God, do what you're going to do today, and I support it. That is not what we learn, and we learn this from Jesus himself. This is a very surprising series, and you're going to find your view of prayer dramatically changed.

So you need to stay with us. Don't miss a day of the study called Don't Be Afraid to Ask. Right, Charles Spurgeon put it simply, a Christian can have everything that he asks for in Jesus' name. But practically, what does that mean, and what does that sort of powerful prayer look like?

To help answer that, here's John MacArthur to launch his series, Don't Be Afraid to Ask. Luke 11 verses 5 and following, a familiar and really unforgettable little story that Jesus tells here. It actually has a lot of humor in it and while Jesus didn't say things that are actually funny or that make us laugh, we certainly see a warmth of his humor in this story because it's so much like life. The story begins in verse 5, Luke 11, and he said to them, Suppose one of you shall have a friend and shall go to him at midnight and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey and I have nothing to set before him. And from inside he shall answer and say, Do not bother me, the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed, I cannot get up and give you anything.

I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. And I say to you, ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you for everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it shall be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish, he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?

Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? Boy, what starts out as a simple story ends up pretty theological, doesn't it? It starts with the simple and ends up in the profound. A mature believer who has been shaped by Scripture, and that's the only way to be mature, understands the nature of God. Your view of God is really the benchmark of your spiritual maturity. Understanding the nature of God is critical to spiritual maturity because in the end you rest in the reality of your God. Superficial knowledge of God, a shallow knowledge of God, a limited knowledge of God contributes to limited understanding and limited faith and limited trust. And so when we talk about spiritual maturity, we're really talking about understanding the nature of God.

That is essential. That is to say you understand that God is eternal, that He is powerful, that He is holy, that He is unchangeable, that He is omniscient, that He is omnipresent, that He is purposeful, that He is sovereign, that He is in perfect control of everything He has created all the time. You understand that God is above and beyond and outside all of the contingencies that go on in the created universe. He is transcendent.

He is high and lofty, majestic and lifted up. And He is working to perfection His plan for the universe and for mankind. He has everything under control all the time and is in perfect knowledge and bringing to pass the plan which He ordained from the very beginning. In Job 42, 2, we read these words, I know that thou canst do all things and that no purpose of thine can be thwarted.

Now there's a comment of a mature man, I know that you're in charge of everything and no purpose of yours can ever be thwarted. Psalm 33, 11 says, The counsel of the Lord stands forever. That is to say, what God says is fixed permanently. Nothing God says ever changes because there's never any more information. There's never anything to be clarified and no circumstance can occur which God doesn't already know about and knew about when He made that declaration. That's why Psalm 33, 11 also says, The plans of His heart are fixed from one generation to another. From generation to generation, the plans of the heart of God stand. Nothing changes because there's no further information, there's no exigency or contingency that God didn't know about, nothing changes. He inexorably and perfectly works His plan through to the end. In Proverbs 19, 21, we read, Many are the plans of a man's heart, but the counsel of the Lord, it will stand.

We change our plans all the time because we get more information, because circumstances change. God never changes anything. His counsel is fixed. In Isaiah 14, 24, the Lord of hosts has sworn saying, Just as I have intended, so it has happened. Just as I have planned, so it will stand. All these statements about standing have to do with God fixing a purpose which never changes. I intended it and that's how it happens.

I planned it and that's how it is and will be. In Isaiah 46, a little bit more prolonged passage, all of this sort of comes together in very clear terms. Isaiah chapter 46 verse 8, Remember this, be assured, recall to mind you transgressors. Remember the former things long past, for I am God and there is no other.

I am God and there is no one like Me. And here's the distinction, declaring the end from the beginning. We can't do that. We don't know the end from the beginning. We can't affirm the end. We can't bring about the end from the beginning.

Only God can. That's why He is God. There is no one like Him because there is no one who can tell how it's going to end before it even begins. He declares the end from the beginning.

And from ancient times, things which have not been done. And it's not just that He knows how they will happen. It says, My purpose will be established, I will accomplish all My good pleasure. From the beginning, God determined the end, He planned the end and He works to that end. Verse 11 says, Truly I have spoken, truly I will bring it to pass.

I have planned it, I will do it. God never alters His plan. And the plan was established from the beginning and He works it to the very end. Jesus in the first chapter of Acts said this in verse 7, It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority. Times and epochs, what does that mean?

Chronological time, clock time, calendar time and epochal time, events. All chronological history and all the events that occur within it are fixed in God's own authority. Everything is determined from the beginning to the end by the purposes of God. In the fourth chapter of the book of Acts, we read the testimony of those early believers. For truly, verse 27, in this city there were gathered together against Thy holy servant Jesus whom Thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel. Everybody got together to kill Jesus. But verse 28 says, To do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined.

What a statement...what a statement. Whatever it is that they did, it was predestined by God and predetermined by His purpose. Now God is sovereign and God is omnipotent. He knows the plan and He has the power to work the plan. He has perfect knowledge so there's nothing to change the plan.

He doesn't need us to give Him more information and He doesn't react to circumstances. You say, Why are you telling us all this? Because all these realities about God raise the question of how our prayers matter, don't they?

Were you getting there? Some say, Well, you know, why do I bother to pray? All that seems to squelch my prayer life and my little requests.

And, of course, that's one of the accusations that's been made by people who reject Reformed theology, that if you have a strong view of God, if you have the biblical view of God, it just takes all the heart out of your praying. I mean, I certainly don't want to bother God. I don't want to interrupt God. I mean, He knows where He's going, knows what He's doing. He doesn't need information from me about anything.

And He's not about to change His ultimate plan and design. So if I am told to pray, maybe all I need to do is just kind of go in for a little brief thing and say, You know, I'm really sorry to bother you, God, I'll just keep this to a minimum. I know you're really busy and I know you've got the deal worked out and you know where it's going, so I won't be long. And people say that to me all the time...to me.

Boy, I know you're really busy and I know you've got a lot of things on your mind, but if I could just have a minute. If people think that that's some kind of intrusion into my life and I haven't got a clue what's coming in the future. We think about God, we would say to God, Well this is ridiculous for me to come and bring my little deal in front of You when You've got it all worked out from beginning to end. Even the fact that I was born, that I exist and that I would come to You with this request was known to You before the foundation of the world and it's all in the plan, what's the point?

Well if I do come, I'm going to make it quick and I'll be out. I mean, it's almost embarrassing, isn't it? Sorry God, it's me again and I know I interrupt you a lot with my little things. And we say, if we have a mature view of God and a full view of God and we understand the character of God and the nature of God, does it really have some kind of a squelching effect on our prayer life?

Well let me give you an illustration. Let's go back to the book of Nehemiah...Nehemiah, chapter 1. Israel is in captivity, God knows that. The land of Israel and the land of Judah, in particular the southern kingdom and the city of Jerusalem is in ruins.

The remnant, verse 3, of chapter 1 are in great distress, reproach, the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and gates are burned with fire. God knows all that. In fact, God made sure that happened because God brought, you remember, the Babylonians to be His executioner, to bring judgment on Israel for idolatry.

So God knows all of that. But I want you to still see the response of Nehemiah, verse 4. Now it came about when I heard these words, got a report back about the condition of Jerusalem.

I sat down and wept and mourned for days. Didn't change the heartbreak just because God knew all of this and Nehemiah knew God knew it, didn't change how Nehemiah felt and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. You say, well maybe He didn't have a very good idea, maybe He didn't really understand who God was and He was getting over-exercised and fasting and praying and weeping and mourning and He's really in a highly emotional condition here. Maybe He just doesn't kind of know that God is in charge.

Maybe He's just really a loose Arminian floating around in the Old Testament. But look at His prayer in verse 5, I said I beseech the O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who preserves the covenant and loving kindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments. He understood God. He understood God was sovereign Lord. He understood His greatness, His awesomeness, all the attributes that fill up those terms. He understood that He had a covenant and that He was faithful to that covenant. He understood His grace and His loving kindness to those that love Him and keep His commandments. He understood all of that and still in verse 6, let thine ear now be attentive and thine eyes open to hear the prayer of Thy servant which I am praying before Thee now day and night on behalf of the sons of Israel.

You know, this...you know, when you read this in the context, it makes you just a little bit squeamish. I mean, have you ever talked to God like that? Have you ever said, God, listen to me, I'm talking to You.

Open Your eyes and check out my situation. I don't think I've ever said that to God. And not only did He say it once, He says, I am praying before You day and night, fasting, weeping, mourning, praying before the God of heaven whom He fully understands. He's really storming the gates. He's saying, God, open Your ear and open Your eyes and look at the situation.

That's pretty bold stuff, isn't it? It's almost embarrassing. You know, we sort of go into God's presence, you know, it's me again, Lord, and oh, whatever's Your will, please, let's get that out of the way at the beginning.

That's where I am. And, you know, I know you've got other things to attend to, so I'll understand if you can't be bothered with this little...this isn't...this is not Nehemiah's approach, God, you know, wake up, take a look, come on. Look at Psalm 17 verse 1, hear a just cause, O Lord, give heed to my cry, give ear to my prayer. Listen to me, God, these people who prayed in the Old Testament demanded a hearing with God.

Psalm 27 verse 7, these are illustrations, there are many more, Psalm 27 7, hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice. Listen to me when I'm talking to You, God, and be gracious to me and look at this, answer me. Have you ever said that to God? I'm telling you, God, you better listen to me and I want an answer.

Answer me. Psalm 55 adds another component, verse 1, give ear to my prayer, O God, and do not hide yourself from my supplication. Don't you be hiding anywhere, I'm talking to you.

It's amazing. Give heed to me and answer me. I am restless in my complaint and I am surely distracted. I'm telling you, things aren't going right and you need to listen to me and don't you be going off hiding somewhere.

Pay attention, it sounds like my kids talk to me like that when I'm distracted. Psalm 102 is another one and again, those are samples I'm giving. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry for help come to Thee. Do not hide Thy face from me in the day of my distress, incline Your ear to me. And again, it's that same sort of demanding, it's almost rude...it's almost rude. It would be like somebody coming up to you and saying, look, I want to talk to you. Listen to me, I want to talk to you.

Look at me. Don't you be leaving, don't you be distracted. You'd say, wait a minute here. Psalm 143 adds one other component. Hear my prayer, O Lord, Psalm 143, one, give ear to my supplications, answer me in Thy faithfulness, in Thy righteousness, none other than the next one, and do not enter into judgment with Thy servant. I don't want a discussion.

I don't want you to be upset at me, just cool your anger here and just listen. Amazing way to talk to God, amazing. I'm shocked by some of this, the boldness of it, the brashness of it. When I was growing up as a kid, my grandmother used to have this little saying, I don't hear it much anymore. My mom picked it up and carried it on and she said, well, Johnny, that took a lot of gall. Did you ever hear anybody say that? That took a lot of gall. I don't know where that came from. You look up gall in the dictionary, I don't know how they connect, but...or my mom would say, well that took a lot of nerve. Just like you've stepped over the boundaries of rudeness.

You've gone too far. You say, well what is the point in talking to God like that? What do you mean if you know God is sovereign and if you know God is all-wise and all-powerful and all-knowing and has purposed everything from the beginning to the end and all the way through the middle?

What in the world is the point of praying? And the answer is because God has not only ordained the end, He has ordained the means to the end. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather be a part of God's means than anything else. I suppose I could be a spiritual couch potato and not care whether I participated as the means which God uses to reach His end, but I'd much rather be engaged and involved in being the means because the residual impact to me is wonderful, it is His goodness and blessing in this life and eternal reward in the life to come. It's not about changing God's mind, it's not about changing God's plans, it's not about giving Him information He doesn't have.

It's not about a tweaking of the circumstances that He might not have anticipated, it's simply about being used by God. The Old Testament, I'll give you an illustration, the Old Testament prophet said Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. Well that's the end and it had to be, He couldn't be born anywhere else or the whole Old Testament would have been discredited, the prophet would have been wrong. How was Jesus born in Bethlehem?

Because Caesar Augustus who didn't know anything about Malachi or Jesus determined a census to be taken in Israel and everybody had to go to his own original hometown to register for the census, Luke 2, and so Joseph and Mary had to go down to Bethlehem at exactly the time of the census which is exactly the time when she delivered the baby, the Messiah was born in Bethlehem. The end was in the plan of God from the very beginning as articulated by the prophet in the Old Testament. The means was an ignorant Caesar making a decree. God uses the means as well as determines the end. And in Acts chapter 2 where Peter is preaching on the day of Pentecost, he says, you killed the Son of God by the predetermined...the determinative will and plan of God. The means of our salvation, God determined that Christ would be the sacrifice for our salvation.

The means, Roman soldiers and all the things that went into it. Like everything else, look, God determined your salvation from before the foundation of the world. He gives us through your faith and repentance. You will not be saved without faith.

You will not be sanctified without obedience. And you will not enjoy the goodness of God in this life without participating in prayer in the accomplishing of the divine purposes. I can't think of anything more wonderful than God allowing me to be a means to His ends.

It's incredible. I don't want to change God. Let me tell you right now, I don't want to change anything, I can't, it would be ridiculous to think of it.

But that would be to assume that I had a better idea and that's absolute idiocy. But to think that God could use me totally ignorant of the future, totally inept to be a means by which He achieves His eternal ends and then not only bless me for that, but reward me forever beyond belief. That's why the Bible tells us to pray, prayers a means by which God's infinite wisdom, infinite power and perfect purpose are brought together to accomplish His will. You can't be saved without believing. You can't be sanctified without obeying. And you can't enjoy the goodness of God in this life without participating in His unfolding purpose through your prayers and through your service to Him.

Up down to verse 8, you notice in verse 8 the word persistence, that's in the NAS, I don't know what other versions have. Some Bibles say importunity, there's a word nobody ever uses, importunity, that's a good word. If you ever get a chance to look at it in the dictionary, this is what you'll find. Importunity is different than opportunity. We all use opportunity all the time because that kind of works for us in our everyday language. Opportunity is a word the dictionary says, it means a circumstance favorable to us. You see what appears to be a circumstance favorable to you and you take advantage of it. You move into that circumstance to achieve in that opportunity what it is that you think is available for you there. That's opportunity. Importunity is not that at all, it's something different. Opportunity simply means you moved into a favorable circumstance.

Importunity is far stronger. It is a word that has urgency and persistence in it, but it's bigger than the word persistence. Some dictionaries translate it this way, troublesomely urgent, overly persistent, it's a hyper-word, or even annoyingly relentless. What happened here was this guy finally got out of bed and gave the man what he wanted because he was annoyingly persistent. He was overly persistent.

He was troublesomely urgent. It's the word in the Greek ani deon, it's hapax legomena, that is once said in the New Testament, the only place it ever appears. Somebody who just sets aside all sense of shame. It's one lexicon said, overly bold. Another one said, utter shamelessness.

Somebody who is just brash and bold, somebody who has a lot of nerve. Are we supposed to pray like that? That's what Jesus is going to teach us here to pray like that and thus to participate in the means by which God achieves His ends. God is sovereign and all-powerful, meaning He does what He wants. Yet that should encourage you to pray and to do it persistently, boldly.

Don't be afraid to ask. That's the title of John MacArthur's study here on Grace to You. Now I would encourage you to get this study so that you can review it again and again. Prayer is at the heart of knowing God and experiencing the blessings of the Christian life. And this series will certainly motivate you to pray. It answers questions like, what should you pray about? When and where is the best place to pray?

And what does Scripture say about praying boldly? To order the two-CD album titled Don't Be Afraid to Ask or to download the MP3s for free, contact us today. Don't Be Afraid to Ask costs $12 and shipping is free. Just call 800-55-GRACE or go to gty.org to buy the CDs.

You can also download the MP3s free of charge at gty.org. In fact, all of John's sermons, 3,500 total, are free at our website. And this is not something we talk about a lot, but periodically we hear from people who are interested in supporting Grace to You through their estate planning.

That is a great way to help ensure that people will hear and grow from John's teachings for generations to come. If you'd like information on supporting Grace to You through your estate, contact Paul Ackermann at 800-55-GRACE. And to make a one-time donation now or to set up a recurring gift, you can do that online at gty.org. That's our website.

One more time, gty.org. Or call 800-55-GRACE. Now for John MacArthur and the entire Grace to You staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Thanks for tuning in today. And make sure you're here tomorrow. When John continues his look at praying with boldness, don't miss the next 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth, one verse at a time, on Grace to You.