Let's Start Praying More (Part 9)

 
THE PREREQUISITIES FOR EFFECTIVE PRAYER:
 
“My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chron 7:14)
 
This familiar verse is the LORD'S response to Solomon’s request that any prayer offered at the Temple would be heard by the LORD, (2 Chron 6:40). “The LORD appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, ‘I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice” (2 Chron 7:12), which is followed by, “Now my eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place,” (2 Chron 7:15). Between these two verses, we read the well-known passage that provides three necessary conditions for hearing the prayer of a believer:
 
(1) Humble themselves,
(2) Seek My Face, (Part 10) and
(3) Turn from their wicked ways (Repent) (Part 11).
 
All three are conditional requirements of effective prayer and worthy of a detailed discussion, but we will attempt to summarize in our context about prayer.
 
(1) Humble Themselves: In scripture, humility is demonstrated by obedience to the LORD. The best definition of humility in the entire Bible comes in reference to Jesus,
 
“Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross,” (Phil 2:8)
 
Moses is referred to as “very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth,” (Num 12:3). We understand the humility of Moses to be reflected in his obedience, which allowed the Law to come through Moses. Moses became the pattern for the prophet who would come after Moses (Deut 18:15), the one Who came, “humble in heart,” (Matt 11:29), and “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross,” (Phil 2:8).
 
Obedience to the commandments has a very tangible benefit that is almost never appreciated by the believer. To the degree the believer perform the same obligations as Jesus and the prophets, he comes to understand that he can achieve a similar level of spiritual growth.  In the words of Abraham Cohen,
 
“Spiritual greatness is inborn within each of us, and therefore, the goal of bringing it to the surface is within our grasp…When one aspires to the deeds of our Forefathers, he finds himself propelled along the path of spiritual growth because the opportunity truly does exist to reach the loftiest level.” (Everyman's Talmud)
 
In the words of James, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit,” (James 5:17-18).
 
To the degree a believer can live like Elijah and mirror the life of Jesus, the believer will come to understand that he also has the opportunity to pray like the great men of faith, as it is written,
 
“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry…The righteous cry out and the LORD hears them,” (Psa 34:15-17)


(Have a blessed day - Scott)