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[0:00] If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.

[0:23] John 15, 7 says those who abide in Christ can pray. Can pray and get answers. That's a blessing, isn't it? That's an encouragement to us.

[0:34] Who is to pray? Those who are Christians can pray. And we've got that promise from our Saviour. He says, if you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.

[0:46] So abide in Christ. Remain in him. Stay steadfast in your faith in Christ. It says, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

[0:58] Now what is prayer? Prayer is talking with God. It's time with our Lord. It's a direct line of communication with our Lord and God. It's a conversation with God.

[1:09] And in John 9, 31, it says that, And the psalmist said, If we regard iniquity or sin in our heart, the Lord will not hear us.

[1:26] So it's needful that we're saved, really, to have effective prayer, to know the Saviour. And 1 John 3, 22, it says, And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

[1:43] So prayer for the believer is getting in tune with our Lord. What is it that God wants for us? What is his will? What is pleasing in his sight? And that then affects how we live and how we think.

[1:56] What our will is becomes his will. What our thinking is becomes his thinking, his desires, his good pleasures become our good pleasure. Secondly, why pray?

[2:08] Why pray? Because the Lord responds to prayer. And he tells us to ask. John 16, 24, he says to the disciples, Hitherto, or before this, have ye asked nothing in my name.

[2:24] Ask, and ye shall receive. Ask, he says. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. And the Lord promises, he assures you, he promises you and me, that he will respond to our prayer.

[2:39] The psalmist said, delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord.

[2:50] Trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass. And when we pray, what do we do? We commit our way. We commit our life. We commit our family. We commit our needs.

[3:01] We commit our future. We commit our whole. Enter his care. We commit our cares into his care. We commit our way unto the Lord.

[3:13] We trust in him, and he shall bring it to pass. And so, brothers and sisters tonight, a real encouragement for prayer is, firstly, to delight yourself in the Lord.

[3:23] To make the Lord your delight. Make the Lord that which brings joy, and pleasure, and blessing, and encouragement in your heart.

[3:33] Delight yourself in the Lord. Matthew 26, 41. Our Lord says to his disciples, he says, watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation.

[3:46] And the context there is how the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. So, our Lord urges his people, and that means you and I, watch and pray. And one of the keys to victory in the Christian life is prayer.

[4:01] James 1, verse 5. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, but give it to all men liberally. So, the promise there from God's word is, if you lack wisdom, ask of God.

[4:17] Ask of God. And that applies to all of us, I'm sure. We can all think of instances or needs we have for wisdom, whether it's day by day, decision making, or future planning.

[4:28] We all need to ask the Lord for wisdom, and he will grant it to us. He will help us with that. From verse 7 of Matthew 7. He says, ask and it shall be given you.

[4:42] Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you. As the chorus goes, ask and keep on asking. Seek and keep on seeking. Knock and keep on knocking.

[4:53] That's the actual sense of the Greek in this verse here. It's got the sense of a persisting, of an ongoing asking, seeking and knocking. And he goes on, verse 8.

[5:04] For everyone that asketh, receiveth. He that seeketh, findeth. To him that knocketh, it shall be opened. So, there's a blessing there for us as we think of, again, the promise of God.

[5:18] Psalm 91, verse 15. The whole psalm is a blessing. But verse 15, it says there. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him.

[5:29] I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honour him. Ask and you shall receive. Call and he will answer. He will answer. He's listening.

[5:40] He's listening for your prayer. He's just a prayer away. Now, sometimes we just neglect to pray. But it's so simple. It's so vital. So essential that we pray.

[5:52] Why pray? Because he will answer. When are we to pray? When are we to pray? We could think of different religions have got set times to pray in.

[6:02] Different rituals in different places have got certain formula and postures and certain rituals that they have. We're not bound by any of that kind of thing.

[6:15] We're not limited to a particular time or place or a particular posture or a particular formula or way of speaking. We're not bound or limited by any of that.

[6:28] Pray and keep on praying. Always pray. Persevere in prayer. Man ought always to pray. It's not a set time. You don't have to wait until Sunday or prayer meeting or Bible study.

[6:38] We're instructed to pray without ceasing. Pray without ceasing. Without stopping. Ongoing prayer. Continual prayer.

[6:49] Constant prayer. A prayer with constancy. A prayer with continuity. When are we to pray? Always without ceasing. Matthew 6 verse 6 it says that we are to pray to our Father who is in secret.

[7:05] The Lord Jesus says in the context he's talking about the hypocrites. He says they love to pray where men can see them in the synagogues and standing on the streets. To be seen of men.

[7:17] But verse 6 he says, But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet or thy secret place. Enter into that room, that closet, that place of prayer.

[7:29] A secret place of prayer. And when they have shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret. And thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

[7:40] So there's a place for secret prayer. Private prayer. Prayer that is personal between you and the Lord. Find a private place. A place where you can commune with the Lord.

[7:51] A time of quietness. A time, a place that you can have personal fellowship with the Lord your God. And he shall reward thee openly. It's those private times of prayer that can be such a blessing.

[8:05] Those personal times of prayer. And you can pray morning, noon and night. And everywhere in between. There's no set formula. But it's always good to have a regular fashion.

[8:18] A regular pattern. If the Lord can help you to find the time when you're refreshed. When you're alert. When you can dedicate that time to put aside for prayer. And then Philippians 4 verse 6 we're told.

[8:31] Be careful. Or in other words anxious. Or worry. He says don't be anxious or careful or worry. Full of care. For nothing he says. But in everything.

[8:43] In everything. By prayer and supplication. With thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known unto God. He's saying there. Let everything.

[8:54] Be brought in prayer. Our family. Our needs. Our day by day. Decision making. Our work. Our life. In general. Everything. He says commit it in prayer.

[9:05] To the Lord. What are we to pray? It says in John 14. 14. Ask in my name. He says. Ask in my name. And I will do it.

[9:15] The Lord Jesus is promising there. If we ask in his name. And that's got the sense of in accord with who he is as his person. In accord with his nature.

[9:27] In accord with his person. In accord with who he is and what would glorify him. Ask in accord with that. In accord with his name. In honour of his name.

[9:39] Ask in faith he says. In Mark 11. 24. He says. Whatsoever you desire. When you pray. Believe that you receive them. Trust him.

[9:51] Commit your way to him. Delight in the Lord. And trust him. That he will guide your way. That as you pray. Believing in faith. He will honour that faith.

[10:02] That simple prayer. That simple call. For his aid. For his help. For his leading. Pray believing. That you receive them. And he shall have them. Psalm 29.

[10:14] 2. Another way to pray. Is to pray reverently. Pray reverently. Give unto the Lord the glory. Due unto his name. Worship the Lord.

[10:24] In the beauty. Of holiness. So. When we pray. We pray when we want to give glory to him. We want to ask that which would glorify him. We want to ask. And to do.

[10:35] That which would glorify his name. And give him pleasure. And glory. And that which would accord with his holiness. That which would be honouring to him. You know. We don't want to flippantly pray. In a fleshly.

[10:47] And carnal. And selfish way. Just for our own vanity. And vain glory. And for our own. Selfish needs. But to pray in a way. That would bring him glory. That would bring honour.

[10:58] To our holy God. That we want to serve. And live for. Think of your brothers and sisters. Sometimes we can pray selfishly. And be so self-absorbed. About our own needs.

[11:09] Our own family. Our own. Woes. And sicknesses. Or whatever might be. Coming across our path. But think of others. Think of your brothers and sisters in Christ. Think of those.

[11:21] Who you can pray for. Think of the lost. Think of those who don't know the Saviour. Pray for the needs of others. As well as yourself. Pray one for another.

[11:31] That you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer. Of a righteous man. Availeth much. 1 John 5.14 And this is the confidence.

[11:42] That we have in him. That if we ask anything. According to his will. He heareth us. According to his will. Pray according to his will. Brother and sister. You know. Sometimes again.

[11:53] We can pray. A prayer that's really just for our own benefit. Or for our own. Inkling. Or desire. But pray that which would be according to his will. Prayer is a beautiful gift from God.

[12:04] It's a beautiful privilege we have. To find his truth. And to cry out to him. Spend time to glorify him. To adore him. To praise him. And to thank him.

[12:15] To give him thanks. And lastly. Colossians 4.2 Continuing in prayer. Brother, sister. That's the encouragement. That we can have. Amen. To give a shout. Thank you.