Till Armageddon - The Place of Prayer in Suffering - Scripture/Synopsis #11

Till Armageddon - The Place of Prayer in Suffering - Scripture/Synopsis #11 of a 16 article series. The primary information source but not the only source for the content of these 16 articles are the 16 chapters of "Till Armageddon" written by Billy Graham in 1980.

"I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day!" Abraham Lincoln

"When we look for the supreme model of someone devoted to prayer, we need only to consult the life of our Lord. Jesus was constantly in an attitude of prayer, and never more urgently than in the face of suffering. The night when He was arrested He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had taken His disciples with Him, but He Himself was so overwhelmed with what He knew lay before Him that He asked Peter, James, and John to stay and keep watch with Him. He Himself went still farther into the garden and fell on His face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it be possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as You Will" (Matt. 26:39). In those words Jesus taught us to pray."

"Prayer was as natural as breathing for our Lord, and it should be the same for us. If prayer is an integral part of our lives, when a crisis comes we have already prepared those lines of communication. In the beginning man was fashioned to live a life of prayer in fellowship with God and in humble dependence upon Him. When we pray we are fulfilling God's purpose for our lives, realizing our spiritual potential. As someone has said, "Prayer is the highest use to which speech can be put."

"No Freedom Without God's Help"

"As we have already emphasized, the world is being carried along on a rushing torrent of events which are beyond man's control. Armageddon seems to be approaching in one form or another. However, there is one power available to change the course of events and to support us in the great crises of life, and that is the power of prayer by God-fearing men and women."

"Adapting the words of Benjamin Franklin at the Constitutional Convention: It is probable that a nation cannot survive in freedom without the aid of Almighty God. Yet today we have reached the point where God is largely ignored, and we regard prayer in national life as no more than a venerated tradition. We have no sense of coming earnestly and expectantly to God; we simply use prayer as a formality."

"Prayer Is Effective"

"From one end of the Bible to the other there is the record of those whose prayers have been answered."

"Answer me when I call you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer. (Ps. 4:1)"

"The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer. (Ps. 6:9)"

"In my distress I called upon the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came before Him. into His ears. (Ps. 18:6)"

"O Lord my God I called to you for help and you healed me.(Ps. 30:2)"

"In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be never put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness.Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me." (Ps. 31:1,2)"

"Jesus prayed at the tomb of Lazarus' He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and found strength to endure His suffering."

"The thief prayed on the cross, and Jesus assured him on that same day he would be with him in paradise."

"The early church prayed and Peter was miraculously released from prison."

"When the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, teach us to pray," the Savior answered their request by giving them "The Lord's Prayer" as a model petition. The Lord's Prayer, however, was only the beginning of His teaching on this subject. In scores of passages Christ offered further guidance."

"Christ's Example"

"One of the most amazing things in all the Scriptures is how much time Jesus spent in prayer. He had only three years of public ministry, yet He was never too hurried to spend hours in prayer. He prayed before every difficult task and at every crisis in His ministry. He prayed with regularity. We may be sure that never a day began or closed on which He did not hold communion with His Father."

"How haphazardly and carelessly, by contrast, do we pray? Snatches of memorized verses are hastily spoken in the morning; then we say goodbye to God for the rest of the day, until we rush through a few closing petitions at night. This is not a prayer program that Jesus exemplified. He prayed long and repeatedly. It is recorded that He spent one entire night in prayer to God (Luke 6:12)."

"Jesus Christ set the primary example in the garden prior to his arrest."

"A few months ago, a woman wrote me that she had pleaded for ten years for the conversion of her husband, but that he was more hardened than ever. I advised her to continue to pray. Recently I heard from her again. She said her husband was gloriously and miraculously converted in the eleventh year of her praying. Suppose that she had stopped after only ten years?"

"Our Lord frequently prayed alone, separating Himself from every distraction. I would strongly urge you to select a place--a room or corner in your home, place of work, or in your yard or garden---where alone you can regularly meet God."

"As we observe the prayer life of Jesus, we notice the earnestness with which He prayed. The New Testament records that in Gethsemane, in the intensity of His supplication, He fell to the ground and agonized with God until His sweat became "like drops of blood" (Luke 22:34) What an example of "prayer in suffering" He is--and how He proves the promise that those who are suffering need to talk to God even more earnestly."One lesson that we should especially remember during these days of prejudice, hate, and hostility is this. He tells us to "pray for those who persecute you" (Matt. 5:44). We are to plead for our enemies, asking God to lead them to Christ and for His sake to forgive them. Even those who persecute us are to be the objects of our prayers."

"Jesus reinforced this teaching by His own example, as we have seen. In the first words He uttered from the cross after the nails had been hammered through His hands and feet, He began to intercede for those who crucified Him saying,"Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). I have often thought that we will see the men who nailed Jesus to the cross in heaven because of His prayer. No prayer that Jesus ever prayed to the Father went unanswered."

"With God nothing is impossible. No task is too arduous, no problem too difficult, no burden is too heavy for His love. The future with all its uncertainties is fully known to Him, though hidden from us."

"He understands how much affliction and sorrow you need in order that your soul may be purified and preserved for eternity. Turn to Him, and you can say with Job, "He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold" (Job 23:10)."

"Jesus considered prayer more important than food, for the Bible says that hours before breakfast , "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed." (Mark 1:35)

"To the Son of God, prayer was more important than the assembling and the healing of great thongs. The Bible says, "Crowds of people came to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed" (Luke 5:15,16)

"The precious hours of fellowship with His heavenly Father meant much more to our Savior than sleep, for the Bible says, "Jesus went out into the hills to pray, and spent the night praying to God." (Luke 6:12)

"He prayed at funerals, and the dead were raised. He prayed over the five loaves and two fishes, and fed a multitude with a little boy's lunch. In the contemplation of His imminent suffering on Calvary's cross He prayed, "Not my will, but yours" (Luke 22:42), and a way was made whereby sinful man might approach God."

"Prayer, in the true sense, is not a futile cry of desperation born of fear and frustration. Many people pray only when they are under great stress, or in danger, or facing some crisis. There seems to be an instinct in man to pray in times of danger."

"Christian teachers down through the ages have urged the prominence that prayer should have in the lives of believers. Some anonymous wise man has said, "If Christians spent as much time praying as they do grumbling, they would soon have nothing to grumble about."

"Heaven is full of answers to prayers for which no one ever bothered to ask!"

"The Power and Privilege of Prayer"

"In our modern age we have learned to harness the power of the mighty Niagara and turn its force to beneficial use.

"Very few of us have learned how to fully develop the power of prayer. We have not yet learned that a man is more powerful when he is in prayer than when he is in control of the most powerful military weapons we have ever developed."

"Effectual prayer is offered in faith, Jesus said, "I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" (Mark 11:24) James wrote: "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind" (James 1:5,6). "If our prayers are aimless, meaningless, and mingled with doubt, they will be unanswered. Prayer is more than a wish turned heavenward; it is the voice of faith directed God-ward."

"What a privilege is yours---the privilege of prayer! In the light of coming events, examine your heart, re-consecrate your life, yield yourself to God unreservedly, for only those who pray through a clean heart will be heard of Him. The Bible says, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:16).

"We are to pray not only for our own needs but for the needs of others. We are to pray in times of adversity, lest we become faithless and unbelieving. We are to pray in times of prosperity, lest we become boastful and proud. We are to pray in times of danger, lest we become fearful and doubting. We need to pray in times of security, lest we become careless and self-sufficient."

"More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of." We must always remember that prayer does not work automatically, nor is it a piece of spiritual magic. It's not like pressing an electric button and expecting an immediate response. we can't manipulate God or dictate to Him. He is sovereign, and we must recognize His sovereign rights."

This means, as we have stressed all along, that our prayers are subject to His will. And we should be glad of that. It takes the burden off ourselves and places it on the Lord. To say, "Thy will be done" is not a sigh, but a song because His will is always what is best---both for us and those for whom we pray. As Dante said, "in His will is our peace." As believers we cannot find true peace outside the will of God."

"We are sure that God is true to His word and answers all sincere prayer offered in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. But His answer is not always the same. As is so often pointed out, His answer may not necessarily be "Yes." It may be "No"--- or "Wait" we have no right to say that God has not answered our prayer. It simply means that the answer is different from what we expected. We must get rid of the idea that if only we pray hard and long enough God will always give us what we ask for in the end."

"As we have seen, when we pray for help in trouble or for healing in sickness or for deliverance in persecution, God may not give us what we ask for, for that may not be His wise and loving will for us. But he will answer our prayer in His own way. He will not let us down in our hour of need. He will give us the patience, courage, and strength to endure our suffering, the ability to rise above it, and the assurance of his presence in all that we aqre called to pass through."

" In any case, let us never forget that prayer is not just asking God for things. It's far bigger and better than that. At its deepest level, prayer is fellowship with God; enjoying His company, waiting upon His will, thanking Him for His mercies, committing our lives to Him, talking to Him about other people as well as ourselves, and listening in the silence for what He has to say to us."

"This is what makes prayer so real and precious a thing, especially in times of stress and strain. When we come to the end of ourselves, we come to the beginning of God. As it has been said, our little things are all big to God's love; our big things are all small to His power."

" You are denying yourself a marvelous privilege if you don't pray. The path of prayer is always open, whatever your need. Take it to the Lord in prayer!"

"Pray this prayer to be washed in the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus, and have everlasting life in heaven.  “Lord Jesus,  I know I am a sinner, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior. Guide my life and help me to do your will.  In Your name, Amen.

I pray that you will be Washed in His Blood, Follow Him, Walk with Him, Glorify Him, and let Him lead you as you serve Him for eternity because He is The Way, The Truth, and The Life. 

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