The Battle in the Trenches: The Battle Ground: Prayer

The Problem of Prayer

James 4:1-10

I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but the themes for this year’s sermon series have come from the world of football. We started off the new year with a series entitled “Training Camp,” which focused on Spiritual Disciplines. Then we went to on to “Study the Playbook,” and talked about the necessity for and methods of personal Bible study. When we return from our sabbatical this fall, we are going to do a series entitled, “Salary Cap Issues,” which will be a look at Christian financial concepts, then “The Best Offense” will be a study of apologetics – how we can defend the absolute truth of the gospel in a relative world; and we will finish the year with a Christmas series called, “In The Red Zone.”

During these weeks we are in a series entitled, “The Battle In The Trenches.” In modern settings, that phrase is mostly thrown around by football analysts and fans to refer to the action of the offensive and defensive lines. Separated only by a few inches, men of incredible strength and mass face each other. The blocking, quickness and tackling ability of those men on the line really determine the outcome more consistently than any other aspect of the game. 

But the phrase “The battle in the trenches” did not originate in football. It comes from the very real battlefields of France and Belgium during World War 1. The army of the German Kaiser had swept across the much of Russia, France and Belgium. By September of 1914 the German army and the allied armies of Great Britain, the French Resistance and the United States had fought to a standstill in Western Europe. The Germans dug in, the allies did the same. 

The next four years saw “the Battle in the Trenches.” Often times the lines were separated by only a few hundred feet. Men from each side would call out to one another, taunting each other. During the holidays, they could hear the other side singing Christmas songs. Most military offensives that were launched ended with few gains and enormous casualties. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916, for example, the British Army lost around 20,000 men. That entire offensive cost the Allies over half a million casualties all to gain just 8 miles at most into German lines. During the bloody year of 1916, there were over a million casualties in just 10 months.

The Battle in the Trenches was some of the most horrific in human history. The battles themselves were deadly enough, but were compounded by inhumane conditions in the trenches themselves – constant dampness, little or no hygiene, inadequate food and water supplies made waiting for battle nearly as dangerous as the battles themselves. But it was there in the trenches that the battle was won. 

Our series “The Battle in the Trenches” is focused on Spiritual warfare. For these past three weeks we have been talking about the Battle Ground: Prayer. In a couple of weeks we will talk about our Battle Buddy – accountability, and that will be followed by the Battle Objective: intentionally and strategically working to help people find forgiveness, freedom and purpose in Jesus Christ.

We talked two weeks ago about the Priority of Prayer – prayer needs to be our first and most immediate reaction to attack. Last week we talked about the Power of Prayer - Prayer is where the battle takes place – when we pray, we fight – when we get on our knees, we deal our enemy a powerful blow, demolishing strongholds and destroying high places – taking captives in the battle against Satan. Prayer is the battle! It is when we pray that we engage our enemy in combat!

As we talk about the priority and power of prayer, however, there develops a problem. I’ve seen it on some of your faces. I’ve heard it as I’ve walked by people talking after church. Some of you have contacted me directly - face to face, over the phone or by email about the problem with prayer.

Did you know there was a problem with prayer? Some of you do. In it’s simplest form, the problem with prayer is this: “I pray, and God doesn’t deliver.” Now, you may put it in more delicate terms, or try to soften it a bit, but that’s the problem with prayer, isn’t it? We read the words of Jesus from the Gospels that sound so promising, like:

John 14:13 “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

Matt. 17:20 “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, `Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. "

So we come to Jesus and we ask Him to get us out of the trouble we’re in, and nothing changes! We have faith - that’s why we’re praying! Why doesn’t He give us what we’re praying for? Why don’t I get what I want? And then there’s the people out there preaching and teaching that I can claim anything from God and He has to deliver – they add to the problem because some of us ask and God does not deliver! Did you know that there are actually examples of that same thing happening to people all through the Bible? There are! For example,

King Saul prayed for guidance and God would not give it to him (I Sam 28)

King David had a son who was sick - David prayed for his healing, but the boy died (2 Sam 12)

Elijah prayed for death twice but was denied (I King 19 & 2 Kings 2)

Jonah prayed for death, and he too was denied (Jonah 4)

Daniel – prayed and fasted 21 days w/out answer (Daniel 10)

King Zediciah prayed for victory in battle - God refused (Jeremiah 21)

John & James’ mother asked Jesus for honored positions for her sons, but Jesus did not grant it. (Mark 10)

Apostle Paul tells us of his “thorn in the flesh” that God refused to relieve (2 Corinthians 12)

Jesus asked the Father to let the cup of suffering pass – but it did not (Matt 26)

In each of these cases the people of God asked in faith for what they felt was a reasonable, fair, heartfelt desire of their heart. You and I may look at their request and think that it is out of line in some cases, but they didn’t see it that way – or they wouldn’t have asked! They sincerely desired their request – and God did not give them what they asked – What gives?

The Bible actually has plenty to say about this seeming problem with prayer. For our discussion this morning, we are going to center on one passage in particular from the book of James, chapter 4, verses 1-10. In this passage we are going to see some causes for unanswered prayer, and a solution to the problem of prayer.

READ JAMES 4:1-10

When I read this passage, I see a self-fueling, downward spiral of sin and bad attitudes that put us in a place where God cannot answer our prayers. First, we see greed and envy – we want “stuff” – and we have convinced ourselves that our “wants” are actually “needs” – stuff we must have. Then we convince ourselves that everybody else has better “stuff” than we have, or a better life than we have, and we get bitter, and jealous, and we begin to scratch and claw and fight for the “stuff” we deserve. That causes us to have bad attitudes among ourselves. We are jealous of each other, we accuse each other, we abuse each other to get what we want and think we deserve. But James tells us that the battles that rage between us are actually symptoms of a battle that rages within us. That battle within is the root of the problem with prayer – it is a battle between us and God.

James says in verse 2, “You cannot have what you want…” CANNOT HAVE??? Why? What causes our prayers not to be answered? Well, in the case of the people James was writing to, there are three causes:

 
Self Sufficiency. Verse 2 clearly says, “You don’t have because you don’t ask God.” Many times we don’t receive because we don’t ask. We just don’t go to God. A recent survey found that the average pastor spends 22 MINUTES a day in prayer – and their congregations even fewer. No wonder we “have not” – because “we ask not!” There are two reasons I can think of why we don’t ask. Primarily – because of self sufficiency. We don’t come to God because we think we can handle it ourselves. Think about it – the only time when virtually EVERYONE prays is when they feel they are in a situation that is over their heads – conversely, when we convince ourselves that we CAN handle the situation, we don’t pray – and then we’re in trouble. When we don’t go to God, and think that we can handle our circumstances by our own power, and our own decision making abilities, and our own superior wisdom – guess what? There’s a problem win our prayer – it simply doesn’t exist. The second reason we don’t ask God is because we’re pretty sure God doesn’t want us to have what we’re asking for. Does a 12 year old boy ask his dad if he can play with a loaded gun? NO – because he knows the answer already! So he goes about trying to get what he wants without asking – that’s closely related to the second cause of unanswered prayer that James gives:

Selfish Motives. Verse 3 tells us that when we do ask, it’s often with selfish motives. We pray things like, “Lord, please get me out of this situation I got myself into!” With no intention of changing our behavior that got us into the situation. We pray, “Lord get me out of debt, so that I can get the bigger house, newer car, nicer wardrobe…” Think about your prayers on an average day – they are all too often selfish in nature. “Get me out of this mess…Make me well…Give me what I want, when I want it, without question.”

This is such a common and important aspect of the problem of prayer that James really unleashes some pretty powerful language about it. He describes us as “adulterous friends of the world who are enemies of God and proud” because we are so caught up in the things of the world that we actually pray to God to give us more and more toys – which in fact create more and more distance between us and the God to whom we are praying! How dare we ask God to give us the very things that will destroy us – and then get mad at Him when He doesn’t deliver! Of course He’s not going to answer that prayer! 

When a parent asks a child what they want for breakfast, and the kid says, “Cotton Candy,” the parent says, “No, you can have something that is going to nourish you and get you through the morning.” We call that “Good parenting,” except when God does the same thing, then we call it “unfair.” Sometimes God says “no,” or “not now,” and we don’t understand. What we are asking for seems reasonable and proper to us – but we simply must trust that God knows better. We must submit to His will.

How seldom we pray like Jesus prayed, “Not My will, but Yours be done,” or “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Or like Paul prayed for the churches – for loved ones to grow deeper in Christ, for lost people to come to faith, for strength for himself and others to do God’s will. It has been rightly said that “the purpose of prayer is not to get our will done in heaven, but to have God’s will done on earth.” James says that what we need to do, rather than pray selfish prayers, is to Submit to God (vs. 7), and humble ourselves before Him (vs 10). When we pray selfish prayers, there’s a problem with prayer.

Sin.  There’s a third reason why there can be a problem with our prayers and it’s found in verse 8. James writes, “Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” The third reason that we have a problem with prayer is sin – pure and simple. David writes in Psalm 66: 18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Listen to these words from the prophet Isaiah, chapter 59, verses 1&2:

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

When James calls us to draw near to God, he is calling on us to get rid of those sins that have caused the separation between God and us. Pride, stubbornness, bitterness, greed, envy, anger, hatred, selfishness, even disharmony between husband and wife can cause our prayers to be hindered! If we want our prayers to be heard, and answered, we must be willing to acknowledge, confess and repent from our sins. Listen to the words James uses to describe this repentance: “Grieve, mourn and wail, change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom…” When we see it for what it is, our sin should cause us to sadness. 

Verse 10 tells us that it is then, when we have been humbled before God, that God will lift us up. In this entire passage, these are the only words of hope. This is the solution to the problem of prayer. Instead of self-sufficiency, and selfish motives, we become reliant on the Lord, humbly bowing to His will. Asking that His will be done in our lives, not ours. When we are in that place, we will see our prayer answered. That doesn’t mean that we will receive everything we ask for – but it will give us eyes to see that “NO” is answer to our prayers, too, and we will be perfectly comfortable to allow God to be God in our affairs.

So does this mean that every unanswered prayer is due to bad motives or sin in our lives? NO! In fact, one of the examples I gave earlier of unanswered prayer was Jesus – who prayed to be spared from the suffering before Him – obviously He had no sin or bad motives. He asked because there was a part of Him that desperately wanted release – but He kept that part in submission to the will of God. 

The “problem of prayer” may have many causes – but the solution is always the same. When we humble ourselves before the Lord, He will lift us up. We may be asking for things that are of the purest motives – for someone other than ourselves – that a child will be healed, that a marriage will be saved – that a lost person will come to faith in Jesus. But whatever our prayers may be, we must, with those prayers, humble ourselves and allow God to be God, and do what He does, even if we don’t understand or see.

So what, then is the solution to the “Problem of Prayer?”

ASK – We are called over and over again in Scripture to prayer. Prayer changes things. It engages our enemy – it releases the power of the Holy Spirit in circumstances – it puts our heart and soul in a dependent, submissive place before God.

Ask selflessly. Pray for others more than self. Pray for their salvation, their growth, their health. Pray for your church, and the people who serve there. Pray for your leaders – political, social and spiritual. Imagine the difference if we would determine in our hearts that for every minute in prayer we pray for our own needs we will pray two minutes for the needs of others!

Ask Humbly – When we pray, we bow to the sovereignty of God. We certainly pray for what we feel is our hearts desire, as Jesus did, but like him, we humble ourselves to the Father’s will. Jesus said, if we seek Him first, and His control in our lives, then everything else in life will fall into place.

If we follow these guidelines, the problem with prayer will be solved. That doesn’t mean that we put God in a place where He has to deliver what we ask – it puts us in a place to receive the answer He gives.