I Tim. 2:8 ... "I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension."
One of the great benefits of being a Christian is accessibility to God through prayer. It is a profound thought that a human being -- one of the more than seven billion on the planet, which itself is no more than a speck of matter moving in a limitless universe -- may call upon the Creator with the expectation and assurance that his voice will be heard. It fills our minds with wonder that God, who spans the vast reaches of space at the speed of thought and controls completely every comet, planet, star and galaxy, will yet devote His attention to the mere human who calls upon Him out of a pure mind, with peaceful motives, and with a faithful heart. With the psalmist we are led to exclaim, "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You do take thought of him? and the son of man, that You do care for him?" (Psa. 8:3-4)
In I Kings 18 there is the story of the contest between Elijah, the prophet of Jehovah, and 450 prophets of Baal, the false god of the Phoenicians. He challenged them to arrange wood and a sacrifical bullock upon an altar and then to call upon Baal to send down fire to consume it. As the morning hours passed, Elijah watched as they persistently and fervently prayed, "O Baal, answer us!" The time passed with increasing consternation in these priests, for "There was no voice, and no one answered. ... And it came to pass about at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, 'Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened'," (vs. 26-27). But Jehovah God is no Baal! When Elijah prepared his altar with wood and ox, he also had it soaked with water. Then he prayed to God, "Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again." (v.37). The Lord heard the prayer of His faithful servant, and then "the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench," (v. 38). Has fire ever been known to burn stones, water and dust? It did that day, for it was not common fire. It was "the fire of the Lord that can change ANY element into heat and light. (See II Pet. 3:10)
Though our prayers will not result in miracles like that requested by Elijah on Mt. Carmel, they can nevertheless still be efficacious, if they are offered by faith with reverence as God requires. Our initial text gives three criteria which must be met in order for our prayers to be acceptable. First, they must be offered by "lifting up holy hands." This does not literally mean that the one who prays must stretch out his open hands toward the sky, though it would be wonderful to respond that literally. The emphasis, however, is upon the word "holy." The word so translated signifies "devoted." That is, the one who prays must yield his life to God and trust God to guide him in the way meant for him to go. After all, prayer is an act of submission by an inferior to the Superior and a confession of inadequacy to One whose capacities are infinite. Second, the one who prays must empty himself of all wrath. To speak to God when you are provoked to anger by one of His policies imposing on your preferences is an act of blasphemy and not a prayer. And for anyone to think that he can acceptably pray to God when he is angry with another person is to betray gross ignorance of the teaching of Jesus. If you come to worship, and remember you are crossed up with someone, you must withhold worship, go to that person and be reconciled with him. Then you may return and worship acceptably. (See Mat. 5:23-24). Wonder how many people in a church service are proceeding in vain because of their heart being ill-disposed toward someone. When you know your congregation, it is not difficult to realize that one individual will not even speak to another, and yet he is attempting to speak to God who knows every sin in his life. (See Jas. 3:9, which is addressed to Christians.) Third, our prayers must be offered from hearts of faith. The prayer that proceeds from doubt is offered in vain and is more of a test of God's reality and power than anything else. We are told in Jas. 1:6-7 that we must "ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord."
