With the Lord's Day 45 of the Heidelberg Catechism, we begin to consider what the Catechism has to teach us about that prayer that our Lord taught us to pray. The Catechism, we know, closes its teaching with the consideration of the Lord's Prayer, as well as closing the third section on gratitude with prayer. I invite you to turn in the back of the Psalter hymnal to page 57, where we find three of Lord's Day 45's questions and answers. And then as well, if you would turn to Proverbs 15, as we'll read together the first nine verses and verse 29, with particular emphasis on verse 8, Proverbs 15. First of all, let's give consideration to what we believe with regard to these questions and answers that we find on page 57, Lord's Day 45. Question 116 asks, why do Christians need to pray? Because prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness God requires of us. and also because God gives His grace and Holy Spirit only to those who pray continually and groan inwardly, asking God for these gifts and thanking Him for them. How does God want us to pray so that He will listen to us? First, we must pray from the heart to no other than the one true God who has revealed Himself in His Word, asking for everything He has commanded us to ask for. Second, we must acknowledge our need and misery, hiding nothing, and humble ourselves in His majestic presence. Third, we must rest on this unshakable foundation. Even though we do not deserve it, God will surely listen to our prayer because of Christ our Lord. That is what He promised us in His Word. What did God command us to pray for? Everything we need spiritually and physically as embraced in the prayer Christ our Lord Himself taught us. That prayer, of course, is listed in the question and answer 119. In turning our consideration to the Word of God, Proverbs 15. In these verses, it's interesting, the writer Solomon gives a series of contrasts between the wicked and the righteous. Beginning at verse 1 as we hear God's holy Word. A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. A fool spurns his father's discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence. The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings them trouble. The lips of the wise spread knowledge, not so the hearts of fools. The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases Him. The Lord detests the way of the wicked, but He loves those who pursue righteousness. And verse 29 says, The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous. Verse 8 again, The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases Him. O beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, are you, would you describe yourself as a person of prayer? You might say, sure, I pray before meals, sometimes afterward. I pray at bedtime, sometimes first thing in the morning. When I receive a prayer request by way of the email, for example, I stop and pray. Yes, I would consider myself to be a person of prayer. But if we go a little further and then I ask you, well, does your life depend on prayer? You may have a little bit more difficulty answering that question. What I mean is, as a Christian, as a believer, can you exist, can you function, can you live without prayer? And the key there is as a Christian, as a believer, and I trust that we would all say the answer is no. We cannot exist or function as a believer without prayer. The wicked seem to be able to function, but we know what the Bible says of them. God is far from the wicked. Yet we know, at least in our heads, that we cannot exist, we cannot function, we cannot live as believers without prayer. But then let me push you a little bit further and ask, well, what place then does prayer have in your life? What place does it have in my life? Because the sad truth, I'm afraid, is that we often treat prayer as if it's not that important. We sometimes treat prayer kind of as a lucky charm. For example, at a meal with a busy family. Okay, let's quick pray. As if it's better to quick fit it in, as opposed to not doing it at all. Someone has said, we do not hurry up so that we have more time to pray, but we hurry prayer so that we have more time for other things. We treat it as a bit of a lucky charm. Or maybe we treat it as some sort of a last resort in the midst of a difficulty or a bad situation of life. All of a sudden we kind of resolve ourselves and say, well, all we can do now is pray. As if to say we've done everything that we can do, and now all we have left that we can do is pray, hoping that God will then pick up where we have left off. Or to say, well, if all else fails, pray. Kind of a last resort. Or maybe we treat prayer as somewhat of a convenience. If you ask someone, maybe if any one of us were asked by another one here, well, how is your devotional life? We might shake our head and say, well, I could do better. I could do better. I'm just so busy. I just don't seem to be able to find the time. Beloved, it seems as if we act as if we can function and live without it. And well, you know, the really important thing is a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, right? And living on obedience to Him, isn't that what's really important? Well, indeed, that's important. But you see, it does not end there. God has given something to you and me, to His people on this side of glory, to sustain us in that relationship with Him. to help us to function and live in that relationship with Him. And that gift, though given generally to all of God's people, really is unique for each one of us. It is one of a kind. It is tailored to each one of us personally. It's not like receiving two toasters for a wedding gift and, well, you keep the one that's the prettiest or matches the best, and you send the other one back. It's not like receiving the same gift, the exact same gift at a birthday party and it doesn't matter which one you keep, just make sure that you trade the other one back and get something else. God's gift of prayer has been given generally, again, we might say, to His people, but it is tailored to each one of us personally. It is to be cherished. It is to be used and practiced because it is an indispensable part of that saving relationship with Jesus Christ. It is so important that the Bible teaches us that our Lord Jesus Christ depended on it. He spent whole nights in prayer. It is so important that He taught His disciples how to pray. And over the next several Lord's Days, as we consider God's Word on prayer, the Lord's Prayer, as summarized by the Heidelberg Catechism, may we, by the grace of God, grow and mature in our understanding and in our use of it as we see, I pray, the preciousness and the promises and the power of this gift of prayer. Which is, first of all, required of the believer. In the second place, it is received from the believer. And thirdly, tonight, it is reserved for the believer. God's gift of prayer is required of the believer. required not as a burden, but as a benefit. As a blessing to you and me. God commands us to pray. Call upon Me, He says. Paul said, pray without ceasing. God's gift of prayer is required of the believer because of what prayer is. Prayer, we know, is communication. It is conversation. And in a general way, communication and conversation is a precious, it is an essential part of every relationship, every loving relationship. Communication is the means, it is the activity by which we express our personalities and thoughts and desires and needs by which we associate with one another. If a relationship between two people is not good, most likely it's because the communication is terrible. And the other way is true too. If the communication is terrible, most likely the relationship between two people is not going to be very good. Communication, conversation is basic to human survival, basic to man living with one another. We kind of see that highlighted in our day of cell phones and email and texting and all those ways of communication. Those things all in a way demonstrate just how important communication is. Or at least how important we make it to be between us. Parents often want their teenage children to have a cell phone. Why? So the parents might be able to communicate anytime, anyplace with their children so that their children might be accessible to the parents. Beloved, God is always accessible to His people. Anytime. Anywhere. We always have a direct line to Him. A line that is never busy. We will never be put on hold. There are no out of range of service areas with Him. There is no monthly service fee or service agreement. Simply come to Him by prayer through faith. With regard to this whole topic of prayer, one of you relayed to me this past week what you saw on a t-shirt which said, prayer, the original and still fastest wireless communication. that kind of fits with our day, doesn't it? It puts it in perspective. God's gift of prayer is required of the believer because of what prayer is, communication, conversation with God. Because of that relationship that we have with Him. Indeed, we know the Catechism treats prayer at its very end, not just because the writers decided to tack it on as some sort of a last resort as we often treat it, but the writers are correct when they say it is the most important part of thankfulness. It's fitting that it be at the end. You see, the catechism now has come full circle. And the first section, which the young people learn, is the section dealing with our sin and misery. That section in which we are reminded that we were totally estranged from God, totally cut off from God, with whom we were created, as Lord's Day 3 says, to truly know Him, love Him, and live with Him in eternal happiness for His praise and glory, we were created to have communion and fellowship, communication with Him. Yet because of sin, there was a total breakdown in communication, a total separation. We could not approach Him. He would not hear us. But through Jesus Christ, that communication has been restored. We are on speaking terms again. More so, the curtain has been torn. He receives us. He accepts us into His presence because our Lord Jesus Christ has brought us back into a relationship, restored us, reconciled us with our Heavenly Father. You see, beloved, it really is a truly amazing thing that we have communication with God, that He speaks to us through His Word and we are called to respond. We do not do God a favor and we must never think we do God a favor by praying. We do not do Him a favor by praying. It is all of His favor to us. Because indeed, prayer is the most important part of thankfulness. Thankfulness for God's saving grace in Jesus Christ. And indeed, our thankfulness, we know as we have considered with regard to the Ten Commandments in this third section of the Catechism, And our thankfulness, we desire to demonstrate that thankfulness through obedience to the law of God. Yet it is possible to keep the law outwardly on the surface, as it were, without believing. Solomon shows us that in verse 8 when he talks about the wicked and their sacrifices, doing the outward show, the outward act of worship. But the believer's life, including his life of obedience, is clothed, is undergirded in prayer. The child of God knows that prayer is required and joyfully falls to his or her knees because of what prayer does, or we might say because of what the Holy Spirit does for us through prayer. He brings us into the very throne room of heaven. He brings our soul to the very presence of God Almighty. David in Psalm 103, verse 19 says, The Lord has established His throne in heaven. His kingdom rules over all. He has fixed His throne there. He rules and reigns from there. There is no king like Him. There is no king so powerful. There is no other sovereign like Him. There is no other one who loves us like He does. He sits enthroned in heaven where Jesus Christ entered before us on our behalf and even now is an anchor of our soul. That's our hope, as Hebrews 6 says. And therefore, through prayer, we are given, as it were, a one-on-one audience with the one and only sovereign God of the universe and prayer pleases Him. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 9, that we make it our goal to please Him. That is the believer's goal. To please Him. And He is pleased, beloved, as His saved people respond to His salvation and to His Word through prayer. Showing through prayer that we depend entirely upon Him. We take our whole life, every decision, every situation to Him, acknowledging Him as the only one who can hear and the only one who will answer prayer. Prayer is required. We need it because of that relationship that we have been brought into with our God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, prayer is the most essential expression of Christianity. It is the precious, it is that essential part of a loving relationship with God. It is as necessary as breath itself. One who is not praying is one who is not breathing spiritually. It is necessary as breath itself by which the believer pours out the truth of his heart before God with confidence that the gift of prayer in the second place is received from the believer. It's not only required of the believer, it's received from the believer. The text says the prayer of the upright pleases Him. Notice that Solomon does not say the prayer of the scholar pleases Him. He does not say it's the prayer of the wealthy or even the prayer of the poor for that matter. It's not the prayer of the super saint. It's not the prayer of the perfect. It's not the prayer of one who is self-confident or self-assured or self-righteous. It pleases Him. The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector shows us that clearly the tax collector went home justified by the grace of God as he had come with a humble heart before him. The Pharisee went home as empty as he came. His prayers, as it has been said, went up like soap bubbles that popped when they hit the ceiling. Not the prayer of the self-righteous, but the prayer of the upright pleases him. Notice again verse 29. The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. He hears it. He receives it. Those who are in a right relationship with Him through Jesus Christ by His grace, they are the ones then who delight to live righteously before Him, who are enabled because they are upheld by His righteous, omnipotent hand. They are those who wait upon the Lord, as the psalmist says in Psalm 27. Sometimes there are those, and maybe you fit this description, there are those who think they cannot pray. You think you're not very good at praying. You compare yourself with others whom you've heard that are able to speak so eloquently and use such phrases that kind of melt us as we hear them. And therefore, some come up with the idea, well, I can't pray. God is not going to listen to me when He has that to listen to. Why would He waste His time on me? Yet, beloved, even the feeblest prayer, humanly speaking, Even the feeblest prayer is accepted by God, not because it's perfect, not because it's eloquent, not because it is so many words, but because of the sincerity of faith, it is accepted by God because it pleases Him. The upright, the believer, is described in question and answer 117 by the way that he or she offers prayer. How does God want us to pray so that He will listen to us? And the upright, first of all, knows God. First, we must pray from the heart to no other than the one true God who has revealed Himself in His Word, asking for everything He has commanded us to ask for. God reveals Himself in His Word, which means we must be people of the Word. He reveals Himself to us. He tells us exactly what to ask for as question and answer 118. He says everything we need spiritually and physically. The upright person knows God and the prayer of the upright person is a prayer of faith, recognizing again who it is that I am approaching. He is my Creator. He is the Sovereign over all. He is the one and only God who has promised to hear and answer His people. The upright is one then who believes that God is real as the writer of Hebrews says in chapter 11, those who come to God must believe that He is. That He exists. That He is able and willing to communicate with us. The upright knows God and his prayer is glorifying God for His majesty and power, expressing a desire that God's name be hallowed or set apart. That God's kingdom come. That His will be done more and more. And also then confessing dependence upon Him because the believer not only knows God, but also understands himself. Second, we must acknowledge our need and misery, hiding nothing, and humble ourselves in His majestic presence. Understanding the truth of ourselves. The upright understands that and comes before this sovereign God reverently with a humble sense of our own insignificance as creatures that we are nothing. The Bible says that the nations are as a drop in the bucket. as dust on the scales before Him. And if that's true of the nations, what does that say of each individual person? So tiny, so insignificant. The upright comes before Him with a humble sense of our own insignificance as creatures and our own unworthiness as sinners that we deserve nothing from His hand except to be cast away and punished by Him forever. Sometimes older siblings do not want to be bothered by their younger brothers and sisters because it seems to the older ones that that which is important to the younger brothers and sisters isn't very significant, it's rather unimportant. And the older siblings treat the younger ones that way. Yet, beloved, there is nothing more insignificant than you and me by nature before our sovereign and holy God. why should He bother with you and me for even one day or even one second for that matter? But He does. And He says to you and me as His people, you are not a bother. You are not a bother to me. I love you. I want you to come to me. I want you to bring before me your heart. The upright understands himself. And comes before the Sovereign God reverently and passionately as Psalm 116, verse 2. The psalmist says, Because He, the Lord, has turned His ear to me, I will call upon Him as long as I live. Trusting Him alone for our daily bread, for the forgiveness of all of our sins and His assurance of that forgiveness. Trusting Him alone for help and temptation, for deliverance from evil. Confident of these because by the grace of God, the believer also trusts in Jesus Christ. Third, we must rest on this unshakable foundation even though we do not deserve it. God will surely listen to our prayer because of Christ our Lord. That is what He has promised us in His Word. Because Jesus Christ has taken our place of punishment and therefore brought us back into that right relationship with God. And therefore, the privilege of prayer that God will listen to, beloved, is given only to those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ that we might enjoy for this life that lifeline called prayer with intimate access to and the unlimited divine resources of God Himself. And this gift in the third place is reserved for the believer, not only required of the believer, not only received from the believer, but it's reserved for the believer. Notice verse 8 again, the Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases Him. And then verse 29 once more, the Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous. That gift of prayer, God's gift of prayer, is reserved for the believer exclusively, only for the believer who comes to God with his heart. Sacrifice and prayer. Solomon puts them together in verse 8. Sacrifice and prayer, they both point to worship. In the Old Testament, the sacrifice has represented the prayers of the people rising up to God. But here in this verse, Solomon makes a contrast. He makes a contrast between worship that is only outward, only the act, not from the heart, and therefore it's meaningless, it is offensive, it is insulting to God, contrasting that with worship that is inward, which is represented here by prayer. The wicked were able to offer sacrifices, go through the outward motions without true faith, but God would not accept them. Amos says God doesn't even want to hear it. Don't bother with it. He won't even accept it. The true sacrifice is a broken and a contrite heart. You see, beloved, going through the motions of worship and treating prayer simply as another item on a checklist does not mean that it's true. It's reserved for the believer. And notice a powerful truth from this verse 8. The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases Him. I have to read verse 29 again. The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous. Notice this powerful truth. The wicked have no one on their side. not even the devil. They have no one to turn to in crisis. They have no one to turn to for comfort and strength. They have no one truly to praise through prayer. But the believer has the very God Almighty, the sovereign ruler of the universe on His side. We have the very One who has planned all things from the beginning and carries out His plan day by day, unfolds it day by day perfectly. He is on our side. The One to whom we can go at any time. He says, come to Me. The One of whom David said in Psalm 145, the Lord is near to all who call upon Him in truth. The One of whom Jesus said, ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened unto you. That is what my Father will do for you. God's gift of prayer is reserved for the believer exclusively and with a promise. Notice again what answer 116 includes. Because God gives His grace and Holy Spirit only to those who pray continually and groan inwardly, asking God for these gifts and thanking Him for them. Of course, the Catechism is not telling us here that before we can have the Holy Spirit at all, even initially, that we have to pray. No, that's not what the Catechism is saying because indeed we can't even begin to pray apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. But I believe what the Catechism is talking about there is the believer's consciousness of the Holy Spirit with him. And there too then by receiving the grace of God for this life and for the situations of life. You see, through prayer, by the power of the Holy Spirit, The believer claims the blessings that God has already determined to give him. God knows what we need before we even ask Him. He doesn't need us to ask Him. He has already determined what He is going to give to His people, but prayer He has given to His people as a means by which He will give that which He has determined to give. God gives all that we need to sustain us in this life and draw us closer to Himself. He gives it through His Holy Spirit who makes us then willing and able to give to God grateful obedience. The Holy Spirit of God, beloved, helps us and enables us and directs us in expressing, in telling our thanks to God and showing it through striving to live according to God's law. The beautiful truth of show and tell with God Almighty. The Holy Spirit through prayer brings man's storm-driven ship of difficulties in his life into the haven of safety and peace. The Holy Spirit through prayer changes the shadow of death for the child of God through the expectation of the joy of eternal life. The Holy Spirit through prayer gives songs in the night to the heart that was loaded with guilt. The Holy Spirit, through prayer, puts a sword in our hand when we face temptation and gives strength to bear our daily burdens. The Holy Spirit, through prayer, lifts us up when we have fallen. The Holy Spirit, through prayer, becomes our companion, the companion of the soul in loneliness, and He comforts us in the day of sorrow. The Holy Spirit, through prayer, gives confidence, gives assurance of forgiveness and reconciliation for the prodigal and the wanderer. The Holy Spirit, through prayer, gives confidence of following His direction for our lives. Being content that He leadeth me. Dear people of God, prayer is vital for the Christian life because that life depends on it. The Christian life cannot function or survive without it because by prayer, through prayer, in response to God speaking through His Word, He has promised to draw us to Himself. He has promised to sustain us in this life, in that relationship that Jesus Christ has brought us into with the Heavenly Father. Prayer is vital for the Christian life because it is intimate fellowship with the God of life who has given us new life. What a blessed privilege to take it, to take all things to the Lord in prayer, to this one and only God who reigns supreme. Prayer is indeed His precious gift given to those restored to Him through Jesus Christ. And therefore, it is natural. It is as natural as breathing for the believer. In a Psalter hymnal, in one of the versifications of Psalm 73, we sing these words, To live apart from God is death. To live apart from God is to have no relationship with Him. It is death because there is no communion. There is no fellowship with God. Apart from Jesus Christ, as Solomon says, God is far from the wicked. For them only to be cut off from Him forever. But His believers, those who turn to Him in faith, enjoy blessed communication with Him today in anticipation of face-to-face fellowship with Him for eternity. Dear beloved, when we truly understand this wonderful gift of prayer, we cannot help, but for it to be a priority by which we live. I heard or read once something to this effect. When we understand who it is to whom we pray, God Almighty in heaven, and that He accepts us in His very presence, then the problem won't be finding time to pray. But the problem will be getting up off our knees and leaving His presence. Dear people of God, may that truly be our experience. Praise be to God for this precious gift of prayer. Amen. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, Father, we do praise your name for that precious gift of prayer. By which You allow us, call us as Your people, to talk to You. To converse with You. To pour out our hearts before You. And Father, may we never tire of being on our knees. More and more, day by day, as we understand this precious gift, may it become so important to us that it might be the first thing on our minds in the morning to say thank you for a night of sleep. May it be the last words we utter at night to thank you for your blessings throughout the day. Blessings that we enjoy all because of the saving relationship that we have with you for Jesus' sake. Indeed, Father, more and more teach us, lead us, teach us how and lead us in our prayers by your Holy Spirit. Help us not to think that we will be heard for our many words or for our eloquence. We pray that You would give us increased sincerity of heart. That indeed we might come before You humbled, revering You because You are awesome and You are majestic and You are our God, confident that You will hear us, humbled that You will hear us for Jesus' sake. In His name we pray these things. Amen.