Who Can Pray?

Who Can Pray?

Richard Stout in the Child Evangelism Publication "Praying God's Way" tells about two boys sitting on a porch in the sweltering summer sun. Both guys get quiet and perk up their ears. Yes, it's the sound of the ice cream truck! They stare into one another's eyes as their brains scheme for a "get-some-money-quick" plan. Since they are filling the empty space of Thomas' porch, the quickest, logical plan is to ask Thomas' dad. He's just inside the house.

Thomas nearly shouts his plan as he knows the truck will soon be passing their intersection and won't wait forever. "Quick, Ryan, run in and tell my dad we need some money for ice cream?"

"What? Are you kiddin'? Why would I ever be the one to ask YOUR father for ice cream money? He's YOUR father. You ask him."  His voice was as loud or louder than his friend's.

What would you do in Ryan's situation?  And what does this story have to do with "Who Can Pray?"

Well, who is illegible to ask God to answer their prayers? Shouldn't it be only HIS children.  Is God the Father of all? Many people believe that since God created mankind (that means men and women) that we are all God's children. Well, let's check this out in the Bible. Turn to John chapter 8.
Jesus is talking to some people and trying over and over to explain to them that He is from God and here they are trying to kill Him. They say:

We are of our father, Abraham. But Jesus argues, "If you were of
Abraham, you would have been doing the things Abraham did.
But here you are trying to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth
He got straight from God. Abraham never did that sort of thing.
You persist in repeating the works of your father."

They said, "We're not [without a legitimate father.] We have a legitimate father: the one and only God."
"If God [were] your Father," said Jesus, "you would love me for I came from God
and arrived here...He sent me. Why can't you understand that? Here's why.
You can't handle it. You are of your father, the devil and all you want to
do is please him."

WOW! Jesus told those people that they were not God's children. God was not their Father. They were of their father, the devil. You see, John 8 proves that not everyone is a child of God. You must ask Jesus Christ to wash away your sins. His blood that He shed on the cross was spilled out for our sins. God said in Romans 3:23 that every one of us is a sinner. That means we have thought, said or done things against God's Word. You know the Christmas Story...don't you? How Jesus came to earth as a little baby and many years later (33) died on the cross, then was buried and rose again. (That's why we celebrate Good Friday and Easter). When He willingly gave His life and His blood, it was so that we could have our sins washed away. You see, God made a rule. He said in Hebrews 9:22 that without the shedding of blood, there would be no forgiveness of sin. However, not just anyone could die for us. It had to be a perfect, pure, holy, spotless one. God's Son, Jesus Christ, is the only One who could die for us because He is the only one Who has never sinned.
Does that mean that everyone can now be automatically forgiven and go to heaven when they leave this earth. (That's the gift a child of God receives. He/she gets to spend forever in heaven with God) It's not automatic. God says, in I John 5: 11-15* that it's those who receive and believe on His Son Jesus and what He did on the cross who will have everlasting life. You can also find that truth in John 1:12
"Yet, to all who recieved Him, to those who believed on His name, He gave the right to become children of God." This chapter is talking about Jesus. So there are two verbs in this verse. Can you find them?
Where are the action words? What are the two things you must do to become a child of God?
Read it again.   "to all who __________ and to those who ___________ on His name"
You can tell God right now (if you never have before) that you want the blood of Jesus to count for you. If you want to become a child of God, you can talk to God just like you would to any person. Tell Him that you want to become His child and follow Him. He promises in
I John 5:12  "He who has the Son has life, he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. "
Do you believe God? He says that all have sinned (Roman 3:23) and that the payment for sin is death, Romans 6:23. Do you think you have ever done anything against the Word of God? If you don't know for sure, start reading the ten commandments in Exodus chapter 20. Have you always loved the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind? If you have never asked Jesus to be your Savior from sin, then there is only one prayer that God will answer for you. It is called the sinner's prayer. It should sound something like this:

God, please forgive me, I have sinned.

The psalmist said in Psalm 66:18 "If I had kept sin in my heart, the Lord would not have heard my prayer."
God can clean your heart. Just as it says in Hebrews 9:22 "...almost everything is cleansed [cleaned] by the blood and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness."

So now we know that
1. not everyone is a child of God
2. one must believe
          a.  that they have sinned
          b.  that Jesus is the perfect Son of the holy, true God of the Bible
          c.  that God has the power to forgive your sins
          d.  that God keeps His promises and will forgive if one will ask God to make Jesus' blood  
               count to wash their sins away
3. one must turn away from his/her sin and follow Jesus' ways
4. the only prayer that God will pay attention to before we ask Christ to forgive us is the sinner's
    prayer.
5. God's children can pray to Him and expect answers.

That's a lot to learn in one blog, but there is so much more for us to learn. God has given us His Word so that we can know Him and copy off of Him.

Who can pray? That's the answer to this blog's question. If you are a child of God, you can pray and expect answers from God. Learn more about prayer by reading the Bible and keep following this blog.
Next blog we'll talk about who God is. Why should we believe in the God of the Bible? Is He really the Father of Jesus?

*I John 5:11, 12 and 13 NIV (New International Version)
"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."
Wow! Think of it.  You can KNOW that you have eternal life.  Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think of all this.