Sinful Praying

There is a story about Charles Spurgeon, who before the Sunday service at the Metropolitan Tabernacle was giving a young pastor a tour of the church, and he asked the young visitor if he'd like to see the engine of the church. The young man thought he meant the boiler room. Down some stairs they went, but Spurgeon opened a double door to the basement, and there on their knees were 300 of his choicest deacons, bowed in prayer.

The whole time Spurgeon preached upstairs to his congregation, those 300 deacons interceded with God downstairs. That's why Charles Spurgeon had such power when he preached. If prayer is the engine of the church, then a prayerless church has no power.

The modern church is not fit for the work before it, and in the words of Alan Redpath, we see the reason why. Today, the Christian church is helpless, behind the scenes and away from the public arena. We are facing powers of darkness too strong for us, because somewhere in our personal lives we have forfeited our right to the Spirit's anointing, His authority, and His power.

In His absence, all we can do is substitute planning and organization, schemes and techniques. Well, Redpath was right, friends, for our inability to have power with God because of compromise in our church or personal lives gives way to an atmosphere of sinful praying. My message today, friends, is entitled Sinful Praying, and I fear many fall into this trap through either ignorance or spiritual dullness.

There is very little effectual prayer that lays hold of the horns of the altar in glory and gains the ear of the Almighty, but there is much sinful praying by the people of God. In James 4.3 we read, Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Sinful praying falls into the following categories.

If you are aware of a need of a brother or sister in Christ and you tell them you will pray for them when you yourself have the means to alleviate that need, it is selfish sinful praying. Self-preservation and the love of money are the banes of the American church, but the early church had a spirit of brotherly love as seen in Acts 2.44 and 45, and all that believed were together and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men as every man had need. Another example of sinful praying occurs when you pray for the gospel to spread and have the means to promote it, but you yourself don't give financially for the spread of it that is sinful, hypocritical praying.

You lay up treasures and investment portfolios to leave to your heirs, who will squander it upon themselves when hell fills by the hour by those who did not come under the sound of a gospel witness that you could have provided had you not been a selfish hoarder. Sinful praying rises no higher than the ceiling, and it mocks Almighty God. The Pharisees were religious men who prayed to be heard of men, and it was their sinful praying that blinded them to God in their midst.

Sinful praying was all they engaged in, and when they crucified the Lord of glory, they committed a grievous sin. When you stand in a church to lead in prayer, and you pray not to God, but to impress the ears of men, it is sinful praying that dishonors God. Sinful praying is maintaining a high opinion of yourself.

When you pray like a Pharisee, the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. Sinful praying is praying casually without any thought to follow up to see if God answered that prayer. Sinful praying is praying without faith.

Sinful praying is self-centered praying, Lord bless me, mine, and all I have. Sinful praying is self-centered praying, giving little thought to the needs of others. Sinful praying gives little thought to God and his glory.

It's indifferent to the kingdom of God and has no burden for the souls of men. Sinful praying is mere empty words strung together out of duty to pray that have no power with God and are ineffectual for men. The church is full of sinful praying that fails to intercede on behalf of the sins of a nation while the country grows more wicked every day.

Lastly, sinful praying is to keep confessing a pet sin you indulge in without any intention of breaking off that sin by true repentance. So you mock God as you sin all you want to. Sinful praying is an insult to the glory of God.

May we repent immediately before it's too late.