TEXT: I Corinthians 14:15

SUBJECT: Henry on Prayer #3: Petition

Tonight, with the blessing of the Holy Spirit, we’ll continue the study we began two weeks ago. It’s called A Method of Prayer. The author is the Matthew Henry. The goal is to improve our prayer lives.

Henry doesn’t tell us to follow his Method as though it were inspired of God and infallible. It isn’t. But it is helpful. He calls it

In other words, by studying the history of the Church and talking to the Puritans of his own time, Henry says It works. It’s not a magic formula, of course, but it is a good way to stir up a spirit of prayer and to stick with it.

Good prayer—Henry says—is made up of five parts: (1) adoration, (2) confession, (3) petition, (4) thanksgiving, and (5) intercession.

Thus far, we’ve looked at the first two. We ought to begin praying by worshiping and praising the One we’re talking to!

After we’ve done that, we go on to tell Him how unworthy we are to have His attention. It’s easy to confess your weaknesses and sins, but it’s not so easy to feel them. Yet feel them we must because there is no prayer without "A broken and contrite heart".

Prayer starts with adoration and confession. But then it goes on to petition. Do you kids know what petition means? It means asking for things. Is it right to ask God for things? Or is it greedy and selfish to do that?

The Bible says it is right to ask Him for things! The Lord’s Prayer, for example, says,

These are all petitions. Not only does the Lord allow us to ask Him for things, He even commands it, Philippians 4:6,

"Requests" is another word for petitions.

Because the Lord is equally great and good, there is nothing too big to ask of Him or too small. You can pray for a scraped knee or for a dying friend. You can pray for the salvation of a loved one or to find your car keys! Every petition is a good one—unless it is selfish or proud,

But it won’t be selfish or proud if you’ve begun your prayer by adoring the Lord and confessing yours sins. Petition is a necessary part of prayer, but it’s not the first part!

What, then, should we pray for? The Bible says everything!

But this is too much to cover in one chapter, so Matthew Henry names three things we ought to pray for in particular. They are pardon, fellowship, and grace.

Confessing your sins without asking for pardon is like telling someone your back itches, but not asking him to scratch it for you. Why bother?

The saints have never been slow in asking for forgiveness. This is true of the most experienced believer—and the new convert as well.

If you need forgiveness, ask for it. And everybody needs forgiveness.

In addition to our need, we have many reasons to ask for it. The Puritan gives a list, with many Bible references,

Why should I expect the Lord to forgive my sins? Because I deserve it? Or because I’m really, really sorry? Or because I’ll never do it again? Wrong on all counts! I don’t deserve it; I’m not nearly as sorry as I ought to be; and I’ve promised to "never do it again" a thousand times, only to "do it again".

The goodness is not in me, but in God! Micah 7:18 has it,

Psalm 115 is even more explicit,

If you asked me to come over and dig a ditch, I might do it, but I’d be less than thrilled about it. But, if you asked me out to a fine restaurant, I’d be there with bells on. Now, what are we doing when we ask God to forgive our sins? Are we asking Him to dig a ditch or go out to dinner? In other words, does He like to forgive sin, or does He do it as a necessary evil?

How could He be against forgiveness? He invented it!

Who killed the Lord Jesus Christ? Was it the Jews or the Romans or all of us? Well, we all did, in a sense, but, in a deeper sense, it is God who sent our Lord to the cross, Isaiah 53,

If the Father crucified His Son to pardon your sin, why do you think He’d be reluctant to do it? When I feel guilty and rotten about myself, I look to cross for forgiveness! Not to my sincerity or my tears or my promises and so on. Meditate on Romans 8:32,

How stupid it is to think that God would crucify Christ for our forgiveness, and then wonder if He’ll forgive us!

Doubt and despair are not the fruit of humility, but of unbelief. God has promised to forgive us when we repent and trust in Him, but then do both and wonder if the Lord will renege on His promise! If I trust my dad and my wife and my friends—and even people I don’t that well—why shouldn’t I trust God?

Ask the Lord to forgive you. That’s the first petition.

This is an old-fashioned way of saying you want to make up with the Lord. Now, some people are hard to make up with! Say the least little thing to them and they’ll hold a grudge for twenty years. They’ll talk about their hurt and their self-respect, and so on, but they’ll never call it what it is: Pride!

God has none of that in Him. If the Prodigal’s father longs to make up with his runaway boy, then the Lord wants to make up with you. He’s not a fool, of course—you have to repent. But He’ll take you back on easy terms. Easier than any your wife or husband or kids or parents or friends or anyone else would give you.

So why not ask God to restore your fellowship with Him? David did—and got what he asked for!

Have you heard the story of the old farmer and his wife? One day they were driving to town in their pickup truck. She said, "Oh, honey, remember when I sat next to you in the truck? But look at me now, way over on the other side". The old man replied, "I ain’t moved".

God ain’t moved either! The One who brought you into His fellowship years ago is still eager to have it. If you pray for it—sincerely—you’ll have it.

Ask the Lord to restore your fellowship with Him. That’s the second thing to ask for in prayer.

The believer not only wants to "get off the hook with God", he also wants to be holy. And that’s why he prays for grace. On this point, Matthew Henry offers a long list. Here’s some of it,

Henry has never been better! Because sin is a crime, we all want to avoid being hanged for it. But sin is not only a crime, it’s also a disease—a slow-working cancer in the soul. We need to pray, therefore, not only to skip the gallows, but also to be healed of the disease! In other words, pray against your sins—hard and long and in faith!

We pray, not only against the power of sin, but also for the power of holiness. Henry gives many examples,

Henry has summed up a hundred sermons. Which of these things do you not need? Courage? Patience? Contentment? The knowledge of God? Have you already persevered to the end? Have you already died well? Are you already fitted for heaven?

The holiest man in the world needs these things. Jesus Christ even prayed for them! And, so, you need them too.

Henry could have said a whole lot more here. It is right to pray for your every need. But especially these three: forgiveness, fellowship, and grace. As you pray in the New Year, remember these things.

And the love of God be with you. Amen.