The Way of Prayer

A Sermon on Hebrews 10:19-22

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Scripture

Hebrews 10:19-22 ESV KJV

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw …

Sermon Description

What role does prayer play in the Christian life? Christians can be surprised by the amount of difficulties and trials they encounter. Perhaps when they trusted in Jesus for their salvation, they were under the impression that all the negative aspects of life would disappear. But there is hope. In this sermon on Hebrews 10:19–22 titled “The Way of Prayer,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones proclaims that Jesus promised that along with the increase in trials, His followers will have His power and protection to persevere through difficult times. The power and protection is accessed through prayer. This is found in the letter of Hebrews as an example to encourage believers to pray through trials. Dr. Lloyd-Jones provides three biblical characteristics that should be consistent in how Christians pray. First, they must pray with confidence in God’s ability to handle requests. Second, they must have a clear conscience since prayer is entering into God’s presence. Third, Christians must be sincere with God. It is no use holding back even one percent of themselves since they must be willing to submit all to Him and His sovereign plan. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones helps the believer apply these characteristics of godly prayer to their lives. The only way to stand firm in persecution is to look to Jesus, the author and finisher of their faith.

Sermon Breakdown

The sermon opens by expressing gratitude for the opportunity to preach the gospel. Dr. Lloyd-Jones acknowledges he is just a servant expounding on the truths of scripture.
Dr. Lloyd-Jones reads from Hebrews 10:19-22 which deals with prayer and entering into God's presence.
The sermon is directed at Hebrew Christians who have become discouraged and doubtful in their faith. Dr. Lloyd-Jones wants to encourage them in prayer.
Dr. Lloyd-Jones asks if we realize the difficulties in prayer. Some teachings portray prayer as simple but the New Testament shows it is difficult.
The first difficulty is "entering the holiest" - entering into God's presence. God is holy, just and righteous. How can we enter His presence?
The second difficulty is "an evil conscience" which condemns us and reminds us of our sins. Our conscience accuses us before God.
The third difficulty is "having our bodies washed with pure water" which represents the pollution of sin - our sinful nature. We are unclean before God.
These difficulties seem to make prayer impossible. How can we overcome them? We need sincerity or a "true heart" but that is not enough.
The solution is the "new and living way" which Jesus consecrated for us through His flesh. This is the incarnation and crucifixion of Christ.
The incarnation - Jesus becoming flesh - is the foundation. The crucifixion - His broken body and shed blood - is the way of forgiveness. This is the heart of the gospel.
This new and living way is adequate and sufficient. It solves all the problems - it allows us to face God, answers the law, silences our conscience and overcomes the devil's accusations.
We can dwell in God's light through Christ's eternal love. The difficulties are real but overcome in Jesus. We must walk the new and living way, looking to Jesus.
Dr. Lloyd-Jones closes in prayer, thanking God for His love in Christ and asking for enlightenment to see the new and living way. He prays grace and fellowship may continue with them.

Itinerant Preaching

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.