Prayer
A Sermon on Hebrews 10:10-25
Scripture
10By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice …
Sermon Description
Some say, “Doctrine divides, let’s focus on prayer.” But what is prayer without doctrine? Is prayer really the easiest thing one can do? Can anyone go to God in prayer? In this sermon on Hebrews 10:10–25 titled “Prayer,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that prayer is not easy. It is extremely difficult. Prayer is entering into God’s presence with a clean conscience and pure heart. How can anyone do this? It seems impossible. The conscience condemns and the heart proves the guilt. Yet, prayer is absolutely vital. It is essential to the Christian life. Listen to this sermon as Dr. Lloyd-Jones not only explains the problem in prayer, but shows the solution. Christians enter into prayer through the flesh of Jesus Christ. It’s through His incarnation and His death. The punishment which the law required was placed upon Jesus Christ. It’s been dealt with and, therefore, God cannot punish the sinner again. Since the law is satisfied, the conscience is satisfied. The Christian prays through Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Therefore, the Christian approaches the throne of God with fear, and also with great boldness. Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out: this is all doctrine. Thus, doctrine cannot be separated from prayers.
Sermon Breakdown
- Prayer is extremely difficult and perhaps the most difficult thing in the Christian life. It is easier to preach than pray.
- There are three great difficulties with prayer:
- Entering into the holiest of all (the presence of God)
- An evil conscience (our conscience accuses us of our sins before God)
- A sense of uncleanness (we feel unworthy because of our sinful nature)
- We must have a true heart (be honest and sincere) to pray. We cannot mislead God.
- We must have boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus. This is the only way.
- It is a new and living way, not the old dead way of ritual and ceremony. The new way is through Christ.
- The new way is built on the incarnation of Christ and his atoning death. His flesh and blood have consecrated the way.
- The new way is sufficient and adequate because it is God's own way. God planned it and commends it to us.
- The new way answers our conscience because Christ fulfilled the law and bore our punishment. The law is satisfied.
- The new way answers our sense of uncleanness because Christ's blood cleanses us from all sin. We are made worthy in him.
- The new way answers the devil's accusations because we overcome him by Christ's blood and our testimony about Christ.
- We must know and walk the new way with boldness and assurance, not looking back to the old way.
- We must look to Christ alone as the author and perfecter of our faith.
Sermon Q&A
Questions about Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on Prayer and Access to God
What are the three main difficulties of prayer according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the three main difficulties of prayer are: first, entering into the holiest (coming into God's holy presence); second, dealing with an evil conscience that accuses us of our sins; and third, overcoming our sense of uncleanness and pollution. He states that "prayer is extremely difficult, perhaps the most difficult thing of all in the Christian life" and that "the man who's never realized the difficulties is a man who's probably never prayed."
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones mean by "the new and living way" for prayer?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that "the new and living way" refers to the access to God provided through Jesus Christ. Unlike the old covenant with its temporary priesthood and repeated sacrifices, this new way is built upon Christ's incarnation, perfect life, sacrificial death, resurrection, and heavenly session. It's "new" because it was only recently put into operation through Christ, and it's "living" because Christ "ever liveth to make intercession for them." Unlike the old priesthood where priests died and were replaced, Christ's priesthood is eternal and unchangeable.
How does one enter the presence of God with boldness according to the sermon?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, we can enter God's presence with boldness only through Christ's work. We need: (1) a true heart of sincerity and honesty before God; (2) faith in "the blood of Jesus" that has dealt with our sins; (3) recognition of Christ as our High Priest who has "consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh" a way to God. This way gives us confidence because it is God's own appointed way of access, it satisfies the law and our conscience, and it deals with our pollution through Christ's cleansing work.
What argument does Dr. Lloyd-Jones make about the relationship between doctrine and prayer?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that sound doctrine is essential for true prayer. He states, "You can't pray without having doctrine" and mentions specifically that prayer requires "the doctrine of the incarnation, the life of perfect obedience, the atoning, substitutionary, sacrificial death, the literal resurrection, the ascension, the heavenly session." He challenges those who say, "Don't talk about doctrine. Doctrine divides us. But there's one thing we can always do and always pray together." His point is that without right doctrine about Christ's person and work, one cannot truly approach God in prayer.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones suggest believers should respond to Satan's accusations?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that when Satan accuses believers, the only effective response is "Jesus Christ and him crucified." He quotes Revelation, noting that believers "overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony." He warns, "If you try to argue with the devil, he'll beat you. There's only one thing that he can never answer. It is Jesus Christ and him crucified." He also quotes John Newton's hymn about facing "my fierce accuser" by taking refuge in Christ's death, which leaves Satan "speechless."
What concerns did Dr. Lloyd-Jones have about the Hebrew Christians he was addressing?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that he was addressing Hebrew Christians (Jewish converts to Christianity) who had become "discouraged," "doubtful," "uncertain," and "hesitant" about their faith due to persecution. He states they were "in this very dangerous condition" and were "beginning to look back to the old Jewish religion and to the temple in its ceremonial," possibly thinking they had been "precipitate in taking up this new teaching." His concern was that they were in danger of apostasy—turning away from the Christian faith and returning to Judaism.
What warning does Dr. Lloyd-Jones give to modern Christians regarding ritual?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns modern Christians against returning to ritualistic forms of worship, saying: "There are people today, Christian people, Protestant people, who seem to want to go back to an old way that we turned our backs on four centuries ago, to an earthly human priesthood, to a ceremonial and a ritual that has been finished because it was inadequate and are turning their backs on the new and the living and the eternal way which is in Christ Jesus." He sees this as comparable to the Hebrew Christians' temptation to return to temple worship.
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.