LET US PRAY - Lesson 4: The Principle of Praying Thrice

There are three secrets to prayer:

1. Prayer must be offered with burden.

2. Prayer must be offered THRICE. This “thrice” is not limited to only three times, it may be many times.

3. Prayer must be offered until the burden is lifted.

Two examples that illustrate these secrets of prayer are found with Jesus and Paul:

BURDEN:

1. JESUS: When He came to a place called Gethsemane, “…he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” Matthew 26:37, 38)

2. PAUL: When Paul was given a thorn in the flesh to torment him, “…I (Paul) pleaded with the Lord…” 2 Corinthians 12:8

THRICE:

1. JESUS: The Lord Jesus asked His Father three separate times in the garden of Gethsemane: “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.” Matthew 26:39

2. PAUL: Paul was given a thorn in the flesh and he prayed: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.” 2 Corinthians 12:8

BURDEN LIFTED:

1. JESUS: After having prayed three times, Jesus was at peace and returned to His sleeping disciples (again) and said, “Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” Matthew 26:46

2. PAUL: After the Lord told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul said, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

Jesus and Paul prayed three times. Both began their prayers with great burden, and both departed their time of prayer with what they needed to accept God’s will. Did God answer the prayer of Jesus? No. Did God answer the Prayer of Paul? No. But what God did do was give them both what they needed to accept God’s will.

What was the key to their burdens being lifted? They both surrendered completely to God’s will. On all three occasions, Jesus followed his prayer with, “Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39

The secret to our prayers is that God’s will becomes our will. That is a most difficult task, yet it is the key to becoming one with our Father. There is often a price we must pay when we surrender our will to God. There will often be a painful sensation as we put to death our fleshly will. But we must remember that the pain that Jesus endured on the cross was eclipsed by the victory He experienced in His Resurrection. We must look past our personal “cross” that awaits us and focus on the “resurrection” that comes as a result of our surrender.

When your prayer is the result of a burden, pray THRICE or until that burden is lifted. But most importantly, regardless of what God might ask you to change or give up in your life, know that His will is always better than anything you can ever dream of for your own life.

Sometimes we are afraid of what God might ask us to do or give up. It might be something that is so precious or special that you imagine it as a type of death. From personal experience, I can say that when you surrender completely to do God’s will, He will change your desires. On the other side of any cross you might be asked to bear is a life of resurrection that is only possible once you reach a point of complete surrender to God’s will.

God will change your desires ONLY after you desire His will more than your own.

Next week: Lesson 5: Prayer That Resists Satan