The Morality of Prayer
Greetings and good morning brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series
where we seek to explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years,
the heavenly Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them
with you. This morning we will ponder our lives as we seek to understand the morality of prayer.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Morality of Prayer
"Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed by the name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
in earth, as it is in heaven." Matthew, Chapter 6, Verses 9 and 10.
Believers often suggest to unbelievers to pray, and just as often, the response is that prayer does no
good. What is meant by this exchange? Is the believer deceiving himself? Is the unbeliever speaking
the truth? Often, prayer is the response to a crisis, whether material, moral or spiritual. It is used to
change the outcome of a crisis.
When a small child injures himself, the child cries because he is hurt. The father comes to the child's
rescue, comforts the child, reassures the child that he will be all right, and imparts wisdom to the
child made possible by the experience. Thus, if the child was running when he should have been
walking, the Father is able to impress upon the developing child's mind in a way that would not be
possible had the child not undergone the experience of the importance of walking under those
particular circumstances. The child emerges from the experience not only stronger but much wiser.
In a similar manner, prayer is the process whereby the spiritual child after a minor injury receives
spiritual comfort, reassurance that he will be fine spiritually, and receives wisdom, the reception of
which is made possible by the experience. In this way, the spiritual child becomes stronger and
wiser. Prayer is effective in the moral arena as well.
Again when the believer instructs the unbeliever to pray because of some moral consequence, the
unbeliever replies that it does not do any good. Indeed, prayer does not change the consequences of
immoral acts, but it does change the moral attitude of the individual who committed the immoral act,
so that his moral consciousness becomes elevated.
Brothers and sisters, to recognize an immoral act in another that causes offense presupposes that we
have grown beyond that level of immaturity. We must always remember that even though some
immoral acts are more offensive in our eyes than some others, in the eyes of our Father, all immoral
acts are offensive. One offense is not less or more egregious than another.
It is easy to gain insight into why someone continues immoral behavior in a particular arena of her
life, though she may have adequate examples of correct behavior all around her. We simply consider
why we continue to be immoral in our own particular area of weakness in spite of adequate
examples. Consciousness of morality must grow. We must gradually become conscious of the fact
that what we are doing is morally wrong. Next follows the desire for change, followed by adequate
capacity and power to change. Disastrous consequences in and of themselves do not necessarily
bring about a moral change, granted disastrous consequences may signal that there is something
amiss.
Prayer is a process whereby we gain true insight into morality. Prayer allows us to recognize our
moral inadequacies and gives us capacity to be more sympathetic and compassionate with the
shortcomings of our brothers and sisters. This creates an attitude of cooperation rather than one of
antagonism. We can all learn from each other. As the moral backslider can learn from our moral
strength, we can learn from his.
By demonstrating the correct behavior with loving patience and an expectant attitude that the
immoral one will eventually see the light, and by forgiving the evildoer for his immoral acts toward
us, we appeal to the divine spirit in the soul of the evildoer which causes him to change and allows
the practitioners of goodness to become more effective in their attempts to demonstrate
righteousness. As we forgive the wrongdoer for his misdeeds, we receive forgiveness for our own.
This concludes today's message on understanding the morality of prayer. We hope you find
something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day. Until next time, this
is Dr. James Perry
Inspirational Messages
By Dr. James Perry
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!
The Morality of Prayer
