In his magisterial collection of 145 sermons on John 17, Puritan Anthony Burgess addresses countless questions regarding salvation, Christology, and prayer. As he exposits verse 5 of this “High Priestly Prayer,” helps us answer a crucial question: 

What are the qualities of a fruitful prayer? 

1. Fruitful prayers must be the prayers of a righteous man 

It must be the prayer of a righteous man, someone who washes himself from his sins. This is necessary because sins have a tongue - they cry for vengeance and will quickly cry louder than our prayers. That is why a wicked man’s prayer is said to be an abomination to the Lord (Prov. 28:9), and the blind man could see and say, ‘God hears not the prayers of a sinner.’ (1)  

There are two kinds of sinners. The first is the sinner who willfully persists in his wickedness; this is the man who God will not hear. But then there is a second kind of sinner: the sinner who is praying, mourning, and repenting like the publican who said, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). God does hear this kind of sinner. Indeed, all men are sinners in this respect, and thus God should hear no prayer at all if He did not hear such. However, concerning the first kind of sinner, God does loathe and their duties. David has expressed it fully, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Ps. 66:18). Oh then, look to yourself and your life when you go to pray! If the tongue that prays is a cursing, swearing tongue, if the eyes lifted up to heaven are full of wantonness (2) and adultery, if the hands held out towards heaven are full of violence, fraud, and injustice, God is of purer eyes than to behold such. 

2. Fruitful prayers must be fervent, zealous prayers 

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). 

Even if the man praying is righteous, his prayer may have no success if it is full of dullness, distractions, and lukewarmness. Therefore, it must be fervent. We must be Jacobs wrestling with God before we can be Israels prevailing with God. Prayer is compared to incense, and it is the fruit of God’s Spirit, which is compared to fire. Romans 8:26 calls prayers “groans unutterable.” Therefore, it is not enough to pray, unless it is done fervently and zealously. Otherwise, prayers are like a bird without wings or a messenger without feet. 

3. Fruitful prayers must be believing prayers 

“Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering” (James 1:6)  

He that doubts should conclude that he shall not receive anything. (3) In spiritual things that are necessary, our faith must be absolute. In other things, our fiducial (4) faith is to be guided by our doctrinal faith. If we pray for those things that are for our good and God’s glory, we should pray with confident faith. This is the grace that crowns our prayers, the grace that God highly honors, insomuch that “without faith,” it is said, “it is impossible to please him” (Heb. 11:6). Although presumption is a weed that comes up by itself, faith is a gift of God’s own planting. It grows in the face of great opposition and great difficulty. 

4. Fruitful prayers must be persevering and constant prayers 

In the parable of the unjust judge, our Savior taught us that we should pray incessantly. We must not let go of God until we obtain the blessing. Nor should we be discouraged, even when we meet with many delays and great discouragements. We must take no denial, following the example of the woman of Canaan, whose prayers had a holy kind of impudence (5) and pertinency (6). 

Footnotes

1. Reference to John 9:31 

2. Lust; Unstrained sexual desire and/or activity; Immorality

3. See James 1:7 

4. Confidence based on trust 

5. Bold without tact or politeness, brash

6. Pointedness, bluntness

This article is a modified excerpt from “Christ’s Prayer Before His Passion” by Anthony Burgess.