"WHEN
we stand with Christ in glory, looking o'er life's finished
story," the most amazing feature of that life as it is
looked back upon will be its prayerlessness.
We shall be almost beside
ourselves with astonishment that we spent so little time in real
intercession. It will be our turn to "wonder."
In our Lord's last discourse to
His loved ones, just before the most wonderful of all prayers,
the Master again and again held out His kingly golden sceptre
and said, as it were, "What is your request? It shall be
granted unto you, even unto the whole of My kingdom!"
Do we believe this? We must do so
if we believe our Bibles. Shall we just read over very quietly
and thoughtfully one of our Lord's promises, reiterated so many
times? If we had never read them before, we should open our eyes
in bewilderment, for these promises are almost incredible. From
the lips of any mere man they would be quite unbelievable. But
it is the Lord of heaven and earth Who speaks; and He is
speaking at the most solemn moment of His life. It is the eve of
His death and passion. It is a farewell message. Now listen!
"Verily, verily I say unto
you, he that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do
also; and greater works than these shall he do: because I go
unto the Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that
will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye
shall ask anything in My name, that will I do" (John xiv.
13, 14). Now, could any words be plainer or clearer than these?
Could any promise be greater or grander? Has anyone else,
anywhere, at any time, ever offered so much?
How staggered those disciples must
have been! Surely they could scarcely believe their own ears.
But that promise is made also to you and to me.
And, lest there should be any
mistake on their part, or on ours, our Lord repeats Himself a
few moments afterwards. Yes, and the Holy Spirit bids St. John
record those words again. "If ye abide in Me, and My words
abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto
you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bare much fruit; and
so shall ye be My disciples" (John xv. 7, 8).
These words are of such grave
importance, and so momentous, that the Savior of the world is
not content even with a threefold utterance of them. He urges
His disciples to obey His command "to ask." In fact,
He tells them that one sign of their being His
"friends" will be the obedience to His commands in all
things (verse 14). Then He once more repeats His wishes:
"Ye did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you,
that ye should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should
abide: that whatsoever ye shall ask the Father, in My name, He
may give it you" (John xv. 16).
One would think that our Lord had
now made it plain enough that He wanted them to pray; that He
needed their prayers, and that without prayer they could
accomplish nothing. But to our intense surprise He returns again
to the same subject, saying very much the same words.
"In that day ye shall ask Me
nothing" -- i.e., "ask Me no question" (R.V.,
marg.) -- "Verily, verily I say unto you, if ye ask
anything of the Father, He will give it you in My name. Hitherto
have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive,
that your joy may be fulfilled" (John xvi. 23, 24).
Never before had our Lord laid
such stress on any promise or command -- never! This truly
marvelous promise is given us six times over. Six times, almost
in the same breath, our Savior commands us to ask whatsoever we
will. This is the greatest -- the most wonderful -- promise ever
made to man. Yet most men -- Christian men -- practically ignore
it! Is it not so?
The exceeding greatness of the
promise seems to over-whelm us. Yet we know that He is
"able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or
think" (Eph. iii. 20).
So our blessed Master gives the
final exhortation, before He is seized, and bound, and scourged,
before His gracious lips are silenced on the cross, "Ye
shall ask in My name . . . for the Father Himself loveth
you" (verse 26). We have often spent much time in
reflecting upon our Lord's seven words from the cross. And it is
well we should do so. Have we ever spent one hour in meditating
upon this, our Savior's sevenfold invitation to pray?
Today He sits on the throne of His
Majesty on high, and He holds out to us the sceptre of His
power. Shall we touch it and tell Him our desires? He bids us
take of His treasures. He yearns to grant us "according to
the riches of His glory," that we may "be strengthened
with power through His Spirit in the inner man." He tells
us that our strength and our fruitfulness depend upon our
prayers. He reminds us that our very joy depends upon answered
prayer (John xvi. 24).
And yet we allow the devil to
persuade us to neglect prayer! He makes us believe that we can
do more by our own efforts than by our prayers -- by our
intercourse with men than by our intercession with God. It
passes one's comprehension that so little heed should be given
to our Lord's sevenfold invitation -- command -- promise! How
dare we work for Christ without being much on our knees? Quite
recently an earnest Christian "worker" -- a
Sunday-school teacher and communicant -- wrote me, saying,
"I have never had an answer to prayer in all my life."
But why? Is God a liar? Is not God trustworthy? Do His promises
count for nought. Does He not mean what He says? And doubtless
there are many reading these words who in their hearts are
saying the same thing as that Christian worker. Payson is right
-- is Scriptural -- when he says: "If we would do much for
God, we must ask much of God: we must be men of prayer." If
our prayers are not answered -- always answered, but not
necessarily granted -- the fault must be entirely in ourselves,
and not in God. God delights to answer prayer; and He has given
us His word that He will answer.
Fellow-laborers in His vineyard,
it is quite evident that our Master desires us to ask, and to
ask much. He tells us we glorify God by doing so! Nothing is
beyond the scope of prayer which is not beyond the will of God
-- and we do not desire to go beyond His will.
We dare not say that our Lord's
words are not true. Yet somehow or other few Christians really
seem to believe them. What holds us back? What seals our lips?
What keeps us from making much of prayer? Do we doubt His love?
Never! He gave His life for us and to us. Do we doubt the
Father's love? Nay. "The Father Himself loveth you,"
said Christ when urging His disciples to pray.
Do we doubt His power? Not for a
moment. Hath He not said, "All power hath been given unto
Me in heaven and on earth. Go ye . . . and lo, I am with you
alway . . ."? (Matt. xxviii. 18-20). Do we doubt His
wisdom? Do we mistrust His choice for us? Not for a moment. And
yet so very few of His followers consider prayer really worth
while. Of course, they would deny this -- but actions speak
louder than words. Are we afraid to put God to the test? He has
said we may do so. "Bring Me the whole tithe into the
storehouse . . . and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of
Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour
you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to
receive it" (Mal. iii. 10). Whenever God makes us a
promise, let us boldly say, as did St. Paul, I believe God (Acts
xxvii. 25), and trust Him to keep His word.
Shall we begin today to be men of
prayer, if we have never done so before? Let us not put it off
till a more convenient season. God wants me to pray. The dear
Savior wants me to pray. He needs my prayers. So much -- in
fact, everything -- depends upon prayer. How dare we hold back?
Let every one of us ask on our knees this question: "If no
one on earth prayed for the salvation of sinners more fervently
or more frequently than I do, how many of them would be
converted to God through prayer ?"
Do we spend ten minutes a day in
prayer? Do we consider it important enough for that?
Ten minutes a day on our knees in
prayer -- when the Kingdom of Heaven can be had for the asking!
Ten minutes? It seems a very
inadequate portion of our time to spend in taking hold of God (Isa.
lxiv. 7) !
And is it prayer when we do
"say" our prayers, or are we just repeating daily a
few phrases which have become practically meaningless, whilst
our thoughts are wandering hither and thither?
If God were to answer the words we
repeated on our knees this morning should we know it? Should we
recognize the answer? Do we even remember what we asked for? He
does answer. He has given us His word for it. He always answers
every real prayer of faith.
But we shall see what the Bible
has to say on this point in a later chapter. We are now thinking
of the amount of time we spend in prayer.
"How often do you pray?"
was the question put to a Christian woman. "Three times a
day, and all the day beside," was the quick reply. But how
many are there like that? Is prayer to me just a duty, or is it
a privilege -- a pleasure -- a real joy -- a necessity?
Let us get a fresh vision of
Christ in all His glory, and a fresh glimpse of all the
"riches of His glory" which He places at our disposal,
and of all the mighty power given unto Him. Then let us get a
fresh vision of the world and all its needs. (And the world was
never so needy as it is today.)
Why, the wonder is not that we
pray so little, but that we can ever get up from our knees if we
realize our own need; the needs of our home and our loved ones;
the needs of our pastor and the Church; the needs of our city --
of our country -- of the heathen and Mohammedan world! All these
needs, can be met by the riches of God in Christ Jesus. St. Paul
had no doubt about this -- nor have we. Yes! "My God shall
supply all your need according to His riches in glory, in Christ
Jesus" (Phil. iv. 19). But to share His riches we must
pray, for the same Lord is rich unto all that call upon Him
(Rom. x. 12).
So great is the importance of
prayer that God has taken care to anticipate all the excuses or
objections we may be likely to make.
Men plead their weakness or
infirmity -- or they declare they do not know how to pray.
God foresaw this inability long
ages ago. Did He not inspire St. Paul to say: "The Spirit
also helpeth our infirmity, for we know not how to pray as we
ought; but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered; and He that searcheth the
hearts knoweth what is in the mind of the Spirit, because He
maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of
God" (Rom. viii. 26, 27).
Yes. Every provision is made for
us. But only the Holy Spirit can "stir us up" to
"take hold of God." And if we will but yield ourselves
to the Spirit's promptings we shall most assuredly follow the
example of the apostles of old, who "gave themselves to
prayer," and "continued steadfastly in prayer" (R.V.,
Acts vi. 4).
We may rest fully assured of this
-- a man's influence in the world can be gauged not by his
eloquence, or his zeal, or his orthodox, or his energy, but by
his prayers. Yes, and we will go farther and maintain that no
man can live aright who does not pray aright.
We may work for Christ from morn
till night; we may spend much time in Bible study; we may be
most earnest and faithful and "acceptable" in our
preaching and in our individual dealing, but none of these
things can be truly effective unless we are much in prayer. We
shall only be full of good works; and not "bearing fruit in
every good work" (Col. i. 10). To be little with God in
prayer is to be little for God in service. Much secret prayer
means much public power. Yet is it not a fact that whilst our
organizing is well nigh perfect, our agonizing in prayer is well
nigh lost?
Men are wondering why the Revival
delays its coming. There is only one thing that can delay it,
and that is lack of prayer. All Revivals have been the outcome
of prayer. One sometimes longs for the voice of an archangel,
but what would that avail if the voice of Christ Himself does
not stir us up to pray? It seems almost impertinence for any man
to take up the cry when our Savior has put forth His
"limitless" promises. Yet we feel that something
should be done, and we believe that the Holy Spirit is prompting
men to remind themselves and others of Christ's words and power.
No words of mine can impress men with the value of prayer, the
need of prayer, and the omnipotence of prayer.
But these utterances go forth
steeped in prayer that God the Holy Spirit will Himself convict
Christian men and women of the sin of prayerlessness, and drive
them to their knees, to call upon God day and night in burning,
believing, prevailing intercession! The Lord Jesus, now in the
heavenlies, beckons to us to fall upon our knees and claim the
riches of His grace.
No man dare prescribe for another
how long a time he ought to spend in prayer, nor do we suggest
that men should make a vow to pray so many minutes or hours a
day. Of course, the Bible command is to "Pray without
ceasing." This is evidently the "attitude of
prayer" -- the attitude of one's life.
Here we are speaking of definite
acts of prayer. Have you ever timed your prayers? We believe
that most of our readers would be amazed and confounded if they
did time themselves!
Some years ago the writer faced
this prayer question. He felt that for himself at least one hour
a day was the minimum time that he should spend in prayer. He
carefully noted down every day a record of his prayer-life. As
time went on he met a working-man who was being much used of
God.
When asked to what he chiefly
attributed his success, this man quietly replied, "Well, I
could not get on without two hours a day of private
prayer."
Then there came across my path a
Spirit-filled missionary from overseas, who told very humbly of
the wonderful things God was doing through his ministry. (One
could see all along that God was given all the praise and all
the glory.) "I find it necessary, oftentimes, to spend four
hours a day in prayer," said this missionary.
And we remember how the Greatest
Missionary of all used sometimes to spend whole nights in
prayer. Why? Our blessed Lord did not pray simply as an example
to us: He never did things merely as an example. He prayed
because He needed to pray. As perfect Man, prayer to Him was a
necessity. Then how much more is it necessary to you and me?
"Four hours a day in
prayer!" exclaimed a man who is giving his whole life to
Christian work as a medical missionary. "Four hours? Give
me ten minutes and I'm done!" That was an honest and a
brave confession -- even if a sad one. Yet, if some of us were
to speak out as honestly --?
Now, it was not by accident that
these men crossed my path. God was speaking through them. It was
just another "call to prayer" from the "God of
patience," who is also a "God of comfort" (Rom.
xv. 5). and when their quiet message had sunk into my soul a
book came into my hands, "by chance," as people say.
It told briefly and simply the story of John Hyde --
"Praying Hyde," as he came to be called. Just as God
sent St. John the Baptist to prepare the way of our Lord at His
first coming, so He sent in these last days St. John the Pray-er,
to make straight paths for His coming again. "Praying
Hyde" -- what a name! As one read of this marvelous life of
prayer, one began to ask, "Have I ever prayed?"
I found others were asking the
same question. One lady, who is noted for her wonderful
intercession, wrote me, saying, "When I laid down this
book, I began to think I bad never in all my life really
prayed!"
But here we must leave the matter.
Shall we get on our knees before God and allow His Holy Spirit
to search us through and through? Are we sincere? Do we really
desire to do God's will? Do we really believe His promises? If
so, will it not lead us to spend more time on our knees before
God? Do not vow to pray "so much" a day. Resolve to
pray much, but prayer, to be of value, must be spontaneous, and
not from constraint.
But we must bear in mind that mere
resolutions to take more time for prayer, and to conquer
reluctance to pray, will not prove lastingly effective unless
there is a wholehearted and absolute surrender to the Lord Jesus
Christ. If we have never taken this step, we must take it now if
we desire to be men of prayer.
I am quite certain of this fact:
God wants me to pray: wants you to pray. The question is, are we
willing to pray ?
Gracious Savior, pour out upon us
the fullness of the Holy Spirit, that we may indeed become
Kneeling Christians.
To God your every
want
In instant prayer display.
Pray always; pray and never faint:
Pray! Without ceasing, pray.
