Prayer Asking of God and receiving from the Lord -- direct application to God, immediate connection with God -- that is prayer. In John 5:13 we have this statement about prayer: And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. And if we know that he heareth us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. In Phil.4:6 we have these words about prayer: Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. What is Gods will about prayer? First of all, it is Gods will that we pray. Jesus Christ spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint Paul writes to young Timothy about the first things which Gods people are to do, and first among the first he puts prayer: I exhort, therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men (1 Tim.2:1). In connection with these words Paul declares that the will of God and the redemption and mediation of Jesus Christ for the salvation for all men are all vitally concerned in this matter of prayer. In this his apostolical authority and solicitude of soul conspire with Gods will and Christs intercession to will that the men pray everywhere. Note how frequently prayer is brought forward in the New Testament: Continuing instant in prayer; Pray without ceasing; Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Be ye sober and watch unto prayer; Christs clarion call was watch and pray. What are all these and others, if it is not the will of God that men should pray? Prayer is complement, make efficient and cooperate with Gods will, whose sovereign sway is to run parallel in extent and power with the atonement of Jesus Christ. He, through the Eternal Spirit, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man. We, through the Eternal Spirit, by the grace of God, pray for every man. But how do I know that I am praying by the will of God? Every true attempt to pray is in response to the will of God. Bungling it may be and untutored by human teachers, but it is accept-able to God, because it is in obedience to His will. If I will give myself up to the inspiration of the Spirit of God, who commands me to pray, the details and the petitions of that praying will all fall into harmony with the will of Him who wills that I should pray. Prayer is no little thing, no selfish and small matter. It does not concern the petty interests of one person. The littlest prayer broadens out by the will of God till it touches all words, conserves all interests, and enhances mans greatest wealth, and Gods greatest good. God is so concerned that men pray that He has promised to answer prayer. He has not promised to do something general if we pray, but He has promised to do the very thing for which we pray. Prayer, as taught by Jesus in its essential features, enters into all the relations of life. It sanctifies brotherliness. To the Jew, the altar was the symbol and place of prayer. The Jew devoted the altar to the worship of God. Jesus Christ takes the altar of prayer and devotes it to the worship of the brotherhood. How Christ purifies the altar and enlarges it! How He takes it out of the sphere of a mere performance, and makes its virtue to consist, not in the mere act of praying, but in the spirit which actuates us toward men. Our spirit toward folks is of the life of prayer. We must be at peace with men, and, if possible, have them at peace with us, before we can be at peace with God. Reconciliation with men is the forerunner of reconciliation with God. Our spirit and words must embrace men before they can embrace God. Unity with the brotherhood goes before unity with God. Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way. First, be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift (Matthew 5:23). Non-praying is lawlessness, discord, anarchy. Prayer, in the moral government of God, is as strong and far-reaching as the law of gravitation in the material world, and it is as necessary as gravitation to hold things in their proper sphere and in life. The space occupied by prayer in the Sermon on the Mount bespeaks its estimate by Christ and the importance it holds in His system. Many important principles are discussed in a verse or two. The Sermon consists of one hundred and eleven verses, and eighteen are about prayer directly, and others indirectly. Prayer was one of the cardinal principles of piety in every dispensation and to every child of God. It did not pertain to the business of Christ to originate duties, but to recover, to recast, to spiritualise, and to reinforce those duties which are cardinal and original.biblehub/library/bounds/the_reality_of_prayer/i_prayera_privilege_princely_sacred.htm
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 18:14:19 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015