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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..968f945 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #66112 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66112) diff --git a/old/66112-0.txt b/old/66112-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ff42c70..0000000 --- a/old/66112-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4023 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Purpose in Prayer, by Edward M. Bounds - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Purpose in Prayer - -Author: Edward M. Bounds - -Release Date: August 23, 2021 [eBook #66112] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Brian Wilson, Susan Skinner, Stephen Hutcheson, and the - Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive/American - Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PURPOSE IN PRAYER *** - - - - - PURPOSE IN PRAYER - - - [Illustration: EDWARD M. BOUNDS] - - PURPOSE IN PRAYER - - - BY - E. M. BOUNDS - Author of “Power through Prayer.” - - [Illustration] - - NEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO - Fleming H. Revell Company - LONDON AND EDINBURGH - - - Copyright, 1920, by - FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY - - - New York: 158 Fifth Avenue - Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave. - London: 21 Paternoster Square - Edinburgh: 75 Princes Street - - - - - INTRODUCTION - - -EDWARD MCKENDREE BOUNDS was born in Shelby County, Mo., August 15, 1835, -and died August 24, 1913, in Washington, Ga. He received a common school -education at Shelbyville and was admitted to the bar soon after his -majority. He practiced law until called to preach the Gospel at the age -of twenty-four. His first pastorate was Monticello, Mo., Circuit. It was -while serving as pastor of Brunswick, Mo., that war was declared and the -young minister was made a prisoner of war because he would not take the -oath of allegiance to the Federal Government. He was sent to St. Louis -and later transferred to Memphis, Tenn. - -Finally securing his release, he traveled on foot nearly one hundred -miles to join General Pierce’s command in Mississippi and was soon after -made chaplain of the Fifth Missouri Regiment, a position he held until -near the close of the war, when he was captured and held as prisoner at -Nashville, Tenn. - -After the war Rev. E. M. Bounds was pastor of churches in Tennessee and -Alabama. In 1875 he was assigned to St. Paul Methodist Church in St. -Louis, and served there for four years. In 1876 he was married to Miss -Emmie Barnette at Eufaula, Ala., who died ten years later. In 1887 he -was married to Miss Hattie Barnette, who, with five children, survives -him. - -After serving several pastorates he was sent to the First Methodist -Church in St. Louis, Mo., for one year and to St. Paul Methodist Church -for three years. At the end of his pastorate, he became the editor of -the St. Louis “Christian Advocate.” - -He was a forceful writer and a very deep thinker. He spent the last -seventeen years of his life with his family in Washington, Ga. Most of -the time he was reading, writing and praying. He rose at 4 a. m. each -day for many years and was indefatigable in his study of the Bible. His -writings were read by thousands of people and were in demand by the -church people of every Protestant denomination. - -Bounds was the embodiment of humility, with a seraphic devotion to Jesus -Christ. He reached that high place where self is forgotten and the love -of God and humanity was the all-absorbing thought and purpose. At -seventy-six years of age he came to me in Brooklyn, N.Y., and so intense -was he that he awoke us at 3 o’clock in the morning praying and weeping -over the lost of earth. All during the day he would go into the church -next door and be found on his knees until called for his meals. This is -what he called the “Business of Praying.” Infused with this heavenly -ozone, he wrote “Preacher and Prayer,” a classic in its line, and now -gone into several foreign languages, read by men and women all over the -world. In 1909, while Rev. A. C. Dixon was preaching in Dr. Broughton’s -Tabernacle, Atlanta, Ga., I sent him a copy of “Preacher and Prayer,” by -Bounds. Hear what he says: - -“This little book was given me by a friend. I received another copy at -Christmas from another friend. ‘Well,’ thought I, ‘there must be -something worth while in the little book or two of my friends would not -have selected the same present for me.’ So I read the first page until I -came to the words: ‘Man is looking for better methods, God is looking -for better men. Man is God’s method.’ That was enough for me and my -appetite demanded more until the book was finished with pleasure.” - -This present volume is a companion work, and reflects the true spirit of -a man whose business it was to live the gospel that he preached. He was -not a luminary but a SUN and takes his place with Brainerd and Bramwell -as untiring intercessors with God. - - - H. W. HODGE. - - ———————————————————————————————— - - - _My Creed leads me to think that prayer is efficacious, and surely - a day’s asking God to overrule all events for good is not lost. - Still there is a great feeling that when a man is praying he is - doing nothing, and this feeling makes us give undue importance to - work, sometimes even to the hurrying over or even to the neglect of - prayer._ - - _Do not we rest in our day too much on the arm of flesh? Cannot the - same wonders be done now as of old? Do not the eyes of the Lord run - to and fro throughout the whole earth still to show Himself strong - on behalf of those who put their trust in Him? Oh that God would - give me more practical faith in Him! Where is now the Lord God of - Elijah? He is waiting for Elijah to call on Him._ - —JAMES GILMOUR OF MONGOLIA. - - - ———————————————————————————————— - - - - - I - - -THE more praying there is in the world the better the world will be, the -mightier the forces against evil everywhere. Prayer, in one phase of its -operation, is a disinfectant and a preventive. It purifies the air; it -destroys the contagion of evil. Prayer is no fitful, shortlived thing. -It is no voice crying unheard and unheeded in the silence. It is a voice -which goes into God’s ear, and it lives as long as God’s ear is open to -holy pleas, as long as God’s heart is alive to holy things. - -God shapes the world by prayer. Prayers are deathless. The lips that -uttered them may be closed in death, the heart that felt them may have -ceased to beat, but the prayers live before God, and God’s heart is set -on them and prayers outlive the lives of those who uttered them; outlive -a generation, outlive an age, outlive a world. - -That man is the most immortal who has done the most and the best -praying. They are God’s heroes, God’s saints, God’s servants, God’s -vicegerents. A man can pray better because of the prayers of the past; a -man can live holier because of the prayers of the past, the man of many -and acceptable prayers has done the truest and greatest service to the -incoming generation. The prayers of God’s saints strengthen the unborn -generation against the desolating waves of sin and evil. Woe to the -generation of sons who find their censers empty of the rich incense of -prayer; whose fathers have been too busy or too unbelieving to pray, and -perils inexpressible and consequences untold are their unhappy heritage. -Fortunate are they whose fathers and mothers have left them a wealthy -patrimony of prayer. - -The prayers of God’s saints are the capital stock in heaven by which -Christ carries on His great work upon earth. The great throes and mighty -convulsions on earth are the results of these prayers. Earth is changed, -revolutionised, angels move on more powerful, more rapid wing, and God’s -policy is shaped as the prayers are more numerous, more efficient. - -It is true that the mightiest successes that come to God’s cause are -created and carried on by prayer. God’s day of power; the angelic days -of activity and power are when God’s Church comes into its mightiest -inheritance of mightiest faith and mightiest prayer. God’s conquering -days are when the saints have given themselves to mightiest prayer. When -God’s house on earth is a house of prayer, then God’s house in heaven is -busy and all potent in its plans and movements, then His earthly armies -are clothed with the triumphs and spoils of victory and His enemies -defeated on every hand. - -God conditions the very life and prosperity of His cause on prayer. The -condition was put in the very existence of God’s cause in this world. -_Ask of Me_ is the one condition God puts in the very advance and -triumph of His cause. - -Men are to pray—to pray for the advance of God’s cause. Prayer puts God -in full force in the world. To a prayerful man God is present in -realised force; to a prayerful Church God is present in glorious power, -and the Second Psalm is the Divine description of the establishment of -God’s cause through Jesus Christ. All inferior dispensations have merged -in the enthronement of Jesus Christ. God declares the enthronement of -His Son. The nations are incensed with bitter hatred against His cause. -God is described as laughing at their enfeebled hate. The Lord will -laugh; The Lord will have them in derision. “Yet have I set My King upon -My holy hill of Zion.” The decree has passed immutable and eternal: - - I will tell of the decree: - The Lord said unto Me, Thou art My Son; - This day have I begotten Thee. - _Ask of Me_, and I will give Thee the nations for Thine inheritance, - And the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession. - Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; - Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. - -_Ask of Me_ is the condition—a praying people willing and obedient. -“And men shall pray for Him continually.” Under this universal and -simple promise men and women of old laid themselves out for God. They -prayed and God answered their prayers, and the cause of God was kept -alive in the world by the flame of their praying. - -Prayer became a settled and only condition to move His Son’s Kingdom. -“Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall -be opened.” The strongest one in Christ’s kingdom is he who is the best -knocker. The secret of success in Christ’s Kingdom is the ability to -pray. The one who can wield the power of prayer is the strong one, the -holy one in Christ’s Kingdom. The most important lesson we can learn is -how to pray. - -Prayer is the keynote of the most sanctified life, of the holiest -ministry. He does the most for God who is the highest skilled in prayer. -Jesus Christ exercised His ministry after this order. - - ———————————————————————————————— - - - _That we ought to give ourselves to God with regard to things both - temporal and spiritual, and seek our satisfaction only in the - fulfilling His will, whether He lead us by suffering, or by - consolation, for all would be equal to a soul truly resigned. - Prayer is nothing else but a sense of God’s presence._ - —BROTHER LAWRENCE. - - - _Be sure you look to your secret duty; keep that up whatever you - do. The soul cannot prosper in the neglect of it. Apostasy - generally begins at the closet door. Be much in secret fellowship - with God. It is secret trading that enriches the Christian._ - - _Pray alone. Let prayer be the key of the morning and the bolt at - night. The best way to fight against sin is to fight it on our - knees._ - —PHILIP HENRY. - - - _The prayer of faith is the only power in the universe to which the - Great Jehovah yields. Prayer is the sovereign remedy._ - —ROBERT HALL. - - - _An hour of solitude passed in sincere and earnest prayer, or the - conflict with and conquest over a single passion or subtle bosom - sin will teach us more of thought, will more effectually awaken the - faculty and form the habit of reflection than a year’s study in the - schools without them._ - —COLERIDGE. - - - _A man may pray night and day and deceive himself, but no man can - be assured of his sincerity who does not pray. Prayer is faith - passing into act. A union of the will and intellect realising in an - intellectual act. It is the whole man that prays. Less than this is - wishing or lip work, a sham or a mummery._ - - _If God should restore me again to health I have determined to - study nothing but the Bible. Literature is inimical to spirituality - if it be not kept under with a firm hand._ - —RICHARD CECIL. - - - _Our sanctification does not depend upon changing our works, but in - doing that for God’s sake which we commonly do for our own. The - time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer. - Prayer is nothing else but a sense of the presence of God._ - —BROTHER LAWRENCE. - - - _Let me burn out for God. After all, whatever God may appoint, - prayer is the great thing. Oh that I may be a man of prayer._ - —HENRY MARTYN. - - - - - - II - - -The possibilities and necessity of prayer, its power and results are -manifested in arresting and changing the purposes of God and in -relieving the stroke of His power. Abimelech was smitten by God: - - So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, - and his maidservants; and they bare _children_. - - For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of - Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife. - -Job’s miserable mistaken comforters had so deported themselves in their -controversy with Job that God’s wrath was kindled against them. “My -servant Job shall pray for you,” said God, “for him will I accept.” - -“And the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his -friends.” - -Jonah was in dire condition when “the Lord sent out a great wind into -the sea, and there was a mighty tempest.” When lots were cast, “the lot -fell upon Jonah.” He was cast overboard into the sea, but “the Lord had -prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah.... Then Jonah prayed unto the -Lord his God out of the fish’s belly ... and the Lord spake unto the -fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.” - -When the disobedient prophet lifted up his voice in prayer, God heard -and sent deliverance. - -Pharaoh was a firm believer in the possibilities of prayer, and its -ability to relieve. When staggering under the woeful curses of God, he -pleaded with Moses to intercede for him. “Intreat the Lord for me,” was -his pathetic appeal four times repeated when the plagues were scourging -Egypt. Four times were these urgent appeals made to Moses, and four -times did prayer lift the dread curse from the hard king and his doomed -land. - -The blasphemy and idolatry of Israel in making the golden calf and -declaring their devotions to it were a fearful crime. The anger of God -waxed hot, and He declared that He would destroy the offending people. -The Lord was very wroth with Aaron also, and to Moses He said, “Let Me -alone that I may destroy them.” But Moses prayed, and kept on praying; -day and night he prayed forty days. He makes the record of his prayer -struggle. “I fell down,” he says, “before the Lord at the first forty -days and nights; I did neither eat bread nor drink water because of your -sins which ye sinned in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord to -provoke Him to anger. For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure -wherewith the Lord was hot against you to destroy you. But the Lord -hearkened to me at this time also. And the Lord was very angry with -Aaron to have destroyed him. And I prayed for him also at the same -time.” - -“Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” It was the purpose of -God to destroy that great and wicked city. But Nineveh prayed, covered -with sackcloth; sitting in ashes she cried “mightily to God,” and “God -repented of the evil that He had said He would do unto them; and He did -it not.” - -The message of God to Hezekiah was: “Set thine house in order; for thou -shalt die and not live.” Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and -prayed unto the Lord, and said: “Remember now, O Lord, I beseech Thee, -how I have walked before Thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and -have done that which is good in Thy sight.” And Hezekiah wept sore. God -said to Isaiah, “Go, say to Hezekiah, I have heard thy prayer, I have -seen thy tears; behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.” - -These men knew how to pray and how to prevail in prayer. Their faith in -prayer was no passing attitude that changed with the wind or with their -own feelings and circumstances; it was a fact that God heard and -answered, that His ear was ever open to the cry of His children, and -that the power to do what was asked of Him was commensurate with His -willingness. And thus these men, strong in faith and in prayer, “subdued -kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths -of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, -from weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to flight -the armies of the aliens.” - -Everything then, as now, was possible to the men and women who knew how -to pray. Prayer, indeed, opened a limitless storehouse, and God’s hand -withheld nothing. Prayer introduced those who practised it into a world -of privilege, and brought the strength and wealth of heaven down to the -aid of finite man. What rich and wonderful power was theirs who had -learned the secret of victorious approach to God! With Moses it saved a -nation; with Ezra it saved a church. - -And yet, strange as it seems when we contemplate the wonders of which -God’s people had been witness, there came a slackness in prayer. The -mighty hold upon God, that had so often struck awe and terror into the -hearts of their enemies, lost its grip. The people, backslidden and -apostate, had gone off from their praying—if the bulk of them had ever -truly prayed. The Pharisee’s cold and lifeless praying was substituted -for any genuine approach to God, and because of that formal method of -praying the whole worship became a parody of its real purpose. A -glorious dispensation, and gloriously executed, was it by Moses, by -Ezra, by Daniel and Elijah, by Hannah and Samuel; but the circle seems -limited and shortlived; the praying ones were few and far between. They -had no survivors, none to imitate their devotion to God, none to -preserve the roll of the elect. - -In vain had the decree established the Divine order, the Divine call. -_Ask of Me._ From the earnest and fruitful crying to God they turned -their faces to pagan gods, and cried in vain for the answers that could -never come. And so they sank into that godless and pitiful state that -has lost its object in life when the link with the Eternal has been -broken. Their favoured dispensation of prayer was forgotten; they knew -not how to pray. - -What a contrast to the achievements that brighten up other pages of holy -writ. The power working through Elijah and Elisha in answer to prayer -reached down even to the very grave. In each case a child was raised -from the dead, and the powers of famine were broken. “The supplications -of a righteous man avail much.” Elijah was a man of like passions with -us. He prayed fervently that it might not rain, and it rained not on the -earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the -heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Jonah prayed -while imprisoned in the great fish, and he came to dry land, saved from -storm and sea and monsters of the deep by the mighty energy of his -praying. - -How wide the gracious provision of the grace of praying as administered -in that marvellous dispensation. They prayed wondrously. Why could not -their praying save the dispensation from decay and death? Was it not -because they lost the fire without which all praying degenerates into a -lifeless form? It takes effort and toil and care to prepare the incense. -Prayer is no laggard’s work. When all the rich, spiced graces from the -body of prayer have by labour and beating been blended and refined and -intermixed, the fire is needed to unloose the incense and make its -fragrance rise to the throne of God. The fire that consumes creates the -spirit and life of the incense. Without fire prayer has no spirit; it -is, like dead spices, for corruption and worms. - -The casual, intermittent prayer is never bathed in this Divine fire. For -the man who thus prays is lacking in the earnestness that lays hold of -God, determined not to let Him go until the blessing comes. “Pray -without ceasing,” counselled the great Apostle. That is the habit that -drives prayer right into the mortar that holds the building stones -together. “You can do more than pray after you have prayed,” said the -godly Dr. A. J. Gordon, “but you cannot do more than pray until you have -prayed.” The story of every great Christian achievement is the history -of answered prayer. - -“The greatest and the best talent that God gives to any man or woman in -this world is the talent of prayer,” writes Principal Alexander Whyte. -“And the best usury that any man or woman brings back to God when He -comes to reckon with them at the end of this world is a life of prayer. -And those servants best put their Lord’s money ‘to the exchangers’ who -rise early and sit late, as long as they are in this world, ever finding -out and ever following after better and better methods of prayer, and -ever forming more secret, more steadfast, and more spiritually fruitful -habits of prayer, till they literally ‘pray without ceasing,’ and till -they continually strike out into new enterprises in prayer, and new -achievements, and new enrichments.” - -Martin Luther, when once asked what his plans for the following day -were, answered: “Work, work, from early until late. In fact, I have so -much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” -Cromwell, too, believed in being much upon his knees. Looking on one -occasion at the statues of famous men, he turned to a friend and said: -“Make mine kneeling, for thus I came to glory.” - -It is only when the whole heart is gripped with the passion of prayer -that the life-giving fire descends, for none but the earnest man gets -access to the ear of God. - - - _When thou feelest thyself most indisposed to prayer yield not to - it, but strive and endeavour to pray even when thou thinkest thou - canst not pray._ - —HILDERSAM. - - - _It was among the Parthians the custom that none was to give their - children any meat in the morning before they saw the sweat on their - faces, and you shall find this to be God’s usual course not to give - His children the taste of His delights till they begin to sweat in - seeking after them._ - —RICHARD BAXTER. - - - _Of all the duties enjoined by Christianity none is more essential - and yet more neglected than prayer. Most people consider the - exercise a fatiguing ceremony, which they are justified in - abridging as much as possible. Even those whose profession or fears - lead them to pray, pray with such languor and wanderings of mind - that their prayers, far from drawing down blessings, only increase - their condemnation._ - —FÉNELON. - - - - - - III - - -More praying and better is the secret of the whole matter. More time for -prayer, more relish and preparation to meet God, to commune with God -through Christ—this has in it the whole of the matter. Our manner and -matter of praying ill become us. The attitude and relationship of God -and the Son are the eternal relationship of Father and Son, of asking -and giving—the Son always asking, the Father always giving: - - _Ask of Me_, and I will give _Thee_ the nations for Thine inheritance, - And the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession. - Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; - Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. - -Jesus is to be always praying through His people. “And men shall pray -for Him continually.” “For My house shall be called a house of prayer -for My peoples.” We must prepare ourselves to pray; to be like Christ, -to pray like Christ. - -Man’s access in prayer to God opens everything, and makes his -impoverishment his wealth. All things are his through prayer. The wealth -and the glory—all things are Christ’s. As the light grows brighter and -prophets take in the nature of the restoration, the Divine record seems -to be enlarged. - -“Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel and His Maker, ask Me of -the things that are to come, concerning My sons, and concerning the work -of My hands command ye Me. I have made the earth, and created man upon -it: I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens and all their host -have I commanded.” - -To man is given to command God with all this authority and power in the -demands of God’s earthly Kingdom. Heaven, with all it has, is under -tribute to carry out the ultimate, final and glorious purposes of God. -Why then is the time so long in carrying out these wise benedictions for -man? Why then does sin so long reign? Why are the oath-bound covenant -promises so long in coming to their gracious end? Sin reigns, Satan -reigns, sighing marks the lives of many; all tears are fresh and full. - -Why is all this so? We have not prayed to bring the evil to an end; we -have not prayed as we must pray. We have not met the conditions of -prayer. - -_Ask of Me._ Ask of God. We have not rested on prayer. We have not made -prayer the sole condition. There has been violation of the primary -condition of prayer. We have not prayed aright. We have not prayed at -all. God is willing to give, but we are slow to ask. The Son, through -His saints, is ever praying and God the Father is ever answering. - -_Ask of Me._ In the invitation is conveyed the assurance of answer; the -shout of victory is there and may be heard by the listening ear. The -Father holds the authority and power in His hands. How easy is the -condition, and yet how long are we in fulfilling the conditions! Nations -are in bondage; the uttermost parts of the earth are still unpossessed. -The earth groans; the world is still in bondage; Satan and evil hold -sway. - -The Father holds Himself in the attitude of Giver, _Ask of Me_, and that -petition to God the Father empowers all agencies, inspires all -movements. The Gospel is Divinely inspired. Back of all its inspirations -is prayer. _Ask of Me_ lies back of all movements. Standing as the -endowment of the enthroned Christ is the oath-bound covenant of the -Father, “_Ask of Me_, and I will give thee the nations for thine -inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” -“And men shall pray to Him continually.” - -Ever are the prayers of holy men streaming up to God as fragrant as the -richest incense. And God in many ways is speaking to us, declaring His -wealth and our impoverishment. “I am the Maker of all things; the wealth -and glory are Mine. _Command ye Me._” - -We can do all things by God’s aid, and can have the whole of His aid by -asking. The Gospel, in its success and power, depends on our ability to -pray. The dispensations of God depend on man’s ability to pray. We can -have all that God has. _Command_ _ye Me._ This is no figment of the -imagination, no idle dream, no vain fancy. The life of the Church is the -highest life. Its office is to pray. Its prayer life is the highest -life, the most odorous, the most conspicuous. - -The Book of Revelation says nothing about prayer as a great duty, a -hallowed service, but much about prayer in its aggregated force and -energies. It is the prayer force ever living and ever praying; it is all -saints’ prayers going out as a mighty, living energy while the lips that -uttered the words are stilled and sealed in death, while the living -church has an energy of faith to inherit the forces of all the past -praying and make it deathless. - -The statement by the Baptist philosopher, John Foster, contains the -purest philosophy and the simple truth of God, for God has no force and -demands no conditions but prayer. “More and better praying will bring -the surest and readiest triumph to God’s cause; feeble, formal, listless -praying brings decay and death. The Church has its sheet-anchor in the -closet; its magazine stores are there.” - -“I am convinced,” Foster continues, “that every man who amidst his -serious projects is apprized of his dependence upon God as completely as -that dependence is a fact, will be impelled to pray and anxious to -induce his serious friends to pray almost every hour. He will not -without it promise himself any noble success any more than a mariner -would expect to reach a distant coast by having his sails spread in a -stagnation of air. - -“I have intimated my fear that it is visionary to expect an unusual -success in the human administration of religion unless there are unusual -omens: now a most emphatical spirit of prayer would be such an omen; and -the individual who should determine to try its last possible efficacy -might probably find himself becoming a much more prevailing agent in his -little sphere. And if the whole, or the greater number of the disciples -of Christianity were with an earnest and unalterable resolution of each -to combine that heaven should not withhold one single influence which -the very utmost effort of conspiring and persevering supplication would -obtain, it would be a sign that a revolution of the world was at hand.” - -Edward Payson, one of God’s own, says of this statement of Foster, “Very -few missionaries since the apostles, probably have tried the experiment. -He who shall make the first trial will, I believe, effect wonders. -Nothing that I could write, nothing that an angel could write, would be -necessary to him who should make this trial. - -“One of the principal results of the little experience which I have had -as a Christian minister is a conviction that religion consists very much -in giving God that place in our views and feelings which He actually -fills in the universe. We know that in the universe He is all in all. So -far as He is constantly all in all to us, so far as we comply with the -Psalmist’s charge to his soul, ‘My soul, wait thou _only_ upon God;’ so -far, I apprehend, have we advanced towards perfection. It is -comparatively easy to wait upon God; but to wait upon Him _only_—to -feel, so far as our strength, happiness, and usefulness are concerned, -as if all creatures and second causes were annihilated, and we were -alone in the universe with God, is, I suspect, a difficult and rare -attainment. At least, I am sure it is one which I am very far from -having made. In proportion as we make this attainment we shall find -everything easy; for we shall become, emphatically, men of prayer; and -we may say of prayer as Solomon says of money, that it answereth all -things.” - -This same John Foster said, when approaching death: “I never prayed more -earnestly nor probably with such faithful frequency. ‘Pray without -ceasing’ has been the sentence repeating itself in the silent thought, -and I am sure it must be my practice till the last conscious hour of -life. Oh, why not throughout that long, indolent, inanimate half-century -past?” - -And yet this is the way in which we all act about prayer. Conscious as -we are of its importance, of its vital importance, we yet let the hours -pass away as a blank and can only lament in death the irremediable loss. - -When we calmly reflect upon the fact that the progress of our Lord’s -Kingdom is dependent upon prayer, it is sad to think that we give so -little time to the holy exercise. Everything depends upon prayer, and -yet we neglect it not only to our own spiritual hurt but also to the -delay and injury of our Lord’s cause upon earth. The forces of good and -evil are contending for the world. If we would, we could add to the -conquering power of the army of righteousness, and yet our lips are -sealed, our hands hang listlessly by our side, and we jeopardise the -very cause in which we profess to be deeply interested by holding back -from the prayer chamber. - -Prayer is the one prime, eternal condition by which the Father is -pledged to put the Son in possession of the world. Christ prays through -His people. Had there been importunate, universal and continuous prayer -by God’s people, long ere this the earth had been possessed for Christ. -The delay is not to be accounted for by the inveterate obstacles, but by -the lack of the right asking. We do more of everything else than of -praying. As poor as our giving is, our contributions of money exceed our -offerings of prayer. Perhaps in the average congregation fifty aid in -paying, where one saintly, ardent soul shuts itself up with God and -wrestles for the deliverance of the heathen world. Official praying on -set or state occasions counts for nothing in this estimate. We emphasise -other things more than we do the necessity of prayer. - -We are saying prayers after an orderly way, but we have not the world in -the grasp of our faith. We are not praying after the order that moves -God and brings all Divine influences to help us. The world needs more -true praying to save it from the reign and ruin of Satan. - -We do not pray as Elijah prayed. John Foster puts the whole matter to a -practical point. “When the Church of God,” he says, “is aroused to its -obligation and duties and right faith to claim what Christ has -promised—‘all things whatsoever’—a revolution will take place.” - -But not all praying is praying. The driving power, the conquering force -in God’s cause is God Himself. “Call upon Me and I will answer thee and -show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not,” is God’s -challenge to prayer. Prayer puts God in full force into God’s work. “Ask -of Me things to come, concerning My sons, and concerning the work of My -hands command ye Me”—God’s _carte blanche_ to prayer. Faith is only -omnipotent when on its knees, and its outstretched hands take hold of -God, then it draws to the utmost of God’s capacity; for only a praying -faith can get God’s “all things whatsoever.” Wonderful lessons are the -Syrophenician woman, the importunate widow, and the friend at midnight, -of what dauntless prayer can do in mastering or defying conditions, in -changing defeat into victory and triumphing in the regions of despair. -Oneness with Christ, the acme of spiritual attainment, is glorious in -all things; most glorious in that we can then “ask what we will and it -shall be done unto us.” Prayer in Jesus’ name puts the crowning crown on -God, because it glorifies Him through the Son and pledges the Son to -give to men “whatsoever and anything” they shall ask. - -In the New Testament the marvellous prayer of the Old Testament is put -to the front that it may provoke and stimulate our praying, and it is -preceded with a declaration, the dynamic energy of which we can scarcely -translate. “The supplication of a righteous man availeth much. Elijah -was a man of like passions with us, and he prayed earnestly that it -might not rain, and it rained not on the earth by the space of three -years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and -the earth brought forth her fruit.” - -Our paucity in results, the cause of all leanness, is solved by the -Apostle James—“Ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask and receive not, -because ye ask amiss, that ye may spend it on your pleasures.” - -That is the whole truth in a nutshell. - - ———————————————————————————————— - - - _The potency of prayer hath subdued the strength of fire; it had - bridled the rage of lions, hushed anarchy to rest, extinguished - wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of - death, expanded the gates of heaven, assuaged diseases, repelled - frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its - course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. Prayer is an - all-efficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a mine which is - never exhausted, a sky unobscured by clouds, a heaven unruffled by - the storm. It is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand - blessings._ - —CHRYSOSTOM. - - - _The prayers of holy men appease God’s wrath, drive away - temptations, resist and overcome the devil, procure the ministry - and service of angels, rescind the decrees of God. Prayer cures - sickness and obtains pardon; it arrests the sun in its course and - stays the wheels of the chariot of the moon; it rules over all gods - and opens and shuts the storehouses of rain, it unlocks the cabinet - of the womb and quenches the violence of fire; it stops the mouths - of lions and reconciles our suffering and weak faculties with the - violence of torment and violence of persecution; it pleases God and - supplies all our need._ - —JEREMY TAYLOR. - - - _More things are wrought by prayer - Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice - Rise like a fountain for me night and day. - For what are men better than sheep or goats, - That nourish a blind life within the brain, - If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer - Both for themselves and those who call them friend? - For so the whole round earth is every way - Bound by gold chains about the feet of God._ - —TENNYSON. - - - _Perfect prayer is only another name for love._ - —FÉNELON. - - - - - - IV - - -It was said of the late C. H. Spurgeon, that he glided from laughter to -prayer with the naturalness of one who lived in both elements. With him -the habit of prayer was free and unfettered. His life was not divided -into compartments, the one shut off from the other with a rigid -exclusiveness that barred all intercommunication. He lived in constant -fellowship with his Father in Heaven. He was ever in touch with God, and -thus it was as natural for him to pray as it was for him to breathe. - -“What a fine time we have had; let us thank God for it,” he said to a -friend on one occasion, when, out under the blue sky and wrapped in -glorious sunshine, they had enjoyed a holiday with the unfettered -enthusiasm of schoolboys. Prayer sprang as spontaneously to his lips as -did ordinary speech, and never was there the slightest incongruity in -his approach to the Divine throne straight from any scene in which he -might be taking part. - -That is the attitude with regard to prayer that ought to mark every -child of God. There are, and there ought to be, stated seasons of -communion with God when, everything else shut out, we come into His -presence to talk to Him and to let Him speak to us; and out of such -seasons springs that beautiful habit of prayer that weaves a golden bond -between earth and heaven. Without such stated seasons the habit of -prayer can never be formed; without them there is no nourishment for the -spiritual life. By means of them the soul is lifted into a new -atmosphere—the atmosphere of the heavenly city, in which it is easy to -open the heart to God and to speak with Him as friend speaks with -friend. - -Thus, in every circumstance of life, prayer is the most natural -out-pouring of the soul, the unhindered turning to God for communion and -direction. Whether in sorrow or in joy, in defeat or in victory, in -health or in weakness, in calamity or in success, the heart leaps to -meet with God just as a child runs to his mother’s arms, ever sure that -with her is the sympathy that meets every need. - -Dr. Adam Clarke, in his autobiography, records that when Mr. Wesley was -returning to England by ship, considerable delay was caused by contrary -winds. Wesley was reading, when he became aware of some confusion on -board, and asking what was the matter, he was informed that the wind was -contrary. “Then,” was his reply, “let us go to prayer.” - -After Dr. Clarke had prayed, Wesley broke out into fervent supplication -which seemed to be more the offering of faith than of mere desire. -“Almighty and everlasting God,” he prayed, “Thou hast sway everywhere, -and all things serve the purpose of Thy will, Thou holdest the winds in -Thy fists and sittest upon the water floods, and reignest a King for -ever. Command these winds and these waves that they obey Thee, and take -us speedily and safely to the haven whither we would go.” - -The power of this petition was felt by all. Wesley rose from his knees, -made no remark, but took up his book and continued reading. Dr. Clarke -went on deck, and to his surprise found the vessel under sail, standing -on her right course. Nor did she change till she was safely at anchor. -On the sudden and favourable change of wind, Wesley made no remark; so -fully did he _expect to be heard_ that he took it for granted that he -_was heard_. - -That was prayer with a purpose—the definite and direct utterance of one -who knew that he had the ear of God, and that God had the willingness as -well as the power to grant the petition which he asked of Him. - -Major D. W. Whittle, in an introduction to the wonders of prayer, says -of George Müller, of Bristol: “I met Mr. Müller in the express, the -morning of our sailing from Quebec to Liverpool. About half-an-hour -before the tender was to take the passengers to the ship, he asked of -the agent if a deck chair had arrived for him from New York. He was -answered, ‘No,’ and told that it could not possibly come in time for the -steamer. I had with me a chair I had just purchased, and told Mr. Müller -of the place near by, and suggested, as but a few moments remained, that -he had better buy one at once. His reply was, ‘No, my brother. Our -Heavenly Father will send the chair from New York. It is one used by -Mrs. Müller. I wrote ten days ago to a brother, who promised to see it -forwarded here last week. He has not been prompt, as I would have -desired, but I am sure our Heavenly Father will send the chair. Mrs. -Müller is very sick on the sea, and has particularly desired to have -this same chair, and not finding it here yesterday, we have made special -prayer that our Heavenly Father would be pleased to provide it for us, -and we will trust Him to do so.’ As this dear man of God went peacefully -on board, running the risk of Mrs. Müller making the trip without a -chair, when, for a couple of dollars, she could have been provided for, -I confess I feared Mr. Müller was carrying his faith principles too far -and not acting wisely. I was kept at the express office ten minutes -after Mr. Müller left. Just as I started to hurry to the wharf, a team -drove up the street, and on top of a load just arrived from New York was -_Mr. Müller’s chair_. It was sent at once to the tender and placed in -_my hands_ to take to Mr. Müller, just as the boat was leaving the dock -(the Lord having a lesson for me). Mr. Müller took it with the happy, -pleased expression of a child who has just received a kindness deeply -appreciated, and reverently removing his hat and folding his hands over -it, he thanked the Heavenly Father for sending the chair.” - -One of Melancthon’s correspondents writes of Luther’s praying: “I cannot -enough admire the extraordinary, cheerfulness, constancy, faith and hope -of the man in these trying and vexatious times. He constantly feeds -these gracious affections by a very diligent study of the Word of God. -_Then not a day passes in which he does not employ in prayer at least -three of his very best hours._ Once I happened to hear him at prayer. -Gracious God! What spirit and what faith is there in his expressions! He -petitions God with as much reverence as if he was in the divine -presence, and yet with as firm a hope and confidence as he would address -a father or a friend. ‘I know,’ said he, ‘Thou art our Father and our -God; and therefore I am sure Thou wilt bring to naught the persecutors -of Thy children. For shouldest Thou fail to do this Thine own cause, -being connected with ours, would be endangered. It is entirely thine own -concern. We, by Thy providence, have been compelled to take a part. Thou -therefore wilt be our defence.’ Whilst I was listening to Luther praying -in this manner, at a distance, my soul seemed on fire within me, to hear -the man address God so like a friend, yet with so much gravity and -reverence; and also to hear him, in the course of his prayer, insisting -on the promises contained in the Psalms, as if he were sure his -petitions would be granted.” - -Of William Bramwell, a noted Methodist preacher in England, wonderful -for his zeal and prayer, the following is related by a sergeant major: -“In July, 1811, our regiment was ordered for Spain, then the seat of a -protracted and sanguinary war. My mind was painfully exercised with the -thoughts of leaving my dear wife and four helpless children in a strange -country, unprotected and unprovided for. Mr. Bramwell felt a lively -interest in our situation, and his sympathising spirit seemed to drink -in all the agonised feelings of my tender wife. He supplicated the -throne of grace day and night in our behalf. My wife and I spent the -evening previous to our march at a friend’s house, in company with Mr. -Bramwell, who sat in a very pensive mood, and appeared to be in a -spiritual struggle all the time. After supper, he suddenly pulled his -hand out of his bosom, laid it on my knee, and said: ‘Brother Riley, -mark what I am about to say! You are not to go to Spain. Remember I tell -you, you are not; for I have been wrestling with God on your behalf, and -when my Heavenly Father condescends in mercy to bless me with power to -lay hold on Himself, I do not easily let Him go; no, not until I am -favoured with an answer. Therefore you may depend upon it that the next -time I hear from you, you will be settled in quarters.’ This came to -pass exactly as he said. The next day the order for going to Spain was -countermanded.” - -These men prayed with a purpose. To them God was not far away, in some -inaccessible region, but near at hand, ever ready to listen to the call -of His children. There was no barrier between. They were on terms of -perfect intimacy, if one may use such a phrase in relation to man and -his Maker. No cloud obscured the face of the Father from His trusting -child, who could look up into the Divine countenance and pour out the -longings of his heart. And that is the type of prayer which God never -fails to hear. He knows that it comes from a heart at one with His own; -from one who is entirely yielded to the heavenly plan, and so He bends -His ear and gives to the pleading child the assurance that his petition -has been heard and answered. - -Have we not all had some such experience when with set and undeviating -purpose we have approached the face of our Father? In an agony of soul -we have sought refuge from the oppression of the world in the anteroom -of heaven; the waves of despair seemed to threaten destruction, and as -no way of escape was visible anywhere, we fell back, like the disciples -of old, upon the power of our Lord, crying to Him to save us lest we -perish. And then, in the twinkling of an eye, the thing was done. The -billows sank into a calm; the howling wind died down at the Divine -command; the agony of the soul passed into a restful peace as over the -whole being there crept the consciousness of the Divine presence, -bringing with it the assurance of answered prayer and sweet deliverance. - -“I tell the Lord my troubles and difficulties, and wait for Him to give -me the answers to them,” says one man of God. “And it is wonderful how a -matter that looked very dark will in prayer become clear as crystal by -the help of God’s Spirit. I think Christians fail so often to get -answers to their prayers because they do not wait long enough on God. -They just drop down and say a few words, and then jump up and forget it -and expect God to answer them. Such praying always reminds me of the -small boy ringing his neighbour’s door-bell, and then running away as -fast as he can go.” - -When we acquire the habit of prayer we enter into a new atmosphere. “Do -you expect to go to heaven?” asked some one of a devout Scotsman. “Why, -man, I live there,” was the quaint and unexpected reply. It was a pithy -statement of a great truth, for all the way to heaven is heaven begun to -the Christian who walks near enough to God to hear the secrets He has to -impart. - -This attitude is beautifully illustrated in a story of Horace Bushnell, -told by Dr. Parkes Cadman. Bushnell was found to be suffering from an -incurable disease. One evening the Rev. Joseph Twichell visited him, -and, as they sat together under the starry sky, Bushnell said: “One of -us ought to pray.” Twichell asked Bushnell to do so, and Bushnell began -his prayer; burying his face in the earth, he poured out his heart -until, said Twichell, in recalling the incident, “I was afraid to -stretch out my hand in the darkness lest I should touch God.” - -To have God thus near is to enter the holy of holies—to breathe the -fragrance of the heavenly air, to walk in Eden’s delightful gardens. -Nothing but prayer can bring God and man into this happy communion. That -was the experience of Samuel Rutherford, just as it is the experience of -every one who passes through the same gateway. When this saint of God -was confined in jail at one time for conscience sake, he enjoyed in a -rare degree the Divine companionship, recording in his diary that Jesus -entered his cell, and that at His coming “every stone flashed like a -ruby.” - -Many others have borne witness to the same sweet fellowship, when prayer -had become the one habit of life that meant more than anything else to -them. David Livingstone lived in the realm of prayer and knew its -gracious influence. It was his habit every birthday to write a prayer, -and on the next to the last birthday of all, this was his prayer: “O -Divine one, I have not loved Thee earnestly, deeply, sincerely enough. -Grant, I pray Thee, that before this year is ended I may have finished -my task.” It was just on the threshold of the year that followed that -his faithful men, as they looked into the hut of Ilala, while the rain -dripped from the eaves, saw their master on his knees beside his bed in -an attitude of prayer. He had died on his knees in prayer. - -Stonewall Jackson was a man of prayer. Said he: “I have so fixed the -habit in my mind that I never raise a glass of water to my lips without -asking God’s blessing, never seal a letter without putting a word of -prayer under the seal, never take a letter from the post without a brief -sending of my thoughts heavenward, never change my classes in the -lecture-room without a minute’s petition for the cadets who go out and -for those who come in.” - -James Gilmour, the pioneer missionary to Mongolia, was a man of prayer. -He had a habit in his writing of never using a blotter. He made a rule -when he got to the bottom of any page to wait until the ink dried and -spend the time in prayer. - -In this way their whole being was saturated with the Divine, and they -became the reflectors of the heavenly fragrance and glory. Walking with -God down the avenues of prayer we acquire something of His likeness, and -unconsciously we become witnesses to others of His beauty and His grace. -Professor James, in his famous work, “Varieties of Religious -Experience,” tells of a man of forty-nine who said: “God is more real to -me than any thought or thing or person. I feel His presence positively, -and the more as I live in closer harmony with His laws as written in my -body and mind. I feel Him in the sunshine or rain; and all mingled with -a delicious restfulness most nearly describes my feelings. I talk to Him -as to a companion in prayer and praise, and our communion is delightful. -He answers me again and again, often in words so clearly spoken that it -seems my outer ear must have carried the tone, but generally in strong -mental impressions. Usually a text of Scripture, unfolding some new view -of Him and His love for me, and care for my safety.... That He is mine -and I am His never leaves me; it is an abiding joy. Without it life -would be a blank, a desert, a shoreless, trackless waste.” - -Equally notable is the testimony of Sir Thomas Browne, the beloved -physician who lived at Norwich in 1605, and was the author of a very -remarkable book of wide circulation, “Religio Medici.” In spite of the -fact that England was passing through a period of national convulsion -and political excitement, he found comfort and strength in prayer. “I -have resolved,” he wrote in a journal found among his private papers -after his death, “to pray more and pray always, to pray in all places -where quietness inviteth, in the house, on the highway and on the -street; and to know no street or passage in this city that may not -witness that I have not forgotten God.” And he adds: “I purpose to take -occasion of praying upon the sight of any church which I may pass, that -God may be worshipped there in spirit, and that souls may be saved -there; to pray daily for my sick patients and for the patients of other -physicians; at my entrance into any home to say, ‘May the peace of God -abide here’; after hearing a sermon, to pray for a blessing on God’s -truth, and upon the messenger; upon the sight of a beautiful person to -bless God for His creatures, to pray for the beauty of such an one’s -soul, that God may enrich her with inward graces, and that the outward -and inward may correspond; upon the sight of a deformed person, to pray -God to give them wholeness of soul, and by and by to give them the -beauty of the resurrection.” - -What an illustration of the praying spirit! Such an attitude represents -prayer without ceasing, reveals the habit of prayer in its unceasing -supplication, in its uninterrupted communion, in its constant -intercession. What an illustration, too, of purpose in prayer! Of how -many of us can it be said that as we pass people in the street we pray -for them, or that as we enter a home or a church we remember the inmates -or the congregation in prayer to God? - -The explanation of our thoughtlessness or forgetfulness lies in the fact -that prayer with so many of us is simply a form of selfishness; it means -asking for something for ourselves—that and nothing more. - -And from such an attitude we need to pray to be delivered. - - ———————————————————————————————— - - - _The prayer of faith is the only power in the universe to which the - great Jehovah yields. Prayer is the sovereign remedy._ - —ROBERT HALL. - - - _The Church, intent on the acquisition of temporal power, had well - nigh abandoned its spiritual duties, and its empire, which rested - on spiritual foundations, was crumbling with their decay, and - threatened to pass away like an unsubstantial vision._ - —LEA’S INQUISITION. - - - - - - V - - -ARE we praying as Christ did? Do we abide in Him? Are our pleas and -spirit the overflow of His spirit and pleas? Does love rule the -spirit—perfect love? - -These questions must be considered as proper and apposite at a time like -the present. We do fear that we are doing more of other things than -prayer. This is not a praying age; it is an age of great activity, of -great movements, but one in which the tendency is very strong to stress -the seen and the material and to neglect and discount the unseen and the -spiritual. Prayer is the greatest of all forces, because it honours God -and brings Him into active aid. - -There can be no substitute, no rival for prayer; it stands alone as the -great spiritual force, and this force must be imminent and acting. It -cannot be dispensed with during one generation, nor held in abeyance for -the advance of any great movement—it must be continuous and particular, -always, everywhere, and in everything. We cannot run our spiritual -operations on the prayers of the past generation. Many persons believe -in the efficacy of prayer, but not many pray. Prayer is the easiest and -hardest of all things; the simplest and the sublimest; the weakest and -the most powerful; its results lie outside the range of human -possibilities—they are limited only by the omnipotence of God. - -Few Christians have anything but a vague idea of the power of prayer; -fewer still have any experience of that power. The Church seems almost -wholly unaware of the power God puts into her hand; this spiritual -_carte blanche_ on the infinite resources of God’s wisdom and power is -rarely, if ever, used—never used to the full measure of honouring God. -It is astounding how poor the use, how little the benefits. Prayer is -our most formidable weapon, but the one in which we are the least -skilled, the most averse to its use. We do everything else for the -heathen save the thing God wants us to do; the only thing which does any -good—makes all else we do efficient. - -To graduate in the school of prayer is to master the whole course of a -religious life. The first and last stages of holy living are crowned -with praying. It is a life trade. The hindrances of prayer are the -hindrances in a holy life. The conditions of praying are the conditions -of righteousness, holiness and salvation. A cobbler in the trade of -praying is a bungler in the trade of salvation. - -Prayer is a trade to be learned. We must be apprentices and serve our -time at it. Painstaking care, much thought, practice and labour are -required to be a skilful tradesman in praying. Practice in this, as well -as in all other trades, makes perfect. Toiling hands and hearts only -make proficients in this heavenly trade. - -In spite of the benefits and blessings which flow from communion with -God, the sad confession must be made that we are not praying much. A -very small number comparatively lead in prayer at the meetings. Fewer -still pray in their families. Fewer still are in the habit of praying -regularly in their closets. Meetings specially for prayer are as rare as -frost in June. In many churches there is neither the name nor the -semblance of a prayer meeting. In the town and city churches the prayer -meeting in name is not a prayer meeting in fact. A sermon or a lecture -is the main feature. Prayer is the nominal attachment. - -Our people are not essentially a praying people. That is evident by -their lives. - -Prayer and a holy life are one. They mutually act and react. Neither can -survive alone. The absence of the one is the absence of the other. The -monk depraved prayer, substituted superstition for praying, mummeries -and routine for a holy life. We are in danger of substituting churchly -work and a ceaseless round of showy activities for prayer and holy -living. A holy life does not live in the closet, but it cannot live -without the closet. If, by any chance, a prayer chamber should be -established without a holy life, it would be a chamber without the -presence of God in it. - -Put the saints everywhere to praying, is the burden of the apostolic -effort and the key note of apostolic success. Jesus Christ had striven -to do this in the days of His personal ministry. He was moved by -infinite compassion at the ripened fields of earth perishing for lack of -labourers, and pausing in His own praying, He tries to awaken the -sleeping sensibilities of His disciples to the duty of prayer, as He -charges them: “Pray ye the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth -labourers into His harvest.” And He spake a parable to them to this end, -that _men ought_ always to pray. - -Only glimpses of this great importance of prayer could the apostles get -before Pentecost. But the Spirit coming and filling on Pentecost -elevated prayer to its vital and all-commanding position in the Gospel -of Christ. The call now of prayer to every saint is the Spirit’s loudest -and most exigent call. Sainthood’s piety is made, refined, perfected, by -prayer. The Gospel moves with slow and timid pace when the saints are -not at their prayers early and late and long. - -Where are the Christlike leaders who can teach the modern saints how to -pray and put them at it? Do our leaders know we are raising up a -prayerless set of saints? Where are the apostolic leaders who can put -God’s people to praying? Let them come to the front and do the work, and -it will be the greatest work that can be done. An increase of -educational facilities and a great increase of money force will be the -direst curse to religion if they are not sanctified by more and better -praying than we are doing. - -More praying will not come as a matter of course. The campaign for the -twentieth or thirtieth century will not help our praying, but hinder if -we are not careful. Nothing but a specific effort from a praying -leadership will avail. None but praying leaders can have praying -followers. Praying apostles will beget praying saints. A praying pulpit -will beget praying pews. We do greatly need somebody who can set the -saints to this business of praying. We are a generation of non-praying -saints. Non-praying saints are a beggarly gang of saints, who have -neither the ardour nor the beauty, nor the power of saints. Who will -restore this branch? The greatest will he be of reformers and apostles, -who can set the Church to praying. - -Holy men have, in the past, changed the whole force of affairs, -revolutionised character and country by prayer. And such achievements -are still possible to us. The power is only wanting to be used. Prayer -is but the expression of faith. - -Time would fail to tell of the mighty things wrought by prayer, for by -it holy ones have “subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained -promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, -escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed -valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, women -received their dead raised to life again.” - -Prayer honours God; it dishonours self. It is man’s plea of weakness, -ignorance, want. A plea which heaven cannot disregard. God delights to -have us pray. - -Prayer is not the foe to work, it does not paralyse activity. It works -mightily; prayer itself is the greatest work. It springs activity, -stimulates desire and effort. Prayer is not an opiate but a tonic, it -does not lull to sleep but arouses anew for action. The lazy man does -not, will not, cannot pray, for prayer demands energy. Paul calls it a -striving, an agony. With Jacob it was a wrestling; with the -Syrophenician woman it was a struggle which called into play all the -higher qualities of the soul, and which demanded great force to meet. - -The closet is not an asylum for the indolent and worthless Christian. It -is not a nursery where none but babes belong. It is the battlefield of -the Church; its citadel; the scene of heroic and unearthly conflicts. -The closet is the base of supplies for the Christian and the Church. Cut -off from it there is nothing left but retreat and disaster. The energy -for work, the mastery over self, the deliverance from fear, all -spiritual results and graces, are much advanced by prayer. The -difference between the strength, the experience, the holiness of -Christians is found in the contrast in their praying. - -Few, short, feeble prayers, always betoken a low, spiritual condition. -Men ought to pray much and apply themselves to it with energy and -perseverance. Eminent Christians have been eminent in prayer. The deep -things of God are learned nowhere else. Great things for God are done by -great prayers. He who prays much, studies much, loves much, works much, -does much for God and humanity. The execution of the Gospel, the vigour -of faith, the maturity and excellence of spiritual graces wait on -prayer. - - ———————————————————————————————— - - - _“Nothing is impossible to industry,” said one of the seven sages - of Greece. Let us change the word industry for persevering prayer, - and the motto will be more Christian and more worthy of universal - adoption. I am persuaded that we are all more deficient in a spirit - of prayer than in any other grace. God loves importunate prayer so - much that He will not give us much blessing without it. And the - reason that He loves such prayer is that He loves us and knows that - it is a necessary preparation for our receiving the richest - blessings which He is waiting and longing to bestow._ - - _I never prayed sincerely and earnestly for anything but it came at - some time—no matter at how distant a day, somehow, in some shape, - probably the last I would have devised, it came._ - —ADONIRAM JUDSON. - - - _It is good, I find, to persevere in attempts to pray. If I cannot - pray with perseverance or continue long in my addresses to the - Divine Being, I have found that the more I do in secret prayer the - more I have delight to do, and have enjoyed more of the spirit of - prayer; and frequently I have found the contrary, when by - journeying or otherwise, I have been deprived of retirement._ - —DAVID BRAINERD. - - - - - - VI - - -CHRIST puts importunity as a distinguishing characteristic of true -praying. We must not only pray, but we must pray with great urgency, -with intentness and with repetition. We must not only pray, but we must -pray again and again. We must not get tired of praying. We must be -thoroughly in earnest, deeply concerned about the things for which we -ask, for Jesus Christ made it very plain that the secret of prayer and -its success lie in its urgency. We must press our prayers upon God. - -In a parable of exquisite pathos and simplicity, our Lord taught not -simply that men ought to pray, but that men ought to pray with full -heartiness, and press the matter with vigorous energy and brave hearts. - -“And He spake a parable unto them to the end that they ought always to -pray, and not to faint; saying, There was in a city, a judge, which -feared not God, and regarded not man: and there was a widow in that -city; and she came oft unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. -And he would not for a while: but afterwards he said within himself, -Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth -me, I will avenge her, lest she wear me out by her continual coming. And -the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge saith. And shall not God -avenge His elect, which cry to Him day and night, and He is -longsuffering over them? I say unto you, that He will avenge them -speedily. Howbeit when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the -earth?” - -This poor woman’s case was a most hopeless one, but importunity brings -hope from the realms of despair and creates success where neither -success nor its conditions existed. There could be no stronger case, to -show how unwearied and dauntless importunity gains its ends where -everything else fails. The preface to this parable says: “He spake a -parable to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint.” He -knew that men would soon get faint-hearted in praying, so to hearten us -He gives this picture of the marvellous power of importunity. - -The widow, weak and helpless, is helplessness personified; bereft of -every hope and influence which could move an unjust judge, she yet wins -her case solely by her tireless and offensive importunity. Could the -necessity of importunity, its power and tremendous importance in prayer, -be pictured in deeper or more impressive colouring? It surmounts or -removes all obstacles, overcomes every resisting force and gains its -ends in the face of invincible hindrances. We can do nothing without -prayer. All things can be done by importunate prayer. - -That is the teaching of Jesus Christ. - -Another parable spoken by Jesus enforces the same great truth. A man at -midnight goes to his friend for a loan of bread. His pleas are strong, -based on friendship and the embarrassing and exacting demands of -necessity, but these all fail. He gets no bread, but he stays and -presses, and waits and gains. Sheer importunity succeeds where all other -pleas and influences had failed. - -The case of the Syrophenician woman is a parable in action. She is -arrested in her approaches to Christ by the information that He will not -see any one. She is denied His presence, and then in His presence, is -treated with seeming indifference, with the chill of silence and -unconcern: she presses and approaches, the pressure and approach are -repulsed by the stern and crushing statement that He is not sent to her -kith or kind, that she is reprobated from His mission and power. She is -humiliated by being called a dog. Yet she accepts all, overcomes all, -wins all by her humble, dauntless, invincible importunity. The Son of -God, pleased, surprised, overpowered by her unconquerable importunity, -says to her: “O, woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou -wilt.” Jesus Christ surrenders Himself to the importunity of a great -faith. “And shall not God avenge His own elect which cry day and night -unto Him, though He bear long with them?” - -Jesus Christ puts ability to importune as one of the elements of prayer, -one of the main conditions of prayer. The prayer of the Syrophenician -woman is an exhibition of the matchless power of importunity, of a -conflict more real and involving more of vital energy, endurance, and -all the higher elements than was ever illustrated in the conflicts of -Isthmia or Olympia. - -The first lessons of importunity are taught in the Sermon on the -Mount—“Ask, and it shall be given; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and -it shall be opened.” These are steps of advance—“For every one that -asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that -knocketh, it shall be opened.” - -Without continuance the prayer may go unanswered. Importunity is made up -of the ability to hold on, to press on, to wait with unrelaxed and -unrelaxable grasp, restless desire and restful patience. Importunate -prayer is not an incident, but the main thing, not a performance but a -passion, not a need but a necessity. - -Prayer in its highest form and grandest success assumes the attitude of -a wrestler with God. It is the contest, trial and victory of faith; a -victory not secured from an enemy, but from Him who tries our faith that -He may enlarge it: that tests our strength to make us stronger. Few -things give such quickened and permanent vigour to the soul as a long -exhaustive season of importunate prayer. It makes an experience, an -epoch, a new calendar for the spirit, a new life to religion, a -soldierly training. The Bible never wearies in its pressure and -illustration of the fact that the highest spiritual good is secured as -the return of the outgoing of the highest form of spiritual effort. -There is neither encouragement nor room in Bible religion for feeble -desires, listless efforts, lazy attitudes; all must be strenuous, -urgent, ardent. Inflamed desires, impassioned, unwearied insistence -delight heaven. God would have His children incorrigibly in earnest and -persistently bold in their efforts. Heaven is too busy to listen to -half-hearted prayers or to respond to pop-calls. - -Our whole being must be in our praying; like John Knox, we must say and -feel, “Give me Scotland, or I die.” Our experience and revelations of -God are born of our costly sacrifice, our costly conflicts, our costly -praying. The wrestling, all night praying, of Jacob made an era never to -be forgotten in Jacob’s life, brought God to the rescue, changed Esau’s -attitude and conduct, changed Jacob’s character, saved and affected his -life and entered into the habits of a nation. - -Our seasons of importunate prayer cut themselves, like the print of a -diamond, into our hardest places, and mark with ineffaceable traces our -characters. They are the salient periods of our lives! the memorial -stones which endure and to which we turn. - -Importunity, it may be repeated, is a condition of prayer. We are to -press the matter, not with vain repetitions, but with urgent -repetitions. We repeat, not to count the times, but to gain the prayer. -We cannot quit praying because heart and soul are in it. We pray “with -all perseverance.” We hang to our prayers because by them we live. We -press our pleas because we must have them or die. Christ gives us two -most expressive parables to emphasise the necessity of importunity in -praying. Perhaps Abraham lost Sodom by failing to press to the utmost -his privilege of praying. Joash, we know, lost because he stayed his -smiting. - -Perseverance counts much with God as well as with man. If Elijah had -ceased at his first petition the heavens would have scarcely yielded -their rain to his feeble praying. If Jacob had quit praying at decent -bedtime he would scarcely have survived the next day’s meeting with -Esau. If the Syrophenician woman had allowed her faith to faint by -silence, humiliation, repulse, or stop mid-way its struggles, her -grief-stricken home would never have been brightened by the healing of -her daughter. - -Pray and never faint, is the motto Christ gives us for praying. It is -the test of our faith, and the severer the trial and the longer the -waiting, the more glorious the results. - -The benefits and necessity of importunity are taught by Old Testament -saints. Praying men must be strong in hope, and faith, and prayer. They -must know how to wait and to press, to wait on God and be in earnest in -our approaches to Him. - -Abraham has left us an example of importunate intercession in his -passionate pleading with God on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah, and if, as -already indicated, he had not ceased in his asking, perhaps God would -not have ceased in His giving. “Abraham left off asking before God left -off granting.” Moses taught the power of importunity when he interceded -for Israel forty days and forty nights, by fasting and prayer. And he -succeeded in his importunity. - -Jesus, in His teaching and example, illustrated and perfected this -principle of Old Testament pleading and waiting. How strange that the -only Son of God, who came on a mission direct from His Father, whose -only heaven on earth, whose only life and law were to do His Father’s -will in that mission—what a mystery that He should be under the law of -prayer, that the blessings which came to Him were impregnated and -purchased by prayer; stranger still that importunity in prayer was the -process by which His wealthiest supplies from God were gained. Had He -not prayed with importunity, no transfiguration would have been in His -history, no mighty works had rendered Divine His career. His all-night -praying was that which filled with compassion and power His all-day -work. The importunate praying of His life crowned His death with its -triumph. He learned the high lesson of submission to God’s will in the -struggles of importunate prayer before He illustrated that submission so -sublimely on the cross. - -“Whether we like it or not,” said Mr. Spurgeon, “_asking is the rule of -the kingdom_. ‘Ask, and ye shall receive.’ It is a rule that never will -be altered in anybody’s case. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the elder brother -of the family, but God has not relaxed the rule for Him. Remember this -text: Jehovah says to His own Son, ‘Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the -heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for -Thy possession.’ If the Royal and Divine Son of God cannot be exempted -from the rule of asking that He may have, you and I cannot expect the -rule to be relaxed in our favour. Why should it be? What reason can be -pleaded why we should be exempted from prayer? What argument can there -be why we should be deprived of the privilege and delivered from the -necessity of supplication? I can see none: can you? God will bless -Elijah and send rain on Israel, but Elijah must pray for it. If the -chosen nation is to prosper, Samuel must plead for it. If the Jews are -to be delivered, Daniel must intercede. God will bless Paul, and the -nations shall be converted through him, but Paul must pray. Pray he did -without ceasing; his epistles show that he expected nothing except by -asking for it. If you may have everything by asking, and nothing without -asking, I beg you to see how absolutely vital prayer is, and I beseech -you to abound in it.” - -There is not the least doubt that much of our praying fails for lack of -persistency. It is without the fire and strength of perseverance. -Persistence is of the essence of true praying. It may not be always -called into exercise, but it must be there as the reserve force. Jesus -taught that perseverance is the essential element of prayer. Men must be -in earnest when they kneel at God’s footstool. - -Too often we get faint-hearted and quit praying at the point where we -ought to begin. We let go at the very point where we should hold on -strongest. Our prayers are weak because they are not impassioned by an -unfailing and resistless will. - -God loves the importunate pleader, and sends him answers that would -never have been granted but for the persistency that refuses to let go -until the petition craved for is granted. - - ———————————————————————————————— - - - _I suspect I have been allotting habitually too little time to - religious exercises as private devotion, religious meditation, - Scripture reading, etc. Hence I am lean and cold and hard. God - would perhaps prosper me more in spiritual things if I were to be - more diligent in using the means of grace. I had better allot more - time, say two hours or an hour and a half, to religious exercises - daily, and try whether by so doing I cannot preserve a frame of - spirit more habitually devotional, a more lively sense of unseen - things, a warmer love to God, and a greater degree of hunger and - thirst after righteousness, a heart less prone to be soiled with - worldly cares, designs, passions, and apprehension and a real - undissembled longing for heaven, its pleasures and its purity._ - —WILLIAM WILBERFORCE. - - - - - - VII - - -“MEN ought _always_ to pray, and not to faint.” The words are the words -of our Lord, who not only ever sought to impress upon His followers the -urgency and the importance of prayer, but set them an example which they -alas! have been far too slow to copy. - -The _always_ speaks for itself. Prayer is not a meaningless function or -duty to be crowded into the busy or the weary ends of the day, and we -are not obeying our Lord’s command when we content ourselves with a few -minutes upon our knees in the morning rush or late at night when the -faculties, tired with the tasks of the day, call out for rest. God is -always within call, it is true; His ear is ever attentive to the cry of -His child, but we can never get to know Him if we use the vehicle of -prayer as we use the telephone—for a few words of hurried conversation. -Intimacy requires development. We can never know God as it is our -privilege to know Him, by brief and fragmentary and unconsidered -repetitions of intercessions that are requests for personal favours and -nothing more. That is not the way in which we can come into -communication with heaven’s King. “The goal of prayer is the ear of -God,” a goal that can only be reached by patient and continued and -continuous waiting upon Him, pouring out our heart to Him and permitting -Him to speak to us. Only by so doing can we expect to know Him, and as -we come to know Him better we shall spend more time in His presence and -find that presence a constant and ever-increasing delight. - -_Always_ does not mean that we are to neglect the ordinary duties of -life; what it means is that the soul which has come into intimate -contact with God in the silence of the prayer-chamber is never out of -conscious touch with the Father, that the heart is always going out to -Him in loving communion, and that the moment the mind is released from -the task upon which it is engaged it returns as naturally to God as the -bird does to its nest. What a beautiful conception of prayer we get if -we regard it in this light, if we view it as a constant fellowship, an -unbroken audience with the King. Prayer then loses every vestige of -dread which it may once have possessed; we regard it no longer as a duty -which must be performed, but rather as a privilege which is to be -enjoyed, a rare delight that is always revealing some new beauty. - -Thus, when we open our eyes in the morning, our thought instantly mounts -heavenward. To many Christians the morning hours are the most precious -portion of the day, because they provide the opportunity for the -hallowed fellowship that gives the keynote to the day’s programme. And -what better introduction can there be to the never-ceasing glory and -wonder of a new day than to spend it alone with God? It is said that Mr. -Moody, at a time when no other place was available, kept his morning -watch in the coal-shed, pouring out his heart to God, and finding in his -precious Bible a true “feast of fat things.” - -George Müller also combined Bible study with prayer in the quiet morning -hours. At one time his practice was to give himself to prayer, after -having dressed, in the morning. Then his plan underwent a change. As he -himself put it: “I saw the most important thing I had to do was to give -myself to the reading of the Word of God, and to meditation on it, that -thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, -instructed; and that thus, by means of the Word of God, whilst -meditating on it, my heart might be brought into experimental communion -with the Lord. I began, therefore, to meditate on the New Testament -early in the morning. The first thing I did, after having asked in a few -words for the Lord’s blessing upon his precious Word, was to begin to -meditate on the Word of God, searching, as it were, into every verse to -get blessing out of it; not for the sake of the public ministry of the -Word, not for the sake of preaching on what I had meditated on, but for -the sake of obtaining food for my own soul. The result I have found to -be almost invariably thus, that after a very few minutes my soul has -been led to confession, or to thanksgiving, or to intercession, or to -supplication; so that, though I did not, as it were, give myself to -prayer, but to meditation, yet it turned almost immediately more or less -into prayer.” - -The study of the Word and prayer go together, and where we find the one -truly practised, the other is sure to be seen in close alliance. - -But we do not pray _always_. That is the trouble with so many of us. We -need to pray much more than we do and much longer than we do. - -Robert Murray McCheyne, gifted and saintly, of whom it was said, that -“Whether viewed as a son, a brother, a friend, or a pastor, he was the -most faultless and attractive exhibition of the true Christian they had -ever seen embodied in a living form,” knew what it was to spend much -time upon his knees, and he never wearied in urging upon others the joy -and the value of holy intercession. “God’s children should pray,” he -said. “They should cry day and night unto Him, God hears every one of -your cries in the busy hour of the daytime and in the lonely watches of -the night.” In every way, by preaching, by exhortation when present and -by letters when absent, McCheyne emphasised the vital duty of prayer, -importunate and unceasing prayer. - -In his diary we find this: “In the morning was engaged in preparing the -head, then the heart. This has been frequently my error, and I have -always felt the evil of it, especially in prayer. Reform it then, O -Lord.” While on his trip to the Holy Land he wrote: “For much of our -safety I feel indebted to the prayers of my people. If the veil of the -world’s machinery were lifted off how much we would find done in answer -to the prayers of God’s children.” In an ordination sermon he said to the -preacher: “Give yourself to prayers and the ministry of the Word. If you -do not pray, God will probably lay you aside from your ministry, as He -did me, to teach you to pray. Remember Luther’s maxim, ‘To have prayed -well is to have studied well.’ Get your texts from God, your thoughts, -your words. Carry the names of the little flock upon your breast like -the High Priest. Wrestle for the unconverted. Luther spent his last -three hours in prayer; John Welch prayed seven or eight hours a day. He -used to keep a plaid on his bed that he might wrap himself in when he -rose during the night. Sometimes his wife found him on the ground lying -weeping. When she complained, he would say, ‘O, woman, I have the souls -of three thousand to answer for, and I know not how it is with many of -them.’” The people he exhorted and charged: “Pray for your pastor. Pray -for his body, that he may be kept strong and spared many years. Pray for -his soul, that he may be kept humble and holy, a burning and shining -light. Pray for his ministry, that it may be abundantly blessed, that he -may be anointed to preach good tidings. Let there be no secret prayer -without naming him before your God, no family prayer without carrying -your pastor in your hearts to God.” - -“Two things,” says his biographer, “he seems never to have ceased -from—the cultivation of personal holiness and the most anxious efforts -to win souls.” The two are the inseparable attendants on the ministry of -prayer. Prayer fails when the desire and effort for personal holiness -fail. No person is a soul-winner who is not an adept in the ministry of -prayer. “It is the duty of ministers,” says this holy man, “to begin the -reformation of religion and manner with themselves, families, etc., with -confession of past sin, earnest prayer for direction, grace and full -purpose of heart.” He begins with himself under the head of “Reformation -in Secret Prayer,” and he resolves: - -“I ought not to omit any of the parts of prayer—confession, adoration, -thanksgiving, petition and intercession. There is a fearful tendency to -omit _confession_ proceeding from low views of God and His law, slight -views of my heart, and the sin of my past life. This must be resisted. -There is a constant tendency to omit _adoration_ when I forget to Whom I -am speaking, when I rush heedlessly into the presence of Jehovah without -thought of His awful name and character. When I have little eyesight for -his glory, and little admiration of His wonders, I have the native -tendency of the heart to omit giving _thanks_, and yet it is specially -commanded. Often when the heart is dead to the salvation of others I -omit _intercession_, and yet it especially is the spirit of the great -Advocate Who has the name of Israel on His heart. I ought to pray before -seeing anyone. Often when I sleep long, or meet with others early, and -then have family prayer and breakfast and forenoon callers, it is eleven -or twelve o’clock before I begin secret prayer. This is a wretched -system; it is unscriptural. Christ rose before day and went into a -solitary place. David says, ‘Early will I seek Thee; Thou shalt early -hear my voice.’ Mary Magdalene came to the sepulchre while it was yet -dark. Family prayer loses much of its power and sweetness; and I can do -no good to those who come to seek from me. The conscience feels guilty, -the soul unfed, the lamp not trimmed. I feel it is far better to begin -with God, to see His face first, to get my soul near Him before it is -near another. ‘When I awake I am still with Thee.’ If I have slept too -long, or I am going an early journey, or my time is in any way -shortened, it is best to dress hurriedly and have a few minutes alone -with God than to give up all for lost. But in general it is best to have -at least one hour alone with God before engaging in anything else. I -ought to spend the best hours of the day in communion with God. When I -awake in the night, I ought to rise and pray as David and John Welch.” - -McCheyne believed in being _always_ in prayer, and his fruitful life, -short though that life was, affords an illustration of the power that -comes from long and frequent visits to the secret place where we keep -tryst with our Lord. - -Men of McCheyne’s stamp are needed to-day—praying men, who know how to -give themselves to the greatest task demanding their time and their -attention; men who can give their whole heart to the holy task of -intercession, men who can pray through. God’s cause is committed to men; -God commits Himself to men. Praying men are the vicegerents of God; they -do His work and carry out His plans. - -We are obliged to pray if we be citizens of God’s Kingdom. -Prayerlessness is expatriation, or worse, from God’s Kingdom. It is -outlawry, a high crime, a constitutional breach. The Christian who -relegates prayer to a subordinate place in his life soon loses whatever -spiritual zeal he may have once possessed, and the Church that makes -little of prayer cannot maintain vital piety, and is powerless to -advance the Gospel. The Gospel cannot live, fight, conquer without -prayer—prayer unceasing, instant and ardent. - -Little prayer is the characteristic of a backslidden age and of a -backslidden Church. Whenever there is little praying in the pulpit or in -the pew, spiritual bankruptcy is imminent and inevitable. - -The cause of God has no commercial age, no cultured age, no age of -education, no age of money. But it has one golden age, and that is the -age of prayer. When its leaders are men of prayer, when prayer is the -prevailing element of worship, like the incense giving continual -fragrance to its service, then the cause of God will be triumphant. - -Better praying and more of it, that is what we need. We need holier men, -and more of them, holier women, and more of them to pray—women like -Hannah, who, out of their greatest griefs and temptations brewed their -greatest prayers. Through prayer Hannah found her relief. Everywhere the -Church was backslidden and apostate, her foes were victorious. Hannah -gave herself to prayer, and in sorrow she multiplied her praying. She -saw a great revival born of her praying. When the whole nation was -oppressed, prophet and priest, Samuel was born to establish a new line -of priesthood, and her praying warmed into life a new life for God. -Everywhere religion revived and flourished. God, true to His promise, -“_Ask of Me_,” though the praying came from a woman’s broken heart, -heard and answered, sending a new day of holy gladness to revive His -people. - -So once more, let us apply the emphasis and repeat that the great need -of the Church in this and all ages is men of such commanding faith, of -such unsullied holiness, of such marked spiritual vigour and consuming -zeal, that they will work spiritual revolutions through their mighty -praying. “Natural ability and educational advantages do not figure as -factors in this matter; but a capacity for faith, the ability to pray, -the power of a thorough consecration, the ability of self-littleness, an -absolute losing of one’s self in God’s glory and an ever present and -insatiable yearning and seeking after all the fulness of God. Men who -can set the Church ablaze for God, not in a noisy, showy way, but with -an intense and quiet heat that melts and moves every thing for God.” - -And, to return to the vital point, secret praying is the test, the -gauge, the conserver of man’s relation to God. The prayer-chamber, while -it is the test of the sincerity of our devotion to God, becomes also the -measure of the devotion. The self-denial, the sacrifices which we make -for our prayer-chambers, the frequency of our visits to that hallowed -place of meeting with the Lord, the lingering to stay, the loathness to -leave, are values which we put on communion alone with God, the price we -pay for the Spirit’s trysting hours of heavenly love. - -The prayer-chamber conserves our relation to God. It hems every raw -edge; it tucks up every flowing and entangling garment; girds up every -fainting loin. The sheet-anchor holds not the ship more surely and -safely than the prayer-chamber holds to God. Satan has to break our hold -on, and close up our way to the prayer-chambers, ere he can break our -hold on God or close up our way to heaven. - - “Be not afraid to pray; to pray is right; - Pray if thou canst with hope, but ever pray, - Though hope be weak or sick with long delay; - Pray in the darkness if there be no light; - And if for any wish thou dare not pray - Then pray to God to cast that wish away.” - - ———————————————————————————————— - - - _In God’s name I beseech you let prayer nourish your soul as your - meals nourish your body. Let your fixed seasons of prayer keep you - in God’s presence through the day, and His presence frequently - remembered through it be an ever-fresh spring of prayer. Such a - brief, loving recollection of God renews a man’s whole being, - quiets his passions, supplies light and counsel in difficulty, - gradually subdues the temper, and causes him to possess his soul in - patience, or rather gives it up to the possession of God._ - —FÉNELON. - - - _Devoted too much time and attention to outward and public duties - of the ministry. But this has a mistaken conduct, for I have - learned that neglect of much and fervent communion with God in - meditation and prayer is not the way to redeem the time nor to fit - me for public ministrations._ - - _I rightly attribute my present deadness to want of sufficient time - and tranquillity for private devotion. Want of more reading, - retirement and private devotion, I have little mastery over my own - tempers. An unhappy day to me for want of more solitude and prayer. - If there be anything I do, if there be anything I leave undone, let - me be perfect in prayer._ - - _After all, whatever God may appoint, prayer is the great thing. Oh - that I may be a man of prayer!_ - —HENRY MARTYN. - - - - - - VIII - - -THAT the men had quit praying in Paul’s time we cannot certainly affirm. -They have, in the main, quit praying now. They are too busy to pray. -Time and strength and every faculty are laid under tribute to money, to -business, to the affairs of the world. Few men lay themselves out in -great praying. The great business of praying is a hurried, petty, -starved, beggarly business with most men. - -St. Paul calls a halt, and lays a levy on men for prayer. Put the men to -praying is Paul’s unfailing remedy for great evils in Church, in State, -in politics, in business, in home. Put the men to praying, then politics -will be cleansed, business will be thriftier, the Church will be holier, -the home will be sweeter. - -“I exhort, therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, -intercessions, thanksgivings, be made for all men; for kings and all -that are in high place; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in -all godliness and gravity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of -God our Saviour.... I desire, therefore, that the men pray in every -place, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and disputing” (1 Timothy ii. -1-3, 8). - -Praying women and children are invaluable to God, but if their praying -is not supplemented by praying men, there will be a great loss in the -power of prayer—a great breach and depreciation in the value of prayer, -great paralysis in the energy of the Gospel. Jesus Christ spake a -parable unto the people, telling them that men ought always to pray and -not faint. Men who are strong in everything else ought to be strong in -prayer, and never yield to discouragement, weakness or depression. Men -who are brave, persistent, redoubtable in other pursuits ought to be -full of courage, unfainting, strong-hearted in prayer. - -_Men_ are to pray; _all men_ are to pray. Men, as distinguished from -women, men in their strength in their wisdom. There is an absolute, -specific command that the men pray; there is an absolute imperative -necessity that men pray. The first of beings, man, should also be first -in prayer. - -_The men_ are to pray for men. The direction is specific and classified. -Just underneath we have a specific direction with regard to women. About -prayer, its importance, wideness and practice the Bible here deals with -the men in contrast to, and distinct from, the women. The men are -definitely commanded, seriously charged, and warmly exhorted to pray. -Perhaps it was that men were averse to prayer, or indifferent to it; it -may be that they deemed it a small thing, and gave to it neither time -nor value nor significance. But God would have all men pray, and so the -great Apostle lifts the subject into prominence and emphasises its -importance. - -For prayer is of transcendent importance. Prayer is the mightiest agent -to advance God’s work. Praying hearts and hands only can do God’s work. -Prayer succeeds when all else fails. Prayer has won great victories, and -rescued, with notable triumph, God’s saints when every other hope was -gone. Men who know how to pray are the greatest boon God can give to -earth—they are the richest gift earth can offer heaven. Men who know -how to use this weapon of prayer are God’s best soldiers, His mightiest -leaders. - -Praying men are God’s chosen leaders. The distinction between the -leaders that God brings to the front to lead and bless His people, and -those leaders who owe their position of leadership to a worldly, -selfish, unsanctified selection, is this, God’s leaders are -pre-eminently men of prayer. This distinguishes them as the simple, -Divine attestation of their call, the seal of their separation by God. -Whatever of other graces or gifts they may have, the gift and grace of -prayer towers above them all. In whatever else they may share or differ, -in the gift of prayer they are one. - -What would God’s leaders be without prayer? Strip Moses of his power in -prayer, a gift that made him eminent in pagan estimate, and the crown is -taken from his head, the food and fire of his faith are gone. Elijah, -without his praying, would have neither record nor place in the Divine -legation, his life insipid, cowardly, its energy, defiance and fire -gone. Without Elijah’s praying the Jordan would never have yielded to -the stroke of his mantle, nor would the stern angel of death have -honoured him with the chariot and horses of fire. The argument that God -used to quiet the fears and convince Ananias of Paul’s condition and -sincerity is the epitome of his history, the solution of his life and -work—“Behold he prayeth.” - -Paul, Luther, Wesley—what would these chosen ones of God be without the -distinguishing and controlling element of prayer? They were leaders for -God because mighty in prayer. They were not leaders because of -brilliancy in thought, because exhaustless in resources, because of -their magnificent culture or native endowment, but leaders because by -the power of prayer they could command the power of God. Praying men -means much more than men who say prayers; much more than men who pray by -habit. It means men with whom prayer is a mighty force, an energy that -moves heaven and pours untold treasures of good on earth. - -Praying men are the safety of the Church from the materialism that is -affecting all its plans and polity, and which is hardening its -life-blood. The insinuation circulates as a secret, deadly poison that -the Church is not so dependent on purely spiritual forces as it used to -be—that changed times and changed conditions have brought it out of its -spiritual straits and dependencies and put it where other forces can -bear it to its climax. A fatal snare of this kind has allured the Church -into worldly embraces, dazzled her leaders, weakened her foundations, -and shorn her of much of her beauty and strength. Praying men are the -saviours of the Church from this material tendency. They pour into it -the original spiritual forces, lift it off the sand-bars of materialism, -and press it out into the ocean depths of spiritual power. Praying men -keep God in the Church in full force; keep His hand on the helm, and -train the Church in its lessons of strength and trust. - -The number and efficiency of the labourers in God’s vineyard in all -lands is dependent on the men of prayer. The mightiness of these men of -prayer increases, by the divinely arranged process, the number and -success of the consecrated labours. Prayer opens wide their doors of -access, gives holy aptness to enter, and holy boldness, firmness, and -fruitage. Praying men are needed in all fields of spiritual labour. -There is no position in the Church of God, high or low, which can be -well filled without instant prayer. No position where Christians are -found that does not demand the full play of a faith that always prays -and never faints. Praying men are needed in the house of business, as -well as in the house of God, that they may order and direct trade, not -according to the maxims of this world, but according to Bible precepts -and the maxims of the heavenly life. - -Men of prayer are needed especially in the positions of Church -influence, honour, and power. These leaders of Church thought, of Church -work, and of Church life should be men of signal power in prayer. It is -the praying heart that sanctifies the toil and skill of the hands, and -the toil and wisdom of the head. Prayer keeps work in the line of God’s -will, and keeps thought in the line of God’s Word. The solemn -responsibilities of leadership, in a large or limited sphere, in God’s -Church should be so hedged about with prayer that between it and the -world there should be an impassable gulf, so elevated and purified by -prayer that neither cloud nor night should stain the radiance nor dim -the sight of a constant meridian view of God. Many Church leaders seem -to think if they can be prominent as men of business, of money, -influence, of thought, of plans, of scholarly attainments, of eloquent -gifts, of taking, conspicuous activities, that these are enough, and -will atone for the absence of the higher spiritual power which much -praying only can give. But how vain and paltry are these in the serious -work of bringing glory to God, controlling the Church for Him, and -bringing it into full accord with its Divine mission. - -Praying men are the men that have done so much for God in the past. They -are the ones who have won the victories for God, and spoiled His foes. -They are the ones who have set up His Kingdom in the very camps of His -enemies. There are no other conditions of success in this day. The -twentieth century has no relief statute to suspend the necessity or -force of prayer—no substitute by which its gracious ends can be -secured. We are shut up to this, praying hands only can build for God. -They are God’s mighty ones on earth, His master-builders. They may be -destitute of all else, but with the wrestlings and prevailings of a -simple-hearted faith they are mighty, the mightiest for God. Church -leaders may be gifted in all else, but without this greatest of gifts -they are as Samson shorn of his locks, or as the Temple without the -Divine presence or the Divine glory, and on whose altars the heavenly -flame has died. - -The only protection and rescue from worldliness lie in our intense and -radical spirituality; and our only hope for the existence and -maintenance of this high, saving spirituality, under God, is in the -purest and most aggressive leadership—a leadership that knows the -secret power of prayer, the sign by which the Church has conquered, and -that has conscience, conviction, and courage to hold her true to her -symbols, true to her traditions, and true to the hidings of her power. -We need this prayerful leadership; we must have it, that by the -perfection and beauty of its holiness, by the strength and elevation of -its faith, by the potency and pressure of its prayers, by the authority -and spotlessness of its example, by the fire and contagion of its zeal, -by the singularity, sublimity, and unworldliness of its piety, it may -influence God, and hold and mould the Church to its heavenly pattern. - -Such leaders, how mightily they are felt. How their flame arouses the -Church! How they stir it by the force of their Pentecostal presence! How -they embattle and give victory by the conflicts and triumphs of their -own faith! How they fashion it by the impress and importunity of their -prayers! How they inoculate it by the contagion and fire of their -holiness! How they lead the march in great spiritual revolutions! How -the Church is raised from the dead by the resurrection call of their -sermons! Holiness springs up in their wake as flowers at the voice of -spring, and where they tread the desert blooms as the garden of the -Lord. God’s cause demands such leaders along the whole line of official -position from subaltern to superior. How feeble, aimless, or worldly are -our efforts, how demoralised and vain for God’s work without them! - -The gift of these leaders is not in the range of ecclesiastical power. -They are God’s gifts. Their being, their presence, their number, and -their ability are the tokens of His favour; their lack the sure sign of -His disfavour, the presage of His withdrawal. Let the Church of God be -on her knees before the Lord of hosts, that He may more mightily endow -the leaders we already have, and put others in rank, and lead all along -the line of our embattled front. - -The world is coming into the Church at many points and in many ways. It -oozes in; it pours in; it comes in with brazen front or soft, -insinuating disguise; it comes in at the top and comes in at the bottom; -and percolates through many a hidden way. - -For praying men and holy men we are looking—men whose presence in the -Church will make it like a censer of holiest incense flaming up to God. -With God the man counts for everything. Rites, forms, organisations are -of small moment; unless they are backed by the holiness of the man they -are offensive in His sight. “Incense is an abomination unto Me; the new -moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies I cannot away with; it is -iniquity, even the solemn meeting.” - -Why does God speak so strongly against His own ordinances? Personal -purity had failed. The impure man tainted all the sacred institutions of -God and defiled them. God regards the man in so important a way as to -put a kind of discount on all else. Men have built Him glorious temples -and have striven and exhausted themselves to please God by all manner of -gifts; but in lofty strains He has rebuked these proud worshippers and -rejected their princely gifts. - -“Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool: where is the house -that ye build unto Me? and where is the place of My rest? For all those -things hath Mine hand made, and all those things hath been, saith the -Lord. He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth -a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as -if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed -an idol.” Turning away in disgust from these costly and profane -offerings, He declares: “But to this man will I look, even to him that -is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word.” - -This truth that God regards the personal purity of the man is -fundamental. This truth suffers when ordinances are made much of and -forms of worship multiply. The man and his spiritual character -depreciate as Church ceremonials increase. The simplicity of worship is -lost in religious æsthetics, or in the gaudiness of religious forms. - -This truth that the personal purity of the individual is the only thing -God cares for is lost sight of when the Church begins to estimate men -for what they have. When the Church eyes a man’s money, social standing, -his belongings in any way, then spiritual values are at a fearful -discount, and the tear of penitence, the heaviness of guilt are never -seen at her portals. Worldly bribes have opened and stained its pearly -gates by the entrance of the impure. - -This truth that God is looking after personal purity is swallowed up -when the Church has a greed for numbers. “Not numbers, but personal -purity is our aim,” said the fathers of Methodism. The parading of -Church statistics is mightily against the grain of spiritual religion. -Eyeing numbers greatly hinders the looking after personal purity. The -increase of quantity is generally at a loss of quality. Bulk abates -preciousness. - -The age of Church organisation and Church machinery is not an age noted -for elevated and strong personal piety. Machinery looks for engineers -and organisations for generals, and not for saints, to run them. The -simplest organisation may aid purity as well as strength; but beyond -that narrow limit organisation swallows up the individual, and is -careless of personal purity; push, activity, enthusiasm, zeal for an -organisation, come in as the vicious substitutes for spiritual -character. Holiness and all the spiritual graces of hardy culture and -slow growth are discarded as too slow and too costly for the progress -and rush of the age. By dint of machinery, new organisations, and -spiritual weakness, results are vainly expected to be secured which can -only be secured by faith, prayer, and waiting on God. - -The man and his spiritual character is what God is looking after. If -men, holy men, can be turned out by the easy processes of Church -machinery readier and better than by the old-time processes, we would -gladly invest in every new and improved patent; but we do not believe -it. We adhere to the old way—the way the holy prophets went, the king’s -highway of holiness. - -An example of this is afforded by the case of William Wilberforce. High -in social position, a member of Parliament, the friend of Pitt the -famous statesman, he was not called of God to forsake his high social -position nor to quit Parliament, but he was called to order his life -according to the pattern set by Jesus Christ and to give himself to -prayer. To read the story of his life is to be impressed with its -holiness and its devotion to the claims of the quiet hours alone with -God. His conversion was announced to his friends—to Pitt and others—by -letter. - -In the beginning of his religious career he records: “My chief reasons -for a day of secret prayer are, (1) That the state of public affairs is -very critical and calls for earnest deprecation of the Divine -displeasure. (2) My station in life is a very difficult one, wherein I -am at a loss to know how to act. Direction, therefore, should be -specially sought from time to time. (3) I have been graciously supported -in difficult situations of a public nature. I have gone out and returned -home in safety, and found a kind reception has attended me. I would -humbly hope, too, that what I am now doing is a proof that God has not -withdrawn His Holy Spirit from me. I am covered with mercies.” - -The recurrence of his birthday led him again to review his situation and -employment. “I find,” he wrote, “that books alienate my heart from God -as much as anything. I have been framing a plan of study for myself, but -let me remember but one thing is needful, that if my heart cannot be -kept in a spiritual state without so much prayer, meditation, Scripture -reading, etc., as are incompatible with study, I must _seek first_ the -righteousness of God.” All were to be surrendered for spiritual advance. -“I fear,” we find him saying, “that I have not studied the Scriptures -enough. Surely in the summer recess I ought to read the Scriptures an -hour or two every day, besides prayer, devotional reading and -meditation. God will prosper me better if I wait on Him. The experience -of all good men shows that without constant prayer and watchfulness the -life of God in the soul stagnates. Doddridge’s morning and evening -devotions were serious matters. Colonel Gardiner always spent hours in -prayer in the morning before he went forth. Bonnell practised private -devotions largely morning and evening, and repeated Psalms dressing and -undressing to raise his mind to heavenly things. I would look up to God -to make the means effectual. I fear that my devotions are too much -hurried, that I do not read Scripture enough. I must grow in grace; I -must love God more; I must feel the power of Divine things more. Whether -I am more or less learned signifies not. Whether even I execute the work -which I deem useful is comparatively unimportant. But beware my soul of -luke-warmness.” - -The New Year began with the Holy Communion and new vows. “I will press -forward,” he wrote, “and labour to know God better and love Him more. -Assuredly I may, because God will give His Holy Spirit to them that ask -Him, and the Holy Spirit will shed abroad the love of God in the heart. -O, then, pray, pray; be earnest, press forward and follow on to know the -Lord. Without watchfulness, humiliation and prayer, the sense of Divine -things must languish.” To prepare for the future he said he found -nothing more effectual than private prayer and the serious perusal of -the New Testament. - -And again: “I must put down that I have lately too little time for -private devotions. I can sadly confirm Doddridge’s remark that when we -go on ill in the closet we commonly do so everywhere else. I must mend -here. I am afraid of getting into what Owen calls the trade of sinning -and repenting ... Lord help me, the shortening of private devotions -starves the soul; it grows lean and faint. This must not be. I must -redeem more time. I see how lean in spirit I become without full -allowance of time for private devotions; I must be careful to be -watching unto prayer.” - -At another time he puts on record: “I must try what I long ago heard was -the rule of E—— the great upholsterer, who, when he came from Bond -Street to his little villa, always first retired to his closet. I have -been keeping too late hours, and hence have had but a hurried half hour -to myself. Surely the experience of all good men confirms the -proposition, that without due measure of private devotions, the soul -will grow lean.” - -To his son he wrote: “Let me conjure you not to be seduced into -neglecting, curtailing or hurrying over your morning prayers. Of all -things, guard against neglecting God in the closet. There is nothing -more fatal to the life and power of religion. More solitude and earlier -hours—prayer three times a day at least. How much better might I serve -if I cultivated a closer communion with God.” - -Wilberforce knew the secret of a holy life. Is that not where most of us -fail? We are so busy with other things, so immersed even in doing good -and in carrying on the Lord’s work, that we neglect the quiet seasons of -prayer with God, and before we are aware of it our soul is lean and -impoverished. - -“One night alone in prayer,” says Spurgeon, “might make us new men, -changed from poverty of soul to spiritual wealth, from trembling to -triumphing. We have an example of it in the life of Jacob. Aforetime the -crafty shuffler, always bargaining and calculating, unlovely in almost -every respect, yet one night in prayer turned the supplanter into a -prevailing prince, and robed him with celestial grandeur. From that -night he lives on the sacred page as one of the nobility of heaven. -Could not we, at least now and then, in these weary earthbound years, -hedge about a single night for such enriching traffic with the skies? -What, have we no sacred ambition? Are we deaf to the yearnings of Divine -love? Yet, my brethren, for wealth and for science men will cheerfully -quit their warm couches, and cannot we do it now and again for the love -of God and the good of souls? Where is our zeal, our gratitude, our -sincerity? I am ashamed while I thus upbraid both myself and you. May we -often tarry at Jabbok, and cry with Jacob, as he grasped the angel— - - ‘With thee all night I mean to stay, - And wrestle till the break of day.’ - -Surely, brethren, if we have given whole days to folly, we can afford a -space for heavenly wisdom. Time was when we gave whole nights to -chambering and wantonness, to dancing and the world’s revelry; we did -not tire then; we were chiding the sun that he rose so soon, and wishing -the hours would lag awhile that we might delight in wilder merriment and -perhaps deeper sin. Oh, wherefore, should we weary in heavenly -employments? Why grow we weary when asked to watch with our Lord? Up, -sluggish heart, Jesus calls thee! Rise and go forth to meet the Heavenly -Friend in the place where He manifests Himself.” - -We can never expect to grow in the likeness of our Lord unless we follow -His example and give more time to communion with the Father. A revival -of real praying would produce a spiritual revolution. - - ———————————————————————————————— - - - _Bear up the hands that hang down, by faith and prayer; support the - tottering knees. Have you any days of fasting and prayer? Storm the - throne of grace and persevere therein, and mercy will come down._ - —JOHN WESLEY. - - - _We must remember that the goal of prayer is the ear of God. Unless - that is gained the prayer has utterly failed. The uttering of it - may have kindled devotional feeling in our minds, the hearing of it - may have comforted and strengthened the hearts of those with whom - we have prayed, but if the prayer has not gained the heart of God, - it has failed in its essential purpose._ - - _A mere formalist can always pray so as to please himself. What has - he to do but to open his book and read the prescribed words, or bow - his knee and repeat such phrases as suggest themselves to his - memory or his fancy? Like the Tartarian Praying Machine, give but - the wind and the wheel, and the business is fully arranged. So much - knee-bending and talking, and the prayer is done. The formalist’s - prayers are always good, or, rather, always bad, alike. But the - living child of God never offers a prayer which pleases himself; - his standard is above his attainments; he wonders that God listens - to him, and though he knows he will be heard for Christ’s sake, yet - he accounts it a wonderful instance of condescending mercy that - such poor prayers as his should ever reach the ears of the Lord God - of Sabaoth._ - —C. H. SPURGEON. - - - - - - IX - - -IT may be said with emphasis that no lazy saint prays. Can there be a -lazy saint? Can there be a prayerless saint? Does not slack praying cut -short sainthood’s crown and kingdom? Can there be a cowardly soldier? -Can there be a saintly hypocrite? Can there be virtuous vice? It is only -when these impossibilities are brought into being that we then can find -a prayerless saint. - -To go through the motion of praying is a dull business, though not a -hard one. To say prayers in a decent, delicate way is not heavy work. -But to pray really, to pray till hell feels the ponderous stroke, to -pray till the iron gates of difficulty are opened, till the mountains of -obstacles are removed, till the mists are exhaled and the clouds are -lifted, and the sunshine of a cloudless day brightens—this is hard -work, but it is God’s work and man’s best labour. Never was the toil of -hand, head and heart less spent in vain than when praying. It is hard to -wait and press and pray, and hear no voice, but stay till God answers. -The joy of answered prayer is the joy of a travailing mother when a man -child is born into the world, the joy of a slave whose chains have been -burst asunder and to whom new life and liberty have just come. - -A bird’s-eye view of what has been accomplished by prayer shows what we -lost when the dispensation of real prayer was substituted by Pharisaical -pretence and sham; it shows, too, how imperative is the need for holy -men and women who will give themselves to earnest, Christlike praying. - -It is not an easy thing to pray. Back of the praying there must lie all -the conditions of prayer. These conditions are possible, but they are -not to be seized on in a moment by the prayerless. Present they always -may be to the faithful and holy, but cannot exist in nor be met by a -frivolous, negligent, laggard spirit. Prayer does not stand alone. It is -not an isolated performance. Prayer stands in closest connection with -all the duties of an ardent piety. It is the issuance of a character -which is made up of the elements of a vigorous and commanding faith. -Prayer honours God, acknowledges His being, exalts His power, adores His -providence, secures His aid. A sneering half-rationalism cries out -against devotion, that it does nothing but pray. But to pray well is to -do all things well. If it be true that devotion does nothing but pray, -then it does nothing at all. To do nothing but pray fails to do the -praying, for the antecedent, coincident, and subsequent conditions of -prayer are but the sum of all the energised forces of a practical, -working piety. - -The possibilities of prayer run parallel with the promises of God. -Prayer opens an outlet for the promises, removes the hindrances in the -way of their execution, puts them into working order, and secures their -gracious ends. More than this, prayer like faith, obtains promises, -enlarges their operation, and adds to the measure of their results. -God’s promises were to Abraham and to his seed, but many a barren womb, -and many a minor obstacle stood in the way of the fulfilment of these -promises; but prayer removed them all, made a highway for the promises, -added to the facility and speediness of their realisation, and by prayer -the promise shone bright and perfect in its execution. - -The possibilities of prayer are found in its allying itself with the -purposes of God, for God’s purposes and man’s praying are the -combination of all potent and omnipotent forces. More than this, the -possibilities of prayer are seen in the fact that it changes the -purposes of God. It is in the very nature of prayer to plead and give -directions. Prayer is not a negation. It is a positive force. It never -rebels against the will of God, never comes into conflict with that -will, but that it does seek to change God’s purpose is evident. Christ -said, “The cup which My Father hath given Me shall I not drink it?” and -yet He had prayed that very night, “If it be possible let this cup pass -from Me.” Paul sought to change the purposes of God about the thorn in -his flesh. God’s purposes were fixed to destroy Israel, and the prayer -of Moses changed the purposes of God and saved Israel. In the time of -the Judges Israel were apostate and greatly oppressed. They repented and -cried unto God and He said: “Ye have forsaken Me and served other gods, -wherefore I will deliver you no more:” but they humbled themselves, put -away their strange gods, and God’s “soul was grieved for the misery of -Israel,” and he sent them deliverance by Jephthah. - -God sent Isaiah to say to Hezekiah, “Set thine house in order: for thou -shalt die, and not live;” and Hezekiah prayed, and God sent Isaiah back -to say, “I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears; behold I will -add unto thy days fifteen years.” “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be -overthrown,” was God’s message by Jonah. But Nineveh cried mightily to -God, and “God repented of the evil that He had said He would do unto -them; and He did it not.” - -The possibilities of prayer are seen from the divers conditions it -reaches and the diverse ends it secures. Elijah prayed over a dead -child, and it came to life; Elisha did the same thing; Christ prayed at -Lazarus’s grave, and Lazarus came forth. Peter kneeled down and prayed -beside dead Dorcas, and she opened her eyes and sat up, and Peter -presented her alive to the distressed company. Paul prayed for Publius, -and healed him. Jacob’s praying changed Esau’s murderous hate into the -kisses of the tenderest brotherly embrace. God gave to Rebecca Jacob and -Esau because Isaac prayed for her. Joseph was the child of Rachel’s -prayers. Hannah’s praying gave Samuel to Israel. John the Baptist was -given to Elizabeth, barren and past age as she was, in answer to the -prayer of Zacharias. Elisha’s praying brought famine or harvest to -Israel; as he prayed so it was. Ezra’s praying carried the Spirit of God -in heart-breaking conviction to the entire city of Jerusalem, and -brought them in tears of repentance back to God. Isaiah’s praying -carried the shadow of the sun back ten degrees on the dial of Ahaz. - -In answer to Hezekiah’s praying an angel slew one hundred and -eighty-five thousand of Sennacherib’s army in one night. Daniel’s -praying opened to him the vision of prophecy, helped him to administer -the affairs of a mighty kingdom, and sent an angel to shut the lions’ -mouths. The angel was sent to Cornelius, and the Gospel opened through -him to the Gentile world, because his “prayers and alms had come up as a -memorial before God.” “And what shall I more say? for the time would -fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah; -of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets;” of Paul and Peter, and -John and the Apostles, and the holy company of saints, reformers, and -martyrs, who, through praying, “subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, -obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of -fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, -waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” - -Prayer puts God in the matter with commanding force: “Ask of Me things -to come concerning My sons,” says God, “and concerning the work of My -hands command ye Me.” We are charged in God’s Word “always to pray,” “in -everything by prayer,” “continuing instant in prayer,” to “pray -everywhere,” “praying always.” The promise is as illimitable as the -command is comprehensive. “All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, -believing, ye shall receive,” “whatever ye shall ask,” “if ye shall ask -anything.” “Ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.” -“Whatsoever ye ask the Father He will give it to you.” If there is -anything not involved in “All things whatsoever,” or not found in the -phrase “Ask anything,” then these things may be left out of prayer. -Language could not cover a wider range, nor involve more fully all -_minutia_. These statements are but samples of the all-comprehending -possibilities of prayer under the promises of God to those who meet the -conditions of right praying. - -These passages, though, give but a general outline of the immense -regions over which prayer extends its sway. Beyond these the effects of -prayer reaches and secures good from regions which cannot be traversed -by language or thought. Paul exhausted language and thought in praying, -but conscious of necessities not covered and realms of good not reached -he covers these impenetrable and undiscovered regions by this general -plea, “unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that -we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” The promise -is, “Call upon Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and -mighty things, which thou knowest not.” - -James declares that “the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man -availeth much.” How much he could not tell, but illustrates it by the -power of Old Testament praying to stir up New Testament saints to -imitate by the fervour and influence of their praying the holy men of -old, and duplicate and surpass the power of their praying. Elijah, he -says, was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed -earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the -space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven -gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. - -In the Revelation of John the whole lower order of God’s creation and -His providential government, the Church and the angelic world, are in -the attitude of waiting on the efficiency of the prayers of the saintly -ones on earth to carry on the various interests of earth and heaven. The -angel takes the fire kindled by prayer and casts it earthward, “and -there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.” -Prayer is the force which creates all these alarms, stirs, and throes. -“Ask of Me,” says God to His Son, and to the Church of His Son, “and I -shall give thee the heathen for Thine inheritance and the uttermost -parts of the earth for Thy possessions.” - -The men who have done mighty things for God have always been mighty in -prayer, have well understood the possibilities of prayer, and made most -of these possibilities. The Son of God, the first of all and the -mightiest of all, has shown us the all-potent and far-reaching -possibilities of prayer. Paul was mighty for God because he knew how to -use, and how to get others to use, the mighty spiritual forces of -prayer. - -The seraphim, burning, sleepless, adoring, is the figure of prayer. It -is resistless in its ardour, devoted and tireless. There are hindrances -to prayer that nothing but pure, intense flame can surmount. There are -toils and outlays and endurance which nothing but the strongest, most -ardent flame can abide. Prayer may be low-tongued, but it cannot be -cold-tongued. Its words may be few, but they must be on fire. Its -feelings may not be impetuous, but they must be white with heat. It is -the effectual, fervent prayer that influences God. - -God’s house is the house of prayer; God’s work is the work of prayer. It -is the zeal for God’s house and the zeal for God’s work that makes God’s -house glorious and His work abide. - -When the prayer-chambers of saints are closed or are entered casually or -coldly, then Church rulers are secular, fleshly, materialised; spiritual -character sinks to a low level, and the ministry becomes restrained and -enfeebled. - -When prayer fails, the world prevails. When prayer fails the Church -loses its Divine characteristics, its Divine power; the Church is -swallowed up by a proud ecclesiasticism, and the world scoffs at its -obvious impotence. - - ———————————————————————————————— - - - _I look upon all the four Gospels as thoroughly genuine, for there - is in them the reflection of a greatness which emanated from the - person of Jesus and which was of as Divine a kind as ever was seen - on earth._ - —GOETHE. - - - _There are no possibilities, no necessity for prayerless praying, a - heartless performance, a senseless routine, a dead habit, a hasty, - careless performance—it justifies nothing. Prayerless praying has - no life, gives no life, is dead, breathes out death. Not a - battle-axe but a child’s toy, for play not for service. Prayerless - praying does not come up to the importance and aims of a - recreation. Prayerless praying is only a weight, an impediment in - the hour of struggle, of intense conflict, a call to retreat in the - moment of battle and victory._ - - - - - X - - -WHY do we not pray? What are the hindrances to prayer? This is not a -curious nor trivial question. It goes not only to the whole matter of -our praying, but to the whole matter of our religion. Religion is bound -to decline when praying is hindered. That which hinders praying, hinders -religion. He who is too busy to pray will be too busy to live a holy -life. - -Other duties become pressing and absorbing and crowd out prayer. Choked -to death, would be the coroner’s verdict in many cases of dead praying, -if an inquest could be secured on this dire, spiritual calamity. This -way of hindering prayer becomes so natural, so easy, so innocent that it -comes on us all unawares. If we will allow our praying to be crowded -out, it will always be done. Satan had rather we let the grass grow on -the path to our prayer-chamber than anything else. A closed chamber of -prayer means gone out of business religiously, or what is worse, made an -assignment and carrying on our religion in some other name than God’s -and to somebody else’s glory. God’s glory is only secured in the -business of religion by carrying that religion on with a large capital -of prayer. The apostles understood this when they declared that their -time must not be employed in even the sacred duties of alms-giving; they -must give themselves, they said, “continually to prayer and to the -ministry of the Word,” prayer being put first with them and the ministry -of the Word having its efficiency and life from prayer. - -The process of hindering prayer by crowding out is simple and goes by -advancing stages. First, prayer is hurried through. Unrest and -agitation, fatal to all devout exercises, come in. Then the time is -shortened, relish for the exercise palls. Then it is crowded into a -corner and depends on the fragments of time for its exercise. Its value -depreciates. The duty has lost its importance. It no longer commands -respect nor brings benefit. It has fallen out of estimate, out of the -heart, out of the habits, out of the life. We cease to pray and cease to -live spiritually. - -There is no stay to the desolating floods of worldliness and business -and cares, but prayer. Christ meant this when He charged us to watch and -pray. There is no pioneering corps for the Gospel but prayer. Paul knew -that when he declared that “night and day he prayed exceedingly that we -might see your face and might perfect that which is lacking in your -faith.” There is no arriving at a high state of grace without much -praying and no staying in those high altitudes without great praying. -Epaphras knew this when he “laboured fervently in prayers” for the -Colossian Church, “that they might stand perfect and complete in all the -will of God.” - -The only way to preserve our praying from being hindered is to estimate -prayer at its true and great value. Estimate it as Daniel did, who, when -he “knew that the writing was signed he went into his house, and his -windows being opened to Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times -a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he did aforetime.” -Put praying into the high values as Daniel did, above place, honour, -ease, wealth, life. Put praying into the habits as Daniel did. “As he -did aforetime” has much in it to give firmness and fidelity in the hour -of trial; much in it to remove hindrances and master opposing -circumstances. - -One of Satan’s wiliest tricks is to destroy the best by the good. -Business and other duties are good, but we are so filled with these that -they crowd out and destroy the best. Prayer holds the citadel for God, -and if Satan can by any means weaken prayer he is a gainer so far, and -when prayer is dead the citadel is taken. We must keep prayer as the -faithful sentinel keeps guard, with sleepless vigilance. We must not -keep it half-starved and feeble as a baby, but we must keep it in giant -strength. Our prayer-chamber should have our freshest strength, our -calmest time, its hours unfettered, without obtrusion, without haste. -Private place and plenty of time are the life of prayer. “To kneel upon -our knees three times a day and pray and give thanks before God as we -did aforetime,” is the very heart and soul of religion, and makes men, -like Daniel, of “an excellent spirit,” “greatly beloved in heaven.” - -The greatness of prayer, involving as it does the whole man, in the -intensest form, is not realised without spiritual discipline. This makes -it hard work, and before this exacting and consuming effort our -spiritual sloth or feebleness stands abashed. - -The simplicity of prayer, its child-like elements form a great obstacle -to true praying. Intellect gets in the way of the heart. The child -spirit only is the spirit of prayer. It is no holiday occupation to make -the man a child again. In song, in poetry, in memory he may wish himself -a child again, but in prayer he must be a child again in reality. At his -mother’s knee, artless, sweet, intense, direct, trustful. With no shade -of doubt, no temper to be denied. A desire which burns and consumes -which can only be voiced by a cry. It is no easy work to have this -child-like spirit of prayer. - -If praying were but an hour in the closet, difficulties would face and -hinder even that hour, but praying is the whole life preparing for the -closet. How difficult it is to cover home and business, all the sweets -and all the bitters of life, with the holy atmosphere of the closet! A -holy life is the only preparation for prayer. It is just as difficult to -pray, as it is to live a holy life. In this we find a wall of exclusion -built around our closets; men do not love holy praying, because they do -not love and will not do holy living. Montgomery sets forth the -difficulties of true praying when he declares the sublimity and -simplicity of prayer. - - Prayer is the simplest form of speech - That infant lips can try. - Prayer is the sublimest strains that reach - The Majesty on high. - -This is not only good poetry, but a profound truth as to the loftiness -and simplicity of prayer. There are great difficulties in reaching the -exalted, angelic strains of prayer. The difficulty of coming down to the -simplicity of infant lips is not much less. - -Prayer in the Old Testament is called wrestling. Conflict and skill, -strenuous, exhaustive effort are involved. In the New Testament we have -the terms striving, labouring fervently, fervent, effectual, agony, all -indicating intense effort put forth, difficulties overcome. We, in our -praises sing out— - - “What various hindrances we meet - In coming to a mercy seat.” - -We also have learned that the gracious results secured by prayer are -generally proportioned to the outlay in removing the hindrances which -obstruct our soul’s high communion with God. - -Christ spake a parable to this end, that men ought always to pray and -not to faint. The parable of the importunate widow teaches the -difficulties in praying, how they are to be surmounted, and the happy -results which follow from valorous praying. Difficulties will always -obstruct the way to the closet as long as it remains true, - - “That Satan trembles when he sees - The weakest saint upon his knees.” - -Courageous faith is made stronger and purer by mastering difficulties. -These difficulties but couch the eye of faith to the glorious prize -which is to be won by the successful wrestler in prayer. Men must not -faint in the contest of prayer, but to this high and holy work they must -give themselves, defying the difficulties in the way, and experience -more than an angel’s happiness in the results. Luther said: “To have -prayed well is to have studied well.” More than that, to have prayed -well is to have fought well. To have prayed well is to have lived well. -To pray well is to die well. - -Prayer is a rare gift, not a popular, ready gift. Prayer is not the -fruit of natural talents; it is the product of faith, of holiness, of -deeply spiritual character. Men learn to pray as they learn to love. -Perfection in simplicity, in humility in faith—these form its chief -ingredients. Novices in these graces are not adepts in prayer. It cannot -be seized upon by untrained hands; graduates in heaven’s highest school -of art can alone touch its finest keys, raise its sweetest, highest -notes. Fine material, fine finish are requisite. Master workmen are -required, for mere journeymen cannot execute the work of prayer. - -The spirit of prayer should rule our spirits and our conduct. The spirit -of the prayer-chamber must control our lives or the closest hour will be -dull and sapless. Always praying in spirit; always acting in the spirit -of praying; these make our praying strong. The spirit of every moment is -that which imparts strength to the closet communion. It is what we are -out of the closet which gives victory or brings defeat to the closet. If -the spirit of the world prevails in our non-closet hours, the spirit of -the world will prevail in our closet hours, and that will be a vain and -idle farce. - -We must live for God out of the closet if we would meet God in the -closet. We must bless God by praying lives if we would have God’s -blessing in the closet. We must do God’s will in our lives if we would -have God’s ear in the closet. We must listen to God’s voice in public if -we would have God listen to our voice in private. God must have our -hearts out of the closet, if we would have God’s presence in the closet. -If we would have God in the closet, God must have us out of the closet. -There is no way of praying to God, but by living to God. The closet is -not a confessional, simply, but the hour of holy communion and high and -sweet intercourse and of intense intercession. - -Men would pray better if they lived better. They would get more from God -if they lived more obedient and well pleasing to God. We would have more -strength and time for the Divine work of intercession if we did not have -to expend so much strength and time settling up old scores and paying -our delinquent taxes. Our spiritual liabilities are so greatly in excess -of our spiritual assets that our closet time is spent in taking out a -decree of bankruptcy instead of being the time of great spiritual wealth -for us and for others. Our closets are too much like the sign, “Closed -for Repairs.” - -John said of primitive Christian praying, “Whatsoever we ask we receive -of Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things which are -pleasing in His sight.” We should note what illimitable grounds were -covered, what illimitable gifts were received by their strong praying: -“Whatsoever”—how comprehensive the range and reception of mighty -praying; how suggestive the reasons for the ability to pray and to have -prayers answered. Obedience, but more than mere obedience, doing the -things which please God well. They went to their closets made strong by -their strict obedience and loving fidelity to God in their conduct. -Their lives were not only true and obedient, but they were thinking -about things above obedience, searching for and doing things to make God -glad. These can come with eager step and radiant countenance to meet -their Father in the closet, not simply to be forgiven, but to be -approved and to receive. - -It makes much difference whether we come to God as a criminal or a -child; to be pardoned or to be approved; to settle scores or to be -embraced; for punishment or for favour. Our praying to be strong must be -buttressed by holy living. The name of Christ must be honoured by our -lives before it will honour our intercessions. The life of faith -perfects the prayer of faith. - -Our lives not only give colour to our praying, but they give body to it -as well. Bad living makes bad praying. We pray feebly because we live -feebly. The stream of praying cannot rise higher than the fountain of -living. The closet force is made up of the energy which flows from the -confluent streams of living. The feebleness of living throws its -faintness into closet homes. We cannot talk to God strongly when we have -not lived for God strongly. The closet cannot be made holy to God when -the life has not been holy to God. The Word of God emphasises our -conduct as giving value to our praying. “Then shalt thou call and the -Lord shalt answer, Thou shalt cry and He shall say, Here I am. If thou -take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth the finger, -and speaking vanity.” - -Men are to pray “lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting.” We -are to pass the time of our sojourning here in fear if we would call on -the Father. We cannot divorce praying from conduct. “Whatsoever we ask -we receive of Him because we keep His commandments and do those things -that are pleasing in His sight.” “Ye ask and receive not because ye ask -amiss that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” The injunction of Christ, -“Watch and pray,” is to cover and guard conduct that we may come to our -closets with all the force secured by a vigilant guard over our lives. - -Our religion breaks down oftenest and most sadly in our conduct. -Beautiful theories are marred by ugly lives. The most difficult as well -as the most impressive point in piety is to live it. Our praying suffers -as much as our religion from bad living. Preachers were charged in -primitive times to preach by their lives or preach not at all. So -Christians everywhere ought to be charged to pray by their lives or pray -not at all. Of course, the prayer of repentance is acceptable. But -repentance means to quit doing wrong and learn to do well. A repentance -which does not produce a change in conduct is a sham. Praying which does -not result in pure conduct is a delusion. We have missed the whole -office and virtue of praying if it does not rectify conduct. It is in -the very nature of things that we must quit praying or quit bad conduct. -Cold, dead praying may exist with bad conduct, but cold, dead praying is -no praying in God’s esteem. Our praying advances in power as it -rectifies the life. A life growing in its purity and devotion will be a -more prayerful life. - -The pity is that so much of our praying is without object or aim. It is -without purpose. How much praying there is by men and women who never -abide in Christ—hasty praying, sweet praying full of sentiment, -pleasing praying, but not backed by a life wedded to Christ. Popular -praying! How much of this praying is from unsanctified hearts and -unhallowed lips! Prayers spring into life under the influence of some -great excitement, by some pressing emergency, through some popular -clamour, some great peril. But the conditions of prayer are not there. -We rush into God’s presence and try to link Him to our cause, inflame -Him with our passions, move Him by our peril. All things are to be -prayed for—but with clean hands, with absolute deference to God’s will -and abiding in Christ. Prayerless praying by lips and hearts untrained -to prayer, by lives out of harmony with Jesus Christ; prayerless -praying, which has the form and motion of prayer but is without the true -heart of prayer, never moves God to an answer. It is of such praying -that James says: “Ye have not because ye ask not; ye ask and receive -not, because ye ask amiss.” - -The two great evils—not asking, and asking in a wrong way. Perhaps the -greater evil is wrong asking, for it has in it the show of duty done, of -praying when there has been no praying—a deceit, a fraud, a sham. The -times of the most praying are not really the times of the best praying. -The Pharisees prayed much, but they were actuated by vanity; their -praying was the symbol of their hypocrisy by which they made God’s house -of prayer a den of robbers. Theirs was praying on state -occasions—mechanical, perfunctory, professional, beautiful in words, -fragrant in sentiment, well ordered, well received by the ears that -heard, but utterly devoid of every element of real prayer. - -The conditions of prayer are well ordered and clear—abiding in Christ; -in His name. One of the first necessities, if we are to grasp the -infinite possibilities of prayer, is to get rid of prayerless praying. -It is often beautiful in words and in execution; it has the drapery of -prayer in rich and costly form, but it lacks the soul of praying. We -fall so easily into the habit of prayerless service, of merely filling a -programme. - -If men only prayed on all occasions and in every place where they go -through the motion! If there were only holy inflamed hearts back of all -these beautiful words and gracious forms! If there were always uplifted -hearts in these erect men who are uttering flawless but vain words -before God! If there were always reverent bended hearts when bended -knees are uttering words before God to please men’s ears! - -There is nothing that will preserve the life of prayer; its vigour, -sweetness, obligations, seriousness and value, so much as a deep -conviction that prayer is an approach to God, a pleading with God, an -asking of God. Reality will then be in it; reverence will then be in the -attitude, in the place, and in the air. Faith will draw, kindle and -open. Formality and deadness cannot live in this high and all-serious -home of the soul. - -Prayerless praying lacks the essential element of true praying; it is -not based on desire, and is devoid of earnestness and faith. Desire -burdens the chariot of prayer, and faith drives its wheels. Prayerless -praying has no burden, because no sense of need; no ardency, because -none of the vision, strength, or glow of faith. No mighty pressure to -prayer, no holding on to God with the deathless, despairing grasp, “I -will not let Thee go except Thou bless me.” No utter self-abandon, lost -in the throes of a desperate, pertinacious, and consuming plea: “Yet now -if Thou wilt forgive their sin—if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of Thy -book;” or, “Give me Scotland, or I die.” Prayerless praying stakes -nothing on the issue, for it has nothing to stake. It comes with empty -hands, indeed, but they are listless hands as well as empty. They have -never learned the lesson of empty hands clinging to the cross; this -lesson to them has no form nor comeliness. - -Prayerless praying has no heart in its praying. The lack of heart -deprives praying of its reality, and makes it an empty and unfit vessel. -Heart, soul, life must be in our praying; the heavens must feel the -force of our crying, and must be brought into oppressed sympathy for our -bitter and needy state. A need that oppresses us, and has no relief but -in our crying to God, must voice our praying. - -Prayerless praying is insincere. It has no honesty at heart. We name in -words what we do not want in heart. Our prayers give formal utterance to -the things for which our hearts are not only not hungry, but for which -they really have no taste. We once heard an eminent and saintly -preacher, now in heaven, come abruptly and sharply on a congregation -that had just risen from prayer, with the question and statement, “What -did you pray for? If God should take hold of you and shake you, and -demand what you prayed for, you could not tell Him to save your life -what the prayer was that has just died from your lips.” So it always is, -prayerless praying has neither memory nor heart. A mere form, a -heterogeneous mass, an insipid compound, a mixture thrown together for -sound and to fill up, but with neither heart nor aim, is prayerless -praying. A dry routine, a dreary drudge, a dull and heavy task is this -prayerless praying. - -But prayerless praying is much worse than either task or drudge, it -divorces praying from living; it utters its words against the world, but -with heart and life runs into the world; it prays for humility, but -nurtures pride; prays for self-denial, while indulging the flesh. -Nothing exceeds in gracious results true praying, but better not to pray -at all than to pray prayerless prayers, for they are but sinning, and -the worst of sinning is to sin on our knees. - -The prayer habit is a good habit, but praying by dint of habit only is a -very bad habit. This kind of praying is not conditioned after God’s -order, nor generated by God’s power. It is not only a waste, a -perversion, and a delusion, but it is a prolific source of unbelief. -Prayerless praying gets no results. God is not reached, self is not -helped. It is better not to pray at all than to secure no results from -praying. Better for the one who prays, better for others. Men hear of -the prodigious results which are to be secured by prayer: the matchless -good promised in God’s Word to prayer. These keen-eyed worldlings or -timid little faith ones mark the great discrepancy between the results -promised and results realised, and are led necessarily to doubt the -truth and worth of that which is so big in promise and so beggarly in -results. Religion and God are dishonoured, doubt and unbelief are -strengthened by much asking and no getting. - -In contrast with this, what a mighty force prayerful praying is. Real -prayer helps God and man. God’s Kingdom is advanced by it. The greatest -good comes to man by it. Prayer can do anything that God can do. The -pity is that we do not believe this as we ought, and we do not put it to -the test. - - ———————————————————————————————— - - - _The deepest need of the Church to-day is not for any material or - external thing, but the deepest need is spiritual. Prayerless work - will never bring in the kingdom. We neglect to pray in the - prescribed way. We seldom enter the closet and shut the door for a - season of prayer. Kingdom interests are pressing on us thick and - fast and we must pray. Prayerless giving will never evangelise the - world._ - —DR. A. J. GORDON. - - - _The great subject of prayer, that comprehensive need of the - Christian’s life, is intimately bound up in the personal fulness of - the Holy Spirit. It is “by the One Spirit we have access unto the - Father” (Eph. ii. 18), and by the same Spirit, having entered the - audience chamber through the “new and living way,” we are enabled - to pray in the will of God (Rom. viii. 15, 26-27; Gal. iv. 6; Eph. - vi. 18; Jude 20-21)._ - - _Here is the secret of prevailing prayer, to pray under a direct - inspiration of the Holy Spirit, whose petitions for us and through - us are always according to the Divine purpose, and hence certain of - answer. “Praying in the Holy Ghost” is but co-operating with the - will of God, and such prayer is always victorious. How many - Christians there are who cannot pray, and who seek by effort, - resolve, joining prayer circles, etc., to cultivate in themselves - the “holy art of intercession,” and all to no purpose. Here for - them and for all is the only secret of a real prayer life—“Be - filled with the Spirit,” who is “the Spirit of grace and - supplication.”_ - —REV. J. STUART HOLDEN, M.A. - - - - - - XI - - -THE preceding chapter closed with the statement that prayer can do -anything that God can do. It is a tremendous statement to make, but it -is a statement borne out by history and experience. If we are abiding in -Christ—and if we abide in Him we are living in obedience to His holy -will—and approach God in His name, then there lie open before us the -infinite resources of the Divine treasure-house. - -The man who truly prays gets from God many things denied to the -prayerless man. The aim of all real praying is to get the thing prayed -for, as the child’s cry for bread has for its end the getting of bread. -This view removes prayer clean out of the sphere of religious -performances. Prayer is not acting a part or going through religious -motions. Prayer is neither official nor formal nor ceremonial, but -direct, hearty, intense. Prayer is not religious work which must be gone -through, and avails because well done. Prayer is the helpless and needy -child crying to the compassion of the Father’s heart and the bounty and -power of a Father’s hand. The answer is as sure to come as the Father’s -heart can be touched and the Father’s hand moved. - -The object of asking is to receive. The aim of seeking is to find. The -purpose of knocking is to arouse attention and get in, and this is -Christ’s iterated and re-iterated asseveration that the prayer without -doubt will be answered, its end without doubt secured. Not by some -round-about way, but by getting the very thing asked for. - -The value of prayer does not lie in the number of prayers, or the length -of prayers, but its value is found in the great truth that we are -privileged by our relations to God to unburden our desires and make our -requests known to God, and He will relieve by granting our petitions. -The child asks because the parent is in the habit of granting the -child’s requests. As the children of God we need something and we need -it badly, and we go to God for it. Neither the Bible nor the child of -God knows anything of that half-infidel declaration, that we are to -answer our own prayers. God answers prayer. The true Christian does not -pray to stir himself up, but his prayer is the stirring up of himself to -take hold of God. The heart of faith knows nothing of that specious -scepticism which stays the steps of prayer and chills its ardour by -whispering that prayer does not affect God. - -D. L. Moody used to tell a story of a little child whose father and -mother had died, and who was taken into another family. The first night -she asked whether she could pray as she used to do. They said: “Oh, -yes!” So she knelt down and prayed as her mother had taught her; and -when that was ended, she added a little prayer of her own: “O God, make -these people as kind to me as father and mother were.” Then she paused -and looked up, as if expecting the answer, and then added: “Of course -you will.” How sweetly simple was that little one’s faith! She expected -God to answer and “do,” and “of course” she got her request, and that is -the spirit in which God invites us to approach Him. - -In contrast to that incident is the story told of the quaint Yorkshire -class leader, Daniel Quorm, who was visiting a friend. One forenoon he -came to the friend and said, “I am sorry you have met with such a great -disappointment.” - -“Why, no,” said the man, “I have not met with any disappointment.” - -“Yes,” said Daniel, “you were expecting something remarkable to-day.” - -“What do you mean?” said the friend. - -“Why you prayed that you might be kept sweet and gentle all day long. -And, by the way things have been going, I see you have been greatly -disappointed.” - -“Oh,” said the man, “I thought you meant something particular.” - -Prayer is mighty in its operations, and God never disappoints those who -put their trust and confidence in Him. They may have to wait long for -the answer, and they may not live to see it, but the prayer of faith -never misses its object. - -“A friend of mine in Cincinnati had preached his sermon and sank back in -his chair, when he felt impelled to make another appeal,” says Dr. J. -Wilbur Chapman. “A boy at the back of the church lifted his hand. My -friend left the pulpit and went down to him, and said, ‘Tell me about -yourself.’ The boy said, ‘I live in New York. I am a prodigal. I have -disgraced my father’s name and broken my mother’s heart. I ran away and -told them I would never come back until I became a Christian or they -brought me home dead.’ That night there went from Cincinnati a letter -telling his father and mother that their boy had turned to God. - -“Seven days later, in a black-bordered envelope, a reply came which -read: ‘My dear boy, when I got the news that you had received Jesus -Christ the sky was overcast; your father was dead.’ Then the letter went -on to tell how the father had prayed for his prodigal boy with his last -breath, and concluded, ‘You are a Christian to-night because your old -father would not let you go.’” - -A fourteen-year-old boy was given a task by his father. It so happened -that a group of boys came along just then and wiled the boy away with -them, and so the work went undone. But the father came home that evening -and said, “Frank, did you do the work that I gave you?” “Yes, sir,” said -Frank. He told an untruth, and his father knew it, but said nothing. It -troubled the boy, but he went to bed as usual. Next morning his mother -said to him, “Your father did not sleep all last night.” - -“Why didn’t he sleep?” asked Frank. - -His mother said, “He spent the whole night praying for you.” - -This sent the arrow into his heart. He was deeply convicted of his sin, -and knew no rest until he had got right with God. Long afterward, when -the boy became Bishop Warne, he said that his decision for Christ came -from his father’s prayer that night. He saw his father keeping his -lonely and sorrowful vigil praying for his boy, and it broke his heart. -Said he, “I can never be sufficiently grateful to him for that prayer.” - -An evangelist, much used of God, has put on record that he commenced a -series of meetings in a little church of about twenty members who were -very cold and dead, and much divided. A little prayer-meeting was kept -up by two or three women. “I preached, and closed at eight o’clock,” he -says. “There was no one to speak or pray. The next evening one man -spoke. - -“The next morning I rode six miles to a minister’s study, and kneeled in -prayer. I went back, and said to the little church: - -“‘If you can make out enough to board me, I will stay until God opens -the windows of heaven. God has promised to bless these means, and I -believe He will.’ - -“Within ten days there were so many anxious souls that I met one hundred -and fifty of them at a time in an inquiry meeting, while Christians were -praying in another house of worship. Several hundred, I think, were -converted. It is safe to believe God.” - -A mother asked the late John B. Gough to visit her son to win him to -Christ. Gough found the young man’s mind full of sceptical notions, and -impervious to argument. Finally, the young man was asked to pray, just -once, for light. He replied: “I do not know anything perfect to whom or -to which I could pray.” “How about your mother’s love?” said the orator. -“Isn’t that perfect? Hasn’t she always stood by you, and been ready to -take you in, and care for you, when even your father had really kicked -you out?” The young man chocked with emotion, and said, “Y-e-s, sir; -that is so.” “Then pray to Love—it will help you. Will you promise?” He -promised. That night the young man prayed in the privacy of his room. He -kneeled down, closed his eyes, and struggling a moment uttered the -words: “O Love.” Instantly as by a flash of lightning, the old Bible -text came to him: “God is love,” and he said, brokenly, “O God!” Then -another flash of Divine truth, and a voice said, “God so loved the -world, that He gave His only begotten Son,”—and there, instantly, he -exclaimed, “O Christ, Thou incarnation of Divinest love, show me light -and truth.” It was all over. He was in the light of the most perfect -peace. He ran downstairs, adds the narrator of this incident, and told -his mother that he was saved. That young man is to-day an eloquent -minister of Jesus Christ. - -A water famine was threatened in Hakodate, Japan. Miss Dickerson, of the -Methodist Episcopal Girls’ School, saw the water supply growing less -daily, and in one of the fall months appealed to the Board in New York -for help. There was no money on hand, and nothing was done. Miss -Dickerson inquired the cost of putting down an artesian well, but found -the expense too great to be undertaken. On the evening of December 31st, -when the water was almost exhausted, the teachers and the older pupils -met to pray for water, though they had no idea how their prayer was to -be answered. A couple of days later a letter was received in the New -York office which ran something like this: “Philadelphia, January 1st. -It is six o’clock in the morning of New Year’s Day. All the other -members of the family are asleep, but I was awakened with a strange -impression that some one, somewhere, is in need of money which the Lord -wants me to supply.” Enclosed was a cheque for an amount which just -covered the cost of the artesian well and the piping of the water into -the school buildings. - -“I have seen God’s hand stretched out to heal among the heathen in as -mighty wonder-working power as in apostolic times,” once said a -well-known minister to the writer. “I was preaching to two thousand -famine orphan girls, at Kedgaum, India, at Ramabai’s Mukti (salvation) -Mission. A swarm of serpents as venomous and deadly as the reptile that -smote Paul, suddenly raided the walled grounds, ‘sent of Satan,’ Ramabai -said, and several of her most beautiful and faithful Christian girls -were smitten by them, two of them bitten twice. I saw four of the very -flower of her flock in convulsions at once, unconscious and apparently -in the agonies of death. - -“Ramabai believes the Bible with an implicit and obedient faith. There -were three of us missionaries there. She said: ‘We will do just what the -Bible says, I want you to minister for their healing according to James -v. 14-18.’ She led the way into the dormitory where her girls were lying -in spasms, and we laid our hands upon their heads and prayed, and -anointed them with oil in the name of the Lord. Each of them was healed -as soon as anointed and sat up and sang with faces shining. That miracle -and marvel among the heathen mightily confirmed the word of the Lord, -and was a profound and overpowering proclamation of God.” - -Some years ago, the record of a wonderful work of grace in connection -with one of the stations of the China Inland Mission attracted a good -deal of attention. Both the number and spiritual character of the -converts had been far greater than at other stations where the -consecration of the missionaries had been just as great as at the more -fruitful place. - -This rich harvest of souls remained a mystery until Hudson Taylor on a -visit to England discovered the secret. At the close of one of his -addresses a gentleman came forward to make his acquaintance. In the -conversation which followed, Mr. Taylor was surprised at the accurate -knowledge the man possessed concerning this inland China station. “But -how is it,” Mr. Taylor asked, “that you are so conversant with the -conditions of that work?” “Oh!” he replied, “the missionary there and I -are old college-mates; for years we have regularly corresponded; he has -sent me names of enquirers and converts, and these I have daily taken to -God in prayer.” - -At last the secret was found! A praying man at home, praying definitely, -praying daily, for specific cases among the heathen. That is the real -intercessory missionary. - -Hudson Taylor himself, as all the world knows, was a man who knew how to -pray and whose praying was blessed with fruitful answers. In the story -of his life, told by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor, we find page after page -aglow with answered prayer. On his way out to China for the first time, -in 1853, when he was only twenty-one years of age, he had a definite -answer to prayer that was a great encouragement to his faith. “They had -just come through the Dampier Strait, but were not yet out of sight of -the islands. Usually a breeze would spring up after sunset and last -until about dawn. The utmost use was made of it, but during the day they -lay still with flapping sails, often drifting back and losing a good -deal of the advantage gained at night.” The story continues in Hudson -Taylor’s own words: - -“This happened notably on one occasion when we were in dangerous -proximity to the north of New Guinea. Saturday night had brought us to a -point some thirty miles off the land, and during the Sunday morning -service, which was held on deck, I could not fail to see that the -Captain looked troubled and frequently went over to the side of the -ship. When the service was ended I learnt from him the cause. A -four-knot current was carrying us toward some sunken reefs, and we were -already so near that it seemed improbable that we should get through the -afternoon in safety. After dinner, the long boat was put out and all -hands endeavoured, without success, to turn the ship’s head from the -shore. - -“After standing together on the deck for some time in silence, the -Captain said to me: - -“‘Well, we have done everything that can be done. We can only await the -result.’ - -“A thought occurred to me, and I replied: ‘No, there is one thing we -have not done yet.’ - -“‘What is that?’ he queried. - -“‘Four of us on board are Christians. Let us each retire to his own -cabin, and in agreed prayer ask the Lord to give us immediately a -breeze. He can as easily send it now as at sunset.’ - -“The Captain complied with this proposal. I went and spoke to the other -two men, and after prayer with the carpenter, we all four retired to -wait upon God. I had a good but very brief season in prayer, and then -felt so satisfied that our request was granted that I could not continue -asking, and very soon went up again on deck. The first officer, a -godless man, was in charge. I went over and asked him to let down the -clews or corners of the mainsail, which had been drawn up in order to -lessen the useless flapping of the sail against the rigging. - -“‘What would be the good of that?’ he answered roughly. - -“I told him we had been asking a wind from God; that it was coming -immediately; and we were so near the reef by this time that there was -not a minute to lose. - -“With an oath and a look of contempt, he said he would rather see a wind -than hear of it. - -“But while he was speaking I watched his eye, following it up to the -royal, and there, sure enough, the corner of the topmost sail was -beginning to tremble in the breeze. - -“‘Don’t you see the wind is coming? Look at the royal!’ I exclaimed. - -“‘No, it is only a cat’s paw,’ he rejoined (a mere puff of wind). - -“‘Cat’s paw or not,’ I cried, ‘pray let down the mainsail and give us -the benefit.’ - -“This he was not slow to do. In another minute the heavy tread of the -men on deck brought up the Captain from his cabin to see what was the -matter. The breeze had indeed come! In a few minutes we were ploughing -our way at six or seven knots an hour through the water ... and though -the wind was sometimes unsteady, we did not altogether lose it until -after passing the Pelew Islands. - -“Thus God encouraged me,” adds this praying saint, “ere landing on -China’s shores to bring every variety of need to Him in prayer, and to -expect that He would honour the name of the Lord Jesus and give the help -each emergency required.” - -In an address at Cambridge some time ago (reported in “The Life of -Faith,” April 3rd, 1912), Mr. S. D. Gordon told in his own inimitable -way the story of a man in his own country, to illustrate from real life -the fact of the reality of prayer, and that it is not mere talking. - -“This man,” said Mr. Gordon, “came of an old New England family, a bit -farther back an English family. He was a giant in size, and a keen man -mentally, and a university-trained man. He had gone out West to live, -and represented a prominent district in our House of Congress, answering -to your House of Commons. He was a prominent leader there. He was reared -in a Christian family, but he was a sceptic, and used to lecture against -Christianity. He told me he was fond, in his lectures, of proving, as he -thought, conclusively, that there was no God. That was the type of his -infidelity. - -“One day he told me he was sitting in the Lower House of Congress. It -was at the time of a Presidential Election, and when party feeling ran -high. One would have thought that was the last place where a man would -be likely to think about spiritual things. He said: ‘I was sitting in my -seat in that crowded House and that heated atmosphere, when a feeling -came to me that the God, whose existence I thought I could successfully -disprove, was just there above me, looking down on me, and that He was -displeased with me, and with the way I was doing. I said to myself, -‘This is ridiculous, I guess I’ve been working too hard. I’ll go and get -a good meal and take a long walk and shake myself, and see if that will -take this feeling away.’ He got his extra meal, took a walk, and came -back to his seat, but the impression would not be shaken off that God -was there and was displeased with him. He went for a walk, day after -day, but could never shake the feeling off. Then he went back to his -constituency in his State, he said, to arrange matters there. He had the -ambition to be the Governor of his State, and his party was the dominant -party in the State, and, as far as such things could be judged, he was -in the line to become Governor there, in one of the most dominant States -of our Central West. He said: ‘I went home to fix that thing up as far -as I could, and to get ready for it. But I had hardly reached home and -exchanged greetings, when my wife, who was an earnest Christian woman, -said to me that a few of them had made a little covenant of prayer that -I might become a Christian.’ He did not want her to know the experience -that he had just been going through, and so he said as carelessly as he -could, ‘When did this thing begin, this praying of yours?’ She named the -date. Then he did some very quick thinking, and he knew, as he thought -back, that it was the day on the calendar when that strange impression -came to him for the first time. - -“He said to me: ‘I was tremendously shaken. I wanted to be honest. I was -perfectly honest in not believing in God, and I thought I was right. But -if what she said was true, then merely as a lawyer sifting his evidence -in a case, it would be good evidence that there was really something in -their prayer. I was terrifically shaken, and wanted to be honest, and -did not know what to do. That same night I went to a little Methodist -chapel, and if somebody had known how to talk with me, I think I should -have accepted Christ that night.’ Then he said that the next night he -went back again to that chapel, where meetings were being held each -night, and there he kneeled at the altar, and yielded his great strong -will to the will of God. Then he said, ‘I knew I was to preach,’ and he -is preaching still in a Western State. That is half of the story. I also -talked with his wife—I wanted to put the two halves together, so as to -get the bit of teaching in it all—and she told me this. She had been a -Christian—what you call a nominal Christian—a strange confusion of -terms. Then there came a time when she was led into a full surrender of -her life to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then she said, ‘At once there came a -great intensifying of desire that my husband might be a Christian, and -we made that little compact to pray for him each day until he became a -Christian. That night I was kneeling at my bedside before going to rest, -praying for my husband, praying very earnestly and then a voice said to -me, ‘Are you willing for the results that will come if your husband is -converted?’ The little message was so very distinct that she said she -was frightened; she had never had such an experience. But she went on -praying still more earnestly, and again there came the quiet voice, ‘Are -you willing for the consequences?’ And again there was a sense of being -startled, frightened. But she still went on praying, and wondering what -this meant, and a third time the quiet voice came more quietly than ever -as she described it, ‘Are you willing for the consequences?’ - -“Then she told me she said with great earnestness, ‘O God, I am willing -for anything Thou dost think good, if only my husband may know Thee, and -become a true Christian man.’ She said that instantly, when that prayer -came from her lips, there came into her heart a wonderful sense of -peace, a great peace that she could not explain, a ‘peace that passeth -understanding,’ and from that moment—it was the very night of the -covenant, the night when her husband had that first strange -experience—the assurance never left her that he would accept Christ. -But all those weeks she prayed with the firm assurance that the result -was coming. What were the consequences? They were of a kind that I think -no one would think small. She was the wife of a man in a very prominent -political position; she was the wife of a man who was in the line of -becoming the first official of his State, and she officially the first -lady socially of that State, with all the honour that that social -standing would imply. Now she is the wife of a Methodist preacher, with -her home changed every two or three years, she going from this place to -that, a very different social position, and having a very different -income than she would otherwise have had. Yet I never met a woman who -had more of the wonderful peace of God in her heart, and of the light of -God in her face, than that woman.” - -And Mr. Gordon’s comment on that incident is this: “Now, you can see at -once that there was no change in the purpose of God through that prayer. -The prayer worked out His purpose; it did not change it. But the woman’s -surrender gave the opportunity of working out the will that God wanted -to work out. If we might give ourselves to Him and learn His will, and -use all our strength in learning His will and bending to His will, then -we would begin to pray, and there is simply nothing that could resist -the tremendous power of the prayer. Oh for more men who will be simple -enough to get in touch with God, and give Him the mastery of the whole -life, and learn His will, and then give themselves, as Jesus gave -Himself, to the sacred service of intercession!” - -To the man or woman who is acquainted with God and who knows how to -pray, there is nothing remarkable in the answers that come. They are -sure of being heard, since they ask in accordance with what they know to -be the mind and the will of God. Dr. William Burt, Bishop of Europe in -the Methodist Episcopal Church, tells that a few years ago, when he -visited their Boys’ School in Vienna, he found that although the year -was not up, all available funds had been spent. He hesitated to make a -special appeal to his friends in America. He counselled with the -teachers. They took the matter to God in earnest and continued prayer, -believing that He would grant their request. Ten days later Bishop Burt -was in Rome, and there came to him a letter from a friend in New York, -which read substantially thus: “As I went to my office on Broadway one -morning [and the date was the very one on which the teachers were -praying], a voice seemed to tell me that you were in need of funds for -the Boys’ School in Vienna. I very gladly enclose a cheque for the -work.” The cheque was for the amount needed. There had been no human -communication between Vienna and New York. But while they were yet -speaking God answered them. - -Some time ago there appeared in an English religious weekly the report -of an incident narrated by a well-known preacher in the course of an -address to children. For the truth of the story he was able to vouch. A -child lay sick in a country cottage, and her younger sister heard the -doctor say, as he left the house, “Nothing but a miracle can save her.” -The little girl went to her money-box, took out the few coins it -contained, and in perfect simplicity of heart went to shop after shop in -the village street, asking, “Please, I want to buy a miracle.” From each -she came away disappointed. Even the local chemist had to say, “My dear, -we don’t sell miracles here.” But outside his door two men were talking, -and had overheard the child’s request. One was a great doctor from a -London hospital, and he asked her to explain what she wanted. When he -understood the need, he hurried with her to the cottage, examined the -sick girl, and said to the mother: “It is true—only a miracle can save -her, and it must be performed at once.” He got his instruments, -performed the operation, and the patient’s life was saved. - -D. L. Moody gives this illustration of the power of prayer: “While in -Edinburgh, a man was pointed out to me by a friend, who said: ‘That man -is chairman of the Edinburgh Infidel Club.’ I went and sat beside him -and said, ‘My friend, I am glad to see you in our meeting. Are you -concerned about your welfare?’ - -“‘I do not believe in any hereafter.’ - -“‘Well, just get down on your knees and let me pray for you.’ - -“‘No, I do not believe in prayer.’ - -“I knelt beside him as he sat, and prayed. He made a great deal of sport -of it. A year after I met him again. I took him by the hand and said: -‘Hasn’t God answered my prayer yet?’ - -“‘There is no God. If you believe in one who answers prayer, try your -hand on me.’ - -“‘Well, a great many are now praying for you, and God’s time will come, -and I believe you will be saved yet.’ - -“Some time afterwards I got a letter from a leading barrister in -Edinburgh telling me that my infidel friend had come to Christ, and that -seventeen of his club men had followed his example. - -“I did not know _how_ God would answer prayer, but I knew He would -answer. Let us come boldly to God.” - -Robert Louis Stevenson tells a vivid story of a storm at sea. The -passengers below were greatly alarmed, as the waves dashed over the -vessel. At last one of them, against orders, crept to the deck, and came -to the pilot, who was lashed to the wheel which he was turning without -flinching. The pilot caught sight of the terror-stricken man, and gave -him a reassuring smile. Below went the passenger, and comforted the -others by saying, “I have seen the face of the pilot, and he smiled. All -is well.” - -That is how we feel when through the gateway of prayer we find our way -into the Father’s presence. We see His face, and we know that all is -well, since His hand is on the helm of events, and “even the winds and -the waves obey Him.” When we live in fellowship with Him, we come with -confidence into His presence, asking in the full confidence of receiving -and meeting with the justification of our faith. - - ———————————————————————————————— - - - _Let your hearts be much set on revivals of religion. Never forget - that the churches have hitherto existed and prospered by revivals; - and that if they are to exist and prosper in time to come, it must - be by the same cause which has from the first been their glory and - defence._ - —JOEL HAWES. - - - _If any minister can be satisfied without conversions, he shall - have no conversions._ - —C. H. SPURGEON. - - - _I do not believe that my desires for a revival were ever half so - strong as they ought to be; nor do I see how a minister can help - being in a “constant fever” when his Master is dishonoured and - souls are destroyed in so many ways._ - —EDWARD PAYSON. - - - _An aged saint once came to the pastor at night and said: “We are - about to have a revival.” He was asked why he knew so. His answer - was, “I went into the stable to take care of my cattle two hours - ago, and there the Lord has kept me in prayer until just now. And I - feel that we are going to be revived.” It was the commencement of a - revival._ - —H. C. FISH. - - - - - - XII - - -IT has been said that the history of revivals is the history of -religion, and no one can study their history without being impressed -with their mighty influence upon the destiny of the race. To look back -over the progress of the Divine Kingdom upon earth is to review revival -periods which have come like refreshing showers upon dry and thirsty -ground, making the desert to blossom as the rose, and bringing new eras -of spiritual life and activity just when the Church had fallen under the -influence of the apathy of the times, and needed to be aroused to a new -sense of her duty and responsibility. “From one point of view, and that -not the least important,” writes Principal Lindsay, in “The Church and -the Ministry in the Early Centuries,” “the history of the Church flows -on from one time of revival to another, and whether we take the -awakenings in the old Catholic, the mediæval, or the modern Church, -these have always been the work of men specially gifted with the power -of seeing and declaring the secrets of the deepest Christian life, and -the effect of their work has always been proportionate to the spiritual -receptivity of the generation they have spoken to.” - -As God, from the beginning, has wrought prominently through revivals, -there can be no denial of the fact that revivals are a part of the -Divine plan. The Kingdom of our Lord has been advanced in large measure -by special seasons of gracious and rapid accomplishment of the work of -conversion, and it may be inferred, therefore, that the means through -which God has worked in other times will be employed in our time to -produce similar results. “The quiet conversion of one sinner after -another, under the ordinary ministry of the Gospel,” says one writer on -the subject, “must always be regarded with feelings of satisfaction and -gratitude by the ministers and disciples of Christ; but a periodical -manifestation of the simultaneous conversion of thousands is also to be -desired, because of its adaptation to afford a visible and impressive -demonstration that God has made that same Jesus, Who was rejected and -crucified, both Lord and Christ; and that, in virtue of His Divine -Mediatorship, He has assumed the royal sceptre of universal supremacy, -and ‘must reign till all His enemies be made His footstool.’ It is, -therefore, reasonable to expect that, from time to time, He will repeat -that which on the day of Pentecost formed the conclusive and crowning -evidence of His Messiahship and Sovereignty; and, by so doing, startle -the slumbering souls of careless worldlings, gain the attentive ear of -the unconverted, and, in a remarkable way, break in upon those brilliant -dreams of earthly glory, grandeur, wealth, power and happiness, which -the rebellious and God-forgetting multitude so fondly cherish. Such an -outpouring of the Holy Spirit forms at once a demonstrative proof of the -completeness and acceptance of His once offering of Himself as a -sacrifice for sin, and a prophetic ‘earnest’ of the certainty that He -‘shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation,’ to judge the -world in righteousness.” - -And that revivals are to be expected, proceeding, as they do, from the -right use of the appropriate means, is a fact which needs not a little -emphasis in these days, when the material is exalted at the expense of -the spiritual, and when ethical standards are supposed to be supreme. -That a revival is not a miracle was powerfully taught by Charles G. -Finney. There might, he said, be a miracle among its antecedent causes, -or there might not. The Apostles employed miracles simply as a means by -which they arrested attention to their message, and established its -Divine authority. “But the miracle was not the revival. The miracle was -one thing; the revival that followed it was quite another thing. The -revivals in the Apostles’ days were connected with miracles, but they -were not miracles.” All revivals are dependent upon God, but in -revivals, as in other things, He invites and requires the assistance of -man, and the full result is obtained when there is co-operation between -the Divine and the human. In other words, to employ a familiar phrase, -God alone can save the world, but God cannot save the world alone. God -and man unite for the task, the response of the Divine being invariably -in proportion to the desire and the effort of the human. - -This co-operation, then, being necessary, what is the duty which we, as -co-workers with God, require to undertake? First of all, and most -important of all—the point which we desire particularly to -emphasise—we must give ourselves to prayer. “Revivals,” as Dr. J. -Wilbur Chapman reminds us, “are born in prayer. When Wesley prayed -England was revived; when Knox prayed, Scotland was refreshed; when the -Sunday School teachers of Tannybrook prayed, 11,000 young people were -added to the Church in a year. Whole nights of prayer have always been -succeeded by whole days of soul-winning.” - -When D. L. Moody’s Church in Chicago lay in ashes, he went over to -England, in 1872, not to preach, but to listen to others preach while -his new church was being built. One Sunday morning he was prevailed upon -to preach in a London pulpit. But somehow the spiritual atmosphere was -lacking. He confessed afterwards that he never had such a hard time -preaching in his life. Everything was perfectly dead, and, as he vainly -tried to preach, he said to himself, “What a fool I was to consent to -preach! I came here to listen, and here I am preaching.” Then the awful -thought came to him that he had to preach again at night, and only the -fact that he had given the promise to do so kept him faithful to the -engagement. But when Mr. Moody entered the pulpit at night, and faced -the crowded congregation, he was conscious of a new atmosphere. “The -powers of an unseen world seemed to have fallen upon the audience.” As -he drew towards the close of his sermon he became emboldened to give out -an invitation, and as he concluded he said, “If there is a man or woman -here who will to-night accept Jesus Christ, please stand up.” At once -about 500 people rose to their feet. Thinking that there must be some -mistake, he asked the people to be seated, and then, in order that there -might be no possible misunderstanding, he repeated the invitation, -couching it in even more definite and difficult terms. Again the same -number rose. Still thinking that something must be wrong, Mr. Moody, for -the second time, asked the standing men and women to be seated, and then -he invited all who really meant to accept Christ to pass into the -vestry. Fully 500 people did as requested, and that was the beginning of -a revival in that church and neighbourhood, which brought Mr. Moody back -from Dublin, a few days later, that he might assist the wonderful work -of God. - -The sequel, however, must be given, or our purpose in relating the -incident will be defeated. When Mr. Moody preached at the morning -service there was a woman in the congregation who had an invalid sister. -On her return home she told the invalid that the preacher had been a Mr. -Moody from Chicago, and on hearing this she turned pale. “What,” she -said, “Mr. Moody from Chicago! I read about him some time ago in an -American paper, and I have been praying God to send him to London, and -to our church. If I had known he was going to preach this morning I -would have eaten no breakfast. I would have spent the whole time in -prayer. Now, sister, go out of the room, lock the door, send me no -dinner; no matter who comes, don’t let them see me. I am going to spend -the whole afternoon and evening in prayer.” And so while Mr. Moody stood -in the pulpit that had been like an ice-chamber in the morning, the -bed-ridden saint was holding him up before God, and God, who ever -delights to answer prayer, poured out His Spirit in mighty power. - -The God of revivals who answered the prayer of His child for Mr. Moody, -is willing to hear and to answer the faithful, believing prayers of His -people to-day. Wherever God’s conditions are met there the revival is -sure to fall. Professor Thos. Nicholson, of Cornell College, U.S.A., -relates an experience on his first circuit that impresses anew the old -lesson of the place of prayer in the work of God. - -There had not been a revival on that circuit in years, and things were -not spiritually hopeful. During more than four weeks the pastor had -preached faithfully, visited from house to house, in stores, shops, and -out-of-the-way places, and had done everything he could. The fifth -Monday night saw _many of the official members at lodges_, but only a -corporal’s guard at the church. - -From that meeting the pastor went home, cast down, but not in despair. -He resolved to spend that night in prayer. “Locking the door, he took -Bible and hymn book and began to inquire more diligently of the Lord, -though the meetings had been the subject of hours of earnest prayer. -Only God knows the anxiety and the faithful, prayerful study of that -night. Near the dawn a great peace and a full assurance came that God -would surely bless the plan which had been decided upon, and a text was -chosen which he felt sure was of the Lord. Dropping upon the bed, the -pastor slept about two hours, then rose, hastily breakfasted, and went -nine miles to the far side of the circuit to visit some sick people. All -day the assurance increased. - -“Toward night a pouring rain set in, the roads were heavy and we reached -home, wet, supperless, and a little late, only to find no fire in the -church, the lights unlit, and no signs of service. The janitor had -concluded that the rain would prevent the service. We changed the order, -rang the bell, and prepared for war. Three young men formed the -congregation, but in that ‘full assurance’ the pastor delivered the -message which had been prayed out on the preceding night, as earnestly -and as fully as if the house had been crowded, then made a personal -appeal to each young man in turn. Two yielded, and testified before the -meeting closed. - -“The tired pastor went to a sweet rest, and next morning, rising a -little later than usual, learned that one of the young men was going -from store to store throughout the town telling of his wonderful -deliverance, and exhorting the people to salvation. Night after night -conversions occurred, until in two weeks we heard 144 people testify in -forty-five minutes. All three points of that circuit saw a blaze of -revival that winter, and family after family came into the church, until -the membership was more than trebled. - -“Out of that meeting one convert is a successful pastor in the Michigan -Conference, another is the wife of one of the choicest of our pastors, -and a third was in the ministry for a number of years, and then went to -another denomination, where he is faithful unto this day. Probably none -of the members ever knew of the pastor’s night of prayer, but he verily -believes that God somehow does for the man who thus prays, what He does -not do for the man who does not pray, and he is certain that ‘more -things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.’” - -All the true revivals have been born in prayer. When God’s people become -so concerned about the state of religion that they lie on their faces -day and night in earnest supplication, the blessing will be sure to -fall. - -It is the same all down the ages. Every revival of which we have any -record has been bathed in prayer. Take, for example, the wonderful -revival in Shotts (Scotland) in 1630. The fact that several of the then -persecuted ministers would take a part in solemn convocation having -become generally known, a vast concourse of godly persons assembled on -this occasion from all quarters of the country, and _several days were -spent in social prayer_, preparatory to the service. In the evening, -instead of retiring to rest, the multitude divided themselves into -little bands, and _spent the whole night in supplication and praise_. -The Monday was consecrated to thanksgiving, a practice not then common, -and proved the great days of the feast. After much entreaty, John -Livingston, chaplain to the Countess of Wigtown, a young man and not -ordained, agreed to preach. He _had spent the night in prayer_ and -conference—but as the hour of assembling approached his heart quailed -at the thought of addressing so many aged and experienced saints, and he -actually fled from the duty he had undertaken. But just as the kirk of -Shotts was vanishing from his view, those words, “Was I ever a barren -wilderness or a land of darkness?” were borne in upon his mind with such -force as compelled him to return to the work. He took for his text -Ezekiel xxxvi. 25, 26, and discoursed with great power for about two -hours. _Five hundred conversions_ were believed to have occurred under -that one sermon, thus prefaced by prayer. “It was the sowing of a seed -through Clydesdale, so that many of the most eminent Christians of that -country could date their conversion, or some remarkable confirmation of -their case, from that day.” - -Of Richard Baxter it has been said that “he stained his study walls with -praying breath; and after becoming thus anointed with the unction of the -Holy Ghost he sent a river of living water over Kidderminster.” -Whitfield once thus prayed, “O Lord, give me souls or take my soul.” -After much closet pleading, “he once went to the Devil’s fair and took -more than a thousand souls out of the paw of the lion in a single day.” - -Mr. Finney says: “I once knew a minister who had a revival fourteen -winters in succession. I did not know how to account for it till I saw -one of his members get up in a prayer meeting and make a confession. -‘Brethren,’ he said, ‘I have been long in the habit of praying every -Saturday night till after midnight for the descent of the Holy Ghost -among us. And now, brethren (and he began to weep), I confess that I -have neglected it for two or three weeks.’ The secret was out. That -minister had a praying church.” - -And so we might go on multiplying illustration upon illustration to show -the place of prayer in revival and to demonstrate that every mighty -movement of the Spirit of God has had its source in the prayer-chamber. -The lesson of it all is this, that as workers together with God we must -regard ourselves as in not a little measure responsible for the -conditions which prevail around us to-day. Are we concerned about the -coldness of the Church? Do we grieve over the lack of conversions? Does -our soul go out to God in midnight cries for the outpouring of His -Spirit? - -If not, part of the blame lies at our door. If we do our part, God will -do His. Around us is a world lost in sin, above us is a God willing and -able to save; it is ours to build the bridge that links heaven and -earth, and prayer is the mighty instrument that does the work. - -And so the old cry comes to us with insistent voice, “Pray, brethren, -pray.” - - ———————————————————————————————— - - - _Lord Jesus, cause me to know in my daily experience the glory and - sweetness of Thy name, and then teach me how to use it in my - prayer, so that I may be even like Israel, a prince prevailing with - God. Thy name is my passport, and secures me access; Thy name is my - plea, and secures me answer; Thy name is my honour and secures me - glory. Blessed Name, Thou art honey in my mouth, music in my ear, - heaven in my heart, and all in all to all my being!_ - —C. H. SPURGEON. - - - _I do not mean that every prayer we offer is answered exactly as we - desire it to be. Were this the case, it would mean that we would be - dictating to God, and prayer would degenerate into a mere system of - begging. Just as an earthly father knows what is best for his - children’s welfare, so does God take into consideration the - particular needs of His human family, and meets them out of His - wonderful storehouse. If our petitions are in accordance with His - will, and if we seek His glory in the asking, the answers will come - in ways that will astonish us and fill our hearts with songs of - thanksgiving. God is a rich and bountiful Father, and He does not - forget His children, nor withhold from them anything which it would - be to their advantage to receive._ - —J. KENNEDY MACLEAN. - - - - - - XIII - - -THE example of our Lord in the matter of prayer is one which His -followers might well copy. Christ prayed much and He taught much about -prayer. His life and His works, as well as His teaching, are -illustrations of the nature and necessity of prayer. He lived and -laboured to answer prayer. But the necessity of importunity in prayer -was the emphasised point in His teaching about prayer. He taught not -only that men must pray, but that they must persevere in prayer. - -He taught in command and precept the idea of energy and earnestness in -praying. He gives to our efforts gradation and climax. We are to ask, -but to the asking we must add seeking, and seeking must pass into the -full force of effort in knocking. The pleading soul must be aroused to -effort by God’s silence. Denial, instead of abating or abashing, must -arouse its latent energies and kindle anew its highest ardour. - -In the Sermon on the Mount, in which He lays down the cardinal duties of -His religion, He not only gives prominence to prayer in general and -secret prayer in particular, but He sets apart a distinct and different -section to give weight to importunate prayer. To prevent any -discouragement in praying He lays as a basic principle the fact of God’s -great fatherly willingness—that God’s willingness to answer our prayers -exceeds our willingness to give good and necessary things to our -children, just as far as God’s ability, goodness and perfection exceed -our infirmities and evil. As a further assurance and stimulant to prayer -Christ gives the most positive and iterated assurance of answer to -prayers. He declares: “Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall -find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.” And to make assurance -doubly sure, He adds: “For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that -seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” - -Why does He unfold to us the Father’s loving readiness to answer the -prayer of His children? Why does He asseverate so strongly that prayer -will be answered? Why does He repeat that positive asseveration six -times? Why does Christ on two distinct occasions go over the same strong -promises, iterations, and reiterations in regard to the certainty of -prayer being answered? Because He knew that there would be delay in many -an answer which would call for importunate pressing, and that if our -faith did not have the strongest assurance of God’s willingness to -answer, delay would break it down. And that our spiritual sloth would -come in, under the guise of submission, and say it is not God’s will to -give what we ask, and so cease praying and lose our case. After Christ -had put God’s willingness to answer prayer in a very clear and strong -light, He then urges to importunity, and that every unanswered prayer, -instead of abating our pressure should only increase intensity and -energy. If asking does not get, let asking pass into the settled -attitude and spirit of seeking. If seeking does not secure the answer, -let seeking pass on to the more energetic and clamorous plea of -knocking. We must persevere till we get it. No failure here if our faith -does not break down. - -As our great example in prayer, our Lord puts love as a primary -condition—a love that has purified the heart from all the elements of -hate, revenge, and ill will. Love is the supreme condition of prayer, a -life inspired by love. The 13th chapter of 1st Corinthians is the law of -prayer as well as the law of love. The law of love is the law of prayer, -and to master this chapter from the epistle of St. Paul is to learn the -first and fullest condition of prayer. - -Christ taught us also to approach the Father in His name. That is our -passport. It is in His name that we are to make our petitions known. -“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 Me anything in My name, that will I do.” - -How wide and comprehensive is that “whatsoever.” There is no limit to -the power of that name. “Whatsoever ye shall ask.” That is the Divine -declaration, and it opens up to every praying child a vista of infinite -resource and possibility. - -And that is our heritage. All that Christ has may become ours if we obey -the conditions. The one secret is prayer. The place of revealing and of -equipment, of grace and of power, is the prayer-chamber, and as we meet -there with God we shall not only win our triumphs but we shall also grow -in the likeness of our Lord and become His living witnesses to men. - -Without prayer the Christian life, robbed of its sweetness and its -beauty, becomes cold and formal and dead; but rooted in the secret place -where God meets and walks and talks with His own, it grows into such a -testimony of Divine power that all men will feel its influence and be -touched by the warmth of its love. Thus, resembling our Lord and Master, -we shall be used for the glory of God and the salvation of our fellow -men. - -And that, surely, is the purpose of all real prayer and the end of all -true service. - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - - Retained publication information from the printed edition: this - eBook is public-domain in the country of publication. - Added original cover and spine images for free and unlimited use - with this eBook. - In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by - _underscores_. - Corrected these typos: - - - ERRATA - LINE Printed Text Correction - 580 success in the human adminisstration administration - 1002 Such an attiude attitude - 1932 exhausted themslves themselves - 2396 floods of wordliness worldliness - 2876 six miles to a minster’s minister’s - 3220 Let us come boldy boldly - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PURPOSE IN PRAYER *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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Bounds</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Purpose in Prayer</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Edward M. Bounds</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: August 23, 2021 [eBook #66112]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Brian Wilson, Susan Skinner, Stephen Hutcheson, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) </p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PURPOSE IN PRAYER ***</div> - -<div id="cover" class="img"> -<img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Purpose in Prayer" width="600" height="950" /> -</div> - -<div> - <h1>PURPOSE IN PRAYER</h1> -</div> -<div class="figcenter id001"> -<img src="images/frontis.jpg" alt="" height="800" width="504" /> -<div class="ic001 smaller"> -<p>Edward M. Bounds.</p> -</div> -</div> -<div class="nfcenterc1"> -<div class="nfcenter c001"> - <div><span class="xlarge"><span class="sc">PURPOSE in PRAYER</span></span></div> - <div class="c001 smaller">BY</div> - <div class="c002">E. M. BOUNDS</div> - <div class="small"><i>Author of “Power through Prayer.”</i></div> - <div class="figcenter id001"> - <img src="images/p1.png" alt="" height="198" width="132" /> - </div> - <div class="c002 sc smaller">New York Chicago Toronto</div> - <div class="c002">Fleming H. Revell Company</div> - <div class="c003 sc smaller">London and Edinburgh</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class="nfcenterc1"> - <div class="nfcenter smaller"> - <div>Copyright, 1920, by</div> - <div>FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class="lgcontainerb"> - <div class="linegroup"> - <div class="group smaller"> - <div class="line">New York: 158 Fifth Avenue</div> - <div class="line">Chicago: 17 North Wabash Ave.</div> - <div class="line">London: 21 Paternoster Square</div> - <div class="line">Edinburgh: 75 Princes Street</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class="chapter"> - <span class="pageno" id="Page_5">5</span> - <h2>INTRODUCTION</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="sc">Edward McKendree Bounds</span> was born in Shelby -County, Mo., August 15, 1835, and died August 24, -1913, in Washington, Ga. He received a common -school education at Shelbyville and was admitted -to the bar soon after his majority. He practiced -law until called to preach the Gospel at the age of -twenty-four. His first pastorate was Monticello, -Mo., Circuit. It was while serving as pastor of -Brunswick, Mo., that war was declared and the -young minister was made a prisoner of war because -he would not take the oath of allegiance to -the Federal Government. He was sent to St. Louis -and later transferred to Memphis, Tenn.</p> - -<p class="c006">Finally securing his release, he traveled on foot -nearly one hundred miles to join General Pierce’s -command in Mississippi and was soon after made -chaplain of the Fifth Missouri Regiment, a position -he held until near the close of the war, when -he was captured and held as prisoner at Nashville, -Tenn.</p> - -<p class="c006">After the war Rev. E. M. Bounds was pastor of -churches in Tennessee and Alabama. In 1875 he -was assigned to St. Paul Methodist Church in St. -Louis, and served there for four years. In 1876 -he was married to Miss Emmie Barnette at Eufaula, -Ala., who died ten years later. In 1887 he -<span class="pageno" id="Page_6">6</span>was married to Miss Hattie Barnette, who, with -five children, survives him.</p> - -<p class="c006">After serving several pastorates he was sent to -the First Methodist Church in St. Louis, Mo., for -one year and to St. Paul Methodist Church for -three years. At the end of his pastorate, he became -the editor of the St. Louis “Christian Advocate.”</p> - -<p class="c006">He was a forceful writer and a very deep thinker. -He spent the last seventeen years of his life with -his family in Washington, Ga. Most of the time -he was reading, writing and praying. He rose at -4 a. m. each day for many years and was indefatigable -in his study of the Bible. His writings -were read by thousands of people and were in demand -by the church people of every Protestant -denomination.</p> - -<p class="c006">Bounds was the embodiment of humility, with a -seraphic devotion to Jesus Christ. He reached that -high place where self is forgotten and the love of -God and humanity was the all-absorbing thought -and purpose. At seventy-six years of age he came -to me in Brooklyn, N.Y., and so intense was he -that he awoke us at 3 o’clock in the morning praying -and weeping over the lost of earth. All during -the day he would go into the church next door and -be found on his knees until called for his meals. -This is what he called the “Business of Praying.” -Infused with this heavenly ozone, he wrote -“Preacher and Prayer,” a classic in its line, and -now gone into several foreign languages, read by -men and women all over the world. In 1909, -while Rev. A. C. Dixon was preaching in Dr. -<span class="pageno" id="Page_7">7</span>Broughton’s Tabernacle, Atlanta, Ga., I sent him -a copy of “Preacher and Prayer,” by Bounds. -Hear what he says:</p> - -<p class="c006">“This little book was given me by a friend. I -received another copy at Christmas from another -friend. ‘Well,’ thought I, ‘there must be something -worth while in the little book or two of my -friends would not have selected the same present -for me.’ So I read the first page until I came to -the words: ‘Man is looking for better methods, -God is looking for better men. Man is God’s -method.’ That was enough for me and my appetite -demanded more until the book was finished -with pleasure.”</p> - -<p class="c006">This present volume is a companion work, and -reflects the true spirit of a man whose business it -was to live the gospel that he preached. He was -not a luminary but a SUN and takes his place with -Brainerd and Bramwell as untiring intercessors -with God.</p> - -<div class="c007">H. W. HODGE.</div> -<div class="c001"></div> -<div class="page"><hr /></div> - -<p class="c008"><span class="pageno" id="Page_8">8</span><i>My Creed leads me to think that prayer is efficacious, and -surely a day’s asking God to overrule all events for good is -not lost. Still there is a great feeling that when a man is -praying he is doing nothing, and this feeling makes us give -undue importance to work, sometimes even to the hurrying -over or even to the neglect of prayer.</i></p> - -<p class="c009"><i>Do not we rest in our day too much on the arm of flesh? -Cannot the same wonders be done now as of old? Do not the -eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth still -to show Himself strong on behalf of those who put their trust -in Him? Oh that God would give me more practical faith -in Him! Where is now the Lord God of Elijah? He is -waiting for Elijah to call on Him.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—James Gilmour of Mongolia.</div> - -<div class="c001"></div> -<div class="page"><hr /></div> - -<div class="chapter"> - <span class="pageno" id="Page_9">9</span> - <h2>I</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="sc">The</span> more praying there is in the world the better the -world will be, the mightier the forces against evil -everywhere. Prayer, in one phase of its operation, -is a disinfectant and a preventive. It purifies the -air; it destroys the contagion of evil. Prayer is -no fitful, shortlived thing. It is no voice crying -unheard and unheeded in the silence. It is a voice -which goes into God’s ear, and it lives as long as -God’s ear is open to holy pleas, as long as God’s -heart is alive to holy things.</p> - -<p class="c006">God shapes the world by prayer. Prayers are -deathless. The lips that uttered them may be -closed in death, the heart that felt them may have -ceased to beat, but the prayers live before God, and -God’s heart is set on them and prayers outlive the -lives of those who uttered them; outlive a generation, -outlive an age, outlive a world.</p> - -<p class="c006">That man is the most immortal who has done the -most and the best praying. They are God’s heroes, -God’s saints, God’s servants, God’s vicegerents. -A man can pray better because of the prayers of -the past; a man can live holier because of the -prayers of the past, the man of many and acceptable -prayers has done the truest and greatest service to -<span class="pageno" id="Page_10">10</span>the incoming generation. The prayers of God’s -saints strengthen the unborn generation against the -desolating waves of sin and evil. Woe to the -generation of sons who find their censers empty of -the rich incense of prayer; whose fathers have -been too busy or too unbelieving to pray, and perils -inexpressible and consequences untold are their -unhappy heritage. Fortunate are they whose -fathers and mothers have left them a wealthy -patrimony of prayer.</p> - -<p class="c006">The prayers of God’s saints are the capital stock -in heaven by which Christ carries on His great -work upon earth. The great throes and mighty -convulsions on earth are the results of these prayers. -Earth is changed, revolutionised, angels move on -more powerful, more rapid wing, and God’s policy -is shaped as the prayers are more numerous, more -efficient.</p> - -<p class="c006">It is true that the mightiest successes that come to -God’s cause are created and carried on by prayer. -God’s day of power; the angelic days of activity and -power are when God’s Church comes into its mightiest -inheritance of mightiest faith and mightiest prayer. -God’s conquering days are when the saints have -given themselves to mightiest prayer. When God’s -house on earth is a house of prayer, then God’s -house in heaven is busy and all potent in its plans -and movements, then His earthly armies are clothed -with the triumphs and spoils of victory and His -enemies defeated on every hand.</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_11">11</span>God conditions the very life and prosperity of -His cause on prayer. The condition was put in the -very existence of God’s cause in this world. <i>Ask -of Me</i> is the one condition God puts in the very -advance and triumph of His cause.</p> - -<p class="c006">Men are to pray—to pray for the advance of God’s -cause. Prayer puts God in full force in the world. -To a prayerful man God is present in realised force; -to a prayerful Church God is present in glorious -power, and the Second Psalm is the Divine description -of the establishment of God’s cause through -Jesus Christ. All inferior dispensations have merged -in the enthronement of Jesus Christ. God declares -the enthronement of His Son. The nations are -incensed with bitter hatred against His cause. God -is described as laughing at their enfeebled hate. -The Lord will laugh; The Lord will have them in -derision. “Yet have I set My King upon My -holy hill of Zion.” The decree has passed -immutable and eternal:</p> - -<div class="lgcontainerb c011"> - <div class="linegroup"> - <div class="group"> - <div class="line">I will tell of the decree:</div> - <div class="line">The Lord said unto Me, Thou art My Son;</div> - <div class="line">This day have I begotten Thee.</div> - <div class="line"><i>Ask of Me</i>, and I will give Thee the nations for Thine inheritance,</div> - <div class="line">And the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession.</div> - <div class="line">Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron;</div> - <div class="line">Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="c006"><i>Ask of Me</i> is the condition—a praying people -willing and obedient. “And men shall pray for -<span class="pageno" id="Page_12">12</span>Him continually.” Under this universal and simple -promise men and women of old laid themselves -out for God. They prayed and God answered their -prayers, and the cause of God was kept alive in the -world by the flame of their praying.</p> - -<p class="c006">Prayer became a settled and only condition to -move His Son’s Kingdom. “Ask, and ye shall -receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it -shall be opened.” The strongest one in Christ’s -kingdom is he who is the best knocker. The secret of -success in Christ’s Kingdom is the ability to pray. -The one who can wield the power of prayer is the -strong one, the holy one in Christ’s Kingdom. -The most important lesson we can learn is how to -pray.</p> - -<p class="c006">Prayer is the keynote of the most sanctified life, -of the holiest ministry. He does the most for God -who is the highest skilled in prayer. Jesus Christ -exercised His ministry after this order.</p> - -<div><span class="pageno" id="Page_13">13</span></div> -<div class="c001"></div> -<div class="page"><hr /></div> - -<p class="c008"><i>That we ought to give ourselves to God with regard to things -both temporal and spiritual, and seek our satisfaction only -in the fulfilling His will, whether He lead us by suffering, -or by consolation, for all would be equal to a soul truly resigned. -Prayer is nothing else but a sense of God’s presence.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Brother Lawrence.</div> - -<p class="c012"><i>Be sure you look to your secret duty; keep that up whatever -you do. The soul cannot prosper in the neglect of it. -Apostasy generally begins at the closet door. Be much in -secret fellowship with God. It is secret trading that enriches -the Christian.</i></p> - -<p class="c009"><i>Pray alone. Let prayer be the key of the morning and the -bolt at night. The best way to fight against sin is to fight it -on our knees.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Philip Henry.</div> - -<p class="c012"><i>The prayer of faith is the only power in the universe to -which the Great Jehovah yields. Prayer is the sovereign -remedy.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Robert Hall.</div> - -<p class="c012"><i>An hour of solitude passed in sincere and earnest prayer, -or the conflict with and conquest over a single passion or -subtle bosom sin will teach us more of thought, will more -effectually awaken the faculty and form the habit of reflection -than a year’s study in the schools without them.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Coleridge.</div> - -<p class="c012"><i>A man may pray night and day and deceive himself, but no -man can be assured of his sincerity who does not pray. Prayer -is faith passing into act. A union of the will and intellect -realising in an intellectual act. It is the whole man that -prays. Less than this is wishing or lip work, a sham or a -mummery.</i></p> - -<p class="c009"><i>If God should restore me again to health I have determined -to study nothing but the Bible. Literature is inimical to -spirituality if it be not kept under with a firm hand.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Richard Cecil.</div> - -<p class="c012"><span class="pageno" id="Page_14">14</span><i>Our sanctification does not depend upon changing our -works, but in doing that for God’s sake which we commonly -do for our own. The time of business does not with me differ -from the time of prayer. Prayer is nothing else but a sense -of the presence of God.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Brother Lawrence.</div> - -<p class="c012"><i>Let me burn out for God. After all, whatever God may -appoint, prayer is the great thing. Oh that I may be a man -of prayer.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Henry Martyn.</div> - -<div class="chapter"> - <span class="pageno" id="Page_15">15</span> - <h2>II</h2> -</div> - -<p>The possibilities and necessity of prayer, its power -and results are manifested in arresting and changing -the purposes of God and in relieving the stroke of -His power. Abimelech was smitten by God:</p> - -<p class="c008">So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed -Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and -they bare <i>children</i>.</p> - -<p class="c009">For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the -house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.</p> - -<p class="c013">Job’s miserable mistaken comforters had so -deported themselves in their controversy with Job -that God’s wrath was kindled against them. “My -servant Job shall pray for you,” said God, “for -him will I accept.”</p> - -<p class="c006">“And the Lord turned the captivity of Job when -he prayed for his friends.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Jonah was in dire condition when “the Lord -sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a -mighty tempest.” When lots were cast, “the lot -fell upon Jonah.” He was cast overboard into the -sea, but “the Lord had prepared a great fish to -swallow up Jonah.... Then Jonah prayed unto the -Lord his God out of the fish’s belly ... and the Lord -spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon -the dry land.”</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_16">16</span>When the disobedient prophet lifted up his voice -in prayer, God heard and sent deliverance.</p> - -<p class="c006">Pharaoh was a firm believer in the possibilities -of prayer, and its ability to relieve. When staggering -under the woeful curses of God, he pleaded with -Moses to intercede for him. “Intreat the Lord -for me,” was his pathetic appeal four times repeated -when the plagues were scourging Egypt. Four times -were these urgent appeals made to Moses, and -four times did prayer lift the dread curse from -the hard king and his doomed land.</p> - -<p class="c006">The blasphemy and idolatry of Israel in making -the golden calf and declaring their devotions to it -were a fearful crime. The anger of God waxed -hot, and He declared that He would destroy the -offending people. The Lord was very wroth with -Aaron also, and to Moses He said, “Let Me alone -that I may destroy them.” But Moses prayed, -and kept on praying; day and night he prayed -forty days. He makes the record of his prayer -struggle. “I fell down,” he says, “before the Lord -at the first forty days and nights; I did neither -eat bread nor drink water because of your sins which -ye sinned in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord -to provoke Him to anger. For I was afraid of the -anger and hot displeasure wherewith the Lord was -hot against you to destroy you. But the Lord -hearkened to me at this time also. And the Lord -was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him. -And I prayed for him also at the same time.”</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_17">17</span>“Yet forty days, -and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” -It was the purpose of God to destroy that -great and wicked city. But Nineveh prayed, -covered with sackcloth; sitting in ashes she cried -“mightily to God,” and “God repented of the -evil that He had said He would do unto them; -and He did it not.”</p> - -<p class="c006">The message of God to Hezekiah was: “Set -thine house in order; for thou shalt die and not -live.” Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, -and prayed unto the Lord, and said: “Remember -now, O Lord, I beseech Thee, how I have walked -before Thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and -have done that which is good in Thy sight.” And -Hezekiah wept sore. God said to Isaiah, “Go, -say to Hezekiah, I have heard thy prayer, I have -seen thy tears; behold, I will add unto thy days -fifteen years.”</p> - -<p class="c006">These men knew how to pray and how to prevail -in prayer. Their faith in prayer was no passing -attitude that changed with the wind or with their -own feelings and circumstances; it was a fact -that God heard and answered, that His ear was -ever open to the cry of His children, and that the -power to do what was asked of Him was commensurate -with His willingness. And thus these men, -strong in faith and in prayer, “subdued kingdoms, -wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped -the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, -escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were -<span class="pageno" id="Page_18">18</span>made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to -flight the armies of the aliens.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Everything then, as now, was possible to the -men and women who knew how to pray. Prayer, -indeed, opened a limitless storehouse, and God’s -hand withheld nothing. Prayer introduced those -who practised it into a world of privilege, and -brought the strength and wealth of heaven down -to the aid of finite man. What rich and wonderful -power was theirs who had learned the secret of -victorious approach to God! With Moses it saved -a nation; with Ezra it saved a church.</p> - -<p class="c006">And yet, strange as it seems when we contemplate -the wonders of which God’s people had been witness, -there came a slackness in prayer. The mighty -hold upon God, that had so often struck awe and -terror into the hearts of their enemies, lost its -grip. The people, backslidden and apostate, had -gone off from their praying—if the bulk of them -had ever truly prayed. The Pharisee’s cold and -lifeless praying was substituted for any genuine -approach to God, and because of that formal method -of praying the whole worship became a parody -of its real purpose. A glorious dispensation, and -gloriously executed, was it by Moses, by Ezra, by -Daniel and Elijah, by Hannah and Samuel; but -the circle seems limited and shortlived; the praying -ones were few and far between. They had no -survivors, none to imitate their devotion to God, -none to preserve the roll of the elect.</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_19">19</span>In vain had the decree established the Divine -order, the Divine call. <i>Ask of Me.</i> From the -earnest and fruitful crying to God they turned -their faces to pagan gods, and cried in vain for the -answers that could never come. And so they sank -into that godless and pitiful state that has lost -its object in life when the link with the Eternal -has been broken. Their favoured dispensation of -prayer was forgotten; they knew not how to -pray.</p> - -<p class="c006">What a contrast to the achievements that brighten -up other pages of holy writ. The power working -through Elijah and Elisha in answer to prayer -reached down even to the very grave. In each -case a child was raised from the dead, and the -powers of famine were broken. “The supplications -of a righteous man avail much.” Elijah was a -man of like passions with us. He prayed fervently -that it might not rain, and it rained not on -the earth for three years and six months. -And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, -and the earth brought forth her fruit. Jonah -prayed while imprisoned in the great fish, and he -came to dry land, saved from storm and sea and -monsters of the deep by the mighty energy of his -praying.</p> - -<p class="c006">How wide the gracious provision of the grace of -praying as administered in that marvellous dispensation. -They prayed wondrously. Why could not -their praying save the dispensation from decay -<span class="pageno" id="Page_20">20</span>and death? Was it not because they lost the fire -without which all praying degenerates into a lifeless -form? It takes effort and toil and care to prepare -the incense. Prayer is no laggard’s work. When -all the rich, spiced graces from the body of prayer -have by labour and beating been blended and -refined and intermixed, the fire is needed to unloose -the incense and make its fragrance rise to the -throne of God. The fire that consumes creates the -spirit and life of the incense. Without fire prayer -has no spirit; it is, like dead spices, for corruption -and worms.</p> - -<p class="c006">The casual, intermittent prayer is never bathed -in this Divine fire. For the man who thus prays is -lacking in the earnestness that lays hold of God, -determined not to let Him go until the blessing -comes. “Pray without ceasing,” counselled the -great Apostle. That is the habit that drives prayer -right into the mortar that holds the building stones -together. “You can do more than pray after you -have prayed,” said the godly Dr. A. J. Gordon, -“but you cannot do more than pray until you have -prayed.” The story of every great Christian -achievement is the history of answered prayer.</p> - -<p class="c006">“The greatest and the best talent that God -gives to any man or woman in this world is the -talent of prayer,” writes Principal Alexander -Whyte. “And the best usury that any man or -woman brings back to God when He comes to -reckon with them at the end of this world is a -<span class="pageno" id="Page_21">21</span>life of prayer. And those servants best put their -Lord’s money ‘to the exchangers’ who rise early -and sit late, as long as they are in this world, ever -finding out and ever following after better and -better methods of prayer, and ever forming more -secret, more steadfast, and more spiritually fruitful -habits of prayer, till they literally ‘pray without -ceasing,’ and till they continually strike out into -new enterprises in prayer, and new achievements, -and new enrichments.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Martin Luther, when once asked what his plans -for the following day were, answered: “Work, -work, from early until late. In fact, I have so -much to do that I shall spend the first three hours -in prayer.” Cromwell, too, believed in being -much upon his knees. Looking on one occasion -at the statues of famous men, he turned to a friend -and said: “Make mine kneeling, for thus I came -to glory.”</p> - -<p class="c006">It is only when the whole heart is gripped with -the passion of prayer that the life-giving fire -descends, for none but the earnest man gets access -to the ear of God.</p> - -<p class="c008"><span class="pageno" id="Page_22">22</span><i>When thou feelest thyself most indisposed to prayer yield -not to it, but strive and endeavour to pray even when thou -thinkest thou canst not pray.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Hildersam.</div> - -<p class="c012"><i>It was among the Parthians the custom that none was to -give their children any meat in the morning before they saw -the sweat on their faces, and you shall find this to be God’s -usual course not to give His children the taste of His delights -till they begin to sweat in seeking after them.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Richard Baxter.</div> - -<p class="c012"><i>Of all the duties enjoined by Christianity none is more -essential and yet more neglected than prayer. Most people -consider the exercise a fatiguing ceremony, which they are -justified in abridging as much as possible. Even those whose -profession or fears lead them to pray, pray with such languor -and wanderings of mind that their prayers, far from drawing -down blessings, only increase their condemnation.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Fénelon.</div> - -<div class="chapter"> - <span class="pageno" id="Page_23">23</span> - <h2>III</h2> -</div> - -<p>More praying and better is the secret of the whole -matter. More time for prayer, more relish and -preparation to meet God, to commune with God -through Christ—this has in it the whole of the -matter. Our manner and matter of praying ill -become us. The attitude and relationship of God -and the Son are the eternal relationship of Father -and Son, of asking and giving—the Son always -asking, the Father always giving:</p> - -<div class="lgcontainerb c011"> - <div class="linegroup"> - <div class="group"> - <div class="line"><i>Ask of Me</i>, and I will give <i>Thee</i> the nations for Thine inheritance,</div> - <div class="line">And the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession.</div> - <div class="line">Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron;</div> - <div class="line">Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="c006">Jesus is to be always praying through His people. -“And men shall pray for Him continually.” “For -My house shall be called a house of prayer for My -peoples.” We must prepare ourselves to pray; -to be like Christ, to pray like Christ.</p> - -<p class="c006">Man’s access in prayer to God opens everything, -and makes his impoverishment his wealth. All -things are his through prayer. The wealth and the -glory—all things are Christ’s. As the light grows -brighter and prophets take in the nature of the -restoration, the Divine record seems to be enlarged.</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_24">24</span>“Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel and -His Maker, ask Me of the things that are to come, -concerning My sons, and concerning the work -of My hands command ye Me. I have made the -earth, and created man upon it: I, even My hands, -have stretched out the heavens and all their host -have I commanded.”</p> - -<p class="c006">To man is given to command God with all this -authority and power in the demands of God’s earthly -Kingdom. Heaven, with all it has, is under tribute -to carry out the ultimate, final and glorious purposes -of God. Why then is the time so long in carrying -out these wise benedictions for man? Why then -does sin so long reign? Why are the oath-bound -covenant promises so long in coming to their -gracious end? Sin reigns, Satan reigns, sighing -marks the lives of many; all tears are fresh and -full.</p> - -<p class="c006">Why is all this so? We have not prayed to bring -the evil to an end; we have not prayed as we -must pray. We have not met the conditions of -prayer.</p> - -<p class="c006"><i>Ask of Me.</i> Ask of God. We have not rested -on prayer. We have not made prayer the sole -condition. There has been violation of the primary -condition of prayer. We have not prayed aright. -We have not prayed at all. God is willing to give, -but we are slow to ask. The Son, through His saints, -is ever praying and God the Father is ever answering.</p> - -<p class="c006"><i>Ask of Me.</i> In the invitation is conveyed the -<span class="pageno" id="Page_25">25</span>assurance of answer; the shout of victory is there -and may be heard by the listening ear. The Father -holds the authority and power in His hands. How -easy is the condition, and yet how long are we in -fulfilling the conditions! Nations are in bondage; -the uttermost parts of the earth are still unpossessed. -The earth groans; the world is still in bondage; -Satan and evil hold sway.</p> - -<p class="c006">The Father holds Himself in the attitude of -Giver, <i>Ask of Me</i>, and that petition to God the -Father empowers all agencies, inspires all movements. -The Gospel is Divinely inspired. Back -of all its inspirations is prayer. <i>Ask of Me</i> lies -back of all movements. Standing as the endowment -of the enthroned Christ is the oath-bound covenant -of the Father, “<i>Ask of Me</i>, and I will give thee the -nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost -parts of the earth for thy possession.” “And men -shall pray to Him continually.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Ever are the prayers of holy men streaming up -to God as fragrant as the richest incense. And God -in many ways is speaking to us, declaring His -wealth and our impoverishment. “I am the -Maker of all things; the wealth and glory are -Mine. <i>Command ye Me.</i>”</p> - -<p class="c006">We can do all things by God’s aid, and can have -the whole of His aid by asking. The Gospel, in its -success and power, depends on our ability to pray. -The dispensations of God depend on man’s ability -to pray. We can have all that God has. <i>Command</i> -<span class="pageno" id="Page_26">26</span><i>ye Me.</i> This is no figment of the imagination, no -idle dream, no vain fancy. The life of the Church -is the highest life. Its office is to pray. Its prayer -life is the highest life, the most odorous, the most -conspicuous.</p> - -<p class="c006">The Book of Revelation says nothing about -prayer as a great duty, a hallowed service, but -much about prayer in its aggregated force and -energies. It is the prayer force ever living and -ever praying; it is all saints’ prayers going out as a -mighty, living energy while the lips that uttered the -words are stilled and sealed in death, while the -living church has an energy of faith to inherit -the forces of all the past praying and make it -deathless.</p> - -<p class="c006">The statement by the Baptist philosopher, John -Foster, contains the purest philosophy and the -simple truth of God, for God has no force and -demands no conditions but prayer. “More and -better praying will bring the surest and readiest -triumph to God’s cause; feeble, formal, listless -praying brings decay and death. The Church -has its sheet-anchor in the closet; its magazine -stores are there.”</p> - -<p class="c006">“I am convinced,” Foster continues, “that -every man who amidst his serious projects is apprized -of his dependence upon God as completely as -that dependence is a fact, will be impelled to pray -and anxious to induce his serious friends to pray -almost every hour. He will not without it promise -<span class="pageno" id="Page_27">27</span>himself any noble success any more than a mariner -would expect to reach a distant coast by having -his sails spread in a stagnation of air.</p> - -<p class="c006">“I have intimated my fear that it is visionary -to expect an unusual success in the human -<a id="corr580" href="#c_580" class="correction">administration</a> -of religion unless there are unusual omens: -now a most emphatical spirit of prayer would be -such an omen; and the individual who should -determine to try its last possible efficacy might -probably find himself becoming a much more -prevailing agent in his little sphere. And if the -whole, or the greater number of the disciples of -Christianity were with an earnest and unalterable -resolution of each to combine that heaven should -not withhold one single influence which the very -utmost effort of conspiring and persevering supplication -would obtain, it would be a sign that a -revolution of the world was at hand.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Edward Payson, one of God’s own, says of this -statement of Foster, “Very few missionaries since -the apostles, probably have tried the experiment. -He who shall make the first trial will, I believe, -effect wonders. Nothing that I could write, nothing -that an angel could write, would be necessary to -him who should make this trial.</p> - -<p class="c006">“One of the principal results of the little -experience which I have had as a Christian minister -is a conviction that religion consists very much in -giving God that place in our views and feelings -which He actually fills in the universe. We know -<span class="pageno" id="Page_28">28</span>that in the universe He is all in all. So far as He -is constantly all in all to us, so far as we comply -with the Psalmist’s charge to his soul, ‘My soul, -wait thou <i>only</i> upon God;’ so far, I apprehend, -have we advanced towards perfection. It is comparatively -easy to wait upon God; but to wait upon -Him <i>only</i>—to feel, so far as our strength, happiness, -and usefulness are concerned, as if all creatures -and second causes were annihilated, and we were -alone in the universe with God, is, I suspect, a -difficult and rare attainment. At least, I am sure -it is one which I am very far from having made. In -proportion as we make this attainment we shall find -everything easy; for we shall become, emphatically, -men of prayer; and we may say of prayer as -Solomon says of money, that it answereth all -things.”</p> - -<p class="c006">This same John Foster said, when approaching -death: “I never prayed more earnestly nor -probably with such faithful frequency. ‘Pray without -ceasing’ has been the sentence repeating itself -in the silent thought, and I am sure it must be my -practice till the last conscious hour of life. Oh, -why not throughout that long, indolent, inanimate -half-century past?”</p> - -<p class="c006">And yet this is the way in which we all act about -prayer. Conscious as we are of its importance, of -its vital importance, we yet let the hours pass away -as a blank and can only lament in death the -irremediable loss.</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_29">29</span>When we calmly reflect upon the fact that the -progress of our Lord’s Kingdom is dependent -upon prayer, it is sad to think that we give so -little time to the holy exercise. Everything depends -upon prayer, and yet we neglect it not only to our -own spiritual hurt but also to the delay and injury -of our Lord’s cause upon earth. The forces of -good and evil are contending for the world. If we -would, we could add to the conquering power of -the army of righteousness, and yet our lips are -sealed, our hands hang listlessly by our side, and -we jeopardise the very cause in which we profess -to be deeply interested by holding back from the -prayer chamber.</p> - -<p class="c006">Prayer is the one prime, eternal condition by -which the Father is pledged to put the Son in -possession of the world. Christ prays through His -people. Had there been importunate, universal -and continuous prayer by God’s people, long ere -this the earth had been possessed for Christ. The -delay is not to be accounted for by the inveterate -obstacles, but by the lack of the right asking. -We do more of everything else than of praying. -As poor as our giving is, our contributions of money -exceed our offerings of prayer. Perhaps in the -average congregation fifty aid in paying, where -one saintly, ardent soul shuts itself up with God -and wrestles for the deliverance of the heathen -world. Official praying on set or state occasions -counts for nothing in this estimate. We emphasise -<span class="pageno" id="Page_30">30</span>other things more than we do the necessity of -prayer.</p> - -<p class="c006">We are saying prayers after an orderly way, but -we have not the world in the grasp of our faith. -We are not praying after the order that moves -God and brings all Divine influences to help us. -The world needs more true praying to save it from -the reign and ruin of Satan.</p> - -<p class="c006">We do not pray as Elijah prayed. John Foster -puts the whole matter to a practical point. “When -the Church of God,” he says, “is aroused to its -obligation and duties and right faith to claim what -Christ has promised—‘all things whatsoever’—a -revolution will take place.”</p> - -<p class="c006">But not all praying is praying. The driving -power, the conquering force in God’s cause is God -Himself. “Call upon Me and I will answer thee -and show thee great and mighty things which thou -knowest not,” is God’s challenge to prayer. Prayer -puts God in full force into God’s work. “Ask of Me -things to come, concerning My sons, and concerning -the work of My hands command ye Me”—God’s -<i>carte blanche</i> to prayer. Faith is only omnipotent -when on its knees, and its outstretched hands take -hold of God, then it draws to the utmost of God’s -capacity; for only a praying faith can get God’s -“all things whatsoever.” Wonderful lessons are -the Syrophenician woman, the importunate widow, -and the friend at midnight, of what dauntless -prayer can do in mastering or defying conditions, -<span class="pageno" id="Page_31">31</span>in changing defeat into victory and triumphing in -the regions of despair. Oneness with Christ, the -acme of spiritual attainment, is glorious in all things; -most glorious in that we can then “ask what we -will and it shall be done unto us.” Prayer in Jesus’ -name puts the crowning crown on God, because it -glorifies Him through the Son and pledges the Son -to give to men “whatsoever and anything” they -shall ask.</p> - -<p class="c006">In the New Testament the marvellous prayer -of the Old Testament is put to the front that it -may provoke and stimulate our praying, and it is -preceded with a declaration, the dynamic energy -of which we can scarcely translate. “The supplication -of a righteous man availeth much. Elijah -was a man of like passions with us, and he -prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it -rained not on the earth by the space of three years -and six months. And he prayed again, and the -heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth -her fruit.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Our paucity in results, the cause of all leanness, -is solved by the Apostle James—“Ye have not, -because ye ask not. Ye ask and receive not, because -ye ask amiss, that ye may spend it on your -pleasures.”</p> - -<p class="c006">That is the whole truth in a nutshell.</p> - -<div><span class="pageno" id="Page_32">32</span></div> -<div class="c001"></div> -<div class="page"><hr /></div> - -<p class="c008"><i>The potency of prayer hath subdued the strength of fire; -it had bridled the rage of lions, hushed anarchy to rest, extinguished -wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, -burst the chains of death, expanded the gates of heaven, -assuaged diseases, repelled frauds, rescued cities from destruction, -stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of -the thunderbolt. Prayer is an all-efficient panoply, a treasure -undiminished, a mine which is never exhausted, a sky unobscured -by clouds, a heaven unruffled by the storm. It is -the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Chrysostom.</div> - -<p class="c012"><i>The prayers of holy men appease God’s wrath, drive away -temptations, resist and overcome the devil, procure the ministry -and service of angels, rescind the decrees of God. Prayer -cures sickness and obtains pardon; it arrests the sun in its -course and stays the wheels of the chariot of the moon; it -rules over all gods and opens and shuts the storehouses of -rain, it unlocks the cabinet of the womb and quenches the -violence of fire; it stops the mouths of lions and reconciles -our suffering and weak faculties with the violence of torment -and violence of persecution; it pleases God and supplies all -our need.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Jeremy Taylor.</div> - -<div class="lgcontainerb c014"> - <div class="linegroup"> - <div class="group"> - <div class="in2"><i>More things are wrought by prayer</i></div> - <div class="line"><i>Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice</i></div> - <div class="line"><i>Rise like a fountain for me night and day.</i></div> - <div class="line"><i>For what are men better than sheep or goats,</i></div> - <div class="line"><i>That nourish a blind life within the brain,</i></div> - <div class="line"><i>If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer</i></div> - <div class="line"><i>Both for themselves and those who call them friend?</i></div> - <div class="line"><i>For so the whole round earth is every way</i></div> - <div class="line"><i>Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.</i></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> -<div class="c010">—Tennyson.</div> - - -<p class="c012"><i>Perfect prayer is only another name for love.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Fénelon.</div> - -<div class="chapter"> - <span class="pageno" id="Page_33">33</span> - <h2>IV</h2> -</div> - -<p>It was said of the late C. H. Spurgeon, that he glided -from laughter to prayer with the naturalness of one -who lived in both elements. With him the habit of -prayer was free and unfettered. His life was not -divided into compartments, the one shut off from the -other with a rigid exclusiveness that barred all -intercommunication. He lived in constant fellowship -with his Father in Heaven. He was ever in -touch with God, and thus it was as natural for him -to pray as it was for him to breathe.</p> - -<p class="c006">“What a fine time we have had; let us thank -God for it,” he said to a friend on one occasion, -when, out under the blue sky and wrapped in -glorious sunshine, they had enjoyed a holiday with -the unfettered enthusiasm of schoolboys. Prayer -sprang as spontaneously to his lips as did ordinary -speech, and never was there the slightest incongruity -in his approach to the Divine throne straight from -any scene in which he might be taking part.</p> - -<p class="c006">That is the attitude with regard to prayer -that ought to mark every child of God. There are, -and there ought to be, stated seasons of communion -with God when, everything else shut out, we come -into His presence to talk to Him and to let Him -<span class="pageno" id="Page_34">34</span>speak to us; and out of such seasons springs that -beautiful habit of prayer that weaves a golden -bond between earth and heaven. Without such -stated seasons the habit of prayer can never be -formed; without them there is no nourishment for -the spiritual life. By means of them the soul is -lifted into a new atmosphere—the atmosphere of -the heavenly city, in which it is easy to open the -heart to God and to speak with Him as friend -speaks with friend.</p> - -<p class="c006">Thus, in every circumstance of life, prayer is the -most natural out-pouring of the soul, the unhindered -turning to God for communion and direction. -Whether in sorrow or in joy, in defeat or in victory, -in health or in weakness, in calamity or in success, -the heart leaps to meet with God just as a child runs -to his mother’s arms, ever sure that with her is the -sympathy that meets every need.</p> - -<p class="c006">Dr. Adam Clarke, in his autobiography, records -that when Mr. Wesley was returning to England by -ship, considerable delay was caused by contrary -winds. Wesley was reading, when he became aware -of some confusion on board, and asking what was -the matter, he was informed that the wind was -contrary. “Then,” was his reply, “let us go to -prayer.”</p> - -<p class="c006">After Dr. Clarke had prayed, Wesley broke out -into fervent supplication which seemed to be more the -offering of faith than of mere desire. “Almighty -and everlasting God,” he prayed, “Thou hast sway -<span class="pageno" id="Page_35">35</span>everywhere, and all things serve the purpose of Thy -will, Thou holdest the winds in Thy fists and sittest -upon the water floods, and reignest a King for ever. -Command these winds and these waves that they -obey Thee, and take us speedily and safely to the -haven whither we would go.”</p> - -<p class="c006">The power of this petition was felt by all. Wesley -rose from his knees, made no remark, but took up -his book and continued reading. Dr. Clarke went -on deck, and to his surprise found the vessel under -sail, standing on her right course. Nor did she -change till she was safely at anchor. On the sudden -and favourable change of wind, Wesley made no -remark; so fully did he <i>expect to be heard</i> that he -took it for granted that he <i>was heard</i>.</p> - -<p class="c006">That was prayer with a purpose—the definite and -direct utterance of one who knew that he had the -ear of God, and that God had the willingness as -well as the power to grant the petition which he -asked of Him.</p> - -<p class="c006">Major D. W. Whittle, in an introduction to the -wonders of prayer, says of George Müller, of Bristol: -“I met Mr. Müller in the express, the morning of -our sailing from Quebec to Liverpool. About half-an-hour -before the tender was to take the passengers -to the ship, he asked of the agent if a deck chair -had arrived for him from New York. He was -answered, ‘No,’ and told that it could not possibly -come in time for the steamer. I had with me a -chair I had just purchased, and told Mr. Müller of -<span class="pageno" id="Page_36">36</span>the place near by, and suggested, as but a few -moments remained, that he had better buy one at -once. His reply was, ‘No, my brother. Our -Heavenly Father will send the chair from New -York. It is one used by Mrs. Müller. I wrote -ten days ago to a brother, who promised to see it -forwarded here last week. He has not been prompt, -as I would have desired, but I am sure our Heavenly -Father will send the chair. Mrs. Müller is very -sick on the sea, and has particularly desired to -have this same chair, and not finding it here -yesterday, we have made special prayer that our -Heavenly Father would be pleased to provide it -for us, and we will trust Him to do so.’ As this -dear man of God went peacefully on board, running -the risk of Mrs. Müller making the trip without a -chair, when, for a couple of dollars, she could have -been provided for, I confess I feared Mr. Müller was -carrying his faith principles too far and not acting -wisely. I was kept at the express office ten minutes -after Mr. Müller left. Just as I started to hurry -to the wharf, a team drove up the street, and on -top of a load just arrived from New York was <i>Mr. -Müller’s chair</i>. It was sent at once to the tender -and placed in <i>my hands</i> to take to Mr. Müller, -just as the boat was leaving the dock (the Lord -having a lesson for me). Mr. Müller took it with -the happy, pleased expression of a child who has -just received a kindness deeply appreciated, and -reverently removing his hat and folding his hands -<span class="pageno" id="Page_37">37</span>over it, he thanked the Heavenly Father for sending -the chair.”</p> - -<p class="c006">One of Melancthon’s correspondents writes of -Luther’s praying: “I cannot enough admire the -extraordinary, cheerfulness, constancy, faith and -hope of the man in these trying and vexatious times. -He constantly feeds these gracious affections by a -very diligent study of the Word of God. <i>Then -not a day passes in which he does not employ in prayer -at least three of his very best hours.</i> Once I happened -to hear him at prayer. Gracious God! What spirit -and what faith is there in his expressions! He -petitions God with as much reverence as if he was in -the divine presence, and yet with as firm a hope and -confidence as he would address a father or a friend. -‘I know,’ said he, ‘Thou art our Father and our -God; and therefore I am sure Thou wilt bring to -naught the persecutors of Thy children. For -shouldest Thou fail to do this Thine own cause, -being connected with ours, would be endangered. -It is entirely thine own concern. We, by Thy -providence, have been compelled to take a part. -Thou therefore wilt be our defence.’ Whilst I -was listening to Luther praying in this manner, at -a distance, my soul seemed on fire within me, to -hear the man address God so like a friend, yet with -so much gravity and reverence; and also to hear -him, in the course of his prayer, insisting on the -promises contained in the Psalms, as if he were -sure his petitions would be granted.”</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_38">38</span>Of William Bramwell, a noted Methodist preacher -in England, wonderful for his zeal and prayer, the -following is related by a sergeant major: “In -July, 1811, our regiment was ordered for Spain, -then the seat of a protracted and sanguinary war. -My mind was painfully exercised with the thoughts -of leaving my dear wife and four helpless children -in a strange country, unprotected and unprovided -for. Mr. Bramwell felt a lively interest in our -situation, and his sympathising spirit seemed to -drink in all the agonised feelings of my tender wife. -He supplicated the throne of grace day and night -in our behalf. My wife and I spent the evening -previous to our march at a friend’s house, in company -with Mr. Bramwell, who sat in a very pensive -mood, and appeared to be in a spiritual struggle -all the time. After supper, he suddenly pulled his -hand out of his bosom, laid it on my knee, and -said: ‘Brother Riley, mark what I am about to -say! You are not to go to Spain. Remember I -tell you, you are not; for I have been wrestling -with God on your behalf, and when my Heavenly -Father condescends in mercy to bless me with -power to lay hold on Himself, I do not easily let Him -go; no, not until I am favoured with an answer. -Therefore you may depend upon it that the next -time I hear from you, you will be settled in quarters.’ -This came to pass exactly as he said. The next -day the order for going to Spain was countermanded.”</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_39">39</span>These men prayed with a purpose. To them God -was not far away, in some inaccessible region, but -near at hand, ever ready to listen to the call of -His children. There was no barrier between. They -were on terms of perfect intimacy, if one may use -such a phrase in relation to man and his Maker. -No cloud obscured the face of the Father from His -trusting child, who could look up into the Divine -countenance and pour out the longings of his heart. -And that is the type of prayer which God never -fails to hear. He knows that it comes from a heart -at one with His own; from one who is entirely -yielded to the heavenly plan, and so He bends -His ear and gives to the pleading child the -assurance that his petition has been heard and -answered.</p> - -<p class="c006">Have we not all had some such experience when -with set and undeviating purpose we have approached -the face of our Father? In an agony of soul we -have sought refuge from the oppression of the world -in the anteroom of heaven; the waves of despair -seemed to threaten destruction, and as no way of -escape was visible anywhere, we fell back, like the -disciples of old, upon the power of our Lord, crying -to Him to save us lest we perish. And then, in -the twinkling of an eye, the thing was done. The -billows sank into a calm; the howling wind died -down at the Divine command; the agony of the -soul passed into a restful peace as over the whole -being there crept the consciousness of the Divine -<span class="pageno" id="Page_40">40</span>presence, bringing with it the assurance of answered -prayer and sweet deliverance.</p> - -<p class="c006">“I tell the Lord my troubles and difficulties, and -wait for Him to give me the answers to them,” says -one man of God. “And it is wonderful how a -matter that looked very dark will in prayer become -clear as crystal by the help of God’s Spirit. I think -Christians fail so often to get answers to their -prayers because they do not wait long enough on -God. They just drop down and say a few words, -and then jump up and forget it and expect God to -answer them. Such praying always reminds me -of the small boy ringing his neighbour’s door-bell, -and then running away as fast as he can go.”</p> - -<p class="c006">When we acquire the habit of prayer we enter -into a new atmosphere. “Do you expect to go to -heaven?” asked some one of a devout Scotsman. -“Why, man, I live there,” was the quaint and -unexpected reply. It was a pithy statement of a -great truth, for all the way to heaven is heaven -begun to the Christian who walks near enough to -God to hear the secrets He has to impart.</p> - -<p class="c006">This attitude is beautifully illustrated in a story -of Horace Bushnell, told by Dr. Parkes Cadman. -Bushnell was found to be suffering from an incurable -disease. One evening the Rev. Joseph Twichell -visited him, and, as they sat together under the -starry sky, Bushnell said: “One of us ought to -pray.” Twichell asked Bushnell to do so, and -Bushnell began his prayer; burying his face in -<span class="pageno" id="Page_41">41</span>the earth, he poured out his heart until, said -Twichell, in recalling the incident, “I was afraid to -stretch out my hand in the darkness lest I should -touch God.”</p> - -<p class="c006">To have God thus near is to enter the holy of -holies—to breathe the fragrance of the heavenly air, -to walk in Eden’s delightful gardens. Nothing -but prayer can bring God and man into this happy -communion. That was the experience of Samuel -Rutherford, just as it is the experience of every -one who passes through the same gateway. When -this saint of God was confined in jail at one time for -conscience sake, he enjoyed in a rare degree the -Divine companionship, recording in his diary that -Jesus entered his cell, and that at His coming “every -stone flashed like a ruby.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Many others have borne witness to the same -sweet fellowship, when prayer had become the one -habit of life that meant more than anything else -to them. David Livingstone lived in the realm of -prayer and knew its gracious influence. It was his -habit every birthday to write a prayer, and on the -next to the last birthday of all, this was his prayer: -“O Divine one, I have not loved Thee earnestly, -deeply, sincerely enough. Grant, I pray Thee, that -before this year is ended I may have finished my -task.” It was just on the threshold of the year that -followed that his faithful men, as they looked into -the hut of Ilala, while the rain dripped from the -eaves, saw their master on his knees beside his bed -<span class="pageno" id="Page_42">42</span>in an attitude of prayer. He had died on his knees -in prayer.</p> - -<p class="c006">Stonewall Jackson was a man of prayer. Said -he: “I have so fixed the habit in my mind that -I never raise a glass of water to my lips without -asking God’s blessing, never seal a letter without -putting a word of prayer under the seal, never -take a letter from the post without a brief sending -of my thoughts heavenward, never change my -classes in the lecture-room without a minute’s -petition for the cadets who go out and for those -who come in.”</p> - -<p class="c006">James Gilmour, the pioneer missionary to -Mongolia, was a man of prayer. He had a habit in -his writing of never using a blotter. He made a -rule when he got to the bottom of any page to -wait until the ink dried and spend the time in -prayer.</p> - -<p class="c006">In this way their whole being was saturated -with the Divine, and they became the reflectors -of the heavenly fragrance and glory. Walking -with God down the avenues of prayer we acquire -something of His likeness, and unconsciously we -become witnesses to others of His beauty and His -grace. Professor James, in his famous work, -“Varieties of Religious Experience,” tells of a -man of forty-nine who said: “God is more real -to me than any thought or thing or person. I feel -His presence positively, and the more as I live -in closer harmony with His laws as written in my -<span class="pageno" id="Page_43">43</span>body and mind. I feel Him in the sunshine or -rain; and all mingled with a delicious restfulness -most nearly describes my feelings. I talk to Him -as to a companion in prayer and praise, and our -communion is delightful. He answers me again -and again, often in words so clearly spoken that -it seems my outer ear must have carried the tone, -but generally in strong mental impressions. Usually -a text of Scripture, unfolding some new view of -Him and His love for me, and care for my safety.... -That He is mine and I am His never leaves me; -it is an abiding joy. Without it life would be a -blank, a desert, a shoreless, trackless waste.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Equally notable is the testimony of Sir Thomas -Browne, the beloved physician who lived at Norwich -in 1605, and was the author of a very remarkable -book of wide circulation, “Religio Medici.” In -spite of the fact that England was passing through -a period of national convulsion and political excitement, -he found comfort and strength in prayer. -“I have resolved,” he wrote in a journal found -among his private papers after his death, “to -pray more and pray always, to pray in all places -where quietness inviteth, in the house, on the -highway and on the street; and to know no street -or passage in this city that may not witness that -I have not forgotten God.” And he adds: “I -purpose to take occasion of praying upon the sight -of any church which I may pass, that God may be -worshipped there in spirit, and that souls may -<span class="pageno" id="Page_44">44</span>be saved there; to pray daily for my sick patients -and for the patients of other physicians; at my -entrance into any home to say, ‘May the peace of -God abide here’; after hearing a sermon, to pray -for a blessing on God’s truth, and upon the -messenger; upon the sight of a beautiful person to -bless God for His creatures, to pray for the beauty -of such an one’s soul, that God may enrich her -with inward graces, and that the outward and -inward may correspond; upon the sight of a -deformed person, to pray God to give them wholeness -of soul, and by and by to give them the beauty -of the resurrection.”</p> - -<p class="c006">What an illustration of the praying spirit! Such an -<a id="corr1002" href="#c_1002" class="correction">attitude</a> -represents prayer without ceasing, reveals -the habit of prayer in its unceasing supplication, -in its uninterrupted communion, in its constant -intercession. What an illustration, too, of purpose -in prayer! Of how many of us can it be said -that as we pass people in the street we pray for -them, or that as we enter a home or a church we -remember the inmates or the congregation in -prayer to God?</p> - -<p class="c006">The explanation of our thoughtlessness or forgetfulness -lies in the fact that prayer with so many of -us is simply a form of selfishness; it means asking -for something for ourselves—that and nothing -more.</p> - -<p class="c006">And from such an attitude we need to pray to be -delivered.</p> - -<div><span class="pageno" id="Page_45">45</span></div> -<div class="c001"></div> -<div class="page"><hr /></div> - -<p class="c008"><i>The prayer of faith is the only power in the universe to -which the great Jehovah yields. Prayer is the sovereign -remedy.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Robert Hall.</div> - -<p class="c015"><span class="pageno" id="Page_46">46</span><i>The Church, intent on the acquisition of temporal power, -had well nigh abandoned its spiritual duties, and its empire, -which rested on spiritual foundations, was crumbling with -their decay, and threatened to pass away like an unsubstantial -vision.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Lea’s Inquisition.</div> - -<div class="chapter"> - <span class="pageno" id="Page_47">47</span> - <h2>V</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="sc">Are</span> we praying as Christ did? Do we abide in -Him? Are our pleas and spirit the overflow of -His spirit and pleas? Does love rule the spirit—perfect -love?</p> - -<p class="c006">These questions must be considered as proper and -apposite at a time like the present. We do fear -that we are doing more of other things than prayer. -This is not a praying age; it is an age of great -activity, of great movements, but one in which the -tendency is very strong to stress the seen and the -material and to neglect and discount the unseen -and the spiritual. Prayer is the greatest of all forces, -because it honours God and brings Him into active -aid.</p> - -<p class="c006">There can be no substitute, no rival for prayer; -it stands alone as the great spiritual force, and -this force must be imminent and acting. It cannot -be dispensed with during one generation, nor held -in abeyance for the advance of any great movement—it -must be continuous and particular, always, -everywhere, and in everything. We cannot run our -spiritual operations on the prayers of the past -generation. Many persons believe in the efficacy -of prayer, but not many pray. Prayer is the easiest -<span class="pageno" id="Page_48">48</span>and hardest of all things; the simplest and the -sublimest; the weakest and the most powerful; -its results lie outside the range of human possibilities—they -are limited only by the omnipotence of God.</p> - -<p class="c006">Few Christians have anything but a vague idea -of the power of prayer; fewer still have any -experience of that power. The Church seems almost -wholly unaware of the power God puts into her -hand; this spiritual <i>carte blanche</i> on the infinite -resources of God’s wisdom and power is rarely, -if ever, used—never used to the full measure of -honouring God. It is astounding how poor the -use, how little the benefits. Prayer is our most -formidable weapon, but the one in which we are -the least skilled, the most averse to its use. We -do everything else for the heathen save the thing -God wants us to do; the only thing which does -any good—makes all else we do efficient.</p> - -<p class="c006">To graduate in the school of prayer is to master -the whole course of a religious life. The first and -last stages of holy living are crowned with praying. -It is a life trade. The hindrances of prayer are -the hindrances in a holy life. The conditions -of praying are the conditions of righteousness, -holiness and salvation. A cobbler in the trade of -praying is a bungler in the trade of salvation.</p> - -<p class="c006">Prayer is a trade to be learned. We must be -apprentices and serve our time at it. Painstaking -care, much thought, practice and labour are -required to be a skilful tradesman in praying. -<span class="pageno" id="Page_49">49</span>Practice in this, as well as in all other trades, makes -perfect. Toiling hands and hearts only make -proficients in this heavenly trade.</p> - -<p class="c006">In spite of the benefits and blessings which flow -from communion with God, the sad confession -must be made that we are not praying much. A -very small number comparatively lead in prayer -at the meetings. Fewer still pray in their families. -Fewer still are in the habit of praying regularly in -their closets. Meetings specially for prayer are as -rare as frost in June. In many churches there is -neither the name nor the semblance of a prayer -meeting. In the town and city churches the prayer -meeting in name is not a prayer meeting in fact. -A sermon or a lecture is the main feature. Prayer -is the nominal attachment.</p> - -<p class="c006">Our people are not essentially a praying people. -That is evident by their lives.</p> - -<p class="c006">Prayer and a holy life are one. They mutually -act and react. Neither can survive alone. The -absence of the one is the absence of the other. The -monk depraved prayer, substituted superstition -for praying, mummeries and routine for a holy life. -We are in danger of substituting churchly work -and a ceaseless round of showy activities for -prayer and holy living. A holy life does not live -in the closet, but it cannot live without the closet. -If, by any chance, a prayer chamber should be -established without a holy life, it would be a -chamber without the presence of God in it.</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_50">50</span>Put the saints everywhere to praying, is the -burden of the apostolic effort and the key note of -apostolic success. Jesus Christ had striven to do -this in the days of His personal ministry. He -was moved by infinite compassion at the ripened -fields of earth perishing for lack of labourers, and -pausing in His own praying, He tries to awaken the -sleeping sensibilities of His disciples to the duty -of prayer, as He charges them: “Pray ye the -Lord of the harvest that He will send forth -labourers into His harvest.” And He spake a -parable to them to this end, that <i>men ought</i> always -to pray.</p> - -<p class="c006">Only glimpses of this great importance of prayer -could the apostles get before Pentecost. But the -Spirit coming and filling on Pentecost elevated -prayer to its vital and all-commanding position -in the Gospel of Christ. The call now of prayer to -every saint is the Spirit’s loudest and most exigent -call. Sainthood’s piety is made, refined, perfected, -by prayer. The Gospel moves with slow and -timid pace when the saints are not at their prayers -early and late and long.</p> - -<p class="c006">Where are the Christlike leaders who can teach -the modern saints how to pray and put them at -it? Do our leaders know we are raising up a -prayerless set of saints? Where are the apostolic -leaders who can put God’s people to praying? -Let them come to the front and do the work, and -it will be the greatest work that can be done. -<span class="pageno" id="Page_51">51</span>An increase of educational facilities and a great -increase of money force will be the direst curse -to religion if they are not sanctified by more and -better praying than we are doing.</p> - -<p class="c006">More praying will not come as a matter of course. -The campaign for the twentieth or thirtieth century -will not help our praying, but hinder if we are not -careful. Nothing but a specific effort from a -praying leadership will avail. None but praying -leaders can have praying followers. Praying -apostles will beget praying saints. A praying -pulpit will beget praying pews. We do greatly -need somebody who can set the saints to this -business of praying. We are a generation of non-praying -saints. Non-praying saints are a beggarly -gang of saints, who have neither the ardour nor -the beauty, nor the power of saints. Who will -restore this branch? The greatest will he be of -reformers and apostles, who can set the Church to -praying.</p> - -<p class="c006">Holy men have, in the past, changed the whole -force of affairs, revolutionised character and country -by prayer. And such achievements are still possible -to us. The power is only wanting to be used. -Prayer is but the expression of faith.</p> - -<p class="c006">Time would fail to tell of the mighty things -wrought by prayer, for by it holy ones have “subdued -kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained -promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched -the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, -<span class="pageno" id="Page_52">52</span>out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant -in fight, turned to flight the armies of the -aliens, women received their dead raised to life -again.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Prayer honours God; it dishonours self. It is -man’s plea of weakness, ignorance, want. A plea -which heaven cannot disregard. God delights to -have us pray.</p> - -<p class="c006">Prayer is not the foe to work, it does not paralyse -activity. It works mightily; prayer itself is the -greatest work. It springs activity, stimulates desire -and effort. Prayer is not an opiate but a tonic, -it does not lull to sleep but arouses anew for action. -The lazy man does not, will not, cannot pray, -for prayer demands energy. Paul calls it a striving, -an agony. With Jacob it was a wrestling; with -the Syrophenician woman it was a struggle which -called into play all the higher qualities of the soul, -and which demanded great force to meet.</p> - -<p class="c006">The closet is not an asylum for the indolent and -worthless Christian. It is not a nursery where -none but babes belong. It is the battlefield of -the Church; its citadel; the scene of heroic and -unearthly conflicts. The closet is the base of -supplies for the Christian and the Church. Cut -off from it there is nothing left but retreat and -disaster. The energy for work, the mastery over -self, the deliverance from fear, all spiritual results -and graces, are much advanced by prayer. The -difference between the strength, the experience, the -<span class="pageno" id="Page_53">53</span>holiness of Christians is found in the contrast in -their praying.</p> - -<p class="c006">Few, short, feeble prayers, always betoken a -low, spiritual condition. Men ought to pray much -and apply themselves to it with energy and -perseverance. Eminent Christians have been -eminent in prayer. The deep things of God are -learned nowhere else. Great things for God are -done by great prayers. He who prays much, -studies much, loves much, works much, does much -for God and humanity. The execution of the -Gospel, the vigour of faith, the maturity and -excellence of spiritual graces wait on prayer.</p> - -<div><span class="pageno" id="Page_54">54</span></div> -<div class="c001"></div> -<div class="page"><hr /></div> - -<p class="c008"><i>“Nothing is impossible to industry,” said one of the seven -sages of Greece. Let us change the word industry for persevering -prayer, and the motto will be more Christian and -more worthy of universal adoption. I am persuaded that we -are all more deficient in a spirit of prayer than in any other -grace. God loves importunate prayer so much that He will -not give us much blessing without it. And the reason that He -loves such prayer is that He loves us and knows that it is a -necessary preparation for our receiving the richest blessings -which He is waiting and longing to bestow.</i></p> - -<p class="c009"><i>I never prayed sincerely and earnestly for anything but it -came at some time—no matter at how distant a day, somehow, -in some shape, probably the last I would have devised, it -came.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Adoniram Judson.</div> - -<p class="c012"><i>It is good, I find, to persevere in attempts to pray. If I -cannot pray with perseverance or continue long in my addresses -to the Divine Being, I have found that the more I do in secret -prayer the more I have delight to do, and have enjoyed more -of the spirit of prayer; and frequently I have found the -contrary, when by journeying or otherwise, I have been deprived -of retirement.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—David Brainerd.</div> - -<div class="chapter"> - <span class="pageno" id="Page_55">55</span> - <h2>VI</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="sc">Christ</span> puts importunity as a distinguishing -characteristic of true praying. We must not only -pray, but we must pray with great urgency, with -intentness and with repetition. We must not only -pray, but we must pray again and again. We must -not get tired of praying. We must be thoroughly -in earnest, deeply concerned about the things for -which we ask, for Jesus Christ made it very plain -that the secret of prayer and its success lie in its -urgency. We must press our prayers upon God.</p> - -<p class="c006">In a parable of exquisite pathos and simplicity, -our Lord taught not simply that men ought to -pray, but that men ought to pray with full heartiness, -and press the matter with vigorous energy and -brave hearts.</p> - -<p class="c006">“And He spake a parable unto them to the -end that they ought always to pray, and not to -faint; saying, There was in a city, a judge, which -feared not God, and regarded not man: and there -was a widow in that city; and she came oft unto -him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. -And he would not for a while: but afterwards he -said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor -<span class="pageno" id="Page_56">56</span>regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, -I will avenge her, lest she wear me out by her -continual coming. And the Lord said, Hear what -the unrighteous judge saith. And shall not God -avenge His elect, which cry to Him day and night, -and He is longsuffering over them? I say unto -you, that He will avenge them speedily. Howbeit -when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith -on the earth?”</p> - -<p class="c006">This poor woman’s case was a most hopeless -one, but importunity brings hope from the realms -of despair and creates success where neither success -nor its conditions existed. There could be no -stronger case, to show how unwearied and dauntless -importunity gains its ends where everything else -fails. The preface to this parable says: “He -spake a parable to this end, that men ought always -to pray and not to faint.” He knew that men -would soon get faint-hearted in praying, so to -hearten us He gives this picture of the marvellous -power of importunity.</p> - -<p class="c006">The widow, weak and helpless, is helplessness -personified; bereft of every hope and influence -which could move an unjust judge, she yet wins -her case solely by her tireless and offensive importunity. -Could the necessity of importunity, its -power and tremendous importance in prayer, -be pictured in deeper or more impressive colouring? -It surmounts or removes all obstacles, overcomes -every resisting force and gains its ends in the face of -<span class="pageno" id="Page_57">57</span>invincible hindrances. We can do nothing without -prayer. All things can be done by importunate -prayer.</p> - -<p class="c006">That is the teaching of Jesus Christ.</p> - -<p class="c006">Another parable spoken by Jesus enforces the -same great truth. A man at midnight goes to his -friend for a loan of bread. His pleas are strong, -based on friendship and the embarrassing and -exacting demands of necessity, but these all fail. -He gets no bread, but he stays and presses, and -waits and gains. Sheer importunity succeeds where -all other pleas and influences had failed.</p> - -<p class="c006">The case of the Syrophenician woman is a parable -in action. She is arrested in her approaches to -Christ by the information that He will not see -any one. She is denied His presence, and then in -His presence, is treated with seeming indifference, -with the chill of silence and unconcern: she presses -and approaches, the pressure and approach are -repulsed by the stern and crushing statement -that He is not sent to her kith or kind, that she -is reprobated from His mission and power. She is -humiliated by being called a dog. Yet she accepts -all, overcomes all, wins all by her humble, dauntless, -invincible importunity. The Son of God, -pleased, surprised, overpowered by her unconquerable -importunity, says to her: “O, woman, -great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou -wilt.” Jesus Christ surrenders Himself to the -importunity of a great faith. “And shall not God -<span class="pageno" id="Page_58">58</span>avenge His own elect which cry day and night unto -Him, though He bear long with them?”</p> - -<p class="c006">Jesus Christ puts ability to importune as one of -the elements of prayer, one of the main conditions -of prayer. The prayer of the Syrophenician -woman is an exhibition of the matchless power of -importunity, of a conflict more real and involving -more of vital energy, endurance, and all the higher -elements than was ever illustrated in the conflicts -of Isthmia or Olympia.</p> - -<p class="c006">The first lessons of importunity are taught in -the Sermon on the Mount—“Ask, and it shall -be given; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it -shall be opened.” These are steps of advance—“For -every one that asketh, receiveth; and he -that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, -it shall be opened.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Without continuance the prayer may go unanswered. -Importunity is made up of the ability -to hold on, to press on, to wait with unrelaxed -and unrelaxable grasp, restless desire and restful -patience. Importunate prayer is not an incident, -but the main thing, not a performance but a passion, -not a need but a necessity.</p> - -<p class="c006">Prayer in its highest form and grandest success -assumes the attitude of a wrestler with God. It -is the contest, trial and victory of faith; a victory -not secured from an enemy, but from Him who -tries our faith that He may enlarge it: that tests -our strength to make us stronger. Few things give -<span class="pageno" id="Page_59">59</span>such quickened and permanent vigour to the soul -as a long exhaustive season of importunate prayer. -It makes an experience, an epoch, a new calendar -for the spirit, a new life to religion, a soldierly -training. The Bible never wearies in its pressure and -illustration of the fact that the highest spiritual -good is secured as the return of the outgoing of the -highest form of spiritual effort. There is neither -encouragement nor room in Bible religion for feeble -desires, listless efforts, lazy attitudes; all must -be strenuous, urgent, ardent. Inflamed desires, -impassioned, unwearied insistence delight heaven. -God would have His children incorrigibly in earnest -and persistently bold in their efforts. Heaven is -too busy to listen to half-hearted prayers or to -respond to pop-calls.</p> - -<p class="c006">Our whole being must be in our praying; like -John Knox, we must say and feel, “Give me -Scotland, or I die.” Our experience and revelations -of God are born of our costly sacrifice, our costly -conflicts, our costly praying. The wrestling, all -night praying, of Jacob made an era never to be -forgotten in Jacob’s life, brought God to the rescue, -changed Esau’s attitude and conduct, changed -Jacob’s character, saved and affected his life and -entered into the habits of a nation.</p> - -<p class="c006">Our seasons of importunate prayer cut themselves, -like the print of a diamond, into our hardest places, -and mark with ineffaceable traces our characters. -They are the salient periods of our lives! the -<span class="pageno" id="Page_60">60</span>memorial stones which endure and to which we -turn.</p> - -<p class="c006">Importunity, it may be repeated, is a condition -of prayer. We are to press the matter, not with -vain repetitions, but with urgent repetitions. -We repeat, not to count the times, but to gain -the prayer. We cannot quit praying because -heart and soul are in it. We pray “with all perseverance.” -We hang to our prayers because by -them we live. We press our pleas because we -must have them or die. Christ gives us two most -expressive parables to emphasise the necessity of -importunity in praying. Perhaps Abraham lost -Sodom by failing to press to the utmost his privilege -of praying. Joash, we know, lost because he -stayed his smiting.</p> - -<p class="c006">Perseverance counts much with God as well as -with man. If Elijah had ceased at his first petition -the heavens would have scarcely yielded their rain -to his feeble praying. If Jacob had quit praying -at decent bedtime he would scarcely have survived -the next day’s meeting with Esau. If the -Syrophenician woman had allowed her faith to -faint by silence, humiliation, repulse, or stop mid-way -its struggles, her grief-stricken home would never -have been brightened by the healing of her daughter.</p> - -<p class="c006">Pray and never faint, is the motto Christ gives -us for praying. It is the test of our faith, and the -severer the trial and the longer the waiting, the -more glorious the results.</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_61">61</span>The benefits and necessity of importunity are -taught by Old Testament saints. Praying men -must be strong in hope, and faith, and prayer. -They must know how to wait and to press, to -wait on God and be in earnest in our approaches -to Him.</p> - -<p class="c006">Abraham has left us an example of importunate -intercession in his passionate pleading with God -on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah, and if, as already -indicated, he had not ceased in his asking, perhaps -God would not have ceased in His giving. -“Abraham left off asking before God left off -granting.” Moses taught the power of importunity -when he interceded for Israel forty days and forty -nights, by fasting and prayer. And he succeeded -in his importunity.</p> - -<p class="c006">Jesus, in His teaching and example, illustrated -and perfected this principle of Old Testament -pleading and waiting. How strange that the -only Son of God, who came on a mission direct -from His Father, whose only heaven on earth, -whose only life and law were to do His Father’s -will in that mission—what a mystery that He -should be under the law of prayer, that the blessings -which came to Him were impregnated and purchased -by prayer; stranger still that importunity in -prayer was the process by which His wealthiest -supplies from God were gained. Had He not -prayed with importunity, no transfiguration would -have been in His history, no mighty works had -<span class="pageno" id="Page_62">62</span>rendered Divine His career. His all-night praying -was that which filled with compassion and power -His all-day work. The importunate praying of -His life crowned His death with its triumph. He -learned the high lesson of submission to God’s -will in the struggles of importunate prayer before -He illustrated that submission so sublimely on -the cross.</p> - -<p class="c006">“Whether we like it or not,” said Mr. Spurgeon, -“<i>asking is the rule of the kingdom</i>. ‘Ask, and ye -shall receive.’ It is a rule that never will be altered -in anybody’s case. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the -elder brother of the family, but God has not relaxed -the rule for Him. Remember this text: Jehovah -says to His own Son, ‘Ask of Me, and I will give -Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the -uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession.’ -If the Royal and Divine Son of God cannot be -exempted from the rule of asking that He may -have, you and I cannot expect the rule to be relaxed -in our favour. Why should it be? What reason -can be pleaded why we should be exempted from -prayer? What argument can there be why we -should be deprived of the privilege and delivered -from the necessity of supplication? I can see none: -can you? God will bless Elijah and send rain on -Israel, but Elijah must pray for it. If the chosen -nation is to prosper, Samuel must plead for it. If -the Jews are to be delivered, Daniel must intercede. -God will bless Paul, and the nations shall be -<span class="pageno" id="Page_63">63</span>converted through him, but Paul must pray. Pray -he did without ceasing; his epistles show that he -expected nothing except by asking for it. If you -may have everything by asking, and nothing -without asking, I beg you to see how absolutely -vital prayer is, and I beseech you to abound in it.”</p> - -<p class="c006">There is not the least doubt that much of our -praying fails for lack of persistency. It is without -the fire and strength of perseverance. Persistence -is of the essence of true praying. It may not be -always called into exercise, but it must be there as -the reserve force. Jesus taught that perseverance is -the essential element of prayer. Men must be in -earnest when they kneel at God’s footstool.</p> - -<p class="c006">Too often we get faint-hearted and quit praying -at the point where we ought to begin. We let go -at the very point where we should hold on strongest. -Our prayers are weak because they are not -impassioned by an unfailing and resistless will.</p> - -<p class="c006">God loves the importunate pleader, and sends -him answers that would never have been granted -but for the persistency that refuses to let go until -the petition craved for is granted.</p> - -<div><span class="pageno" id="Page_64">64</span></div> -<div class="c001"></div> -<div class="page"><hr /></div> - -<p class="c008"><i>I suspect I have been allotting habitually too little time to -religious exercises as private devotion, religious meditation, -Scripture reading, etc. Hence I am lean and cold and hard. -God would perhaps prosper me more in spiritual things if I -were to be more diligent in using the means of grace. I had -better allot more time, say two hours or an hour and a half, -to religious exercises daily, and try whether by so doing I cannot -preserve a frame of spirit more habitually devotional, a more -lively sense of unseen things, a warmer love to God, and a -greater degree of hunger and thirst after righteousness, a -heart less prone to be soiled with worldly cares, designs, passions, -and apprehension and a real undissembled longing for heaven, -its pleasures and its purity.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—William Wilberforce.</div> - -<div class="chapter"> - <span class="pageno" id="Page_65">65</span> - <h2>VII</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="sc">“Men</span> ought <i>always</i> to pray, and not to faint.” -The words are the words of our Lord, who not only -ever sought to impress upon His followers the urgency -and the importance of prayer, but set them an -example which they alas! have been far too slow -to copy.</p> - -<p class="c006">The <i>always</i> speaks for itself. Prayer is not a -meaningless function or duty to be crowded into -the busy or the weary ends of the day, and we are -not obeying our Lord’s command when we content -ourselves with a few minutes upon our knees in -the morning rush or late at night when the faculties, -tired with the tasks of the day, call out for rest. -God is always within call, it is true; His ear is ever -attentive to the cry of His child, but we can never -get to know Him if we use the vehicle of prayer -as we use the telephone—for a few words of hurried -conversation. Intimacy requires development. -We can never know God as it is our privilege to -know Him, by brief and fragmentary and -unconsidered repetitions of intercessions that are -requests for personal favours and nothing more. -<span class="pageno" id="Page_66">66</span>That is not the way in which we can come into -communication with heaven’s King. “The goal of -prayer is the ear of God,” a goal that can only be -reached by patient and continued and continuous -waiting upon Him, pouring out our heart to Him -and permitting Him to speak to us. Only by so -doing can we expect to know Him, and as we come -to know Him better we shall spend more time in -His presence and find that presence a constant and -ever-increasing delight.</p> - -<p class="c006"><i>Always</i> does not mean that we are to neglect -the ordinary duties of life; what it means is that -the soul which has come into intimate contact with -God in the silence of the prayer-chamber is never -out of conscious touch with the Father, that the -heart is always going out to Him in loving communion, -and that the moment the mind is released -from the task upon which it is engaged it returns -as naturally to God as the bird does to its nest. -What a beautiful conception of prayer we get if -we regard it in this light, if we view it as a constant -fellowship, an unbroken audience with the King. -Prayer then loses every vestige of dread which it -may once have possessed; we regard it no longer -as a duty which must be performed, but rather as -a privilege which is to be enjoyed, a rare delight -that is always revealing some new beauty.</p> - -<p class="c006">Thus, when we open our eyes in the morning, our -thought instantly mounts heavenward. To many -Christians the morning hours are the most precious -<span class="pageno" id="Page_67">67</span>portion of the day, because they provide the opportunity -for the hallowed fellowship that gives the -keynote to the day’s programme. And what better -introduction can there be to the never-ceasing -glory and wonder of a new day than to spend it -alone with God? It is said that Mr. Moody, at a -time when no other place was available, kept his -morning watch in the coal-shed, pouring out his -heart to God, and finding in his precious Bible a -true “feast of fat things.”</p> - -<p class="c006">George Müller also combined Bible study with -prayer in the quiet morning hours. At one time -his practice was to give himself to prayer, after -having dressed, in the morning. Then his plan -underwent a change. As he himself put it: “I -saw the most important thing I had to do was to -give myself to the reading of the Word of God, and -to meditation on it, that thus my heart might -be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, -instructed; and that thus, by means of the Word of -God, whilst meditating on it, my heart might be -brought into experimental communion with the -Lord. I began, therefore, to meditate on the New -Testament early in the morning. The first thing I -did, after having asked in a few words for the Lord’s -blessing upon his precious Word, was to begin to -meditate on the Word of God, searching, as it were, -into every verse to get blessing out of it; not for the -sake of the public ministry of the Word, not for the -sake of preaching on what I had meditated on, but -<span class="pageno" id="Page_68">68</span>for the sake of obtaining food for my own soul. -The result I have found to be almost invariably -thus, that after a very few minutes my soul has -been led to confession, or to thanksgiving, or to -intercession, or to supplication; so that, though I -did not, as it were, give myself to prayer, but to -meditation, yet it turned almost immediately more -or less into prayer.”</p> - -<p class="c006">The study of the Word and prayer go together, -and where we find the one truly practised, the other -is sure to be seen in close alliance.</p> - -<p class="c006">But we do not pray <i>always</i>. That is the trouble -with so many of us. We need to pray much more -than we do and much longer than we do.</p> - -<p class="c006">Robert Murray McCheyne, gifted and saintly, -of whom it was said, that “Whether viewed as a -son, a brother, a friend, or a pastor, he was the -most faultless and attractive exhibition of the true -Christian they had ever seen embodied in a living -form,” knew what it was to spend much time upon -his knees, and he never wearied in urging upon -others the joy and the value of holy intercession. -“God’s children should pray,” he said. “They -should cry day and night unto Him, God hears -every one of your cries in the busy hour of the -daytime and in the lonely watches of the night.” -In every way, by preaching, by exhortation when -present and by letters when absent, McCheyne -emphasised the vital duty of prayer, importunate -and unceasing prayer.</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_69">69</span>In his diary we find this: “In the morning was -engaged in preparing the head, then the heart. -This has been frequently my error, and I have -always felt the evil of it, especially in prayer. -Reform it then, O Lord.” While on his trip to the -Holy Land he wrote: “For much of our safety -I feel indebted to the prayers of my people. If the -veil of the world’s machinery were lifted off how -much we would find done in answer to the prayers -of God’s children.” In an ordination sermon he -said to the preacher: “Give yourself to prayers -and the ministry of the Word. If you do not pray, -God will probably lay you aside from your ministry, -as He did me, to teach you to pray. Remember -Luther’s maxim, ‘To have prayed well is to have -studied well.’ Get your texts from God, your -thoughts, your words. Carry the names of the -little flock upon your breast like the High Priest. -Wrestle for the unconverted. Luther spent his -last three hours in prayer; John Welch prayed seven -or eight hours a day. He used to keep a plaid on -his bed that he might wrap himself in when he -rose during the night. Sometimes his wife found -him on the ground lying weeping. When she -complained, he would say, ‘O, woman, I have the -souls of three thousand to answer for, and I know not -how it is with many of them.’” The people he -exhorted and charged: “Pray for your pastor. -Pray for his body, that he may be kept strong and -spared many years. Pray for his soul, that he may -<span class="pageno" id="Page_70">70</span>be -kept humble and holy, a burning and shining -light. Pray for his ministry, that it may be -abundantly blessed, that he may be anointed to -preach good tidings. Let there be no secret prayer -without naming him before your God, no family -prayer without carrying your pastor in your hearts -to God.”</p> - -<p class="c006">“Two things,” says his biographer, “he seems -never to have ceased from—the cultivation of -personal holiness and the most anxious efforts to -win souls.” The two are the inseparable attendants -on the ministry of prayer. Prayer fails when the -desire and effort for personal holiness fail. No -person is a soul-winner who is not an adept in the -ministry of prayer. “It is the duty of ministers,” -says this holy man, “to begin the reformation of -religion and manner with themselves, families, etc., -with confession of past sin, earnest prayer for -direction, grace and full purpose of heart.” He -begins with himself under the head of “Reformation -in Secret Prayer,” and he resolves:</p> - -<p class="c006">“I ought not to omit any of the parts of prayer—confession, -adoration, thanksgiving, petition and -intercession. There is a fearful tendency to omit -<i>confession</i> proceeding from low views of God and -His law, slight views of my heart, and the sin of -my past life. This must be resisted. There is a -constant tendency to omit <i>adoration</i> when I forget -to Whom I am speaking, when I rush heedlessly into -the presence of Jehovah without thought of His -<span class="pageno" id="Page_71">71</span>awful name and character. When I have little -eyesight for his glory, and little admiration of His -wonders, I have the native tendency of the heart -to omit giving <i>thanks</i>, and yet it is specially -commanded. Often when the heart is dead to the -salvation of others I omit <i>intercession</i>, and yet it -especially is the spirit of the great Advocate Who -has the name of Israel on His heart. I ought to -pray before seeing anyone. Often when I sleep long, -or meet with others early, and then have family -prayer and breakfast and forenoon callers, it is -eleven or twelve o’clock before I begin secret prayer. -This is a wretched system; it is unscriptural. -Christ rose before day and went into a solitary -place. David says, ‘Early will I seek Thee; Thou -shalt early hear my voice.’ Mary Magdalene came -to the sepulchre while it was yet dark. Family -prayer loses much of its power and sweetness; -and I can do no good to those who come to seek -from me. The conscience feels guilty, the soul -unfed, the lamp not trimmed. I feel it is far better -to begin with God, to see His face first, to get my -soul near Him before it is near another. ‘When -I awake I am still with Thee.’ If I have slept too -long, or I am going an early journey, or my time -is in any way shortened, it is best to dress hurriedly -and have a few minutes alone with God than to -give up all for lost. But in general it is best to -have at least one hour alone with God before engaging -in anything else. I ought to spend the best hours -<span class="pageno" id="Page_72">72</span>of the day in communion with God. When I -awake in the night, I ought to rise and pray as -David and John Welch.”</p> - -<p class="c006">McCheyne believed in being <i>always</i> in prayer, and -his fruitful life, short though that life was, affords -an illustration of the power that comes from long -and frequent visits to the secret place where we -keep tryst with our Lord.</p> - -<p class="c006">Men of McCheyne’s stamp are needed to-day—praying -men, who know how to give themselves to -the greatest task demanding their time and their -attention; men who can give their whole heart to -the holy task of intercession, men who can pray -through. God’s cause is committed to men; God -commits Himself to men. Praying men are the -vicegerents of God; they do His work and carry -out His plans.</p> - -<p class="c006">We are obliged to pray if we be citizens of -God’s Kingdom. Prayerlessness is expatriation, or -worse, from God’s Kingdom. It is outlawry, a -high crime, a constitutional breach. The Christian -who relegates prayer to a subordinate place in his -life soon loses whatever spiritual zeal he may have -once possessed, and the Church that makes little of -prayer cannot maintain vital piety, and is powerless -to advance the Gospel. The Gospel cannot live, -fight, conquer without prayer—prayer unceasing, -instant and ardent.</p> - -<p class="c006">Little prayer is the characteristic of a backslidden -age and of a backslidden Church. Whenever there -<span class="pageno" id="Page_73">73</span>is little praying in the pulpit or in the pew, spiritual -bankruptcy is imminent and inevitable.</p> - -<p class="c006">The cause of God has no commercial age, no -cultured age, no age of education, no age of money. -But it has one golden age, and that is the age of -prayer. When its leaders are men of prayer, when -prayer is the prevailing element of worship, like the -incense giving continual fragrance to its service, -then the cause of God will be triumphant.</p> - -<p class="c006">Better praying and more of it, that is what we need. -We need holier men, and more of them, holier -women, and more of them to pray—women like -Hannah, who, out of their greatest griefs and -temptations brewed their greatest prayers. Through -prayer Hannah found her relief. Everywhere the -Church was backslidden and apostate, her foes were -victorious. Hannah gave herself to prayer, and in -sorrow she multiplied her praying. She saw a -great revival born of her praying. When the whole -nation was oppressed, prophet and priest, Samuel -was born to establish a new line of priesthood, and -her praying warmed into life a new life for God. -Everywhere religion revived and flourished. God, -true to His promise, “<i>Ask of Me</i>,” though the -praying came from a woman’s broken heart, heard -and answered, sending a new day of holy gladness to -revive His people.</p> - -<p class="c006">So once more, let us apply the emphasis and -repeat that the great need of the Church in this and -all ages is men of such commanding faith, of such -<span class="pageno" id="Page_74">74</span>unsullied holiness, of such marked spiritual vigour -and consuming zeal, that they will work spiritual -revolutions through their mighty praying. -“Natural ability and educational advantages do -not figure as factors in this matter; but a capacity -for faith, the ability to pray, the power of a -thorough consecration, the ability of self-littleness, -an absolute losing of one’s self in God’s glory and -an ever present and insatiable yearning and seeking -after all the fulness of God. Men who can set the -Church ablaze for God, not in a noisy, showy way, -but with an intense and quiet heat that melts and -moves every thing for God.”</p> - -<p class="c006">And, to return to the vital point, secret praying -is the test, the gauge, the conserver of man’s relation -to God. The prayer-chamber, while it is the test -of the sincerity of our devotion to God, becomes -also the measure of the devotion. The self-denial, -the sacrifices which we make for our prayer-chambers, -the frequency of our visits to that hallowed place -of meeting with the Lord, the lingering to stay, the -loathness to leave, are values which we put on -communion alone with God, the price we pay for -the Spirit’s trysting hours of heavenly love.</p> - -<p class="c006">The prayer-chamber conserves our relation to God. -It hems every raw edge; it tucks up every flowing -and entangling garment; girds up every fainting -loin. The sheet-anchor holds not the ship more -surely and safely than the prayer-chamber holds to -God. Satan has to break our hold on, and close -<span class="pageno" id="Page_75">75</span>up our way to the prayer-chambers, ere he can break -our hold on God or close up our way to heaven.</p> - -<div class="lgcontainerb c011"> - <div class="linegroup"> - <div class="group"> - <div class="line">“Be not afraid to pray; to pray is right;</div> - <div class="line in2">Pray if thou canst with hope, but ever pray,</div> - <div class="line">Though hope be weak or sick with long delay;</div> - <div class="line in2">Pray in the darkness if there be no light;</div> - <div class="line">And if for any wish thou dare not pray</div> - <div class="line in2">Then pray to God to cast that wish away.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div><span class="pageno" id="Page_76">76</span></div> -<div class="c001"></div> -<div class="page"><hr /></div> - -<p class="c008"><i>In God’s name I beseech you let prayer nourish your soul -as your meals nourish your body. Let your fixed seasons of -prayer keep you in God’s presence through the day, and His -presence frequently remembered through it be an ever-fresh -spring of prayer. Such a brief, loving recollection of God -renews a man’s whole being, quiets his passions, supplies light -and counsel in difficulty, gradually subdues the temper, and -causes him to possess his soul in patience, or rather gives it -up to the possession of God.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Fénelon.</div> - -<p class="c012"><i>Devoted too much time and attention to outward and public -duties of the ministry. But this has a mistaken conduct, -for I have learned that neglect of much and fervent communion -with God in meditation and prayer is not the way to redeem -the time nor to fit me for public ministrations.</i></p> - -<p class="c009"><i>I rightly attribute my present deadness to want of sufficient -time and tranquillity for private devotion. Want of more -reading, retirement and private devotion, I have little mastery -over my own tempers. An unhappy day to me for want of -more solitude and prayer. If there be anything I do, if there -be anything I leave undone, let me be perfect in prayer.</i></p> - -<p class="c009"><i>After all, whatever God may appoint, prayer is the great -thing. Oh that I may be a man of prayer!</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Henry Martyn.</div> - -<div class="chapter"> - <span class="pageno" id="Page_77">77</span> - <h2>VIII</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="sc">That</span> the men had quit praying in Paul’s time we -cannot certainly affirm. They have, in the main, -quit praying now. They are too busy to pray. -Time and strength and every faculty are laid under -tribute to money, to business, to the affairs of the -world. Few men lay themselves out in great -praying. The great business of praying is a -hurried, petty, starved, beggarly business with -most men.</p> - -<p class="c006">St. Paul calls a halt, and lays a levy on men for -prayer. Put the men to praying is Paul’s unfailing -remedy for great evils in Church, in State, in politics, -in business, in home. Put the men to praying, -then politics will be cleansed, business will be -thriftier, the Church will be holier, the home will -be sweeter.</p> - -<p class="c006">“I exhort, therefore, first of all, that supplications, -prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, be made for -all men; for kings and all that are in high place; -that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all -godliness and gravity. This is good and acceptable -in the sight of God our Saviour.... I desire, therefore, -that the men pray in every place, lifting up holy -<span class="pageno" id="Page_78">78</span>hands, -without wrath and disputing” (1 Timothy -ii. 1-3, 8).</p> - -<p class="c006">Praying women and children are invaluable to -God, but if their praying is not supplemented by -praying men, there will be a great loss in the power -of prayer—a great breach and depreciation in the -value of prayer, great paralysis in the energy of the -Gospel. Jesus Christ spake a parable unto the -people, telling them that men ought always to -pray and not faint. Men who are strong in everything -else ought to be strong in prayer, and never -yield to discouragement, weakness or depression. -Men who are brave, persistent, redoubtable in -other pursuits ought to be full of courage, unfainting, -strong-hearted in prayer.</p> - -<p class="c006"><i>Men</i> are to pray; <i>all men</i> are to pray. Men, as -distinguished from women, men in their strength -in their wisdom. There is an absolute, specific -command that the men pray; there is an absolute -imperative necessity that men pray. The first of -beings, man, should also be first in prayer.</p> - -<p class="c006"><i>The men</i> are to pray for men. The direction is -specific and classified. Just underneath we have -a specific direction with regard to women. About -prayer, its importance, wideness and practice -the Bible here deals with the men in contrast to, -and distinct from, the women. The men are -definitely commanded, seriously charged, and -warmly exhorted to pray. Perhaps it was that -men were averse to prayer, or indifferent to it; -<span class="pageno" id="Page_79">79</span>it may be that they deemed it a small thing, and -gave to it neither time nor value nor significance. -But God would have all men pray, and so the great -Apostle lifts the subject into prominence and -emphasises its importance.</p> - -<p class="c006">For prayer is of transcendent importance. -Prayer is the mightiest agent to advance God’s -work. Praying hearts and hands only can do -God’s work. Prayer succeeds when all else fails. -Prayer has won great victories, and rescued, with -notable triumph, God’s saints when every other -hope was gone. Men who know how to pray -are the greatest boon God can give to earth—they -are the richest gift earth can offer heaven. -Men who know how to use this weapon of prayer -are God’s best soldiers, His mightiest leaders.</p> - -<p class="c006">Praying men are God’s chosen leaders. The -distinction between the leaders that God brings -to the front to lead and bless His people, and those -leaders who owe their position of leadership to a -worldly, selfish, unsanctified selection, is this, God’s -leaders are pre-eminently men of prayer. This -distinguishes them as the simple, Divine attestation -of their call, the seal of their separation by God. -Whatever of other graces or gifts they may have, the -gift and grace of prayer towers above them all. -In whatever else they may share or differ, in the -gift of prayer they are one.</p> - -<p class="c006">What would God’s leaders be without prayer? -Strip Moses of his power in prayer, a gift that -<span class="pageno" id="Page_80">80</span>made him eminent in pagan estimate, and the -crown is taken from his head, the food and fire of -his faith are gone. Elijah, without his praying, -would have neither record nor place in the Divine -legation, his life insipid, cowardly, its energy, -defiance and fire gone. Without Elijah’s praying -the Jordan would never have yielded to the stroke -of his mantle, nor would the stern angel of death -have honoured him with the chariot and horses -of fire. The argument that God used to quiet -the fears and convince Ananias of Paul’s condition -and sincerity is the epitome of his history, the -solution of his life and work—“Behold he prayeth.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Paul, Luther, Wesley—what would these chosen -ones of God be without the distinguishing and -controlling element of prayer? They were leaders -for God because mighty in prayer. They were -not leaders because of brilliancy in thought, because -exhaustless in resources, because of their magnificent -culture or native endowment, but leaders because -by the power of prayer they could command the -power of God. Praying men means much more -than men who say prayers; much more than -men who pray by habit. It means men with -whom prayer is a mighty force, an energy that -moves heaven and pours untold treasures of good -on earth.</p> - -<p class="c006">Praying men are the safety of the Church from -the materialism that is affecting all its plans and -polity, and which is hardening its life-blood. The -<span class="pageno" id="Page_81">81</span>insinuation circulates as a secret, deadly poison -that the Church is not so dependent on purely -spiritual forces as it used to be—that changed -times and changed conditions have brought it -out of its spiritual straits and dependencies and -put it where other forces can bear it to its climax. -A fatal snare of this kind has allured the Church -into worldly embraces, dazzled her leaders, weakened -her foundations, and shorn her of much of her -beauty and strength. Praying men are the saviours -of the Church from this material tendency. They -pour into it the original spiritual forces, lift it off -the sand-bars of materialism, and press it out into -the ocean depths of spiritual power. Praying -men keep God in the Church in full force; keep His -hand on the helm, and train the Church in its -lessons of strength and trust.</p> - -<p class="c006">The number and efficiency of the labourers in -God’s vineyard in all lands is dependent on the -men of prayer. The mightiness of these men of -prayer increases, by the divinely arranged process, -the number and success of the consecrated labours. -Prayer opens wide their doors of access, gives -holy aptness to enter, and holy boldness, firmness, -and fruitage. Praying men are needed in all -fields of spiritual labour. There is no position in -the Church of God, high or low, which can be well -filled without instant prayer. No position where -Christians are found that does not demand the -full play of a faith that always prays and never -<span class="pageno" id="Page_82">82</span>faints. Praying men are needed in the house of -business, as well as in the house of God, that they -may order and direct trade, not according to the -maxims of this world, but according to Bible -precepts and the maxims of the heavenly life.</p> - -<p class="c006">Men of prayer are needed especially in the -positions of Church influence, honour, and power. -These leaders of Church thought, of Church work, -and of Church life should be men of signal power -in prayer. It is the praying heart that sanctifies -the toil and skill of the hands, and the toil and -wisdom of the head. Prayer keeps work in the -line of God’s will, and keeps thought in the line of -God’s Word. The solemn responsibilities of -leadership, in a large or limited sphere, in God’s -Church should be so hedged about with prayer -that between it and the world there should be -an impassable gulf, so elevated and purified by -prayer that neither cloud nor night should stain -the radiance nor dim the sight of a constant meridian -view of God. Many Church leaders seem to think -if they can be prominent as men of business, of -money, influence, of thought, of plans, of scholarly -attainments, of eloquent gifts, of taking, conspicuous -activities, that these are enough, and will atone -for the absence of the higher spiritual power which -much praying only can give. But how vain and -paltry are these in the serious work of bringing -glory to God, controlling the Church for Him, and -bringing it into full accord with its Divine mission.</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_83">83</span>Praying men are the men that have done so -much for God in the past. They are the ones who -have won the victories for God, and spoiled His -foes. They are the ones who have set up His -Kingdom in the very camps of His enemies. There -are no other conditions of success in this day. -The twentieth century has no relief statute to -suspend the necessity or force of prayer—no -substitute by which its gracious ends can be secured. -We are shut up to this, praying hands only can -build for God. They are God’s mighty ones on -earth, His master-builders. They may be destitute -of all else, but with the wrestlings and prevailings -of a simple-hearted faith they are mighty, the -mightiest for God. Church leaders may be gifted -in all else, but without this greatest of gifts they -are as Samson shorn of his locks, or as the Temple -without the Divine presence or the Divine glory, -and on whose altars the heavenly flame has died.</p> - -<p class="c006">The only protection and rescue from worldliness -lie in our intense and radical spirituality; and our -only hope for the existence and maintenance of -this high, saving spirituality, under God, is in the -purest and most aggressive leadership—a leadership -that knows the secret power of prayer, the -sign by which the Church has conquered, and -that has conscience, conviction, and courage to -hold her true to her symbols, true to her traditions, -and true to the hidings of her power. We need this -prayerful leadership; we must have it, that by -<span class="pageno" id="Page_84">84</span>the perfection and beauty of its holiness, by the -strength and elevation of its faith, by the potency -and pressure of its prayers, by the authority and -spotlessness of its example, by the fire and contagion -of its zeal, by the singularity, sublimity, and -unworldliness of its piety, it may influence God, -and hold and mould the Church to its heavenly -pattern.</p> - -<p class="c006">Such leaders, how mightily they are felt. How -their flame arouses the Church! How they stir -it by the force of their Pentecostal presence! How -they embattle and give victory by the conflicts and -triumphs of their own faith! How they fashion it -by the impress and importunity of their prayers! -How they inoculate it by the contagion and fire -of their holiness! How they lead the march in -great spiritual revolutions! How the Church is -raised from the dead by the resurrection call of -their sermons! Holiness springs up in their wake -as flowers at the voice of spring, and where they -tread the desert blooms as the garden of the Lord. -God’s cause demands such leaders along the whole -line of official position from subaltern to superior. -How feeble, aimless, or worldly are our efforts, -how demoralised and vain for God’s work without -them!</p> - -<p class="c006">The gift of these leaders is not in the range of -ecclesiastical power. They are God’s gifts. Their -being, their presence, their number, and their -ability are the tokens of His favour; their lack -<span class="pageno" id="Page_85">85</span>the sure sign of His disfavour, the presage of His -withdrawal. Let the Church of God be on her -knees before the Lord of hosts, that He may more -mightily endow the leaders we already have, and -put others in rank, and lead all along the line of -our embattled front.</p> - -<p class="c006">The world is coming into the Church at many -points and in many ways. It oozes in; it pours -in; it comes in with brazen front or soft, insinuating -disguise; it comes in at the top and comes in at -the bottom; and percolates through many a -hidden way.</p> - -<p class="c006">For praying men and holy men we are looking—men -whose presence in the Church will make it -like a censer of holiest incense flaming up to God. -With God the man counts for everything. Rites, -forms, organisations are of small moment; unless -they are backed by the holiness of the man they -are offensive in His sight. “Incense is an abomination -unto Me; the new moons and sabbaths, -the calling of assemblies I cannot away with; -it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Why does God speak so strongly against His -own ordinances? Personal purity had failed. The -impure man tainted all the sacred institutions of -God and defiled them. God regards the man -in so important a way as to put a kind of discount -on all else. Men have built Him glorious temples -and have striven and exhausted -<a id="corr1932" href="#c_1932" class="correction">themselves</a> -to please -God by all manner of gifts; but in lofty strains He -<span class="pageno" id="Page_86">86</span>has rebuked these proud worshippers and rejected -their princely gifts.</p> - -<p class="c006">“Heaven is My throne and the earth is My -footstool: where is the house that ye build unto -Me? and where is the place of My rest? For all -those things hath Mine hand made, and all those -things hath been, saith the Lord. He that killeth -an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth -a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth -an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he -that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol.” -Turning away in disgust from these costly and -profane offerings, He declares: “But to this -man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a -contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word.”</p> - -<p class="c006">This truth that God regards the personal purity -of the man is fundamental. This truth suffers -when ordinances are made much of and forms of -worship multiply. The man and his spiritual -character depreciate as Church ceremonials increase. -The simplicity of worship is lost in religious æsthetics, -or in the gaudiness of religious forms.</p> - -<p class="c006">This truth that the personal purity of the -individual is the only thing God cares for is lost sight -of when the Church begins to estimate men for what -they have. When the Church eyes a man’s money, -social standing, his belongings in any way, then -spiritual values are at a fearful discount, and the -tear of penitence, the heaviness of guilt are never -seen at her portals. Worldly bribes have opened -<span class="pageno" id="Page_87">87</span>and stained its pearly gates by the entrance of the -impure.</p> - -<p class="c006">This truth that God is looking after personal -purity is swallowed up when the Church has a greed -for numbers. “Not numbers, but personal purity -is our aim,” said the fathers of Methodism. The -parading of Church statistics is mightily against the -grain of spiritual religion. Eyeing numbers greatly -hinders the looking after personal purity. The -increase of quantity is generally at a loss of quality. -Bulk abates preciousness.</p> - -<p class="c006">The age of Church organisation and Church -machinery is not an age noted for elevated and -strong personal piety. Machinery looks for engineers -and organisations for generals, and not for saints, -to run them. The simplest organisation may aid -purity as well as strength; but beyond that narrow -limit organisation swallows up the individual, and -is careless of personal purity; push, activity, -enthusiasm, zeal for an organisation, come in as the -vicious substitutes for spiritual character. Holiness -and all the spiritual graces of hardy culture and -slow growth are discarded as too slow and too -costly for the progress and rush of the age. By -dint of machinery, new organisations, and spiritual -weakness, results are vainly expected to be secured -which can only be secured by faith, prayer, and -waiting on God.</p> - -<p class="c006">The man and his spiritual character is what God -is looking after. If men, holy men, can be turned -<span class="pageno" id="Page_88">88</span>out by the easy processes of Church machinery -readier and better than by the old-time processes, -we would gladly invest in every new and improved -patent; but we do not believe it. We adhere to -the old way—the way the holy prophets went, the -king’s highway of holiness.</p> - -<p class="c006">An example of this is afforded by the case of -William Wilberforce. High in social position, a -member of Parliament, the friend of Pitt the -famous statesman, he was not called of God to -forsake his high social position nor to quit Parliament, -but he was called to order his life according -to the pattern set by Jesus Christ and to give himself -to prayer. To read the story of his life is to be -impressed with its holiness and its devotion to the -claims of the quiet hours alone with God. His -conversion was announced to his friends—to Pitt and -others—by letter.</p> - -<p class="c006">In the beginning of his religious career he records: -“My chief reasons for a day of secret prayer are, -(1) That the state of public affairs is very critical -and calls for earnest deprecation of the Divine -displeasure. (2) My station in life is a very difficult -one, wherein I am at a loss to know how to act. -Direction, therefore, should be specially sought from -time to time. (3) I have been graciously supported -in difficult situations of a public nature. I have -gone out and returned home in safety, and found a -kind reception has attended me. I would humbly -hope, too, that what I am now doing is a proof that -<span class="pageno" id="Page_89">89</span>God has not withdrawn His Holy Spirit from me. -I am covered with mercies.”</p> - -<p class="c006">The recurrence of his birthday led him again to -review his situation and employment. “I find,” -he wrote, “that books alienate my heart from -God as much as anything. I have been framing a -plan of study for myself, but let me remember but -one thing is needful, that if my heart cannot be -kept in a spiritual state without so much prayer, -meditation, Scripture reading, etc., as are incompatible -with study, I must <i>seek first</i> the righteousness -of God.” All were to be surrendered for spiritual -advance. “I fear,” we find him saying, “that I -have not studied the Scriptures enough. Surely in -the summer recess I ought to read the Scriptures -an hour or two every day, besides prayer, devotional -reading and meditation. God will prosper me -better if I wait on Him. The experience of all -good men shows that without constant prayer and -watchfulness the life of God in the soul stagnates. -Doddridge’s morning and evening devotions were -serious matters. Colonel Gardiner always spent -hours in prayer in the morning before he went forth. -Bonnell practised private devotions largely morning -and evening, and repeated Psalms dressing and -undressing to raise his mind to heavenly things. -I would look up to God to make the means effectual. -I fear that my devotions are too much hurried, -that I do not read Scripture enough. I must grow -in grace; I must love God more; I must feel the -<span class="pageno" id="Page_90">90</span>power of Divine things more. Whether I am more -or less learned signifies not. Whether even I execute -the work which I deem useful is comparatively -unimportant. But beware my soul of luke-warmness.”</p> - -<p class="c006">The New Year began with the Holy Communion -and new vows. “I will press forward,” he wrote, -“and labour to know God better and love Him -more. Assuredly I may, because God will give His -Holy Spirit to them that ask Him, and the Holy -Spirit will shed abroad the love of God in the heart. -O, then, pray, pray; be earnest, press forward and -follow on to know the Lord. Without watchfulness, -humiliation and prayer, the sense of Divine things -must languish.” To prepare for the future he -said he found nothing more effectual than private -prayer and the serious perusal of the New Testament.</p> - -<p class="c006">And again: “I must put down that I have -lately too little time for private devotions. I can -sadly confirm Doddridge’s remark that when we go -on ill in the closet we commonly do so everywhere -else. I must mend here. I am afraid of getting -into what Owen calls the trade of sinning and -repenting ... Lord help me, the shortening of -private devotions starves the soul; it grows lean -and faint. This must not be. I must redeem more -time. I see how lean in spirit I become without -full allowance of time for private devotions; I -must be careful to be watching unto prayer.”</p> - -<p class="c006">At another time he puts on record: “I must try -<span class="pageno" id="Page_91">91</span>what I long ago heard was the rule of E—— the great -upholsterer, who, when he came from Bond Street -to his little villa, always first retired to his closet. -I have been keeping too late hours, and hence have -had but a hurried half hour to myself. Surely the -experience of all good men confirms the proposition, -that without due measure of private devotions, -the soul will grow lean.”</p> - -<p class="c006">To his son he wrote: “Let me conjure you not to -be seduced into neglecting, curtailing or hurrying -over your morning prayers. Of all things, guard -against neglecting God in the closet. There is -nothing more fatal to the life and power of religion. -More solitude and earlier hours—prayer three times -a day at least. How much better might I serve -if I cultivated a closer communion with God.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Wilberforce knew the secret of a holy life. Is -that not where most of us fail? We are so busy -with other things, so immersed even in doing good -and in carrying on the Lord’s work, that we neglect -the quiet seasons of prayer with God, and before we -are aware of it our soul is lean and impoverished.</p> - -<p class="c006">“One night alone in prayer,” says Spurgeon, -“might make us new men, changed from poverty -of soul to spiritual wealth, from trembling to -triumphing. We have an example of it in the life -of Jacob. Aforetime the crafty shuffler, always -bargaining and calculating, unlovely in almost -every respect, yet one night in prayer turned the -supplanter into a prevailing prince, and robed -<span class="pageno" id="Page_92">92</span>him -with celestial grandeur. From that night he -lives on the sacred page as one of the nobility of -heaven. Could not we, at least now and then, in -these weary earthbound years, hedge about a single -night for such enriching traffic with the skies? -What, have we no sacred ambition? Are we deaf to -the yearnings of Divine love? Yet, my brethren, -for wealth and for science men will cheerfully quit -their warm couches, and cannot we do it now and -again for the love of God and the good of souls? -Where is our zeal, our gratitude, our sincerity? I -am ashamed while I thus upbraid both myself and -you. May we often tarry at Jabbok, and cry with -Jacob, as he grasped the angel—</p> - -<div class="lgcontainerb c011"> - <div class="linegroup"> - <div class="group"> - <div class="line in1">‘With thee all night I mean to stay,</div> - <div class="line">And wrestle till the break of day.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="c006">Surely, brethren, if we have given whole days to -folly, we can afford a space for heavenly wisdom. -Time was when we gave whole nights to chambering -and wantonness, to dancing and the world’s revelry; -we did not tire then; we were chiding the sun that -he rose so soon, and wishing the hours would lag -awhile that we might delight in wilder merriment -and perhaps deeper sin. Oh, wherefore, should we -weary in heavenly employments? Why grow we -weary when asked to watch with our Lord? Up, -sluggish heart, Jesus calls thee! Rise and go -forth to meet the Heavenly Friend in the place -where He manifests Himself.”</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_93">93</span>We can never expect to grow in the likeness of -our Lord unless we follow His example and give -more time to communion with the Father. A -revival of real praying would produce a spiritual -revolution.</p> - -<div><span class="pageno" id="Page_94">94</span></div> -<div class="c001"></div> -<div class="page"><hr /></div> - -<p class="c008"><i>Bear up the hands that hang down, by faith and prayer; -support the tottering knees. Have you any days of fasting -and prayer? Storm the throne of grace and persevere therein, -and mercy will come down.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—John Wesley.</div> - -<p class="c012"><i>We must remember that the goal of prayer is the ear of -God. Unless that is gained the prayer has utterly failed. -The uttering of it may have kindled devotional feeling in -our minds, the hearing of it may have comforted and strengthened -the hearts of those with whom we have prayed, but if the prayer -has not gained the heart of God, it has failed in its essential -purpose.</i></p> - -<p class="c009"><i>A mere formalist can always pray so as to please himself. -What has he to do but to open his book and read the prescribed -words, or bow his knee and repeat such phrases as -suggest themselves to his memory or his fancy? Like the -Tartarian Praying Machine, give but the wind and the wheel, -and the business is fully arranged. So much knee-bending -and talking, and the prayer is done. The formalist’s prayers -are always good, or, rather, always bad, alike. But the living -child of God never offers a prayer which pleases himself; his -standard is above his attainments; he wonders that God -listens to him, and though he knows he will be heard for Christ’s -sake, yet he accounts it a wonderful instance of condescending -mercy that such poor prayers as his should ever reach the -ears of the Lord God of Sabaoth.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—C. H. Spurgeon.</div> - -<div class="chapter"> - <span class="pageno" id="Page_95">95</span> - <h2>IX</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="sc">It</span> may be said with emphasis that no lazy saint -prays. Can there be a lazy saint? Can there be a -prayerless saint? Does not slack praying cut -short sainthood’s crown and kingdom? Can there -be a cowardly soldier? Can there be a saintly -hypocrite? Can there be virtuous vice? It is -only when these impossibilities are brought into -being that we then can find a prayerless saint.</p> - -<p class="c006">To go through the motion of praying is a dull -business, though not a hard one. To say prayers -in a decent, delicate way is not heavy work. But -to pray really, to pray till hell feels the ponderous -stroke, to pray till the iron gates of difficulty are -opened, till the mountains of obstacles are removed, -till the mists are exhaled and the clouds are lifted, -and the sunshine of a cloudless day brightens—this -is hard work, but it is God’s work and man’s -best labour. Never was the toil of hand, head -and heart less spent in vain than when praying. -It is hard to wait and press and pray, and hear -no voice, but stay till God answers. The joy of -answered prayer is the joy of a travailing mother -when a man child is born into the world, the joy -<span class="pageno" id="Page_96">96</span>of a slave whose chains have been burst asunder -and to whom new life and liberty have just come.</p> - -<p class="c006">A bird’s-eye view of what has been accomplished -by prayer shows what we lost when the dispensation -of real prayer was substituted by Pharisaical -pretence and sham; it shows, too, how imperative -is the need for holy men and women who will give -themselves to earnest, Christlike praying.</p> - -<p class="c006">It is not an easy thing to pray. Back of the -praying there must lie all the conditions of prayer. -These conditions are possible, but they are not to -be seized on in a moment by the prayerless. Present -they always may be to the faithful and holy, but -cannot exist in nor be met by a frivolous, negligent, -laggard spirit. Prayer does not stand alone. It -is not an isolated performance. Prayer stands in -closest connection with all the duties of an ardent -piety. It is the issuance of a character which is -made up of the elements of a vigorous and -commanding faith. Prayer honours God, acknowledges -His being, exalts His power, adores His -providence, secures His aid. A sneering half-rationalism -cries out against devotion, that it does -nothing but pray. But to pray well is to do all -things well. If it be true that devotion does nothing -but pray, then it does nothing at all. To do nothing -but pray fails to do the praying, for the antecedent, -coincident, and subsequent conditions of prayer -are but the sum of all the energised forces of a -practical, working piety.</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_97">97</span>The possibilities of prayer run parallel with the -promises of God. Prayer opens an outlet for the -promises, removes the hindrances in the way of -their execution, puts them into working order, and -secures their gracious ends. More than this, prayer -like faith, obtains promises, enlarges their operation, -and adds to the measure of their results. -God’s promises were to Abraham and to his seed, -but many a barren womb, and many a minor -obstacle stood in the way of the fulfilment of these -promises; but prayer removed them all, made a -highway for the promises, added to the facility and -speediness of their realisation, and by prayer the -promise shone bright and perfect in its execution.</p> - -<p class="c006">The possibilities of prayer are found in its allying -itself with the purposes of God, for God’s purposes -and man’s praying are the combination of all potent -and omnipotent forces. More than this, the -possibilities of prayer are seen in the fact that it -changes the purposes of God. It is in the very -nature of prayer to plead and give directions. -Prayer is not a negation. It is a positive force. It -never rebels against the will of God, never comes -into conflict with that will, but that it does seek to -change God’s purpose is evident. Christ said, -“The cup which My Father hath given Me shall I -not drink it?” and yet He had prayed that very -night, “If it be possible let this cup pass from Me.” -Paul sought to change the purposes of God about the -thorn in his flesh. God’s purposes were fixed to -<span class="pageno" id="Page_98">98</span>destroy Israel, and the prayer of Moses changed the -purposes of God and saved Israel. In the time of the -Judges Israel were apostate and greatly oppressed. -They repented and cried unto God and He said: -“Ye have forsaken Me and served other gods, -wherefore I will deliver you no more:” but they -humbled themselves, put away their strange gods, -and God’s “soul was grieved for the misery of -Israel,” and he sent them deliverance by Jephthah.</p> - -<p class="c006">God sent Isaiah to say to Hezekiah, “Set thine -house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live;” -and Hezekiah prayed, and God sent Isaiah back -to say, “I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy -tears; behold I will add unto thy days fifteen -years.” “Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be -overthrown,” was God’s message by Jonah. But -Nineveh cried mightily to God, and “God repented -of the evil that He had said He would do unto -them; and He did it not.”</p> - -<p class="c006">The possibilities of prayer are seen from the -divers conditions it reaches and the diverse ends it -secures. Elijah prayed over a dead child, and it -came to life; Elisha did the same thing; Christ -prayed at Lazarus’s grave, and Lazarus came forth. -Peter kneeled down and prayed beside dead Dorcas, -and she opened her eyes and sat up, and Peter -presented her alive to the distressed company. -Paul prayed for Publius, and healed him. Jacob’s -praying changed Esau’s murderous hate into the -kisses of the tenderest brotherly embrace. God -<span class="pageno" id="Page_99">99</span>gave to Rebecca Jacob and Esau because Isaac -prayed for her. Joseph was the child of Rachel’s -prayers. Hannah’s praying gave Samuel to Israel. -John the Baptist was given to Elizabeth, barren -and past age as she was, in answer to the prayer of -Zacharias. Elisha’s praying brought famine or -harvest to Israel; as he prayed so it was. Ezra’s -praying carried the Spirit of God in heart-breaking -conviction to the entire city of Jerusalem, and -brought them in tears of repentance back to God. -Isaiah’s praying carried the shadow of the sun -back ten degrees on the dial of Ahaz.</p> - -<p class="c006">In answer to Hezekiah’s praying an angel slew -one hundred and eighty-five thousand of Sennacherib’s -army in one night. Daniel’s praying opened -to him the vision of prophecy, helped him to -administer the affairs of a mighty kingdom, and -sent an angel to shut the lions’ mouths. The -angel was sent to Cornelius, and the Gospel opened -through him to the Gentile world, because his -“prayers and alms had come up as a memorial -before God.” “And what shall I more say? for -the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of -Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah; of David -also, and Samuel, and of the prophets;” of Paul -and Peter, and John and the Apostles, and the -holy company of saints, reformers, and martyrs, -who, through praying, “subdued kingdoms, wrought -righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the -mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, -<span class="pageno" id="Page_100">100</span>escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness -were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned -to flight the armies of the aliens.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Prayer puts God in the matter with commanding -force: “Ask of Me things to come concerning -My sons,” says God, “and concerning the work -of My hands command ye Me.” We are charged -in God’s Word “always to pray,” “in everything -by prayer,” “continuing instant in prayer,” to -“pray everywhere,” “praying always.” The -promise is as illimitable as the command is comprehensive. -“All things whatsoever ye shall ask in -prayer, believing, ye shall receive,” “whatever -ye shall ask,” “if ye shall ask anything.” “Ye -shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto -you.” “Whatsoever ye ask the Father He will -give it to you.” If there is anything not involved -in “All things whatsoever,” or not found in the -phrase “Ask anything,” then these things may -be left out of prayer. Language could not cover a -wider range, nor involve more fully all <i>minutia</i>. -These statements are but samples of the all-comprehending -possibilities of prayer under the -promises of God to those who meet the conditions -of right praying.</p> - -<p class="c006">These passages, though, give but a general -outline of the immense regions over which prayer -extends its sway. Beyond these the effects of -prayer reaches and secures good from regions -which cannot be traversed by language or thought. -<span class="pageno" id="Page_101">101</span>Paul exhausted language and thought in praying, -but conscious of necessities not covered and realms -of good not reached he covers these impenetrable -and undiscovered regions by this general plea, -“unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly -above all that we ask or think, according to the -power that worketh in us.” The promise is, “Call -upon Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee -great and mighty things, which thou knowest -not.”</p> - -<p class="c006">James declares that “the effectual, fervent -prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” How -much he could not tell, but illustrates it by the -power of Old Testament praying to stir up New -Testament saints to imitate by the fervour and -influence of their praying the holy men of old, -and duplicate and surpass the power of their -praying. Elijah, he says, was a man subject to -like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly -that it might not rain: and it rained not on the -earth by the space of three years and six months. -And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, -and the earth brought forth her fruit.</p> - -<p class="c006">In the Revelation of John the whole lower order -of God’s creation and His providential government, -the Church and the angelic world, are in the attitude -of waiting on the efficiency of the prayers of the -saintly ones on earth to carry on the various interests -of earth and heaven. The angel takes the fire -kindled by prayer and casts it earthward, “and -<span class="pageno" id="Page_102">102</span>there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, -and an earthquake.” Prayer is the force which -creates all these alarms, stirs, and throes. “Ask -of Me,” says God to His Son, and to the Church -of His Son, “and I shall give thee the heathen -for Thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of -the earth for Thy possessions.”</p> - -<p class="c006">The men who have done mighty things for God -have always been mighty in prayer, have well understood -the possibilities of prayer, and made most -of these possibilities. The Son of God, the first -of all and the mightiest of all, has shown us the -all-potent and far-reaching possibilities of prayer. -Paul was mighty for God because he knew how -to use, and how to get others to use, the mighty -spiritual forces of prayer.</p> - -<p class="c006">The seraphim, burning, sleepless, adoring, is the -figure of prayer. It is resistless in its ardour, -devoted and tireless. There are hindrances to -prayer that nothing but pure, intense flame can -surmount. There are toils and outlays and -endurance which nothing but the strongest, most -ardent flame can abide. Prayer may be low-tongued, -but it cannot be cold-tongued. Its words -may be few, but they must be on fire. Its feelings -may not be impetuous, but they must be white -with heat. It is the effectual, fervent prayer that -influences God.</p> - -<p class="c006">God’s house is the house of prayer; God’s work -is the work of prayer. It is the zeal for God’s -<span class="pageno" id="Page_103">103</span>house and the zeal for God’s work that makes -God’s house glorious and His work abide.</p> - -<p class="c006">When the prayer-chambers of saints are closed -or are entered casually or coldly, then Church -rulers are secular, fleshly, materialised; spiritual -character sinks to a low level, and the ministry -becomes restrained and enfeebled.</p> - -<p class="c006">When prayer fails, the world prevails. When -prayer fails the Church loses its Divine characteristics, -its Divine power; the Church is swallowed -up by a proud ecclesiasticism, and the world scoffs -at its obvious impotence.</p> - -<div><span class="pageno" id="Page_104">104</span></div> -<div class="c001"></div> -<div class="page"><hr /></div> - -<p class="c008"><i>I look upon all the four Gospels as thoroughly genuine, for -there is in them the reflection of a greatness which emanated -from the person of Jesus and which was of as Divine a kind -as ever was seen on earth.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Goethe.</div> - -<p class="c012"><i>There are no possibilities, no necessity for prayerless praying, -a heartless performance, a senseless routine, a dead habit, -a hasty, careless performance—it justifies nothing. Prayerless -praying has no life, gives no life, is dead, breathes out -death. Not a battle-axe but a child’s toy, for play not for -service. Prayerless praying does not come up to the importance -and aims of a recreation. Prayerless praying is only a -weight, an impediment in the hour of struggle, of intense -conflict, a call to retreat in the moment of battle and victory.</i></p> - -<div class="chapter"> - <span class="pageno" id="Page_105">105</span> - <h2>X</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="sc">Why</span> do we not pray? What are the hindrances -to prayer? This is not a curious nor trivial -question. It goes not only to the whole matter of -our praying, but to the whole matter of our religion. -Religion is bound to decline when praying is -hindered. That which hinders praying, hinders -religion. He who is too busy to pray will be too -busy to live a holy life.</p> - -<p class="c006">Other duties become pressing and absorbing and -crowd out prayer. Choked to death, would be -the coroner’s verdict in many cases of dead praying, -if an inquest could be secured on this dire, spiritual -calamity. This way of hindering prayer becomes -so natural, so easy, so innocent that it comes on us -all unawares. If we will allow our praying to be -crowded out, it will always be done. Satan had -rather we let the grass grow on the path to our -prayer-chamber than anything else. A closed -chamber of prayer means gone out of business -religiously, or what is worse, made an assignment -and carrying on our religion in some other name than -God’s and to somebody else’s glory. God’s glory is -only secured in the business of religion by carrying -that religion on with a large capital of prayer. The -<span class="pageno" id="Page_106">106</span>apostles understood this when they declared that -their time must not be employed in even the sacred -duties of alms-giving; they must give themselves, -they said, “continually to prayer and to the ministry -of the Word,” prayer being put first with them -and the ministry of the Word having its efficiency -and life from prayer.</p> - -<p class="c006">The process of hindering prayer by crowding -out is simple and goes by advancing stages. First, -prayer is hurried through. Unrest and agitation, -fatal to all devout exercises, come in. Then the -time is shortened, relish for the exercise palls. Then -it is crowded into a corner and depends on the -fragments of time for its exercise. Its value -depreciates. The duty has lost its importance. It -no longer commands respect nor brings benefit. -It has fallen out of estimate, out of the heart, out -of the habits, out of the life. We cease to pray and -cease to live spiritually.</p> - -<p class="c006">There is no stay to the desolating floods of -<a id="corr2396" class="correction" href="#c_2396">worldliness</a> -and business and cares, but prayer. -Christ meant this when He charged us to watch -and pray. There is no pioneering corps for the -Gospel but prayer. Paul knew that when he -declared that “night and day he prayed exceedingly -that we might see your face and might perfect -that which is lacking in your faith.” There is no -arriving at a high state of grace without much -praying and no staying in those high altitudes -without great praying. Epaphras knew this when -<span class="pageno" id="Page_107">107</span>he “laboured fervently in prayers” for the Colossian -Church, “that they might stand perfect and -complete in all the will of God.”</p> - -<p class="c006">The only way to preserve our praying from -being hindered is to estimate prayer at its true and -great value. Estimate it as Daniel did, who, when -he “knew that the writing was signed he went -into his house, and his windows being opened to -Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times -a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God -as he did aforetime.” Put praying into the high -values as Daniel did, above place, honour, ease, -wealth, life. Put praying into the habits as -Daniel did. “As he did aforetime” has much -in it to give firmness and fidelity in the hour of -trial; much in it to remove hindrances and master -opposing circumstances.</p> - -<p class="c006">One of Satan’s wiliest tricks is to destroy the -best by the good. Business and other duties are -good, but we are so filled with these that they -crowd out and destroy the best. Prayer holds the -citadel for God, and if Satan can by any means -weaken prayer he is a gainer so far, and when -prayer is dead the citadel is taken. We must keep -prayer as the faithful sentinel keeps guard, with -sleepless vigilance. We must not keep it half-starved -and feeble as a baby, but we must keep it -in giant strength. Our prayer-chamber should -have our freshest strength, our calmest time, its -hours unfettered, without obtrusion, without haste. -<span class="pageno" id="Page_108">108</span>Private place and plenty of time are the life of -prayer. “To kneel upon our knees three times a -day and pray and give thanks before God as we -did aforetime,” is the very heart and soul of religion, -and makes men, like Daniel, of “an excellent spirit,” -“greatly beloved in heaven.”</p> - -<p class="c006">The greatness of prayer, involving as it does -the whole man, in the intensest form, is not realised -without spiritual discipline. This makes it hard -work, and before this exacting and consuming -effort our spiritual sloth or feebleness stands abashed.</p> - -<p class="c006">The simplicity of prayer, its child-like elements -form a great obstacle to true praying. Intellect -gets in the way of the heart. The child spirit only -is the spirit of prayer. It is no holiday occupation -to make the man a child again. In song, in poetry, -in memory he may wish himself a child again, but -in prayer he must be a child again in reality. At -his mother’s knee, artless, sweet, intense, direct, -trustful. With no shade of doubt, no temper to be -denied. A desire which burns and consumes which -can only be voiced by a cry. It is no easy work to -have this child-like spirit of prayer.</p> - -<p class="c006">If praying were but an hour in the closet, difficulties -would face and hinder even that hour, but -praying is the whole life preparing for the closet. -How difficult it is to cover home and business, all -the sweets and all the bitters of life, with the holy -atmosphere of the closet! A holy life is the only -preparation for prayer. It is just as difficult to -<span class="pageno" id="Page_109">109</span>pray, as it is to live a holy life. In this we find a -wall of exclusion built around our closets; men -do not love holy praying, because they do not love -and will not do holy living. Montgomery sets -forth the difficulties of true praying when he declares -the sublimity and simplicity of prayer.</p> - -<div class="lgcontainerb c011"> - <div class="linegroup"> - <div class="group"> - <div class="line">Prayer is the simplest form of speech</div> - <div class="line in2">That infant lips can try.</div> - <div class="line">Prayer is the sublimest strains that reach</div> - <div class="line in2">The Majesty on high.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="c006">This is not only good poetry, but a profound -truth as to the loftiness and simplicity of prayer. -There are great difficulties in reaching the exalted, -angelic strains of prayer. The difficulty of coming -down to the simplicity of infant lips is not much -less.</p> - -<p class="c006">Prayer in the Old Testament is called wrestling. -Conflict and skill, strenuous, exhaustive effort are -involved. In the New Testament we have the -terms striving, labouring fervently, fervent, effectual, -agony, all indicating intense effort put forth, -difficulties overcome. We, in our praises sing out—</p> - -<div class="lgcontainerb c011"> - <div class="linegroup"> - <div class="group"> - <div class="line">“What various hindrances we meet</div> - <div class="line in1">In coming to a mercy seat.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="c006">We also have learned that the gracious results -secured by prayer are generally proportioned to -the outlay in removing the hindrances which obstruct -our soul’s high communion with God.</p> - -<p class="c006">Christ spake a parable to this end, that men -<span class="pageno" id="Page_110">110</span>ought always to pray and not to faint. The parable -of the importunate widow teaches the difficulties -in praying, how they are to be surmounted, and -the happy results which follow from valorous -praying. Difficulties will always obstruct the way -to the closet as long as it remains true,</p> - -<div class="lgcontainerb c011"> - <div class="linegroup"> - <div class="group"> - <div class="line">“That Satan trembles when he sees</div> - <div class="line in1">The weakest saint upon his knees.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class="c006">Courageous faith is made stronger and purer by -mastering difficulties. These difficulties but couch -the eye of faith to the glorious prize which is to be -won by the successful wrestler in prayer. Men -must not faint in the contest of prayer, but to this -high and holy work they must give themselves, -defying the difficulties in the way, and experience -more than an angel’s happiness in the results. -Luther said: “To have prayed well is to have -studied well.” More than that, to have prayed -well is to have fought well. To have prayed -well is to have lived well. To pray well is to die -well.</p> - -<p class="c006">Prayer is a rare gift, not a popular, ready gift. -Prayer is not the fruit of natural talents; it is the -product of faith, of holiness, of deeply spiritual -character. Men learn to pray as they learn to -love. Perfection in simplicity, in humility in -faith—these form its chief ingredients. Novices -in these graces are not adepts in prayer. It cannot -be seized upon by untrained hands; graduates in -<span class="pageno" id="Page_111">111</span>heaven’s highest school of art can alone touch its -finest keys, raise its sweetest, highest notes. Fine -material, fine finish are requisite. Master workmen -are required, for mere journeymen cannot execute -the work of prayer.</p> - -<p class="c006">The spirit of prayer should rule our spirits and -our conduct. The spirit of the prayer-chamber -must control our lives or the closest hour will be -dull and sapless. Always praying in spirit; always -acting in the spirit of praying; these make our -praying strong. The spirit of every moment is -that which imparts strength to the closet communion. -It is what we are out of the closet which -gives victory or brings defeat to the closet. If -the spirit of the world prevails in our non-closet -hours, the spirit of the world will prevail in our -closet hours, and that will be a vain and idle -farce.</p> - -<p class="c006">We must live for God out of the closet if we -would meet God in the closet. We must bless God -by praying lives if we would have God’s blessing -in the closet. We must do God’s will in our lives -if we would have God’s ear in the closet. We -must listen to God’s voice in public if we would -have God listen to our voice in private. God -must have our hearts out of the closet, if we would -have God’s presence in the closet. If we would -have God in the closet, God must have us out of the -closet. There is no way of praying to God, but -by living to God. The closet is not a confessional, -<span class="pageno" id="Page_112">112</span>simply, but the hour of holy communion and high -and sweet intercourse and of intense intercession.</p> - -<p class="c006">Men would pray better if they lived better. -They would get more from God if they lived more -obedient and well pleasing to God. We would -have more strength and time for the Divine work -of intercession if we did not have to expend so -much strength and time settling up old scores -and paying our delinquent taxes. Our spiritual -liabilities are so greatly in excess of our spiritual -assets that our closet time is spent in taking out a -decree of bankruptcy instead of being the time of -great spiritual wealth for us and for others. Our -closets are too much like the sign, “Closed for -Repairs.”</p> - -<p class="c006">John said of primitive Christian praying, “Whatsoever -we ask we receive of Him, because we keep -His commandments and do those things which are -pleasing in His sight.” We should note what -illimitable grounds were covered, what illimitable -gifts were received by their strong praying: -“Whatsoever”—how comprehensive the range and -reception of mighty praying; how suggestive the -reasons for the ability to pray and to have prayers -answered. Obedience, but more than mere -obedience, doing the things which please God well. -They went to their closets made strong by their -strict obedience and loving fidelity to God in their -conduct. Their lives were not only true and -obedient, but they were thinking about things -<span class="pageno" id="Page_113">113</span>above obedience, searching for and doing things -to make God glad. These can come with eager -step and radiant countenance to meet their Father -in the closet, not simply to be forgiven, but to be -approved and to receive.</p> - -<p class="c006">It makes much difference whether we come to -God as a criminal or a child; to be pardoned or to -be approved; to settle scores or to be embraced; -for punishment or for favour. Our praying to be -strong must be buttressed by holy living. The -name of Christ must be honoured by our lives -before it will honour our intercessions. The life -of faith perfects the prayer of faith.</p> - -<p class="c006">Our lives not only give colour to our praying, but -they give body to it as well. Bad living makes -bad praying. We pray feebly because we live -feebly. The stream of praying cannot rise higher -than the fountain of living. The closet force is -made up of the energy which flows from the -confluent streams of living. The feebleness of -living throws its faintness into closet homes. We -cannot talk to God strongly when we have not -lived for God strongly. The closet cannot be -made holy to God when the life has not been holy -to God. The Word of God emphasises our conduct -as giving value to our praying. “Then shalt thou -call and the Lord shalt answer, Thou shalt cry -and He shall say, Here I am. If thou take away -from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth -the finger, and speaking vanity.”</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_114">114</span>Men are to pray “lifting up holy hands without -wrath and doubting.” We are to pass the time -of our sojourning here in fear if we would call on -the Father. We cannot divorce praying from -conduct. “Whatsoever we ask we receive of Him -because we keep His commandments and do those -things that are pleasing in His sight.” “Ye ask -and receive not because ye ask amiss that ye may -consume it upon your lusts.” The injunction of -Christ, “Watch and pray,” is to cover and guard -conduct that we may come to our closets with -all the force secured by a vigilant guard over our -lives.</p> - -<p class="c006">Our religion breaks down oftenest and most -sadly in our conduct. Beautiful theories are marred -by ugly lives. The most difficult as well as the -most impressive point in piety is to live it. Our -praying suffers as much as our religion from bad -living. Preachers were charged in primitive times -to preach by their lives or preach not at all. So -Christians everywhere ought to be charged to pray -by their lives or pray not at all. Of course, the -prayer of repentance is acceptable. But repentance -means to quit doing wrong and learn to do well. -A repentance which does not produce a change in -conduct is a sham. Praying which does not result -in pure conduct is a delusion. We have missed -the whole office and virtue of praying if it does -not rectify conduct. It is in the very nature of -things that we must quit praying or quit bad conduct. -<span class="pageno" id="Page_115">115</span>Cold, dead praying may exist with bad conduct, -but cold, dead praying is no praying in God’s esteem. -Our praying advances in power as it rectifies the -life. A life growing in its purity and devotion -will be a more prayerful life.</p> - -<p class="c006">The pity is that so much of our praying is without -object or aim. It is without purpose. How much -praying there is by men and women who never -abide in Christ—hasty praying, sweet praying -full of sentiment, pleasing praying, but not backed -by a life wedded to Christ. Popular praying! -How much of this praying is from unsanctified -hearts and unhallowed lips! Prayers spring into -life under the influence of some great excitement, -by some pressing emergency, through some popular -clamour, some great peril. But the conditions of -prayer are not there. We rush into God’s presence -and try to link Him to our cause, inflame Him with -our passions, move Him by our peril. All things -are to be prayed for—but with clean hands, with -absolute deference to God’s will and abiding in -Christ. Prayerless praying by lips and hearts -untrained to prayer, by lives out of harmony with -Jesus Christ; prayerless praying, which has the -form and motion of prayer but is without the true -heart of prayer, never moves God to an answer. -It is of such praying that James says: “Ye have -not because ye ask not; ye ask and receive not, -because ye ask amiss.”</p> - -<p class="c006">The two great evils—not asking, and asking in -<span class="pageno" id="Page_116">116</span>a wrong way. Perhaps the greater evil is wrong -asking, for it has in it the show of duty done, of -praying when there has been no praying—a deceit, -a fraud, a sham. The times of the most praying -are not really the times of the best praying. The -Pharisees prayed much, but they were actuated by -vanity; their praying was the symbol of their -hypocrisy by which they made God’s house of -prayer a den of robbers. Theirs was praying -on state occasions—mechanical, perfunctory, -professional, beautiful in words, fragrant in sentiment, -well ordered, well received by the ears that -heard, but utterly devoid of every element of -real prayer.</p> - -<p class="c006">The conditions of prayer are well ordered and -clear—abiding in Christ; in His name. One of -the first necessities, if we are to grasp the infinite -possibilities of prayer, is to get rid of prayerless -praying. It is often beautiful in words and in -execution; it has the drapery of prayer in rich -and costly form, but it lacks the soul of praying. -We fall so easily into the habit of prayerless service, -of merely filling a programme.</p> - -<p class="c006">If men only prayed on all occasions and in every -place where they go through the motion! If there -were only holy inflamed hearts back of all these -beautiful words and gracious forms! If there were -always uplifted hearts in these erect men who are -uttering flawless but vain words before God! If -there were always reverent bended hearts when -<span class="pageno" id="Page_117">117</span>bended knees are uttering words before God to -please men’s ears!</p> - -<p class="c006">There is nothing that will preserve the life of -prayer; its vigour, sweetness, obligations, seriousness -and value, so much as a deep conviction that -prayer is an approach to God, a pleading with -God, an asking of God. Reality will then be -in it; reverence will then be in the attitude, -in the place, and in the air. Faith will draw, -kindle and open. Formality and deadness cannot -live in this high and all-serious home of the -soul.</p> - -<p class="c006">Prayerless praying lacks the essential element of -true praying; it is not based on desire, and is -devoid of earnestness and faith. Desire burdens -the chariot of prayer, and faith drives its wheels. -Prayerless praying has no burden, because no sense of -need; no ardency, because none of the vision, -strength, or glow of faith. No mighty pressure to -prayer, no holding on to God with the deathless, -despairing grasp, “I will not let Thee go except -Thou bless me.” No utter self-abandon, lost in -the throes of a desperate, pertinacious, and -consuming plea: “Yet now if Thou wilt forgive -their sin—if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of Thy -book;” or, “Give me Scotland, or I die.” Prayerless -praying stakes nothing on the issue, for it has nothing -to stake. It comes with empty hands, indeed, but -they are listless hands as well as empty. They -have never learned the lesson of empty hands -<span class="pageno" id="Page_118">118</span>clinging to the cross; this lesson to them has -no form nor comeliness.</p> - -<p class="c006">Prayerless praying has no heart in its praying. -The lack of heart deprives praying of its reality, -and makes it an empty and unfit vessel. Heart, -soul, life must be in our praying; the heavens -must feel the force of our crying, and must be -brought into oppressed sympathy for our bitter and -needy state. A need that oppresses us, and has no relief -but in our crying to God, must voice our praying.</p> - -<p class="c006">Prayerless praying is insincere. It has no -honesty at heart. We name in words what we -do not want in heart. Our prayers give formal -utterance to the things for which our hearts are -not only not hungry, but for which they really -have no taste. We once heard an eminent and -saintly preacher, now in heaven, come abruptly and -sharply on a congregation that had just risen from -prayer, with the question and statement, “What -did you pray for? If God should take hold of -you and shake you, and demand what you prayed -for, you could not tell Him to save your life what -the prayer was that has just died from your lips.” -So it always is, prayerless praying has neither -memory nor heart. A mere form, a heterogeneous -mass, an insipid compound, a mixture thrown -together for sound and to fill up, but with neither -heart nor aim, is prayerless praying. A dry routine, -a dreary drudge, a dull and heavy task is this -prayerless praying.</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_119">119</span>But prayerless praying is much worse than either -task or drudge, it divorces praying from living; -it utters its words against the world, but with heart -and life runs into the world; it prays for humility, -but nurtures pride; prays for self-denial, while -indulging the flesh. Nothing exceeds in gracious -results true praying, but better not to pray at all -than to pray prayerless prayers, for they are but -sinning, and the worst of sinning is to sin on our -knees.</p> - -<p class="c006">The prayer habit is a good habit, but praying -by dint of habit only is a very bad habit. This -kind of praying is not conditioned after God’s -order, nor generated by God’s power. It is not -only a waste, a perversion, and a delusion, but it -is a prolific source of unbelief. Prayerless praying -gets no results. God is not reached, self is not -helped. It is better not to pray at all than to -secure no results from praying. Better for the -one who prays, better for others. Men hear of -the prodigious results which are to be secured by -prayer: the matchless good promised in God’s -Word to prayer. These keen-eyed worldlings or -timid little faith ones mark the great discrepancy -between the results promised and results realised, -and are led necessarily to doubt the truth and -worth of that which is so big in promise and so -beggarly in results. Religion and God are dishonoured, -doubt and unbelief are strengthened by -much asking and no getting.</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_120">120</span>In contrast with this, what a mighty force -prayerful praying is. Real prayer helps God and -man. God’s Kingdom is advanced by it. The -greatest good comes to man by it. Prayer can -do anything that God can do. The pity is that we -do not believe this as we ought, and we do not put -it to the test.</p> - -<div><span class="pageno" id="Page_121">121</span></div> -<div class="c001"></div> -<div class="page"><hr /></div> - -<p class="c008"><i>The deepest need of the Church to-day is not for any material -or external thing, but the deepest need is spiritual. Prayerless -work will never bring in the kingdom. We neglect to pray -in the prescribed way. We seldom enter the closet and shut -the door for a season of prayer. Kingdom interests are -pressing on us thick and fast and we must pray. Prayerless -giving will never evangelise the world.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Dr. A. J. Gordon.</div> - -<p class="c012"><span class="pageno" id="Page_122">122</span><i>The great subject of prayer, that comprehensive need of -the Christian’s life, is intimately bound up in the personal -fulness of the Holy Spirit. It is “by the One Spirit we have -access unto the Father” (Eph. ii. 18), and by the same Spirit, -having entered the audience chamber through the “new and -living way,” we are enabled to pray in the will of God (Rom. -viii. 15, 26-27; Gal. iv. 6; Eph. vi. 18; Jude 20-21).</i></p> - -<p class="c009"><i>Here is the secret of prevailing prayer, to pray under a -direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit, whose petitions for us -and through us are always according to the Divine purpose, -and hence certain of answer. “Praying in the Holy Ghost” -is but co-operating with the will of God, and such prayer is -always victorious. How many Christians there are who -cannot pray, and who seek by effort, resolve, joining prayer -circles, etc., to cultivate in themselves the “holy art of intercession,” -and all to no purpose. Here for them and for all -is the only secret of a real prayer life—“Be filled with the -Spirit,” who is “the Spirit of grace and supplication.”</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Rev. J. Stuart Holden, M.A.</div> - -<div class="chapter"> - <span class="pageno" id="Page_123">123</span> - <h2>XI</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="sc">The</span> preceding chapter closed with the statement -that prayer can do anything that God can do. -It is a tremendous statement to make, but it is a -statement borne out by history and experience. -If we are abiding in Christ—and if we abide in Him -we are living in obedience to His holy will—and -approach God in His name, then there lie open -before us the infinite resources of the Divine treasure-house.</p> - -<p class="c006">The man who truly prays gets from God many -things denied to the prayerless man. The aim of -all real praying is to get the thing prayed for, as -the child’s cry for bread has for its end the getting -of bread. This view removes prayer clean out of -the sphere of religious performances. Prayer is -not acting a part or going through religious -motions. Prayer is neither official nor formal nor -ceremonial, but direct, hearty, intense. Prayer is -not religious work which must be gone through, -and avails because well done. Prayer is the helpless -and needy child crying to the compassion of the -Father’s heart and the bounty and power of a -Father’s hand. The answer is as sure to come as -<span class="pageno" id="Page_124">124</span>the Father’s heart can be touched and the Father’s -hand moved.</p> - -<p class="c006">The object of asking is to receive. The aim of -seeking is to find. The purpose of knocking is to -arouse attention and get in, and this is Christ’s -iterated and re-iterated asseveration that the prayer -without doubt will be answered, its end without -doubt secured. Not by some round-about way, -but by getting the very thing asked for.</p> - -<p class="c006">The value of prayer does not lie in the number -of prayers, or the length of prayers, but its value -is found in the great truth that we are privileged -by our relations to God to unburden our desires -and make our requests known to God, and He will -relieve by granting our petitions. The child asks -because the parent is in the habit of granting the -child’s requests. As the children of God we need -something and we need it badly, and we go to God -for it. Neither the Bible nor the child of God -knows anything of that half-infidel declaration, that -we are to answer our own prayers. God answers -prayer. The true Christian does not pray to stir -himself up, but his prayer is the stirring up of himself -to take hold of God. The heart of faith knows -nothing of that specious scepticism which stays the -steps of prayer and chills its ardour by whispering -that prayer does not affect God.</p> - -<p class="c006">D. L. Moody used to tell a story of a little child -whose father and mother had died, and who was -taken into another family. The first night she -<span class="pageno" id="Page_125">125</span>asked whether she could pray as she used to do. -They said: “Oh, yes!” So she knelt down and -prayed as her mother had taught her; and when -that was ended, she added a little prayer of her -own: “O God, make these people as kind to me -as father and mother were.” Then she paused and -looked up, as if expecting the answer, and then -added: “Of course you will.” How sweetly simple -was that little one’s faith! She expected God to -answer and “do,” and “of course” she got her -request, and that is the spirit in which God invites -us to approach Him.</p> - -<p class="c006">In contrast to that incident is the story told of the -quaint Yorkshire class leader, Daniel Quorm, who -was visiting a friend. One forenoon he came to -the friend and said, “I am sorry you have met -with such a great disappointment.”</p> - -<p class="c006">“Why, no,” said the man, “I have not met with -any disappointment.”</p> - -<p class="c006">“Yes,” said Daniel, “you were expecting something -remarkable to-day.”</p> - -<p class="c006">“What do you mean?” said the friend.</p> - -<p class="c006">“Why you prayed that you might be kept sweet -and gentle all day long. And, by the way things -have been going, I see you have been greatly -disappointed.”</p> - -<p class="c006">“Oh,” said the man, “I thought you meant -something particular.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Prayer is mighty in its operations, and God -never disappoints those who put their trust and -<span class="pageno" id="Page_126">126</span>confidence in Him. They may have to wait long -for the answer, and they may not live to see it, but -the prayer of faith never misses its object.</p> - -<p class="c006">“A friend of mine in Cincinnati had preached -his sermon and sank back in his chair, when he -felt impelled to make another appeal,” says Dr. J. -Wilbur Chapman. “A boy at the back of the church -lifted his hand. My friend left the pulpit and went -down to him, and said, ‘Tell me about yourself.’ -The boy said, ‘I live in New York. I am a prodigal. -I have disgraced my father’s name and broken my -mother’s heart. I ran away and told them I would -never come back until I became a Christian or they -brought me home dead.’ That night there went -from Cincinnati a letter telling his father and mother -that their boy had turned to God.</p> - -<p class="c006">“Seven days later, in a black-bordered envelope, -a reply came which read: ‘My dear boy, when I got -the news that you had received Jesus Christ the -sky was overcast; your father was dead.’ Then the -letter went on to tell how the father had prayed -for his prodigal boy with his last breath, and -concluded, ‘You are a Christian to-night because -your old father would not let you go.’”</p> - -<p class="c006">A fourteen-year-old boy was given a task by -his father. It so happened that a group of boys -came along just then and wiled the boy away with -them, and so the work went undone. But the -father came home that evening and said, “Frank, -did you do the work that I gave you?” “Yes, -<span class="pageno" id="Page_127">127</span>sir,” said Frank. He told an untruth, and his -father knew it, but said nothing. It troubled the -boy, but he went to bed as usual. Next morning -his mother said to him, “Your father did not sleep -all last night.”</p> - -<p class="c006">“Why didn’t he sleep?” asked Frank.</p> - -<p class="c006">His mother said, “He spent the whole night -praying for you.”</p> - -<p class="c006">This sent the arrow into his heart. He was -deeply convicted of his sin, and knew no rest until -he had got right with God. Long afterward, when -the boy became Bishop Warne, he said that his -decision for Christ came from his father’s prayer -that night. He saw his father keeping his lonely -and sorrowful vigil praying for his boy, and it -broke his heart. Said he, “I can never be -sufficiently grateful to him for that prayer.”</p> - -<p class="c006">An evangelist, much used of God, has put on -record that he commenced a series of meetings in a -little church of about twenty members who were -very cold and dead, and much divided. A little -prayer-meeting was kept up by two or three women. -“I preached, and closed at eight o’clock,” he -says. “There was no one to speak or pray. The -next evening one man spoke.</p> - -<p class="c006">“The next morning I rode six miles to a -<a id="corr2876" href="#c_2876" class="correction">minister’s</a> -study, and kneeled in prayer. I went back, and said -to the little church:</p> - -<p class="c006">“‘If you can make out enough to board me, I -will stay until God opens the windows of heaven. -<span class="pageno" id="Page_128">128</span>God has promised to bless these means, and I -believe He will.’</p> - -<p class="c006">“Within ten days there were so many anxious -souls that I met one hundred and fifty of them -at a time in an inquiry meeting, while Christians -were praying in another house of worship. Several -hundred, I think, were converted. It is safe to -believe God.”</p> - -<p class="c006">A mother asked the late John B. Gough to visit -her son to win him to Christ. Gough found the -young man’s mind full of sceptical notions, and -impervious to argument. Finally, the young man -was asked to pray, just once, for light. He replied: -“I do not know anything perfect to whom or to -which I could pray.” “How about your mother’s -love?” said the orator. “Isn’t that perfect? -Hasn’t she always stood by you, and been ready to -take you in, and care for you, when even your father -had really kicked you out?” The young man -chocked with emotion, and said, “Y-e-s, sir; that -is so.” “Then pray to Love—it will help you. -Will you promise?” He promised. That night the -young man prayed in the privacy of his room. He -kneeled down, closed his eyes, and struggling a -moment uttered the words: “O Love.” Instantly -as by a flash of lightning, the old Bible text came to -him: “God is love,” and he said, brokenly, “O -God!” Then another flash of Divine truth, and a -voice said, “God so loved the world, that He gave -His only begotten Son,”—and there, instantly, he -<span class="pageno" id="Page_129">129</span>exclaimed, “O Christ, Thou incarnation of Divinest -love, show me light and truth.” It was all over. -He was in the light of the most perfect peace. He -ran downstairs, adds the narrator of this incident, -and told his mother that he was saved. That -young man is to-day an eloquent minister of Jesus -Christ.</p> - -<p class="c006">A water famine was threatened in Hakodate, -Japan. Miss Dickerson, of the Methodist Episcopal -Girls’ School, saw the water supply growing less -daily, and in one of the fall months appealed to -the Board in New York for help. There was no -money on hand, and nothing was done. Miss -Dickerson inquired the cost of putting down an -artesian well, but found the expense too great to -be undertaken. On the evening of December 31st, -when the water was almost exhausted, the teachers -and the older pupils met to pray for water, though -they had no idea how their prayer was to be -answered. A couple of days later a letter was -received in the New York office which ran something -like this: “Philadelphia, January 1st. It is six -o’clock in the morning of New Year’s Day. All the -other members of the family are asleep, but I was -awakened with a strange impression that some one, -somewhere, is in need of money which the Lord -wants me to supply.” Enclosed was a cheque for an -amount which just covered the cost of the artesian -well and the piping of the water into the school -buildings.</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_130">130</span>“I have seen God’s hand stretched out to heal -among the heathen in as mighty wonder-working -power as in apostolic times,” once said a well-known -minister to the writer. “I was preaching -to two thousand famine orphan girls, at Kedgaum, -India, at Ramabai’s Mukti (salvation) Mission. A -swarm of serpents as venomous and deadly as the -reptile that smote Paul, suddenly raided the walled -grounds, ‘sent of Satan,’ Ramabai said, and -several of her most beautiful and faithful Christian -girls were smitten by them, two of them bitten -twice. I saw four of the very flower of her flock -in convulsions at once, unconscious and apparently -in the agonies of death.</p> - -<p class="c006">“Ramabai believes the Bible with an implicit and -obedient faith. There were three of us missionaries -there. She said: ‘We will do just what the Bible -says, I want you to minister for their healing -according to James v. 14-18.’ She led the way -into the dormitory where her girls were lying in -spasms, and we laid our hands upon their heads -and prayed, and anointed them with oil in the -name of the Lord. Each of them was healed as -soon as anointed and sat up and sang with faces -shining. That miracle and marvel among the -heathen mightily confirmed the word of the Lord, -and was a profound and overpowering proclamation -of God.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Some years ago, the record of a wonderful work -of grace in connection with one of the stations of -<span class="pageno" id="Page_131">131</span>the China Inland Mission attracted a good deal of -attention. Both the number and spiritual character -of the converts had been far greater than at other -stations where the consecration of the missionaries -had been just as great as at the more fruitful place.</p> - -<p class="c006">This rich harvest of souls remained a mystery -until Hudson Taylor on a visit to England discovered -the secret. At the close of one of his addresses a -gentleman came forward to make his acquaintance. -In the conversation which followed, Mr. Taylor was -surprised at the accurate knowledge the man -possessed concerning this inland China station. -“But how is it,” Mr. Taylor asked, “that you are so -conversant with the conditions of that work?” -“Oh!” he replied, “the missionary there and I are -old college-mates; for years we have regularly -corresponded; he has sent me names of enquirers -and converts, and these I have daily taken to God -in prayer.”</p> - -<p class="c006">At last the secret was found! A praying man -at home, praying definitely, praying daily, for specific -cases among the heathen. That is the real intercessory -missionary.</p> - -<p class="c006">Hudson Taylor himself, as all the world knows, -was a man who knew how to pray and whose praying -was blessed with fruitful answers. In the story of -his life, told by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor, we -find page after page aglow with answered prayer. -On his way out to China for the first time, in 1853, -when he was only twenty-one years of age, he had a -<span class="pageno" id="Page_132">132</span>definite answer to prayer that was a great encouragement -to his faith. “They had just come through -the Dampier Strait, but were not yet out of sight -of the islands. Usually a breeze would spring up -after sunset and last until about dawn. The utmost -use was made of it, but during the day they lay -still with flapping sails, often drifting back and -losing a good deal of the advantage gained at night.” -The story continues in Hudson Taylor’s own words:</p> - -<p class="c006">“This happened notably on one occasion when -we were in dangerous proximity to the north of -New Guinea. Saturday night had brought us to -a point some thirty miles off the land, and during -the Sunday morning service, which was held on -deck, I could not fail to see that the Captain looked -troubled and frequently went over to the side of -the ship. When the service was ended I learnt -from him the cause. A four-knot current was -carrying us toward some sunken reefs, and we were -already so near that it seemed improbable that we -should get through the afternoon in safety. After -dinner, the long boat was put out and all hands -endeavoured, without success, to turn the ship’s -head from the shore.</p> - -<p class="c006">“After standing together on the deck for some -time in silence, the Captain said to me:</p> - -<p class="c006">“‘Well, we have done everything that can be -done. We can only await the result.’</p> - -<p class="c006">“A thought occurred to me, and I replied: ‘No, -there is one thing we have not done yet.’</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_133">133</span>“‘What is that?’ he queried.</p> - -<p class="c006">“‘Four of us on board are Christians. Let us -each retire to his own cabin, and in agreed prayer -ask the Lord to give us immediately a breeze. He -can as easily send it now as at sunset.’</p> - -<p class="c006">“The Captain complied with this proposal. I -went and spoke to the other two men, and after -prayer with the carpenter, we all four retired to -wait upon God. I had a good but very brief season -in prayer, and then felt so satisfied that our request -was granted that I could not continue asking, and -very soon went up again on deck. The first officer, -a godless man, was in charge. I went over and -asked him to let down the clews or corners of the -mainsail, which had been drawn up in order to lessen -the useless flapping of the sail against the rigging.</p> - -<p class="c006">“‘What would be the good of that?’ he -answered roughly.</p> - -<p class="c006">“I told him we had been asking a wind from -God; that it was coming immediately; and we -were so near the reef by this time that there was -not a minute to lose.</p> - -<p class="c006">“With an oath and a look of contempt, he said -he would rather see a wind than hear of it.</p> - -<p class="c006">“But while he was speaking I watched his eye, -following it up to the royal, and there, sure enough, -the corner of the topmost sail was beginning to -tremble in the breeze.</p> - -<p class="c006">“‘Don’t you see the wind is coming? Look at -the royal!’ I exclaimed.</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_134">134</span>“‘No, it is only a cat’s paw,’ he rejoined (a mere -puff of wind).</p> - -<p class="c006">“‘Cat’s paw or not,’ I cried, ‘pray let down the -mainsail and give us the benefit.’</p> - -<p class="c006">“This he was not slow to do. In another minute -the heavy tread of the men on deck brought up -the Captain from his cabin to see what was the -matter. The breeze had indeed come! In a few -minutes we were ploughing our way at six or seven -knots an hour through the water ... and though -the wind was sometimes unsteady, we did not -altogether lose it until after passing the Pelew -Islands.</p> - -<p class="c006">“Thus God encouraged me,” adds this praying -saint, “ere landing on China’s shores to bring -every variety of need to Him in prayer, and to -expect that He would honour the name of the -Lord Jesus and give the help each emergency -required.”</p> - -<p class="c006">In an address at Cambridge some time ago -(reported in “The Life of Faith,” April 3rd, 1912), -Mr. S. D. Gordon told in his own inimitable way -the story of a man in his own country, to illustrate -from real life the fact of the reality of prayer, and -that it is not mere talking.</p> - -<p class="c006">“This man,” said Mr. Gordon, “came of an old -New England family, a bit farther back an English -family. He was a giant in size, and a keen man -mentally, and a university-trained man. He had -gone out West to live, and represented a prominent -<span class="pageno" id="Page_135">135</span>district in our House of Congress, answering to -your House of Commons. He was a prominent -leader there. He was reared in a Christian family, -but he was a sceptic, and used to lecture against -Christianity. He told me he was fond, in his -lectures, of proving, as he thought, conclusively, -that there was no God. That was the type of his -infidelity.</p> - -<p class="c006">“One day he told me he was sitting in the Lower -House of Congress. It was at the time of a -Presidential Election, and when party feeling ran -high. One would have thought that was the last -place where a man would be likely to think about -spiritual things. He said: ‘I was sitting in my -seat in that crowded House and that heated atmosphere, -when a feeling came to me that the God, -whose existence I thought I could successfully -disprove, was just there above me, looking down -on me, and that He was displeased with me, and -with the way I was doing. I said to myself, ‘This -is ridiculous, I guess I’ve been working too hard. -I’ll go and get a good meal and take a long walk -and shake myself, and see if that will take this -feeling away.’ He got his extra meal, took a -walk, and came back to his seat, but the impression -would not be shaken off that God was there and -was displeased with him. He went for a walk, -day after day, but could never shake the feeling -off. Then he went back to his constituency in -his State, he said, to arrange matters there. He -<span class="pageno" id="Page_136">136</span>had the ambition to be the Governor of his State, -and his party was the dominant party in the State, -and, as far as such things could be judged, he -was in the line to become Governor there, in one -of the most dominant States of our Central West. -He said: ‘I went home to fix that thing up as -far as I could, and to get ready for it. But I had -hardly reached home and exchanged greetings, -when my wife, who was an earnest Christian woman, -said to me that a few of them had made a little -covenant of prayer that I might become a Christian.’ -He did not want her to know the experience that he -had just been going through, and so he said as -carelessly as he could, ‘When did this thing begin, -this praying of yours?’ She named the date. -Then he did some very quick thinking, and he -knew, as he thought back, that it was the day on -the calendar when that strange impression came -to him for the first time.</p> - -<p class="c006">“He said to me: ‘I was tremendously shaken. -I wanted to be honest. I was perfectly honest -in not believing in God, and I thought I was right. -But if what she said was true, then merely as a -lawyer sifting his evidence in a case, it would be -good evidence that there was really something in -their prayer. I was terrifically shaken, and wanted -to be honest, and did not know what to do. That -same night I went to a little Methodist chapel, -and if somebody had known how to talk with me, -I think I should have accepted Christ that night.’ -<span class="pageno" id="Page_137">137</span>Then he said that the next night he went back -again to that chapel, where meetings were being -held each night, and there he kneeled at the altar, -and yielded his great strong will to the will of God. -Then he said, ‘I knew I was to preach,’ and he -is preaching still in a Western State. That is -half of the story. I also talked with his wife—I -wanted to put the two halves together, so as -to get the bit of teaching in it all—and she told -me this. She had been a Christian—what you call -a nominal Christian—a strange confusion of terms. -Then there came a time when she was led into a -full surrender of her life to the Lord Jesus Christ. -Then she said, ‘At once there came a great intensifying -of desire that my husband might be a Christian, -and we made that little compact to pray for him -each day until he became a Christian. That night -I was kneeling at my bedside before going to rest, -praying for my husband, praying very earnestly -and then a voice said to me, ‘Are you willing -for the results that will come if your husband is -converted?’ The little message was so very -distinct that she said she was frightened; she -had never had such an experience. But she went -on praying still more earnestly, and again there -came the quiet voice, ‘Are you willing for the -consequences?’ And again there was a sense of -being startled, frightened. But she still went on -praying, and wondering what this meant, and a -third time the quiet voice came more quietly than -<span class="pageno" id="Page_138">138</span>ever as she described it, ‘Are you willing for the -consequences?’</p> - -<p class="c006">“Then she told me she said with great earnestness, -‘O God, I am willing for anything Thou dost think -good, if only my husband may know Thee, and -become a true Christian man.’ She said that -instantly, when that prayer came from her lips, -there came into her heart a wonderful sense of -peace, a great peace that she could not explain, -a ‘peace that passeth understanding,’ and from -that moment—it was the very night of the covenant, -the night when her husband had that first strange -experience—the assurance never left her that he -would accept Christ. But all those weeks she -prayed with the firm assurance that the result -was coming. What were the consequences? They -were of a kind that I think no one would think -small. She was the wife of a man in a very -prominent political position; she was the wife of -a man who was in the line of becoming the first -official of his State, and she officially the first lady -socially of that State, with all the honour that -that social standing would imply. Now she is the -wife of a Methodist preacher, with her home changed -every two or three years, she going from this place -to that, a very different social position, and having -a very different income than she would otherwise -have had. Yet I never met a woman who had -more of the wonderful peace of God in her heart, -and of the light of God in her face, than that woman.”</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_139">139</span>And Mr. Gordon’s comment on that incident is -this: “Now, you can see at once that there was -no change in the purpose of God through that -prayer. The prayer worked out His purpose; -it did not change it. But the woman’s surrender -gave the opportunity of working out the will that -God wanted to work out. If we might give ourselves -to Him and learn His will, and use all our -strength in learning His will and bending to His -will, then we would begin to pray, and there is -simply nothing that could resist the tremendous -power of the prayer. Oh for more men who will -be simple enough to get in touch with God, and -give Him the mastery of the whole life, and learn -His will, and then give themselves, as Jesus gave -Himself, to the sacred service of intercession!”</p> - -<p class="c006">To the man or woman who is acquainted with -God and who knows how to pray, there is nothing -remarkable in the answers that come. They are -sure of being heard, since they ask in accordance -with what they know to be the mind and the -will of God. Dr. William Burt, Bishop of Europe -in the Methodist Episcopal Church, tells that a -few years ago, when he visited their Boys’ School -in Vienna, he found that although the year was not -up, all available funds had been spent. He hesitated -to make a special appeal to his friends in America. -He counselled with the teachers. They took the -matter to God in earnest and continued prayer, -believing that He would grant their request. Ten -<span class="pageno" id="Page_140">140</span>days later Bishop Burt was in Rome, and there -came to him a letter from a friend in New York, -which read substantially thus: “As I went to my -office on Broadway one morning [and the date was -the very one on which the teachers were praying], -a voice seemed to tell me that you were in need of -funds for the Boys’ School in Vienna. I very -gladly enclose a cheque for the work.” The cheque -was for the amount needed. There had been no -human communication between Vienna and New -York. But while they were yet speaking God -answered them.</p> - -<p class="c006">Some time ago there appeared in an English -religious weekly the report of an incident narrated -by a well-known preacher in the course of an address -to children. For the truth of the story he was -able to vouch. A child lay sick in a country cottage, -and her younger sister heard the doctor say, as he -left the house, “Nothing but a miracle can save -her.” The little girl went to her money-box, took -out the few coins it contained, and in perfect -simplicity of heart went to shop after shop in the -village street, asking, “Please, I want to buy a -miracle.” From each she came away disappointed. -Even the local chemist had to say, “My dear, we -don’t sell miracles here.” But outside his door -two men were talking, and had overheard the -child’s request. One was a great doctor from a -London hospital, and he asked her to explain what -she wanted. When he understood the need, he -<span class="pageno" id="Page_141">141</span>hurried with her to the cottage, examined the sick -girl, and said to the mother: “It is true—only a -miracle can save her, and it must be performed -at once.” He got his instruments, performed the -operation, and the patient’s life was saved.</p> - -<p class="c006">D. L. Moody gives this illustration of the power -of prayer: “While in Edinburgh, a man was -pointed out to me by a friend, who said: ‘That -man is chairman of the Edinburgh Infidel Club.’ -I went and sat beside him and said, ‘My friend, -I am glad to see you in our meeting. Are you -concerned about your welfare?’</p> - -<p class="c006">“‘I do not believe in any hereafter.’</p> - -<p class="c006">“‘Well, just get down on your knees and let me -pray for you.’</p> - -<p class="c006">“‘No, I do not believe in prayer.’</p> - -<p class="c006">“I knelt beside him as he sat, and prayed. He -made a great deal of sport of it. A year after -I met him again. I took him by the hand and -said: ‘Hasn’t God answered my prayer yet?’</p> - -<p class="c006">“‘There is no God. If you believe in one who -answers prayer, try your hand on me.’</p> - -<p class="c006">“‘Well, a great many are now praying for you, -and God’s time will come, and I believe you will -be saved yet.’</p> - -<p class="c006">“Some time afterwards I got a letter from a -leading barrister in Edinburgh telling me that my -infidel friend had come to Christ, and that seventeen -of his club men had followed his example.</p> - -<p class="c006">“I did not know <i>how</i> God would answer prayer, -<span class="pageno" id="Page_142">142</span>but I knew He would answer. Let us come -<a id="corr3220" class="correction" href="#c_3220">boldly</a> -to God.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Robert Louis Stevenson tells a vivid story of a -storm at sea. The passengers below were greatly -alarmed, as the waves dashed over the vessel. -At last one of them, against orders, crept to the -deck, and came to the pilot, who was lashed to the -wheel which he was turning without flinching. The -pilot caught sight of the terror-stricken man, and -gave him a reassuring smile. Below went the -passenger, and comforted the others by saying, -“I have seen the face of the pilot, and he smiled. -All is well.”</p> - -<p class="c006">That is how we feel when through the gateway of -prayer we find our way into the Father’s presence. -We see His face, and we know that all is well, -since His hand is on the helm of events, and “even -the winds and the waves obey Him.” When we -live in fellowship with Him, we come with confidence -into His presence, asking in the full confidence of -receiving and meeting with the justification of our -faith.</p> - -<div><span class="pageno" id="Page_143">143</span></div> -<div class="c001"></div> -<div class="page"><hr /></div> - -<p class="c008"><i>Let your hearts be much set on revivals of religion. Never -forget that the churches have hitherto existed and prospered -by revivals; and that if they are to exist and prosper in time -to come, it must be by the same cause which has from the first been -their glory and defence.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Joel Hawes.</div> - -<p class="c012"><i>If any minister can be satisfied without conversions, he -shall have no conversions.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—C. H. Spurgeon.</div> - -<p class="c012"><span class="pageno" id="Page_144">144</span><i>I do not believe that my desires for a revival were ever -half so strong as they ought to be; nor do I see how a -minister can help being in a “constant fever” when his -Master is dishonoured and souls are destroyed in so many -ways.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—Edward Payson.</div> - -<p class="c012"><i>An aged saint once came to the pastor at night and said: -“We are about to have a revival.” He was asked why he -knew so. His answer was, “I went into the stable to take -care of my cattle two hours ago, and there the Lord has kept -me in prayer until just now. And I feel that we are going -to be revived.” It was the commencement of a revival.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—H. C. Fish.</div> - -<div class="chapter"> - <span class="pageno" id="Page_145">145</span> - <h2>XII</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="sc">It</span> has been said that the history of revivals is -the history of religion, and no one can study their -history without being impressed with their mighty -influence upon the destiny of the race. To look -back over the progress of the Divine Kingdom -upon earth is to review revival periods which -have come like refreshing showers upon dry and -thirsty ground, making the desert to blossom -as the rose, and bringing new eras of spiritual life -and activity just when the Church had fallen under -the influence of the apathy of the times, and needed -to be aroused to a new sense of her duty and responsibility. -“From one point of view, and that not -the least important,” writes Principal Lindsay, in -“The Church and the Ministry in the Early -Centuries,” “the history of the Church flows on -from one time of revival to another, and whether -we take the awakenings in the old Catholic, the -mediæval, or the modern Church, these have always -been the work of men specially gifted with the -power of seeing and declaring the secrets of the -deepest Christian life, and the effect of their work -has always been proportionate to the spiritual -receptivity of the generation they have spoken to.”</p> - -<p class="c006"><span class="pageno" id="Page_146">146</span>As God, from the beginning, has wrought -prominently through revivals, there can be no -denial of the fact that revivals are a part of the -Divine plan. The Kingdom of our Lord has been -advanced in large measure by special seasons of -gracious and rapid accomplishment of the work of -conversion, and it may be inferred, therefore, -that the means through which God has worked in -other times will be employed in our time to produce -similar results. “The quiet conversion of one -sinner after another, under the ordinary ministry -of the Gospel,” says one writer on the subject, -“must always be regarded with feelings of satisfaction -and gratitude by the ministers and disciples -of Christ; but a periodical manifestation of the -simultaneous conversion of thousands is also to -be desired, because of its adaptation to afford a -visible and impressive demonstration that God -has made that same Jesus, Who was rejected and -crucified, both Lord and Christ; and that, in -virtue of His Divine Mediatorship, He has -assumed the royal sceptre of universal supremacy, -and ‘must reign till all His enemies be made His -footstool.’ It is, therefore, reasonable to expect -that, from time to time, He will repeat that which -on the day of Pentecost formed the conclusive -and crowning evidence of His Messiahship and -Sovereignty; and, by so doing, startle the -slumbering souls of careless worldlings, gain the -attentive ear of the unconverted, and, in a remarkable -<span class="pageno" id="Page_147">147</span>way, break in upon those brilliant dreams -of earthly glory, grandeur, wealth, power and -happiness, which the rebellious and God-forgetting -multitude so fondly cherish. Such an outpouring -of the Holy Spirit forms at once a demonstrative -proof of the completeness and acceptance of His -once offering of Himself as a sacrifice for sin, and a -prophetic ‘earnest’ of the certainty that He ‘shall -appear the second time without sin unto salvation,’ -to judge the world in righteousness.”</p> - -<p class="c006">And that revivals are to be expected, proceeding, -as they do, from the right use of the appropriate -means, is a fact which needs not a little emphasis -in these days, when the material is exalted at the -expense of the spiritual, and when ethical standards -are supposed to be supreme. That a revival is -not a miracle was powerfully taught by Charles G. -Finney. There might, he said, be a miracle among -its antecedent causes, or there might not. The -Apostles employed miracles simply as a means by -which they arrested attention to their message, -and established its Divine authority. “But the -miracle was not the revival. The miracle was one -thing; the revival that followed it was quite -another thing. The revivals in the Apostles’ days -were connected with miracles, but they were not -miracles.” All revivals are dependent upon God, -but in revivals, as in other things, He invites and -requires the assistance of man, and the full result -is obtained when there is co-operation between -<span class="pageno" id="Page_148">148</span>the Divine and the human. In other words, to -employ a familiar phrase, God alone can save the -world, but God cannot save the world alone. God -and man unite for the task, the response of the -Divine being invariably in proportion to the desire -and the effort of the human.</p> - -<p class="c006">This co-operation, then, being necessary, what is -the duty which we, as co-workers with God, require -to undertake? First of all, and most important -of all—the point which we desire particularly to -emphasise—we must give ourselves to prayer. -“Revivals,” as Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman reminds us, -“are born in prayer. When Wesley prayed -England was revived; when Knox prayed, Scotland -was refreshed; when the Sunday School teachers -of Tannybrook prayed, 11,000 young people were -added to the Church in a year. Whole nights of -prayer have always been succeeded by whole days -of soul-winning.”</p> - -<p class="c006">When D. L. Moody’s Church in Chicago lay in -ashes, he went over to England, in 1872, not to -preach, but to listen to others preach while his -new church was being built. One Sunday morning -he was prevailed upon to preach in a London -pulpit. But somehow the spiritual atmosphere -was lacking. He confessed afterwards that he -never had such a hard time preaching in his life. -Everything was perfectly dead, and, as he vainly -tried to preach, he said to himself, “What a fool -I was to consent to preach! I came here to listen, -<span class="pageno" id="Page_149">149</span>and here I am preaching.” Then the awful thought -came to him that he had to preach again at night, -and only the fact that he had given the promise to -do so kept him faithful to the engagement. But -when Mr. Moody entered the pulpit at night, and -faced the crowded congregation, he was conscious -of a new atmosphere. “The powers of an unseen -world seemed to have fallen upon the audience.” -As he drew towards the close of his sermon he -became emboldened to give out an invitation, and -as he concluded he said, “If there is a man or -woman here who will to-night accept Jesus Christ, -please stand up.” At once about 500 people rose -to their feet. Thinking that there must be some -mistake, he asked the people to be seated, and then, in -order that there might be no possible misunderstanding, -he repeated the invitation, couching it in even -more definite and difficult terms. Again the same -number rose. Still thinking that something must -be wrong, Mr. Moody, for the second time, asked -the standing men and women to be seated, and -then he invited all who really meant to accept -Christ to pass into the vestry. Fully 500 people -did as requested, and that was the beginning of a -revival in that church and neighbourhood, which -brought Mr. Moody back from Dublin, a few days -later, that he might assist the wonderful work of -God.</p> - -<p class="c006">The sequel, however, must be given, or our -purpose in relating the incident will be defeated. -<span class="pageno" id="Page_150">150</span>When Mr. Moody preached at the morning service -there was a woman in the congregation who had an -invalid sister. On her return home she told the -invalid that the preacher had been a Mr. Moody -from Chicago, and on hearing this she turned pale. -“What,” she said, “Mr. Moody from Chicago! -I read about him some time ago in an American -paper, and I have been praying God to send him -to London, and to our church. If I had known -he was going to preach this morning I would have -eaten no breakfast. I would have spent the whole -time in prayer. Now, sister, go out of the room, -lock the door, send me no dinner; no matter who -comes, don’t let them see me. I am going to -spend the whole afternoon and evening in prayer.” -And so while Mr. Moody stood in the pulpit that had -been like an ice-chamber in the morning, the bed-ridden -saint was holding him up before God, and -God, who ever delights to answer prayer, poured -out His Spirit in mighty power.</p> - -<p class="c006">The God of revivals who answered the prayer of -His child for Mr. Moody, is willing to hear and to -answer the faithful, believing prayers of His people -to-day. Wherever God’s conditions are met there -the revival is sure to fall. Professor Thos. Nicholson, -of Cornell College, U.S.A., relates an experience -on his first circuit that impresses anew the old -lesson of the place of prayer in the work of God.</p> - -<p class="c006">There had not been a revival on that circuit in -years, and things were not spiritually hopeful. -<span class="pageno" id="Page_151">151</span>During more than four weeks the pastor had preached -faithfully, visited from house to house, in stores, -shops, and out-of-the-way places, and had done -everything he could. The fifth Monday night saw -<i>many of the official members at lodges</i>, but only a -corporal’s guard at the church.</p> - -<p class="c006">From that meeting the pastor went home, cast -down, but not in despair. He resolved to spend -that night in prayer. “Locking the door, he -took Bible and hymn book and began to inquire -more diligently of the Lord, though the meetings -had been the subject of hours of earnest prayer. -Only God knows the anxiety and the faithful, -prayerful study of that night. Near the dawn a -great peace and a full assurance came that God -would surely bless the plan which had been decided -upon, and a text was chosen which he felt sure was -of the Lord. Dropping upon the bed, the pastor -slept about two hours, then rose, hastily breakfasted, -and went nine miles to the far side of the -circuit to visit some sick people. All day the -assurance increased.</p> - -<p class="c006">“Toward night a pouring rain set in, the roads -were heavy and we reached home, wet, supperless, -and a little late, only to find no fire in the church, -the lights unlit, and no signs of service. The -janitor had concluded that the rain would prevent -the service. We changed the order, rang the -bell, and prepared for war. Three young men -formed the congregation, but in that ‘full assurance’ -<span class="pageno" id="Page_152">152</span>the pastor delivered the message which had been -prayed out on the preceding night, as earnestly -and as fully as if the house had been crowded, -then made a personal appeal to each young man -in turn. Two yielded, and testified before the -meeting closed.</p> - -<p class="c006">“The tired pastor went to a sweet rest, and next -morning, rising a little later than usual, learned -that one of the young men was going from store -to store throughout the town telling of his wonderful -deliverance, and exhorting the people to salvation. -Night after night conversions occurred, until in two -weeks we heard 144 people testify in forty-five -minutes. All three points of that circuit saw a blaze -of revival that winter, and family after family came -into the church, until the membership was more -than trebled.</p> - -<p class="c006">“Out of that meeting one convert is a successful -pastor in the Michigan Conference, another is the -wife of one of the choicest of our pastors, and a -third was in the ministry for a number of years, -and then went to another denomination, where he -is faithful unto this day. Probably none of the -members ever knew of the pastor’s night of prayer, -but he verily believes that God somehow does for -the man who thus prays, what He does not do for -the man who does not pray, and he is certain that -‘more things are wrought by prayer than this -world dreams of.’”</p> - -<p class="c006">All the true revivals have been born in prayer. -<span class="pageno" id="Page_153">153</span>When God’s people become so concerned about -the state of religion that they lie on their faces -day and night in earnest supplication, the blessing -will be sure to fall.</p> - -<p class="c006">It is the same all down the ages. Every revival -of which we have any record has been bathed in -prayer. Take, for example, the wonderful revival -in Shotts (Scotland) in 1630. The fact that several -of the then persecuted ministers would take a -part in solemn convocation having become generally -known, a vast concourse of godly persons assembled -on this occasion from all quarters of the country, -and <i>several days were spent in social prayer</i>, -preparatory to the service. In the evening, instead -of retiring to rest, the multitude divided themselves -into little bands, and <i>spent the whole night in supplication -and praise</i>. The Monday was consecrated -to thanksgiving, a practice not then common, -and proved the great days of the feast. After -much entreaty, John Livingston, chaplain to the -Countess of Wigtown, a young man and not ordained, -agreed to preach. He <i>had spent the night in prayer</i> -and conference—but as the hour of assembling -approached his heart quailed at the thought of -addressing so many aged and experienced saints, -and he actually fled from the duty he had undertaken. -But just as the kirk of Shotts was vanishing -from his view, those words, “Was I ever a barren -wilderness or a land of darkness?” were borne -in upon his mind with such force as compelled him -<span class="pageno" id="Page_154">154</span>to return to the work. He took for his text Ezekiel -xxxvi. 25, 26, and discoursed with great power for -about two hours. <i>Five hundred conversions</i> were -believed to have occurred under that one sermon, -thus prefaced by prayer. “It was the sowing of a -seed through Clydesdale, so that many of the most -eminent Christians of that country could date -their conversion, or some remarkable confirmation -of their case, from that day.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Of Richard Baxter it has been said that “he -stained his study walls with praying breath; and -after becoming thus anointed with the unction -of the Holy Ghost he sent a river of living water over -Kidderminster.” Whitfield once thus prayed, “O -Lord, give me souls or take my soul.” After much -closet pleading, “he once went to the Devil’s fair -and took more than a thousand souls out of the paw -of the lion in a single day.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Mr. Finney says: “I once knew a minister who -had a revival fourteen winters in succession. I did -not know how to account for it till I saw one of his -members get up in a prayer meeting and make a -confession. ‘Brethren,’ he said, ‘I have been -long in the habit of praying every Saturday night -till after midnight for the descent of the Holy -Ghost among us. And now, brethren (and he -began to weep), I confess that I have neglected it -for two or three weeks.’ The secret was out. That -minister had a praying church.”</p> - -<p class="c006">And so we might go on multiplying illustration -<span class="pageno" id="Page_155">155</span>upon illustration to show the place of prayer in -revival and to demonstrate that every mighty -movement of the Spirit of God has had its source -in the prayer-chamber. The lesson of it all is this, -that as workers together with God we must regard -ourselves as in not a little measure responsible for -the conditions which prevail around us to-day. -Are we concerned about the coldness of the Church? -Do we grieve over the lack of conversions? Does -our soul go out to God in midnight cries for the -outpouring of His Spirit?</p> - -<p class="c006">If not, part of the blame lies at our door. If we -do our part, God will do His. Around us is a -world lost in sin, above us is a God willing and able -to save; it is ours to build the bridge that links -heaven and earth, and prayer is the mighty instrument -that does the work.</p> - -<p class="c006">And so the old cry comes to us with insistent -voice, “Pray, brethren, pray.”</p> - -<div><span class="pageno" id="Page_156">156</span></div> -<div class="c001"></div> -<div class="page"><hr /></div> - -<p class="c008"><i>Lord Jesus, cause me to know in my daily experience the -glory and sweetness of Thy name, and then teach me how to -use it in my prayer, so that I may be even like Israel, a prince -prevailing with God. Thy name is my passport, and secures -me access; Thy name is my plea, and secures me answer; -Thy name is my honour and secures me glory. Blessed Name, -Thou art honey in my mouth, music in my ear, heaven in my -heart, and all in all to all my being!</i></p> -<div class="c010">—C. H. Spurgeon.</div> - -<p class="c012"><i>I do not mean that every prayer we offer is answered -exactly as we desire it to be. Were this the case, it would mean -that we would be dictating to God, and prayer would degenerate -into a mere system of begging. Just as an earthly father knows -what is best for his children’s welfare, so does God take into -consideration the particular needs of His human family, -and meets them out of His wonderful storehouse. If our -petitions are in accordance with His will, and if we seek His -glory in the asking, the answers will come in ways that will -astonish us and fill our hearts with songs of thanksgiving. -God is a rich and bountiful Father, and He does not forget His -children, nor withhold from them anything which it would -be to their advantage to receive.</i></p> -<div class="c010">—J. Kennedy Maclean.</div> - -<div class="chapter"> - <span class="pageno" id="Page_157">157</span> - <h2>XIII</h2> -</div> - -<p><span class="sc">The</span> example of our Lord in the matter of prayer -is one which His followers might well copy. Christ -prayed much and He taught much about prayer. -His life and His works, as well as His teaching, are -illustrations of the nature and necessity of prayer. -He lived and laboured to answer prayer. But the -necessity of importunity in prayer was the -emphasised point in His teaching about prayer. -He taught not only that men must pray, but that -they must persevere in prayer.</p> - -<p class="c006">He taught in command and precept the idea of -energy and earnestness in praying. He gives to -our efforts gradation and climax. We are to ask, -but to the asking we must add seeking, and seeking -must pass into the full force of effort in knocking. -The pleading soul must be aroused to effort by -God’s silence. Denial, instead of abating or -abashing, must arouse its latent energies and kindle -anew its highest ardour.</p> - -<p class="c006">In the Sermon on the Mount, in which He lays -down the cardinal duties of His religion, He not -only gives prominence to prayer in general and -secret prayer in particular, but He sets apart a -distinct and different section to give weight to -importunate prayer. To prevent any discouragement -<span class="pageno" id="Page_158">158</span>in praying He lays as a basic principle the -fact of God’s great fatherly willingness—that -God’s willingness to answer our prayers exceeds -our willingness to give good and necessary things -to our children, just as far as God’s ability, goodness -and perfection exceed our infirmities and evil. -As a further assurance and stimulant to prayer -Christ gives the most positive and iterated assurance -of answer to prayers. He declares: “Ask and -it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock -and it shall be opened unto you.” And to make -assurance doubly sure, He adds: “For every -one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, -findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be -opened.”</p> - -<p class="c006">Why does He unfold to us the Father’s loving -readiness to answer the prayer of His children? -Why does He asseverate so strongly that prayer -will be answered? Why does He repeat that -positive asseveration six times? Why does Christ -on two distinct occasions go over the same strong -promises, iterations, and reiterations in regard -to the certainty of prayer being answered? Because -He knew that there would be delay in many an -answer which would call for importunate pressing, -and that if our faith did not have the strongest -assurance of God’s willingness to answer, delay -would break it down. And that our spiritual -sloth would come in, under the guise of submission, -and say it is not God’s will to give what we ask, and -<span class="pageno" id="Page_159">159</span>so cease praying and lose our case. After Christ -had put God’s willingness to answer prayer in a -very clear and strong light, He then urges to -importunity, and that every unanswered prayer, -instead of abating our pressure should only increase -intensity and energy. If asking does not get, let -asking pass into the settled attitude and spirit of -seeking. If seeking does not secure the answer, -let seeking pass on to the more energetic and -clamorous plea of knocking. We must persevere -till we get it. No failure here if our faith does not -break down.</p> - -<p class="c006">As our great example in prayer, our Lord puts -love as a primary condition—a love that has purified -the heart from all the elements of hate, revenge, -and ill will. Love is the supreme condition of -prayer, a life inspired by love. The 13th chapter -of 1st Corinthians is the law of prayer as well as -the law of love. The law of love is the law of -prayer, and to master this chapter from the epistle -of St. Paul is to learn the first and fullest condition -of prayer.</p> - -<p class="c006">Christ taught us also to approach the Father in -His name. That is our passport. It is in His name -that we are to make our petitions known. “Verily, -verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, -the works that I do shall he do also; and greater -<i>works</i> 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 -<span class="pageno" id="Page_160">160</span>in the Son. If ye shall ask Me anything in My -name, that will I do.”</p> - -<p class="c006">How wide and comprehensive is that “whatsoever.” -There is no limit to the power of that -name. “Whatsoever ye shall ask.” That is the -Divine declaration, and it opens up to every praying -child a vista of infinite resource and possibility.</p> - -<p class="c006">And that is our heritage. All that Christ has -may become ours if we obey the conditions. The -one secret is prayer. The place of revealing and of -equipment, of grace and of power, is the prayer-chamber, -and as we meet there with God we shall -not only win our triumphs but we shall also grow -in the likeness of our Lord and become His living -witnesses to men.</p> - -<p class="c006">Without prayer the Christian life, robbed of its -sweetness and its beauty, becomes cold and formal -and dead; but rooted in the secret place where -God meets and walks and talks with His own, it -grows into such a testimony of Divine power that -all men will feel its influence and be touched by -the warmth of its love. Thus, resembling our Lord -and Master, we shall be used for the glory of God -and the salvation of our fellow men.</p> - -<p class="c006">And that, surely, is the purpose of all real prayer -and the end of all true service.</p> - -<h2>Transcriber’s Notes</h2> - -<ul class="undent"> -<li>Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.</li> -<li>Added original cover and spine images for free and unlimited use with this eBook.</li> -<li>In the text versions only, text in <i>italics</i> is delimited by _underscores_.</li> -<li>Corrected these typos:</li> -</ul> - -<table class="table0" summary=""> - <tr><th colspan="3">ERRATA</th></tr> - <tr> - <th class="c017">LINE</th> - <th class="c017">Printed Text</th> - <th class="c018">Correction</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="c017"><a id="c_580"></a><a href="#corr580">580</a></td> - <td class="c017">success in the human adminisstration</td> - <td class="c018">administration</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="c017"><a id="c_1002"></a><a href="#corr1002">1002</a></td> - <td class="c017">Such an attiude</td> - <td class="c018">attitude</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="c017"><a id="c_1932"></a><a href="#corr1932">1932</a></td> - <td class="c017">exhausted themslves</td> - <td class="c018">themselves</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="c017"><a id="c_2396"></a><a href="#corr2396">2396</a></td> - <td class="c017">floods of wordliness</td> - <td class="c018">worldliness</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="c017"><a id="c_2876"></a><a href="#corr2876">2876</a></td> - <td class="c017">six miles to a minster’s</td> - <td class="c018">minister’s</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="c017"><a id="c_3220"></a><a href="#corr3220">3220</a></td> - <td class="c017">Let us come boldy</td> - <td class="c018">boldly</td> - </tr> -</table> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PURPOSE IN PRAYER ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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