My Dear ______,
There remains only one other subject to bring before you in this
present series of letters. In the last I directed you to the importance
of the Word of God, and now I desire to speak of prayer and its
connection with the spiritual life. These two--the Word of God and
prayer--are ever conjoined. It was so in the blessed activities of the
life of our Lord. After a long day of ministry we find such a record as
this, "And He withdrew Himself into the wilderness, and prayed"; and
again, "It came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain
to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God" (Luke 5:16; 6: 12).
So, too, when the difficulty arose in the Pentecostal church concerning
the distribution of the offerings of the saints, the apostle said, "It
is not reason that we should leave the Word of God, and serve tables. .
. . We will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry
of the Word" (Acts 6: 2-4). St. Paul likewise unites the two things in
his description of the whole armour of God; for no sooner has he said,
"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which
is the Word of God," than he adds, "Praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit" (Eph. 6: 17, 18).
We have, moreover, direct exhortations to prayer; as for example,
"Continuing instant in prayer"; "Pray without ceasing" (Rom. 12:12; 1
Thess. 5:17. See also Luke 18, etc.). And if you read the introductory
parts of St. Paul's epistles you will see how he embodied his own
exhortations. As you trace his path, as recorded for us in the Acts,
you would think that he never did anything else than preach; but if you
read these parts of the epistles you would almost think that he never
did anything else than pray. Approximating to the example of our
blessed Lord in his unwearied labours, he found, yea, he learnt, the
need of constant waiting upon God. In like manner, prayer is a
necessity for every child of God. For we are in ourselves weak and
helpless, entirely dependent; and prayer is but the expression of our
dependence on Him to whom we pray. Dependent upon God for everything,
our very needs urge us into His presence; and having liberty of access
through Christ, because of the place we occupy, and because of the
relationship we enjoy, we "come boldly unto the throne of grace, that
we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:
16).
1. Our Lord teaches what should be, so to speak, the manner of our
prayers. Speaking to His disciples of the time when He should be absent
from them, He says, "Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do," etc.; and again, "If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I
will do it" (John 14: 13, 14). Two things are here involved. The name
of Christ is our warrant to come before God, before the Father,
reminding us that our title of approach is in Christ alone. And surely
this gives us confidence. If we were to think only of ourselves, our
failures and unworthiness, we should never venture into God's presence;
but when our eyes are directed to Christ, what He is in Himself, what
He is to God, and what He is to us, and remembering that we appear
before God in all His infinite acceptability, we are made to understand
that God delights in us--in our approach, in our cries and prayers. We
thus are encouraged to draw near to God, and to pour out our hearts
before Him in every time of trial or need.
But asking in the name of Christ is more than having a title through
His name; it is, indeed, to appear before God with all the value and
authority of that name. If, for example, I go to a bank and present a
check, I ask for the value of the check in the name of him by whom it
is drawn. So when I appear before God in the name of Christ, I present
my supplications in all the value of that name to God. Hence it is that
our Lord says, "If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it,"
because, indeed, it is the joy of the heart of God to grant every
request that is so preferred. The promise is absolute, without any
limitation; for the simple reason that nothing could be asked in the
name of Christ which was not in accordance with the will of God. For we
could not use His name for any request which was not begotten in our
hearts by His own Spirit.
2. In the next chapter our Lord gives us further teaching on the
same subject. "If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall
ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15: 7). We may
connect with this another scripture: "And this is the confidence that
we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He
heareth us" (1 John 5: 14). Here it is according to the will of God,
therby excluding everything which is not of this character. But our
Lord says, "What ye will"; and this brings before us a very important
aspect of prayer. In this case it is conditional: "If ye abide in Me,
and My words abide in you"; that is, abiding in Christ, ever
remembering our dependence upon Him for everything, that without Him we
can do nothing; and His words abiding in us, moulding us after His own
mind, forming Himself in us, we of necessity express His own thoughts
and His own desires, and consequently "what we will" must, in such a
case, be "according to His will." It will be seen, at the
same time, that the power of our prayers depends upon our spiritual
condition. This is an unfailing principle. It is stated by St. John:
"If our heart condemn us not, [then] have we confidence toward God. And
whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments,
and do those things that are pleasing in His sight" (1 John 3: 21, 22).
St. James also tells us, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous
man availeth much" (James 5: 16). This is of all importance; for
neglecting our spiritual state, and thereby losing present communion
with God, our prayers become cold and lifeless, degenerate into a
repetition of known truths or old phrases, and thus, losing all
significance, pass over into dead forms. The words are uttered to
satisfy conscience; but expressing no heart-felt needs, and no
outgoings of soul after God, they find no response, and bring down no
blessing. Beware of such a state, which is often the commencement of
the backslider's path, and which, unless checked by the grace of God,
will land the soul in open shame and dishonor to the name of Christ.
3. The uses of prayer are manifold. In the first place, the Lord has
associated us with Himself in all His own desires. Yea, our fellowship
is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1: 3). God
therefore counts upon our love to have fellowship with all that is dear
to His own heart. He has made His interests ours; and consequently He
would have us enter into and make these the object of our prayers. What
a privilege! To be permitted to range through all His purposes as
revealed to us in the Word; to watch with delight their unfoldings; to
behold them all centering in, and radiating from, the person of His
Christ, as well as bringing back a revenue of glory to His name! Truly
if we are enabled to enter at all into this wondrous position, by the
power of the Spirit, we shall lack neither subject for, nor motive to,
prayer.
Then, too, we may express in prayer all the manifold needs of our
own souls. "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto
God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep
your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4: 6, 7). This word
is the more remarkable from the fact that it is found in the very
chapter in which the apostle assures us, "My God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (v. 19). Still,
notwithstanding this blessed confidence, God would have us, with all
the freedom of children, to make known to Him our requests; and though
He does not promise to grant them in every case, He yet assures us that
His peace shall guard our hearts. It is in this way, indeed, that
confidence is established in our intercourse with God, that the
priceless habit is formed of having no reserves with Him, and that
intimacy of communion is cultivated. It is in accordance with this that
the psalmist cries, "Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him" (Psalm 62: 8); and that St. Peter says, "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you" (1 Peter 5: 7).
4. It should be added that the word of God lays great stress upon
the connection of faith with prayer. Our Lord says, "What things soever
ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall
have them" (Mark 11: 24). St. James also, after his exhortation to ask
wisdom of God, says, "Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering" (1: 6);
and again, he tells us that "the prayer of faith shall save
the sick" (5: 15). So too in the Hebrews we read, that "without faith
it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh" (i.e., draws near)
"to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek Him" (11: 6). This is easy to understand; for surely
God has a right to count upon our confidence in His love, our trust in
His character, and our belief in His word, since He has so fully
revealed Himself to us in the person of His Son. To doubt, therefore,
as we approach Him, would be to dishonor His name. And just as He
counts upon our confidence and faith, He would have us count upon His
faithfulness and love. As our blessed Lord reminds His disciples, "Your
Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him" (Matt.
6: 8). And as St. Paul teaches us, "He that spared not His own Son, but
delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give
us all things?" (Rom. 8: 32). Thus the gift of His own Son, inasmuch as
it was His greatest gift, and the most perfect pledge of His love, is
the foundation on which we may rest in the full assurance that He not
only will not withhold any good thing from us, but that He will delight
to bless us according to His own heart, and according to His own
knowledge of our need.
5. Once more, all true prayer must be in and by the Holy Spirit.
((See Rom. 8: 26, 27; Phil. 3: 3; Jude 20). Indeed, He is the power for
prayer, as He is for every activity of the spiritual life. We are thus
utterly dependent upon the Lord Jesus for access to God, upon the Holy
Spirit for power to pray, and upon God for the blessings we seek. To
His name be all the praise!
But I will not pursue the subject further. You will, however, permit
me to urge upon you perseverance in prayer. Rules on such a subject--as
to times and frequency--we have no right to make or impose. Still of
one thing be very sure--you cannot be too much in prayer. And
if you dwell in the presence of God, you will find both the heart and
occasion for prayer. Our responsibility is to pray without ceasing,
always maintaining uninterruptedly the consciousness of dependence, and
our need of divine grace. Thus we shall be always cast upon God, always
enjoy liberty of heart in His presence, and consequently be always
finding, in the constant reception of mercies, grace and blessing, in
answer to our cries, new themes for thanksgiving and praise.
Believe me, dear ______,
Yours affectionately in Christ,
E.D.