Prayer For The
Beginner
There are doubtless
those among the readers who have had
little practice in prayer and who do
not know the proper way to approach
God. Some still remember their
childhood prayers and use them; but
these prayers do not always fit
present conditions.
The first time I
became seriously interested in
religion, I with others faced the
problem of prayer. I had heard a
minister mention that Christ prayed
all night, and though he did not
suggest that others should do so, I
drew the conclusion that all-night
praying would be pleasing to God and
deserving a reward. I knew that I
could not pray all night every night,
but I might try it for one night.
Therefore, I attempted to do this.
My idea of prayer was
to ask God for the things I wanted,
and I thought that if I prayed long
enough and earnestly enough, I would
get my desire. God was a kind father,
who sat in heaven and watched us, and
if we boys behaved and were good, we
would get a reward. As I had been
good for several weeks, I was sure
that God would hear me and grant my
request.
So one night I started
praying, intending to continue all
night. There were many things I
wanted, - I thought I would be
somewhat modest, at least to begin
with, - and so my prayer was rather
short, and I had soon said everything
on my mind. What more was there to
do? I could repeat what I had already
said, but there seemed no special
point to that. In addition, how could
I keep that up all night? I knew that
ministers repeated in their sermons,
but they used slightly different
words each time, and I did not have
those extra words. All I needed was a
few minutes for my prayer, and I was
done.
It did not take me
long to conclude that it was not for
me to pray all night. How could I
find the words to continue even one
hour, much less all night? I decided
that I needed a better education and
a larger vocabulary if I were to pray
for any length of time. I doubt that
I spent as much as ten minutes in
this first “night” of
prayer. My prayer experience did not
have a very promising beginning.
Wrong Conception of
Prayer
The reader will
immediately discern that I had a
wrong conception of prayer. All-night
prayer to me meant that I had to talk
all night. Was not prayer talking to
God, informing Him of conditions in
general and of my own in particular?
Was it not my duty to remind Him of
what He should do, and make sure that
He remembered what I had told Him
before, but which He might have
forgotten? Apparently, God did not
forget things that I remembered. Had
I not spoken to Him of many things
and received no answer? I repeatedly
asked Him to bless and protect my
brother, and then my brother fell
down and broke a leg! Surely,
God had forgotten what I asked Him to
do.
I need not say that
this was a disheartening experience
and an unsatisfactory beginning for
prayer. Every evening I would talk to
God and get no response. Perhaps God
had not heard me at all. Perhaps I
was too insignificant for God to
notice. Perhaps I did not count.
I thought God ought to
hear me and make some kind of
response; but He did not. What could
I do to make God take notice of me? I
remembered how in school unruly
students received more attention than
the good ones who behaved. Perhaps I
had been too good, and that was why
God let me alone. If I did something
bad, God might see it and do
something.
I tried this in a
small way, but God still ignored me.
What more could I do? As far as God
was concerned, I simply did not
exist. I was too unimportant, too
small for God to bother with.
This state of things
continued for some time. I finally
decided that if God ignored me, in
retaliation I would ignore Him. And I
did. However, that did not remedy
matters. I still tired to be some
kind of Christian, but I felt that I
was not getting any help or
encouragement from God. He simply let
me alone. Therefore, I prayed only
when I was in dire need.
Then came the day of
awakening – not in an abrupt
way, not by an angel coming down from
heaven, or by an arresting light at
noonday, but simply by studying the
Word of God, and by association with
a man of God, one of my fellow
believers. I watched him as he was
preaching, and I felt instinctively
that he had something I did not have.
But as I had been disappointed in
God, so I had also been in men; and I
was certain that though a man might
make a good appearance in the pulpit,
he was “good” merely
because I did not know him well
enough. If I should live with him, I
would soon discover that he was no
better than others. All men I had
known before had feet of clay.
In the providence of
God, as I now believe, I had the
opportunity of becoming well
acquainted with him, of living with
him. In addition, without going into
detail, which would serve no purpose
in this connection, I found him to be
a true man of God, a man of prayer
and of power. I saw prayers fulfilled
before my eyes, undeniable cases of
instant healing. This man lived in
pain, and at times in outright agony,
but never a murmuring word. I tested
him; I tried him; and he stood the
test. Through him my faith in God was
restored; faith in a prayer-hearing
God. It was not his words that
convinced me; it was his life.
While I shall ever be
grateful for the help I thus
received, it was not any man who
taught me to pray. This was a gradual
process as I began studying the
Bible. Little by little, light dawned
on me, and I began to understand the
meaning and purpose of prayer. God
ceased to be the kind of Santa Claus
God I had conceived Him to be, and
instead became a Father and a Friend
with whom I could commune and
counsel. I still needed to pray and
thank God for daily bread, but I
found that I needed counsel and
spiritual guidance even more, and
that God was abundantly willing to
supply this also. It is hoped that
the reader will experience the
blessing and comfort that there is in
real prayer, which in essence is
fellowship and companionship with the
Almighty.
Beginning to Pray
How then, do we begin
to pray? What do we say, what do we
do? We know of no better or more
simple, yet complete, prayer that
that which Christ put in the mouth of
the publican who stood alone and did
not even dare to raise his face to
heaven, but said, “God be
merciful to me a sinner.” Luke
18:13. The prayer was effective, for
Christ tells us “this man went
down to his house justified.”
Verse 14. We may therefore accept
those seven words as ideal prayer for
one who seeks God, perhaps for the
first time.
There are two couplets
in this prayer that make it full and
complete: God, merciful-me, sinner.
The publican asked for mercy, knowing
himself a sinner. He did not ask for
justice: that would bring him face to
face with the law, and “by the
deeds of the law these shall no flesh
be justified in His sight.”
Romans 3:20. This man did not parade
his goodness or his wickedness; he
simply asked for mercy. He made no
excuse of any kind; he knew that god
knew. Moreover, his plea for mercy,
which came from an honest heart, was
heard. No man who prays this Publican
prayer with a sincere desire to do
God’s will, need fear that he
will be turned away. Like the
publican, he will go to his house
justified. God hears such prayers.
Let the beginner who
has never prayer before, or who has
been disappointed in prayer, repeat
from the heart these seven words:
“God be merciful to me a
sinner.” Let him in all humility
and faith come before God, and God
will hear. The beginner must have
faith to believe the promise:
“If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.
“Without faith it
is impossible to please Him: for he
that cometh to God must believe that
He is, and that He is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek Him.”
Hebrews 11:6. There is one
“must” in this quotation,
or rather two, for “must”
belongs equally to both statements;
the first, “that He is;”
and the second, “that He is a
rewarder.” Both of these
statements are “musts.” One
who prays must believe that God
exists – for what use would it
be to pray to a nonexistent God? He
must also believe that God is a
rewarder of them who seek Him; that
is, that God takes notice of those
who pray, and rewards them according
to their faith. God is not morally
indifferent. He knows what goes on in
the world, and rewards, or does not
reward, as He sees best.
We suggest that the
beginner in Christ ponder the prayer
of the publican. As he utters this
prayer, he will search his heart and
weigh his motives. He will come to
the conclusion that there is hope for
him only in the mercy of God, and he
grasps by faith the promise that God
will forgive if he confesses.
Therefore, he confesses. He does not
use a set form of words. He pours out
his heart to God as to a father, and
as by faith he accepts the promise of
the Lord that He will forgive and
cleanse from all unrighteousness, he
feels the burden roll off, and he
claims the blessed promise to all who
believe, that God will
“abundantly pardon.” Verse
6,7.
This is the first step
in coming to God, the first step in
conversion. Let the inquiring soul
take this step, and God will lead him
on.
Memory Verse:
“For all have
sinned, and come short of the glory
of God; being justified by his grace
through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus.” Roman 3:23,24.
Questions:
1. Do you
think that studying from God’s
Word can help you develop a prayer
life?
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2. Have
you tried to develop faith in
God recently? Explain your reason.
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