What is the
reason that we do not see multitudes of
humanity accepting Jesus for their Savior
today? One reason is found in
Isaiah 64:7 No one calls on your
name or strives to lay hold of you; for
you have hidden your face from us and
made us waste away because of our
sins. Also. Isaiah 59: 1, 2
Surely the arm of the Lord is not
too short to save, nor his ear to dull to
hear. But your iniquities have
separated you from your God; your sins
have hidden his face from you, so that he
will not hear. Let
Christians put away all dissension and
give themselves to God for the saving of
the lost. Let them ask in faith for the
promised blessing and it will come. Souls
are to be sought for, labored for.
Earnest appeals are to be made. Fervent
prayers are to be offered. Tame,
spiritless petitions are to be changed
into petitions of intense earnestness. What does the
devil dread for Christians to do? There
is nothing, absolutely nothing that the
devil dreads as much as prayer, real
prayer. Satan trembles when he sees
the weakest saint upon his knees.
The devils chief concern is to keep
the people of Gods church from
praying. Though Satan despises the Bible
and maneuvers to keep us from the Book of
books, still he would rather we quote
from memory entire chapters than to have
us commune with God in prayer. Satan
laughs at our toiling, mocks at our
wisdom, but trembles when we pray.
Prayer is power. Real prayer can do
anything God can do. The prayer of
faith moves the arm of Omnipotence.
Prayer changes things, and it
changes men. Gods strength
alone can do successful battle with
inbred and cultivated sins, and that
power is set in operation by prayer.
WHAT
IS PRAYER?
Prayer is the opening of the heart
to God as to a friend.
Prayer is helplessness
casting itself upon power.
Prayer is the key in the hand of
faith to unlock heavens storehouse,
where are treasured the boundless
resources of Omnipotence.
Prayer is the link that connects
earth with heaven.
Prayer is the bow, the promise of
God is the arrow, faith is the hand which
draws the bow and sends the arrow with
the heart-message to heaven.
Prayer
includes confession, supplication,
entreaty, desire, intercession,
thanksgiving, adoration, praise, worship,
meditation, communion, and so much more.
Prayer
to God on the part of the supplicant, of
course, presupposes the fact that he
believes in the existence of a God who
hears and answers. Prayer involves
an understood relation between the two.
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. God is love. 1
John 4:8.
Who
in the Bible had a close relationship
with God? Enoch & Moses.
How
close of a relationship does Jesus want
with you and me?
Into
the inner sanctuary if the heart Jesus
will, by His Spirit, come and abide.
Behold, I stand at the door, and
knock: if any man hear my voice, and open
the door, I will come in to him. Rev
3:20. Jesus answered and said, if a
man love me he will keep my words: and my
Father will love him, and we will come
unto him. John 14:23. This is a
fellowship for all who truly want it.
Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1; 27.
Before
God drove Adam & Eve from their
paradise home, He revealed to them His
plan to send a Savior who would finally
eradicate sin and restore all that
disobedience had lost. He explained
to them that they could commune with Him
by prayer under certain conditions. God
has made those conditions clear and
positive. That God has a right to make
the conditions upon which man night come
to Him in prayer will be questioned by no
one. The following incident is to the
point.
A
banker and a businessman sat opposite
each other in the managers office.
The businessman leaning forward was
talking most earnestly when suddenly the
banker interrupted him. Ridiculous!
Absurd! Foolishness! And the proud banker
curled his lips in scorn. Do you mean to
tell me that the death of Jesus Christ in
my place on the cross is going to satisfy
God? Away with such theories! If I am to
be saved I must accomplish it by my own
efforts. Ah! I see said the
businessman, you think you have the right
to manufacture a way of your own, and so
you reject and spurn the God-provided
plan. What do you mean by
that? Questioned the banker.
Now listen! Suppose a man should
come to you and ask for a loan. Tell me,
who would have the right to make the
terms and conditions upon which the money
was to be loaned, you as banker and
owner, or the man in need? Why,
I would, of course. He would have to meet
my conditions before he could get the
money. Exactly. And
that, Sir, is your position. You are a
poor, helpless pauper, lost and undone,
and God us the great Banker. You are
coming to Him for mercy and pardon. Will
you tell me who has the right to make the
terms and lay down the conditions upon
which you may receive His salvation
remembering now that you are the man in
need and God is the Banker?
Ah, I never saw it that way before.
I am not in a position to dictate terms,
God has that right, and He alone.
Are you ready to meet God on His
own terms? God helping me, I
will.
CONDITIONS
OF ANSWERED PRAYER
When prayer is answered, it is because
the spiritual law behind prayer has been
obeyed and the reverse is true. When
prayer is not answered, it is because
there has some violation or infraction to
the law of prayer. The laws of prayer are
as real, as definite, and as sure as the
laws of nature.
What is the basic law of prayer? One must
be a truly believing Christian. Prayer
operates according to the will of God. So
the law of prayer has its source in the
will of God. Prayer must be
according to the will of God.
1 John 5:14& Romans 8:L27. Read
Jeremiah 33:3, Jeremiah 29:12, Isaiah
55:6, 2 Chronicles 7:14,15, Luke 18:1, 1
Thessalonians 5:17 Prayer is the will of
God. It is not only the will of God that
we pray, but that we pray earnestly,
persistently, and with desire. Read
Jeremiah 29:13, James 5:16, Psalm 42:1,2.
The earnestness, persistency, fervency of
our praying should be in proportion to
the worth and need of that for which we
pray. See two parables to teach us to
persevere and not grow weary in our
praying. Luke 11:5-8 and Luke 18:1-8
Bishop
Hall emphasized the place of earnestness
in prayer when he wrote, An arrow,
if it be drawn up but a little way goes
not far; but, it it be pulled up to the
head, flies swiftly and pierces deep.
Thus, prayer if it were only dribbled
forth from careless lips, falls at our
feet. It is the strength of strong
desire that sends it to heaven and makes
it pierce the clouds. It is not the
arithmetic of our prayers, how many they
are, nor the rhetoric of our prayers, how
eloquent they be; nor the geometry of our
prayers, how long they be; nor the music
of our prayers, how sweet our voice may
be; nor the logic of our prayers, how
argumentative they may be; nor the method
of our prayers, how orderly they may be;
nor even the divinity of our prayers, how
good the doctrine may be, which God cares
for. Fervency of spirit is that
which availed much. Where are
the praying Elijahs? God
knows. He keeps the books. Ponder
this statement well: Let your
heart break for the longing it has for
God, for the living God. The life of
Christ has shown what humanity can do by
being partakers of the divine nature. All
that Christ received from God we to may
have. Then ask and receive, with the
persevering faith of Jacob, with the
unyielding persistence of Elijah. Claim
for yourself all that God has
promised. We let go of
the arm of the Lord too soon.
The need for importunity (persistence in
requesting or demanding) in prayer is not
to change God or His attitude toward us
for He delights to give. The delay may
ensue because of our incapacity to
receive the blessing asked for. Usually
when prayer answers are delayed, we
should look within for the cause.
Importunate prayer (urgent or persistent
in asking; refusing to be denied;
annoyingly urgent or persistent) is
Gods means of increasing our
capacity to receive and our ability to
share what He gives. Also, it is His
method of cultivating fellowship and
oneness with the suppliant. It is in
frequent communion that we come to know
Him. Prayer does not change God, but it
does change us. It is not for us to
question why the delay in answering our
prayer, if perchance there be a delay. It
is ours to keep on praying. Sometimes in
order to answer prayer God has to humble
proud hearts, subdue hard natures,
convict, convert, change conditions, send
adversity, or permit sickness. Give God
time, but keep praying. It is the will of
God that man persevere in prayer. It is
the will of God that the Grace of
forgiveness for all is in our hearts.
No one can have no assurance of
forgiveness from God if from our hears we
are not eager and willing to forgive
those who have wronged us. Read Matthew
6:14,15. Mark 11:25 A great number of
prayers are not answered because the
suppliant is not willing to forgive
another. Stop and think about what Jesus
suffered unjustly and how He handled the
cruel treatment He received from mankind
Maligned, betrayed, shamelessly abused,
cruelly crucified, yet He pities and
forgives His tormentors and murderers. He
prays, Father, forgive them; for
they know not what they do.
Forgiveness is the sweet perfume that
flowers give when they are trampled upon.
Let all bitterness, wrath, anger,
clamor and evil speaking, be put away
from you, with all malice: and be ye kind
one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another, even as God for
Christs sake hath forgiven
you. Ephesians 4:31,32.
An unforgiving spirit is keeping so many
people powerless in prayer. God will not
hear the prayer of an unforgiving
suppliant. The shortest route for the
Throne of Grace is by the way of
reconciliation with an alienated brother
or sister. We must forgive and
forget. God forgives our sins, and praise
His name, He forgets. I will
forgive their iniquity, and I will
remember their son no more.
Jeremiah 31:34.
OTHER
CONDITIONS OF ANSWERED PRAYER
It
is the divinely appointed law of prayer
that men believe God. Every answered
prayer will be a prayer of faith.
But 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 Most
of us come far short in the practice of
prayerthe prayer of faith. Its
not what we say; its what we do
that counts. Prayer is the key in
the hand of faith that unlocks
heavens storehouse. The
prayer of faith reduced to its simplest
terms is asking and believing; asking of
God what He has promised, and believing
that He will keep His word.
Matthew 21:22 1 John 5:14,15 How plain
and positive this statement! When we
truly ask according to the will of God,
He hears our prayer.
The
following is a suggestion to try: It
is a good plan in order to be definite in
our praying to write down specific
requests and desires. Writ the longings
of the soul in plain written form then
spread them out in prayer before the Lord
as did king Hezekiah of old. (See 2 Kings
19:14) Also in the margin write the date
of your request, then another date when
the answer comes. The keeping of such a
record will help one to be definite in
his praying and will be a tremendous
source of inspiration as one by one your
file of answered prayers grows. Every
answered prayer will give additional
faith to claim other promises of God.
Faith in God grows as it is exercised.
What can we ask of God? Everything within
the scope of His will. Anything He has
promised. God promises to save the
sinner, build up the saints in the most
holy faith, supply all our needs, and
give health, peace, joy, and constant
victory. What readers of the Bible we
should be.
The prayer of faith can never be offered
while we doubt and wondering if it is
Gods will to grant the thing
petitioned. How many can pray the prayer
of faith? All who believe God? It is a
childlike trust that believes God and
takes Him at His Word. We cannot
pray the prayer of faith unless we
exercise faith. It is the quality
of faith that counts. It is
believing prayers that get the answers. 1
John 5:15
No man can pray right who does not live
right It is the will of God that we obey
Him. Righteousness is doing right, and
doing right is conformity to the
commandments of God. Read Luke 6:46-49.
Though a man is not saved by what he
does, still what he does, how he lives,
is the proof that he is saved by the
blood of the Lamb. John 14:15 If
you love me, keep my commandments.
Disobedience to any of Gods
commandments short circuits prayer.
He that turneth away his ear from
hearing the law, even his prayer shall be
abomination. Proverbs 28:9 Read
Isaiah 1:18,19. John 14:23, John
15:10., Matthew 12:50, 1 John 2:3, 1 John
5:3., 1 John 3:22.
WHEN
OUR DESIRES ARE NOT GRANTED
Not
all prayers are answered, at least not in
the way the suppliant has asked. Our
heavenly Father is too wise and loving to
give all the things we seek for, even
when we think we are asking in the will
of God and for His glory. The heart of
man is deceitful, and overtimes very
selfish. For we know not what we
should pray for as we ought; but the
Spirit itself maketh intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered.
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth
what is the mind of the Spirit, because
he maketh intercession for the saints
according to the will of God.
Romans 8:26,27. All things work
together for good to them that love
God Romans 8:28. What
colossal tragedies can follow in the wake
of praying contrary to the will of God?
Read 2 Kings Chapter 20 about Hezekiah
This experience was written for our
admonition. 1 Corinthians 10:11.
Prayer
is not merely a means of obtaining our
own desires; it is a mighty instrument
for carrying out Gods will. Prayer
does not bring God down to us, but it
brings us up into the very atmosphere of
heaven where He makes known His will.
There are three ways that the Lord
reveals His will. First, through His
Wordthe Bible. Second, through His
providential workings. Third, through the
Holy Spirits impressing the heart.
It
is true that Satan is responsible for all
sickness and death, yet God permits it to
exist until His time for its full and
complete removal comes which is His
second coming. 1 Corinthians 15; 55; 1
Thessalonians 4:16,17. Sorrow,
temptation, suffering, trouble are all of
Satan, still God permits them. Read the
story of Job. Though we cannot understand
why now, someday He will make it plain,
and we will be so glad we could suffer
with Him. Philippians 1:29.
Real
prayer is the most powerful form if
energy that can be generated. Power
belongeth unto God. When we pray we
link ourselves with the source of
inexhaustible power. By prayer and
confession of sin we must clear the
Kings highway. As we do this, the
power of the Spirit will come. This
is what is needed in our world today.
If my people, which are called by
my name, shall humble themselves, and
pray, and seek my face, and turn from
their wicked ways; then will I hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin, and
will heal their land. 2 Chronicles
7:14. Lord, teach us to pray.
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