I know that this is super long but its well worth the time, Hope you enjoy.....
Dean C. J. Vaughan once said: “If I wished to humble anyone,
I should question him about his prayers. I know nothing to compare with this
topic for its sorrowful self-confessions.”
Prayer is the most ancient, most universal, and most
intensive expression of the religious instinct. It includes the simplest speech
of infant lips, and the sublime entreaties of older age. All reach the Majesty
on high. Prayer is indeed the Christian’s vital breath and native air.
But, strange paradox, most of us find it hard to pray. We do
not naturally delight in drawing near to God. We sometimes pay lip service to
the delight and power of prayer. We call it indispensable; we know the
Scriptures call for it. Yet we often fail to pray.
Let us take encouragement from the lives of saintly leaders
who overcame this natural reluctance and became mighty in prayer. Of Samuel
Chadwick it was said:
He was essentially a man of prayer. Every morning he would
be astir shortly after six o’clock, and he kept a little room which was his
private sanctum for his quiet hour before breakfast. He was mighty in public
prayer because he was constant in private devotion.... When he prayed he
expected God to do something. “I wish I had prayed more,” He wrote toward the
end of his life, “even if I had worked less; and from the bottom of my heart I
wish I had prayed better.” “When I go to
prayer,” confessed an eminent Christian, “I find my heart so loath to go to
God, and when it is with Him, so loath to stay.” Then he pointed to the need
for self-discipline. “When you feel most indisposed to pray, yield not to it,”
he counseled, “but strive and endeavor to pray, even when you think you
cannot.”
Mastering the art of prayer, like anything else, takes time.
The time we give it will be a true measure of its importance
to us. We always find the time for important things. The most common excuse for
little time spent in prayer is the list of “to-dos” that crowd our day-all our
many duties. To Martin Luther, an extra load of duties was reason enough to
pray more, not less. Hear his plans for the next day’s work: “Work, work from
early till late. In fact I have so much to do that I shall spend the first
three hours in prayer.”
If Luther was busy, and prayed, so can we.
Try to explain exactly how prayer works and you will quickly
run against some very difficult puzzles. But people who are skeptical of
prayer’s validity and power are usually those who do not practice it seriously
or fail to obey when God reveals His will. We cannot learn about prayer except
by praying. No philosophy has ever taught a soul to pray. The intellectual
problems associated with prayer are met in the joy of answered prayer and
closer fellowship with God.
The Christian leader who seeks an example to follow does
well to turn to the life of Jesus Himself. Our belief in the necessity of
prayer comes from observing His life. Surely if anyone could have sustained
life without prayer, it would be the very Son of God Himself. If prayer is
silly or unnecessary, Jesus would not have wasted His time at it. But wait!
Prayer was the dominant feature of His life and a recurring part of His
teaching. Prayer kept His moral vision sharp and clear.
Prayer gave Him courage to endure the perfect but painful
will of His Father. Prayer paved the way for transfiguration.
To Jesus, prayer was not a hasty add-on, but a joyous
necessity.
In Luke 5:16 we have a general statement which throws a
vivid light on the daily practice of the Lord. “He withdrew Himself in the
deserts and prayed. ” It is not of one occasion but of many that the evangelist
speaks in this place. It was our Lord’s habit to seek retirement for prayer.
When He withdrew Himself from men, He was accustomed to press far into the
uninhabited country-He was in the deserts. The surprise of the onlookers lay in
this, that one so mighty, so richly endowed with spiritual power, should find
it necessary for Himself to repair to the source of strength, that there He
might refresh His weary spirit. To us, the wonder is still greater, that He,
the prince of Life, the Eternal word, the Only-begotten of the Father, should
prostrate Himself in meekness before the throne of God, making entreaty for
grace to help in time of need.
Christ spent full nights in prayer (Luke 6:12)_ He often
rose before dawn to have unbroken communion with His Father (Mark 1:35). The
great crises of His life and ministry began with periods of special prayer, as
in Luke 5:16: “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed”-a statement
that indicates a regular habit. By word and example He instructed His disciples
on the importance of solitude in prayer (Mark 6:46, following the feeding of
the five thousand; Luke 9:28, preceding the Transfiguration). To the person on
whom devolves the responsibility for selecting personnel for specific spiritual
responsibilities, the example of the Lord’s spending the night in prayer before
making His choice of apostles (Luke 6:12) is luminous.
Both our Lord and His bond slave Paul made clear that true
prayer is not dreamy reverie_ “All vital praying makes a drain on a man’s
vitality. True intercession is a sacrifice, a bleeding sacrifice,” wrote J. H.
Jowett. Jesus performed miracles without a sign of outward strain, but “he
offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears” (Hebrews 5:7).
Sometimes our prayers are pale and weak compared to those of
Paul or Epaphras. “Epaphras is always
wrestling in prayer for you,” wrote Paul in Colossians 4:12. And to the same
group: “I want you to know how much I am struggling for you” (Colossians 2:1)_
The Greek word used for “struggle here is the root for our words “agony” and
“agonize.” It is used to describe a person struggling at work until utterly
weary (Colossians 1:29) or competing in the arena for an athletic prize
(1 Corinthians 9:25). It describes a soldier battling for
his life (1 Timothy 6:12), or a man struggling to deliver his friends from
danger (John 18: 36). True prayer is a strenuous spiritual exercise that
demands the utmost mental discipline and concentration.
We are encouraged to note that Paul, probably the greatest
human champion of prayer, confessed, “We do not know what we ought to pray
for.” And then he hastened to add, “The Spirit intercedes for us with groans
that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the
Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s
will” (Romans 8:26-28). The Spirit joins us in prayer and pours His
supplications into our own.
Pray in the Spirit All Christians need more teaching in the
art of prayer, and the Holy Spirit is the master teacher. The Spirit’s help in
prayer is mentioned in the Bible more frequently than any other help He gives
us. All true praying comes from the Spirit’s activity in our souls. Both Paul
and Jude teach that effective prayer is “praying in the Spirit.” That phrase
means that we pray along the same lines, about the same things, in the same
name, as the Holy Spirit. True prayer rises in the spirit of the Christian from
the Spirit who indwells us.
To pray in the Spirit is important for two reasons. First,
we are to pray in the realm of the Spirit, for the Holy Spirit is the sphere
and atmosphere of the Christian’s life. In this we often fail. Much praying is
physical rather than spiritual, in the realm of the mind alone, the product of
our own thinking and not of the Spirit’s teaching. But real prayer is deeper.
It uses the body, requires the cooperation of the mind, and moves in the
supernatural realm of the Spirit. Such praying transacts its business in the
heavenly realm.
Second, we are to pray in the power and energy of the
Spirit.
“Give yourselves wholly to prayer and entreaty; pray on
every occasion in the power of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18 NEB).
For its superhuman task, prayer demands more than human
power. We have the Spirit of power as well as the Spirit of prayer. All the
human energy of heart, mind, and will can achieve great human results, but
praying in the Holy Spirit releases supernatural resources.
The Spirit delights to help us pray. In each of our three
chief handicaps, we can count on the Spirit’s help. Sometimes we are kept from
prayer by sin in our heart. As we grow in trust and submission, the Holy Spirit
leads us to the blood of Christ, which cleanses every stain.
Sometimes the ignorance of our minds hinders our prayers. But the Spirit knows the mind of God and
shares that knowledge with us as we wait and listen. The Spirit does this by
giving us a clear conviction that a particular prayer request is part of God’s
will for us, or not.
Sometimes we are earthbound because of the infirmity of the
body. We get sick, we feel ill, we are weak. The Spirit will quicken our bodies
and enable us to rise above weaknesses, even those imposed by sultry tropical
climates.
Then, as if these three conditions were not enough, the
spiritual leader must oppose Satan in prayer. Satan will try to depress, to
create doubt and discouragement, to keep a leader from communion with God. In
the Holy Spirit, we have a heavenly ally against this supernatural foe.
Spiritual leaders should know the experience of praying in
the Spirit as part of their daily walk. Do we ever try to live independently of
the Spirit? Do we fail to see full answers to prayer? We can read all day about
prayer, and experience little of its power, and so stunt our service.
The Bible often explains prayer as spiritual warfare. “For
our struggle is _ _ _ against the rulers, against the authorities, against the
powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). In this struggle phase of prayer, three
personalities are engaged.
Between God and the devil stands the Christian at prayer.
Though weak alone, the Christian plays a strategic role in
the struggle between the dragon and the Lamb. The praying Christian wields no
personal power, but power nonetheless delegated by the victorious Christ to
whom that faithful believer is united by faith. Faith is like a reticulating
system through which the victory won on Calvary reaches the devil’s captives
and delivers them from darkness into light.
Jesus was not so much concerned over wicked people and their
deeds as with the forces of evil that caused those people to sin. Behind
Peter’s denial and Judas’s betrayal was the sinister hand of Satan. “Get thee
behind me, Satan,” was the Lord’s response to Peter’s presumptuous rebuke. All
around us are people bound in sin, captives to the devil. Our prayers should
ascend not only for them but against Satan who holds them as his prize. Satan
must be compelled to relax his grip, and this can only be achieved by Christ’s
victory on the cross.
As Jesus dealt with sin’s cause rather than effect, so the
spiritual leader should adopt the same method in prayer. And the leader must
know how to help those under his charge who are also involved in that same spiritual
warfare.
In a telling illustration, Jesus compared Satan to a strong
man, fully armed. Before anyone can enter such a man’s house and set captives
free, the man must first be bound. Only then can a rescue succeed (Matthew
12:29). What could it mean to “tie up the strong man” except to neutralize his
might through the overcoming power of Christ who came “to destroy (nullify,
render inoperative) the works of the devil”? And how can that happen except by
the prayer of faith that lays hold of the victory of Calvary and claims it for
the problem at hand? We cannot hope to effect a rescue from Satan’s den without
first disarming the adversary. God makes available His divine authority through
prayer, and we can confidently claim it.
Jesus promised His disciples: “I have given you authority to
overcome all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19).
The spiritual leader will be alert to the most effective way
to influence people. Hudson Taylor is well known for his expression, “It is
possible to move men, through God, by prayer alone.” During his missionary
career he demonstrated the truth of his claim a thousand times.
Practice -- It is one thing to believe such power is
available in prayer, but another thing to practice it. People are difficult to
move; it is much easier to pray for things or provisions than to deal with the
stubbornness of the human heart. But in just these intricate situations, the
leader must use God’s power to move human hearts in the direction he believes
to be the will of God. Through prayer the leader has the key to that
complicated lock.
It is the supreme dignity and glory of the human creature to
be able to say yes or no to God. Humans have been given free will. But this
poses a problem. If by prayer we can influence the conduct of others, does such
power encroach on free will?
Will God temper one person’s freedom to answer another
person’s prayer? It seems difficult to imagine. And yet, if prayers cannot
influence the course of events, why pray?
The first point to make is that God is consistent with
Himself always. God does not contradict Himself. When God promises to answer prayer, the
answer will come-always in a manner consistent with divine nature, for “he
cannot disown himself’ (2 Timothy 2:13). No word or action from God will contradict
any other word or action of God.
The second point in resolving these questions is that prayer
is a divine ordinance. God has commanded prayer, and we can be confident that
as we meet revealed conditions for prayer, answers will be granted. God sees no
contradiction between human free will and divine response to prayer. When God
commands us to pray “for kings and those in authority,” there is implied power
to influence the course of men and events. If not, why pray? Our obligation to
pray stands above any dilemma concerning the effects of prayer.
Third, we can know the will of God concerning the prayer we
raise. Our capacity to know God’s will is the basis for all prayers of faith.
God can speak to us clearly through our mind and heart. The Bible instructs us
directly concerning the will of God on all matters of principle. In our hearts
the Holy Spirit ministers to instruct us in the will of God (Romans 8:26-27).
As we patiently seek the will of God concerning our petition, the Spirit will
impress our minds and convince our hearts. Such God-given conviction leads us
beyond the prayer of hope to the prayer of faith.
When God lays a burden on our hearts and thus keeps us
praying, He obviously intends to grant the answer. George Mueller was asked if
he really believed that two men would be converted, men for whom Mueller had
prayed for over fifty years. Mueller replied: “Do you think God would have kept
me praying all these years if He did not intend to save them?" In fact,
both men were converted, one shortly after Mueller’s death. In prayer we deal directly with God and only
in a secondary sense other people. The goal of prayer is the ear of God. Prayer moves others through God’s influence
on them. It is not our prayer that moves people, but the God to whom we pray. Prayer
moves the arm that moves the world to bring deliverance down. (Author unknown) To move people, the leader
must be able to move God, for God has made it clear that He moves people in
response to prayer. If a scheming Jacob was given “power with God and with
men,” then surely any leader who follows God’s prayer principles can enjoy the
same power (Genesis 32:28).
Prevailing prayer that moves people is the outcome of a
right relationship with God. The Bible is very clear on the reasons why prayers
go unanswered, and every reason centers on the believer’s relationship with
God. God will not cooperate with prayers of mere self-interest, or prayers that
come from impure motives. The Christian who clings to sin closes the ear of
God. Least of all will God tolerate unbelief, the chief of sins. “Anyone who
comes to him must believe”
(Hebrews 11:16). In all our prayers the paramount motive is
the glory of God.
Great leaders of the Bible were great at prayer. “They were
not leaders because of brilliancy of thought, because they were exhaustless in
resources, because of their magnificent culture or native endowment, but
because, by the power of prayer, they could command the power of God.”
Adam Crosby
