| An Alphabetical Analysis Volume 10 - Practical Truth - Page 58 of 277 INDEX | |
True prayer rests upon and claims God's promises
It is a significant fact that all the outstanding characters in
Scripture have been men and women who knew how to pray, and a careful study
of their prayers will show that these are based upon the Word of God and the
promises contained therein.
We think of Elijah. James, in his epistle, brings forward Elijah as an
example of effectual praying (5:17). He prayed earnestly that it might not
rain, and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six
months. He prayed again and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought
forth her fruit (verses 17 and 18). Now this was remarkable indeed, and on
the surface it looked as though the prophet had some extraordinary power to
accomplish this miracle. But it should be remembered that this prayer was
based upon the Word of God:
'And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto My
commandments which I command you this day ... that I will give you the
rain of your land in his due season ... Take heed to yourselves, that
your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods,
and worship them; and then the Lord's wrath be kindled against you, and
He shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield
not her fruit' (Deut. 11:13 -17).
Elijah, in a time of Israel's apostasy, was simply asking the Lord to
carry out His Word, His written threats as well as His promises, in order to
bring back the sinful nation to repentance.
Or let us take the case of David. After thanking God for all His
gracious revelation of His purposes concerning himself he says, 'Therefore
now, Lord, let the thing that Thou hast spoken concerning Thy servant and
concerning his house be established for ever, and do as Thou hast said' (1
Chron. 17:23). God loves to be reminded of the promises of His Word, which
are ours in Christ.
If our praying is to be effective, it must be likewise based upon the
unchanging Word, but to this we must add the injunction of 2 Timothy 2:15.
If we base our prayer upon Scripture or promises relating to a calling other
than that to which we belong, can we expect God to hear and answer? Most
assuredly not in the affirmative, unless those promises are true for all time
and all the callings of the redeemed. Right division is eminently practical
in this respect as in every way. We must get to know our Divine calling
before we can begin to pray properly. Many children of God are asking Him
for all kinds of things pertaining to Scriptures that do not apply to them or
which belong to another time period, and they are disappointed and frustrated
because they have a silent heaven. Let us search our prayer life and make
sure we are not perpetuating the same error.
True prayer watches and waits for the Lord's answer
The prophet Habakkuk not only prayed, but stood upon his watchtower to
see what the Lord would say in reply (Hab. 2:1). The Lord Jesus not only
exhorted His disciples to pray, but to watch as well as pray (Mark 13:35 -37;
Luke 21:36). In the last reference the word translated 'watch' is agrupneo,
which literally means to be sleepless or to keep wide awake. Can it be that
we sometimes pray to the Lord and then, as it were, go to sleep and forget?
Did not many of the Pentecostal Church do this very thing? They were