A Brother recently expressed the arresting thought that perhaps we sometimes retire for the night and forget to say our prayers. Perhaps there is more truth in this than we care to admit. It may have an application to some of us who think that we never forget. Jesus instructed his disciples not to use vain repetitions, and there is a grave danger that the continual use of the same form of words may become just that : vain repetition. How can we know whether our prayers are such as would be acceptable to God ? One thing we do know is that if we are not sincere in our approach to Him, no amount of words, fine phrases or blending of Scripture quotations will be of any avail. But when we bow before Him with a reverent mind and a contrite spirit ; when we approach the throne of grace with true devotion and really feel God’s presence with us, then we know that a loving and merciful Father has heard our imperfect utterances through the mediation of our Great High Priest.
Making Opportunities
This experience of feeling close to our Heavenly Father is no figment of the imagination, for He verily condescends to us and places His loving arms about us. In some degree we have surely all had that experience, have we not ? But how often do we enter into this close communion with the One whose love is so deep, so broad, so high ? Is it for just a few hurried moments when we retire at night that we affect to offer, as a duty, a few hastily conceived words before the throne on high ? That is not praying ; and if we have not felt the presence of God with us, it is because we have, in some way, failed in our approach.
God wants us to recognize our duty to Him, but a prayer offered merely to discharge a duty is no prayer at all. There must also be a spirit of loving devotion and humility of mind. A humble and devoted servant, whose joy it is to speak to God in prayer, is not hurried in his approach, nor are his words mere words : they are the expression of a heart poured out before God.
“Trust in Him at all times”, said David, “pour out your heart before Him” (Ps. 62. 8). “The Lord is my rock and my fortress, and my deliverer”, he said, “my God, my strength in whom I trust . . . I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised . . the sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid . . . in my distress I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God” (Ps. 18. 2-6).
Is that the confident way in which we pour out our heart before the Lord ? David was able to do this because he had such a great appreciation of the bountiful blessings of the God of our salvation.
The tempo of life in this modern age is such that we can very easily find ourselves caught up in the whirlwind of temporal spiritual devotions ! This is a necessary exercise, not to be engaged in only on Sundays. It is important that we earnestly strive to plan our lives so that opportunities for private prayer are eagerly sought. How eager we are for our daily food? How readily we organize our affairs because we are unwilling to miss even one meal? It would please our Heavenly Father if the position were reversed and prayer became so things. But what an altogether lovely experience it is—how uplifting and exhilarating—to be able to draw aside from the rush and hubbub of life to engage in our vital and important to every one of us that we would miss other things rather than forego the privilege of communion with Him. “Man doth not live by bread only” (Duet. 8. 3).
It is abundantly clear from the Scriptures that in any place or at any time it is possible for us to approach God, with the assurance that if we are sincere He will hear our prayer. It is possible in a moment to shed our load, as it were, and to go forward in the strength which God supplies through His son. This is the kind of spontaneous prayer which may be offered as we walk along the street, whilst we are in the office, at home or abroad. Such prayers as these are an essential part of the Christian life, but something more is necessary.
God will hear a momentary, spontaneous petition or expression of thanks, and we continually have cause to seek His help and to thank our loving Father for His goodness to us, but these brief moments of prayer are not enough. The most important, most valuable, most stimulating thing in the Christian life is prayer. We, of all people, have cause for thankfulness. The privilege of prayer is unknown to the vast majority of the human race. We have something more valuable than all the possessions of the world : something that money cannot buy. Do we always appreciate the privilege which is ours ? Not one of us is able to grasp the full magnitude of our Father’s grace in allowing us to approach Him in this way. If we were, then we would be certain to set aside a portion of each day for our private, unhurried devotions. We would not be content merely to wait until the end of the day when we are, perhaps, mentally and physically tired.
Jesus said : “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret ; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Mat. 6. 6). Beautiful words are they not ? And what a depth of understanding lies behind them !
He who was “touched with the feeling of our infirmities”, though he was sinless, felt the need to draw aside from the world, and even from his closest disciples, that he might have that close communion with his Heavenly Father. “Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder”, he said (Mat. 26. 36).
Is it not your experience that the fullest and closest communion comes when we are alone with God, through the mediation of the one who understands our difficulties and is able to present our imperfect expressions in an acceptable manner to our Father ?
Praise And Thanksgiving With Joyfulness
It has been said : “Prayer is made up of many operations of the mind and feelings of the heart”. Communal prayer such as we engage in at our memorial services is important but it cannot meet all our needs, nor can we be exercised in quite the same way. The brethren, whose duty it is to lead us, have a great responsibility but there are many personal, secret things upon which they cannot touch—unless it be in a very general sort of way. We all have specific days in our lives which are days to be remembered with thanksgiving. The day when we met our life’s partner ; the day of our marriage ; the day when it seemed as though we stumbled across the Truth ; the day when God blessed us with children or gave us new found friends in the Truth ; the day when God brought us safely through an illness or saved us from some awful calamity.
There is not one of us who could not multiply a thousand times the blessed things of life which we have cause to remember with a deep sense of gratitude. But do we remember them in the right way ? Do we bow our heads and thank God from our heart in the secrecy of our own room or in the solitude of the open spaces, where there is nothing to distract ? Do we take time off from relatively humdrum affairs of our daily life to exercise our minds in this way : to pour out our hearts to God in thankfulness and praise ?
It is by cultivating the habit of being appreciative and of expressing our gratitude that our whole outlook is brought into proper focus. The more expanded and developed our conception of God’s love becomes, the more shall we realize our need of His compassion and mercy towards us, because we are so unworthy. Gratitude and the understanding of our own real needs will make us more thoughtful concerning the needs of others and they will not be forgotten in our prayers. There is much that could be done in the building up of the ecclesias, if all of us would sincerely, earnestly and regularly pray for one another.
Prayer Partners
Two men were walking along a city street recently. One was heard to say to the other : “Oh yes I I’ve had a prayer partner for many years”. That remark has exercised the writer’s mind a great deal. What would your reaction be if he came to you and asked if you would be his prayer partner ? You might at first think it a strange request. But if he said : “Look, I need your help : I want you to pray for me”, you wouldn’t refuse, would you ? That is what the writer is saying right now. He is asking you to pray for him, because he does need your help. He has faults which those of you who know him well enough can see, but he cannot. He has some faults of which he is aware, but he is weak and not very successful in overcoming them. Is the writer’s position any different from your own ? Is it not our duty to bear one another’s burden ? What better way is there of helping one another than by bearing that burden of our brother or sister and taking it to the throne of grace ?
It is not always possible, personally, to give the help we would like to give. We ourselves are restricted and limited. We should do anything which lies within our power : but to pray for our brother or sister is something we all can and must do. You do not have to wait for a brother to ask you to be his prayer partner. Look about you and you will see plenty of scope for your private petitions to a gracious and loving Father. There are individual and collective needs which demand our time and attention. We, the children of God, the most privileged people on earth, must not forget the mighty power of prayer. prayer can succeed when everything else fails!
When we remember Jesus and through him enter into communion with our Heavenly Father, let us so humble ourselves that we come under the powerful influence of His spirit. May it be our ever-continuing aim to remember Jesus, who taught us by precept and example to pray : “Not my will, but Thine be done”.
Reflections on the Potter and the Clay