Worship Wednesdays: How to Pray, Week 8

How to Pray, By R.A. Torrey

Chapter 7: Abiding in Christ

“If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15:7).  The whole secret of prayer is found in these words of our Lord.  Here is prayer that has unbounded power:  “Ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.:

There is a way then of asking and receiving precisely what we ask.  Christ gives two conditions of the all-prevailing prayer: 

The first condition is “If ye abide in Me.”

What is it to abide in Christ?

Some explanations are so mystical or so profound that many children of God think they mean practically nothing at all.  But, what Jesus meant was really very simple.

He had been comparing Himself to a vine, His disciples to the branches in the vine.  Some branches continued in the vine - in living union - so that the sap or life of the vine constantly flowed into the branches.  They had no independent life of their own.  Everything in them was simply the outcome of the life of the vine, flowing into them.  Their buds, leaves, blossoms, and fruit were not really theirs, but the buds, leaves, blossoms and fruit of the vine.  Other branches were completely severed from the vine, or the flow of the sap or life of the vine was in some way hindered.  For us to abide in Christ is to bear the same relationship to Him that the first sort of branches bear to the vine.  That is to say, to abide in Christ, is to renounce any independent life of our own.  We must give up trying to think our thoughts, form our resolutions, or cultivate our feelings.  We must simply and constantly look to Christ to think His thoughts in us, to form His purposes in us, to feel His emotions and affections in us.  It is to renounce all life independent of Christ and constantly look to Him for the inflow of His life into us and the outworking of His life through us.  When we do this, our prayers will obtain that which we seek from God.

This must necessarily be so, for our desires will not be our own desires but Christ;s.  And our prayers will not in reality be our own prayers, but Christ praying in us.  Such prayers will always be in harmony with God’s will, and the Father always hears Him.  When our prayers fail, it is because they are indeed our prayers.  We have conceived the desire and offered our own petitions, instead of looking to Christ to pray through us.

To abide in Christ, one must already be in Christ through the acceptance of Christ as an atoning Savior from the guilt of sin.  He must be acknowledged as a risen Savior from the power of sin and a Lord and Master over all the believer’s life.  Being in Christ, all that we have to do to abide (or continue) in Christ, is simply to renounce our self-life.  We must utterly renounce every thought, purpose, desire, and affection of our own and continually look for Jesus Christ to form His thoughts, purposes, affections, and desires in us.  Abiding in Christ is really a very simple matter, though it is a wonderful life of privilege and of power.

Christ’s Words in Us

There is another condition stated in this verse, though it is really involved in the first: “And My words abide in you.”

If we are to receive from God all we ask from Him, Christ’s words must abide in us.  We must study His words and let them sink into our thoughts and heart.  We must keep them in our memory, obey them constantly in our life, and let them shape and mold our daily life and our every act.

 This is really the method of abiding in Christ.  It is through His words that Jesus imparts Himself to us.  The words He speaks unto us, they are spirit and they are life (John 6:63)  It is vain to expect power in prayer unless we meditate upon the words of Christ and let them sink deep and find a permanent abode in our hearts.  There are many who wonder why they are so powerless in prayer.  The very simple explanation of it all is found in their neglect of the words of Christ.  They have not hidden His words in their hearts; His words do not abide in them.  It is not by moments of mystical mediation and rapturous experiences that we learn to abide in Christ.  It is by feeding upon His Word, His written word in the Bible, and looking to the Spirit to implant these words in our heart - to make them a living thing in our heart.  If we thus let the words of Christ abide in us, they will stir us up to prayer.  They will be the mold in which our prayers are shaped.  And, our prayers will necessarily be along the line of God’s will and will prevail with Him.  Prevailing prayer is almost an impossibility where there is neglect of the study of God’s word.

Mere intellectual study of the Word of God is not enough; there must be meditation upon it.  The Word of God must be revolved over and over in the mind with a constant looking to God and His Spirit to make that Word a living thing in the heart.  The prayer that is born of meditation upon the Word of God is the prayer which soars upward to God’s listening ear.  

George Mueller, one of the mightiest men of prayer, would begin praying by reading and meditating upon God’s Word until a prayer began to form itself in his heart.  Thus, God Himself was the real author of prayer, and God answered the prayer which He Himself had inspired.  

The Word of God is the instrument through which the Holy Spirit works.  It is the sword of the Spirit in more senses than one.  The person who wants to know the work of the Holy Spirit in any direction must feed upon the Word.  The person who desires to pray in the spirit must meditate on the Word, so that the Holy Spirit may have something through which He can work.  The Holy Sprit works His prayers in us through the Word.  Neglect of the Word makes praying in the Holy Spirit an impossibility.  If we seek to feed the fire of our prayers with the fuel of God’s Word, all our difficulties in prayer will disappear.

Worship Wednesdays: How to Pray, Week 6

How to Pray, by R.A. Torrey

Chapter 5:  Praying in the Spirit

Over and over again in what has already been said, we have seen our dependence on the Holy Spirit in prayer.  This is stated very clearly in Ephesians 6:18, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit”; and in Jude 20, “Praying in the Holy Ghost.”  Indeed, the whole secret of prayer is found in these three words, in the Spirit.  God the Father answers the prayer that God the Holy Spirit inspires.

The disciples did not know how to pray as they should, so they came to Jesus and said, “Lord, teach us to pray.”  we also do not know how to pray as we should, but we have another Teacher and Guide right at hand to help us (see John 14:16-17).  The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities.” (Romans 8:26).  He teaches us how to pray.  True prayer is prayer in the Holy Spirit; that is, the prayer the Spirit inspires and directs.  when we come into God’s presence, we should recognize “our infirmities,” our ignorance of what we should pray for or how we should pray for it.  In the consciousness of our utter inability to pray properly, we should look up to the Holy Spirit, casting ourselves utterly upon Him to direct our prayers.  He must lead our desires and guide our utterance of them.

Nothing can be more foolish in prayer than to rush heedlessly into God’s presence and ask the first thing that comes into our mind.  When we first come into God’s presence, we should be silent before Him.  We should look up to Him to send His Holy Spirit to teach us how to pray.  We must wait for the Holy Spirit and surrender ourselves to the Spirit.  Then we will pray correctly.

Often, when we come to God in prayer, we do not feel like praying.  What should we do in such a case?  Cease praying until we feel like it?  Not at all.  When we feel least like praying is the time when we most need to pray.  We should wait quietly before God and tell Him how cold and prayerless our hearts are.  We should look up to Him, trust Him, and expect Him to send the Holy Spirit to warm our hearts and draw us out in prayer.  It will not be long before the glow of the Spirit’s presence will fill our heart.  We will begin to pray with freedom, directness, earnestness, and power.  Many of the most blessed seasons of prayer I have ever known have begun with a feeling of utter deadness and prayerlessness.  But, in my helplessness and coldness, I have cast myself upon God and looked to Him to send His Holy Spirit to teach me to pray.  And, He has always done it.  When we pray in the Spirit, we will pray for the right things in the right way.  There will be joy and power in our prayer.

Praying with Faith

If we are to pray with power, we must pray with faith. Jesus says, “Therefor I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”  No matter how positive any promises of God’s Word may be, we will not enjoy it unless we confidently expect its fulfillment.  “If any of you lack wisdom,” says James, “let him ask of god, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him” (James 1:5)  Now that promise is as positive as a promise can be.  The next verse adds, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.  For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.  For let not that man think he shall receive any thing of the Lord.”  (James 1:6-7).  There must then be confident, unwavering expectation that believes that prayer is heard and the promise granted.  This comes out in Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye pray, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them.”

But how can one have this faith?

Let us say with all emphasis, it cannot be forced.  A person reads this promise about the prayer of faith and then asks for things he desires.  He tries to make himself believe that God has heard the prayer.  This only ends in disappointment for it is not real faith, and the thing is not granted.  At this point, many people lose faith altogether by trying to create faith by an effort of their own will.  When the thing they made themselves believe they would receive is not given, the very foundation of faith is often undermined.

But, how does real faith come?

Romans 10:17 answers the question:  “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” If we are to have real faith, we must study the Word of God and discover what is promised.  The, we must simply believe the promises of God.  Faith must have God’s sanction.  Trying to believe something that you want to believe is not faith.  Believing what God says in His Word is faith.  If I am to have faith when I pray, I must find some promise in the Word of God to rest my faith on.

Faith furthermore comes through the Spirit.  The Spirit knows the will of God.  If I pray in the Spirit and look to the Spirit to teach me God’s will, He will lead me out in prayer along the line of that will.  He will give me faith that the prayer is to be answered.  But, in no case does real faith come by simply determining that you are going to receive what you want.  If there is no promise in the Word of God and no clear leading of the Spirit, there can be no real faith.  There should be no scolding for your lack of faith in such a case.  But if the thing desired is promised in the Word of God, we may well scold ourselves for lack of faith if we doubt, for we are making God a liar by doubting his word.

Worship Wednesdays: How to Pray, Week 5

How to Pray, by R.A. Torrey

Chapter 4:  Praying in the Name of Christ and According to the Will of God

It was a wonderful word about prayer that Jesus spoke to His disciples on the night before His crucifixion:  “Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.  (John 14:13-14)

Prayer in the name of Christ has power with God.  God is well pleased with His Son Jesus Christ.  He always hears Him, and He also always hears the prayer that is really in His name.  There is a fragrance in the name of Christ that makes every prayer that bears it acceptable to God.

But, what is it to pray in the name of Christ?

Many explanations have been attempted that make little sense to the average person.  But there is nothing mystical or mysterious about this expression.  If you go through the Bible and examine all the passages in which the expression “in My name” or “in His name” are used, you will find that it means just about what it does in every day language.  If I go to a bank and hand in a check with my name signed to it, I ask of that bank in my own name.  If I have money deposited in the bank, the check will be cashed; if not, it will not be.  If, however, I go to a bank with somebody else’s name signed to the check, I am asking in his name, and it does not matter whether I have money in that bank or any other.  If the person whose name is signed to the check has money there, the check will be cashed.

If, for example, I were to go to the First National Bank of Chicago and present a check which I had signed for $50.00, the teller would say to me,  "Why, Mr.  Torrey, we cannot cash that.  You have no money in this bank.”

But if I were to go to the First National Bank with a check for $50.00 made payable to me and signed by one of the large depositors in that bank, they would not ask whether I had money in the bank or in any bank.  Instead, they would honor the check at once.

When I go to God in prayer, it is like going to the bank of heaven.  I have nothing deposited there.  I have absolutely no credit there.  If I go in my own name, I will get absolutely nothing.  But Jesus Christ has unlimited credit in heaven, and He has granted me the privilege of going to the bank with His name on my checks.  When I thus go, my prayers will be honored to any extent.  

To pray in the name of Christ is to pray on the ground of His credit, not mine.  It is to renounce the thought that I have any claims on God whatever and approach Him on the ground of Christ’s claims.  Praying in the name of Christ is not done by merely adding the phrase, “I ask these things in Jesus’ name,” to my prayer.  I may put that phrase in my prayer and really be resting in my own merit all the time.  On the other hand, I may omit that phrase but really be resting in the merit of Christ all the time.  When I really do approach God on the ground of Christ’s merit and His atoning blood (Hebrews 10:19), God will hear me.  Very much of our prayer is in vain because men approach God imagining that they have some claim on God which obligates Him to answer their prayers.

Forgiveness in His Name

Years ago when D.L. Moody was young in Christian work, he visited a town in Illinois.  A judge in the town was not a Christian.  This judge’s wife asked Mr. Moody to call on her husband, but Mr. Moody replied:  “I cannot talk with your husband.  I am only an uneducated, young, Christian, and your husband is a scholarly non-believer.

But the wife would not take no for an answer, so Mr. Moody made the call.  The clerks in the outer office giggled as the young salesman from Chicago went in to talk with the scholarly judge.

The conversation was short.  Mr. Moody said:

“Judge, I can’t talk with you.  You are an educated non-Christian, and I have no learning.  I simply want to say that if you are ever converted, I want you to let me know.”

The judge replied:  “Yes, young man, if I am ever converted I will let you know.  Yes, I will let you know."

The conversation ended.  The clerks snickered even louder when the zealous young Christian left the office but the judge was converted within a year.  Mr. Moody, visiting the town again, asked the judge to explain how it came about.  The judge said:

“One night, when my wife was at a prayer meeting, I began to grow very uneasy and miserable.  I did not know what was the matter with me, but finally retired before my wife came home.  I could not sleep all that night.  I got up early, told my wife that I would eat no breakfast, and went down to the office.  I told the clerks that they could take a holiday and shut myself up in the inner office.  I kept growing more and more miserable and finally I got down and asked God to forgive my sins.  But I would not say, “for Jesus sake,” because I was a Unitarian and did not believe in the atonement.  I kept praying, ‘God forgive my sins,’ but no answer came.  At last in desperation I cried out, “'O God, for Christ’s sake, forgive my sins,’ and found peace at once!”

The judge had no access to God until he came in the name of Christ.  When he finally came in the name of Jesus, he was heard and answered at once.

Knowing God’s Will Through His Word

Great light is thrown upon the subject in 1 John 5:14-15:  “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us; and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.  

This passage clearly teaches that if we are to pray correctly, we must pray according to God’s will.  Then, we will beyond a shadow of a doubt, receive the thing we ask of Him.

But can we know the will of God?  Can we know that any specific prayer is according to His will?

We most surely can.

How?

First by the Word.  God has revealed His will in His Word.  When anything is definitely promised in the Word of God, we know that it is His will to give that thing.  If, when I pray, I can find some definite promise of God’s Word and lay that promise before God, I know that He hears me.  And if I know that He hears me, I know that I have the petition that I have asked of Him.  For example, when I pray for wisdom, I know that it is the will of God to give me wisdom, for He says in James 1:5:  “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given to him.”  So, when I ask for wisdom, I know that the prayer is heard and that wisdom will be given to me.  In like manner, when I pray for the Holy Spirit that I know from Luke 11:13 is God’s will, that my prayer is heard, and that I have the petition that I have asked of Him.  “If ye, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?”

Some years ago, a minster came to me at the close of an address on prayer at a Y.M.C.A. Bible School and said, “You have given those young men the impression that they can ask for definite things and get the very things that they ask.” 

I replied that I did not know whether that was the impression I had given or not, but that was certainly the impression I desired to give.

“But,” he replied, “that is not right.  We cannot be sure, for we don’t know God’s will.”

I turned at once to James 1:5, read it to him and said, “Is it not God’s will to give us wisdom, and if you ask for wisdom do you not know that you are going to get it?”

“Ah!” he said, “we don’t know what wisdom is.”

I said, “No, if we did, we would not need to ask.  But, whatever wisdom may be, don’t you know that you will get it?”

Certainly it is our privilege to know.  When we have a specific promise in the Word of God, if we doubt that it is God’s will or if we doubt that God will do that which we ask, we make God a liar. 

Here is one of the greatest secrets of prevailing prayer:  Study the Word to find what God’s will is as revealed there in the promises.  Then, simply take these promises and claim them before God in prayer with the absolutely unwavering expectation that He will do what He has promised in His Word.

Knowing God’s Will By His Spirit

There is still another way in which we may know the will of God - by the teaching of His Holy Spirit.  There are many things that we need from God which are not covered by any specific promise.  But, we are not in ignorance of the will of God even then.  In Romans 8:26-27, we are told, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; 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 in the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”   Here we are distinctly told that the Spirit of God prays in us, draws out our prayer, according to God’s will.  When we are thus led out by the Holy Spirit in any direction, to pray for any given object, we may do it in all confidence that it is God’s will.  We are to be assured that we will receive the very thing we ask of Him, even though there is no specific promise to cover the case.  Often, God by His Spirit lays a heavy burden of prayer for some given individual upon our heart.  We cannot rest.  We pray for him with groanings which cannot be uttered.  Perhaps the man is entirely beyond our reach, but God hears the prayer.  And in many cases, it is not long before we hear of his definite conversion.

The passage in 1 John 5:14-15 is one of the most abused passages in the Bible:  “This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us; and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.”  The Holy Spirit, without a doubt, put this passage into the Bible to encourage our faith.  It begins with “This is the confidence that we have in Him,” and closes with “We know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.”  But, one of the most frequent usages of this passage, which was so manifestly given to bring confidence, is to introduce an element of uncertainty into our prayers.  Often, when a person is confident in prayer, some cautious brother will come and say:

“Now, don’t be too confident.  If it is God’s will, He will do it. You should add, ‘If it be Thy will.’”

Doubtless, there are many times when we do not know the will of God.  And submission to the excellent will of God should be the basis for all prayer.  But when we know God’s will, there need be no if’s.  This passage was not put into the Bible so that we could introduce if’s into all our prayers, but so that we could throw our if’s to the wind and have “confidence” and “know that we have the petitions we have asked of Him."

Worship Wednesdays: How to Pray, Week 4

How to Pray, by R.A. Torrey

Chapter 3: Obeying and Praying

One of the most significant verses in the Bible on prayer is 1 John 3;22.  John says, “And whatsoever we ask, we shall receive of Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”

What an astounding statement!  John says, in so many words, that he received everything he asked for.  How many of us can say this:  “Whatsoever I ask I receive?”  But John explains why this is so, “Because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”  In other words, the one who expects God to do as he asks Him must do whatever God bids him.  If we give a listening ear to all God’s commands to us, He will give a listening ear to all our petitions of him.  If, on the other hand, we turn a deaf ear to His precepts, He will likely turn a deaf ear to our prayers.  Herein we find the secret of much unanswered prayer.  We are not listening to God’s Word, and therefore, He is not listening to our petitions.

I was once speaking to a woman who had been a professed Christian but had given it all up.  I asked her why she was not a Christian any longer.  She replied, because she did not believe the bible.  I asked her why she did not believe the Bible.

“Because I have tried its promises and found them untrue.”

“Which promises?” I asked

“The promises about prayer.”

“Which promises about prayer?”

“Does it not say in the Bible, ‘Whatsoever ye ask believing ye shall receive?’”

“It says something nearly like that.”

“Well, I asked fully expecting to get and did not receive, so the promise failed.”

“Was the promise made to you?”

“Why, certainly, it is made to all Christians is it not?”

“No, God carefully defines who the ye’s are whose believing prayers he agrees to answer.”

I then turned her to 1 John 3:22, and read the description of those whose prayers had power with God.

“Now,” I said, “were you keeping His commandments and doing those things which are right and pleasing in His sight?”

She frankly confessed that she was not, and she soon came to see that the real difficulty was not with God’s promises but with herself.  That is the reason for many unanswered prayers today:  the one who offers them is not obedient.

Knowing and Doing God’s Will

If we want power in prayer, we must be earnest students of His Word to find out what His will regarding us is.  Then, having found it we must do it.  One unconfessed act of disobedience on our part will shut the ear of God against many petitions.

But this verse goes beyond the mere keeping of God’s commandments.  John tells us that we must do those things that are pleasing in His sight.  

There are many things which would please God, but which He has not specifically commanded.  A true child is not content with merely doing those things which his father specifically commands him to do.  He tries to know his father’s will, and if he thinks that there is anything he can do that would please his father, he does it gladly.  He does so even if his father has never given him any specific order to do it.  So it is with the true child of God.  He does not merely ask whether certain things are commanded or certain things are forbidden.  He tries to know his Father’s will in all things.

There are many Christians today who are doing things that are not pleasing to God.  There are also many who neglect to do things that would be pleasing to God.  When you speak to them about these things, they will confront you at once with this question, “Is there any command in the Bible not to do this thing?”  If you cannot show them the verse in which their action is plainly forbidden, they think they are under no obligation whatever to give it up.  But, a true child of God does not demand specific command.  If we make it our desire to find out and do the things which are pleasing to God, He will make it His desire to do the things which are pleasing to us.  Here again, we find the explanation of much unanswered prayer.  We are not making it our desire to know what pleases our Father.  Thus, our prayers remain unanswered.

Praying In Truth

Psalm 145:18 throws a great deal of light on the question of how to pray:  “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth.”

That little expression in truth is worthy of further study.  If you take your concordance and go through the Bible, you will find that this expression means, “In reality,” or “in sincerity.”  The prayer that God answers is the prayer that is real, the prayer that asks for something that is sincerely desired.

Much of our prayer is insincere.  People ask for things which they do not wish.  Many women pray for the conversion of their husbands, but do not really wish their husband to be converted.  They think they do, but if they knew what would be involved in the conversion of their husband, they would think again.  It would necessitate an entire revolution in his manner of doing business and may consequently reduce their income, making it necessary to change their entire way of living.  If they were sincere with God, the real prayer of their heart would be:  “Oh God, do not convert my husband.”  Women do not wish their husbands conversion at so great a cost.

May churches are praying for a revival but not really desire a revival.  They think they do, for in their minds a revival means an increase of membership, o income, and of reputation among the churches.  But, if they knew what a real revival meant, they would be not so eager.   Revival brings the searching of hearts on the part of professed Christians, a radical transformation of individual, domestic, and social life, when the Spirit of God is poured out in reality and power.  If all this were known, the real cry of the church would be:  “Oh God, keep us from having a revival.”

Many a minister is praying for the filling with the Holy Spirit, yet he does not really desire it.  He thinks he does, for the filling with the Spirit means new joy and power in preaching the word, a wider reputation among men, and a larger prominence in the Church of Christ.  But, if he understood what a filling with the HOly Spirit really involved, he would think about its rewards.  He would think more of how it would necessarily bring him into antagonism with the world, with unspiritual Christians, how it cause his name to be “cast out as evil,” and how it might necessitate his leaving a good comfortable living and going down to work in the slums, or even in some foreign land.  If he understood all this, his prayer most likely would be - if he were to express the real wish of his heart - “Oh God, save me from being filled with the Holy Spirit.”

When we do come to the place where we really desire the conversion of friends at any cost, really desire the outpouring of the Holy Spirit whatever it may involve, really desire anything “in truth”, and then call upon God for it “in truth,” God is going to hear.

Worship Wednesdays: How to Pray, Week 3

How to Pray, by R.A. Torrey

Chapter 2:  Praying to God

After having seen some of the tremendous importance and resistless power of prayer, we now come directly to the lesson - how to pray with power.

In the twelfth chapter of Acts, we have the record of a prayer that prevailed with God and also brought about great results.  In the fifth verse of this chapter, the manner and method of this prayer is described in a few words:  “Prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him” (Acts 12:5).

The first thing to notice in this verse is the brief expression “unto God.”  The prayer that has power is the prayer that is offered unto God.

But some will say, “Is not all prayer offered unto God?”

No.  Very much of so-called prayer, both public and private, is not unto God.  In order for a prayer to really be unto God, there must be a definite and conscious approach to God when we pray.  We must have a definite and vivid realization that God is bending over us and listening as we pray.  In very much of our prayer, there is really only little thought of God.  Our mind is taken up with the thought of what we need and is not occupied with the need nor with the One to whom we are praying.  Instead, our mind is wandering here and there and throughout the world.  There is no power in that sort of prayer.  But, when we really come into God’s presence, really meet Him face to face in the place of prayer, really seek the things that we desire from Him, then there is power.

Coming into God’s Presence

If we want to pray correctly, the first thing we should do is make sure that we really seek an audience with God - that we really get into His very presence.  Before a word of petition is offered, we should have the definite and vivid consciousness that we are talking to God.  Also, we should believe that He is listening to our petition and is going to grant the thing that we ask of Him.  This is only possible by the Holy Spirit’s power, so we should look to the Holy Spirit to really lead us into the presence of God.  And, we should not be hasty in words until He has actually brought us there.

One night, a very active Christian man dropped into a little prayer meeting that I was leading.  Before we knelt to pray, I said something like the above, telling all the friends to be sure, before they prayed, that they were really in God’s presence.  I also explained that while they were praying especially, they must have the thought of Him definitely in mind and be more taken up with Him than with their petition.  A few days after I met this same gentleman, he said that this simple thought was entirely new to him.  It had made prayer an entirely new experience to him.

If we want to pray correctly, these two little words must sink deep into our heart:  unto God.

Pray without Ceasing

The second secret of effective prayer is found in the same verse, in the words, without ceasing.  

In the Revised Standard Version, “without ceasing” is rendered "earnest.”  Neither rendering gives the full force of the original Greek.  The word literally means “stretched-out-ed-ly.”  It is a pictorial word and wonderfully expressive.  It represents the soul on a stretch of earnest and intense desire.  “Intensely” would perhaps be as close a translation as any English word.  It is the same word used to speak of our Lord in Luke 22:44, where it is said, “He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

We read in Hebrews 5:7 that “in the days of His flesh,” Christ “offered up prayers and supplication with strong crying and tears.”  In Romans 15:30, Paul begs the saints in Rome to strive together with him in their prayers.  The word translated strive means primarily to contend as in athletic games or in a fight.  In other words, the prayer which prevails with God is the prayer into which we put our whole soul, stretching out toward God in intense and agonizing desire.  Much of our modern prayer lacks power because it lacks heart.  We rush into God’s presence, run through a string of petitions, jump up, and go out.  If someone asks us an hour later what we prayed for, often we cannot remember.  If we put so little heart into our prayers, we cannot expect God to put much heart into answering them.  

We hear much in our day about the rest of faith, but there is no such thing as the fight of faith in prayer as there is in effort.  Those who want us to think that they have attained to some great height of faith and trust because they have never known any agony of conflict or of prayer, have surely gotten beyond their Lord.  They have even gone beyond the mightiest victors for God, both in effort and prayer, that the ages of Christian history have known.  When we learn to come to God with an intensity of desire that wrings the soul, then we will know a power in prayer that most of us do not know now. 

Prayer and Fasting

How will we achieve this earnestness in prayer?  

Not by trying to work ourselves up into it.  The true method is explained in Romans 8:26:  “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: 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.”  The earnestness that we work up in the energy of the flesh is a repulsive thing.  The earnestness created in us by the Holy Spirit is pleasing to God.  Here again, if we desire to pray correctly, we must look to the Spirit of God to teach us how to pray.

It is in this connection that fasting enters in.  In Daniel 9:3, we read that Daniel set his face “unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.”  There are those who think that fasting belongs to the old dispensation.  But when we look at Acts 14:23 and Acts 13:2-3, we find that it was practiced by the earnest men of the apostolic day.

If we want to pray with power, we should pray with fasting.  This of course does not mean that we should fast every time we pray.  But, there are times of emergency or special crisis, when men of earnestness will withdraw themselves even from the gratification of natural appetites that would be perfectly proper under other circumstances, that they may give themselves up solely to prayer.  There is a mysterious power in such prayer.  Every great crisis in life and work should be met in this way.  There is nothing pleasing to God in our giving up things which are pleasant in a purely Pharisaic and legal way.  But there is power in that downright earnestness and determination to obtain, in prayer, the things of which we strongly feel our need.  This feeling of urgency leads us to put away everything, even things that are normal and necessary, that we may set our faces to find God and obtain blessings from Him.

Unity in Prayer

Another secret of proper praying is also found in this same verse, Acts 12:5.  It appears in the three words, of the church.

There is power in united prayer.  Of course, there is power in the prayer of an individual, but there is much more power in united prayer.  God delights in the unity of His people and seeks to emphasize it in every way.  Thus, He pronounces a special blessing upon united prayer.  We read in Matthew 18:19, “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven.”  This unity, however, must be real.  The passage just quoted does not say that if two shall agree in asking, but if two shall agree as touching anything they shall ask.  Two persons might agree to ask for the same thing, and yet there may be no real agreement as touching the thing they asked.  One might ask because he really desired it, the other might simply ask to please his friend.  But where there is real agreement, where the Spirit of God brings believers into perfect harmony concerning that which they ask of God, where the Spirit lays the same burden on two or more hearts, there is absolutely irresistible power in prayer.

Worship Wednesdays: How to Pray, Week 2

autographed portrait of R.A. Torrey

How to Pray, by R.A. Torrey

Chapter 1:  The Importance of Prayer, continued

Freedom from Anxiety

Prayer with thanksgiving, in every care and anxiety and need of life, is the means that God has appointed for our obtaining freedom from all anxiety and the peace of God which passes all understanding.

“Be careful for nothing,” says Paul, “but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understand, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phillippians 4:6-7)  To many, this initially seems like the picture of a life that is beautiful but beyond the reach of ordinary mortals.  This is not so at all.  The verse tells us how this life of peace is attainable by every child of God:  “Be careful for nothing,” or as the Revised Standard Version reads, “Have no anxiety about anything.”  The remainder of the verse tells us how to do this.  It is very simple:  “But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”  What could be plainer or more simple than that?  Just keep in constant touch with God.  When trouble or vexation, great or small, occur, speak to Him about it, never forgetting to return thanks for what He has already done.  What will the result be?  “The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, will keep your hears and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (R.S.V.)  

That is glorious, and it is as simple as it is glorious!  Thank God, many are trying it.  Don’t you know anyone who is always serene?  Perhaps he is a very stormy man by nature.  Troubles and conflicts and opposition and sorrow may sweep around him, and the peace of god which passes all understanding will guard his heart and his thoughts in Christ Jesus. 

We all know such persons.  How do they do it?  Just by prayer, that is all.  Those persons who know the deep peace of God, the unfathomable peace which passes all understanding, are always men and women of much prayer.

Some of us let the hurry of our lives crowd prayer out and what a waste of time and energy and emotion there is in this constant worry!  One night of prayer will save us from many nights of insomnia.  Time spent in prayer is not wasted, but time invested at big interest.

Vehicle for the Holy Spirit

Prayer is the method that God Himself has appointed for our obtaining the Holy Spirit.  

The  Bible is very plain on this point.  Jesus says, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?”  (Luke 11:13).

I know this as definitely as I know that my thirst is quenched when I drink water.  Early one morning in Chicago Avenue Church’s prayer room, where several hundred people had been assembled a number of hours in prayer, the Holy Spirit fell so manifestly that no one could speak or pray.  The whole room was filled with His presence so that sobs of joy filled the place.  Men left that room and went to different parts of the country, taking trains that very morning, and the effects of the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit in answer to prayer were soon reported.  Others went out into the city with the blessing of God upon them.  This is only one instance among many that might be cited from personal experience.  

If we would only spend more time in prayer, there would be more fullness of the Spirit’s power in our work.  Many men who once worked unmistakably in the power of the Holy Spirit now fill the air with empty shouting, beat it with meaningless gestures, because they have neglected prayer.  We must spend much time on our knees before God if we are to continue in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Be Ready for His Return

Prayer is the means that Christ has appointed so that our hearts will not be overcome with indulgence and drunkenness and the cares of this life, For the day of Christ’s return will come upon us suddenly as a snare.

One of the most interested and solemn passages on prayer in the Bible is along this line (Luke 21:34 - 36).  “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.  For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”  According to this passage, there is only one way in which we can be prepared for the coming of the Lord when He appears:  through much prayer.

The second coming of Jesus Christ is a subject that is awakening much interest and discussion in our day.  It is one thing to be interested in the Lord’s return, and to talk about it, but it is quite another thing to be prepared for it.  We live in an atmosphere that has a constant tendency to make us unsuitable for Christ’s coming.  The world tends to draw us down by its gratifications and cares.  There is only one way by which we can triumphantly rise above these things - by constant watching in prayer, that is, by sleeplessness in prayer.  Watch in this passage is the same strong word used in Ephesians 6:18, and always is the same strong phrase as pray at all times.  The man who spends little time in prayer, who is not steadfast and constant in prayer, will not be ready for the Lord when He comes.  But, we may be ready.  How?  Pray!  Pray!  Pray!  

We Need to Pray

Because of what prayer accomplishes.

Much has been said about that already, but there is also much that should be added.

Prayer promotes our spiritual growth as almost nothing else, indeed, as nothing else except Bible study.  True prayer and true Bible Study go hand in hand.

It is through prayer that my sin is brought to light, my most hidden sin.  As I kneel before God and pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart.  Try me, and know my thoughts:  and see if there be any wicked way in me.”  (Psalm 139:23-24), God shoots the penetrating rays of His light into the innermost recesses of my heart.  The sins that I never suspected to be present are brought to light.  In answer to prayer, God washes me from my iniquity and cleanses me from my sin (Psalm 51:2).  In answer to prayer, my eyes are opened to behold wondrous things out of God’s word.  (Psalm 119:8).  In answer to prayer, I receive wisdom to know God’s way (James 1:5) and strength to walk in it.  As I meet God in prayer and gaze into His face, I am changed into His image from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18)  Each day of true prayer life finds me more like my glorious Lord.

John Welch, the son-in-law of John Knox, was one of the most faithful men of prayer this world has ever seen.  He counted any day in which seven or eight hours were not devoted solely to God in prayer and the study of His Word as wasted time.  An old man speaking of him after his death said, “He was a type of Christ.”  How did he become so like his Master?  His prayer life explains the mystery.

Prayer also brings power into our work.  If we wish power for any work to which God calls us, be it in preaching, teaching, personal work, or the raising of our children, we can receive it by earnest prayer.

A woman, with a little boy who was perfectly incorrigible, once came to me in desperation and said:  “What shall I do with him?

I asked, “Have you ever tried prayer?”

She said that she had prayed for him, she thought.  I asked if she had made his conversion and character a matter of definite, expectant prayer.  She replied that she had not been definite in the matter.  She began that day, and at once there was a marked change in the child.   As a result, he grew up into Christian manhood.

How many Sunday school teachers have taught for months and years and seen no real fruit from their labors?  Then they learn the secret of intercession, and by earnest pleading with God, see their students, one by one, brought to Christ!  How many poor teachers have become mighty men of God by casting away their confidence in their own ability and gifts and giving themselves up to God to wait upon Him for the power that comes from on high!  Evangelist John Livingstone spent a night, along with some believers, in prayer to God.  When he preached the next day, five hundred people were either converted or marked some definite uplift in their spiritual life.  Prayer and power are inseparable.  

Prayer avails for the conversion of others.  There are few converted in this world in any other way than in connection with someone’s prayers.  I previously thought that no human being had anything to do with my own conversion, for I was not converted in church or Sunday school or in a personal conversation with anyone.  I was awakened in the middle of the night and converted.  As far as I can remember, I did not the slightest thought of being converted, or of anything of that character when I went to bed and fell asleep.  But, I was awakened in the middle of the night and converted probably within five minutes.  A few minutes before, I was about as near eternal damnation as one gets.  I had one foot over the brink and was trying to get the other one over.  As I said, I thought no human being had anything to do with it, but I had forgotten my mother’s prayers.  Later I learned that one of my college classmates had decided to pray for me until I was saved.

prayer often avails where everything else fails.  How utterly all of Monica’s efforts and entreaties failed with her son!  But, her prayers prevailed with God, and the immoral youth became St. Augustine, the mighty man of God.  By prayer, the bitterest enemies of the gospel have become its most valiant defenders, the most wicked the truest sons of God, and the most contemptible women the purest of saints.  Oh, the power of prayer to reach down, where hope itself seems vain, and lift men and women up into fellowship with and likeness to God!  It is simply wonderful!  How little we appreciate this marvelous weapon!  

Prayer brings blessings to the Church. 

The history of the Church has always been full of grave difficulties to overcome.  The devil hates the Church and seeks in every way to block its progress; by false doctrine, by division, and by inward corruption of life.  But, by prayer, a clear way can be made through everything.  Prayer will root out heresy, smooth out misunderstanding, sweep away jealousies and animosities, obliterate immoralities, and bring in the full tide of God’s reviving grace.  history abundantly proves this.  In the darkest hour, when the state of the Church has seemed beyond hope, believing men and women have met together and cried to God and the answer has come.

It was so in the days of Knox.  It was so in the days of Wesley and Whitefield.  It was so in the days of Edwards and Brainerd.  It was so in the days of Finney.  It was so in the days of the great revival of 1857 in this country and of 1859 in Ireland.  And, it will be so again in your day and mine!  Satan has organized his forces.  Some people, claiming great apostolic methods, are merely covering for the rankest dishonesty and hypocrisy with their loud and false assurance.  Christians equally loyal to the great fundamental truths of the gospel are scowling at one another with a devil-sent suspicion.  The world, the flesh, and the devil are holding a merry carnival.  It is now a dark day, but now “it is time for Thee, Lord, to work:  for they have made void Thy law.”  (Psalm 119:126).  He is getting ready to work, and now He is listening for the voice of prayer.  Will He hear it?  Will He hear it from you?  Will He hear it from the Church as a body?  I believe He will.

Worship Wednesdays: How to Pray, Week 1

This Diva is a sold out, 100% follower of Christ.  Every Wednesday, I'll be posting bits and pieces of my life with Him, including spiritual insights, anecdotes, Bible Study tips, and the like.    This is a long(ish) post, but so worth the read!

I’ve read this little book several times, and it always brings me into an amazing prayer life with my Lord, Jesus Christ.  I pray you get as much out of this book as I have!

Chapter 1:  The Importance of Prayer

    In Ephesians 6:18, the tremendous importance of prayer is expressed with startling and overwhelming force:

    “Pray always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and suplication   for all saints.”

    When the perceptive child of God stops to weigh the meaning of these words then notes the connection in which the are found, he or she must be driven to say, “I must pray, pray pray.  I must put all my energy and heart into prayer.  Whatever else I do, I must pray.”

    The Revised Standard Version is sometimes even more emphatic than the King James:
    “Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.  To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.  

    Notice the alls:  “Pray at all times,” “with all prayer,” “in all perseverance,” “for all the saints.”  Note the piling up of strong words, “prayer,” “supplication,” “perseverance,”  Also notice the strong expression, “to that end keep alert,” more literally, “in this, be not lazy.”  Paul realized the natural apathy of man, and especially his natural neglect in prayer.  How seldom we pray things through!!  How often the Church and the individual get right up to the verge of a great blessing in prayer and then let go, become lazy, and quit.  I wish that these words, “in these, be not lazy,” might burn into our heart.  I wish the whole verse would burn into our heart

The Necessity of Persistent Prayer

    Why is this constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming pray so necessary?  Because there is a devil.

    He is cunning; he is mighty; he never rests; he is continually plotting the downfall of the child of God.  If the child of God relaxes in prayer, the devil will succeed in ensnaring him.

    This is the meaning of the text.  Ephesians 6:12 reads:  “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, and against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  Then comes Ephesians 6:13:  “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”  Next follows a description of the different parts of the Christian’s armor which we are to put on if we are to stand against Satan and his mighty wiles.  Paul brings all to a climax in Ephesians 6:18, telling us that to all else we must add prayer, constant, persistent, untiring, sleepless prayer in the Holy Spirit - or all else will be in vain.

    Prayer is God’s appointed way for obtaining things.  The reason we lack anything in life is due to neglect of prayer.

    Many Christians are asking, “Why is it that I progress so little in my Christian life?”

    “Neglect of prayer,” God answers.  “You have not because you ask not.” 

    Many ministers are asking, “Why is it I see so little fruit from my labors?”

    Again, God answers, “Neglect of prayer.  You have not because you ask not.”

    Many Sunday school teachers are asking, “Why is it that I see so few converted in my Sunday school class?”

    Still, God answers, “Neglect of prayer.  You have not, because you ask not.”

    Both ministers and churches are asking, “Why is it that the Church of Christ makes so little headway against unbelief and error and sin and worldliness?”

    Once more, we hear God answering, “Neglect of prayer.  You have not because you ask not.

    Those men whom God set forth as a pattern of what He expected Christians to be - the apostles - regarded prayer as the most important business of their lives.

    When the multiplying responsibilities of the early Church crowded in upon them, the “called the multitude of the disciples unto them and said, “It is not reason that we should leave the Word of God and serve the tables.  Wherefore brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.  But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the Word.”  (Acts 6:2-4).  It is evident from what Paul wrote to both churches and individuals that much of his time and strength and thought were devoted to prayer for them.  (See Romans 1:19, Ephesians 1:15, 16, Colossians 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 3:10, 2 Timothy 1:30.

    All the mighty men of God outside the Bible have been men of prayer.  They have differed from one another in many things, but in this, they have been alike.

The Ministry of Intercession

    Prayer occupied a very prominent place and played a very important part in the earthly life of our Lord.  

    Turn for example to Mark 1:35.  “And in the morning, rising up a great while before the day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”  The preceding day had been very busy and exciting, but Jesus shortened the hours of needed sleep so that He could rise early and give Himself to more sorely needed prayer.

    Turn again to Luke 6:12, where we read, “And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”  our Savior occasionally found it necessary to spend a whole night in prayer.

    The words pray and prayer are used at least twenty-five times in connection with our Lord in the brief record of his life in the four gospels, and His praying is mentioned in places where the words are not used.  Evidently prayer took much of Jesus’ time and strength.  A man or woman who does not spend much time in prayer cannot properly be called a follower of Jesus Christ. 

    Praying is the most important part of the ministry of our risen Lord.  This reason for constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer seems, if possible, even more forcible than others.  

    Christ’s ministry did not close with His death.  His atoning work was finished then.  But, when He rose and ascended to the right hand of the Father, He entered into other work for us, work just as important in its place as His atoning work.  It cannot be separated from his atoning work because it rests upon that as its basis and is necessary to our complete salvation. 

    We read what that great present work is by which he carries our salvation on to completion in Hebrews 7:25, “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.”  This verse tells us that Jesus is able to save us unto the uttermost, not merely from the uttermost, but unto the uttermost - unto entire completeness, absolute perfection.  He is able to do this not only because He died, but because He also “ever liveth.”

    The verse also tells us why He now lives, to make intercession for us,” to pray.  Praying is the principal thing He is doing in these days.  It is by His prayers that He is saving us.

    The same thought is found in Paul’s remarkable, triumphant challenge in Romans 8:34:  “Who is he that condemneth?  It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”

    If we are to then have fellowship with Jesus Christ in His present work, we must spend much time in prayer.  We must give ourselves over to earnest, constant, persistent, sleepless, overcoming prayer.  I know of nothing that has so impressed me with a sense of the importance of praying at all seasons - being much and constantly in prayer - as the thought that this is the principal occupation of my risen Lord even now.  I want to have fellowship with Him.  For that reason, I have asked the Father, whatever else He may make me, to make me at all events an intercessor.  I pray He will make me a man who knows how to pray and who spends much time in prayer. 

    This ministry of intercession is glorious and mighty, and we can all have a part in it.  The man or woman who cannot attend the prayer meeting because of illness can have a part in it.  The busy mother and the woman who works outside the home can have a part.  They can mingle prayers for the saints, their pastor, the unsaved, and for foreign missionaries with their day’s work.  The hard-driven man of business can have a part in it, praying as he hurries from duty to duty.  But we must, if we want to maintain this spirit of constant prayer, take time - and plenty of it - when we shut ourselves up in the secret place alone with God for nothing but prayer.

Receiving Mercy, Grace, and Joy

    Prayer is the means that God has appointed for our receiving mercy and obtaining grace to help in time of need.

    Hebrews 4:16 is one of the simplest and sweetest verses in the Bible.  “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”  These words make it very clear that God has appointed a way by which we can seek and obtain mercy and grace.  That way is prayer; bold, confident, outspoken approach to the throne of grace, the most holy place of God’s presence.  There our sympathizing High Priest, Jesus Christ, has entered in our behalf. (See Hebrews 4:14-15.)  

    Mercy is what we need and grace is what we must have or else all our life and effort will end in complete failure.  Prayer is the way to obtain mercy and grace.  There is infinite grace at our disposal and we make it ours by prayer.  oh, if we only realized the fullness of God’s grace which is ours for the asking - it’s height and depth and length, and breadth - I’m sure we would spend more time in prayer.  The measure of our appropriation of grace is determined by the measure of our prayers. 

    Who does not feel that he needs more grace?  Then, ask for it.  Be constant and persistent in your asking.  Be diligent and untiring in your asking.  God delights to have us “shameless” beggars in prayer; for it shows our faith in Him, and He is mightily pleased with faith.  Because of our “shamelessness,” He will rise and give us as much as we need (see Luke 11:8)  What little streams of mercy and grace most of us know, when we might know rivers overflowing their banks!

    Prayer in the name of Jesus Christ is the way He Himself has appointed for His disciples to obtain fullness of joy.  He states this simply and beautifully in John 16:24:  “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name; ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”  Who does not wish for full joy?  Well, the way to have full joy is by praying in the name of Jesus.  We all know people who are full of joy.  Indeed it is just running over, shining from their eyes, bubbling out of their very lips, and running off their fingertips when they shake your hand.  Coming in contact with them is like coming in contact with an electrical machine charged with gladness.  People of that sort are always people who spend much time in prayer.

    Why is it that prayer in the name of Christ brings such fullness of joy?  In part, because we get what we ask.  But, that is not the only reason, nor is it the greatest.  It makes God real.  When we ask something definite of God, and He gives it, how real God becomes!  He is right there!  It is blessed to have a God who is real and not merely an idea.  I remember once when I suddenly and seriously fell ill all alone in my study.  I dropped upon my knees and cried to God for help.  Instantly, all pain left me - I was perfectly well.  It seemed as if God stood right there and had put out His hand and touched me.  the joy of the healing was not as great as the joy of meeting God.

    There is no greater joy on earth or in heaven than communion with God.  Prayer in the name of Jesus brings us into communion with God.  The Psalmist was surely not speaking only of future blessedness, but also of present blessedness, when he said, “In Thy presence is fullness of joy” (Psalm  16:11)  Oh, the unutterable joy of those moments when, in our prayers, we really enter into the presence of God!

    Does someone say, “I have never known any such joy as that in prayer”?  Do you take enough leisure for prayer to actually get into God’s presence?  Do you really give yourself up to prayer in the time which you do take?