On Prayer

How pious and lofty our thoughts can be: We are “praying from the heart!” But the scriptures give warning: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jer. 17:9. We tend to quote this scripture, but do not grasp the answer that follows. In the next verse we read; “I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”

“You are in our prayers!” “Our prayers are with you!” We are to judge no man, but the fruit of men sometimes provides a silent yet deafening witness as to their true relationship with God - or the lack thereof. You are in our prayers? Our prayers are with you? Do prayers ‘said’ by men contain some special magic by which they can help a needy soul? And what of “The power of prayer?” It is often the topic on television news programming, commentaries, and talk shows. And to what ‘god’ do they pray? The power seems to be relegated to the person praying or to the prayer itself. No god (or God) need be involved. Man becomes as it was declared by the serpent in the Garden: Ye shall be as gods!

The ‘power’ of prayer? It is without any power unless it is offered in Faith: the source and object of Faith must be the true God of heaven and His Son Jesus Christ. If prayer be qualified as prayer (and God Himself knows that which is prayer and what is only “prayer”.) Many will say, I have faith; but their ‘faith’ is in ‘faith’ itself, and not founded and established in the Lord God Jehovah. If our prayer is a prayer of faith then we must be “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” Heb. 12:2. He is Alpha and Omega; prayer is to begin with Him - “Our Father;” and end with Him; “In Jesus’ name.”

The Righteous Pharisees. In the beginning of John chapter eight, the Pharisees came to Jesus: these were ‘missionaries;’ desiring that others might also come to Jesus. “And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. . .Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act” vs.3-4. The tables are turned! They are backed into a corner! Said the scribes and Pharisees, “Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father, Then said they unto him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” To which Jesus replied, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do” vs. 39,41,44a.

The Praying Pharisees. “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer. . .” Matt. 23: 13-14. Dare we say, there are yet many sons of the Pharisees, sons of Satan in the world today?

The Praying Religionists. “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” Matt. 15:8-9. cf. Isa. 29:13. How very current and timely, this scripture: a woeful description of today’s “Christianity,”

But How Am I, a True Christian, To Approach the Throne of Grace? Many are the volumes that have been written on the subject of prayer. We would offer only a few thoughts here on which the reader may (hopefully) choose to meditate. . .

Coming To the Throne of Grace Boldly.

“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. . .Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” Heb. 4:14,16.

My dear friend, let us put on the royal apparel; the robe of Righteousness: “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ” Rom. 13:13. Let us stand in the inner court of the King’s House: let us approach the Throne of Grace. “Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord” Proverbs 8:34,35. The Lord has held forth the golden sceptre to you - be not afraid to reach out and touch it!

“Boldly is not contrasted with reverently and tremblingly. It means literally ‘saying all,’ with that confidence which begets thorough honesty, frankness, full and open speech. ‘Pour out your heart before Him.’ Come as you are, say what you feel, ask what you need. Confess your sins, your fears, your wandering thoughts and affections. . .We need only understand that we are sinners, and that He is High Priest. The law was given that every mouth may be shut, for we are guilty. The High Priest is given that every mouth may be opened. . .We come in faith as sinners. Then shall we obtain mercy; and we always need mercy, to wash our feet: to restore to us the joy of salvation, to heal our backslidings, and bind up our wounds. . .“We should come therefore with boldness to the throne of grace” (Bagster). Then let us do so, in the full confidence of our acceptance before God in the person of His Beloved. . .Let us ‘come’ constantly, continually.

Exposition of Hebrews, A. W. Pink

Shall we presume to come before the throne, alone? God forbid! Of what value, my prayer, if my parakletos (Comforter) is not along side me? Com fort, with strength. If one is to “come boldly” to the throne of grace, it is imperative that the Spirit of Christ be with him and in him!

Coming to the Throne of Grace Fearfully.

The Fear of the Lord is. . . the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments” Psalm 111:10. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” Proverbs 1:7. “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” Heb.12:28. Consider Noah. His obedience was in response to Faith and Fear! “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith” Heb. 11:7. Noah by faith, moved with fear, to the building of the ark. It is Faith unto good works, if you please! Where would Noah have been if he had said I believe God, but failed to act in faith? He would have been dead!

It is within the bounds of faith and the (reverential) fear of God that we find deliverance, love, joy, peace, hope, faith, communion, safety; that we live in the Light and not in darkness; that we are no longer bound but free. It is in the fear of the Lord that we walk with the Shepherd; that we are satisfied; that we are led in paths of righteousness; that we find goodness and mercy to be our constant traveling companions.

Coming to the Throne of Grace by the “new and living way.”

“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. . .” “By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated [brought to fullness, completion] for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” Heb. 10:19-20. “The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands. . .Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. . .How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God. . .” Heb. 9:8,11,12,14.

Christ Himself is the living veil! He is the veil into the Most Holy Place. How then may we enter before the throne of the Most Holy God? It is through the blood. It is by faith. Does the Veil have a door? “I AM the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” John 10:9. The Veil has no visible door; it can only be found, it will only open, one may only gain access, through faith in Christ and the trusting the sufficiency of His efficacious offering of blood.

Once inside the Veil; and be assured when we are allowed in, we stand in the Holy of Holies, before the Eternal Omnipotent God. Approach His throne, boldly? At His right hand is our Great High Priest; our advocate/intercessor, with the Father. There is before the host of heaven the ark of the covenant upon which dwells the Mercy Seat; and upon the Mercy Seat, our propitiation, the blood of the Everlasting Covenant. These are a wit-ness, a testimony that we may indeed, by faith, obtain the mercy and grace which we seek!

Having The Right Spirit Unto Prayer.

First, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” James 4:7. The obvious is obvious: one can not effectively resist until he has first submitted!

Second, “draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” But do we not draw nigh unto God as He is drawing us nigh unto Himself?

Third, “Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” And how do we do that? “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9. (“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” I John 1:8.)

Fourth, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” vs.10. To think oneself capable of lifting himself up and to refuse to come in a spirit of humbleness is utter folly and will not gain entrance to the Throne of Grace!

Fifth, (is this not an extension of verse ten, Humble yourselves): “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness” I John 4:9. How shall we continue to look upon the godlessness and wickedness of our world, of our nation without mourning? ‘In God we trust?’ Is there a remnant remaining that can truly lay claim to that motto?

Right Praying Requires Right Focusing.

“Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. . .his sisters sent unto Him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick” John 11:1,3. At first glance one would scarcely presume this to be a prayer at all! Yet this is one of the most moving and excellent examples of prayer to be found in all the Bible.

First, He is addressed as “Lord.” As such, His Deity is acknowledged, His authority recognized; He is owned as being worthy of worship; their position being one of expressed humility. Second, it is “Lord, behold” In this may we not sense the burden, the care, the heartache of Mary and Martha? Do they not even now perceive that he is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities?” Third, it is not “Lazarus our brother, is sick;” it is not that Jesus might work in their behalf, though they loved their brother dearly. Fourth, it is not that the Lord might come even though Lazarus loved Him! Fifth, the means is not dictated by which the Lord might work; that He might undertake in Lazarus’ behalf. The prayer does not prescribe any action that Jesus might be persuaded to take on the part of the two sisters. The very center of the petition is directed at the Lord Himself: It is he whom “Thou lovest.” The discerning eye may notice the order: the adverse circumstances are placed at the farthest point: “he. . .is sick.” “Thou lovest” is in between. Regretfully for many believers the order is reversed: we put the circumstances between us and God rather than God between ourselves and the circumstances! The object of prayer is not to be our “Lazarus”; our focus, not upon the circumstances; but upon Christ. The prayer of Faith: Christ will do what He will do, not because Mary and Martha love Lazarus; not even because they love Jesus! How often, child of God, have you faltered in your prayer in behalf of another, feeling somehow that you must “measure up,” that your love for the Lord must excel ere He will hear you? How easily we forget! It is because “God so loved the world,” that He gave. They “reminded” the Lord: “Thou lovest.” The responsibility is now laid upon Him, that He might respond according to His love.

Prayers That God Will Not Hear.

There are conditions where one may not; in fact does not really desire to, ‘come boldly to the throne of grace.’ Without faith, one may not gain entrance through the Veil, because it will not open to the spirit of unbelief!

Ye Ask Amiss. Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” James 4:3. Are there not wars and fighting around the world? And these we can expect to continue until the Prince of Peace returns. But James says, From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? James 4:1.

Shall this world and its nations find peace? “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God” I Peter 4:17.

A final thought. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” Matthew 6:33. Is God in the foremost of our thoughts; or in our afterthoughts? Are we in His foremost thoughts; or in His after-thoughts? To this the entire canon of scripture provides for us an unquestionable answer.

Prayer unlocks, appropriates, lays hold on what God has promised.

Prayer turns on the switch that the lamp may draw the power, the current,

from the Source of all power. How shall the light shine without it?

Prayer that reaches beyond the Word of God and the Will of God is not prayer.