PRAYER
BY ANNA SHIPTON.
He will be very
gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when He shall hear it,
He will answer
thee.-Is. xxx:19.
Prayer is a great
fact. Men may philosophize, argue, scorn and deny its efficacy; but there it
stands with its rich promises in the covenant of grace; it glows like a pillar
of light in our own lives and in the lives of others. It is a trophy of the
Saviour’s triumph (John xvi: 24), vested in the hand and heart of the believer,
whose strength is in the Lord Jesus Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of
God.
Why do we see so
little result from this hallowed power committed to a child of the dust, an
heir of glory, when its exercise involves untold influences?
Wonderful to
reply,-from the incredulity of Christians, whom have been allotted the
positions of the prince of priest (I Peter ii:9); to whom have been intrusted
the golden key of the treasury of heaven (John xv:7_, with a thousand promises
to encourage the timid soul to enter into the presence-chamber with his
petition. Yet with aching heart he often stands without, not knowing if the
thing he desires is according to the mind of God, not asking for spiritual
intelligence, which would strengthen him to ask and receive. “The Lord is at
hand. Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God. And the peace of God,
which passeth all understanding, shall keep you hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus.”-(Phil. iv:5, 6, 7.) The faith that pleads, must wait in faith; for He
who caused the east wind to blow, by His power can bring the south wind.
Perhaps the
suppliant is weary of waiting; he has cried once, twice, thrice, to the lord,
and then, fainthearted and afraid, the hands become slack, as if it were in
vain to wait upon the Lord God any longer.-(2 Kings xiii:18.) To receive the fullness
of his request he should have knocked six, seven, nay, seventy times, if need
by; knocked according to his need, and the faithfulness of Him to whom he had
made known his request. “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made
with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to
appear in the presence of God for us.”-(Heb. ix 24.)
Preserving prayer
is the fruit of faith and patience. If we consider God’s ways with us afortime,
we shall not be discouraged when the answer tarries, to teach us that this perseverance
is to nourish the hidden life. “But if we hope for that we see not, then do we
with patience wait for it.”-(Rom. viii. 25.)
We are prone to
dwell on the external trials of our natural life, as if a citizen of heaven
were to be exempt from them, forgetting that we are appointed thereunto. (I
Thess. iii:3.) By the exercise of faith which they involve, we are led to
realize the position of the worshiper within the veil, when the Great High Priest
stand to plead for and to judge his people.-(Is. iii:13.)
We can not fathom
God’s purposes; but we may and often should seek Him in the circumstances that
so often rise like battlements against us, in the way of service and testimony
into which we have been guided by Him. “Now that the just shall live by faith;
but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”-(Heb. x:38.)
Patience (The
least sought and least cultivated fruit of the Holy Spirit) manifests by its
presence that the soil that the husbandman is tilling is neither barren nor
unfruitful. Let any one gather up the injunctions and promises linked with this
heavenly grace, and he will assuredly more ardently desire the quiet confidence
that springs from the root of faith; for “the trying of your faith worketh
patience.”-(James.) And “by faith and patience we inherit the promises.”
How shall we
define prayer? Where shall we limit it? As to where it begins or where it ends;
what is too high or what is too mean for a subject of prayer? If the
aspirations after a deeper knowledge of Christ Himself be prayer; if all the
desires for the glory of God, enfolded in our longings for others to partake in
the treasures hid in Jesus, be prayer; if the yearning to serve Him better in His
sanctuary, and the carving of the soul for deeper, closer, more intimate
communication with Him, be prayer,- then prayer is the most important of all
services, the most heavenly of all occupations, the truest preparation for the
endless life. The service here may be unseen of men save by its result; yet it
is a perpetual testimony by its influence, and a source of marvel to principalities
and powers, of the mystery of the Cross; for the Great Adversary watches for
the soul that becomes strange to the mercy seat, and
“Trembles when he sees,
The weakest saint upon his knees.”
The incredulity
of Christians as to the efficacy and necessity of prayer is one of the
marvels of this age of religious ceremonial. Any one may gain a hearing with
idle Christians- men will listen to sermons or addresses by the hour, who will
not spend the same time alone before the mercy seat themselves. The object of
the Enemy is to prevent this. If no one snare succeeds, he will fill the mind
with abstruse questions, that have no bearing on the salvation, no influence to
induce continual communion with the Lord; or he will weary the body with what
he suggest is work for the Lord, but which is nothing more than nature’s
energy, so that the jaded body, acting on the nerves, throws the shadow of despondency
on its heavenly enjoyment of prayer and praise. This is Satan’s masterpiece.
Then, when prayer is no longer possible, the Enemy comes down upon the sad,
bewildered heart, taunting it with remembered transgressions, drawing the
unwary foot to Sinai. Thus precious hours, which might have been records of the
grace and goodness and glory of God, are swallowed up in self-retrospection.
For the God that Satan sets before us is an austere master,-a jealous God, a
righteous and implacable judge; and beneath the terrors of the law, we forget
that the Father gave His beloved Son to die for one who now cries in despairing
grief, as if there were no God in Zion, “The Lord hath forsaken me, and my God
hath forgotten me.” Nay, hath not He declared in ancient days, and does He not
repeat today, “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have
compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, but I will not forget
thee. Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands.”
“When the enemy
shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall life up a standard
against him.”
***
He is ever
waiting to be gracious, delighting in mercy, taking pleasure in the prosperity of
His servants.
When David turned
his harp to tell of the goodness of the Lord to the unthankful and rebellious,
he declared Him “nigh to all that call upon Him in truth. He will
fulfill the desire of them that fear Him; He also will hear their cry, and will
save them.” David, remembering the catalogue of mercies shown to the people of
Israel could tell out of his own rich experience, “In my distress I cried unto
the Lord, and He heard me.”-(Ps. cxx:1.) If you place yourself in the position
of blessing, you must be blest. If you have sought light, help, counsel,-believe,
and you shall have it. But if we leave thy Throne of Grace, and the means of
grace, with the natural satisfaction that we have done a good work, rather than
that we have receive,-whether it be counsel, guidance, reproof, or whatsoever
we needed,-we shall find that we have lost, not gained; lost our time, our
strength, and often, in the end, our peace. We are there to receive, out of that
fullness that waits to give. When we remember that every prayer is heard and
considered, we shall be often led to scrutinize the form of our petitions, and
what prayer really is. It is the heart’s desire that rests on Almighty love to
grant-on Omnipotence alone to give.
Prayer may have
been eloquent, yet have had no real need expressed, and therefore have seen no
practical result. The momentary satisfaction of having spoken words with ease
and fluency, will fade away as the petitioner returns into more practical life;
and instead of watching unto prayer, and working out bye heavenly wisdom what
the lips requested, the monetary content of having performed a duty will have
passed as the morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.
The need of our
daily extremities to bring us face to face with Omnipotence will be more and
more evident to those who seek to walk intelligently with the Lord. If the soul
would grow in knowledge of Him, it must be constantly at the Source of Life.
If we would know
the Lord God Almighty, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we must wait on
Him to reveal Himself to us, and not set the from and manner of that revelation
in our reason or imagination. “Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord,
and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom; out of his mouth
cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the
righteous; he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He preserveth the way
of His saints.”-(Prov ii:5-8.) Surely He is more ready to give than we to receive.
Wherefore, then, should there be any doubt that the grace ordained shall be
given? Will He withhold one good thing from His waiting people, who only rely
on His faithfulness for blessing? He ever liveth to make intercession for us;
and while the tempted, troubled heart sinks in its effort to rise to God, like
a dove beaten in a storm, there sounds through the heavenly atmosphere, could we
but catch the echo, “I have prayed for thee.” Let all the earth keep
silence before Him.
-From “Hidden Springs.”
