But Prayer
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
Peter was in prison. Herod emboldened by the fact that his killing of James had pleased the Jews, proceeded to take Peter also. His purpose was to kill him after Easter.
Peter had no power over the king. The saints who loved Peter had no prestige with those in authority, nor did they have any money to buy favor. Every avenue of human help was barred.
Peter was in prison, but prayer was made unto God for him. The saints were helpless to aid Peter, but prayer was made unto God. The result was that the prison bars were thrown back and the Apostle was set free. Man's extremity proved God's opportunity.
Elijah had no power over Ahab. However, when Elijah prayed the fire of God descended and the victory came.
Believing prayer is the greatest power which has ever been given unto man. It is the tie that links Omnipotency to impotency. It is the channel that brings power down from Heaven. Prayer accomplishes things. Prayer works miracles.
When "but prayer" is followed by men, then God begins to work Prayer couples man to God. Prayer is the ladder which spans the space between earth and Heaven; and upon that ladder God descends with needed help to man.
In the case of Peter, we read, "But prayer was made without ceasing * * unto God." It was not merely prayer, but it was continued prayer, unwearied prayer, importunate prayer that opened Peter's prison bars.
The greatest victories of the Church have been won by prayer. The Lord needs "prayers" as well as preachers. We rightly link the expression "but prayer," to that other expression "but God." When prayer moves, God moves.
There is a little expression relative to the transfiguration of Christ which is apropos "As He prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and glistering." Here is a novel result of prayer. Prayer not only works, but prayer transforms the one who prays. He who prays may open prison doors and reach even to the far-flung fields where missionaries labor for Christ; he may also, as he prays, find his own face lighted with the glory of God.
Prayer throws open prison doors on earth; it likewise throws open doors of blessing in Heaven. The earth doors were thrown back through prayer that Peter might pass out. Heaven's doors are thrown back through prayer that we may enter in and rejoice in visions of celestial glory.
Prayer opens prison doors in order that we may go out and serve. Prayer opens Heaven's doors in order that we may go out and shine. When God through prayer gives us glimpses of Heaven and we are bathed in the light of those higher realms, we must carry the blessings of that hour down into the valley of the world's need.
"In the secret of His presence,
How my soul delights to hide;
Oh, how precious are the lessons
Which I learn at Jesus' side;
Yet, whene'er I leave the presence
Of that blessed meeting place,
I must mind to bear the image
Of the Master, in my face."
I. ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP (Exodus 34:2)
David said, "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray." Of the three times best suited for prayer, the morning is, no doubt, the best.
God said unto Moses, "Come up in the morning * * and present thyself there to Me in the top of the mount."
In the morning hour, there is a stillness and a quietness which draws the soul to God. In the morning hour the mind is clear, and the body rested from the weariness of the toil of yesterday. He who brings himself into the presence of God every morning, will find his whole day made the better thereby.
On the mountain top is a wonderful place for prayer. Let the morning be the hour, and let the mountain top be the place. The mountain top stands for seclusion, for rarified air, for clearness of vision for unembarrassed fellowship. Some one has said, "Give God the blossom of the day. Do not put Him off with faded leaves."
Jesus Christ delighted in going up into the mountain apart to pray. He delighted in the solitude which the mountain afforded Him. We read, "And when evening was come, He was there alone."
It is only when we are apart from others that we can have the sweetest and most profitable fellowship with God. An actual mountain top is not always available. When such is the case, we may remember the words of our Lord, "Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father which is in secret." The chief necessity is solitude, a fellowship unbroken by contact with men.
"Still, still with Thee, when purple morning breaketh,
When the bird waketh, and the shadows flee;
Fairer than morning, lovelier than daylight,
Dawns the sweet consciousness, I am with Thee."
II. THE CALL TO QUIETNESS (Psalms 46:10)
"Quietness" is almost a lost art, and yet, God has said, "In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength."
We gather from our text that the only way to know God is by being still. The music of His presence is exceeding beautiful, though exceeding soft.
He whispers to me in the twilight,
And comforts me with words of cheer,
He whispers in the still of midnight,
And tells me, Hush! for I am near.
There is a power in quietness that the soul never finds any other where. "The Lord is in His holy Temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him."
It was not in the earthquake, nor in the great wind that the Prophet heard his Lord. It was not in the fire that God spoke. It was after the earthquake, and after the fire, that there came a sound of a still small voice. God was in that voice of quietness.
III. WITHOUT ANXIETY (Philippians 4:6)
He who would learn to pray should learn first to be without anxiety. There is no need to excuse ourselves for our nervousness and fretfulness, God says, "Be careful for nothing."
We all have our testings and our trials, our difficulties and our disappointments. Yet, we should never be perturbed. The Lord Jesus stood as a sheep before its shearers, dumb.
It is only when our spirit is quiet and restful that we can enter into the deepest fellowship with Christ. The Lord lives in the realm of peace. He is Peace, and He stands ready to impart peace.
When the Holy Spirit wrote through Paul, He seemed to give to us the antidote for anxiety. He said, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication." Instead of fret and worry, there should be prayer.
"Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you." In prayer let us cast our care upon the Lord, there is, then, no place left for anxiety.
The admonition of our text grows upon us. Let us state it in a way that you may grasp it. (1) In nothing be anxious. (2) In everything by prayer. (3) With thanksgiving. (4) And the peace of God * * shall keep your heart.
Do you get the progression? First, Anxiety and care are set aside. Second, Prayer and supplication take the place of anxieties. Third, The result is that thanksgivings, instead of murmurings and complainings abound. Then, Fourth, The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, garrisons the heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Let us examine our hearts to see if there is ought of anxiety dwelling there.
IV. THE SPIRIT HELPETH OUR INFIRMITIES (Romans 8:26-27)
Where is he who, from the depths of his soul, has not cried, "Lord, teach us to pray"? When the disciples heard their Master pray, they felt that they had never prayed. When we read the Word concerning the life of prayer, and when we think of saints who have truly known how to pray, we cry again, "Lord, teach us to pray."
The Lord gives us some comforting thoughts concerning prayer. He tells us that the Spirit will help our infirmities. If we know not what to pray for as we ought, He tells us that the Spirit will make intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
How grateful we are because God helps us to pray! He teaches us how to pray, and then He places within us the Holy Spirit who burdens our soul with prayer. As we come to the end of our own strength in our prayer life, we learn to cast ourselves upon the Lord, and then we discover the secret of "praying in the Spirit."
Our verse says, "We know not what we should pray for as we ought." Sometimes we pray for patience, when we should, in fact, have prayed for tribulation, for tribulation worketh patience. Sometimes we pray for faith, when we might better have prayed for those testings of life, and revelations of God, which produce faith.
V. LET US COME BOLDLY (Hebrews 4:14-16)
If we were to approach the Father in our own name, or by virtue of our own accomplishments, we could never be bold in prayer. When we remember, however, that we have a great High Priest, Jesus, the Son of God, and that we approach God in Him and through Him, we may come boldly unto the thorne of Grace. Jesus Christ is our Advocate. He ever liveth to make intercession for us.
Let us give a warning. It is quite possible that we may grow weary in prayer, just as our blessed Lord is about to grant us His blessing. Daniel had prayed, and for three weeks the answer was delayed. Suppose that Daniel had grown weary in prayer, and had turned away from the passion of his longing heart; would God then have sent the illumination to his soul?
We must not faint in prayer. Our Lord is managing our affairs, and He is working out the victory with which the Holy Spirit had burdened us, and soon the answer will come.
Let us give you the marginal reading of Psalms 37:5, "Roll on Jehovah thy way." If the Lord Jesus represents us at the throne of God, why not bring our care to Him, and leave it there. If He is managing our affairs why should we manage them? This is the evident thought of the Spirit, when He says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." We need to acquaint ourselves with God. We need to trust Him, to roll our way upon Him. Commit thy way unto the Lord. This is the call of God, Commit means, cast it there, and leave it there.
VI. HE WENT TO MEDITATE (Genesis 24:63)
Isaac went out into the fields at eventide to meditate. Here is a phase of prayer that must not be overlooked. Prayer is not supplications, alone; prayer is not praise, alone, or worship, alone. Prayer is that communion of spirit with Spirit, which may not even be expressed in words.
Prayer carries us into the secret of His presence. Prayer delights, with lips closed, to gaze in rapture upon the Beloved. Prayer loves to think upon the One who is holy, and just, and true.
Prayer cultivates a spirit of reflection; it delights in basking under the sunshine and the glory of His face.
"In the secret of His presence,
How my soul delights to hide,
Oh, how precious are the lessons
That I learn at Jesus' side."
As we meditate upon Him, we learn to know Him; and, knowing Him, we learn to love Him; and loving Him, we learn to trust Him.
Meditative prayer carries an inexpressible benefaction with it. It is there, in the lofty heights of communion, that we behold with open face the glory of the Lord. It is there, that, beholding Him in all of His beauty, we are transformed into the image of the Lord, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. As we meditate upon Him, we become like Him.
VII. SERVING WITH PRAYER (Luke 2:36-37)
Anna was a prophetess. She departed not from the Temple, "But served God with fastings and prayers night and day." It is not praying alone, but it is praying with serving. It is not serving alone, but serving with praying. What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
It was when they had prayed that the Spirit began to work for them and through them. To work without prayer is to work without power. To work without prayer is to work in the energy of the flesh to serve without the Spirit.
Great in intercession, is to be great in service.
Before the Lord appointed the Twelve, He spent the night in prayer with God. Before Pentecost and its thousands baptized, there was the waiting of the disciples in ten days of prayer.
When the Church loses the art of praying, it loses the place of serving. Prayer links man's nothingness to God's Almightiness. Prayer is the confession of man's dependence upon God. Prayer is faith's acknowledgment of God's power through men. Prayer, therefore, is the plea for God's presence, and protection, and provision of our need.
Prayer says, I am not alone, for God is with me. Prayer reaches up into Heaven, and brings God's blessings down to earth.
Let us watch unto prayer. Let us pray without ceasing. Let us give ourselves continually unto prayer. "Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed."
AN ILLUSTRATION
THE HUNTING DOG
"A good dog hunts by sight as long as he can see his game; but when that is lost he hunts by scent," "So in prayer we are to pursue the blessing while we are encouraged to seek it, but we are not to cease when the likelihood of success is gone. We must hunt by a spiritual scent when sight quite fails us. The odor of the promise must direct our way when the mercy is numbered with the 'things not seen as yet.' It would be a sad degeneration if faith became nothing better than a conclusion drawn from preponderating probabilities: we must hope against hope, and believe in the truth of the promise against all likelihood of its performance, or we know nothing of the crown and glory of faith.
"O for a quick nostril, that we may follow after those Heavenly things which the eye seeth not and the ear heareth not. These will repay the chase; whereas the things seen of the eye turn out, when overtaken, to be mere gaudy butterflies which are spoiled in the act of grasping them.