Practical Religion — Prayer Part 2
If any reader of this paper is a Christian indeed I trust he will never be a backslider.
But if you do not wish to be a backsliding Christian, remember the hint I give you,--Mind your prayers.
VII.
In the seventh place, _prayer is one of the best receipts for happiness and contentment_.
We live in a world where sorrow abounds.
This has always been its state since sin came in.
There cannot be sin without sorrow.
And till sin is driven out from the world it is vain for any one to suppose he can escape sorrow.
Some, without doubt, have a larger cup of sorrow to drink than others.
But few are to be found who live long without sorrows or cares of one sort or another.
Our bodies, our property, our families, our children, our relations, our servants, our friends, our neighbours, our worldly callings,--each and all of these are fountains of care.
Sicknesses, deaths, losses, disappointments, partings, separations, ingratitude, slander,--all these are common things.
We cannot get through life without them.
Some day or other they find us out.
The greater are our affections, the deeper are our afflictions; and the more we love, the more we have to weep.
And what is the best receipt for cheerfulness in such a world as this?
How shall we get through this valley of tears with least pain?
I know no better receipt than the habit of _taking everything to God in prayer_.
This is the plain advice that the Bible gives, both in the Old Testament and the New.
What says the Psalmist?
"Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me."
(Psalm l. 15. ) "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."
(Psalm lv.
22. ) What says the Apostle Paul?
"Be careful for nothing; 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 understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
(Phil.
iv.
6, 7. ) What says the Apostle James?
"Is any afflicted among you?
let him pray."
(James v. 13. ) This was the practice of all the saints whose history we have recorded in the Scriptures.
This is what Jacob did, when he feared his brother Esau.
This is what Moses did, when the people were ready to stone him in the wilderness.
This is what Joshua did, when Israel was defeated before Ai.
This is what David did, when he was in danger at Keliah.
This is what Hezekiah did, when he received the letter from Sennacherib.
This is what the Church did, when Peter was put in prison.
This is what Paul did, when he was cast into the dungeon at Philippi.
The only way to be really happy, in such a world as this is to be ever casting all our cares on God.
It is the trying to carry their own burdens which so often makes believers sad.
If they will only tell their troubles to God He will enable them to bear them as easily as Samson did the gates of Gaza.
If they are resolved to keep them to themselves they will find one day that the very grasshopper is a burden.
(Eccles.
xii.
5. ) There is a friend ever waiting to help us, if we will only unbosom to Him our sorrow,--a friend who pitied the poor, and sick, and sorrowful, when He was upon earth,--a friend who knows the heart of a man, for He lived thirty-three years as a man amongst us,--a friend who can weep with the weepers, for He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,--a friend who is able to help us, for there never was earthly pain He could not cure.
That friend is Jesus Christ.
The way to be happy is to be always opening our hearts to Him.
Oh, that we were all like that poor Christian negro, who only answered, when threatened and punished, "_I must tell the Lord_."
Jesus can make those happy who trust Him and call on Him, whatever be their outward condition.
He can give them peace of heart in a prison,--contentment in the midst of poverty,--comfort in the midst of bereavements,--joy on the brink of the grave.
There is a mighty fulness in Him for all His believing members,--a fulness that is ready to be poured out on every one who will ask in prayer.
Oh, that men would understand that happiness does not depend on outward circumstances, but on the state of the heart!
Prayer can lighten crosses for us however heavy.
It can bring down to our side One who will help us to bear them.
--Prayer can open a door for us when our way seems hedged up.
It can bring down One who will say, "This is the way, walk in it."
--Prayer can let in a ray of hope, when all our earthly prospects seem darkened.
It can bring down One who will say, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee."
--Prayer can obtain relief for us when those we love most are taken away, and the world feels empty.
It can bring down One who can fill the gap in our hearts with Himself, and say to the waves within, "Peace: be still!"
Oh, that men were not so like Hagar in the wilderness, blind to the well of living waters close beside them!
(Gen. xxi.
19. ) I want the readers of this paper to be really happy Christians.
I am certain I cannot urge on them a more important duty than prayer.
And now it is high time for me to bring this paper to an end.
I trust I have brought before my readers things that will be seriously considered.
I heartily pray God that this consideration may be blessed to their souls.
(1) Let me speak a parting word _to those who do not pray_.
I dare not suppose that all who read these pages will be praying people.
If you are a prayerless person, suffer me to speak to you this day on God's behalf.
Prayerless friend, I can only warn you; but I do warn you most solemnly.
I warn you that you are in a position of fearful danger.
If you die in your present state you are a lost soul.
You will only rise again to be eternally miserable.
I warn you that of all professing Christians you are most utterly without excuse.
There is not a single good reason that you can show for living without prayer.
It is useless to say you _know not how_ to pray.
Prayer is the simplest act in all religion.
It is simply speaking to God.
It needs neither learning, nor wisdom, nor book-knowledge to begin it.
It needs nothing but heart and will.
The weakest infant can cry when he is hungry.
The poorest beggar can hold out his hand for an alms, and does not wait to find fine words.
The most ignorant man will find something to say to God, if he has only a mind.
It is useless to say you have _no convenient place_ to pray in.
Any man can find a place private enough, if he is disposed.
Our Lord prayed on a mountain; Peter on the house-top; Isaac in the field; Nathanael under the fig-tree; Jonah in the whale's belly.
Any place may become a closet, an oratory, and a Bethel, and be to us the presence of God.
It is useless to say _you have no time_.
There is plenty of time, if men will only employ it.
Time may be short, but time is always long enough for prayer.
Daniel had all the affairs of a kingdom on his hands, and yet he prayed three times a day.
David was ruler over a mighty nation, and yet he says, "Evening and morning and at noon will I pray."
(Psalm lv.
17. ) When time is really wanted, time can always be found.
It is useless to say you _cannot pray till you have faith and a new heart_, and that you must sit still and wait for them.
This is to add sin to sin.
It is bad enough to be unconverted and going to hell.
It is even worse to say, "I know it, but I will not cry for mercy."
This is a kind of argument for which there is no warrant in Scripture.
"Call ye upon the Lord," saith Isaiah, "while He is near."
(Isaiah lv.
6. ) "Take with you words, and come unto the Lord," says Hosea.
(Hosea xiv.
1. ) "Repent and pray," says Peter to Simon Magus.
(Acts viii.
22. ) If you want faith and a new heart, go and cry to the Lord for them.
The very attempt to pray has often been the quickening of a dead soul.
Alas, there is no devil so dangerous as a dumb devil.
Oh, prayerless man, who and what are you that you will not ask anything of God?
Have you made a covenant with death and hell?
Are you at peace with the worm and the fire?
Have you no sins to be pardoned?
Have you no fear of eternal torment?
Have you no desire after heaven?
Oh, that you would awake from your present folly!
Oh, that you would consider your latter end!
Oh, that you would arise and call upon God!
Alas, there is a day coming when men shall pray loudly, "Lord, Lord, open to us," but all too late;--when many shall cry to the rocks to fall on them, and the hills to cover them, who would never cry to God.
In all affection I warn you.
Beware lest this be the end of your soul.
Salvation is very near you.
Do not lose heaven for want of asking.
(2) Let me speak in the next place _to those who have real desires for salvation_, but know not what steps to take or where to begin.
I cannot but hope that some readers may be in this state of mind, and if there be but one such I must offer him encouragement and advice.
In every journey there must be a first step.
There must be a change from sitting still to moving forward.
The journeyings of Israel from Egypt to Canaan were long and wearisome.
Forty years passed away before they crossed Jordan.
Yet there was someone who moved first when they marched from Rameses to Succoth.
When does a man really take his first step in coming out from sin and the world?
He does it in the day when he first prays with his heart.
In every building the first stone must be laid, and the first blow must be struck.
The ark was 120 years in building.
Yet there was a day when Noah laid his axe to the first tree he cut down to form it.
The temple of Solomon was a glorious building.
But there was a day when the first huge stone was laid at the foot of Mount Moriah.
When does the building of the Spirit really begin to appear in a man's heart?
It begins, so far as we can judge, when he first pours out his heart to God in prayer.
If any reader of this paper desires salvation, and wants to know what to do, I advise him to go this very day to the Lord Jesus Christ, in the first private place he can find, and entreat Him in prayer to save his soul.
Tell Him that you have heard that He receives sinners, and has said, "Him that cometh unto Me I will in nowise cast out."
(John vi.
37. ) Tell Him that you are a poor vile sinner, and that you come to Him on the faith of His own invitation.
Tell Him you put yourself wholly and entirely in His hands,--that you feel vile and helpless, and hopeless in yourself,--and that except He saves you, you have no hope to be saved at all.
Beseech Him to deliver you from the guilt, the power, and the consequences of sin.
Beseech Him to pardon you and wash you in His own blood.
Beseech Him to give you a new heart, and plant the Holy Spirit in your soul.
Beseech Him to give you grace, and faith, and will, and power to be His disciple and servant from this day for ever.
Yes: go this very day, and tell these things to the Lord Jesus Christ, if you really are in earnest about your soul.
Tell Him in your own way and your own words.
If a doctor came to see you when sick you could tell him where you felt pain.
If your soul really feels its disease you can surely find something to tell Christ.
Doubt not His willingness to save you, because you are a sinner.
It is Christ's office to save sinners.
He says Himself, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
(Luke v. 32. ) Wait not, because you feel unworthy.
Wait for nothing: wait for nobody.
Waiting comes from the devil.
Just as you are, go to Christ.
The worse you are, the more need you have to apply to Him.
You will never mend yourself by staying away.
Fear not because your prayer is stammering, your words feeble, and your language poor.
Jesus can understand you.
Just as a mother understands the first babblings of her infant, so does the blessed Saviour understand sinners.
He can read a sigh, and see a meaning in a groan.
Despair not, because you do not get an answer immediately.
While you are speaking, Jesus is listening.
If He delays an answer, it is only for wise reasons, and to try if you are in earnest.
Pray on, and the answer will surely come.
Though it tarry, wait for it: it will surely come at last.
If you have any desire to be saved, remember the advice I have given you this day.
Act upon it honestly and heartily, and you shall be saved.
(3) Let me speak, lastly, _to those who do pray_.
I trust that some who read this paper know well what prayer is, and have the Spirit of adoption.
To all such I offer a few words of brotherly counsel and exhortation.
The incense offered in the tabernacle was ordered to be made in a particular way.
Not every kind of incense would do.
Let us remember this, and be careful about the matter and manner of our prayers.
If I know anything of a Christian's heart, you to whom I now speak are often sick of your own prayers.
You never enter into the Apostle's words, "When I would do good, evil is present with me" (Rom.
vii.
21), so thoroughly as you sometimes do upon your knees.
You can understand David's words, "I hate vain thoughts."
You can sympathize with that poor converted Hottentot, who was overheard praying, "Lord, deliver me from all my enemies; and, above all, from that bad man myself!"
--There are few children of God who do not often find the season of prayer a season of conflict.
The devil has special wrath against us when he sees us on our knees.
Yet I believe that prayers which cost us no trouble should be regarded with great suspicion.
I believe we are very poor judges of the goodness of our prayers, and that the prayer which pleases us _least_ often pleases God _most_.
Suffer me then, as a companion in the Christian warfare, to offer you a few words of exhortation.
One thing, at least, we all feel,--we must pray.
We cannot give it up: we must go on.
(_a_) I commend, then, to your attention the importance of _reverence and humility_ in prayer.
Let us never forget what we are, and what a solemn thing it is to speak with God.
Let us beware of rushing into His presence with carelessness and levity.
Let us say to ourselves, "I am on holy ground.
This is no other than the gate of heaven.
If I do not mean what I say, I am trifling with God.
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."
Let us keep in mind the words of Solomon: "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven, and thou on earth."
(Eccles.
v.
2. ) When Abraham spoke to God, he said, "I am dust and ashes."
When Job spoke, he said, "I am vile."
(Gen. xviii.
27; Job xl.
4. ) Let us do likewise.
(_b_) I commend to you, in the next place, the importance of praying _spiritually_.
I mean by this that we should labour always to have the direct help of the Spirit in our prayers, and beware above all things of formality.
There is nothing so spiritual but that it may become a form, and this is specially true of private prayer.
We may insensibly get into the habit of using the fittest possible words, and offering the most Scriptural petitions; and yet we may do it all by rote, without feeling it, and walk daily round an old beaten path, like a horse in a mill.
I
desire to touch this point with caution and delicacy.
I know that there are certain great things we daily want, and that there is nothing necessarily formal in asking for these things in the same words.
The world, the devil, and our hearts, are daily the same.
Of necessity we must daily go over old ground.
But this I say,--we must be very careful on this point.
If the skeleton and outline of our prayers be by habit almost a form, let us strive that the clothing and filling up of our prayers be as far as possible of the Spirit.
As to praying out of a book, it is a habit I cannot praise.
If we can tell our doctors the state of our bodies without a book, we ought to be able to tell the state of our souls to God.
I have no objection to a man using crutches, when he is first recovering from a broken limb.
It is better to use crutches than not to walk at all.
But if I saw him all his life on crutches, I should not think it matter for congratulation.
I should like to see him strong enough to throw his crutches away.
(_c_) I commend to you, in the next place, the importance of making prayer _a regular business of life_.
I might say something of the value of regular times in the day for prayer.
God is a God of order.
The hours for morning and evening sacrifice in the Jewish temple were not fixed as they were without a meaning.
Disorder is eminently one of the fruits of sin.
But I would not bring any under bondage.
This only I say, that it is essential to your soul's health to make praying a part of the business of every twenty-four hours in your life.
Just as you allot time to eating, sleeping, and business, so also allot time to prayer.
Choose your own hours and seasons.
At the very least, speak with God in the morning, before you speak with the world; and speak with God at night, after you have done with the world.
But settle it down in your minds that prayer is one of the great things of every day.
Do not drive it into a corner.
Do not give it the scraps, and leavings, and parings of your day.
Whatever else you make a business of, make a business of prayer.
(_d_) I commend to you, in the next place, the importance of _perseverance_ in prayer.
Once having begun the habit, never give it up.
Your heart will sometimes say, "We have had family prayers; what mighty harm if we leave private prayer undone?"
--Your body will sometimes say, "You are unwell, or sleepy, or weary; you need not pray."
--Your mind will sometimes say, "You have important business to attend to to-day;
cut short your prayers."
Look on all such suggestions as coming direct from the devil.
They are all as good as saying, "Neglect your soul."
I
do not maintain that prayers should always be of the same length;--but I do say, let no excuse make you give up prayer.
It is not for nothing that Paul said, "Continue in prayer," and "Pray without ceasing."
(Colos.
iv.
2; 1 Thess.
v.
7. ) He did not mean that men should be always on their knees, as an old sect, called the Euchitae, supposed.
But he did mean that our prayers should be like the continual burnt offering,--a thing steadily persevered in every day;--that it should be like seed-time and harvest, and summer and winter,--a thing that should unceasingly come round at regular seasons;--that it should be like the fire on the altar, not always consuming sacrifices, but never completely going out.
Never forget that you may tie together morning and evening devotions by an endless chain of short ejaculatory prayers throughout the day.
Even in company, or business, or in the very streets, you may be silently sending up little winged messengers to God, as Nehemiah did in the very presence of Artaxerxes.
(Neh.
ii.
4. ) And never think that time is wasted which is given to God.
A nation does not become poorer because it loses one year of working days in seven by keeping the Sabbath.
A Christian never finds he is a loser in the long run by persevering in prayer.
(_e_) I commend to you, in the next place, the importance of _earnestness_ in prayer.
It is not necessary that a man should shout, or scream, or be very loud, in order to prove that he is in earnest.
But it is desirable that we should be hearty, and fervent, and warm, and ask as if we were really interested in what we were doing.
It is the "effectual fervent" prayer that "availeth much," and not the cold, sleepy, lazy, listless one.
This is the lesson that is taught us by the expressions used in Scripture about prayer.
It is called, "crying, knocking, wrestling, labouring, striving."
This is the lesson taught us by Scripture examples.
Jacob is one.
He said to the angel at Penuel, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me."
(Gen. xxxii.
26. ) Daniel is another.
Hear how he pleaded with God: "O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God."
(Dan.
ix.
19. ) Our Lord Jesus Christ is another.
It is written of Him, "In the days of His flesh He offered up prayer and supplication, with strong crying and tears."
(Heb.
v.
7. ) Alas, how unlike is this to many of our supplications!
How tame and lukewarm they seem by comparison!
How truly might God say to many of us, "You do not really want what you pray for!"
Let us try to amend this fault.
Let us knock loudly at the door of grace, like Mercy in "Pilgrim's Progress," as if we must perish unless heard.
Let us settle it down in our minds, that cold prayers are a sacrifice without fire.
Let us remember the story of Demosthenes, the great orator, when one came to him, and wanted him to plead his cause.
He heard him without attention, while he told his story without earnestness.
The man saw this, and cried out with anxiety that it was all true.
"Ah!"
said Demosthenes, "I believe you _now_."
(_f_) I commend to you, in the next place, the importance of _praying with faith_.
We should endeavour to believe that our prayers are always heard, and that if we ask things according to God's will, we shall always be answered.
This is the plain command of our Lord Jesus Christ: "Whatsoever things ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."
(Mark xi.
24).
Faith is to prayer what the feather is to the arrow: without it prayer will not hit the mark.
We should cultivate the habit of pleading promises in our prayers.
We should take with us some promise, and say, "Lord, here is Thine own word pledged.
Do for us as Thou hast said."
