The Necessity of Prayer
Edward M. Bounds
X. PRAYER AND OBEDIENCE (Continued)
"Many exemplary men have I known, holy in heart and life,
within my four score years. But one equal to John Fletcher -- one so inwardly
and outwardly obedient and devoted to God -- I have not known." -- JOHN
WESLEY.
IT is worthy of note that the praying to which such
transcendent position is given and from which great results are attributable, is
not simply the saying of prayers, but holy praying. It is the "prayers of the
saints," the prayers of the holy men of God. Behind such praying, giving to it
energy and flame are the men and women who are wholly devoted to God, who are
entirely separated from sin, and fully separated unto God. These are they who
always give energy, force and strength to praying.
Our Lord Jesus Christ was preeminent in praying, because He was preeminent in
saintliness. An entire dedication to God, a full surrender, which carries with
it the whole being, in a flame of holy consecration -- all this gives wings to
faith and energy to prayer. It opens the door to the throne of grace, and brings
strong influence to bear on Almighty God.
The "lifting up of holy hands" is essential to Christly praying. It is not,
however, a holiness which only dedicates a closet to God, which sets apart
merely an hour to Him, but a consecration which takes hold of the entire man,
which dedicates the whole life to God.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,"
had full liberty of approach and ready access to God in prayer. And He had this
free and full access because of His unquestioning obedience to His Father. Right
through His earthly life His supreme care and desire was to do the will of His
Father. And this fact, coupled with another -- the consciousness of having so
ordered His life -- gave Him confidence and assurance, which enabled Him to draw
near to the throne of grace with unbounded confidence, born of obedience, and
promising acceptance, audience, and answer.
Loving obedience puts us where we can "ask anything in His name," with the
assurance, that "He will do it." Loving obedience brings us into the prayer
realm, and makes us beneficiaries of the wealth of Christ, and of the riches of
His grace, through the coming of the Holy Spirit who will abide with us, and be
in us. Cheerful obedience to God, qualifies us to pray effectually.
This obedience which not only qualifies but fore-runs prayer, must be loving,
constant, always doing the Father's will, and cheerfully following the path of
God's commands.
In the instance of King Hezekiah, it was a potent plea which changed God's
decree that he should die and not live. The stricken ruler called upon God to
remember how that he had walked before Him in truth, and with a perfect heart.
With God, this counted. He hearkened to the petition, and, as a result, death
found his approach to Hezekiah barred for fifteen years.
Jesus learned obedience in the school of suffering, and, at the same time, He
learned prayer in the school of obedience. Just as it is the prayer of a
righteous man which availeth much, so it is righteousness which is obedience to
God. A righteous man is an obedient man, and he it is, who can pray effectually,
who can accomplish great things when he betakes himself to his knees.
True praying, be it remembered, is not mere sentiment, nor poetry, nor
eloquent utterance. Nor does it consist of saying in honeyed cadences, "Lord,
Lord." Prayer is not a mere form of words; it is not just calling upon a Name.
Prayer is obedience. It is founded on the adamantine rock of obedience to God.
Only those who obey have the right to pray. Behind the praying must be the
doing; and it is the constant doing of God's will in daily life which gives
prayer its potency, as our Lord plainly taught:
"Not every one which saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father which is
in heaven. Many will say unto Me in that day, Lord, have we not prophesied in
Thy Name, and in Thy Name have cast out devils? And in Thy Name done many
wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart
from Me, ye that worketh iniquity."
No name, however precious
and powerful, can protect and give efficiency to prayer which is unaccompanied
by the doing of God's will. Neither can the doing, without the praying, protect
from Divine disapproval. If the will of God does not master the life, the
praying will be nothing but sickly sentiment. If prayer do not inspire, sanctify
and direct our work, then self-will enters, to ruin both work and worker.
How great and manifold are the misconceptions of the true elements and
functionings of prayer! There are many who earnestly desire to obtain an answer
to their prayers but who go unrewarded and unblest. They fix their minds on some
promise of God and then endeavour by dint of dogged perseverance, to summon
faith sufficient to lay hold upon, and claim it. This fixing of the mind on some
great promise may avail in strengthening faith, but, to this holding on
to the promise must be added the persistent and importunate prayer that expects,
and waits till faith grows exceedingly. And who is there that is able and
competent to do such praying save the man who readily, cheerfully and
continually, obeys God?
Faith, in its highest form, is the attitude as well as the act of a soul
surrendered to God, in whom His Word and His Spirit dwells. It is true that
faith must exist in some form, or another, in order to prompt praying; but in
its strongest form, and in its largest results, faith is the fruit of prayer.
That faith increases the ability and the efficiency of prayer is true; but it is
likewise true that prayer increases the ability and efficiency of faith. Prayer
and faith, work, act and react, one upon the other.
Obedience to God helps faith as no other attribute possibly can. When
obedience -- implicit recognition of the validity, the paramountcy of the Divine
commands -- faith ceases to be an almost superhuman task. It requires no
straining to exercise it. Obedience to God makes it easy to believe and trust
God. Where the spirit of obedience fully impregnates the soul; where the will is
perfectly surrendered to God; where there is a fixed, unalterable purpose to
obey God, faith almost believes itself. Faith then becomes almost involuntary.
After obedience it is, naturally, the next step, and it is easily and readily
taken. The difficulty in prayer is not with faith, but with obedience, which is
faith's foundation.
We must look well to our obedience, to the secret springs of action, to the
loyalty of our heart to God, if we would pray well, and desire to get the most
out of our praying. Obedience is the groundwork of effectual praying; this it
is, which brings us nigh to God.
The lack of obedience in our lives breaks down our praying. Quite often, the
life is in revolt and this places us where praying is almost impossible, except
it be for pardoning mercy. Disobedient living produces mighty poor praying.
Disobedience shuts the door of the inner chamber, and bars the way to the Holy
of holies. No man can pray -- really pray -- who does not obey.
The will must be surrendered to God as a primary condition of all successful
praying. Everything about us gets its colouring from our inmost character. The
secret will makes character and controls conduct. The will, therefore, plays an
important part in all successful praying. There can be no praying in its richest
implication and truest sense, where the will is not wholly and fully surrendered
to God. This unswerving loyalty to God is an utterly indispensable condition of
the best, the truest, the most effectual praying. We have "simply got to
trust and obey; there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus -- but to
trust, and obey! "