THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER

    “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt.26: 41); “Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Matt.7:7-8); “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thes. 5: 17)

  Does prayer really work, or is it only an escape from stress, fear or inner turmoil? Or perhaps, a safety valve from anxiety and danger? Could it be the consoling of a wounded spirit or a guilty conscience? What exactly, is prayer? Is it communication between the supplicant and Almighty God?  Or is it only an inner quietening of the human spirit, a tonic of the soul? 

Is prayer a prerequisite to healthy Christian living or is it just a ploy of entrapment by Ministers of the Gospel or Roman priests, in order to gain and keep church members in line? Is it a waste of time, like some articulate or is it a valuable tool in the Christian’s arsenal against sin, fear, sickness and the devil? Is it only a ritual driven by habit and tradition or is it in fact, a meeting with God our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ our Lord?

In this treatise, I will endeavor to shatter all the humanistic assumptions of modernist theologians as well as atheists and cultists! I will share a number of concrete evidences from personal experience, as well as from the Holy Scriptures, to prove that “God is a Spirit and those who worship Him must do so in Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24)

And that God is a loving Heavenly Father, Who desires to fellowship with us and wants to have communion with His children,

My friend, if you will open your heart to accept the Word of God as the absolute and final truth, you will experience the reality of His presence and power at work in your life! And you will know of a truth that God hears and answers prayer!

MARTIN LUTHER – A MAN OF PRAYER

At his trial at the Diet in Worms , Germany on April 18, 1521 , Martin Luther - the Great Reformer – was asked: “Will you recant of your writings?” He answered so eloquently: “Since Your Majesty and your lordships desire a simple reply, I will answer without horns and without teeth. Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason, I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other – my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen."

As Martin Luther presented his case before the Emperor and the highest authorities of papist Rome, I hereby present my case for the reality of God, the need for prayer and the overwhelming evidence that the Almighty does hear and answer our petitions and supplications, when we call upon Him in sincerity and faith.

WHAT IS PRAYER?       

The Church of Scotland’s Westminster Confession states: “Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God for things agreeable to His will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgment of His mercies."

God’s Word says: “And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24). The Psalmist prayed: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer.  Thou hast heard the desire of the humble.” (Psalms 19: 14; 10: 17 )

Jesus said: “When ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” (Matt.6:7)         

Martin Luther’s Small Catechism states: “Prayer is an act of worship wherein we bring our petitions before God with our hearts and lips and offer up praise and thanksgiving to Him."

King David referred to true prayer as the “lifting up” of the soul to Almighty God: “Unto Thee Lord, do I lift up my soul.” (Ps. 25:1) That speaks of an intense desire to fellowship with our Heavenly Father, similar to the flower turning its face toward the sun to receive warmth and sustenance.

Prayer is more than asking the Almighty for His blessing or for intervention during trying, dangerous or impossible situations! To me, prayer is a holy conversation with God, a divine meeting and a time of intimacy with the One who is Lord over life and death, time and eternity! It is a loving relationship and communion with our Heavenly Father, wherein we can bathe in His presence and extol and worship our precious Lord and Saviour.

Genuine prayer involves a time of thanksgiving, worship and praise, as well as definite supplications or calling upon the Lord for His mercy, grace and blessing! It is essentially, entering the Holy of Holies in the very presence of God and worshipping Him in spirit and in truth.

It has been said: “Satan laughs at our toiling, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray!” The book ‘The Kneeling Christian’ gives this poignant and powerful assessment of the importance of prayer:

“Fellow Christians, let us awake! The devil is blinding our eyes. He is endeavoring to prevent us from facing this question of prayer. Do we realize that there is nothing the devil dreads so much as prayer? His great concern is to keep us from praying. He loves to see us ‘up to our eyes’ in work – provided we do not pray. He does not fear because we are eager and earnest Bible students – provided we are little in prayer."      

When my sister Astrid passed away in 1987, the above mentioned book fell into my hands. She had purchased it from the Hull Publishing Company in Winnipeg many years earlier, and knowing what a consistent and ardent Christian she had been since ‘Day One’ in her life, I greatly treasured it. It wasn’t until I read ‘The Kneeling Christian’ in the Norwegian language, however, that I began to fully understood its great spiritual worth.

Written many years ago by a Minister of the Gospel in Great Britain,  the author refused to reveal his identity, using the pseudonym ‘An unknown Christian’, this book has a powerful appeal to those who love Jesus Christ and are sold-out to His cause. Here is another excerpt from his writing:  

MARTIN LUTHER declared: “If I don’t spend at least three hours in prayer daily, I would never get my work done. If I should neglect prayer but a single day, I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith."

A.J. GORDON stated: “You can do more than pray, after you have prayed, but you can never do more than pray until you have prayed."

RICHARD BAXTER was a mighty ‘man of prayer. He stated: “I seek to preach as a dying man to dying men.” He delivered every message “as though it were the last message” he would ever preach.

JOHN WESLEY – founder of the Methodist church – stated: “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth. God does not but in answer to prayer."   

Interestingly, history credits John Wesley and the Methodist Revival that swept Great Britain, for saving England from the similar fate of the French Revolution.

GEORGE WHITEFIELD, a contemporary of Wesley’s wrote: “Whole days and weeks have I spent prostrate on the ground in silent and vocal prayer.”

DR. A.J GORDON wrote concerning David Brainerd: “In the depths of those forests alone, he was unable to speak the language of the Indians, but he spent whole days literally in prayer…that the power of the Holy Ghost would come upon him so unmistakeably that these people should not be able to stand before him…Once he preached through a drunken interpreter, a man so intoxicated that he could hardly stand up…Yet scores were converted through that sermon.

DAVID BRAINARD wrote: “I cared not where or how I lived or the hardships I went through, so that I could but gain souls for Christ. When I was asleep I dreamed of these things. When I was awake, the first thing I thought of was this great work! All my desire was for the conversion of the heathen and all my hope was in God."  

Toward the end of his life, John Wesley wrote a letter to all his pastors and workers urging them all to read the ‘Life of David Brainerd’.

DR. A.C. DIXON wrote: “William Carey read his life, and he was so moved that he went to India . Henry Martyn read his life, and by its impulse, he went to India . Payson read it, as a young man of twenty years, and he said he had never been so impressed by anything in his life as by that story. Murray McCheney read it and was powerfully impressed by it."

It was Robert Murray McCheney who stated: “A holy Minister is an awful weapon in the hands of God.”

  WHY IS PRAYER NECESSARY?

1. Because we are spiritual beings with an innate desire to communicate with our Heavenly Father and Creator!   We were created in the image of God and there is therefore a natural pull heavenward! Although Adam’s fall greatly marred this process, through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for us all, believers are reinstated and again bear the image of our Father and God!

2. Because of the deep need of daily cleansing from sin, having been reconciled to our Heavenly Father through the shed blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  And the blessed assurance that this relationship will continue throughout our lives and into eternity! Prayer keeps our relationship current, so that doubts and fears do not enter our hearts!

3. Because of the many and varied problems, crises, tragedies and human needs that we cannot personally solve, which involve ourselves, our families and society in general! Prayer calls upon the only ONE who can make the necessary modifications to solve those problems and give us proper directions and guidance. 

4. Because of God’s generous offer to us - through the vicarious death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ - of full salvation which includes divine healing, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and eternity with Him forevermore! Through prayer, we take advantage of His bountiful provisions for us, thereby allowing the Holy Spirit to pray through us “with groanings that cannot be uttered.” (Rom.8: 26)       

5. Because of a spiritual hunger and longing to be in His presence - through worship, praise and thanksgiving – we are drawn by the Holy Spirit into the very Holy of Holies, the very presence of our Heavenly Father through the Blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for us on Calvary ’s cross!

    ‘Dear Heavenly Father, bless all who read these lines.  In Jesus’ precious name, I pray!  Amen’.

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