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The Necessity of Prayer – Lesson XXX, Prayer and the Word of God
We have spoken much on prayer. In fact this is our 30th lesson.
But what we have spoken has been preceded by what has been given in God’s word for God’s word is a record of prayer.
It is a record of praying men and praying women and their achievements.
It is the book of permission to approach God in prayer and it is the encouragement to do so with boldness and with importunity.
We have said nothing new for all that is to be said about prayer is said in God’s word.
You cannot read the Word of God with regard to prayer, without realizing that the cause of God and the success of His work in this world is committed to prayer.
Praying men and praying women have been God’s assistants on earth.
Throughtout God’s word we can easily see that God does not use men or women who do not pray.
God’s employment notices always say, “Wanted, Men and women who pray.”
Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God taught his disciples to pray in this manner in:
Matthew 6:9-10, After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Praying and the doing of God’s will are irrevocably connected. Praying is the energy behind the doing of God’s will.
God will have it no other way.
Jesus said in Luke 19:46…… It is written, My house is the house of prayer: ……
God’s house is a house of prayer because prayer is the most important of the offices of God’s house.
God’s will moves on prayer.
And God’s word is the Christian’s manual, it is the Christian's directory for the prayer of faith.
Paul, a man of great prayer, instructed the Colossians and us in;
Col. 3:16, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Obey this word and you will find that the product that will issue from this obedience is prayer.
Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
Faith is constructed of the Word and God’s Spirit and faith is what makes prayer happen. Get God’s word into you and prayer comes out. It fits into the law of sowing and reaping. Christ (the Word of God) in you and prayer out of you. Jesus said in John 15:7, If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. So what is the result of abiding in Christ. The result is asking, the result is prayer. Abide in Christ and you start asking. Abide in God’s word and the outcome is prayer. If you do not pray like you ought the problem is with your abiding. The Word of God is the basis of prayer and prayer is what moves God.
God’s purposes and his promises are activated by prayer.
In the book of Hebrews we are told that through faith promises were obtained from the Promiser.
Prayer takes hold of the Promiser.
Jacob took hold of the Promiser when he would not let go unto God blessed him.
By faith he prevailed with the Promiser and obtained a promise.
Prayer may be defined as that force which energizes the Word of God, by taking hold of God, Himself.
By taking hold of the Promiser, prayer makes personal the promise.
Without prayer The Word of God is not personal.
Isaiah 64:7, And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee:
Look what it takes!
It takes stirring up yourself to take hold of God.
God is not going to rouse you from your sleep.
You may say, I just can’t find it in myself to pray like I ought to pray.
Well a man or a woman can do what he or she ought to do.
God does not leave us without strength in any area.
He expects us to stir up our self and take hold of him.
He expects us to grab our self by the throat and kick our self in the pants and get going for him.
What are you waiting for?
Are you waiting for a engraved invitation from the post office of heaven?
Well you’ve got the invitation and it is called the Bible.
You’ll get no other!
In Isaiah 27: 5, we are given the recipe for prayer when God tells us:
Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me, and he shall make peace with me.
God desires peace with you and peace with God is found by taking hold of God by submission to his will by faith.
We are to take hold of God in prayer with a lowly and contrite spirit, asking and pleading with Him, for that which the soul desires.
Abraham had no definite promise that God would spare Sodom.
Moses had no definite promise that God would spare Israel.
Moses pleaded against God’s declaration of His wrath, and of God’s purpose to destroy Israel.
But Moses got what he asked for he interceded for the Israelites with importunate pleading and probably tearfilled prayers.
Daniel had no definite promise that God would reveal to him the meaning of the king’s dream, but he prayed specifically, and God answered definitely.
The Word of God is made to operate, by the process and practice of prayer.
The Word of the Lord came to Elijah, “Go show thyself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.”
Elijah showed himself to Ahab; but the answer to his prayer did not come, until he had pressed his prayer upon the Lord seven times.
Paul had the definite promise from Christ, that he “would be delivered from the people and the Gentiles,” but we find him exhorting the Romans urgently and solemnly concerning this very matter: Rom 15:30-31, Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; that I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea, and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints. |