Christian Publishing House Blog
Apologetic Defense of the faith, the Bible, and Christianity
The object of this article will be to touch briefly on— 1. The doctrine of Scripture as to the nature and efficacy of prayer; 2. Its directions as to time, place, and manner of prayer; 3. Its types and examples of prayer.
PRAYER, in the preacher’s life, in the preacher’s study, in the preacher’s pulpit, must be a conspicuous and an all-impregnating force and an all-coloring ingredient.
The one who would succeed in the Christian life must lead a life of prayer. Very much of the failure in Christian living today, and in Christian work, results from neglect of prayer. Very few Christians spend as much time in prayer as they ought.
Do not neglect prayer; observe it at all stated times; maintain the spirit of prayer, and embrace all proper occasions to engage in it. Join me for a insightful look at the importance of prayer, as you may have never considered it before.
A prayerless Christian is a contradiction in terms. Just as a still-born child is a dead one, so a professing believer who does not pray is devoid of spiritual life. Prayer is the breath of the new nature in the holy one, as the Word of God is its food.
THERE are two extreme tendencies in the ministry. The one is to shut itself out from intercourse with the people. The monk, the hermit were illustrations of this; they shut themselves out from men to be more with God. The other tendency is to thoroughly popularize the ministry. He is no longer God’s man, but a man of affairs, of the people. He prays not, because his mission is to the people.
“If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15:7.) The whole secret of prayer is found in these words of our Lord. Here is prayer that has unbounded power: “Ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
One of the crying things of our day is for men whose faith, prayers and study of the Word of God have been vitalized, and a transcript of that Word is written on their hearts, and who will give it forth as the incorruptible seed that lives and abides forever.
“Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. 14th verse: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”—Isaiah 58:9.
If we are to pray aright in such a time as this, much of our prayer should be for a 21st century revival. If there was ever a time in which there was a need to cry unto God in the words of the Psalmist, “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” (Ps. 85:6)