PEOPLE OF PRAYER
LIBERTY AND LOVE #102
The person who prays is the person who takes advantage of the presence of God and all of its benefits. The arm of the Lord is always on the side of those who seek him, and it can be truthfully asserted that it is prayer which moves that mighty arm. God is described in Scripture as the Sovereign ruler of the universe; therefore, there is nothing that can stop the will of God from being accomplished on our behalf. We must therefore see that God is for the one who seeks him and that when God is for us, we have the greatest power there is in our corner.
But God’s Sovereignty is precisely the reason that we should be people of prayer. Often it is heard by some that there is no use to pray to God because he is a Sovereign being who has already made up his mind. What good would prayer do if God has already Sovereignly arranged things according to his plan? But it is precisely because God is Sovereign that we should be so interested in communing with his. What good would it do to pray to anyone other than the Sovereign Lord? God’s promise to us is that he will work by his power and purpose in response to our prayers. We may assume that it is God’s desire to bless us in answer to our prayers so that he will be the one who is glorified by the blessings that materialize in response to the prayers of his people.
We see a wonderful example of this principle in the life of Peter. Peter, you will recall, was imprisoned by that wicked ruler, Herod. Herod had murdered James with the sword, and had every intention of executing Peter as well. But the Scriptures record that the church was praying diligently for Peter (Acts 12:5), and God performed an angelic rescue to deliver him in answer to their prayers. Upon Peter’s arrival at the house where the “prayer meeting” was being conducted, the believers were amazed and filled with joy when they realized “how the Lord had brought him out of the prison” (v. 17). Therefore, if we believe the testimony of the New Testament, then we must believe that God works in response to the prayers of his people. Indeed, “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much” (James 5:16).
We must begin at once to contemplate the power that rests in prayer—power that is available to us constantly. We must be people who sense at will the presence of God’s Spirit hovering over our most serious petitions. And in so believing, we will develop the habit of continual prayer.
The Scriptures direct us toward three general perspectives for a “prayer schedule.” They point us to the necessity of having a daily “quiet time.” David (Ps. 5:3), Daniel (Dan. 6:10), and Christ Himself (Mark 1:35) model the importance of morning solitude in the presence of God engaging ourselves in fervent prayer. There is also suggested the spending of extended periods of time in prayer to God. Nehemiah spent days in prayer when he learned of the condition of Jerusalem. Moses spent forty days and forty nights alone in communion with God. And Jesus, of course, spent a whole night in prayer in preparation for the selection of his apostles. But perhaps the most important directive relative to a prayer schedule is Paul’s injunction to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17). We should interpret this as an attitude of heart that maintains close communion with God throughout each day.
In order to help us understand the benefits of praying without end, let us consider one of the most remarkable statements about prayer to be found in the Bible, uttered from the lips of the one who knew more about prayer than any other. “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:24).
First, it is important that we realize that we should have specific things in mind for which to pray. “Whatever things you ask when you pray...” Jesus obviously understands that there are things that we will desire. We should know from the outset that there is nothing unreasonable about praying about particular things. Our prayers should not consist merely in asking God’s blessings upon ambiguous matters. Such prayers, if answered, could not be manifest in such a way as to give glory to God, for how could we know if God has answered the prayer to “bless the sick and the lost the world over”? We need to pray about specific sick people and specific lost people.
Second, we should take to prayer with an attitude of “asking.” “Whatever things you ask when you pray...” Third, these petitions should be accompanied by faith. “Believe that you receive them.” We should expect that prayer will accomplish something.
Powerful prayer, intimacy with God, daily fellowship with God—these are some of the things that are available to us if we will take the time and responsibility to embrace them.
Dewayne Dunaway
