PRAYER
[p. 117] PRAYER
Genesis 20: 7, 17; Job 42: 7 - 10; Acts 9: 10 - 13
I have in mind to speak about prayer, particularly to call attention to God’s interest in those who pray. He knows them. He tells us that if a man love Him; He knows him; and whilst that is general — God knowing us in all our parts and features — He also particularises in what He knows in each of us. Of course He knows all divinely — the good and the evil — and in order to assure us it is so, He speaks of books in which He writes names and works, not that He needs to do this on His own account, but to assure us of the accuracy of His knowledge of us. So we have Moses alluding to God’s book — “blot me ... out of thy book” — but God takes counsel with Himself as to this blotting out of names. We have the book of life and other books. God, as was said, assuring us in this way of His accurate knowledge of us, for He regards all of importance; but the Spirit says, “If any man love God, the same is known of him”. God knows him, and he who loves God prays, characteristically at least, in regard of divine interests — those things which are of the greatest importance to God.
There are believers who are of a missionary mind, and if there is any likelihood of a convert, they pray for such. In this they serve well, but in Scripture, prayers for saints are enjoined more than those for sinners, and this is confirmed by example. The most active and most efficient servant of God is the man who needs prayer most; so, while praying for a likely convert, let us not forget those who serve God, indeed all saints. The names on the breastplate are not sinners as such, but saints; so, if we love God we shall pray for what is nearest to His heart, and of chief importance to Him. Not that we omit “all men”, for we are enjoined to pray for them, but let us remember that the great urgency of prayer according to Scripture is in relation to those in the testimony.
Now these three men that I dwell on are selected as illustrative of what is in mind, men whom God has taken account of as persons who pray. Perhaps no service is so effective, and none so within the range of all as prayer; and God, in these scriptures, would encourage us as to His valuation of the prayers of saints. You will remember how the living creatures and the twenty-four elders each had golden bowls full of odours which are said to be the prayers of saints, as if they were treasured by the most distinguished and most sympathetic of those who are the subjects of God’s work, reflecting in this way God’s estimate of prayer. It does not say in Revelation 5 that they offered the prayers, but they represent persons who are sympathetic with the heart and mind of God, and with His people too. In chapter 8 you have the Priest, not at the altar without, but inside at the golden altar; He has a censer, and the fragrance from it makes efficacious “the prayers of the saints”. Let the youngest understand this, that as he offers his prayers, however meagre, yet if it is really prayer, if he is praying with prayer, like Elijah, his prayers are made efficacious by our great Priest at the golden altar. What I refer to is intended to draw all saints into this great service.
Abraham is the first to be noticed, and he is seen in relation to a king. It is befitting that he should appear thus, as he is heir of the world. We, too, are in that heirship, every one of us, and are even to “judge the world”. Abraham also represented that side. He says, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” But God says of him, “I know him that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of Jehovah, to do righteousness and justice”. He is the man. The heir of the world must be judge, for the world needs to be judged, and He who is the great Offspring of Abraham, the Lord Jesus, “Son of David, Son of Abraham”, is to be Judge. Scripture says, God “hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained”. Christ comes in thus, for He is Heir of all, and Luke presents Him to us in relation to humanity, and in his gospel He is seen praying some ten times.
Abraham foreshadows all this, and in this sense Jehovah speaks of him to a monarch. The thought sometimes arises in one’s heart, Did God ever speak to anyone about me? did He ever say he will pray for you? How regretful we would be if we proved remiss in this matter, and failed to pray for a needy one. God has His instrumentalities in this way, and even rulers and kings are subjects of prayer. God has His own way of making communications to these rulers, however wicked they are, as we speak; He has avenues to their hearts. The heart of the king, it says, “is in the hand of the Lord ... he turneth it whithersoever he will”. He has a way of controlling things — and He would give these kings to understand that He has a praying people. The question of the rule of this island is always a burning one, disturbing the minds of men and women; one has been through the agitation here from time to time, and agitation as to government is world-wide today. There never has been such a time of disturbance — unnecessary — uncalled for, as we say; but God would say to all who are disturbed, whoever they may be, I have people who pray. In the experimental book of Psalms, written by persons who observe things, God alludes to His people as “a few men in number, of small account, and strangers” in the land. “They went from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people” — they were not nationalists, they were pilgrims, “strangers in it”.
God would say, I have those people. Now I want to be among those whom He so regards, those He can speak of to the great ones of earth. “Touch not mine anointed ones”, He says, “and do my prophets no harm”. What a comfort this is when storms rage and waves rise! Abimelech was doing harm to Abraham. God could have sent an angel and rescued Sarah, but no! — He goes Himself. He goes in a vision. He could get there by this means more quickly and more easily than by an army; He says to Abimelech, You are doing harm to what is Mine. What a comfort that is! It renders us independent of human power: that God can approach a man in authority, and speak to him of “my prophets”; and that is not all. He intimates that Abraham can serve Abimelech, and will do so. He will pray for you, He says. How great a matter this is! And God can so regard any of us, for it applies in principle to all the saints. Here is a man the monarch was damaging, and God says, Release his wife, and he will pray for you. And we today have to do with the whole course of things nationally, socially, commercially, and militarily, but we are not concerned save on account of what belongs to God, that it should not be damaged, so we pray for kings and others, as the word says, “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty”; also that a way may be made for the testimony, so that there is no interruption, by war, epidemics, or what not, to what God is doing.
So here we find this monarch acting under divine influence and on divine advice. God was successful, if one may so speak, for we find Abimelech amenable to right thoughts, and often kings are more amenable than we imagine. Though God holds them in with bit and bridle, He can find a way to their [p. 121] hearts, and can appeal to their reason, and in this case can point out to Abimelech that He has a man who will pray for him. One could hardly have greater distinction than to be called attention to in this way.
The book of Job from which we have read is remarkable in relation to the gospel sermons which may be preached from it; indeed, it is intended for that, but also intended to show how a christian, a legal christian, an earthly-minded one, a self-occupied one, a proud one after the flesh, may be turned into a praying man, a priest. God styles Job His servant, and if He commits Himself to a man under that title, He will see him through, so that He may exemplify it. If God regards me as a servant and I fail in it, discipline begins; He will institute discipline if I am deflected. Satan is the instrument here, but he is limited in his dealings with the people of God; he never has full sway.
Then there are Job’s three friends, showing the danger of special friendships — with such, we may get a good deal of mutual flattery. Job became eloquent in speaking about his own attainments and qualities, and these three men had ability to do the same, enlarge on their forefathers, belongings, and so on. This may be seen at any time when people are together with natural affinities of one sort or another — men of culture and ancestry. How men and women love that kind of thing! Job says, “But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock. Yea, whereto should the strength of their hands profit me?” Job 30: 1, 2. He pours contempt on them now. The band is broken, thank God; for it can do no good.
These common bonds of sympathy with men because of wealth, education, or ancestry are now disrupted, and the quicker the better, wherever they exist. They were more than ordinary men in that [p. 122] there was something of God there, especially with Job, and God never took His eye off His servant. The book proceeds to show how patiently God pursues this man, till he is thoroughly broken up. “I know that thou canst do everything”, Job says; it is a fine conclusion to arrive at — “and that thou canst be hindered in no thought of thine. Who is he that obscureth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered what I did not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not”. He has come to an end of all his pride, all the darkening counsel of his speeches, his words are ended (chapter 42: 2, 3). We may thank God for that. Not that there was nothing of value in his speeches, there was, but they were jewels in a wrong setting. Job could speak of things eloquently and yet not understand what he spoke of. He says further to God, “Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak ... I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee: Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes”. He places himself in the hand of God, a thoroughly self-judged man. What will God make out of him? If God is to have the instrumentalities He needs, there must be the abandonment of all pretension, of all that attaches to one naturally; there must be the getting down to bedrock in self-judgment, if God is to do anything in me and by me. How blessed was “the end of the Lord” in Job’s case!
After God had spoken to Job, He says to Eliphaz, “Mine anger is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends; for ye have not spoken rightly of me, like my servant Job”. God is here intimating that He is extremely fair in His dealings with His children. Things are graded in His dealings, Job, as a matter of fact, was much more vehement in his denunciation of his friends than they were of him, but God says, “Ye have not spoken rightly of me, like my servant Job”. Let us give every one his due — [p. 123] God is infinitely fair, as I said, and never loses sight of His servant Job. He could work things out and He makes Job a priest. He classifies him by himself and his friends by themselves. They are not lost, but God can say, “my servant Job”; He does not call them His servants. Then He continues, “Take for yourselves seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt-offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you”. Now Job is a true servant and is to be regarded as a true priest, and they are to go to him. How different his relation with them now! Not a social coterie, as earlier, but a priestly circle, where prayers are offered, not flattery. Coteries are to be abandoned, so that we may take heavenly ground, and have friends in a true sense, as John says, “Greet the friends by name”. So these three men are instructed to take seven bullocks and seven rams to Job, and “Job shall pray for you”, God says. He is now a true servant of God; God knows he prays, and that he will pray for these men. What a difference from the time when he poured scorn on them as inferior! They are not lost, they are secured through Job. He is the priest. That is what is going on, and God will bring us into this, that we become benefactors of our enemies, doing good, as Scripture enjoins, to those who persecute us. One would urge the importance of coming into line with this, that we pray for persons whom we have regarded as our enemies. It is the great triumph of christianity as seen in Romans 12.
Finally we have God’s great servant Paul. The Lord says to Ananias regarding him, “Behold, he is praying”. It is a characteristic word, a word coming from the Lord Himself with peculiar force, for He was a praying Man here below, and when He was praying in a certain place, and ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him, “Lord, teach us to pray”.
[p. 124] One would take note of those words, “when he ceased” in Luke 11; it is well to stop when you have unburdened your heart to God, not to meander on and on, and tire the brethren. The longest prayer in Scripture takes only eight minutes to express, and we read that when Solomon “had ended praying”, the glory of the Lord filled the house. It was delightful to God. So let us make our words few, when praying publicly, not that we may not pray at length privately, for the Lord “spent the night in prayer to God”.
When on one occasion the Lord had ceased praying, one of His disciples said, “Teach us to pray”. If we do not know how to pray, the Lord is ready to teach us, so He says, “When ye pray, say, Father, thy name be hallowed; thy kingdom come”. He will set you on the way, not that you are to confine yourself to what is said there, but it is furnished as an example. One would have loved to have seen and heard the Lord speaking to God — what an attitude, what an expression — what emotions! It is not only the words that are important, but the attitude. So you get standing, kneeling, lifting up holy hands in regard to prayer. It is a service, and it gladdens the heart of God. When Daniel prayed, “the commandment came forth”, Gabriel said, and Daniel is addressed as “one greatly beloved”. As the Lord Jesus prayed on the mount, the fashion of His countenance became different; in like manner, as we become engaged with God, we are sure to be affected. If God is really engaging my soul it is bound to leave an impress.
So here the Lord tells Ananias that Saul is praying. It is as if the Lord hints that Ananias is a man who prayed too. He appeals, as it were, to a praying man; why should you fear a man who prays? He is doing it now! the Lord says. What force and pungency there would be in those words as addressed to [p. 125] a man who understood what the Lord said: ‘You say, he is a murderer, and would take you to prison, but I say he is praying!’ What a difference! And straightway Ananias goes and places his hands on him. You can commit yourself to anyone who is characteristically praying. Heaven has its own way of recommending persons who pray, and if they pray they are no longer self-reliant or independent — they trust God.
May the Lord bless the word!