Do I Really Believe that Prayer is a Power? Is Prayer the Greatest Power on Earth, or is it Not?

Tip! THE possibilities of prayer are gauged by faith in God's ability to do. Faith is the one prime condition by which God works.

Now, dare we face this question of prayer? It seems a foolish query, for is not prayer a part and parcel of all religions? Yet we venture to ask you our readers to look at this matter fairly and squarely.

Do I really believe that prayer is a power? Is prayer the greatest power on earth, or is it not? Does prayer indeed "move the Hand that moves the world"? Do God's prayer-commands really concern Me? Do the promises of God concerning prayer still hold good? We have all been muttering to ourselves "Yes — Yes — Yes" as we read these questions. We dare not say "No" to any one of them. And yet — !

Has it ever occurred to you that our Lord never gave an unnecessary or an optional command? Do we really believe that our Lord never made a promise which He could not, or would not, fulfill? Our Savior's three great commands for definite action were: —

Pray ye

Do this

Go ye!

Are we obeying Him? How often His command, "Do this," is repeated by our preachers today!

One might almost think it was His only command! How rarely we are reminded of His bidding to "Pray" and to "Go." Yet, without obedience to the "Pray ye," it is of little or no use at all either to "Do this" or to "Go."

Tip! 1 Timothy 2:1. Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.

In fact, it can easily be shown that all want of success and all failure in the spiritual life and in Christian work, is due to defective or insufficient prayer. Unless we pray aright we cannot live aright or serve aright. This may appear, at first sight, to be gross exaggeration, but the more we think it over in the light that Scripture throws on it, the more convinced will we be of the truth of this statement.

Now, as we begin once more to see what the Bible has to say about this mysterious and wonderful subject, shall we endeavor to read some of our Lord's promises, as though we had never heard them before. What will the effect be?

Tip! “Asking of God” and “receiving” from the Lord - direct request to God, immediate connection with God - that is true prayer.

A few years ago I was studying this subject of prayer from the Holy Bible, and was having trouble understanding the full power available to me through prayer. As a merchant of a retail store, I had placed a large order form overseas and it had just arrived and I had to unload the container that day. A friend of mine had come over to help me unload the truck — burst into the room holding an open Bible in his hands. Although he had told me only a few weeks ago that his spiritual life in Christ was all dried up, he didn't enjoy going to church, and he would rather be in the world and live as the world does then as a convert to Christ.

That day when he told me this disturbing news, I promised him I would pray for him, that the Bible would come alive for him and that he would enjoy the Lord once again. I found out later that the Bible was, comparatively, a new book to him, he had never really read it and as a result he had be constantly making "discoveries."

Tip! “Intercession” is amplification in prayer; it is going out in broadness and fullness from ones self for others. Primarily, it does not center in praying for others, but refers to the freeness, boldness and childlike confidence in praying.

On that memorable day on which he invaded my office he cried excitedly — his face all aglow with mingled joy and surprise — "Do you believe this? Is it really true?" "Believe what?" I asked, glancing at the open Bible at the passage I had been studying with some astonishment. "Why, this — "and he read in eager tones from Matthew 21:21, 22: "‘If ye have faith and doubt not . . . all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.' Do you believe it? Is it true?" "Yes," I replied, with much surprise at his excitement, "of course it's true — of course I believe it."

Yet, through my mind there flashed all manner of thoughts! "Well, that's a very wonderful promise," said he. "It seems to me to be absolutely limitless! Why don't we pray more?" And he went on to tell me how much he loved the Lord and thanked me for praying for him before he left the room, leaving me thinking hard. I had never looked at those verses in quite the same way as he had. As the door closed behind my eager once again follower of the Master, I had a vision of my Savior and His love and His power such as I never had before. I had a vision of a life of prayer — yes, and "limitless" power, which I saw depended upon two things only — faith and prayer. For the moment I was thrilled.

I fell on my knees, and as I bowed before my Lord what thoughts surged through my mind — what hopes and aspirations flooded my soul! God was speaking to me in an extraordinary way. This was a great call to prayer. But — to my shame be it said — I heeded not that call.

Where did I fail? True, I prayed a little more than before, but nothing much seemed to happen.

Tip! One warning you should bear in mind in the matter of prayer is the negligence of this great resource. We often neglect prayer until we get into some major trouble; and then suffocating with fear, we rush into some shallow appeal to God only to realize that our prayers are not accepted which is due to the fact that we do not even believe that those very prayers would be accepted in the first place.

Why? Was it because I did not see what a high standard the Savior requires in the inner life of those who would pray successfully? Was it because I had failed to measure up my life to the "perfect love" standard so beautifully described in the thirteenth chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians?

For, after all, prayer is not just putting into action good resolutions "to pray." Like David, we need to cry, "Create in me a clean heart, O God" (Psa. 51.) before we can pray aright. And the inspired words of the Apostle of Love need to be heeded today as much as ever before: "Beloved, if our heart condemns us not, we have boldness toward God; and [then] whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him" (I John 3:21).

Tip! “Supplication” is the very soul of prayer in the way of pleading for some one thing, very much needed, and the need intensely felt.

"True — and I believe it." Yes, indeed, it is a limitless promise, and yet how little we realize it, how little we claim from Christ. And our Lord "marvels" at our unbelief. But if we could only read the Gospels for the first time, what an amazing book it would seem! Should not we "marvel" and "wonder"? And today I pass on that great call to you. Will you give heed to it? Will you profit by it? Or shall it fall on deaf ears and leave you prayer-less?