Prayer That Obtains

Tip! If I will give myself up to the inspiration of the Spirit of God, who commands me to pray, the details and the petitions of that praying will all fall into harmony with the will of Him who wills that I should pray.

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." (Luke 11:9)

There are many conditions of true prayer. For instance, it must be earnest. There are times when we know we are on the line of God's purposes, when we may dare to be persistent. Prayer must be offered in the Name of Christ, i.e., it must be in harmony with the nature of Christ, which was devoted to the glory of God and to the blessing of people. That Name will eliminate the element of selfishness which will mar any prayer by whom ever offered it. Prayer must also be based on some promise of God, then is presented to Him as a check or note is presented to a bank.

All these are but steps to the faith that obtains, for it is, after all, not prayer but faith that obtains promises. That is why our Lord lays so much stress on receiving. Much of our prayer fails because we forget that He said, "Every one that asks receives"; and again, "All things whatsoever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them" (Mark 11:24).

As close as I can describe this process of prayer, it seems to be something after this fashion.

Tip! Prayer, as taught by Jesus in its principal expression, enters into all the relations of life. It purifies fellowship.

1) We must reverently kneel before God, glorifying and praising Him for His greatness and goodness.

2) We are conscious of needing some very special gift which is promised to us in His Word the Holy Bible.

3) Then in the Name of Christ we present the request with the confidence of a child.

Tip! The entire principle of Bible teaching is to illustrate the great truth that God hears and answers prayer. One of the great purposes of God in His book is to impress on us permanently the great importance, the priceless value, and the absolute necessity of asking God for the things that we need for our time on earth and eternity.

4) With earnestness of desire and speech we unfold the reasons why the gift sought is so necessary. But we do not quit praying at this point and go away in uncertainty as to what the outcome will be.

5) By an act of the Spirit, we seem to receive without doubt the spiritual or even the temporal gift; and we realize that it has received, that the special grace has been imparted, to be discovered and used under stress of our need. Also that the temporal gift has also been received, though it may be held back until the precise moment when it can be delivered, in much the same way as a present may be purchased long before the time of handing it to its destined owner. (1Samual 1:15, 1Samual 1:18, 1Samual 1:27).

This is what Christ meant by "receiving," and it has a mighty effect on prayer, because it makes it so much more definite. It leads to praise, because we are able to thank God for His gift. Remember you must be able to take what you ask for as well as pray.

PRAYER

We rejoice that our Savior ever lives to intercede as our High Priest and Mediator. Through the rent veil, let our prayers ascend to You mingled with the fragrance of His merit in whom You are ever well pleased. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

A Prayer for Our Refuge and Strength Today

Tip! Prayer is no little thing, no selfish and small matter. It does not concern the selfish insignificant interests of one person. The littlest prayer expands out by the will of God till it touches all words, preserves all interests, and develops man's greatest wealth, and God's greatest good.

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed,

And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Though its waters roar and be troubled,

Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,

The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;

God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.

The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;

He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

The LORD of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Come, behold the works of the LORD,

Who has made desolations in the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;

He burns the chariot in the fire.

Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

The LORD of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

(Psalms 46:1-11)

A Child's Prayer Answered

Tip! Non-praying is the same as disorder, discord, anarchy. Prayer, in the moral government of God, is as strong and far-reaching as the law of gravitation in this material world, and it is as necessary as gravitation to hold things in their proper place and life.

The following touching incident brought tears to my eyes as it was told to me a short time ago, by a dear friend who had it from an eyewitness of the same. It occurred in the great city of New York, on one of the coldest days in February.

A little boy about ten years old was standing in front of a shoe-store on Broadway barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold.

A woman riding up the street in a beautiful car, driven by her chauffeur, observed the little fellow in his forlorn condition and immediately ordered the driver to pull up and stop in front of the store. The woman richly dressed in silk, alighted from her vehicle, went quickly to the boy, and said:

"My little fellow why are you looking so earnestly in that window?"

"I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes," was the reply.

The woman took him by the hand and went into the store, and asked the proprietor if he would allow one of his clerks to go and buy half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. He readily agreed. She then asked him if he could give her a basin of water and a towel, and he replied: "Certainly," and quickly brought them to her.

Tip! Prayer, as taught by Jesus in its principal expression, enters into all the relations of life. It purifies fellowship.

She took the little fellow to the back part of the store, and, removing her gloves knelt down, washed those little feet and dried them with the towel.

By this time the young man had returned with the socks. Placing a pair on his feet, she purchased and gave him a pair of shoes, and bagging up the remaining pairs of socks, gave them to boy, and patting him on the head said: "I hope my little fellow, that you now feel more comfortable."

As she turned to go, the astonished lad caught her hand, and looking up in her face, with tears in his eyes answered her question with these words:

"Are you God's wife?"

A Prayer of Marching Orders

Tip! Prayer, as taught by Jesus in its principal expression, enters into all the relations of life. It purifies fellowship.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)

IT WAS a huge number of young men and women that stood on the verge of crossing the Jordan River; they were waiting for the signal to enter the Promised Land. God had said that He would give them every place on which the sole of their foot should tread (Joshua 1:3). What an incentive this was for pressing on! Every time an Israelite put their foot forward on the territory of Canaan, they could realize that piece of land would come into the possession of their people.

There is a counterpart of this in our own experience. We must learn to put down our foot on the Promises of God's Word, and say: "These are mine by right, and shall be mine in actual enjoyment."

There have been many times in my life that before I reached some strange or hostile situation at work or home or just in my day to day walk with Christ, it seems as though they have given up and disappeared or subdued before I reached them.

Tip! Prayer is always and everywhere an immediate and confiding approach to, and a request of, God the Father.

In combating your spiritual foes, dare to believe that God has given them into your hand, and go forward assured that not one of them shall stand before you. This is a blessed promise: "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you." (Joshua 1:5)

It does not matter how fierce the tempter, how often you have failed, how inveterate the bad habits, if you will dare to believe that God is with you, not one of all the many harassing sins will be able to stand before you. God cannot fail, and will not forsake you; so be strong, and go forward!

The one thing that God asks of all of us is that we should obey up to the maximum.

Here are our marching orders, and we must keep them well before us"

Tip! God is so concerned that people pray that He has promised to answer prayer. He has not promised to do something general if we pray, but He has promised to do the very thing for which we pray.

(1) We must meditate on the Scripture day and night; it must not depart from our heart or mouth.

(2) We must be strong even when obedience seems impossible, and when all influences are brought to bear to weaken our resolution, we must still dare to obey the voice of God. And as we advance we will find that the dreaded forms of opposition are only shadows; when they are touched with the spear-point of faith, they will divide and we will pursue our way to the glory of our Father.

PRAYER

Father; before we enter into our work and warfare, will You graciously equip us with the armor of light, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. May we hear You say: Fear not, I am with you, I will help you. In Jesus' name AMEN.

Prayer is A Cure for Anxiety

Tip! Prayer is no little thing, no selfish and small matter. It does not concern the selfish insignificant interests of one person. The littlest prayer expands out by the will of God till it touches all words, preserves all interests, and develops man's greatest wealth, and God's greatest good.

"Commit your way to the LORD; Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass." (Psalms 37:5)

THIS PSALM from which our text is taken shows us the spirit of optimism. The Psalmist says: "Do not fret. Evil is transient, evil-doers shall be cut off in a little while and the wicked shall not be anymore." You will not remove the evils of the world by all your anxiety or worry, or by your anger. It is not worth while to lose your peace of mind over it. But be quiet in your heart, full of prayer, looking up to God that He would step in and deliver us.

Also in this Psalm we can see excellent preservatives of the inward calm of the soul when face to face with anxiety, or with high-handed wrongs done to us.

"Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness." (Psalms 37:3)

Think on Him. Expect great things from your Almighty Guide and Friend. He cannot fail you.

"Delight yourself also in the LORD; and He shall give you the desires of your heart." (Psalms 37:4)

If your life is twisted-up concerning earthly things, of course you will be at the mercy of outward things. Familiarize yourself with God's way of thinking and start looking at things through His eyes. If this is the way of your life, you will lose your taste for things of the earth, while you will have great desires for the things of eternity, and God will give you perfect satisfaction in these, because He will give you Himself! The petitions or desires of your heart are very sacred to God, and He will never, never forget them. "He shall give you the desires of your heart."

"Commit your way to the LORD; Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass." (Psalms 37:5)

This could suggest "Commit (Hand-over, Give, Entrust, Assign) your way to the Lord." It is not enough to just hand over the responsibility of selecting our way to God in the great crises of our life. We must do so in the small decisions of every hour. Our lives are made up of trifles. To neglect these is to leave it to drift at haphazard. We need to continually look up to our Heavenly Friend, saying, "I cannot see over the hedge, I must leave with You the decision whether I should go this way or that."

Tip! But how do I know that I am praying in the will of God? Every true attempt to pray is in response to the will of God. Even as clumsy as it may be and untaught by human teachers, but it is accept-able to God, because it is in obedience to His will.

"Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. " (Psalms 37:7)

The other words we could us for "Rest (is, silent, quite, or relax) in the Lord". There is so much clamoring in the world, and often our heart becomes filled with its noise, so much so that we cannot hear His still small voice. But when every sound has died down into silence, we will hear the voice of God our Father telling us of things which will answer our questionings and calm our doubts. Let your requests be made known unto God, and His peace will guard your heart against all intruders.

PRAYER

My God and Father, enable me to commit my way on You, to trust You, and to believe that when I stand with You in the perfect daylight I will understand what now I take in trust. In Jesus' name AMEN