Just after I began writing this I stopped for a minute and called my local telephone operator to ask for the Oakland, California, overseas operator. The Oakland operator was on the line immediately, and in reply to my inquiry she said the circuits to Korea were open. I then placed a call to my daughter in Taejon. In a few minutes I heard the Seoul operator talking to the Taejon operator, and then the words, “She is on the line,” followed by the familiar sound of my daughter’s voice.
This call involved a wire connection to the local operator, a radio telephonic connection with Oakland, a satellite transmission to Seoul, and then wires to Taejon. The result: clear, unfading communication with a dear one ten thousand miles away.
If man in his ingenuity can invent and perfect this means of talking almost anywhere in the world, how much easier for us to communicate with God and have him communicate with us!
Prayer is just as real as any possible communication with others in this world and of infinitely greater worth. The failure of so many Christians to appreciate the privilege and effectiveness of prayer can only stem from ignorance of this blessing that God has made available to us.
Only too often prayer is a matter of rote, the “saying” of a formalized set of words and nothing more. Or, it may be a frantic S O S in time of trouble.
Prayer is like a beautiful gem with many facets through which the love, grace, and mercy of God shine. The marvelous blessings that stem from sincere prayers must be experienced to be valued.
Basic to prevailing prayer is the necessity for being “on praying ground,” a somewhat old-fashioned term for what is nonetheless a valid requirement. This means there must be no sin unconfessed, no known sin unforsaken, no known wrong to others for which restitution has not been made, no instance of refusing to forgive someone who may have sinned against us. Perhaps the only other effectual prayer is the so-called sinner’s prayer: “God be merciful to me a sinner!”
Doubtless all of us need to learn in a more realistic way that prayer is a two-way matter, that even as we pray to God we hear him speaking to us. Often we are so busy talking to God that we fail to listen for his word to us. That prayer is, in part, waiting before the Lord for the teaching and leading of his Spirit is a lesson we must learn.
While prayer includes bringing our petitions to God, it is much more than that. It must also include thanksgiving, worship, and praise. The psalmist says, “Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name” (Ps. 30:4), and “he who brings thanksgiving as his sacrifice honors me; to him who orders his way aright I will show the salvation of God!” (Ps. 50:23). An example of worship is found in the Lord’s Prayer, “Hallowed be thy name,” and in these words we are reminded of the holiness of the one to whom we pray. We can come with boldness to the throne of grace because we come in the name of God’s Son, not our own. It is a privilege to be exercised with confidence but not to be regarded lightly.
We pray with confidence, not only because of the name of Christ but because the One to whom we pray is all-loving, all-knowing, all-wise, and all-powerful. What comfort to know these things about him and to know his answers will be based on infinite love, knowledge, wisdom, and power!
Reasons for praying can and should be spiritual, but they are also intensely practical because they involve the day-to-day experience of life, not only our own but that of others as well.
Nothing is more real than the need for guidance. Many times each day we are confronted with situations that require decisions and action. We cannot see the future, nor can we know the often intricate implications of present problems. Where can we go for wisdom and guidance if not to the Lord? That many people in our day are turning for guidance to palm-readers, astrologers, and a host of other spurious and dangerous sources shows the need of the human heart for wisdom and help.
Basic to an effective prayer life is the cultivation of a continued awareness of God—of his presence, love, wisdom, power, and goodness. He is not someone far off but is close by our side, fully aware of us and our needs, temptations, and frailty.
When the Apostle Paul wrote that we should “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17), he was speaking of a number of aspects of the prayer life—our awareness of God as well as our obedience to and fellowship with him. Our spirits must be kept tuned to his spiritual wave length so that when he speaks we hear immediately and obey him, and so that when we pray we are aware of our immediate access to his holy presence.
In prayer we can and should claim those promises of God that apply to our particular case. (For instance, when we need guidance, we can claim such verses as Proverbs 3:5, 6 and James 1:5.) We will find that for every contingency of life, God has made provision for his children.
That we do not pray alone should be a source of unending comfort; we are told that our Saviour prays for us (Rom. 8:34) and that the Holy Spirit also prays for us and interprets our prayers in terms of the Spirit (Rom. 8:26, 27). Not only should this be a constant incentive to prayer; it also assures us of help at God’s end of the line.
I recently had an illustration of the need to keep alert the “listening ear.” A young man whom I did not know had been jailed on charges that could have brought a prison term. During my morning devotions, there came to me the clear conviction that I should visit him in jail. I did this the same day, and I saw clearly that his was a mental rather than a criminal case. The following day, appearing at the preliminary hearing and then in a series of complicated meetings with the authorities, I was able to secure his release and his return to his home in a distant state in the custody of his wife.
The next morning (again during devotions) I counted twenty-two steps in this case in which God had led, not only for me but for each of the others involved. This did not just “happen.” God did it.
That our prayers are often answered before they are uttered is another witness to the nature and power of God. “Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear” (Isa. 65:24).
It has frequently been by experience to hear of some situation that demanded earnest prayer. At such times there have come to mind the Apostle Paul’s words, “Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:6). To thank God for answered prayers before we have seen the answer is pleasing to him and brings unspeakable peace to our hearts.
