No. 4

IN the previous papers, we have seen, in the history of Moses and Samuel, how greatly they helped the children of Israel by their prayers. In the wilderness and in the land they were saved by intercession. Moses and Aaron were raised up by God to be Israel’s saviours in answer to their cry, and Aaron’s life was preserved because of the prayer of Moses. Saul being allowed to become the head of the tribes was the result of their unbelieving cry, and came as a judgment upon them― “He gave them a king in His anger,” &c. These examples of godly supplication shine on the face of scripture, and serve as so many beacon-lights to assure us, that no matter how dark the hour, or dangerous the path, there is a way for us to a place of safety and of refuge; that the mercy-seat of our God is ever for us, and His ear ever open to our cry. We may justly inquire, What may we not expect in answer to prayer? Is not God now as willing, and as able, to accomplish our deliverance, though great be our fall, or heavy our oppression? Alas! we have not, because we ask not. How often has God to say of us as of Israel, “They have not cried unto Me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds; they assemble themselves for corn and wine” (Hos. 7:14). It is often beyond our power either by word or act to help a brother; but such instances are not beyond the reach of prayer. When Abraham could do nothing to effect Lot’s rescue from Sodom, “he gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord… And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt” (Gen. 19:27, 29). Sweet it is to be such helpers of the brethren. The prayer of Jesus saved Peter from being sifted as wheat. Some say that they have not time for prayer, as though many words formally offered up were needed. David’s prayer as he ascended the Mount of Olivet was a short one: “And David said, O Lord, I pray Thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.” Here were a few words from a broken heart―the cry of faith, in the midst of a company, which was speedily answered. We are not heard for our much speaking; our best prayers are often those we find the least complacency in―groanings which cannot be uttered. We should not be discouraged though the answer come not at once; it may be delayed until after we have entered our rest. Solomon’s prayer in 2 Chron. 6 still speaketh, and shall yet be answered on Israel’s behalf. We know not how much blessing we daily reap, as the harvest of many a cry sown in tears, long ago, by departed saints. Prayer is the utterance of the heart, the pulse of life, of the man who walks with God: he does everything by prayer―he prays and faints not. I pass over many remarkable instances of prayer in the Old Testament, suggesting the few that are mentioned as leading ones. Elias was a man “subject to like passions as we are,” is a remarkable notice of the Spirit’s, to encourage us to pray while conscious of unworthiness.
Our Lord is the great example of prayer, “Who in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears, unto Him that was able to save Him from death, was heard in that He feared” (Heb. 5:7). Previously to His going into the towns to preach, He had been with His Father in prayer. “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35). Ere He appointed His twelve apostles, He “continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12). Ere He came to Calvary, His soul passed, in the garden of Gethsemane, through all the exceeding sorrow of the dark scene that lay before Him, and, being in an agony, He prayed more earnestly. Having received His answer, and being strengthened, He boldly went forth and overcame. His prayer in the 17th John, like’ Solomon’s, still shines in the presence of God, and shall also, in due time, have its answer. It has been said that our Lord ever prayed alone: He loved the mountain top, and the desert place―elevation and solitude marked His private way. His prayers were too deep, too vast for any to enter into. Public prayer is the Church’s duty and privilege: it is happy to meet with two or three; but there is no substitute for, and nothing like private prayer. Our words to God need not then measured care, so that others may understand. In secret we move amidst the depths―the privacies of our own wants and experiences, which we feel are all known to God ere we utter them. Within our shut door we can pour forth our unhindered streams of intercession. Prayer is the secret power of the man of God, the stay of his soul, his refuge in every time of need. While engaged in prayer, he dismisses the darkest cloud, and rises above his most potent enemy. In the distance, he sees gathering, not the danger that he had dreamed of, but the blessings of heaven ready to descend. The scoffer may say, what is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? and what profit should we have if we pray unto Him? The child of God having the faith and Spirit of Jesus can reply, “As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud; and he shall hear my voice” (Ps. 55:16, 17).