Wierwille, V.P.-The Effectiveness of Prayer
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PRAYER
Another Study in Abundant Living by VICTOR PAUL WIERWILLE This book is in the public domain. For more teachings by V. P. Wierwille, E. W. Bullinger and others, go to: www.eternallyblessed.org The Scripture used throughout this study is quoted from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. Any explanatory insertions by the author within a Scripture verse are enclosed in brackets [ ]. A number of years ago, I developed what I call a "Mountaintop Check-book." It has ten blank checks in it. I want to preface this study by speaking of these ten checks which contain knowledge that will bless any individual. On each check it says "pay to the order of." On that line you can write your name. There is a place for the date above it. And all ten of these checks are already signed by Jesus Christ, who is "the same yesterday, today and forever." These checks symbolize the payment you can demand on ten promises made to you in God’s Word.
Check number one demands payment on the promise given in Mark 11:24: "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall [absolutely] have them."
Check number two demands payment on the promise recorded in John 11:22: "But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee." The third check is from Matthew 18:19: "...if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven."
Check number four, John 14:13: "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."
Check number five, John 14:14: "If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."
Check number six, John 15:16: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you...that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."
Check number seven, John 16:23: "...Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you."
Check number eight, I John 3:22: "And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight."
Check number nine is from I John 5:14: "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us." And finally, check number ten, I John 5:15: "And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."
These are what I call ten "blank checks" in the Word of God. They promise "whatsoever" or "anything," and they are all guaranteed by God’s wonderful Son, Jesus Christ.
Many years ago, I also picked up the following poem about God’s bank, speaking of a checking account, which is now a part of this "Mountaintop Checkbook." The bank had closed; my earthly store had vanished from my hand I felt that there was no sadder one than I in all the land. My washerwoman, too, had lost Her little mite with mine, And she was singing as she hung the clothes upon the line.
’How can you be so gay?’ I asked;
’Your loss don’t you regret?’
’Yes, ma’m, but what’s the use to fret?
God’s bank ain’t busted yet!’
I felt my burden lighter grow; her faith I seemed to share; In prayer I went to God’s great throne, and laid my troubles there. The sun burst from behind the clouds, in golden splendor set;
I thanked God for her simple words:
’God’s bank ain’t busted yet!’ And now I draw rich dividends, more than my hands can hold Of faith and love and hope and trust and peace of mind untold.
I thank the Giver of it all, but still I can’t forget My washerwoman’s simple words:
’God’s bank ain’t busted yet!’
Oh, weary ones upon life’s road, when everything seems drear, And losses loom on every hand, and skies seem not too clear;
Throw back your shoulders, lift your head, and cease to chafe and fret, Your dividend will be declared:
’God’s bank ain’t busted yet!’
Few people understand the bond that prayer can be for God’s people. To appreciate its depth, we first must recognize the greatness of God’s promises, only ten of which are named on the above checks. The Word of God is still the same today as it was the first time God ever had a man to speak it or write it. One way to demand payment on God’s promises is by prayer. Now, we know that there are two types of prayer. I Corinthians 14:15 instructs us about these two methods.
...I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the [my] understanding also....
It is this prayer with understanding which is that bond of prayer that we now want to study. First of all, God cares about our attitude when we speak to Him. In Matthew 6 Christ gives instruction about this.
Matthew 6:5: And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men....
Jesus called some people who prayed "hypocrites" because they wanted to be seen—they wanted to be recognized for their interest in God and for the many hours they spent in prayer. You know, "I spent four hours in the prayer room today." Thus, they appear to be very devout, holy, righteous and, no doubt, in good standing with God.
Matthew 6:5 and 6:
...Verily I say unto you, They have their reward [namely, nothing] .But thou, when thou prayest enter into thy closet.... That means we should keep prayer within our hearts, our lives. Our prayers are just between each individual and his heavenly Father. In the Orient, the closet was where great, personal treasures were kept.
Matthew 6:6 and 7:
...shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly [the texts omit "openly"]. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions....
We are not to pray to be conspicuous. And we don’t just sit around and read our prayer out of a book or from a piece of paper, saying the same prayers over and over and over again.
...use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking [for repeating the same prayers].
God doesn’t suddenly wake up and hear a prayer the twelfth time it’s repeated. He’s not asleep or distracted. He’s listening even before you’re praying.
Matthew 6:8: Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. So it’s not a question of God’s knowing our needs; it’s a question of our getting ourselves attuned and lined up with the will of God. It is a question of my getting my believing in line with the Word so God can open the floodgates of heaven and pour into my life that which I have need of.
There are a number of prayers in the Word of God. Perhaps the best known prayer is called the "Lord’s Prayer" which continues the record here in Matthew 6. First, let’s read the corresponding record in Luke to find out to whom this instruction on prayer is given.
Luke 11:2: And he [Jesus] said unto them [his disciples], When ye [his disciples] pray.... This informs us that the Lord’s Prayer is addressed to the apostles and the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry. It was not given to Gentiles or to the Christian Church which began on Pentecost. The Lord’s Prayer was the prayer for Israel. It is called the Lord’s Prayer because the Lord Jesus Christ taught it to his disciples who were Israelites.
After this manner therefore pray ye [you of Israel]: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts [our sins], as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not [let us not enter] into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. This is the Lord’s Prayer for Israel. You and I are not Israel because the Body of believers, the Body of the Church, is called out from both Jew and Gentile and is made a new creation. This new Body took form on Pentecost following Christ’s ascension. Nevertheless, the Lord’s Prayer of Matthew 6 is a wonderful prayer; and if we were studying about Israel now, I would spend a lot of time analyzing that prayer for Israel. I just wanted you to see that Christ believed in and taught his followers to pray. But I want to move on to a prayer given in Acts 4, a record occurring after the day of Pentecost. This account tells about Peter and John, who had been imprisoned for bringing deliverance to a man who was over forty years old. For this, the religious leaders captured Peter and John, beat them, threatened them, and then let them return to their own company.
Acts 4:23 and 24: And being let go, they [Peter and John] went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they [the believers present] heard that, they lifted up their voice to God [and here is the prayer] with one accord [unity of purpose].... This "one accord" is one of the great keys of prayer. We see the principle in Matthew 18:19: "...if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father...."The word "agree" is "symphonize." If two are in harmony, symphonize, they shall see results. In a symphony all the instruments are blended. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a symphony, but rather discord, cacophony. The believers present as recorded in Acts 4:24 lifted up their voice to God in one symphony, in one unity of mind, as if one person.
...and [they] said, Lord, thou art God, which [who] hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child [or servant] Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done [with God’s knowledge]. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word.
What a prayer! Peter and John had gotten into trouble with the religious authorities in the first place because of their boldness in speaking God’s Word. It was the boldness of holding forth God’s Word as they were out on the front line of Christian experience that stirred the ire of the religious leaders of that time. Yet, when these two apostles went to this first recorded prayer meeting after the day of Pentecost, the believers asked God for boldness to do more of the same which got them into trouble in the first place: "...that with all boldness they may speak thy word"—to speak God’s Word and nothing but that Word. And what would God’s Word do for those who heard and believed?
Acts 4:30: By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child [or servant] Jesus.
God’s Word heals and it makes possible the performing of signs and wonders in the name and by the power of Jesus Christ by raising people’s expectations in God’s power.
Acts 4:31: And when they [the gathered believers] had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost [filled to overflowing with the holy spirit], and they spake the word of God with boldness. The believers received an immediate answer to their prayer which they had made in unison of purpose, the bond of prayer among believers: (1) they were all filled with the holy spirit, and (2) they spoke the Word of God with boldness. These two steps working hand in hand bring about "Word Over the World": to be born again and filled with the holy spirit, and then to speak the Word with all boldness. What an answer to the believers’ prayer!
Now I want you to observe a great prayer of the Church of the Body found in Ephesians 1.
Ephesians 1:16 and 17:
[I, Paul] Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.
What a wonderful prayer. Paul is not praying, "Lord, give us a new automobile, a new business, give us more farms." Remember the request of Solomon in the Old Testament when God made him king of Israel after the death of his father, King David? Solomon asked God for wisdom. Paul asks that God through His Son Jesus Christ may give us the spirit of wisdom, that is, spiritual wisdom and revelation knowledge. What for?
Ephesians 1:18: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know [not question, not doubt] what is the hope of his calling, and [that ye may know] what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.
God’s got an inheritance in you and me. Well, how are we spending His inheritance? How are we utilizing His inheritance in us? God has a stake in each of our lives. We are not our own; we have been purchased with the price of God’s only begotten Son. God gave us His only begotten Son who laid down his life—who purchased us. We are not our own. No man can run off and say, "Well, now look, I am an adult. I can do as I please." That’s contradictory to God’s Word. You have been redeemed with the precious blood of God’s only begotten Son. You and I have to so live and so speak and so walk and so hold forth God’s Word that God’s inheritance in us produces fruit. Our lives should produce interest on His investments, so to speak.
Most people’s prayers are, "Oh, Lord, please take care of Maggie Muggins" or "Oh, Lord, I need more money" or "Oh, Lord, I need this." Wrong. You need your understanding enlightened, wisdom, knowledge of God and His Word.
Ephesians 1:19: And [that ye may know] what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe....
Those four verses, Ephesians 1:16-19, are the entire prayer. This great prayer asks that we may know, not question, not doubt, but to get to know "....what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward...who believe...."
There is another prayer in II Thessalonians 2 which I want to point out. I stand in utter amazement with great thanksgiving before our heavenly Father for the greatness of this prayer found in II Thessalonians, the book that tells of the return of Christ. In the context of this prayer in II Thessalonians, we are informed about the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to gather his people. Then we read about the antichrist and his appearance upon the earth. Next is revealed information concerning Christ’s coming with his saints to the earth. And in one verse of scripture before the prayer, God tells us what man’s basic responsibility is since God carried out everything else. There are numerous verses before this explaining what God did; then in one verse He tells us what we are to do.
Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
That’s all we have to do. We have to stand fast. And that word "stand fast" is not the defensive type of standing fast. It is the positive action of standing or staying continuously. I have a picture in my mind of a person having both feet set in hardened cement: an entire room covered with cement and he is standing in the middle of it with dried cement up to his ankles. That is "standing fast." It is not a defensive circumstance. It is just being rooted and grounded, as Ephesians says. A tree cannot reach out until it is rooted and grounded. The more it is rooted, the more it is grounded; consequently the more its limbs, its branches, its twigs, and its leaves can reach out. That is this "stand fast." After everything God has done in Christ Jesus, all He asks us to do is stand fast—be greater rooted and more grounded.
I don’t have to die for you; Christ died for you. I don’t have to bear your sin; he bore your sin. Christ Jesus is the complete savior who is able to save to the uttermost, and all we have to do is stand fast. Isn’t that beautiful?
II Thessalonians 2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions....
There were Rabbinical traditions, there were heretical traditions, and there are true Biblical traditions. Jesus told the rabbi that the Rabbinical traditions were outdated. The heretical traditions were out too. But true traditions are in. The usage of "traditions" here in the Word is "delivery of truth." "...And hold the delivery of truth...."That would be a sound and excellent translation. To hold forth is outreach. No individual will reach out with stability unless he stands fast—it is as a tree’s limbs and branches which will not extend very broadly unless the tree stands fast. That’s why he says, "...hold [fast] the traditions [the truth you have been taught]...." It is interesting that this "hold fast" literally means to hold forth the truth, not half-heartedly, but "with exerted strength." We must put forth effort in the outreach of the truth.
II Thessalonians 2:15 ...stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
It is by these two methods that the whole Word of God has moved: either by the epistle that is written or by God’s Word that is spoken. The Word of God when it is spoken has the same effect as the Word of God when it is written. If you read John 3:16, it is no more God’s Word than if I just spoke it to you. The Word of God which we know has either come to us because we heard someone speak it or we read it.
Following that great fifteenth verse of admonition, comes the prayer I want to get to.
Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.
These two verses contain the great prayer of II Thessalonians. After all the oral and written truth we have been taught about the return of Christ to gather his Body, about his coming to the earth with the saints, about the antichrist and everything else—after all these truths, comes this prayer.
"Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself...." The word "himself" is the word autos, which is the emphatic word in the phrase. To put the emphasis accurately we would read it, "Now himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, and God, even our Father...." God is our Father through His wonderful Son Jesus Christ. For when you are born again, when you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, then it is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is God in Christ in you. That is the new birth. God is our Father because He created within us His seed, which is Christ in us, the hope of glory. That is how He is our Father.
God, our Father, "which loved us and hath given us"—the words "hath given" are "gave." He loved us and He gave. All love is giving. When people talk about loving you, it’s got to be giving. "God so loved that he gave his only begotten Son...."
Here it is again: "...Even our Father, which [who] hath loved us...." What else did He give us besides the new birth, besides the Christ in you, the hope of glory? Everlasting consolation. God so loved us that He gave us everlasting consolation from the moment we were born again. Consolation is comfort. Consolation means encouragement, entreating, or comfort alongside of Himself. That is the literal meaning of that word. God so loved that He gave us everlasting comfort, everlasting encouragement alongside of Himself. What a fantastic prayer! What a God that we should have encouragement set right alongside of Himself. We’ve got quite a Father. Not only have we been given everlasting consolation right now, but something else: "...and good hope...." Not only do we have everlasting consolation, but we also have been given the good hope. The good hope of what? The good hope of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ when he comes to gather his Church. All of this God gave: His love, His everlasting consolation, and His good hope. He did all of this through grace or by way of grace. Grace is divine favor, perpendicular, God to man. It is unmerited. Anything a person earns is not grace. God so loved that He gave. Salvation is of grace, not of works. We can’t earn salvation. And this prayer of benediction, a prayer of blessing, which is the last prayer in II Thessalonians, tells us that all that has been given is ours through grace, unmerited favor.
Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work. To comfort is "to lovingly and tenderly embrace to the end that it produces an effect." "Comfort your hearts...." The heart is the seat of the personal life, that which makes you, you. It is the innermost part of your being. Remember Romans 10:9 and 10, "...confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." These two verses tell us that a person who talks about God’s Word a lot isn’t necessarily saved. You’ve got to believe in your heart. That heart is not the physical pulsator. It is the innermost part of your being, the very fiber of your being. Here in II Thessalonians it says, "Comfort your hearts [the innermost part of your being]...." What a tremendous prayer, a prayer that you and I can go forth with comforted hearts in the innermost part of our beings. With God as my Father and Jesus Christ, His Son, as my savior, why should I be upset, distraught within, when He has given comfort to the innermost part of my being? The only reason I might feel distraught and uncomforted is that I refuse to believe in my mind the truth of what God told me He did for me.
"Comfort your hearts, and stablish you...." That word "stablish" is terrific. It means to strengthen to the end that we do not vacillate, plus to increase our ability and capacity to maturity. "Comfort your hearts, and stablish you"—strengthen you that you do not vacillate, but rather, mature. To vacillate means one day we are hot for God and the next day we are cold as an ice cube. When we stand fast here, we can’t waver. God can strengthen us, stablish us, so that we don’t move. And having done all, we must stand. Don’t vacillate on God’s Word, people. "...[God can] strengthen you to the end that you do not vacillate." That’s a prayer we ought to be praying—that we don’t vacillate. "...And [God can] increase your ability and your capacity to its fullness" which brings us to the truth of Ephesians 1: "that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened...." See how all those prayers mesh together. The second verse of Paul’s benediction of II Thessalonians 2 says, "Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work." The Greek word for "word" is logos. The word for "work" is "deed." It is not just a matter of not vacillating on one segment, a sentence, or a statement of the Word. It tells us never to vacillate on the whole logos, the whole Word of God from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. God can comfort our hearts, and we can establish ourselves in every good word and deed.
God would not only have us pray in the spirit, but He would have us to pray with our understanding. But when we pray with the understanding, prayers have to be in alignment and harmony with the Word of God that is addressed to us in order to be answered. We cannot pray the Lord’s Prayer today, which is addressed to Israel, and expect God to fulfill it. However, we can pray prayers such as the ones in Ephesians 1 and II Thessalonians 2. God is still doing mighty things through prayer. He is still fulfilling His promise that whatever things we desire when we pray and believe that we shall receive them, we shall have them. Speak to the Father and know that your request has been answered.