02.09. Prayer, the Vital Breath of the Christian Life

09. Prayer, the Vital Breath of the Christian Life

What an important moment that is, when a living child comes into the world! How great is the anxiety with which a mother listens to the first breathing, or hears the first faint cry, of the new-born babe! That cry, which only disturbs and annoys others — is sweet to her ear!

Ah, there is a Parent who feels more for us than even a mother does for her little ones. A woman may forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the fruit of her womb — but God cannot lose His tenderness. He is love itself. The first breathing of new life in His children, the first cry which is sent up to Him from a heart in distress — fills Heaven with joy.

Now, Prayer is the breathing of a new-born soul. It is the first sign of life.

I am to speak in this chapter about Prayer, which I have called, ’the Breath of the Christian life.’ Blessed subject! May God teach us what Prayer is, and quicken us in the exercise of it!

What is Prayer?

Ask the worldly-minded man. He will tell you what it is to him. It is something which he knows he ought to do; something which he has been brought up to do; something which his conscience will not let him leave altogether undone. But he has no pleasure in it. It is irksome to him. He is glad enough when it is over.

Ask the Pharisee — the Formalist. He seems to think that it is the mere utterance of words; the mere repeating certain holy sentences on his knees; the mere outward acknowledgment that God is the great Giver of all things. But we can go to better teachers than these.

Ask David what prayer is.
’As for me, I will call upon God!’
’I will cry unto God most high!’
’I cried with my whole heart!’
’As the deer pants after the water-brooks — so my soul pants after you, O God! My soul thirsts for God!’

Ask Jacob. He will tell you that it is a ’wrestling’ with God.

Ask Daniel. It was something real with him. Not even the wrath of the king could close his lips. He prayed three times a day, though at the risk of his life.

Ask that penitent Prodigal, when from his wounded, aching heart those words came streaming forth, ’Father, I have sinned against Heaven and in your sight, and am no more worthy to be called your son.’

Ask the Publican, as he stands in the House of God, smiting his breast. Few words indeed he spoke; but they were earnest, burning words, which came forth from the very depths of his heart.

Ask the holy Savior. He spent whole nights in prayer; not because He was obliged to pray, but because He found comfort in prayer.

Once more, let us ask Jeremiah, who wrote the Book of Lamentations. He says in Lamentations 3:55, ’I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea! Do not close your ears to my cry for relief. You came near when I called you, and you said: Do not fear!’

’Prayer,’ observes a Christian writer, ’is human need, craving the Divine fullness; the wretchedness of earth, begging the consolations of Heaven; man’s guilt, beseeching the mercy of God. By prayer the helplessness of the creature clings to the strength of the Creator. Prayer is a voice from Nature’s wound, calling to the Heavenly Healer. All creation prays. The little plant droops its head, and curls its leaves; and thus asks for moisture. The sheep that has lost its lamb, fills the air with its piteous bleating. The dog howls when he is hungry; and he has been known to entreat you, almost with the power of speech, to follow him to the lonely spot, where his master lies wounded and bleeding.’

Every child of God prays. Where there is spiritual life — there must, and will, be prayer. As surely as a living man breathes — so surely will a living soul pray. We have many and great needs, especially spiritual needs — but it is only when we are brought under God’s converting grace, that we begin to feel those needs.

Let me now give you some hints about your every-day prayers. I trust that many of you have a real wish to live a Christian life, and that you are ready to welcome any directions which we can give you.

First, then, as to the particular KIND of Prayer that we are now speaking about — Private Prayer. Other Prayer is also needful. It is very good for us to meet in the House of God for Public Worship. A peculiar blessing seems to be promised us when we do so. Christ pledges Himself to be in the midst of us. It is good for us too to assemble our families for prayer. But it is Private, Closet Prayer that I am now dwelling upon. And how needful this is! How necessary for us to get apart from our fellow-men, and draw near to our heavenly Friend in the silence of our chambers! I believe, if there was more of such prayer, and more earnestness in it — there would be more advance in the spiritual life, more growing up unto Christ in all things. When we call it ’Closet Prayer’ — we are using our Lord’s own words; for He says, ’And you, when you pray, enter into your closet.’ Some of us have no difficulty here. We have our own quiet rooms, where we may go, and no one will disturb us. Be thankful for it. Enter into your closet. Let the walls of it witness to many a fervent prayer offered there. Remember, God is near, and never so near as when we are calling upon Him. Open your heart to Him. Tell Him of all your needs. Go to Him in all your trials. Let Him be your Friend — to whom you fly in every season; your Counselor — whom you love to consult; the Companion — with whom you delight to hold fellowship. But some have no private room where they can be alone — no door which they can close, so as to shut out all interruption. Some are so much mixed up with the busy world, that they are seldom at home. But still there is a way of feeling ourselves alone even in a crowd, even amidst the bustle of life. The noisy room, the crowded workshop, the open field, or the roadside — may be our closet. And God can and will hear us there, if we call upon Him. We can lift up our hearts — without lifting up our voices. We need not be alone to do this. The silent breathing of the soul is sufficient.

Next, as to the MANNER of our prayers.

There must be EARNESTNESS. Jeremiah speaks of it as a cry — ’Hide not your ear at my cry.’ When Esau had been cheated of his father’s blessing, what earnestness there was in his complaint! We are told that ’when he heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father: Bless me, even me, O my father.’ Such, too, was the cry of the Israelites, when their spirit was almost broken by the cruelty they met with in Egypt. ’They sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried — and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant.’

I have been present at death-beds, when the slumbering soul has at length woke up, and cried imploringly for mercy.

We have heard of shipwrecks too, and of the piercing cries that have been uttered, when those on board felt that death was near. I lately read of one who, while wandering along a lonely and rocky shore when the tide was down, slipped his foot into a narrow crevice. To his horror, he found he could not withdraw his imprisoned limb. There he sat, with his face to the approaching waves. He knew that, as the tide came in, it would rise upon him inch by inch, until it washed over his head. Did he cry for help? Yes, he did — and who could doubt his earnestness? He cried, but none heard him. He saw here and there a boat in the distance; but his signal did not attract their notice. How he must have envied the very sea-gull, as it skimmed the air above his head? And as he watched the waters rising inch by inch, his cries never ceased, until the last wave swelled up, and washed the dying shriek from his lips.

There was no help for him. There is for us. ’Call unto me, and I will answer you,’ says our Lord. And why should any of us be less earnest than the man on the sea-shore was? Our past sins, and our present iniquities, press upon us — and we need pardon. Temptation assails us each day and each hour of our lives — and we need help. We are poor, and blind, and weak — and we need strength from God.

Then, do not look upon prayer as a thing which may be shuffled over in a few moments; as a duty which may be engaged in sleepily and carelessly — but let us look upon it as a thing into which we must put our whole hearts. Let it be a cry from our inmost souls.

There must also be REALITY in our prayers. Our prayers must be real. It is very easy to speak words which we do not feel. Our lips get into the way of uttering what our hearts deny. We often speak, for instance, very humbly of ourselves — when perhaps there is no humility within. We acknowledge before God that we are sinners — when all the while sin is not felt by us. We ask for grace — without having any desire for it. Be real. Be HONEST with God. Say nothing to Him which is not strictly true. And if you cannot feel in your heart what your head tells you that you ought to feel — then ask God that the feeling may be given you.

Again, pray OFTEN. Will once, twice, three times a day be enough? someone will perhaps ask. Yes, it will be enough, and too much, for us — if our souls are asleep. It will be too much, if our minds are engrossed with this world. We shall have no time for prayer. There are other things to take up our thoughts. We are too busy for such a work as this. Ah, try and plead this with God; ’I am too busy.’ Try and say it to Him, this night in your prayers; ’Lord, I have no time to seek You.’ You dare not. Will you plead it in your dying hour, or at the judgment-day? Will you say, ’I had no time?’ Rather say the truth — ’I had no heart for prayer; I lived to gain the world. I gained it — but I lost my soul.’ Be often in prayer, O believer. Your Father hears you. He is ready to answer you. Be often in His presence. Your prayers may not be always expressed. There may be no utterance. Your petition may be sent up to Heaven, without any cry being heard. Remember that prayer is the breath of a soul. It may be but a gentle breathing, and yet God can hear it. Think of Jeremiah’s words, ’Hide not your ear at my breathing.’ A few words now about the DIFFICULTIES we find in our prayers.

Perhaps this has been a difficulty with you — If God orders everything, and has planned beforehand everything that happens — then what is the use of my praying? But surely if this stops the wheels of prayer, it ought also to stop the wheels of business. You might say, If God has ordained that I and my family should be well off in the world, it will be so — whether I provide for them or not. Or again, one might argue that if God has determined whether I shall live to old age or not, I shall reach that age which He has fixed upon — and therefore it matters not whether I am careful or not about my health or my safety. You will see then at once the folly of making God’s decree a reason why we should not pray.

You may feel another difficulty. Do you not often find it very hard to get your hearts in tune for prayer? You know not how it is, but you seldom are in the right heart attitude for prayer. I will tell you how it is. You give yourself up to the world. You lose sight of Heaven perhaps all day. And therefore no wonder that you cannot, when the hour of prayer comes, bring your mind to seek God. You come to the throne of grace with your heart loaded with the plans, the toils, the difficulties, the disappointments, the irritations of the day. You come, dragging the world with you into God’s presence. And the consequence is that you feel ready for anything else rather than prayer. It must be so, if the world is allowed to have full dominion over your heart.

Now if you suffer from this sad feeling — if this is indeed your unhappy experience — do not be tempted to think that it is better to give up prayer, when your heart is not in tune for it. Rather try and shake the world off — for if it hinders you in prayer, and it will certainly be in the way of your reaching Heaven. The Prophet complained of the Jews in his day, ’None stirs himself up to take hold on You!’ We must arouse ourselves. We must stir up our drowsy hearts, and ask God to put us into a better frame.

Yes, and I will go farther, and say, If a man has so much worldly business on his hands, that it occupies all his thoughts, and calls away his mind from higher and holier things — then let him give up his business — let him part with his earthly cares — rather than forfeit Heaven! It is better to beg in the streets — than to die rich, and go to Hell.

There is another complaint, which even God’s people sometimes make. They do not experience that enjoyment in prayer which they hear so many speak of.

If our hearts are not right with God, there can be no enjoyment in prayer. An impenitent man has no heart to pray. David once said, ’Your servant has found in his heart to pray this prayer unto you.’ But an impenitent, worldly man has no such thing in his heart. He finds there no desire for God. The work of prayer is unsuited to his taste. He may force himself into it for a time, but he cannot love it — it is impossible.

Hide not this truth from yourself — that the entire absence of joy in prayer is a sad but sure sign that you are a stranger to true religion. But I was rather speaking of those who are serving God, and yet complain that they do not find the joy they could wish in praying. How is this? Perhaps we are not living so near to God as we might five. There is a lack of close fellowship with Him. There is too wide a gap between Him and our souls. We have taken Him perhaps as our hope and our refuge — but not as the friend of our daily life. Surely, if we knew Him better, and walked more closely with Him — we would soon feel the real enjoyment of conversing with Him in prayer. Our moments of devotion would be our happiest moments. The hour of prayer would indeed be to us a blessed hour.

There are times, I dare say, when you feel warmth. Your heart glows within you, and God seems to be very near to you. And then you grow cold again, and the spirit of prayer flags within you. Now, did you ever try to keep up this warmth of feeling? Did you ever make a direct effort to do so? It may be done by meditation, by watchfulness, and by fixing the heart on God. When the fire burns in your soul — keep it alight. Don’t let it go out. Beseech God to fan the flame, and to make you feel, not sometimes but always, in an earnest, believing, loving frame.

Lastly, who does not feel that his mind is sadly apt to wander in prayer? This is a great difficulty with any one who prays. But I am sure that if we were more watchful, this might in a great measure be got over. When you kneel down — think what you are going to do, whom you are going to address, and what you are going to ask. Remember that you are in the presence of the Great King, your Almighty Father; therefore, as Solomon says, ’Be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter anything before God.’

I have sometimes found it good to walk up and down my room, when engaged in prayer. I would not recommend this as a regular habit — but it may be desirable occasionally, and especially when our minds are disposed to wander.

After all, the very best of us pray but very poorly. But if we make a conscience of our prayers, and if we desire to render them what they should be — then God will strengthen us. The Holy Spirit will ’help our infirmities,’ teaching us what to ask, and how to ask, and giving us such a praying frame as will make us feel that it is good for us to draw near to God. Be encouraged to pray more earnestly, more frequently, and with more reality. When you send a message by the telegraph, you expect it to reach its destination — you expect it to accomplish the purpose for which it is sent. Expect the same with your prayers. Lose this idea of reality — and your devotion will droop; your prayer will become a mere form. It has been said by an old writer, that ’Good prayers never come weeping home.’ No, they are quite sure to bring down a blessing from Him, who is so ready to give, and has so much to bestow.