Hindrance to Prayer
The sermon emphasizes the importance of trusting in God's timing and not hindering His working by trying to take control through self-effort in prayer.
Charles E. Cowman emphasizes the importance of waiting on the Lord in prayer, rather than relying on self-effort, to see His promises come to pass. He highlights the need to trust God completely, even when it seems unsafe or tempting to take matters into our own hands, as our interference can hinder God's work in our lives. Cowman illustrates that just as it takes time for God to bring forth natural processes like growing a rose or making bread, it also takes time for Him to answer our prayers, and we must patiently sow, till, and trust in His perfect timing.
Text
"And he shall bring it to pass" (Ps. 37:5).
I once thought that after I prayed that it was my duty to do everything that I could do to bring the answer to pass. He taught me a better way, and showed that my self-effort always hindered His working, and that when I prayed and definitely believed Him for anything, He wanted me to wait in the spirit of praise, and only do what He bade me. It seems so unsafe to just sit still, and do nothing but trust the Lord; and the temptation to take the battle into our own hands is often tremendous.
We all know how impossible it is to rescue a drowning man who tries to help his rescuer, and it is equally impossible for the Lord to fight our battles for us when we insist upon trying to fight them ourselves. It is not that He will not, but He cannot. Our interference hinders His working. --C.H.P.
Spiritual forces cannot work while earthly forces are active.
It takes God time to answer prayer. We often fail to give God a chance in this respect. It takes time for God to paint a rose. It takes time for God to grow an oak. It takes time for God to make bread from wheat fields. He takes the earth. He pulverizes. He softens. He enriches. He wets with showers and dews. He warms with life. He gives the blade, the stock, the amber grain, and then at last the bread for the hungry.
All this takes time. Therefore we sow, and till, and wait, and trust, until all God's purpose has been wrought out. We give God a chance in this matter of time. We need to learn this same lesson in our prayer life. It takes God time to answer prayer. --J. H. M.
Sermon Outline
- The Dangers of Self-Effort in Prayer
- The Importance of Waiting in Prayer
- The Lesson of God's Timing in Prayer
- God's process of answering prayer is like growing an oak
- We need to learn to wait and trust in prayer
Key Quotes
“Our interference hinders His working.” — Charles E. Cowman
“It takes God time to answer prayer.” — Charles E. Cowman
“It takes time for God to paint a rose.” — Charles E. Cowman
Application Points
- We should learn to wait in the spirit of praise and only do what God bade us to do in prayer.
- Giving God a chance in prayer and trusting in His timing is essential for effective prayer.
- Our interference in prayer hinders God's working and makes it impossible for Him to fight our battles for us.