The Secret of the Lord
The secret of the Lord is revealed to those who fear Him and pray, empowering them to see the subtleties of life and discern the eternal motives.
Peter Taylor Forsyth emphasizes the importance of prayer in discerning the deeper truths and powers that govern our lives. Without prayer, the mind may be sharp but the soul remains blind to the profound forces at work, leading to a superficial understanding of spiritual matters. Those who cultivate a life of prayer experience a transformation where theology becomes worship, energy is infused with love, work is an outpouring of compassion, and character is shaped by humility. Forsyth highlights that true mastery and fulfillment are found not in talent, but in the practice of prayer, where believers encounter the secret wisdom and covenant of the Lord.
Text
"The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant"
(Ps. 25:14).
Not to pray is not to discern--not to discern the things that really matter, and the powers that really rule. The mind may see acutely and clearly, but the personality perceives nothing subtle and mighty; and then it comforts and deludes itself by saying it is simple and not sophisticated; and it falls a victim to the Pharisaism of the plain man. The finer (and final) forces, being unfelt, are denied or decried. The eternal motives are misread, the spell of the Eternal disowned. The simplicity in due course becomes merely bald. And all because the natural powers are unschooled, unchastened, and unempowered by the energy of prayer; and yet they are turned, either, in one direction, to do Christian work, active but loveless, or, on the other, to discuss and renounce Christian truth. It is not always hard to tell among Christian men those whose thought is matured in prayer, whose theology there becomes a hymn, whose energy is disciplined there, whose work there becomes love poured out, as by many a Salvationist lass, and whose temper is there subdued to that illuminated humility in which a man truly finds his soul. 'The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.' The deeper we go into things the more do we enter a world where the master and the career is not to talent but to prayer.
Sermon Outline
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I
- The Importance of Prayer
- Not to pray is to miss the subtleties of life
- The natural powers without prayer lead to superficiality
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II
- The Power of Prayer in Discernment
- Prayer empowers us to see the eternal motives
- Prayer disciplines our energy and work
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III
- The Character of Those Who Pray
- Their theology becomes a hymn
- Their work is love poured out
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IV
- The World of Prayer
- The master and career is not to talent but to prayer
- The deeper we go, the more we enter this world
Key Quotes
“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant” — Peter Taylor Forsyth
“The deeper we go into things the more do we enter a world where the master and the career is not to talent but to prayer” — Peter Taylor Forsyth
Application Points
- Prayer is essential for discerning the subtleties of life and the eternal motives.
- Prayer disciplines our energy and work, making it love poured out.
- We must prioritize prayer in our lives to truly understand the world and our place in it.