To Whom Do You Pray?
The sermon emphasizes the importance of recognizing the true object of our prayers, whether it be God or the world, and the consequences of praying to the wrong object.
Peter Taylor Forsyth emphasizes the concept of continuous prayer in our lives, highlighting that our actions, ambitions, and desires are all forms of prayer directed towards something or someone, whether it be God or other worldly pursuits. He distinguishes between praying in the name of Christ with faith and praying to fulfill selfish desires, stressing the importance of total conversion and redirecting our prayers towards God. Forsyth underscores that every active life is engaged in prayer, either towards God or towards worldly distractions, and that true prayer requires a sincere and faithful connection with God.
Text
"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart"
(Ps. 37:4).
So far is this 'pray without ceasing' from being absurd because extravagant that every man's life is in some sense a continual state of prayer. For what is his life's prayer but its ruling passion? All energies, ambitions, and passions are but expressions of standing nisus in life, of a hunger, a draft, a practical demand upon the future, upon the unattained and the unseen. Every life is a draft upon the unseen. If you are not praying toward God you are towards something else. You pray as your face is set--towards Jerusalem or Babylon. The very egotism of craving life is prayer. The great difference is the object of it. To whom, for what, do we pray? The man whose passion is habitually set upon pleasure, knowledge, wealth, honor, or power is in a state of prayer to these things or for them. He prays without ceasing. These are his real gods, on whom he waits day and night. He may from time to time go on his knees in church, and use words of Christian address and petition. He may even feel a momentary unction in so doing. But it is a flicker, the other devotion is his steady flame. His real God is the ruling passion and steady pursuit of his life taken as a whole. He certainly does not pray in the name of Christ. And what he worships in spirit and in truth is another God than he addresses at religious times. He prays to an unknown God for a selfish boon. Still, in a sense, he prays. The set and drift of his nature prays. It is the prayer of instinct, not of faith. It is prayer that needs total conversion. But he cannot stop praying either to God or to God's rival--to self, society, world, flesh, or even devil. Every life that is not totally inert is praying either to God or God's adversary.
Sermon Outline
- The Nature of Prayer
- The Object of Prayer
- The Consequences of Praying to the Wrong Object
- Praying to self or worldly things leads to a life of selfishness
- Praying to God leads to a life of faith and conversion
Key Quotes
“Every life is a draft upon the unseen.” — Peter Taylor Forsyth
“The very egotism of craving life is prayer.” — Peter Taylor Forsyth
“He prays to an unknown God for a selfish boon.” — Peter Taylor Forsyth
Application Points
- Recognize the true object of your prayers and examine whether it is God or the world.
- Praying to God leads to a life of faith and conversion, while praying to self or worldly things leads to a life of selfishness.
- Every life is praying to something or someone, whether we realize it or not, and it is up to us to choose the right object of our prayers.