I didn't get a chance to post a "thought" last week, so I wanted to rectify that this week! This one is by Charles H. Spurgeon and has to do with prayer. Actually, it has to do with the Bible's command for us to pray. Many see prayer as an optional practice one can engage in if, or when, they choose. But the Bible sees it differently. Thus, I offer you Spurgeon's insights on the matter, which come from the book, "The Power of Prayer in a Believer's Life," compiled and edited by Robert Hall. Enjoy!
Prayer is Commanded
"We are not merely counselled or advised to
pray, we are commanded to pray. This is a great condescension to our needs,
weaknesses, and struggles. When a hospital is built, it is considered
sufficient that the doors are open for the sick when they need help. But
no order is given that the sick must enter the hospital's care. It is
thought to be enough to offer its services without issuing a mandate that
people must take advantage of them. It seems somewhat strange, therefore,
that where prayer is concerned, people need to be commanded to be merciful to
their own souls.
So marvelous is the condescension of our
gracious God that He issues a command of love without which the sons of Adam
would rather starve (or remain sick) than come and partake of the Gospel feast
or services to help cure their soul. God's own people need --
or else they would not have been given it -- a command to pray. Why?
Because we are very subject to periods of worldliness. We do not forget
to eat, or go to work, or go to our beds to sleep, but we do often forget
to wrestle with God in prayer and spend long periods in consecrated fellowship
with our Father and our God. With many believers, the worldly ledger
is so large and bulky that you cannot move it, and the Bible -- representing
their devotion -- is so small that you could fit it in the pocket of their
coat. Hours for the world, minutes for Christ! The world gets the best, while
prayer gets the leftovers of our time. We give our strength and freshness
to the ways of making money and our tiredness to the ways of God.
Hence it is that we need to be commanded to attend that that very act that should be our greatest joy and happiness and highest privilege to perform -- to meet with our God. "Call upon me," He says, for He knows we are prone to forget. "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your God!"(Jonah 1:6) is an exhortation we need to hear as much as Jonah did in the storm...
It may be helpful for some of you to find
out how often in Scripture you are told to pray. "Call on me in the day of
trouble and I will deliver you" (Psalm 50:15). "Trust in Him at all
times, you people, pour out your hearts to Him" (Psalm 62:8).
"Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near"
(Isaiah 55:6). "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you shall
find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matt. 7:7).
"Watch and pray, that you do not fall into temptation" (Matt.
26:41). "Pray without ceasing" (I Thess 5:7). "Let us
therefore come boldly before the throne of grace" (Heb. 4:16).
"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8).
"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful" (Col.
4:2). I need not multiply texts on the need for prayer when I could not exhaust
them. I have picked only a few from this great bag of pearls...
There are also times when God commands His
people to pray not only in the Bible, but directly in their hearts by the
motions of His Holy Spirit. You who know the inner life understand my meaning.
You suddenly feel the pressing sense that you must pray.
It may be that you do not at first take particular notice of the
inclination, but it comes again, and again, and again --
"Pray!" I find that in the matter of prayer I am like a water
wheel that runs well when there is plenty of water pouring over it, but turns
with very little force when the brook grows shallow. Whenever our Lord gives us
the special inclination to pray, we should double our diligence. Scripture says
we should pray always and never give up" (Luke 18:1), yet when God gives
us the special longing and compulsion to pray, you have another command that
should compel you to cheerful obedience... See to it that you use the
golden hour and reap a harvest while the sun shines. When we enjoy visitations
from on high, we should be particularly constant in prayer. If some other
pressing duty comes our way, let it pass. When God in a special
way bids us to pray by the motions of His Holy Spirit, we should obey and
pray."
It may come as a surprise to hear that God
commanding us to pray is part of His condescension (in a good sense) to our
struggles and weaknesses. He knows we struggle to pray. He knows we are
distracted. He knows other things nudge it out. He knows we have sinful
inclinations that encourage us not to pray. Therefore, out of a grace that
pushes us to do those things that are good for us, He commands us to
pray. And He does so not only through the written and recorded Word in Scripture,
but even more personally in our hearts by His Spirit. Spurgeon is right. Those
who know the Lord know that He frequently moves us internally
to pray, or want to pray, or feel we must pray, and that if we don't we will be
defying Him!
Just some thoughts to ponder, Pastor Jeff
