The following sermon by J.C. Ryle is an exhortation to Christians to pray
more often and more ernestly as God's Word instructs. It is an edifying
and
encouraging lesson.
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
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A Call To Prayer
by J.C. Ryle
I have a question to offer you. It is contained in three words, Do you
pray?
The question is one that none but you can answer. Whether you attend
public
wor****p or not, your minister knows. Whether you have family prayers in
your
house or not, your relations know. But whether you pray in private or not,
is a matter between yourself and God.
I beseech you in all affection to attend to the subject I bring before
you.
Do not say that my question is too close. If your heart is right in the
sight of God, there is nothing in it to make you afraid. Do not turn off
my
question by replying that you say your prayers. It is one thing to say
your
prayers and another to pray. Do not tell me that my question is
unnecessary.
Listen to me for a few minutes, and I will show you good reasons for
asking
it.
I ask whether you pray, because prayer is absolutely needful to a man's
salvation.
I say, absolutely needful, and I say so advisedly. I am not speaking now
of
infants or idiots. I am not settling the state of the heathen. I know that
where little is given, there little will be required. I speak especially
of
those who call themselves Christians, in a land like our own. And of such
I
say, no man or woman can expect to be saved who does not pray.
I hold salvation by grace as strongly as any one. I would gladly offer a
free and full pardon to the greatest sinner that ever lived. I would not
hesitate to stand by his dying bed, and say, "Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ even now, and you shall be saved." But that a man can have
salvation
without asking for it, I cannot see in the Bible. That a man will receive
pardon of his sins, who will not so much as lift up his heart inwardly,
and
say, "Lord Jesus, give it to me," this I cannot find. I can find that
nobody
will be saved by his prayers, but I cannot find that without prayer
anybody
will be saved.
It is not absolutely needful to salvation that a man should read the
Bible.
A man may have no learning, or be blind, and yet have Christ in his heart.
It is not absolutely needful that a man should hear public preaching of
the
gospel. He may live where the gospel is not preached, or he may be
bedridden, or deaf. But the same thing cannot be said about prayer. It is
absolutely needful to salvation that a man should pray.
There is no royal road either to health or learning. Princes and kings,
poor
men and peasants, all alike must attend to the wants of their own bodies
and
their own minds. No man can eat, drink, or sleep by proxy. No man can get
the alphabet learned for him by another. All these are things which
everybody must do for himself, or they will not be done at all.
Just as it is with the mind and body, so it is with the soul. There are
certain things absolutely needful to the soul's health and well-being.
Each
must attend to these things for himself. Each must repent for himself.
Each
must apply to Christ for himself. And for himself each must speak to God
and
pray. You must do it for yourself, for by nobody else can it be done.
To be prayerless is to be without God, without Christ, without grace,
without hope, and without heaven. It is to be on the road to hell. Now can
you wonder that I ask the question, Do you pray?
I ask again whether you pray, because a habit of prayer is one of the
surest
marks of a true Christian.
All the children of God on earth are alike in this respect. From the
moment
there is any life and reality about their religion, they pray. Just as the
first sign of life in an infant when born into the world is the act of
breathing, so the first act of men and women when they are born again is
praying.
This is one of the common marks of all the elect of God, "They cry unto
him
day and night" (Luke 18:1). The Holy Spirit, who makes them new creatures,
works in them the feeling of adoption, and makes them cry, "Abba, Father"
(Rom. 8:15). The Lord Jesus, when he quickens them, gives them a voice and
a
tongue, and says to them, "Be dumb no more." God has no dumb children. It
is
as much a part of their new nature to pray, as it is of a child to cry.
They
see their need of mercy and grace. They feel their emptiness and weakness.
They can not do otherwise than they do. They must pray.
I have looked carefully over the lives of God's saints in the Bible. I
cannot find one of whose history much is told us, from Genesis to
Revelation, who was not a man of prayer. I find it mentioned as a
characteristic of the godly, that "they call on the Father" (I Peter
1:17),
or "the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" (I Cor. 1:2). Recorded as a
characteristic of the wicked is the fact that "they call not upon the
Lord"
(Ps. 14:4).
I have read the lives of many eminent Christians who have been on earth
since the Bible days. Some of them, I see, were rich, and some poor. Some
were learned, and some unlearned. Some of them were Episcopalians, and
some
Christians of other names. Some were Calvinists, and some were Arminians.
Some have loved to use a liturgy, and some to use none. But one thing, I
see, they all had in common. They have all been men of prayer.
I study the re****ts of missionary societies in our own times. I see with
joy
that heathen men and women are receiving the gospel in various parts of
the
globe. There are conversions in Africa, in New Zealand, in Hindustan, in
China. The people converted are naturally unlike one another in every
respect. But one striking thing I observe at all the missionary stations:
the converted people always pray.
I do not deny that a man may pray without heart and without sincerity. I
do
not for a moment pretend to say that the mere fact of a person's praying
proves is everything about his soul. As in every other part of religion,
so
also in this, there may be deception and hypocrisy.
But this I do say, that not praying is a clear proof that a man is not yet
a
true Christian. He cannot really feel his sins. He cannot love God. He
cannot feel himself a debtor to Christ. He cannot long after holiness. He
cannot desire heaven. He has yet to be born again. He has yet to be made a
new creature. He may boast confidently of election, grace, faith, hope,
and
knowledge, and deceive ignorant people. But you may rest assured it is all
vain talk if he does not pray.
And I say, furthermore, that of all the evidences of the real work of the
Spirit, a habit of hearty private prayer is one of the most satisfactory
that can be named. A man may preach from false motives. A man may write
books and make fine speeches and seem diligent in good works, and yet be a
Judas Iscariot. But a man seldom goes into his closet, and pours out his
soul before God in secret, unless he is in earnest. The Lord himself has
set
his stamp on prayer as the best proof of a true conversion. When he sent
Ananias to Saul in Damascus, he gave him no other evidence of his change
of
heart than this, "Behold, he prayeth" (Acts 9: 11).
I know that much may go on in a man's mind before he is brought to pray.
He
may have many convictions, desires, wishes, feelings, intentions,
resolutions, hopes, and fears. But all these things are very uncertain
evidences. They are to be found in ungodly people, and often come to
nothing. In many a case they are not more lasting than the morning cloud,
and the dew that passeth away. A real, hearty prayer, coming from a broken
and contrite spirit, is worth all these things put together.
I know that the Holy Spirit, who calls sinners from their evil ways, does
in
many instances lead them by very slow degrees to acquaintance with Christ.
But the eye of man can only judge by what it sees. I cannot call any one
justified until he believes. I dare not say that any one believes until he
prays. I cannot understand a dumb faith. The first act of faith will be to
speak to God. Faith is to the soul what life is to the body. Prayer is to
faith what breath is to life. How a man can live and not breathe is past
my
comprehension, and how a man can believe and not pray is past my
comprehension too.
Never be surprised if you hear ministers of the gospel dwelling much on
the
im****tance of prayer. This is the point we want to bring you to; we want
to
know that you pray. Your views of doctrine may be correct. Your love of
Protestantism may be warm and unmistakable. But still this may be nothing
more than head knowledge and party spirit. We want to know whether you are
actually acquainted with the throne of grace, and whether you can speak to
God as well as speak about God.
Do you wish to find out whether you are a true Christian? Then rest
assured
that my question is of the very first im****tance - Do you pray?
I ask whether you pray, because there is no duty in religion so neglected
as
private prayer.
We live in days of abounding religious profession. There are more places
of
public wor****p now than there ever were before. There are more persons
attending them than there ever were before. And yet in spite of all this
public religion, I believe there is a vast neglect of private prayer. It
is
one of those private transactions between God and our souls which no eye
sees, and therefore one which men are tempted to pass over and leave
undone.
I believe that thousands never utter a word of prayer at all. They eat.
They
drink. They sleep. They rise. They go forth to their labor. They return to
their homes. They breathe God's air. They see God's sun. They walk on
God's
earth. They enjoy God's mercies. They have dying bodies. They have
judgment
and eternity before them. But they never speak to God. They live like the
beasts that perish. They behave like creatures without souls. They have
not
one word to say to Him in whose hand are their life and breath, and all
things, and from whose mouth they must one day receive their everlasting
sentence. How dreadful this seems; but if the secrets of men were only
known, how common.
I believe there are tens of thousands whose prayers are nothing but a mere
form, a set of words repeated by rote, without a thought about their
meaning.
Some say over a few hasty sentences picked up in the nursery when they
were
children. Some content themselves with repeating the Creed, forgetting
that
there is not a request in it. Some add the Lord's Prayer, but without the
slightest desire that its solemn petitions may be granted.
Many, even of those who use good forms, mutter their prayers after they
have
gotten into bed, or while they wash or dress in the morning. Men may think
what they please, but they may depend upon it that in the sight of God
this
is not praying. Words said without heart are as utterly useless to our
souls
as the drum beating of the poor heathen before their idols. Where there is
no heart, there may be lip work and tongue work, but there is nothing that
God listens to; there is no prayer. Saul, I have no doubt, said many a
long
prayer before the Lord met him on the way to Damascus. But it was not till
his heart was broken that the Lord said, "He prayeth."
Does this surprise you? Listen to me, and I will show you that I am not
speaking as I do without reason. Do you think that my assertions are
extravagant and unwarrantable? Give me your attention, and I will soon
show
you that I am only telling you the truth.
Have you forgotten that it is not natural to any one to pray? "The carnal
mind is enmity against God." The desire of man's heart is to get far away
from God, and have nothing to do with him. His feeling towards him is not
love, but fear. Why then should a man pray when he has no real sense of
sin,
no real feeling of spiritual wants, no thorough belief in unseen things,
no
desire after holiness and heaven? Of all these things the vast majority of
men know and feel nothing. The multitude walk in the broad way. I cannot
forget this. Therefore I say boldly, I believe that few pray.
Have you forgotten that it is not fa****onable to pray? It is one of the
things that many would be rather ashamed to own. There are hundreds who
would sooner storm a breach, or lead a forlorn hope, than confess publicly
that they make a habit of prayer. There are thousands who, if obliged to
sleep in the same room with a stranger, would lie down in bed without a
prayer. To dress well, to go to theaters, to be thought clever and
agreeable, all this is fa****onable, but not to pray. I cannot forget this.
I
cannot think a habit is common which so many seem ashamed to own. I
believe
that few pray.
Have you forgotten the lives that many live? Can we really believe that
people are praying against sin night and day, when we see them plunging
into
it? Can we suppose they pray against the world, when they are entirely
absorbed and taken up with its pursuits? Can we think they really ask God
for grace to serve him, when they do not show the slightest desire to
serve
him at all? Oh, no, it is plain as daylight that the great majority of men
either ask nothing of God or do not mean what they say when they do ask,
which is just the same thing. Praying and sinning will never live together
in the same heart. Prayer will consume sin, or sin will choke prayer. I
cannot forget this. I look at men's lives. I believe that few pray.
Have you forgotten the deaths that many die? How many, when they draw near
death, seem entirely strangers to God. Not only are they sadly ignorant of
his gospel, but sadly wanting in the power of speaking to him. There is a
terrible awkwardness and shyness in their endeavors to approach him. They
seem to be taking up a fresh thing. They appear as if they wanted an
introduction to God, and as if they had never talked with him before. I
remember having heard of a lady who was anxious to have a minister to
visit
her in her last illness. She desired that he would pray with her. He asked
her what he should pray for. She did not know, and could not tell. She was
utterly unable to name any one thing which she wished him to ask God for
her
soul. All she seemed to want was the form of a minister's prayers. I can
quite understand this. Death beds are great revealers of secrets. I cannot
forget what I have seen of sick and dying people. This also leads me to
believe that few pray.
I cannot see your heart. I do not know your private history in spiritual
things. But from what I see in the Bible and in the world I am certain I
cannot ask you a more necessary question than that before you - Do you
pray?
I ask whether you pray, because prayer is an act in religion to which
there
is great encouragement.
There is everything on God's part to make prayer easy, if men will only
attempt it. All things are ready on his side. Every objection is
anticipated. Every difficulty is provided for. The crooked places are made
straight and the rough places are made smooth. There is no excuse left for
the prayerless man.
There is a way by which any man, however sinful and unworthy, may draw
near
to God the Father. Jesus Christ has opened that way by the sacrifice he
made
for us upon the cross. The holiness and justice of God need not frighten
sinners and keep them back. Only let them cry to God in the name of Jesus,
only let them plead the atoning blood of Jesus, and they shall find God
upon
a throne of grace, willing and ready to hear. The name of Jesus is a
never-failing pass****t for our prayers. In that name a man may draw near
to
God with boldness, and ask with confidence. God has engaged to hear him.
Think of this. Is not this encouragement?
There is an Advocate and Intercessor always waiting to present the prayers
of those who come to God through him. That advocate is Jesus Christ. He
mingles our prayers with the incense of his own almighty intercession. So
mingled, they go up as a sweet savor before the throne of God. Poor as
they
are in themselves, they are mighty and powerful in the hand of our High
Priest and Elder Brother. The bank note without a signature at the bottom
is
nothing but a worthless piece of paper. The stroke of a pen confers on it
all its value. The prayer of a poor child of Adam is a feeble thing in
itself, but once endorsed by the hand of the Lord Jesus it availeth much.
There was an officer in the city of Rome who was appointed to have his
doors
always open, in order to receive any Roman citizen who applied to him for
help. just so the ear of the Lord Jesus is ever open to the cry of all who
want mercy and grace. It is his office to help them. Their prayer is his
delight. Think of this. Is not this encouragement?
There is the Holy Spirit ever ready to help our infirmities in prayer. It
is
one part of his special office to assist us in our endeavors to speak with
God. We need not be cast down and distressed by the fear of not knowing
what
to say. The Spirit will give us words if we seek his aid. The prayers of
the
Lord's people are the inspiration of the Lord's Spirit, the work of the
Holy
Ghost who dwells within them as the Spirit of grace and supplication.
Surely
the Lord's people may well hope to be heard. It is not they merely that
pray, but the Holy Ghost pleading in them. Reader, think of this. Is not
this encouragement?
There are exceeding great and precious promises to those who pray. What
did
the Lord Jesus mean when he spoke such words as these: "Ask, and it shall
be
given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto
you:
for every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to
him that knocketh, it shall be opened" (Matt. 7:7, 8). "All things
whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer believing, ye shall receive" (Matt.
21:22). "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will 1 do, that the
Father
may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will
do
it" (John 14:13, 14). What did the Lord mean when he spoke the parables of
the friend 'at midnight and the im****tunate widow (Luke 11:5; 18:1)? Think
over these passages. If this is not encouragement to pray, words have no
meaning.
There are wonderful examples in Scripture of the power of prayer. Nothing
seems to be too great, too hard, or too difficult for prayer to do. It has
obtained things that seemed impossible and out of reach. It has won
victories over fire, air, earth, and water. Prayer opened the Red Sea.
Prayer brought water from the rock and bread from heaven. Prayer made the
sun stand still. Prayer brought fire from the sky on Elijah's sacrifice.
Prayer turned the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. Prayer overthrew
the army of Sennacherib. Well might Mary Queen of Scots say, "I fear John
Knox's prayers more than an army of ten thousand men." Prayer has healed
the
sick. Prayer has raised the dead. Prayer has procured the conversion of
souls. "The child of many prayers," said an old Christian to Augustine's
mother, "shall never perish." Prayer, pains, and faith can do anything.
Nothing seems impossible when a man has the spirit of adoption. "Let me
alone," is the remarkable saying of God to Moses when Moses was about to
intercede for the children of Israel - the Chaldee version has, "Leave off
praying" - (Exod. 32:10). So long as Abraham asked mercy for Sodom, the
Lord
went on giving. He never ceased to give till Abraham ceased to pray. Think
of this. Is not this encouragement?
What more can a man want to lead him to take any step in religion, than
the
things I have just told him about prayer? What more could be done to make
the path to the mercy seat easy, and to remove all occasions of stumbling
from the sinner's way? Surely if the devils in hell had such a door set
open
before them, they would leap for gladness, and make the very pit ring with
joy.
But where will the man hide his head at last who neglects such glorious
encouragements? What can possibly be said for the man who, after all, dies
without prayer? Surely I may feel anxious that you should not be that man.
Surely I may well ask - Do you pray?
I ask whether you pray, because diligence in prayer is the secret of
eminent
holiness:
Without controversy there is a vast difference among true Christians.
There
is an immense interval between the foremost and the hindermost in the army
of God.
They are all fighting the same good fight but how much more valiantly some
fight than others. They are all doing the Lord's work but how much more
some
do than others. They are all light in the Lord; but how much more brightly
some ****ne than others. They are all running the same race; but how much
faster some get on than others. They all love the same Lord and Saviour;
but
how much more some love him than others. I ask any true Christian whether
this is not the case. Are not these things so?
There are some of the Lord's people who seem never able to get on from the
time of their conversion. They are born again, but they remain babes all
their lives. You hear from them the same old experience. You remark in
them
the same want of spiritual appetite, the same want of interest in any
thing
beyond their own little circle, which you remarked ten years ago. They are
pilgrims, indeed, but pilgrims like the Gibeonites of old; their bread is
always dry and moldy, their shoes always old, and their garments always
rent
and torn. I say this with sorrow and grief; but I ask any real Christian,
Is
it not true?
There are others of the Lord's people who seem to be always advancing.
They
grow like the grass after rain; they increase like Israel in Egypt; they
press on like Gideon, though sometimes faint, yet always pursuing. They
are
ever adding grace to grace, and faith to faith, and strength to strength.
Every time you meet them their hearts seem larger, and their spiritual
stature taller and stronger. Every year they appear to see more, and know
more, and believe more, and feel more in their religion. They not only
have
good works to prove the reality of their faith, but they are zealous of
them. They not only do well, but they are unwearied in well-doing. They
attempt great things, and they do great things. When they fail they try
again, and when they f all they are soon up again. And all this time they
think themselves poor, unprofitable servants, and fancy they do nothing at
all. These are those who make religion lovely and beautiful in the eyes of
all. They wrest praise even from the unconverted and win golden opinions
even from the selfish men of the world. It does one good to see, to be
with,
and to hear them. When you meet them, you could believe that like Moses,
they had just come out from the presence of God. When you part with them
you
feel warmed by their company, as if your soul had been near a fire. I know
such people are rare. I only ask, Are there not many such?
Now how can we account for the difference which I have just described?
What
is the reason that some believers are so much brighter and holier than
others? I believe the difference, in nineteen cases out of twenty, arises
from different habits about private prayer. I believe that those who are
not
eminently holy pray little, and those who are eminently holy pray much.
I dare say this opinion will startle some readers. I have little doubt
that
many look on eminent holiness as a kind of special gift, which none but a
few must pretend to aim at. They admire it at a distance in books. They
think it beautiful when they see an example near themselves. But as to its
being a thing within the reach of any but a very few, such a notion never
seems to enter their minds. In short, they consider it a kind of monopoly
granted to a few favored believers, but certainly not to all.
Now I believe that this is a most dangerous mistake. I believe that
spiritual as well as natural greatness depends in a high degree on the
faithful use of means within everybody's reach. Of course I do not say we
have a right to expect a miraculous grant of intellectual gifts; but this
I
do say, that when a man is once converted to God, his progress in holiness
will be much in accordance with his own diligence in the use of God's
appointed means. And I assert confidently that the principal means by
which
most believers have become great in the church of Christ is the habit of
diligent private prayer.
Look through the lives of the brightest and best of God's servants,
whether
in the Bible or not. See what is written of Moses and David and Daniel and
Paul. Mark what is recorded of Luther and Bradford the Reformers. Observe
what is related of the private devotions of Whitefield and Cecil and Venn
and Bickersteth and M'Cheyne. Tell me of one of all the goodly fellow****p
of
saints and martyrs, who has not had this mark most prominently - he was a
man of prayer. Depend upon it, prayer is power.
Prayer obtains fresh and continued outpourings of the Spirit. He alone
begins the work of grace in a man's heart. He alone can carry it forward
and
make it prosper. But the good Spirit loves to be entreated. And those who
ask most will have most of his influence.
Prayer is the surest remedy. Against the devil and besetting sins. That
sin
will never stand firm which is heartily prayed against. That devil will
never long keep dominion over us which we beseech the Lord to cast forth.
But then we must spread out all our cage before our heavenly Physician, if
he is to give us daily relief.
Do you wish to grow in grace and be a devoted Christian? Be very sure, if
you wish it, you could not have a more im****tant question than this - Do
you
pray?
I ask whether you pray, because neglect of prayer is one great cause of
backsliding.
There is such a thing as going back in religion after making a good
profession. Men may run well for a season, like the Galatians, and then
turn
aside after false teachers. Men may profess loudly while their feelings
are
warm, as Peter did, and then in the hour of trial deny their Lord. Men may
lose their first love as the Ephesians did. Men may cool down in their
zeal
to do good, like Mark the companion of Paul. Men may follow an apostle for
a
season, and like Demas go back to the world. All these things men may do.
It is a miserable thing to be a backslider. Of all unhappy things that can
befall a man, I suppose it is the worst. A stranded ****p, a brokenwinged
eagle, a garden overrun with weeds, a harp without strings, a church in
ruins, all these are sad sights, but a backslider is a sadder sight still.
A
wounded conscience - a mind sick of itself - a memory full of
self-reproach - a heart pierced through with the Lord's arrows -a spirit
broken with a load of inward accusation - all this is a taste of hell. It
is
a hell on earth. Truly that saying of the wise man is solemn and weighty,
"The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways" (Prov. 14:14).
Now what is the cause of most backslidings? I believe, as a general rule,
one of the chief causes is neglect of private prayer. Of course the secret
history of falls will not be known till the last day. I can only give my
opinion as a minister of Christ and a student of the heart. That opinion
is,
I repeat distinctly, that backsliding generally first begins with neglect
of
private prayer.
Bibles read without prayer; sermons heard without prayer; marriages
contracted without prayer; journeys undertaken without prayer; residences
chosen without prayer; friend****ps formed without prayer; the daily act of
private prayer itself hurried over, or gone through without heart: these
are
the kind of downward steps by which many a Christian descends to a
condition
of spiritual palsy, or reaches the point where God allows him to have a
tremendous fall. This is the process which forms the lingering Lots, the
unstable Samsons, the wife-idolizing Solomons, the inconsistent Asas, the
pliable Jehoshaphats, the over-careful Marthas, of whom so many are to be
found in the church of Christ. Often the simple history of such cases is
this: they became careless about private prayer.
You may be very sure men fall in private long before they fall in public.
They are backsliders on their knees long before they backslide openly in
the
eyes of the world. Like Peter, they first disregard the Lord's warning to
watch and pray, and then like Peter, their strength is gone, and in the
hour
of temptation they deny their Lord.
The world takes notice of their fall, and scoffs loudly. But the world
knows
nothing of the real reason. The heathen succeeded in making a well-known
Christian offer incense to an idol, by threatening him with a punishment
worse than death. They then triumphed greatly at the sight of his
cowardice
and apostasy. But the heathen did not know the fact of which history
informs
us, that on that very morning he had left his bed chamber hastily, and
without fini****ng his usual prayers.
If you are a Christian indeed, I trust you will never be a backslider. But
if you do not wish to be a backsliding Christian, remember the question I
ask you: Do you pray?
I ask, lastly, whether you pray because prayer is one of the best means of
happiness and contentment.
We live in a world where sorrow abounds. This has always been its state
since sin came in. There cannot be sin without sorrow. And until sin is
driven out from the world, it is vain for any one to suppose he can escape
sorrow.
Some without doubt have a larger cup of sorrow to drink than others. But
few
are to be found who live long without sorrows or cares of one sort or
another. Our bodies, our property, our families, our children, our
relations, our servants, our friends, our neighbors, our worldly callings,
each and all of these are fountains of care. Sicknesses, deaths, losses,
disappointments, partings, separations, ingratitude, slander, all these
are
common things. We cannot get through life without them. Some day or other
they find us out. The greater are our affections the deeper are our
afflictions, and the more we love the more we have to weep.
And what is the best means of cheerfulness in such a world as this? How
shall we get through this valley of tears with least pain? I know no
better
means than the regular, habitual practice of taking everything to God in
prayer. This is the plain advice that the Bible gives, both in the Old
Testament and the New. What says the psalmist? "Call upon me in the day of
trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me" (Ps. 50:15).
"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never
suffer the righteous to be moved" (Ps. 55:22). What says the apostle Paul?
"Be careful for nothing; but in everything, by prayer and supplication
with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God: and the peace of
God, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6, 7). What says the apostle James? "Is any
afflicted among you? let him pray" (James 5:13).
This was the practice of all the saints whose history we have recorded in
the Scriptures. This is what Jacob did when he feared his brother Esau.
This
is what Moses did when the people were ready to stone him in the
wilderness.
This is what Joshua did when Israel was defeated before the men of Ai.
This
is what David did when he was in danger at Keilah. This is what Hezekiah
did
when he received the letter from Sennacherib. This is what the church did
when Peter was put in prison. This is what Paul did when he was cast into
the dungeon at Philippi.
The only way to be really happy in such a world as this, is to be ever
casting all our cares on God. It is trying to carry their own burdens
which
so often makes believers sad. If they will tell their troubles to God, he
will enable them to bear them as easily as Samson did the gates of Gaza.
If
they are resolved to keep them to themselves, they will find one day that
the very grasshopper is a burden.
There is a friend ever waiting to help us, if we will unbosom to him our
sorrow - a friend who pitied the poor and sick and sorrowful, when he was
upon earth - a friend who knows the heart of man, for he lived
thirty-three
years as a man among us - a friend who can weep with the weepers, for he
was
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief - a friend who is able to help
us, for there never was earthly pain he could not cure. That friend is
Jesus
Christ. The way to be happy is to be always opening our hearts to him. Oh
that we were all like that poor Christian who only answered, when
threatened
and punished, "I must tell the Lord."
Jesus can make those happy who trust him and call on him, whatever be
their
outward condition. He can give them peace of heart in a prison,
contentment
in the midst of poverty, comfort in the midst of bereavements, joy on the
brink of the grave. There is a mighty fulness in him for all his believing
members - a fulness that is ready to be poured out on every one that will
ask in prayer. Oh that men would understand that happiness, does not
depend
on outward circumstances, but on the state of the heart.
Prayer can lighten crosses for us however heavy. It can bring down to our
side One who will help us to bear them. Prayer can open a door for us when
our way seems hedged up. It can bring down One who will say, "This is the
way, walk in it." Prayer can let in a ray of hope when all our earthly
prospects seem darkened. It can bring down One who will say, "I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee." Prayer can obtain relief for us when those
we
love most are taken away, and the world feels empty. It can bring down One
who can fill the gap in our hearts with himself, and say to the waves
within, "Peace; be still." Oh that men were not so like Hagar in the
wilderness, blind to the well of living waters close beside them.
I want you to be happy. I know I cannot ask you a more useful question
than
this: Do you pray?
And now it is high time for me to bring this tract to an end. I trust I
have
brought before you things that will be seriously considered. I heartily
pray
God that this consideration may be blessed to your soul.
Let me speak a parting word to those who do not pray. I dare not suppose
that all who read these pages are praying people. If you are a prayerless
person, suffer me to speak to you this day on God's behalf.
Prayerless reader, I can only warn you, but I do warn you most solemnly. I
warn you that you are in a position of fearful danger. If you die in your
present state, you are a lost soul. You will only rise again to be
eternally
miserable. I warn you that of all professing Christians you are most
utterly
without excuse. There is not a single good reason that you can show for
living without prayer.
It is useless to say you know not how to pray. Prayer is the simplest act
in
all religion. It is simply speaking to God. It needs neither learning nor
wisdom nor book knowledge to begin it. It needs nothing but heart and
will.
The weakest infant can cry when he is hungry. The poorest beggar can hold
out his hand for alms, and does not wait to find fine words. The most
ignorant man will find something to say to God, if he has only a mind.
It is useless to say you have no convenient place to pray in. Any man can
find a place private enough, if he is disposed. Our Lord prayed on a
mountain; Peter on the housetop; Isaac in the field; Nathanael under the
fig
tree; Jonah in the whale's belly. Any place may become a closet, an
oratory,
and a Bethel, and be to us the presence of God.
It is useless to say you have no time. There is plenty of time, if men
will
employ it. Time may be short, but time is always long enough for prayer.
Daniel had the affairs of a kingdom on his hands, and yet he prayed three
times a day. David was ruler over a mighty nation, and yet he says,
"Evening
and morning and at noon will I pray" (Ps. 55:17). When time is really
wanted, time can always be found.
It is useless to say you cannot pray till you have faith and a new heart,
and that you must sit still and wait for them. This is to add sin to sin.
It
is bad enough to be unconverted and going to hell. It is even worse to
say,
"I know it, but will not cry for mercy." This is a kind of argument for
which there is no warrant in Scripture. "Call ye upon the Lord," saith
Isaiah, "while he is near" (Isa. 55:6). "Take with you words, and turn
unto
the Lord," says Hosea (Hos. 14:1). "Repent and pray," says Peter to Simon
Magus (Acts 8:22). If you want faith and a new heart, go and cry to the
Lord
for them. The very attempt to pray has often been the quickening of a dead
soul.
Oh, prayerless reader, who and what are you that you will not ask anything
of God? Have you made a covenant with death and hell? Are you at peace
with
the worm and the fire? Have you no sins to be pardoned? Have you no fear
of
eternal torment? Have you no desire after heaven? Oh that you would awake
from your present folly. Oh that you would consider your latter end. Oh
that
you would arise and call upon God. Alas, there is a day coming when many
shall pray loudly, "Lord, Lord, open to us," but all too late; when many
shall cry to the rocks to fall on them and the hills to. cover them, who
would never cry to God. In all affection, I warn you, beware lest this be
the end of your soul. Salvation is very near you. Do not lose heaven for
want of asking.
Let me speak to those who have real desires for salvation, but know not
what
steps to take, or where to- begin. I cannot but hope that some readers may
be in this state of mind, and if there be but one such I must offer him
affectionate counsel.
In every journey there must be a first step. There must be a change from
sitting still to moving forward. The journeyings of Israel from Egypt to
Canaan were long and wearisome. Forty years pass away before they crossed
Jordan. Yet there was some one who moved first when they marched from
Ramah
to Succoth. When does a man really take his first step in coming out from
sin and the world? He does it in the day when he first prays with his
heart.
In every building the first stone must be laid, and the first blow must be
struck. The ark was one hundred and twenty years in building. Yet there
was
a day when Noah laid his axe to the first tree he cut down to form it. The
temple of Solomon was a glorious building. But there was a day when the
first huge stone was laid deep in mount Moriah. When does the building of
the Spirit really begin to appear in a man's heart? It begins, so far as
we
can judge, when he first pours out his heart to God in prayer.
If you desire salvation, and want to know what to do, I advise you to go
this very day to the Lord Jesus Christ, in the first private place you can
find, and earnestly and heartily entreat him in prayer to save your soul.
Tell him that you have heard that he receives sinners, and has said, "Him
that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." Tell him that you are a
poor vile sinner, and that you come to him on the faith of his own
invitation. Tell him you put yourself wholly and entirely in his hands;
that
you feel vile and helpless, and hopeless in yourself: and that except he
saves you, you have no hope of being saved at all. Beseech him to deliver
you from the guilt, the power, and the consequences of sin. Beseech him to
pardon you, and wash you in his own blood. Beseech him to give you a new
heart, and plant the Holy Spirit in Your Soul. Beseech him to give you
grace
and faith and will and power to be his disciple and servant from this day
forever. Oh, reader, go this very day, and tell these things to the Lord
Jesus Christ, if you really are in earnest about your soul.
Tell him in your own way, and your own words. If a doctor came to see you
when sick you could tell him where you felt pain. If your soul feels its
disease indeed, you can surely find something to tell Christ.
Doubt not his willingness to save you, because you are a sinner. It is
Christ's office to save sinners. He says himself, "I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32).
Wait not because you feel unworthy. Wait for nothing. Wait for nobody.
Waiting comes from the devil. just as you are, go to Christ. The worse you
are, the more need you have to apply to him. You will never mend yourself
by
staying away.
Fear not because your prayer is stammering, your words feeble, and your
language poor. Jesus can understand you. Just as a mother understands the
first lispings of her infant, so does the blessed Saviour understand
sinners. He can read a sigh, and see a meaning in a groan.
Despair not because you do not get an answer immediately. While you are
speaking, Jesus is listening. If he delays an answer, it is only for wise
reasons, and to try if you are in earnest. The answer will surely come.
Though it tarry, wait for it. It will surely come.
Oh, reader, if you have any desire to, be saved, remember the advice I
have
given you this day. Act upon it honestly and heartily, and you shall be
saved.
Let me speak, lastly, to those who do pray. I trust that some who read
this
tract know well what prayer is, and have the Spirit of adoption. To all
such, I offer a few words of brotherly counsel and exhortation. The
incense
offered in the tabernacle was ordered to be made in a particular way. Not
every kind of incense would do. Let us remember this, and be careful about
the matter and manner of our prayers.
Brethren who pray, if I know anything of a Christian's heart, you are
often
sick of your own prayers. You never enter into the apostle's words, "When
I
would do good, evil is present with me," so thoroughly as you sometimes do
upon your knees. You can understand David's words, I hate vain thoughts."
You can sympathize with that poor converted Hottentot who was overheard
praying, "Lord, deliver me from all my enemies, and above all, from that
bad
man myself." There are few children of God who do not often find the
season
of prayer a season of conflict. The devil has special wrath against us
when
he sees us on our knees. Yet, I believe that prayers which cost us no
trouble should be regarded with great suspicion. I believe we are very
poor
judges of the goodness of our prayers, and that the prayer which pleases
us
least, often pleases God most. Suffer me then, as a companion in the
Christian warfare, to offer you a few words of exhortation. One thing, at
least, we all feel: we must pray. We cannot give it up. We must go on.
I commend then to your attention, the im****tance of reverence and humility
in prayer. Let us never forget what we are, and what a solemn thing it is
to
speak with God. Let us beware of ru****ng into his presence with
carelessness
and levity. Let us say to ourselves: "I am on holy ground. This is no
other
than the gate of heaven. If I do not mean what I say, I am trifling with
God. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Let us
keep in mind the words of Solomon, "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let
not
thy heart be hasty to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven, and
thou on earth" (Eccl. 5:2). When Abraham spoke to God, he said, "I am dust
and ashes." When Job spoke to God, he said, I am vile." Let us do
likewise.
I commend to you the im****tance of praying spiritually. I mean by that,
that
we should labor always to have the direct help of the Spirit in our
prayers,
and beware above all things of formality. There is nothing so spiritual
but
that it may become a form, and this is specially true of private prayer.
We
may insensibly get into the habit of using the fittest possible words, and
offering the most scriptural petitions, and yet do it all by rote without
feeling it, and walk daily round an old beaten path. I desire to touch
this
point with caution and delicacy. I know that there are certain great
things
we daily want, and that there is nothing necessarily formal in asking for
these things in the same words. The world, the devil, and our hearts, are
daily the same. Of necessity we must daily go over old ground. But this I
say, we must be very careful on this point. If the skeleton and outline of
our prayers be by habit almost a form, let us strive that the clothing and
filling up of our prayers be as far as possible of the Spirit, As to
praying
out of a book in our private devotions, it is a habit I cannot praise. If
we
can tell our doctors the state of our bodies without a book, we ought to
be
able to tell the state of our souls to God. I have no objection to a man
using crutches when he is first recovering from a broken limb. It is
better
to use crutches, than not to walk at all. But if I saw him all his life on
crutches, I should not think it matter for congratulation. I should like
to
see him strong enough to throw his crutches away.
I commend to you the im****tance of making prayer a regular business of
life.
I might say something of the value of regular times in the day for prayer.
God is a God of order. The hours for morning and evening sacrifice in the
Jewish temple were not fixed as they were without a meaning. Disorder is
eminently one of the fruits of sin. But I would not bring any under
bondage.
This only I say, that it is essential to your soul's health to make
praying
a part of the business of every twenty four hours in your life. just as
you
allot time to eating, sleeping, and business, so also allot time to
prayer.
Choose your own hours and seasons. At the very least, speak with God in
the
morning, before you speak with the world: and speak with God at night,
after
you have done with the world. But settle it in your minds, that prayer is
one of the great things of every day. Do not drive it into a corner. Do
not
give it the scraps and parings of your duty. Whatever else you make a
business of, make a business of prayer.
I commend to you the im****tance of perseverance in prayer. Once having
begun
the habit, never give it up. Your heart will sometimes say, "You have had
family prayers: what mighty harm if you leave private prayer undone?" Your
body will sometimes say, "You are unwell, or sleepy, or weary; you need
not
pray." Your mind will sometimes say, "You have im****tant business to
attend
to today; cut short your prayers." Look on all such suggestions as coming
direct from Satan. They are all as good' as saying, "Neglect your soul." I
do not maintain that prayers should always be of the same length; but I do
say, let no excuse make you give up prayer. Paul said, "Continue in
prayer,
and, "Pray without ceasing." He did not mean that men should be always on
their knees, but he did mean that our prayers should be, like the
continual
burnt offering, steadily persevered in every day; that it should be like
seed time and harvest, and summer and winter, unceasingly coming round at
regular seasons; that it should be like the fire on the altar, not always
consuming sacrifices, but never completely going out. Never forget that
you
may tie together morning and evening devotions, by an endless chain of
short
ejaculatory prayers throughout the day. Even in company, or business, or
in
the very streets, you may be silently sending up little winged messengers
to
God, as Nehemiah did in the very presence of Artaxerxes. And never think
that time is wasted which is given to God. A nation does not become poorer
because it loses one year of working days in seven, by keeping the
Sabbath.
A Christian never finds he is a loser, in the long run, by persevering in
prayer.
I commend to you the im****tance of earnestness in prayer. It is not
necessary that a man should shout, or scream, or be very loud, in order to
prove that he is in earnest. But it is desirable that we should be hearty
and fervent and warm, and ask as if we were really interested in what we
were doing. It is the "effectual fervent" prayer that "availeth much."
This
is the lesson that is taught us by the expressions used in Scripture about
prayer. It is called, "crying, knocking, wrestling, laboring, striving."
This is the lesson taught us by scripture examples. Jacob is one. He said
to
the angel at Penuel, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me" (Gen.
32:26). Daniel is another. Hear how he pleaded with God: "O Lord, hear; O
Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, 0 my
God" (Dan. 9:19). Our Lord Jesus Christ is another. It is written of him,
"In the days of his flesh, he offered up prayers and supplications with
strong crying and tears" (Heb. 5:7). Alas, how unlike is this to many of
our
supplications! How tame and lukewarm they seem by comparison. How truly
might God say to many of us, "You do not really want what you pray for."
Let
us try to amend this fault. Let us knock loudly at the door of grace, like
Mercy in Pilgrim's Progress, as if we must perish unless heard. Let us
settle it in our minds, that cold prayers are a sacrifice without fire.
Let
us remember the story of Demosthenes the great orator, when one came to
him,
and wanted him to plead his cause. He heard him without attention, while
he
told his story without earnestness. The man saw this, and cried out with
anxiety that it was all true. "Ah," said Demosthenes, "I believe you now."
I commend to you the im****tance of praying with faith. We should endeavor
to
believe that our prayers are heard, and that if we ask things according to
God's will, we shall be answered. This is the plain command of our Lord
Jesus Christ: "Whatsoever things ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
receive them, and ye shall have them" (Mark 11:24). Faith is to prayer
what
the feather is to the arrow: without it prayer will not hit the mark. We
should cultivate the habit of pleading promises in our prayers.
We should take with us some promise, and say, "Lord, here is thine own
word
pledged. Do for us as thou hast said." This was the habit of Jacob and
Moses
and David. The 119th Psalm is full of things asked, "according to thy
word."
Above all, we should cultivate the habit of expecting answers to our
prayers. We should do like the merchant who sends his ****ps to sea. We
should not be satisfied, unless we see some return. Alas, there are few
points on which Christians come short so much as this. The church at
Jerusalem made prayer without ceasing for Peter in prison; but when the
prayer was answered, they would hardly believe it (Acts 12:15). It is a
solemn saying of Traill, "There is no surer mark of trifling in prayer,
than
when men are careless what they get by prayer."
I commend to you the im****tance of boldness in prayer. There is an
unseemly
familiarity in some men's prayers which I cannot praise. But there is such
a
thing as a holy boldness, which is exceedingly to be desired. I mean such
boldness as that of Moses, when he pleads with God not to destroy Israel
"Wherefore," says he, "should the Egyptians speak and say, For mischief
did
he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains? Turn from thy fierce
anger" (Exod. 32:12). I mean such boldness as that of Joshua, when the
children of Israel were defeated before men of Ai: "What," says he, "wilt
thou do unto thy great name?" (Josh. 7:9). This is the boldness for which
Luther was remarkable. One who heard him praying said, "What a spirit,
what
a confidence was in his very expressions. With such a reverence he sued,
as
one begging of God, and yet with such hope and assurance, as if he spoke
with a loving father or friend." This is the boldness which distinguished
Bruce, a great Scotch divine of the seventeenth century. His prayers were
said to be "like bolts shot up into heaven." Here also I fear we sadly
come
short. We do not sufficiently realize the believer's privileges. We do not
plead as often as we might, "Lord, are we not thine own people? Is it not
for thy glory that we should be sanctified? Is it not for thy honor that
thy
gospel should increase?"
I commend to you the im****tance of fullness in prayer. I do not forget
that
our Lord warns us against the example of the Pharisees, who, for pretense,
made long prayers; and commands us when we pray not to use vain
repetitions.
But I cannot forget, on the other hand, that he has given his own sanction
to large and long devotions by continuing all night in prayer to God. At
all
events, we are not likely in this day to err on the side of praying too
much. Might it not rather be feared that many believers in this generation
pray too little? Is not the actual amount of time that many Christians
give
to prayer, in the aggregate, very small? I am afraid these questions
cannot
be answered satisfactorily. I am afraid the private devotions of many are
most painfully scanty and limited; just enough to prove they are alive and
no more. They really seem to want little from God. They seem to have
little
to confess, little to ask for, and little to thank him for. Alas, this is
altogether wrong. Nothing is more common than to hear believers
complaining
that they do not get on. They tell us that they do not grow in grace as
they
could desire. Is it not rather to be suspected that many have quite as
much
grace as they ask for? Is it not the true account of many, that they have
little, because they ask little? The cause of their weakness is to be
found
in their own stunted, dwarfish, clipped, contracted, hurried, narrow,
diminutive prayers. They have not, because they ask not. Oh, we are not
straitened in Christ, but in ourselves. The Lord says, "Open thy mouth
wide,
and I will fill it." But we are like the King of Israel who smote on the
ground thrice and stayed, when he ought to have smitten five or six times.
I commend to you the im****tance of particularity in prayer. We ought not
to
be content with great general petitions. We ought to specify our wants
before the throne of grace. It should not be enough to confess we are
sinners: we should name the sins of which our conscience tells us we are
most guilty. It should not be enough to ask for holiness; we should name
the
graces in which we feel most deficient. It should not be enough to tell
the
Lord we are in trouble; we should describe our trouble and all its
peculiarities. This is what Jacob did when he feared his brother Esau. He
tells God exactly what it is that he fears (Gen. 32:11). This is what
Eliezer did, when he sought a wife for his master's son. He spreads before
God precisely what he wants (Gen. 24:12). This is what Paul did when he
had
a thorn in the flesh. He besought the Lord (II Cor. 12:8). This is true
faith and confidence. We should believe that nothing is too small to be
named before God. What should we think of the patient who told his doctor
he
was ill, but never went into particulars? What should we think of the wife
who told her husband she was unhappy, but did not specify the cause? What
should we think of the child who told his father he was in trouble, but
nothing more? Christ is the true bridegroom of the soul, the true
physician
of the heart, the real father of all his people. Let us show that we feel
this by being unreserved in our communications with him. Let us hide no
secrets from him. Let us tell him all our hearts.
I commend to you the im****tance of intercession in our prayers. We are all
selfish by nature, and our selfishness is very apt to stick to us, even
when
we are converted. There is a tendency in us to think only of our own
Souls,
our own spiritual conflicts, our own progress in religion, and to forget
others. Against this tendency we all have need to watch and strive, and
not
least in our prayers. We should study to be of a public spirit. We should
stir ourselves up to name other names besides our own before the throne of
grace. We should try to bear in our hearts the whole world, the heathen,
the
Jews, the Roman Catholics, the body of true believers, the professing
Protestant churches, the country in which we live, the congregation to
which
we belong, the household in which we sojourn, the friends and relations we
are connected with. For each and all of these we should plead. This is the
highest charity. He loves me best who loves me in his prayers. This is for
our soul's health. It enlarges our sympathies and expands our hearts. This
is for the benefit of the church. The wheels of all machinery for
extending
the gospel are moved by prayer. They do as much for the Lord's cause who
intercede like Moses on the mount, as they do who fight like Joshua in the
thick of the battle. This is to be like Christ. He bears the names of his
people, as their High Priest, before the Father. Oh, the privilege of
being
like Jesus! This is to , be a true helper to ministers. If I must choose a
congregation, give me a people that pray.
I commend to you the im****tance of thankfulness in prayer. I know well
that
asking God is one thing and praising God is another. But I see so close a
connection between prayer and praise in the Bible, that I dare not call
that
true prayer in which thankfulness has no part. It is not for nothing that
Paul says, "By prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your
requests
be made known unto God" (Phil. 4:6). "Continue in prayer, and watch in the
same with thanksgiving" (Col. 4:2). It is of mercy that we are not in
hell.
It is of mercy that we have the hope of heaven. It is of mercy that we
live
in a land of spiritual light. It is of mercy that we have been called by
the
Spirit, and not left to reap the fruit of our own ways. It is of mercy
that
we still live and have op****tunities of glorifying God actively or
passively. Surely these thoughts should crowd on our minds whenever we
speak
with God. Surely we should never open our lips in prayer without blessing
God for that free grace by which we live, and for that loving kindness
which
endureth for ever. Never was there an eminent saint who was not full of
thankfulness. St. Paul hardly ever writes an epistle without beginning
with
thankfulness. Men like Whitefield in the last century, and Bickersteth in
our time, abounded in thankfulness. Oh, reader, if we would be bright and
****ning lights in our day, we must cherish a spirit of praise. Let our
prayers be thankful prayers.
I commend to you the im****tance of watchfulness over your prayers. Prayer
is
that point in religion at which you must be most of all on your guard.
Here
it is that true religion begins; here it flourishes, and here it decays.
Tell me what a man's prayers are, and I will soon tell you the state of
his
soul. Prayer is the spiritual pulse. By this the spiritual health may be
tested. Prayer is the spiritual weatherglass. By this we may know whether
it
is fair or foul with our hearts. Oh, let us keep an eye continually upon
our
private devotions. Here is the pith and marrow of our practical
Christianity. Sermons and books and tracts, and committee meetings and the
company of good men, are all good in their way, but they will never make
up
for the neglect of private prayer. Mark well the places and society and
companions that unhinge your hearts for communion with God and make your
prayers drive heavily. There be on your guard. Observe narrowly what
friends
and what employments leave your soul in the most spiritual frame, and most
ready to speak with God. To these cleave and stick fast. If you will take
care of your prayers, nothing shall go very wrong with your soul.
I offer these points for your private consideration. I do it in all
humility. I know no one who needs to be reminded of them more than I do
myself. But I believe them to be God's own truth, and I desire myself and
all I love to feel them more.
I want the times we live in to be praying times. I want the Christians of
our day to be praying Christians. I want the church to be a praying
church.
My heart's desire and prayer in sending forth this tract is to promote a
spirit of prayerfulness. I want those who never prayed yet, to arise and
call upon God, and I want those who do pray, to see that they are not
praying amiss.
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