ACCEPTABLE PRAYER

 

Modernized by Cliff Collins from a message delivered by Charles G. Finney on May 12, 1850, at the Tabernacle, Moorfields, and at the Borough Road Chapel, Southwark, in November 1849.

 

From The Penny Pulpit, No. 1,518.

 

“Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” – (Matt 6:10)

 

These words are part of what we call “The Lord's Prayer.”   This is one of the petitions that our Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples in response to the question “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1)  I must assume that you assume certain things. For example, I assume that you admit that the will of God is done perfectly in heaven, that God is perfectly obeyed there, and that everything there is done perfectly according to His will.  I will not try to prove this because I assume you already believe this.

 

I. Some thoughts concerning the will of God.

 

Since God is good, He must be a moral agent.  God's goodness must be voluntary.  God willfully chooses to be good. God is also intelligent. God chooses intelligently.  Because He chooses intelligently, He must live for some good and desirable end.  He must exercise His will for some good purpose.  God does not act randomly without any discretion or aim; but whenever He exercises His will, it is for some good purpose or end.

 

And so, we can look at God’s relationship to the end that he is working to realize.  If God has chosen a worthy and good end, He is a worthy and good being; but if He has chosen an unworthy end, He cannot be called a good being, because the things that God wills and does determines whether He is good or not. We cannot say that God Himself is good without looking at what he does and chooses.  God's goodness or virtue, then, consists in the attitude of His will.

 

Now, if I see that God has proposed to Himself some great and good end on which He has set His heart from eternity past; and that this great plan and goal is really what it should be: and this is what God reveals to us as an end worthy of being chosen and realized, then I can understand He is pursuing an end well worthy of Himself.  We are told in His Word that this end is to secure His glory and the good of the entire universe.

 

Next, let us look at the will of God in respect to the things that He does to secure His end. God uses his government to accomplish His end.  The government of God is everything that is implied in the movements of the universe that secure the end at which He aims.  We may examine the will of God as it relates to both His physical and moral government: how His will relates to the arrangements and order of nature. The physical universe that He created; and how His will also relates to His moral government by rewarding the good, and punishing the guilty.

 

We may think of the will of God as the will of a sovereign who does not exercise an arbitrary sovereignty over His people.  God acts reasonably according to His will without consulting any other being.  And so, we may view God's will in relation to His character, His government, the exercise of His providential government in the physical creation of the universe; and in respect to all moral agents, prescribing the law and showing us how to obey the law, and then punishing those who refuse to obey and rewarding those who do obey.  God's will may be regarded as the law of the sovereign, acting according to His own discretion, and aiming at those things that seems wise to Him.

 

II. What does an acceptable offering of this prayer mean?

 

“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  When our Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples to pray this prayer, He meant something more than that they should just repeat His words. The disciples were intelligent beings and moral agents, and no doubt Jesus intended that their prayer should express the condition of their own hearts.  Therefore, Jesus did not want them to think that they were offering an acceptable prayer simply because they repeated His words.  Jesus wanted them to pray this prayer with a sincere heart; understanding and meaning what they said.  The question that we have to answer is, "What state of mind must an individual be in and what must be implied in offering such a prayer like this to God?"

 

If this prayer is to be acceptable, it must imply that the petitioner knows what God's will is.  He must have some knowledge of the true character and will of God or he may fall into serious errors.  Suppose an individual thinks that God is selfish.  Suppose he sees God's will as being neither wise nor good; and in this state of mind, he prays for God's will to be done on earth.  Would he offer an acceptable prayer to God?  Definitely not!  In order for ones prayer to be acceptable, he must have the right idea of what God's will is.  He must regard God as a wise and good being.  For if God's will is neither wise nor good, how can he, as a moral agent, do His will?  Suppose that God's will was neither wise nor good, and yet He requires us to offer this prayer, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” - and yet, there was nothing, neither wise nor good, done in heaven.  It could not be our duty, as moral agents, to offer such a prayer.  And so offering this prayer implies that we understand God's will as perfect, wise and good.

 

An acceptable offering of this prayer must imply that we have complete confidence that His will is perfectly wise and good.  If we do not have this confidence, we cannot honestly and intelligently pray this prayer.

 

The acceptable offering of this prayer implies a sincere heart.  If an individual asks anything of God, he is required to ask it sincerely.  This means that he really desires that God's will should be done, that this prayer is according to His will and expresses the true state of His heart.  If this is not true, then offering this prayer would be hypocrisy.  Of course it follows that the state of mind that sincerely offers this prayer to God must be in complete harmony with God’s will, as far as God's will is known.  If there is any place where his will is not conformed to God’s will, he cannot offer this prayer without hypocrisy.

 

The acceptable offering of this prayer implies that we understand and embrace the same end that God embraces. That is, we really consecrate ourselves to the end for which God lives, and that we sympathize with Him in the end for which He devotes all His time and energy.  If we do not have the same end in view that God has, how can we say, “Your will be done”?

 

Unless we sympathize with Him in the means that He uses, how can we say, “Your will be done”?

 

An acceptable offering of this prayer to God also implies a willingness to be obedient to Him.  If we are not satisfied with everything God does, how can we say, “Your will be done”?  If we are not willing to let God require of us just what He requires; if we have in our hearts any objections to what He does; if we regard His will as exacting and unjust to us, we can never offer this prayer acceptably.  But suppose that intellectually we admit that His will is just.  That is not enough if our heart does not fully consent, for to truly pray this prayer, this prayer must come from our heart.

 

The acceptable offering of this prayer not only implies that we are willing that He should require exactly what He does require, but that He should require it on a condition that includes a penalty for disobedience.

 

It means, a complete willingness on our part to obey Him.

 

How can we sincerely pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” if we are not willing to do God’s will?  If we are not truly obedient to God's will as it is in heaven, according to how much, or little, of His will we know, how can we offer this prayer?  How can we offer any prayers like this prayer?  If we resist God's will on any point and in any way, we cannot without gross hypocrisy offer this prayer. Offering this prayer implies that we sympathize with the Spirit of heaven, that our hearts are truly yielded up in the most solemn and earnest devotion to God.  For how can people whose wills are not yielded up to the will of God, say to God without being hypocrites, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”?  In heaven, the will of God is perfectly done, universally done; and can anyone acceptably offer this prayer if he is not in a state of mind to completely and heartily subscribe to God’s will?  Of course not!

 

Observe, then, that the offering of this prayer acceptably must imply a present heartfelt obedience to God. The will of the petitioner must be yielded to the control of God’s will.  His will must be an expression of God's will as far as he knows it, or he cannot honestly offer this prayer to God.  I say that the acceptable petitioner must obey the will of God in whatever ways it is revealed to him: whether through Christ, through the Spirit, through providential arrangements and occurrences, through the Word of God, through the workings of his own heart and mind, or in whatever other ways God’s will is made known.

 

The heart that is sincere in offering this prayer must embrace and express God's will as honestly as it is embraced and expressed in heaven itself.  By this I do not mean to say that the will of God is known to the same extent on earth as it is in heaven; but as far as we are able to know God’s will, we must truly embrace it and obey it as they do in heaven.  Don’t think that God's will is fully known here on earth; there are many things concerning God’s will that have not been fully revealed to us, so that we cannot understand all the details of His will; but, as far as we understand it, we must willingly obey it.

 

The acceptable offering of this prayer implies the absence of all selfishness in the mind that offers it.  God is not selfish; selfishness is the will set upon self.  It puts self above the love of God and our neighbor.  The person who offers this prayer cannot be selfish. The words of this prayer imply the absence of selfishness.

 

An acceptable offering of this prayer implies that we make ourselves available to God as honestly and truly as we believe they do in heaven.  Who does not believe that every being in heaven is available to God?  It must be that every being there believes they belong to God; that to God all their powers are consecrated; and that any indication of God’s will as to how these powers are to be used is to be quickly adopted and carried out.  Who can think that anyone in heaven hesitates to do the known will of God?

 

To sincerely offer this prayer to God, our will and our whole being must be completely consecrated to Him.  A person who offers this prayer acceptably must feel that that he has no right to do what he pleases.  He must lay himself on God's altar and place himself entirely at God’s disposal.  The same is true of everything he owns.  Who doubts that everything in heaven belongs to God?  We do not know what the inhabitants of heaven have, or what they do - what they are doing, or what they are using to promote the great end that God intends to realize.  But we know this: that whatever they have or use is all placed at God’s disposal.  No one in heaven thinks of using anything to promote his or her own selfish interests.  Who believes that anyone there has his or her own private interests?

 

Now, how should we treat our possessions if we are to offer this prayer acceptably to God?  Why, God's will involves letting go of our possessions, our time, our talents, our influence, our character and everything to Him.  These must be placed into God’s hands, given to Godly discretion, laid on His altar and left there.  No one can offer this prayer acceptably without doing this.  If he would be selfish, and selfishly use anything in the whole world, he is in no state of mind to offer this petition to God.  If he is trying to promote his own will, do you suppose he is fit for heaven?  Do the inhabitants of the heavenly world act without consulting God, without reference to His will?  No, indeed!  When people say, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” does not this imply that everything done on earth is to be done at God’s disposal, just like everything is done at God’s disposed in heaven?  Remember, that he who offers this prayer to God must plan to obey Him and use all his powers and everything that he possesses for His glory, just as they do in heaven.  If he does not have this deliberate and solemn purpose in his mind, how can he pray this prayer?

 

The offering of this prayer implies that the one who prays this prayer is really and truly willing to make personal sacrifices to promote God's glory, as far as he understands what he should do.  Who doubts that in heaven they are willing to be sent to any part of the universe, or to do anything else to promote the great end for which God is aiming?  We are informed in the Bible that angels are “ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation.” (Heb. 1:11)  At any moment, they may be called to deny themselves and labor for the good of God’s universe.  No doubt they are often called, but do they hesitate, do they consider it a hardship?  No!  They sympathize with God and with Christ in His great work.  They do not hesitate to make any personal sacrifices that are demanded of them.  They are perfectly cheerful and happy in it.  Now, a person who would say, “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” must be willing to make any sacrifice that he knows is according to God’s will.  If it is plainly a matter of duty for him to do this or that, to go here or there, he must be perfectly willing to comply, or how can he offer this prayer?

 

The person who can acceptably offer this prayer is just as opposed to sin as they are in heaven.  I do not believe it is to the same degree, because we do not have the same appreciation of sin’s character that they have; but, as far as we understand sin, the person who offers this prayer is as truly opposed to sin as they are in heaven.

 

An individual who acceptably offers this prayer to God must have a real sympathy with everything God has just like they have in heaven.  In heaven they sympathize with all that is good, so the individual who sincerely offers this prayer must have intense hatred of all that is wicked, and must deeply sympathize with all that is good.  There must be as true a renunciation of self and all selfishness, and there must be a genuine desire to please God in every heart that offers this prayer, just like there is in heaven.  I am not talking about degree, because I am sure we do not understand these things as clearly as they do; but, as far as we understand what God loves, our sympathy must be as real as it is in heaven.

 

III. Our present and universal duty is to have this state of mind.

 

Every person, not just Christian ministers and professing Christians, but every moral agent is required to have this state of mind.

 

It is demanded by the nature of things.  How can people be released from this obligation?  Every person knows that he should obey God.  Everyone knows that God's will is wise and good.  Who ever heard this questioned by anyone who has a true idea of God developed in his mind?  Every moral agent must admit that God's will should be done, and that he ought to do it.

 

Every moral agent also knows that it is not his duty to do this sometime, but it is his duty to do it now.  He has no right to resist God’s will for one moment.  Are not we so created that the fact that we should conform to God’s will is confirmed within our hearts by a law of our own nature?  We would not be moral agents if we had no obligation to obey God’s will.

 

IV. The results of not being in this state of mind.

 

If we are not in this state of mind, we refuse to sympathize with God.  If we know that all of God's plans are directed toward an end worthy of pursuing God, worthy of the Creator of the universe, and yet we refuse to agree with God in pursuing this end, we are essentially saying that the good of God and the well-being of the entire universe is not important at all, and we turn our back on it even though we know that it is good.

 

If we are not in this state of mind we do not want God to govern the universe, not only in relation to the end that God seeks, but also in the means that He uses.  We refuse to consent that God should govern the universe. If we will not obey God's law we really rebel against the will of the lawgiver. We actually refuse to yield to the fact that God should govern.

 

Let me say that if we are not in this state of mind, we really refuse in our heart to consent that God should be good.  We do not want God to do what He is doing.  We are not willing to obey Him. We wish that God did not require what He requires that God should not do what He does; and yet these things are implied in the goodness of God and are essential to His goodness.  God would not be a good being if He did not require and do what He does. If we are not in this state of mind, then we refuse to consent that God should be a good being.  We don’t want God to do what He knows is proper to do.  Now just think of this, we would be rebelling against that which constitutes the very goodness of God.

 

If we are not in this state of mind, we really don’t want God to comply with the necessary conditions of His own happiness; for the necessary conditions of God's happiness must be His virtue. We do not want God to comply with the necessary conditions of His own happiness. We cannot say, “Your will be done,” because we are really at war with the holiness and happiness of God. We don’t want God to will as He does.  And since holiness belongs to God’s will and consists in willing as He wills, all of God's actions are included in the actions of His will.  When we are not in harmony with God, we not only refuse to sympathize with Him, but we also refuse to consecrate ourselves to the end for which God is consecrated. We make God our enemy.  It is as if we are saying, “Let God cease to exist.  Let Him not require what He requires.  Let Him not pursue the end that He pursues.  Let Him not govern the universe; don’t let His will be universal law!”  We may just as well go one step further and say, "Don’t let God be happy; I wish God is infinitely and eternally miserable.”  For if God is not holy, who does not know that He would be infinitely unholy?  And I tremble to say it, but who does not know that if God were a wicked being, instead of a good being, the workings of His own infinite nature would fill His mind with infinite agony?

 

What does a person mean when he adopts this attitude, that he will not consent to have God's will done, that he will not obey Him, that he is virtually opposed to God being good?  Why, if God is not good, what must be the consequences?  If God does not will as He does, and require as He does, and do as He does, He must do the opposite!  And does not sin imply this, that the sinner really takes this attitude?  Yes, it does!  People who sincerely refuse to offer this prayer are opposed to the holiness and the happiness of God, and would consent to the eternal overthrow and total ruin of God and His whole empire!  This is certainly implied in resistance to the will of God.

 

Please understand that no moral agent can be indifferent to God’s will: he must either subscribe to it or resist it. He must yield himself to it, or array himself against it!  And if he is against it, no thanks to him if there is any particle of good in God's universe.  No thanks to any moral agent who cannot honestly and sincerely subscribe to this prayer.  This person doesn’t really care if anyone else in the universe is either holy or happy!  He is opposed to all of it!  This state of his mind is perfectly opposed to all of it, and, if he were to have his way, he would annihilate all of it, and introduce his own self-centered sin and misery into every part of the universe.  How great, then, must be the guilt of an individual who has his will opposed to the will of God.

 

V. This state of mind is a condition of salvation.

 

By a condition of salvation, I don't mean that it is the ground on which sinners will be saved, that they will be saved because of their universal and perfect obedience.  But, it is a condition in the sense that, without being in this state, salvation is both naturally and governmentally impossible.  Heaven is no place for the person whose will is not in harmony with the will of God.  If that person entered heaven, he would introduce discord.

 

It is governmentally impossible for the one whose will is not in harmony with the will of God to possess heaven. God is the Governor of the universe. God's will is infinite, and where God is, His will must be the law.  In every community there must be some one mind that sways every other, or there will be discord.  There must be one will that must give law to the universe.  There must be someone whose will is universally confided in as perfect, and that will must be universally performed or there will be jarring, there will be clashing.  God, therefore, as Governor of the universe, must be obeyed.  The direction of His will must carry all minds with it.  Now, to the person who hates God's will, this would be intolerable; therefore, governmentally it is impossible for any person to enter heaven who cannot sincerely say, “Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

 

REMARKS

 

How shocking it must be for people to simply utter the words of the Lord's Prayer.  Just think of it!  While he is living in known sin, an individual prays that God’s will be done. He doesn’t know what it means. He doesn’t even know what he is praying! What profanity!  What blasphemy is involved in it!  It makes one's hair stand on end to hear an individual pray in that manner to Jehovah, the heart-searching God.

 

How shocking it is for congregations consisting mostly of unconverted, ungodly men and women, to use prayers like this one, pretending to worship God.  Yet how common it is to recite this prayer in form only; and it is often introduced into the nursery, and the children memorize it without being told what it truly means.  Why, no wonder their hearts have become hardened.  But perhaps someone will say, “If this is true, I will not recite this prayer at all.”  But I ask, what prayer will you offer?  Remember, that you can offer no prayer acceptably unless you offer it sincerely!

 

“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven.”  What does this mean?  Why, that we recognize that God is our Father.  “Hallowed be Your name.”  What does that mean?   Why, a similar state of mind as that which I have just pointed out.  “Your kingdom come,” what is implied in offering this prayer?   Why, that you have set your heart on the same end that God has, that your will is to obey His will, that you are consecrated to the interests of His kingdom.

 

Then follows the prayer contained in the text,  “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” “Give us this day our daily bread.”  What does that mean?  Why, that we recognize God’s universal providence.  “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”; not, as some say, “forgive us our trespasses, and enable us to forgive those who trespass against us”; but “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  If you do not forgive the trespasses of others, you are praying for God not to forgive you yours.  It implies, then, a most forgiving state of mind on your part.  I am familiar with the state of mind of certain individuals concerning others, and I have wondered, when they pray the Lord's Prayer, why they don’t choke on this phrase.  How many people when they pray this prayer, are really praying to God that He would not forgive them at all'?  Why? Because,they will not forgive their enemies.

 

But let us move on. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”  What state of mind does this suggest?  Why, a dread of sin, and an opposition of our heart to sin, and a most sincere yearning of our soul to be conformed to everything that is good.  “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen”

 

Now, suppose someone would say, “Why, if what you say about the Lord’s Prayer is true, I will never dare to pray it again.” Then what prayer will you offer?  Take any other prayer, and does not an acceptable offering of that prayer mean that you agree with God, and that you will submit to all His will?  Can you expect God to hear and answer your prayer if you are not in an obedient state of mind?  Why, if you expect Him to hear and answer you while you refuse to obey Him, you better look at this passage in Proverbs, which says, “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination.” (Prov 28.9)

 

“Well,” you might say, “if this is true, it’s useless for a sinner to pray.”  What do you mean by that?  It’s useless for a sinner to pray?   Certainly, it is useless for a sinner to lie to God and mock Him.  Do you ask me if I prohibit sinners praying?  I say, no!  But I want to prevent them from being hypocrites.  Let them pray, but let them cease to be sinners, and submit themselves to the will of God.  They should consecrate themselves to God at once.  It is their duty.  Don’t say, “I will not pray because I am a sinner!”  You have no business being a sinner!  “My will is not in a right state,” you say.  But why isn’t it in a right state?  The sinner must pray on pain of eternal death, but he has no right to tell lies to God.  He must be sincere and honest with God.  Is it difficult for people to be honest and sincere?  Is it impossible?  Never discourage any individual from praying; and never encourage him to pray with a heart that is wicked and rebellious against God.  The truth is, men ought to know that the Law of God and the truth that resides in their own minds requires them to completely submit to the will of God on pain of eternal death.

 

It is easy to see, from what has been said, that a great many individuals offer the Lord's Prayer and other prayers, and let others do the will of God.  They pray, “Your will be done” but they want others to do this will.

 

No one should be in such a state of mind that they offer this prayer while they question their own sincerity. “Am I really willing that God's will should be done?  Do I really do it?”  But in an acceptable offering of this prayer, we are in a state in which we really do all we know of our duty.  By a necessary law, if our will is right, our outward life will correspond.

 

There is a lot of carelessness among people today as to what they really say in prayer. They begin, and ramble on, without even thinking that God requires truth in the heart.  They often say many things that are not true.  They verify what the Lord says, “Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, and they lied to Him with their tongue.”  (Ps 78:36)

 

When individuals do not have an honest state of mind, they don’t have true peace.  When their wills are not under the control of God's will, and while they are not devoted to Him, many things are continually occurring to agonize them and destroy their peace of mind!  But when individuals yield up their wills to the will of God, they breathe an atmosphere of love, and live in profound peace and tranquility.

 

When people are in this state of mind, and regard everything as an expression in some sense of God's will, how easily God's will rests on them!

 

Much that is prayed today is only an expression of self-will.  Let me mention a case that happened several years ago in the western part of the State of New York.  A gentleman of high standing, intelligent and influential, became very annoyed by the minister of the church where he usually attended, because he told his congregation that they were not willing to become Christians. The man to whom I refer insisted that he was willing that he had long been willing to become a Christian.  His wife said that she had never seen him so irritated before about anything.

 

The minister kept telling his congregation that they were not Christians because they were not willing to become Christians.  But this man was obstinate in affirming that he knew that he was willing to become a Christian, and would anybody deny that he knew the state of his own conscience?  He went home in this state of mind one evening, and in the morning his mind was so weighed down that he sought relief by going in a place alone to pray.  He kneeled down to pray, but found that he could not pray; he could not think of anything that he really wanted to say.  It occurred to him to say the Lord's Prayer.  The moment he opened his mouth to say, “Our Father,” he stopped to consider.  “Do I recognize God as my Father?”  He stopped and trembled to say it. “Hallowed be thy name.”  No, that is not the expression of my heart.  “Thy kingdom come”" was the next petition, and he suddenly became aware that he never wanted the kingdom of God to come, that he had never lived to promote it, and was not promoting it now.  Then he came to the next prayer, “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”  He paused for a moment, and the question gripped his soul, “How is God's will done in heaven?  Am I willing that it should be done in earth?  Am I willing to do it myself?”  As these questions came over him, he saw for the first time what it meant to be a Christian.  He now saw that to be a Christian meant that his heart should be consecrated to God, that he should fully obey God's will.  He felt that he did not do that; that he never had done that; that never, by his own will, had the will of God governed him.

 

He continued on his knees, and the perspiration poured down his face because he was in such agony of soul.  He now knew that what the minister had said was true, and the question came up, “Why am I not willing to be a Christian?”  He felt there was no reason why he should not, and he no longer had any excuses for refusing any longer.  If he was not willing to do as he ought, then he deserved to go to hell, and he should be willing to go and suffer the consequences; that he should be sent there. He could not object.  He had no excuse.  He himself said, “I gathered up all my soul and energies, and rose up with all my strength, and cried at the top of my voice, ‘Thy will be done.’  I know that my will departed with my words; and suddenly, such a great calm came over me that I could never express it.  An indescribable deep peace instantly took possession of me.  It seemed as if everything was changed and my whole soul now justified God.”  

 

Let me say, dearly beloved, when you leave here, can you go home and kneel before your Maker and say, “O my God, let your will be done in earth as it is in heaven, require just what You do, require from me whatever You will. O God, my whole being cries out, let your will be universally done in earth as it is in heaven?”  Or maybe you can’t say that?  You should be able to say it, and be honest saying it; but if you have never said it, let me ask you to say it right now.  If you have never found peace before, you shall finally know what it means to go to bed in peace. You will know that the peace of God is a peace that passes all understanding, and you will drink of the river of His pleasures. Do not rest until the attitude of your mind is to do all of the will of God. 

 

Those who maintain a living conversation with God know many things they never tell anyone, and often they are better off not saying anything.  When I was a young convert, I knew an elderly lady whose piety and prayer seemed to me quite extraordinary.  I did not feel like saying much in her presence; there was something in her presence that struck me as remarkable.  We began to discuss the subject of sanctification, and one day when we met, she said, “Charles, take care what you do! Don't do things you’ll be sorry for afterwards.”  A son of hers became a Christian and was astonished at the manifestations of his mother's piety.  She prayed for him long and most earnestly.  When, after a long time, his eyes were opened, she said, “I did not tell anybody my experiences, but in fact, I have not known condemnation for over thirty years.  In all this time I am not aware that I have committed one known sin.  My soul has enjoyed an interrupted communion with God, and constant access to His mercy seat in prayer.” 

 

Prayer is the great secret of ministerial success.  Some think this secret lies in talent or in tact; but this is not true. A man may know all human knowledge, but without prayer, what can he do?  He cannot move and control men's hearts.  He cannot accomplish anything unless he lives in agreement and open-faced communion with God.  Only in prayer can he be mighty through God to win souls to Christ.  I am not minimizing the importance of learning and the knowledge of God.  But prayer and its power are much greater and more effective.  Here lies the great mistake of theological seminaries and gospel ministers.  They put too much stress on learning, and genius, and talents; and they fail to truly appreciate the importance of much prayer.  How much better off they would be if they began every day bathing their souls in God's presence!  Let them rely first of all, on God who works mightily in His praying servants through His Spirit given to them; and, as to resources, let them estimate above all other means, prayer; prayer that is abundant, devout, earnest, and full of living faith. Such a course would effectively correct of one of the most prevalent and perilous mistakes of this age.