There are so many different views on the meaning of prayer. One author, John R. Rice, says that prayer is nothing but petition. He insists that prayer is not meditation or communion or spiritual enjoyment or praise or confession or humiliation; “[it is simply] asking something definitely from God.”1
Many other authors (that Rice would say are liberal or modern) seem to say the opposite—that prayer is fellowship and communion and friendship with God, and not a demand for His gifts. For example, E. M. Bounds said, “Prayer is communion and intercourse with God. It is enjoyment of God.”2
Ronald Dunn seems to agree with Rice. He wrote, “Prayer is an act. While we should live in an attitude of prayer, prayer is more than an attitude.”3
Others I have read would disagree. They would say that since prayer is communion and fellowship with God that would…
I have finished blogging through the book The Sermon on the Mount, by D. M. Lloyd-Jones. Now I am reading another of his books, The Puritans: Their Origins and Successors. Again, as is the habit of Lloyd-Jones, the book is actually taken directly from his sermons. This book is a compilation of messages from yearly conferences on the subject of the Puritans; they met in Westminster Chapel in London, from 1959 to 1978. And so, I intend to blog through the book as I am reading it. We will see how it goes. The first chapter is on the history of revival, and I intend to just put down in my words those portions that I have highlighted. Here goes.
He starts out by telling where revival has not broken out: the Roman Catholic Church, the Unitarian Church, and the Anglican Church. And he gives the reason; that they have confined the Holy Spirit.
But there was great revival in other places: Northern Ireland, Scotland, Germany. The moving of the Spirit came to America through Jonathan Edwards, to Whitefield and to the Wesleys and others.
Charles Finney was known for the way he created revival by his methods: his evangelistic campaigns, etc. It was interesting how he had sort of a formula to bring it about. Whereas others just waited for it and prayed.
With some groups there has seemed to be very little interest in revival: the Calvinistic brethren, Charles Hodge, the Plymouth Brethren, and others. They disliked it because of all the emotion and phenomenon related to it; they didn’t trust it.
Even the Puritans themselves didn’t seem to teach anything about revival.
The Plymouth Brethren thought it was wrong to pray for revival, because they said, the Holy Spirit had been given already at Pentecost. They said that nowhere in Scripture are we taught to pray for revival.
The church seems to be divided into two groups: those that are only interested in the emotional and unusual things accompanied by revival, and the group that distrust all unusual things. But they are both wrong.
The history of the development of the church is largely a history of revival.
An important point is this: salvation always starts by revival. Salvation is a work of the Spirit. And that work happens suddenly on the soul when the soul is suddenly revived.
Man cannot start a revival. It comes when God decides. And he cannot stop it either. God brings it, keeps it going and stops it when He chooses.
Conclusion
We are called above everything else to pray for revival. Let us pray for the outpouring of the Spirt of God, just as they did between the Ascension and Pentecost. Let us stir ourselves up to take hold of God.
God is at work in heaven and on earth. He works in heaven through Christ who sits at His Father’s right hand, and He works on earth through the Holy Spirit in us.
God’s work in heaven. The work of Christ in heaven is His intercession, of which, according to L. Berkhof, the following elements are found: (1) the offering of Himself as the perfect sacrifice having been completed; (2) the appearing of Himself now before God as a representative of his people (Hebrews 9:24); (3) the perpetual presence of the completed sacrifice of Christ before God—being a constant reminder of His perfect atonement; (4) Christ’s appearing before God now as our Justifier—and He is constantly reminding God that we are justified in Him; (5) Christ’s appearing before God now as the sanctifier of our prayers and our services; (6) Christ’s loving care for His people, helping them in their difficulties, trials and temptations (Hebrews 4:15); and finally (7) it is prayer for all believers: for all our spiritual needs, for protection against dangers and against the enemy who constantly threatens and accuses us, that our faith will not cease, and that we will be victorious in the end.4
The prayers and intercession of Christ is absolutely necessary, both for our help on this earth and for our completed salvation; for though His atoning work on earth has been completed, He now and forever must remind God of that former work and be our Representative and our Justifier. This of course is no problem for Christ, because He is God—He is perfect and lives forever. As Hebrews 7:24-25 states, He abides forever, holding His priesthood permanently. Hence, also, he is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
God’s work on earth. On the whole, God’s work is to get people to believe in Jesus so that they might live forever with Him; for as Jesus said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (Jn. 6:29).
Now if we were to briefly describe the work of God on earth, we would start with the work of His Son Jesus Christ. The work of Christ while on this earth was to die for our sins in order that He might bring us to God (1 Pet. 3:18). That work has already been accomplished. And so, having completed His work on earth, He returned to His Father in heaven. And there, He is working as our advocate to complete our salvation through His intercession.
But God sent another advocate to help us here on the earth—the Holy Spirit, who abides with us forever (Jn. 14:16). He is the one who continues God’s work on this earth—that of helping people to believe in Jesus (John 16:8-9), guiding them into all truth (Jn. 16:13), and dispensing grace to them whenever they need it. For He being the Spirit of Christ is full of grace and truth (Jn.1:14).
Now, one of the ways in which the Holy Spirit helps us is by interceding for us as we pray—since we do not know how to pray as we should. He tells us what to pray for and how to pray for those things. He shows us the will of God and how to pray according to His will (Rom. 8:27). He also makes us believe how necessary it is for us to pray for certain things, and then urges us on in prevailing prayer.
Here are three elements of God’s work, in terms of prayer, that we should be involved in:
1.Prayer for workers. Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest” (Matt. 9:37-38).
2. Prayer for Faith.When Jesus came into His own town, among His own people, the Bible says, “He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief” (Matt. 13:57-58). We must conclude by this that the reverse is also true—that where there is faith many works of God will be done.
In order for the works of God to be done in your town you must pray for faith. In fact I suggest that you saturate your town with believing prayer. Then, as God begins to work, you will see the power of God become unleashed causing many to believe.
3. Prayer for deliverance and victory.Satan will do everything he can to discourage us. Prayer is necessary for our deliverance and victory. When Peter was arrested and put in prison, while he was held there to be mistreated and killed, the church of God was fervently praying for his deliverance. And on that very night when prayers were made, an angel miraculously delivered him (Acts 12:6-17).
4 L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand rapids, Michigan: WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1979), pp. 400-404.
We know that the person of the Holy Spirit dwells in the heart of every believer (Romans 8:9); however, every believer does not seem to possess the power of the Spirit. Some live every day just like pagans. They don’t hear God speak to them; they don’t seem to have any spiritual strength; and they have very little power over temptation.
The problem of course is that they have not allowed the Holy Spirit to be in complete control. If we expect to live in the power of the Holy Spirit we must invite Him to dwell in every part of our life. We must give Him the throne of our heart.
There are a few terms in scripture that are descriptive of this concept of giving Him control. In Galatians 5:16-25 there are three terms used: walk by the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and live by the Spirit. From these verses Paul tells us, essentially, that if we live by the Spirit we must choose to walk by the spirit and be led by the Spirit. Also in Ephesians 5:18 Paul states that we are to be filled with the Spirit. Then in Romans 8:6 Paul indicates that we are to have our mind set on the Spirit.
If we analyze these terms we may conclude that all of them mean basically the same thing—they are descriptive of our giving the Holy Spirit control, also of making Christ Lord. And when we do that we will obtain the power of the Holy Spirit. But the process of making Him our Lord can only be accomplished through prayer.
Our prayers should be not so much for getting power, but to ask Him to fill us and control us; then when He has control in us and is made Lord in us, the result will be that He will wield His power in us and through us.
How often do I have to pray for His filling? I ask Him every day, and sometimes two or three times a day. And the reason is that I continue to sin, and when I sin I exalt myself, and thus I continue throughout the day to have a need for humility and for His Lordship.
And so it makes sense that we all must ask Him to refill us after every time we sin. Ask as often as you sin. When you sin, just say, Lord, I’ve sinned. Will you please fill me again?
Now, when He fills us and gives us His power, what kind of power is it, and what should we expect will happen?
According to Ephesians 1:19-20, it is a great and mighty power; it is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at the right hand in the heavenly places!
In Ephesians 3:16-20 we see that it is a power that will strengthen us in our inner man. Note in this prayer of Paul’s the threefold results of this power:
…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, [1] That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; [2] that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ which surpassed knowledge, and [3] that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Paul concludes in verse 20 by saying that according to this power of the Holy Spirit that works within us, He will do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think.
Yes, He will give us more power than we can imagine. He gives us a mighty power to witness (Acts 1:8). He gives us an enduring power to work and to serve in His kingdom. He also gives us the power in the inner man to rest and reflect, and to draw strength from Him as Christ dwells in us and fills us with love and the fullness of God. And it all comes to us through prayer. Prayer is the key that unlocks the door to this great storehouse of power.
Anxiety is a terrible thing. It is a state of uneasiness and worry, of fearfulness and dread. But prayer can make it all go away; when you pray God will help you to see that He is in control and that He loves you and cares for you.
When we are anxious, we think only of ourselves and of all the things we think we need. Prayer, however, will take us to God and draw us away from ourselves so that we are more concerned for His kingdom and His righteousness. The practice of prayer will help us to see that life is more than food and clothing, and that we have no need to worry about those things—since God cares for us just as he cares for little birds and flowers (Matt. 6:25-29).
If you are prone to anxiety, try to develop the habit of praying about everything. And when you pray, instead of lingering in your anxiety, focus instead on God, honoring Him with thanksgiving and praise (Rom. 1:21). As you pray with thanksgiving, taking all of your concerns to God, He will fill you with an incredible peace. Here is the promise from Philippians 4:6-7:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, is fully human and fully God. The human side of Him makes Him able to be sympathetic and merciful toward us, and the God side of Him makes Him able to help us at any time with any of our needs. What this means to us of course is that when we pray to Him we are assured of His sympathy for our needs and also of His ability to help us. Thus we can pray with great confidence, even boldness. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
This mercy and grace is God’s gift to us—it is free for our taking! But unless we choose to go to Him in prayer, and unless we confidently pray and ask for help, His mercy will not be obtained and His grace will not be found.
We all are aware of countless individuals (perhaps you) who are badly in need of help. Some are in spiritual, mental, and sometimes physical misery. Some grope around not knowing what to do or who to turn to. Many go from doctor to doctor seeking help, all to no avail. If they only knew Jesus and knew how to approach Him in prayer they would no longer be without peace.
He is the Great Physician, the greatest one of all. All we need to do is call out to Him in prayer and He will quickly come to our aid. But if we fail to pray in our desperate hour of need then His mercy and His grace will remain on the shelves of heaven. Pray, my friend, and God will hear you. Yes, you who are in desperate need, need to pray. It is the only way, God’s appointed way, that you will receive mercy and find grace.
Jesus said in John 16:24, “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.”
The teaching here is that when we ask in His name and receive the things we ask for, the result, after receiving those things, will be a fullness of joy. And I suppose you could say that our joy will come in degrees. To the degree that we recognize that God has answered our prayers, to that degree we will receive joy. The person who doesn’t realize that God has answered his prayer may have a certain amount of joy just because he has received what he wanted. But the real and full joy is a joy that comes from knowing absolutely that God has answered our prayers.
R. A. Torrey has said, “When we ask something definite of God, and He gives it, how real God becomes! He is right there! It is blessed to have a God who is real, and not merely an idea.”3 Yes, it is a joyful and real experience when God reaches down in love, and gives us what we ask for. It is the joy of experiencing His presence.
In Psalm 16:11 David wrote, “In Thy presence is fullness of joy; in thy right hand there are pleasures forever.” Though David here is mainly speaking of the joy that comes after this life, we can know that same joy now whenever we experience His presence—which will surely come to us with the realization that He has answered our prayers.
This I think is the whole point of prayer—to have the joyful realization of His presence. It is what God intended for us. Jesus said, “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly” (Jn. 10:10b). He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (Jn. 14:6). It is God’s purpose for us to have this abundant life, which is found in Jesus, and can only be gained when we call out to Him in prayer. Prayer then is the key to obtain this life—life that produces for us a fullness of joy.
3 R. A. Torrey, How to Pray (Chicago: Moody Press, n. d.), p. 16.
The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. (1 Samuel 2:4) Unless you have completely isolated and insulated yourself from the outside world (and I would not blame you if you have; sometimes I wish I could completely detach from the constant flow of bad news), you […]
God really wants us to have things—many things. But He wants us to have only those things that are good for us.
Sometimes we will desire something, and it really does seems to be a good thing; but then later, after we have prayed about it and sought God’s Word about it, He shows us that He isn’t pleased with what we desire.
Whatever we pray for we should ask ourselves these two questions:
1. Are these things going to bring me closer to the Lord or further away?
2. Will these things I desire help me to be a friend of the world, or a friend of God (James 4:3-4)?
There are many good things that God wants us to have, but if we don’t ask for them we will not receive them (James 4:2). And when we do ask, perhaps we don’t ask correctly—with the right motives (v. 3).
It may be that when we do ask for things we don’t really believe that God will give them to us, so that’s why we aren’t persistent in our asking. In other words, we may treat prayer as sort of a religious duty, or a ritualistic thing—something that we just do but we don’t really expect an answer.
My friend, God is real and personal. He is your Father. How do you ask your earthly father for things? You ask and keep asking until you get it, don’t you? And you ask that way because you know that sooner or later He will give it to you, because you know He loves you. Will not God who loves you far more give to you as much?
Sometimes, instead of believing and asking God for the things we want, we sit and worry, and we lust and envy and fight and even wage war over those things (Ja. 4:2). But if you want certain things, and if you know you need them, why not just ask God for them. He will give them to you as a gift. Everything you desire in life, if it pleases God for you to have it, He will give it to you if you just ask.
Do you need a job? Then ask. Yes, make your rounds to employment agencies and apply at various places, but you must also ask God. He will give you the job you really need, in quick time.
Are you worried about your friend who is lost? Then ask God for his or her soul. Who else will save your friend?
In all the things we desire but aren’t receiving, take these words to heart: “You do not have because you do not ask” (Ja. 4:2). Prayer is indeed necessary for obtaining things.
Jesus said, “Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation; the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41). Jesus knew that prayer was absolutely necessary to resist temptation, that without it we are weak and vulnerable to the attacks of Satan.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 that we are in a struggle, not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in heavenly places. He therefore suggests that we put on the full armor of God so that we may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
As we see in Ephesians 6:18, prayer is part of this full armor. But we should not look at prayer as just one piece of the full armor, as if to have a little significance. Prayer, in fact, is significant for the correct use of each piece of armor. Moreover it energizes the armor and holds each piece of armor in place. In the final analysis, it is our power for victory.1
Prayer, as it is used in verse 18, is not just of one kind; it is “all prayer.” All kinds of prayer, therefore, are to be used against the enemy. And with “all prayer” we are to pray “at all times.” That is, we must pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). What is meant here, according to Warren Wiersbe, is that we must “always be in communion with the Lord.”2 And this infers that we must always be drawing on His strength. Yes, we must be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might (Eph. 6:10), which cannot be accomplished without unceasing prayer in the Spirit.
Also, when we pray, we must “be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all saints” (v.18), knowing that the devil is on the prowl, seeking to destroy God’s people. We must therefore, be watchful and pray, not just for ourselves, but also for all other believers who are subject to the same temptations as we are. And when we are faithful to pray for others, God will be faithful to bless us and give us His strength.
1 Warren Wiersbe, Be Rich (Wheaton, Illinois: Victor Books. A division of SP Publications, Inc., 1976), p. 172.
Stephen Nielsen 