O ne of the first lessons of our Lord in His school o f prayer was: not to be seen of men. Enter thy inner chamber; be alone with the Father. W hen He has thus taught us that the m e a n i n g of prayer is personal, individual con tact with God, He comes w ith a second lesson: you have need not on ly of secret solitary but also of public united prayer. And he gives us a very special promise for the united prayer o f two or three who agree in what they ask. As a tree has its root hidden in the ground and its stem growing up into the sunlight, so prayer needs equally fo r its full development the hidden secrecy in wh ich the soul meets God alone and the public fellowship with those who find in the name of Jesus their common meeting-place. The reason w hy this must be so is plain. The bond that unites a man to his fellow-men is no less real and close than that wh ich unites him to God: he ■is one with them. Grace renews not alone our relation to God but to man too. W e not on ly learn to say “ M y Father,” hut “ Our Father.” Nothing would be more unnatural than that the children of a fam ily should always meet their father separately, hut never in the united expression of their desires or their rlove. Believers are riot on ly members of one fam ily, hut even of one body. Just as each member of the body depends on the other and the full action of the spirit dwelling in the body' depends on the union and co operation o f all, so Christians can not reach the full blessing God is ready to bestow through His Spirit, but as they seek and receive it in fellowship with each other. It is in the union and fellowship of believ ers that the Spirit can manifest its full power. It was to the hundred and twenty continuing in one place together and praying with one ac cord, that the Spirit came' from the throne o f the glorified Lord. The marks o f true united prayer are given us in these words o f our Lord. The first is agreement as to the thing asked. There must not on ly be generally the consent to agree with anything another may ask: there must be' some special
thing, matter of distinct united de sire; the agreement must be, as all prayer, in spirit and in truth. In such agreement it w ill become very clear to us exactly what we are ask ing whether we m ay confidently ask according to God’s w ill and whether we are ready to believe that we have received what we ask. Gathering in His Name The second mark is the gathering in, or into, the name of Jesus. Here our Lord teaches us that the name must be the center o f union to which believers gather, the bond o f union that makes them one, just as a home contains and unites all who are in it. “ The name o f the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous run neth into it, and is safe.” That name is such a reality to those who understand and believe it, that to meet within it is to have Himself present. The love and un ity o f His disciples have to Jesus infinite at traction: “ Where two or three are gathered in m y name, there am I in the midst of them.” It is the liv ing presence of Jesus, in the fellow ship of His loving, praying disci ples, that gives united prayer its power. The third mark is, the sure an swer: “ It shall be done for them of m y Father.” A prayer meeting for maintaining religious fellowship or seeking our own edification may have its use; this was not the Sav iour’s view in its appointment. He meant it as a means o f securing special answer to prayer. A prayer meeting without recognized answer to prayer ought to be an anomaly. W hen any one of us have distinct desires in regard to which we feel too weak to exercise the needful faith, we ought to seek strength in the help of others. In the un ity o f faith and of love and of the Spirit, the power of the name and the presence of Jesus acts more freely and the answer comes more surely. The mark that there has been true united prayer is the fruit, the an swer, the receiving o f the thing we have asked: “ I say unto you . . . it shall be done for them o f m y Father who is in heaven.” What an unspeakable privilege this of united prayer is and what a power it might be. If the believing
husband and w ife knew that they were joined together in the name of Jesus to experience His presence and power in united prayer (1 P e t.); if f r i e n d s b e l i e v e d what m ighty help two or three praying in concert could give each other; if in every prayer meeting the com ing together in the name, the faith in the presence, and the expectation o f the answer stood in the fore ground— O who can say what bless ing might come to, and through, those who thus agreed to prove God in the fulfillment of His promise. In the Apostle Paul we see very distinctly what a reality his faith in the power o f united prayer was. To the Romans he writes ( 15 :30) : “ I beseech you, brethren, by the love of the Spirit, that ye strive to gether with me in your prayer to God for me.” He expects in answer to be delivered from his enemies and to he prospered in his work. To the Corinthians (2 Cor. 1: 11 ), God “ . . . w ill still deliver us . . . ye also helping together on our behalf by you r supplication” ; their prayer is to have a real share in his deliver ance. To the Ephesians he ‘Writes: “ W ith all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit for all the saints and on m y behalf, that utterance m ay he giveri unto me.” His power and success in his ministry he makes to depend on their prayers. W ith the Philippians ( 1: 19 ) he expects that his trials will turn to his salvation and the progress o f the gospel “ through your supplication and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. . . . ” T o the Colossians ( 4 :3 ) he adds to the injunction to continue steadfast in prayer: “ W ithal praying for us also, that God m ay open unto us a door for the word . . . .” And to the Thessalonians (2 Thes. 3 : 1 , 2 ) he writes: “ Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word o f the Lord may run and be glorified . . . and that we m ay be delivered from unrea sonable . . . men.” It is everywhere evident that Paul felt himself the member of a body, on the sympathy and cooperation of which he was dependent, and that he counted on the prayers of the churches to gain for him, what otherwise might not be given. The prayers o f the church were to him as real a factor in the
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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