THE K I NG ' S B U S I N E S S
550
“F a th e r,” and again th ink w hat it cost God to become our F ath e r. W hat a price He paid! He gave H is Son— th e only-begotten, well-beloved! He made His Son carry all th e sin of th e world, and poured out His w rath upon Him. W hat a wonderful love it was! W hat a sacrifice He made in order th a t He m ight have children,— for “we are all th e children of God by faith in Jesu s Christ.” Now, as F ath e r, He loves to have us come and ta lk to H im ; tell Him every th ing th ere is on our h earts; tell Him w hat we w ant; ask Him to do things; ask Him to give us th ing s; ask Him to help us be good children; ask Him to help other people; ask Him for wisdom. You know how a sim ple-hearted child ta lk s to the fath er, and how th e fath e r enjoys the confidence th e children has in him, and th e pleasure he tak es in gratifying his child. Study th is re la tion, and you will be able to en ter in to the real meaning of prayer. The most eloquent appeal th a t ever reaches th e ear of God is when one comes, to Him and says “F ath e r, in th e name of Jesus, please g ran t my requ est.” To such an appeal, th e F a th e r joyfully responds. He is glorified in it. We have had a lo t of phrases con cerning prayer. We are told th a t it changes things, gets things done. Yes, and you can name a thousand things th a t prayer does, even to moving moun tains, h u t we need how to learn to he children, and when we, learn th at, prayer needs no title or exposition. It is ju st n atu rally “ talk ing to F a th e r.” PRACTICAL POINTS (1 ) Prayerlessness is a perversion of th e new life. (2 ) P ray er is a privilege granted only to the children of God. (3) P ray er is a power invested in be lievers. (4) The door to the F a th e r’s h ea rt is always open. Pass in by prayer. (5 ) The purpose of prayer is to keep
upon which is bu ilt v irtu e, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, b ro th erly kindness, charity (or, love). Here is a pyram id upon the sim plest of things— simply tru st. P ray er is a simple thing. It is “ to call fo r,” “ to w ish,” “ to ask ,” and other simple things. A little girl has given us th e best definition. It is simply “ talk ing to God” w hat is on our h earts; breath ing ou t our desires. P ray er is th e easiest th ing in the world when conditions are righ t, and prayer is the g reatest power ever given to men. It is th e most powerful weapon ever placed a t m an’s disposal. P rayer is simple because th e way of access to God is simple. The way is th rough H is Son. P rayer is a fam ily m atter. P ray er to God is to God as a F ath e r. Jesus says “No man cometh unto the F a th e r bu t by me.” “ I am th e way,”—Hie way to God. “ I am the tru th ,”— th e tru th of God. “ I am the life,”-—th e life of God. You cannot come to God in prayer unless you come by the way or in the name of Jesus Christ. God is not known as “F a th e r” outside of the family. Out side of th e fam ily he is “God,” and a consum ing fire. ■ You can see how th is simplifies things. One way. No m istaking it. I t is by the Christ of th e cross. To call God “ F a th e r” and deny th e blood of His Son, would be to blaspheme. It would be to invoke and to m erit His punishm ent. But when you have taken Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, you have a perfect rig h t to come to “ our F a th e r,” because you are in the fam ily; you are in Christ Jesus; your life is hid w ith Christ in God. Of course, if you are one of th e children in th e family, and you have been doing w rong you must come to F a th e r and tell Him so. “ If we confess our sins He is faith fu l and ju st to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Stop and th ink how easy it is to say
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker