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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
September, 1940
information, preaching to people in our prayers—these characteristics m u s t never be allowed in our public prayers. Prayer is a mockery when it is used to thrust a dart at some one, or at some group of persons, or made the medium of condemning sin which the preacher has not courage to denounce in his ser mon. Another fault mitigating against true reverence is that of useless repetition in the invocation of the Deity. One in dividual was heard to repeat “O Lord” forty-four times in one prayer! The preacher must strive to employ a variety 6f different terms in addressing God. It is here that a study of the pulpit prayers of others will help us. The right approach is always to the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit. Arising from reverence in form and spirit is the ability to frame our peti tions in a fitting way. Prayer should rise to the same dignity of speech as exists between parent and child, which, in the ideal, is always simple and re strained. Some of our greatest preach ers confess that they owe the simple dignity and' flexibility of their language in prayer to an intimate knowledge of
slovenly, and unbalanced. . . • It may ‘meander’ and be inordinately long. George Whitefield once said of a preacher, ‘He prayed me into a good frame of mind, and then prayed me out of it.’ ” Personal Prayer Life Often the preacher’s lack of prayer fulness in private is the reason for shal lowness and weakness in the exercise of public devotions. J. H. Jowett declared: “Men never learn to pray in pub lic; they learn in private. We cannot put off our private habits and as sume public ones with our pulpit robes. If we are never in Gethsem- ane when alone, we shall not find our way there, in the crowd.*. . . If men are unmoved by our prayers, they are not likely to be profoundly stirred by our preaching. . . . I would therefore urge you, when you are in the pulpit, to regard the • prayers as the essentials and not the ‘preliminaries’ of the service, and to regard your sermon as a lamp whose arresting beams are to be fed with a holy oil which flows from the olive tree of sacred com munion with God.”
E ARE accustomed to speak of those parts of a service previous to the sermon as “Prelimina ries,” m e a n i n g matters m e r e l y concerning the threshold—a sort of in
different p a s s a g e w a y leading to a lighted room for the main performance. I do not know any other word which is more significant of mistaken emphasis and mistaken values! If we think of ' prayer as one of the "preliminaries,” we shall treat it accordingly. We shall stumble up to it. And thus our prayerful people are chilled, and our prayerless people are hardened. According to Jeremy Taylor, prayer is “an ascent of the mind to God.” Therefore, adequate preparation should be made for this holy ascfent. George Herbert’s advice, was: “Resort to ser mons, but to prayers most; praying is the end of preaching.” Prayer is a vitally important part of the service, for by its exercise the preacher leads the congregation to the throne of grace, into the holy of holies of the divine presence, there to speak for himself and on behalf of others. Hence it is an exercise requiring care- .ful thought and attention.
thè Bible. Acquaintance with the devotional parts of Scripture gives tone, color, and .an, atmosphere to our devotion. Sometimes we speak of a man’s having “a gift of prayer” as though it were something that came to him by chance. But you will generally find that any man who has this gift has steeped himself in devotional literature, until prayer has become both a habit and an at mosphere. Ordered Petitions Public prayer must be prepared for. The needs of the people, the happen ings of the week, particu lar people to be remem bered, special objects to
While written prayers tend to become formal and lifeless, the preacher will do well to familiarize himself w i t h t h e a p t phraseology in a good prayer book. On the ques tion of free prayer, James Black has some profitable things to say: “The finest prayers in the New Testa- *
ment are the cries and tears of trusting souls. . '.'As a general rule, simple souls to whom the simplicity of Jesus is dear, find in it their one means of approach to God. Free prayer a l o n e leaves Sufficient room for the working of the Holy Spirit in drenching power.
Free prayer is not unprepared prayer. A prepared heart, a prepared mind, a prepared catalogue o f needs must ever be behind extempore prayer. Prayer That Is Reverent and Fitting Light or flippant speech, contortions, eagerness to give the Almighty a little
be named—all will be before the faithful pastor as he thinks of his flock. Cer tainly the richest and most helpful prayers on Sunday are the fruit of the week’s labor and devotion. Many of our people, fresh from the battle and often sick with defeat, [ Continued on Page 356]
“On the other hand, free prayer may show as patently the defects of its qualities. For instance, it may lack any saving dignity either in language or thought. . . . It may be, and too often is, dangerously free, bordering on irreverence. Its great est peril is to be formless, ragged,
Sixth in a Series on KThe Art and Craft of Preaching 9 By HERBERT LOCKYER Chicago, Illinois f A ll rights reserved ]
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