over us and God will reward you with specific answers. Then, “be salty.” A little girl was once asked the main thing that salt did for her. She said “ It makes me thirsty.” We want to “be salty” in prayer so that they will be flavorful but above all we should desire that our prayers will make people thirsty. Thirsty to know God and thirsty to know Him as we know Him. When we pray publicly we often find ourselves in a rut. We use the same set phrases time after time. We would be insulted if someone said “ . . . use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do:” yet we repeat ourselves over and over. Sometimes when we utter the first word the people know the phrases that will follow. See if you can catch yourself in this. It makes a prayer less flavorful and it doesn’t often make people thirsty. Some people pray in public because they like to be seen “ . . . standing . . . in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.” This number is very few but you would never know it by listening to an inadvertent slip many people make when they pray. Many people pray something like this “We praise God for making this meeting possible.” It sounds as though they were praying for the benefit of the listening audience. Doesn’t it? Use the second person “ you” or “thee” instead of the third person “ God” or “Him” and it will show that you are praying directly to the Father and not to your audience. “ We praise Thee for making this meet ing possible.” It’s an easy slip to make but it doesn’t add saltiness to your prayer. One man I know has a particular affinity for public prayer. He spends a great time with his Bible and this is un doubtedly part of his secret. Everyone loves to hear him pray because he seems to stand face to face with God and he talks to Him as a friend in whom he has great trust and great love. It is impos sible to listen without being yourself drawn into that intimate closeness with God. Go regularly to your weekly prayer service, pray often, and receive rich blessings there but remember when you pray:—be short; be specific; be salty. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
H AVE you ever reached the middle of the week and thought “ I just don’t feel like going to prayer meeting?” Perhaps, because you think it’s your duty as a Christian, you get ready to go and then come home without a blessing. Public prayer and prayer meeting can lift the spirits of almost everyone pres ent if we will observe a few simple rules when we pray. Probably the most common criticism of public prayer is the length of many of the prayers. It is a thrill to speak to our God and it is wonderful to spend a great deal of time with Him—in private. If our prayer is too lengthy in public our listeners who should be saying “ Amen, Lord” instead are thinking “ will he ever finish?” When just a little girl and believing that “ amen” meant “that’s enough” I visited another church. As one of the men prayed on and on and various mem bers would echo “ amen” I was sorely tempted to try it myself if it didn’t seem to do any good. I wondered why he didn’t take the hint everyone was trying to give him. Even today as adults, if we are truthful, we often wish the lenghty individual would stop. Many people do not realize just how long they pray. This is understandable because we become “wrapped up” in our conversation with God. It’s just like the person who disputes the charges on a long distance telephone call. He honestly can’t believe he talked so long. Time has a way of passing quickly when we are interested in what we are doing. For your own experiment why not time your next public prayer? Look at your watch before you begin then try to cast the idea of time away and pray as usual. Then look again at your watch. Surprising, isn’t it? You might even add a few minutes to the end result because we are apt to be a bit more conscious of Page Eighteen
the time when we try to keep track of it. One of our first rules for public prayer then should be “ Be short.” Others will appreciate it and—perhaps —more will be encouraged to use the balance of the time for a timid short first prayer. The next suggestion is “ Be specific.” “ . . . Ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss.” You have heard so many people ask God to bless all the missionaries, and to bless this person and that person. To remember to pray for our friends, our missionaries, and our loved ones is right. Too many times we pray for our own requests and forget to pray for others. However, perhaps their needs are so great that God doesn’t know where you want Him to begin. Be specific! When you remember the missionaries try to find out by inquiry exactly what they need then ask God for it. Perhaps it’s a jeep to cover a larger area of rugged terrain for Him. Perhaps the missionary is troubled by a particu lar witch doctor who is fighting him on every hand. If you know these things pray specifically for them. Many times you will not know. Then pray that their water supply will be pure and that they will be protected from illness and wild animals. Or pray that their food supply will be sufficient, their monetary needs met, and that the hearts of the listeners that day will experience a strange and wonderful softening. For each person try to be personal and specific and then thrill as God supplies a jeep, guides the hands of a doctor, or gives you the opportunity to speak to someone you want to win to Jesus. Pray specifically for your church, your friends, those who have the rule
Made with FlippingBook Online document