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March 1928
T h e
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bers of the Body by- the same faithful speaking of the Word o f the Lord. G od ’ s P rotecting H edge “ To the law and to the testimony” must be the cry. The “ hedge” o f God’s protection around His Church and each believer is His “ law,” His Word. By deviating from it, there is a “ gap” or “ breach” , made in the “ fence” through which the enemy can rush in, and once within, can play havoc among the saints from within! The “ fence” is made up again by obedience to the “ W ord” and by the expulsion o f the foe through the repairing of the “ breaches” made among the saints by the reuniting o f one with another. This in truth is the vital work just now. “ Schism” in the Body o f Christ— the actually joined mem bers o f the Body—must cause suffering to the Risen Head. If He is leading His Church on into fulness o f victory, He will f ulfil His purpose, but He will do it the more quickly if the members of the Body wait for each other, and ad vance in harmony and unity o f life. Let the separator, Satan, be expelled from among the “ saints” by each one repairing the “ breach” which is the nearest, and then let there be a return to obedience to the simple Word o f God, and the “ fence” of His Presence will again be set up around His people, to cause them to stand unshaken in the battle. “ Thou shalt be called thé Repairer o f the breach . . . if . . . not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words” . . . (Isa. 58:12, 13). The Repairer o f the Breach! Let us covet earnestly this great gift. “Moses His chosen stood before Him in the breach” . . . Let us thus stand with our great High Priest within the veil for His people, and fill up the “ gap” in the fence by our intercession, until Satan is de feated in his aim. It has been a source o f great blessing to learn some thing o f the fulness o f this great truth, but it was first brought to our attention by a blatant case o f some one starting a prayer addressed to “ God, our Father who art in heaven,” and after a few sentences remarking, “ God wants us to do our best,” and then later saying, “ Jesus, we want to do Thy will.” T h e A ddress of P rayer Here is a prayer addressed in three directions, thus showing an utter absence of realization that prayer ad dressed to God in the first place, should continue to be addressed to Him unto the very end. Jesus said: “ Pray, the Father.” Prayer addressed to Jesus should continue to be so addressed to Him unto the end, though Jesus has indi cated that praying to Him is not the highest form of prayer. But, to speak to the people while supposedly praying to God or Jesus as in the case cited above, is to do that which, if done to a man or woman, would insult them and rightly, so, for we have no right to be speaking to some-
around His spiritual Israel, and through the “ gaps” thus made the enemy ,is rushing-into the very midst of God’s people, causing “ breaches” among them in an hour when- “ no schism in the Body” is of the greatest importance to the Lord. Now, as in the old dispensation, “ they are not all Israel which are of Israel,” and not all are o f the Body o f Christ who profess the name of Christ. “ Breaches” among professing children of God are sad, but they do not affect vitally the current o f life flowing from the Risen Head to the members of the Body. But a “ breach” amongst the members who have heen “ knjt together through every joint o f the supply” means a break in the “ fence” o f God’s protecting presence around His people, which permits the entry o f the foe. “ How to heal the breaches in His Body seems to me the most vital question of the day,” writes a worker from India, and this is the work o f the “ prophets” and “ priests” set by the Lord in His Church at this time (1 Cor. 12:28). Each member of the Body o f Christ can go up into the “ gap,” repairing the “ breach” by earnestly seeking the unity o f truth at this time, and every ihtercessor can “ stand in the gap” before the Lord for the Church of Christ, holding up “ holy hands without wrath and doubt ing.” But the “ breaches” in the Body o f Christ cannot be repaired by saying “ Peace” when it is not peace. It is peace based on truth that alone will build together the Body o f Christ as a solid wall against the hosts of dark ness, “H e that hath My Word, let him speak M y Word faithfully. What is the straw to the wheat? saith the L o rd ” Faithful speaking o f the truth of God was the way God desired the prophets to “make up the fence” in Israel. And the “ fence” of God’s presence around His people will be made up; the unhindered current of divine power will be set flowing again through the mem f r is frequently stated that the Word o f God is the bread o f life to the soul, and rightly so, but it is equally true that prayer is the atmosphere o f the soul. Living without eating is impossible and so |pL also is soul life impossible apart from feeding •*-*-■*• on the Word of God. Just as important is the need for fresh air breathed into the body for the main tenance o f healthy life, but even more sc? is the need of prayer breathed into and out of the soul for its spiritual health and well being. But if prayer is to mean all it should, it must be recog nized as an act of approach to God, who is in full personal accord with our coming, having invited us to “ Call unto Me and I will answer thee” and that in’ so coming we should make our approach in full recognition of who and what God is and come in a true spirit of thoughtful wor ship. I f thè question were asked of any true believer, who knew the New Testament teaching about prayer, as to the right manner of doing it, he would agree that prayer is to be offered to the Father, in the name o f the Son and by the inspiration and aid of the Holy Spirit. See Rom. 8:26, 27.
■i!fc J1&.' s/ua m ü m To Whom Should We Pray? B y R ev . O liv er M. F letch er ( Floral Park, N . Y .)
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