him through all of his life. Paul com manded Timothy to “continue thou in the things which thou hast learned” (2 Tim. 3:14). It was not enough for Timothy to memorize God’s Word; He must obey God’s Word in his daily living! Timothy was also reminded of the Word and not hearers only” (James 1:22a). Some false teachers today are telling people that only part of the Bible is God’s Word. These teachers are Satan’s followers, for God says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God . . .” (2 Tim. 3:16). Pray with the writer of Psalm 86: “ Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth.” July 25, 1954 Growing Through Prayer and Meditation Prayer is another important means of growth in grace. God has provided abun dant means for growth so that there is no valid reason for a believer remaining a babe in Christ. It is God’s plan that every believer shall grow toward matur ity in the Christian life. The use of the means of prayer as well as the others studied in this series will guarantee such growth. Instruction in Prayer Luke 11:1-4 How wonderful it must have been to have listened to Jesus praying! After the disciples had listened to Him on one occasion they quickly said, Lord, teach us to pray. After hearing Jesus pray, they doubtless felt that they had never really prayed at all before this. Jesus responded by giving them a pattern after which they could model their prayers. The fact that the substance of this prayer appears in different words elsewhere (Matthew 6), indicates that the Lord did not intend it to be used as a form merely, but wished to set forth certain principles that need to be recognized in all our praying such as, for example, prayer should be addressed to a loving heavenly Father. A Parable on Prayer Luke 11:5-13 In the parable before us a certain man at the midnight hour received the answer to his need because of his per sistence in pleading with his friend. Some in studying this parable found difficulty because they have tried to make out that the gruff man in the story, who was slow to respond to the need of his mid night visitor, was God. But he doesn’t represent God. God is not a gruff man. Neither does He sleep, nor is He trou bled when men come to Him in need. Lk. 11:1-13; Phil. 4:6, 7 Pointers on the Lesson
SUNDAY SCHOOL continued Berea there was an entirely different attitude. They received the Word readily. They paid attention to it. And then they went to their homes to study the Scrip tures to see if the things they had heard were really so. We need more Bereans. Can you he classed as one? Continuing in the Scriptures 1 Tim. 4:13-16 Paul’s exhortation to Timothy was to the effect that he was to keep on giving attention to the Word. He was to read it, exhort upon the basis of it, study its doctrines, preach it in accordance with the gift which had been bestowed upon him, submit the whole of life to its di rection, taking heed to every warning and admonition which it reveals. How does your life measure up to these di vine standards? Are you getting- pretty well along toward maturity? Or is your growth stunted? Interpreting the Scriptures 2 Tim. 2:15 Workers for God need to know how to handle aright the Word of God. This takes time and study. The words han dling aright are one word in the Greek. This word means to cut straight. Very likely Paul was thinking of the im portance in his trade as a tent-maker of cutting straight the rough camel-hair cloth. Otherwise there would be a crooked tent. There are a lot of “ crooked” in terpretations given to the Scriptures today because its handlers do not know how to divide the word of truth. We need to be reminded again and again of the nature, power and origin of the Word of God. It is the Holy Scrip tures (v. 15). They come from a holy God and are absolutely unique in all the realm of literature. They have power to save men (v. 15) and to fit them to be channels of divine blessing (v. 17). They can do all of this because these are God’s words (v. 16). God’s words are like a sword, only much sharper, and they open up the deepest needs of men’s hearts (Heb. 4:14). Appreciating the Scriptures 2 Tim. 3:14-17; Heb. 4:12 Memory Verse: "Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth . . ." Psalm 86:1 lo. The beloved missionary Paul wrote two letters to the young preacher Timothy. Each of these letters is a book in our New Testament. In the second letter, Paul reminded Timothy of the training in the Scriptures which he had received from his grandmother and his mother (2 Tim. 1:5). The Bible verses which Timothy learned as a child could guide Helps for the Children The Bible Helps Us to Grow 2 Timothy 1:5; 3:14-17
The thought of the parable is this, name ly, that if persistence will prevail to break down the unwillingness and stub bornness of a gruff man, what do you suppose it will do for those who wait upon a loving Father? Let us learn then the lesson of un wearied prayer. Our Father delights to have His children present their needs to Him again and again. Though at times He does not answer immediately, yet He will surely work in the lives of those who do not faint in their asking. Prayer, a Cure for Worry Phil. 4:6, 7 The practice of many today seems to be, Why pray when you can worry? The attitude of the Christian should be just the opposite, Why worry when you can pray? The wonderful passage before us forbids undue anxiety in anything, commends trusting prayer in everything, and pledges the peace of God in all things. Think of these three things as you meditate upon these verses. Lesson Helps for the Children When We Pray Luke 11:1-4; Philippians 4:6, 7 Memory Verse: "Be still, and know that I am God . . ." Psalm 46:10. For two weeks we have been thinking about growing in our Christian life. We must grow spiritually as well as physical ly if we are normal Christians. Last week we talked about growing through read ing, learning and doing God’s Word. To day we shall think about growing through talking with God in prayer. What is prayer? Prayer is talking with God as we would with our dearest friend—telling Him “Thank you” for His gifts and His blessings, and reminding Him of our prob lems and our needs. Prayers do not have to be long nor filled with “big words.” Boys and girls who know the Lord Jesus as their personal Saviour should not mem orize prayers. God would rather have them pray one sentence from their hearts than to have them say a long prayer that they have memorized. Just as the disciples asked the Saviour to teach them to pray, so Christians need to ask that God will show them how to pray. Re member that only those who are chil dren of God have the right to pray. An unsaved person can pray only for salva tion. Some boys and girls believe that they must talk to God constantly during their time of prayer. God commanded: “ Be still, and know that I am God.” Next time that you pray, spend some time just loving God for all that He has done for you. Quietly think of His bless ings and worship Him without saying a word. If you want to really grow more like your Lord each day, read His word and pray! END.
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The news about the K i n g ’ s B u s in e s s subscription contest. Many valuable prizes. Tear out the ad on page 9 of this issue and give it to your pastor. Thank you!
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