ing noble petitions on behalf of missionaries! To run through a prayer list with its various peti tions each morning as a matter of routine is useless, if not an ef frontery to God! It almost bord ers on vain repetitions. It is value less to pray for the pigmies in Africa when we are not really burdened for those pigmies! You are not really praying until you can voice petitions with a sincere sense o f urgent need and deep concern. Until you can do this, you are only deceiving yourself; you are not engaging in New Testa ment prayer! I am persuaded that many (if not most) Christians would be far better off to tear up their sweet pious little prayer lists, take a fresh piece of paper and write four words upon it: “Lord, burden my heart!” May be, in addition, they might write: “Lord, open my eyes to significant needs.” Then let that believer keep crying out to God for a burdened heart until he can really get con cerned about significant issues. The New Testament knows noth ing o f simply mouthing insincere and unconcerned petitions. Real prayer is from a vortex o f crisis which evokes specific, sincere, and earnest petitions. Prayer prompt ed by such a burdened heart will persist — will keep asking — will keep knocking day after day. To that one who does urgently persist the Lord gives the prom ise: “ For everyone that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knock- eth it shall be opened” (Luke 11: 10). To strengthen f u r t h e r a promise, the Lord uses the ana logy of human fathers. Just as an earthly father can be trusted not to deceive his small children by giving stones for bread or ser pents for fish (Luke 11:11, 12), so much more we can trust our Heavenly Father to give “ good things” (Matt. 7:11) to those who fervently and persistently peti tion Him. Thus in the strongest possible language we are told categorically that earnest, urgent persistent prayer will produce re sults. If we keep knocking, the
voiced to the Father. Crisis per vades almost every prayer setting in the earthly life and teachings of Jesus. So intense was the crisis, so desperate the situation, that the objections from the neighbor within did not stop the persistent cry for assistance. A man in real trouble will not only be bold, des perate, and urgent in his petitions but he will persist! This is pre cisely how Christ always taught us to voice petitions to the Fa ther! In another parable (Luke 18 :l-8 ) , the Lord pictured prayer under the analogy of a desperate widow pleading before an unjust judge. Though rebuffed repeat edly in her petition, she kept hounding the judge until over whelmed by the sheer weight of her persistence, the judge was persuaded to grant her request. Under such an analogy Christ taught that persistency in petition was necessary in effective prayer. However, p e r s i s t en t asking must never be confused with vain repetition. Ch r i s t taugh t the former but condemned the latter. His criticism was never against repeating petitions as such, but against vain repetitions. Indeed Christ Himself repeated the same petition in almost identical lan guage three times in the Garden of Gethsemane. Vain repetitions involve the false notion that God will be heard by much speaking: that the very act o f repeating a request is itself meritorious. On the other hand, importunate peti tion is vastly different, prompted by the very burden of the heart; it is driven by the force of an al most overpowering sense o f ur gency which must continue to cry out repeatedly day after day! Thus it was with the widow be fore the judge; thus it was with the man petitioning his neighbor at midnight! Hence, Christ set forth prayer in graphic terms of driving, ear nest, sincere, almost desperate petition. This is hardly the picture that comes to mind in the familiar hymn Sweet Hour o f Prayer. It becomes evident that we are not really praying simply by mouth
door will open; if we keep asking, we will receive! The effectual fer vent prayer of a righteous man is indeed a potent, powerful force (James 5:16). Perhaps a word needs to be said with regard to the way in which the F a th e r answers persistent petition. It might be construed from certain statements of Christ that any and all petitions will be granted if one is simply persis tent. Does not Christ promise that “ everyone that asketh receiveth?” But the seemingly unqualified na ture o f this promise must not be isolated from its context. In this case the s e em in g ly unqualified promise is limited by the state ment in Matthew 7:11: “ How much more shall your Heavenly Father give good things to them that ask Him?” The giver is your Heavenly Father, the One who knows what is best. He will not respond in a capricious manner to the request of His children. He knows our needs far better than we, and should we ask for harm ful things, He will respond to the fervent petition but not with the harmful thing, but with good things. He does not give just any thing but “ good things” to them that ask Him. Implied also in this concept of asking and expecting our “ Fa ther” to supply “ good things” is the idea of petitioning with child like submissive trust! When a child petitions a father, it is in complete confidence in the par ent’s person. This involves trust not only in the father’s ability to provide the need, but also in his love and wisdom to provide only those things which are in the trusting c h i l d ’ s best interests. Childlike submissive faith says in effect, “ Father, from my limited vantage point it looks as though I need this particular thing and I haven’t the slightest doubt as to your ability to supply this need, but, Father, I also have confidence that you are all-wise and loving and I want the final decision to rest with you.” This is the same kind o f faith that caused Christ to say, “ Father let this cup pass
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