King's Business - 1919-11

THE K I NG ’ S B U S I N E S S 993 cerned, operates only in accordance with certain well-defined spiritual laws. Prayer was never designed to roam at large in this otherwise law- governed universe. The unregenerate person has no ground of approach to God, except he come with the prayer of Lk. 18:13. See Jno. 9:31. No one can get audience except they come on the ground of Christ’s acceptability with the Father and their acceptability “ in Him.” To come to God “ in His name” implies relationship and surrender to His interests. (T Jno. 5H3-18). For any man to assume to pray, expecting an answer while ignoring the blood of Christ shed for his redemption, (Heb. 10:19-22) is an insult to a Holy God, who can only pronounce such a prayer an abomination (Prov. 15:8). Neither can a saved person come rashly into the presence of God (Eccl. 5:2). He cannot really pray at all without a faith firmly fixed on the promises (Rom. 4 :20-21) or without looking to the Holy Spirit to form and lead out his desires. (Eph. 6:18). True prayer is not born on earth, but in heaven. It is the Holy Spirit who moves to real prayer (Jude 20; Rom. 8:26-27) and all other prayer is of the flesh and without avail (Phil. 3:3). Those who pray “ in the Spirit” echo the will of God. True prayer is not an effort to change the will of God (1 Jno. 5:14). When a Spirit-wrought prayer comes into the presence of God through a perfect Intercessor, it cannot fail to bring an answer. What is implied by “ praying in the Spirit” ? It means a willingness to put away any revealed sin (Psa. 66:18). It means an obedient heart (1 Jno. 3:22) an abiding heart (Jno. 15:7) a humble heart (Psa. 10:17) a forgiving heart (Eph. 4:32; Mk. 11:25) a thankful heart (Phil. 4 :6-7). Prayer is something far different than “ the soul’s sincere desire” as the poets call it. Wishes help to prepare the heart for prayer, but there is no true prayer until those wishes become the petitions of a yielded child to his Father. Someone has said: “ The power of prayer does not lie in arithmetic, how many—nor in its rhetoric, how eloquent—nor in its geometry, how long—nor in its music, how sweets—nor in its logic, how argumentative— nor in its method, how orderly, but in right relationship to God through Jesus Christ.”—K. L. B. STILL Seeking toMake Monkeys ofUs It is not strange that many young Christians are from time to time disturbed because of such items as the following : An expedition which since December, 1916, has been in the French African Congo, the same region explored by the Roosevelt scientific expedition, has lately returned, bringing four tons of specimens which will be placed in the Smith­ sonian institution at Washington. Among the most interesting specimens in the collection is an ape, about the size of a man, which is regarded as nearest the “missing link” between the apes and the human family that has ever been found. The animal was lured within rifle range by imitating the cry of the female ape, something like “Hoohoo!” Prof. R. L. Garner, head of the expedition, made a special study of the so-called language of apes in the jungle but, according to statements of R. Aschemeir, a member of the expedition, no one, not even the natives who are hut slightly more intelligent than the apes, has ever actually conversed with them.

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