all the intercourse to which affec tion prompts; and there will be business letters, containing orders for what I need. And there may be letters in which both are found. The answers will correspond to the letters. To each sentence of the letters containing the family news I do not expect a special answer. But for each order I send I am con fident of an answer whether the desired article has been forwarded. In our dealings with God the busi ness element must not be wanting. With our expression of need and sin, of love and faith and consecra tion, there must be the pointed statement of what we ask and ex pect to receive; it is in the answer that the Father loves to give us the token of His approval. But the word of the Master teaches us more. He does not say, What dost thou wish? But what dost thou will? One often wishes for a thing without willing it. I wish to have a certain article but I find the price too high; I resolve not to take it; I wish, but do not will to have it. The sluggard wishes to be rich but does not will it. Many a one wishes to be saved but perishes because he does not will it. The will rules the whole heart and life; if I really will to have anything that is within my reach, I do not rest until I have it. And so when Jesus says to us, “What wilt thou?” He asks whether it is indeed our purpose to have what we ask at any price, however great the sacri fice. Dost thou indeed so will to have it that, though He delay it long, thou dost not hold thy peace till He hear thee? Alas! How many prayers are wishes sent up for a short time and then forgotten, or sent up year after year as a matter of duty, while we rest content with the prayer without the answer. But it may be asked, is it not best to make our wishes known to God and then to leave it to Him to de cide what is best without seeking to assert our will? By no means. This is the very essence of the prayer of faith to which Jesus sought to train His disciples, that it does not only
make known its desire and then leave the decision to God. That would be the prayer of submission, for cases in which we cannot know God’s will. But the prayer of faith, finding God’s will in some promise of the Word, pleads for that till it come. In Matthew 9:28 we read Jesus said to the blind man: “Be lieve ye that I can do this?” Here in Mark He says: “What wilt thou that I should do?” In both cases He said that faith had saved them. And so He said to the Syropheni- cian woman too: “ Great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” Faith is nothing but the pur pose of the will resting on God’s Word and saying: I must have it. To believe truly is to will firmly. But is not such a will at variance with our dependence on God and our submission to Him? By no means; it is much rather the true submission that honors God. It is only when the child has yielded his own will in entire surrender to the Father that he receives from the Father liberty and power to will what he would have. But when once the believer has accepted the will of God, as revealed through the Word and Spirit, as his will too then it is the will of God that His child should use this renewed will in His service. The will is the high est power in the soul; grace wants .above everything to sanctify and restore this will, one of the chief traits of God’s image, to full and free exercise. As a son who only lives for his father’s interests, who Your Prayer Requests Each morning at eight the editorial staff of T h e K in g ’ s B usiness magazine gathers for prayer. Over the years God has answered the heartcry of thousands. Should you have a request w e would count it a privilege to take it to the throne of grace. Your request w ill he held in the strictest confidence. Address: The Editors, T h e K in g ’ s B usiness , 5 58 So. H ope St., Los Angeles 17, Calif.
seeks not his own but his father’s will, is trusted by the father with his business, so God speaks to His child in all truth, “What wilt thou?” It is often spiritual sloth that, under the appearance of hu mility, professes to have no will because it fears the trouble of searching out the will of God or, when found, the struggle of claim ing it in faith. True humility is ever in company with strong faith, which only seeks to know what is according to the will of God, and then boldly claims the fulfillment of the promise: “ Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” Lord, Teach Us To Pray Lord Jesus! teach me to pray with all my heart and strength that there may be no doubt with Thee or with me as to what I have asked. May I so know what I desire that even as my petitions are recorded in heaven, I can record them on earth too and note each answer as it comes. And may my faith in what Thy Word has promised be so clear that the Spirit may indeed work in me the liberty to will that it sh a ll c om e . L o rd ! r en ew , strengthen, sanctify wholly my will for the work of effectual prayer. Blessed Saviour! I do beseech Thee to reveal to me the wonderful condescension Thou showest us, thus asking us to say what we will that Thou shouldest do and prom ising to do whatever we will. Son of God! I cannot understand it; I can only say I believe that Thou hast indeed redeemed us wholly for Thyself and dost seek to make the will, as our noblest part, Thy most efficient servant. Lord! I do most unreservedly yield my will to Thee, as the power through which Thy Spirit is to rule my whole being. Let Him take possession of it, lead it into the truth of Thy promises and make it so strong in prayer that I may ever hear Thy voice saying: “ Great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” Amen. END.
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NOVEMBER 1956
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