T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S P rayer moves th e Arm th a t moves th e world. P revailing prayer is not easy. Only those who have w restled w ith the powers of darkness know how h ard it is. P aul says th a t “we w restle not against flesh and blood, b u t against principalities, against powers, against th e ru lers of th e darkness of this world, against sp iritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6 :1 2 ). And when the Holy Spirit prays it is “w ith groan- ings which cannot be u tte red ” (Rom. 8 :2 6 ). Oh, how few find tim e for prayer! There is tim e for everything else, tim e to sleep and time to eat, tim e to read th e newspaper and th e novel, tim e to visit friends, tim e for everything else under th e sun, bu t no tim e for prayer, th e most im po rtan t of all things, the one great essential. Think of Susannah .Wesley who, in spite of th e fact th a t she had nineteen children, found tim e to shu t herself in her room for a full hour each day, alone w ith God. My friends, it is not so much a case of finding tim e as it is of m aking time. And we can make tim e if we will. So im portant did th e apostles con sider it th a t they would not even wait on tables, bu t said: “We will give our selves continually to p ray er and to the m inistry of the W ord” (Acts 6 :4 ). Yet how many m inisters are burdened w ith the financial side of the work, and how many officials expect them to bear it! No wonder th e ir sp iritu al work is of such- little account! “And it came to pass in those days, th a t He went out into a mountain to pray and continued all n igh t in prayer to God” (Luke 6 :1 2 ). Such is the record concerning the Son of God; and if it was necessary for Him how much more so for us! Oh, th ink of it!— “ all n igh t in p rayer.” How many times could th a t be w ritten of us? Hence,
585 His strength! Hence, our weakness! How fervently do the prophets of old urge a life of prayer! H ear Isaiah as he exclaims: “Ye th a t make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the e a rth ” (Isa. 62:6-7). .“Let th e priests, th e m inisters of th e Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy peo ple, O Lord, and give not th in e heri tage to reproach, th a t the heathen should ru le over them ; wherefore should they say among th e people. Where is th e ir God?” (Joel 2 :1 7 ). And not only did they urge prayer, bu t they themselves prayed. Daniel says, “ I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplica tion, w ith fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes; and I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession” (Dan. 9 :3 -4 ). And E zra also wielded the same m ighty weapon in every tim e of difficulty. “ I fell upon my knees,” he says, “ and spread out my hands unto th e Lord my God” (Ezra 9 :5 ). Then follows his most rem arkable prayer. The same method was followed by Ne- hem iah. “And it came to pass when I heard th e ir words,” he relates, “ th a t I sat down and wept, and mourned cer tain days and fasted, and prayed before th e God of heaven” (Neh. 1 :4 ). Such was also th e practice of the E arly Church. When P eter was in prison it is stated th a t “ prayer was made w ithout ceasing of th e Church unto God for him ,” and “many were gathered together praying.” Are th ere not some today who will ask God to burden them? May we not even in this generation, have a revival in answer to faithful, believing, trav ail ing, prevailing prayer? Oh, then, “Lord, teach us not how to pray, but to pray.”
PRAYERS WILL BE INCLUDED (See Inset)
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