Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. It would be fair to say
that all men have an idea in their minds of what prayer is.
I'm sure that the vast majority of folks would even say that
they engage in prayer, most especially when times are tough, someone
is sick, or they need a promotion or victory of some sort. Yet
it is clear from the scriptures that all men have not faith.
For faith is the gift of God, without which faith it is impossible
to please God. We must not therefore copy and
adopt the understanding of the world as to what prayer is and
how it is carried out. The world's notion of prayer
views God as a giant vending machine which grants wishes and
blessings according to the amount one puts into it. The more one
prays, the more likely he is to get what it is that he asked
for, much like the proverbial genie in a bottle. Yet true prayer
is more about the conditioning of the heart than it is about
the thing for which a man might ask. Paul's testimony about his
thorn in the flesh proves this to be true. The Pharisee's prayer
illustrates the folly of the prayers of religious men. The
Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee
that I'm not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers,
or even as this publican. True prayer is, first of all,
primarily concerned with the glory of the one to whom the
prayer is addressed. The Lord began His model prayer
with these words, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed,
that is reverenced, feared, and set apart from men, be thy name. He instructed his disciples to
pray with the understanding that the one to whom they are addressing
themselves is high and holy, separate from sinners, who only
hath immortality dwelling in the light to which no man can
approach unto, whom no man hath seen nor can see, to whom be
honor and power everlasting. Amen. True prayer is concerned
with the establishment of the kingdom of God in the earth,
as the Lord taught us to pray, Thy kingdom come. He rules in
the heavens and in the earth, which thing is the delight of
those who truly pray. In like fashion, true prayer
is always concerned with seeing the will and purpose of God done
in the earth as it is determined in heaven. The fruit of the Spirit's
work in those that pray is to bring them into conformity to
that will and give them a desire to be reconciled unto it, even
when the outworking of that will is contrary to their fleshly
desire, as we see with Paul's example and demonstrated by the
Lord Jesus when he prayed, nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.
This is a key element of true prayer, which sets it apart from
the vain repetitions of religious and self-centered men. The men
of this world, whether or not they consider themselves to be
religious, define the answer to prayer as being a successful
fulfillment of whatever they asked for. As such, they would,
if they are consistent, have to conclude that Paul did not
receive the answer to his prayer concerning his thorn in the flesh.
The present-day witch doctors and medicine men, calling themselves
preachers of prosperity, exclaim that men can back God into a
corner, and if they can generate enough faith that is the product
of their free will, they can force His hand and cause Him
to grant their wishes, especially if the prayer has sent some money
that is sowed seed into the coffers of these blind guides of deception.
This is utter blasphemy and ought never to be considered by the
sons of God as anything but a lie. The psalmist declares his reliance
upon the God of his salvation when he said, Though the Lord
gave these words to David as he recounted his experience,
we cannot help but to understand that this psalm, as well as most
of them, is the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, who dwelt
among the men of this world. The Lord testified that he was
always heard. Will the Lord give his children
a stone if they ask him for bread? No, a thousand times no. Rather,
he helpeth our infirmities. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth
our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as
we ought. But the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts
knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession
for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to his purpose. True prayer is
that which is the work of the Spirit within the sons of God.
He who ordains this prayer will indeed answer it according to
his will and their benefit. He is our peace and our comfort,
which the world knows nothing of. Do you pray with yourself
like the Pharisee, or do you worship the true and living God?
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