Right and Wrong Praying by Theodore
Kuehler The richest blessing that prayer can bring is to bring
us into closer communion and agreement with the all-holy and
the all-loving God. the very first essential to all
right prayer is unconditional submissiveness to God's will. Find your happiness in God and
He will give you the askings of your heart. This is the exact
rendering of Psalm 37 verse 4 and it throws a flood of light upon
the important question of what is right prayer and what is wrong
prayer. A great deal of prayer is born
of selfishness and takes on the airs of dictating to our Heavenly
Father. It is not humble supplication
born of a devout, submissive spirit, but it amounts to a demand. God's promises to His children
are not unconditional, and we may not presume to dictate to
the God of wisdom and of love. What is laid down distinctly
as the indispensable quality of right asking in the above
quoted verse? It is a right feeling towards
God. When a soul comes into such an
entire submissiveness towards God, that it can honestly say,
nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. when that soul
delights in seeing God reign and in seeing His glory advanced,
then its desires will be so purified from the dregs of selfishness
that they may be fearlessly poured out before God. In this frame
of unselfish submissiveness, the soul may indeed come boldly
to the throne of grace and ask for grace suited to its every
need. The desires of God, and the desires
of a sincere Christly soul, will then agree. God loves to give
to those who love to be submissive to Him. They are as willing to
accept His no as His yes, for they are seeking not their own
desires and glory, but His. As a kind father loves to grant
the reasonable requests of a dutiful son, so does our Heavenly Father
love to grant righteous and reasonable requests of His children. A man
stands in a rowboat out on a lake and pulls upon a line attached
to the shore. His pull does not move the solid
ground one hair's breadth, but it does move his boat towards
the land. In like manner, when I attach
the line of my desire fast to the everlasting throne, my faith
does not expect to move the throne, but to draw me closer to it. When I get more and more into
harmony with God, I receive all that my heart most desires. Finding my happiness in Christ,
I am satisfied. Money, health, promotion, ease,
and all kindred worldly cravings are only lawful when they are
subordinated to God's higher desires for me. The question
now arises, what are right desires? As far as my ignorance has been
enlightened by the Word, I would reply that every desire is a
right one, which aims only to please God, and not self. Grace does not forbid desires,
but it purifies and directs our desires. Nay, the Bible exhorts
us to eagerly desire the greater gifts. 1 Corinthians 12, verse
28. Wisdom from above, strength for
the hour of need, faith, grace, love, and kindred blessings are
in harmony with God's promises. These are the very things which
God has told us to covet. Our Heavenly Father does not
hand the reins over to us when our selfishness grasps after
them. Nor does He allow our ignorance
to be the judge of what is best for us. He often surprises us
by sending something better than what we petitioned for. But infinitely
the best thing which He can give us is His favor and grace. If we find our supreme happiness
in these, O how our souls are purified from all base, selfish,
wayward, and wicked desires! And with what banqueting on His
love, And with what foretastes of heaven, Are our best askings
answered? This Puritan devotional has been
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