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In the last issue we spoke about the importance of prayer. Now we ask the question "what is prayer"? Many answers have been given to that question; in fact it is difficult to answer that question in one sentence or expression. One attempted definition put it this way: "prayer is the outgoing of the heart towards the Heavenly Father in unclouded faith". Now that definition reminds us that for true prayer to be offered the heart must be involved. Prayer is not merely a matter of saying words. John Burton expressed this beautifully in the words of the hymn:
I often say my prayers,
I may as well kneel down
For words without the heart
Lord teach me what I need Now that is a very searching and profound piece of poetry. Merely saying words - even though they be very religious words, very true words, very beautiful words - is not prayer. For prayer to be true prayer there must be the engagement of the heart. Our expression of our hearts towards God. This definition also reminds us that prayer is addressed to the Father. "The outgoing of the heart toward the Heavenly Father". When Jesus gave his model prayer it began "Our Father". When Jesus Himself offered prayer as recorded in John 17, he addressed it to the Father. When the disciples prayed in the hour of persecution they directed their prayer to the Father - "Lord, you are God...(Acts 4:24). In Acts 4:27 they say "for truly against your holy servant Jesus you anointed... ". So that they are clearly addressing the Father as distinct from the Son. Now some people make a big issue about not praying to the Son or the Holy Spirit; they say this should never be done and that it is quite reprehensible. It could be demonstrated that we have Biblical warrant for addressing both the Son and the Holy Spirit in prayer. But it is true that the usual way of praying, taking the scriptures as our guide, is to address our prayers to the Father. In Matthew 6:6 Jesus instructs us, "when you pray, go into your room... pray to your Father ..." However, though we pray to the Father, we must always pray to the Father through the Son. In prayer we come to God through Jesus Christ; in the name of Jesus Christ. It is important that we recognize this and believe this, that we have no possibility of an audience with God except it be through His Son, the Lord Jesus. "There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (l Tim.2:5). A mediator is the one who brings two parties together; he is the one through whom one party approaches another. So that when sinful men and women approach the God of majesty and glory we must come through the mediator He has appointed. That mediator is Jesus Christ, and Him alone. This is the significance of such statements as: Whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Therefore brethren having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus...(Heb. 10:19) It is by the blood of Jesus; it is in His name that we come to the Father. We must not be presumptuous in our approach to God; we must not think that it is a light thing to approach Him; we must not think that we have a right to approach Him in our own name, in our own worthiness. We come to the Father through the Son, in the name of Jesus Christ. Also, we come by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. In Zechariah 12.10 we come across the lovely title "the Spirit of grace and supplication". That is the Holy Spirit. He is the one who moves us to pray aright; he is the one who enables us to come. Paul spoke of "praying in the Spirit". He didn't mean in some mysterious emotional frenzy; he meant by the enabling of the Spirit of God. When you get on your knees, or you bow your head to pray it is a good thing to immediately ask God to help you to pray in the Spirit; that He would give you the grace of the Spirit to help you pray aright and to pray with liberty and freedom. Then proceed, trusting in His mercy to hear that prayer. So prayer is the outgoing of the heart to the Heavenly Father. We pray to the Father, through the Son, by or in the Spirit. That is the way we approach God. That is the way he has ordained that it must be. Now when we come in this way, what should the content of our prayer be? What is prayer? If you look at 1 Tim.2:1 you will notice that there are different aspects of prayer. It may not be wise to press the distinctions too finely and compartmentalize these words too rigidly; but they do indicate that there are different aspects. Paul speaks about "supplications" "prayers", "intercessions" and "giving of thanks". I am not going to use these actual words to discuss the content of prayer but I will cover pretty well what these words convey. Adoration Prayer involves adoration. That means that in prayer we should praise God for what He is. All too often we rush into the presence of God with our personal requests, full of ourselves and our own needs, when before anything else we ought to set our focus on God and let our minds lay hold on His greatness and glory. Jesus began His model prayer "Our Father which art in heaven". Immediately He directs our minds to God in His glory, and that is the way it ought to be. Remind yourself as you come in prayer that you come to the Sovereign Creator; you come to One who rules the world; you come to One who inhabits eternity. He is the One before whom angels veil their faces; He is the God of infinite splendour and glory. Praise Him for this. He is the God of grace and truth; He is the God who sets His love upon unworthy sinners and brings them out of darkness into His marvelous light. Praise him for this. Adore the Lord for all that He is, and for all that He has done. In prayer let something of His greatness get through to you. One of our problems is that we are usually in such a rush. This is often tragic. I think this is one of the reasons why, by and large, Christians are such spiritual pygmies compared with our forefathers. They took time to know God, to contemplate His glory and to learn of His greatness; we are usually in such a rush. We have lost the concept of waiting upon God. Seldom do we listen to the words of God through the psalmist, "be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46 :10). Do not be rushed in your private prayers; take time to adore; take time to let the sense of God's greatness seep into your soul and soak into your mind. This is one of the ways in which prayer can be such a blessing to God's people. Such adoration of God in prayer, when our minds are set on Him and we are contemplating His glory and greatness, results in the Christian being established and strengthened. In times of crisis it is the person who has become truly acquainted with his or her God through prayer who is stable and able to survive. Adoration is a vital aspect of prayer, when you render that honour and praise to God which rightly belongs to Him. Confession of sin The aspect of prayer referred to above will inevitably lead to another and that is the confession of sin. The more clear our spiritual sight of God, the more acute will be our sense of sinfulness; and in prayer we are to confess our sins to God. Now there are many prayers recorded in the Bible which could illustrate all these aspects of prayer for us, but in my view there is scarcely a greater prayer in all the Bible than the one recorded in Daniel 9. Be sure to read it through carefully and slowly. You will notice that it begins "and I prayed to the Lord My God and made confession"...v.4. This is truly one of the most moving prayers in the Bible, and Daniel sets before us this example of the importance and the place of confession of sin. Sin mars the fellowship between a Christian and God; and when we have done wrong and we try to justify it, we try to excuse ourselves before God, then we hinder fellowship with God. If we have sin that we refuse to acknowledge before God then he has a controversy with us. David said "if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear" (Ps.66:18) Of course this involves a humbling of ourselves before God, and the pride of our heart fights against that; but the Bible tells us that God gives grace to the humble and He resists the proud. Humility is exactly the spirit in which we should come to God. Let us not hide our sins, for the scripture says "he who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy" (Prov.28:13). When you pray, confess your sins before God; seek cleansing of His blood and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. Thanksgiving Then of course there is the element of thanksgiving. I am not thinking now of what was said under adoration, praising God for what He is and what He had done, but I am thinking of thanking God for all his blessings, both spiritual and temporal. I am sure that you have sung that hymn which says "count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done". How true that is. But is it not also true that we are very prone to complain, and we ought to be ashamed when we do so for we have been blessed beyond measure. Let me quote from another hymn, this time written by William Cowper:
Have you no words? Ah, think again,
Were half the breath thus vainly spent Some years ago the Readers Digest carried a moving story about a woman who had been blind for many years and who had her sight restored by an operation. It was a touching story, and at the end of it the woman said that when she is among people now and hears them complaining about their life, she has a great longing to say to them "but you can see, you can see!" She appreciates what a blessing that is. We often take so many blessings for granted. To have a healthy body; to be able simply to walk and talk, to hear and see; to have a sound mind that can reason and converse with others - what blessing these are! To have so much in the way of provision, food and clothing, comfort and shelter - oh how good God is to us! But if we know the Lord; if we have been born again and are united to Christ we have all spiritual blessings in Him. Surely we ought to sing,
Praise my soul the King of heaven, Supplication and Intercession Both these words are closely related and they cover requests for ourselves and for others. In prayers we make our needs known to God. "In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God" (Phil.4:6). Nothing is to be overlooked in prayer. Nothing is too small to bring to God, nothing is too large. Your own needs and the needs of others must be brought before Him. But let me emphasize that the major focus of our requests ought to be spiritual blessing. Study the prayers of Paul. He does not overlook physical needs but the thing he is most concerned about is increase of faith and love; living to please God; knowing the will of God; being filled with the fruits of righteousness. Great spiritual requests are to the fore. Pray for your own growth in grace; pray for the blessing of others; pray for the cause of Christ; pray for missionaries; pray for the conversion of souls; let the embrace of your prayers be wide. This then is prayer. It is the outgoing of the heart toward the heavenly Father in the name of the Lord Jesus by the power of the Spirit. It is adoration, it is confession, it is thanksgiving, it is supplication and intercession. It is communing with the living God, through Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit.
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