Introduction

Prayer is the powerhouse of the church. Spurgeon says that the spirituality of a church is measured by the substance and demeanour of its weekly prayer meeting. Is there genuine prayerful and evangelistic concern in the church? Is there a heartfelt longing for the conversion of unsaved family members? Is there a strong vision for the lost, a fervent desire for spiritual revival and the propagation of the gospel both locally and to other countries? What is true prayer? John Bunyan defines prayer "as a sensible, sincere and affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God through the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit for such things as God has promised or according to His word for the good of the church with submission in faith to the will of God." (John Bunyan, Praying in the Spirit, np, 1662). The church should be rallied frequently at the throne of grace to intercede for the members of the church, spiritual health and growth to praise and thank God corporately to the edification of saints. There is no greater means of grace bestowed upon the believer than the honour and prerogative of meeting God in private and corporate intercession.

An unknown Christian who wrote the book The Kneeling Christian once said, "The secret of all failure in prayer is our failure in secret prayer." It can be said that all want of success and all failure in our spiritual life and in Christian work is due to defective or insufficient prayer. In the same vein, all fruitfulness in service is the outcome of persevering and God-honouring prayer. One of the most important preoccupation of a Christian is his/her relationship with God in daily communion and intercession for others. A believer’s vitality can be gauged not by his eloquence, zeal, orthodoxy or his energy but by his prayers.

It was said of David Brainerd, the missionary to the Red Indians (who influenced Jonathan Edwards, the great American Reformed Theologian) that he lived a life of holiness and prayer. His diary was full with the record of his seasons of fasting, prayer and meditation. He gave himself to daily contemplation and prayer, mortification, self-denial, humility and divorcement from the world. To be little with God in prayer is to be little with God in service. We are never so high as when we are on our knees before the Almighty Jehovah. Consider the acronym, the ABCD of prayer; namely the Attitude, Basis, Content and Devotion/Discipline.

What is your understanding of prayer? Is it a daily chore, a privilege, a pleasure, a joy or drudgery? Why do you think God allowed this holy exercise of communication with Him directly? Prayer is one of the highest prerogatives accorded to man. To be granted this audience with the King of kings and Lord of lords is the highest honour ever to be bestowed upon mortal man. Yet many will not take this royal opportunity to commune and meet daily with the sovereign Monarch.

To approach the throne of grace requires godly reverence, fear and much humility. Kneeling gives us a good standing with God. Consider godly Daniel in hostile Babylon in Dan 6:10 "Now when Daniel …. kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime."

A broken and contrite spirit God will not despise (Isa 66:2, Ps 51:10). The fervent, penitent and searching spirit God will always honour. The earnest seeker will always have his cause answered according to God’s will (1Jn 5:13-15). Our attitude towards prayer determines our spiritual altitude with God. Consider the righteous prophet, Elijah with his fervent spirit, commended by God in James 5:16 "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

What gives us the right to be able to stand before a holy and awesome God in prayer? What qualifications do we have to approach the Most High (Ps 15:1-4) when we are all so weak and vile? It is none other than the precious blood of Christ that covers a sinful people in the presence of a thrice-holy God. That is why we must always start by asking the Lord to cleanse us from all our sins before we commence other intercessory requests. (Ps 66:18) Because of the blood of Christ, we are invited to the mercy seat, to come boldly to the throne of grace to find help in time of need (Heb 4:16). Jesus in His days of public ministry enjoins us to come (Luke 18:1), even all those who are weary and are heavy laden to come to Him for spiritual rest and respite for our souls. The throne of grace is a restful place for its is a place where we unload our burdens and our cares (1 Pet 5:7). Remember the popular hymn of old on prayer by Joseph Scriven (1819-1886):

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear.
What a privilege to carry,
Everything to God in prayer.
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear.
All because we do not carry,
Everything to God in prayer.

Prayer is the unbosoming of one’s need and an opening of our hearts to God. It is therefore important for us to be specific. The particulars of our prayer should include confession of sins, adoration, thanksgiving, requests and other intercessions. Daniel prayed, thanking and praising God for his past faithfulness and present goodness toward them (Dan 9). Prayer should normally commence with the adoration, praise and worship of our Heavenly Father (Matt 6:9) and continue with a sincere and specific confession of our sins and finally to culminate in the intercessory petitions for fellow saints before the throne of grace. Remember that Aaron and Hur upheld Moses’ hand in the battle against the Amalekites (Exod 17:10-12) and the latter was victorious.

George Mueller, the founder of a large orphanage in Bristol built solely on faith and prayer was a godly saint who never lived a day without prayer. That was the secret of his success in his ministry. EM Bounds wrote in his book Power Through Prayer, "What the church needs today is not more or better machinery, not new organisations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use - men or prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not anoint plans but men-men of prayer". Prayer is not prattle, prayer is battle. Consider what is said after the armour of God in Eph 6:18 "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."

Consider this powerful reminder to pray daily by MA Kidder, the hymnwriter of "Did you think to pray?"

Ere you left your room this morning,
Did you think to pray?
In the name of Christ our Saviour,
Did you ask for loving favour,
As a shield today?
Oh, how praying rest the weary,
Prayer will change the night to day,
So when life seems dark and dreary,
Don’t forget to pray.

Daily praying to God is a delightful discipline for every regenerate and justified man. It is the expression of sincere dedication to God; to wait, to commune and seek the Lord daily in prayer. David says in Ps 5:3 "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." Our Lord Jesus Christ sets the perfect example when he spent time with God the Father every morning as a priority in the wee hours of the morning (Mark 1:35).

To dutifully pray for others as requested is a spiritual discipline. Paul encourages his readers to intercede for his gospel ministry in Rom 15:30 "Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me". Let us be responsible and diligent prayer warriors upholding one another, like Epaphras of old (Col 4:12).

Another good example of prayer is King Solomon and the Israelites during the dedication of the newly built temple. They were challenged by God in 2 Chr 7:14 "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Spiritual renewal comes to our hearts when there is humility, devotion, sincerity and ardour in prayer. In 1866, the Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon instituted daily prayer meetings at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London at 7 am in the morning and again at 7.30 pm each evening. (Holden Pike, The life and work of CH Spurgeon, Edinburgh, Banner of Trust, 1991). The main Tabernacle prayer took place on Monday evenings attended by over 3000. To provide for greater participation in prayer, there were even supplementary times for prayer with smaller groups within the church. The church was flourishing because the people were praying fervently and the Lord richly blessed and prospered their ministry. Did not our Lord say in John 16:24 "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."

The Word of God records for us many instances of a church prayer meeting. Acts 1:14 "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren." Acts 1:24 "And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen." Do you come for the Wednesday night corporate prayer meeting? Resolve to do so this year.

Prayer is the balm of Gilead and the breath of godliness and the place where burdens change shoulders. Does prayer make a difference in our lives? Does prayer changes things? Paul answers the question in 2 Cor 1:11 "Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf." Do not deprive or forfeit yourself of the peace and comfort that comes through an intimate intercessory communion with the Almighty Jehovah. Let us resolve to pray faithfully and fervently for the salvation of our loved ones, the needs the church, the advancement of God’s kingdom on earth and the strengthening of the saints till our Lord returns soon.

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