Perseverance in Prayer
"Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they
ought to pray and not to lose heart."
(Luke 18:1)
Prayer generally is an
unexplored field. Men have explored and ferreted out the so called natural
laws, have harnessed them even to the extent of making iron to float and men to
fly. We use our knowledge of these natural laws for our own wellbeing and for
the welfare and happiness of our fellow men. But man did not obtain this
knowledge in a day or even a year, it came as the result of many years of
persevering study and experiment.
But the field of prayer
which should be of the highest value to man remains practically unknown. We use
prayer as an emergency measure, or as a conventional practice to be maintained,
much as we maintain a subscription to a leading magazine which graces our shelf
but is never used. We do not have at our command the power that is in prayer
because we have not persevered in prayer.
Jesus taught His disciples,
saying, “Men ought always to pray and not to faint.” On one occasion after
Jesus had ceased praying, His disciples came unto Him and said, “Lord teach us
to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” They had seen Jesus at His privet
devotions, perhaps they had heard His supplications, and they had seen the
effect of prayer in His life and thereby had been made to feel how ineffective
they were in their prayer life. Hence they asked to be instructed in the
matter; and in response Jesus gave them, both as a model and a form, the
beautiful cluster of petitions which we are accustomed to call “The Lord’s
Prayer.” Then as some may have mentally interjected the objection, “But we have
prayed frequently, and have received no answer,” he told this simple story: it
is midnight. A friend has arrived from a distance, and he whose home he has
come has nothing set before him. In his extremity he goes to his neighbor, and
knocks at his door, states his need and asks for help. But the sleepy response
is, “Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are now with me in
bed; I can not arise and give thee.” The supplicant is not thus to be denied;
so he thunders away shamelessly, even impudently at the door, until in sheer despair
of getting any rest in any other way, and simply to get rid of him whom he
deems a nuisance, the neighbor arises and gives what he had been asked for.”
Then Jesus proceeds to give the Magna Charta of prayer in the familiar words,
“Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you. For everyone that asketh recieveth; and he that seeketh
findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Then Jesus concludes this
teaching on prayer with a comparison between an earthly father’s dealing with his
children and that of our heavenly Father: “If a son shall ask bread of any of
you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he
for a fish give a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a
scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your
children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them
that ask Him?”
This teaching is not
intended to present God as a gruff and un-obliging like the neighbor newly
roused out of his earliest sleep; neither is it intended to teach that we
receive that which we seek if we persist in wearing God with our much asking.
This is a parable that teaches by contrast rather than by comparison. We find
the key to its truth in the last verses of the lesson. “If the imprudence of
that midnight knocker prevailed even with an angry and annoyed man so much,
that he arose and gave what was requested, how much more will the humble,
reverent, believing and persevering prayer of a true child of God prevail with
the infinitely kind and loving Father to whom he makes the petition?” It is not
necessary to brow beat God into granting the requests of His children. God is a
loving Father who knows how and who desires to give good gifts unto His
children.
We are to trust in this
truth. Neither the place of prayer, not the manner of prayer, not the frequency
of prayer will avail. Prayers are heard and answered not because of these
things, but simply because God is a loving Father who loves to give His people
that which they request, if it be good for them. The tendency is to place emphasis
on the sort of prayer that is offered rather then the fact that all real prayer
is offered to a loving God who is better to His people than an earthly parent
is to their children.
But some may say, “We have
prayed for those things which we feel God would have us have, but yet the
answer is not yet forthcoming. How can we reconcile this experience with the
unqualified promise? “Ask and ye shall receive, seek, and ye shall find; knock,
and it will be opened unto you?” Such has been the experience of us all; If God
knows how to give, and wants to give, why have we not received?”
Let us remember that we do not
give everything that our children ask for when they ask. If your baby asked for
a piece of meat, you might desire to give it to your child and you would give,
not then but later. Your child wants a two wheeled bicycle and you want him to
have it and you give it – not now but afterward. In cases such as these delays
in granting the request are necessary. We can’t give unto our children until
they are ready, physically and mentally to receive. That which we give today
might be harmful, whereas, in a day, a month or a year it would contribute to
the well being of the child. God is our Father and if we know to treat our
children in this kindly fashion how much more will He treat us so?
One writes: “In my
grandmother’s garden a rosebud seemed such a long time un-folding that I grew
impatient, wanting to see its color and beauty. I thought we should do
something about it, and appealed to grandmother. When she told me to unfold the
petals I was thrilled. But after the petals were unfolded there was no
beautiful full-blown rose much as I have envisioned. I had destroyed its
beauty, and the rose quickly withered and died. Grandmother then explained that
it was thus with all things – we must let them unfold in their own way and in
their own time. An immediate answer to your prayer might mean an undeveloped
flower, an un-ripened fruit.
Lazarus the brother of Mary
and Martha was ill. The sisters turned to the only source of help they knew.
They sent a message to Jesus who was across the Jordan in the region of Peres,
saying: “He whom thou lovest is ill.” This is a remarkable prayer, the need was
presented but the remedy was not suggested. The sisters knew that the Lord
would do what was best. Fortunate is the one who knows where Jesus is and how
to reach Him in the hour of need. When the Master received the message He
delayed His coming. One has called this a delay in love. If He had returned
immediately Lazarus would have been raised from the dead in sickness. But by
delaying his return a greater lesson was taught to Mary and Martha and not only
to them but to the disciples of all ages, to learn of His power not only over
disease but also over death. Because of this delay we know Him not only as the
Master of illness but also as the Resurrection and the Life. Very often a delay
in the answer to your prayers was a blessing so great that your cup will run
over, whereas an immediate answer will result in a smaller blessing.
When we pray and the answer
is not immediately forthcoming, what should our attitude be? Shall we become faint
hearted, lose our faith in God our Father and cease praying? No, Jesus would
teach us to continue on prayer and faint not. When we make our petition know
unto God, when we take our burden to the Lord and leave it there in the wisdom
and love of God we may be confident that however and whenever it is answered it
will be for our greatest good and for His eternal honor and glory.
After the contest on Mount
Carmel between the prophets of Baal and Elijah the prophet of Jehovah, which
contest was won by Elijah when the Lord sent fire from heaven and consumed the
drenched sacrifice, Elijah and his servant went on up into the mountain to pray
for rain. Elijah prayed and sent his servant to see if a cloud bearing rain was
upon the horizon. The servant came back and reported that no cloud was in
sight. Again Elijah prayed and again the report was the same; “There is not a cloud
in sight. This was repeated six times and after the seventh prayer the servant
returned with the news that a cloud bearing rain had appeared on the horizon.
God had promised rain, Elijah believed and claiming His promise remained
constant in prayer.
Prayer in the life of many a
believer is an unexplored field. Its joy and peace, its power and might are
unknown. The prayers of faith in a God who is our Father and who loves and
desires to give good gifts unto His children can overcome the world. It can work
miracles. It availeth much. It is a power so simple that a little child can
use. It is a power so tremendous that with it there is nothing that we cannot
do, and without it nothing we do has any eternal value or significance. This
power is yours if you, disciple of Christ, will “pray and faint not.”
Dr. Robert W
Kirkpatrick
First Presbyterian
Church, Saint Albans W Va. September 8, 1946
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