Daily Prayer
We do moe ce refer to prayer for ourselves as a means of exercising and strengthening our spiritual life in fellowship with God. The true Christian will count it not only a holy duty, but a great privilege to live constantly in communion with God and with His Son Jesus Christ. We here refer to daily prayer as intercession for all believers, and for the whole world in fellowship with all God’s children.
After Christ’s ascension, the disciples continued stedfastly in prayer; without knowing how long the answer might be delayed they kept on till at last the blessing came. When the three thousand had been converted, they also
continued in prayer with the disciples: 87
We read in Acts ii. 46: ‘“‘ They continued daily with one accord in the Temple, praising God.”’
In the light of what our Lord said about God’s elect who cry unto Him night and day, and of what Paul said: “Praying always with all perseverance and supplication for all saints ’’ (Eph. vi. 18), we see how truly indispensable such continuous prayer is for the spiritual welfare of God’s people, and for bringing down blessing on the whole world.
Think of the Lord’s Prayer. Our Lord knew that this prayer would be used daily by millions of people. What was the first petition, after the invocation and the prayer for the hallowing of God’s Name? The first petition is: “Thy Kingdom Come!” This teaches us the lesson that the coming of the Kingdom should take the first place in the heart of every true follower of Christ. It is most important for each
Christian to understand this, and to act accordingly..
The child of God needs a new vision in order to realize his calling according to God’s Word. Often when a man is first converted he is chiefly concerned about the safety of his own soul, and he seeks to preserve and strengthen his spiritual life. Then as a secondary matter, he thinks he must do something for God and His Kingdom, but only as much as he decides to be his duty. This view is a very defective one. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts; it is His sovereign will that each believer should look upon himself, not as his own master, but as the undisputed property of the Lord Jesus.
The first question should always be: What does my Lord require of me? I MUST LIVE ONLY AND WHOLLY FOR His service. Each day I must ask myself what He would have me to do. This is the question of a slave purchased to do the will of his master, of the soldier who has sworn fealty to his commanding officer, of the angels whom God created to show forth His praise. And shall not the desire of the redeemed sinner whom Christ has purchased with His blood be to show forth His praise in daily life?
The question arises: How can I know each day what I should do? The answer is simple. There is one thing you can do and ought to do every day. And that is, to pray the prayer: ‘ Thy Kingdom Come!” This presupposes that you have thought the matter over earnestly, that you desire it with all your heart, that your daily life is such that you have the right to believe that your prayer will have power, and that you can honestly say that you desire above all things that Christ may be known and honoured as Lord of all.
There are too many Christians who, with a certain measure of zeal, try to do God’s will, who even take part in the Church service or prayer-meeting, but who have never offered themselves to God as priests to intercede for the salvation of souls, or to ask for the Spirit to be poured on all who are working for God. A great change in the Church is needed, if Christianity is to become a power in the world.
I do not here allude to those who do not pray for others. My message is to all those who know something of the work of intercession, and I would encourage all such to give themselves more whole-heartedly to this service. Let every believer realize his holy calling to wait upon God each day, and remind Him of “‘the promise of the Father,’ and the urgent need of a new and powerful outpouring of the Spirit on all God’s servants in all parts of the world.
Think for a moment what this means. You profess to belong wholly to God, with. all that you possess, that you have yielded yourself, soul and body, as a living sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. You have said (have you not?) that all you have belongs to God, and that you are ready, if He requires it, to offer yourself for His service. And that offer includes your time. If God needs your time, will you give it to Him gladly?
God actually has need of your time In worldly matters I can secure almost - anything if I only have the time for it. I can give my time in exchange for money, for learning, for pleasure, for the happiness of myself or of others. If I devote time to anything I expect in some way or other to be rewarded. This is equally true of God and His service.
God greatly needs the prayers of His people. He has so planned things that He sends down heavenly blessings in answer to believing prayer. The child of God who really understands and believes this counts it an unspeakable privilege and joy to ‘‘ continue instant in prayer.” He realizes what a blessed experience it is to spend a quarter of an hour or more each day with God, in praying for the fulfilment of the promise. He knows that God wiil assuredly hear his prayer, and pour out the Holy Spirit upon His waiting people. As he wonders that he did not grasp this truth sooner, he looks up to his heavenly Father for grace to enable him, now and henceforth, to continue the work of intercession. Beloved Christian, what think you? Is this call to daily prayer in the ministry of intercession not one of the most wonderful of God’s gifts to His children? Must you not confess that you understand the secret of prayer all too little? Pray earnestly for yourself and for those around you that you may prevail, even as Jacob did, who wrestled with the angel, until he received a new name, that of Israel, “‘ for as a prince thou hast power with God, and hast prevailed.”
We said in an earlier chapter that there was great need for God’s children to unite, to bind themselves as it were, together for united prayer. Fortunately in such united prayer it is not necessary to be together in the same place. We may, by mutual agreement, meet in God’s presence each day, and remember our brethren, who, in different parts of the world, are also waiting upon God, and so we can as one Body practise the fellowship of the Spirit. We shall realize as never before that Unity is Strength. Where two or three agree in Christ’s Name, there He, the Omnipresent One, is in our midst, and present in each one of us. God grant that His children who call upon Him day and night may claim the victory through the power of the Holy Spirit.