The Power of Prayer by J. M. COLE

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 22, 1916

The Power of Prayer

By J. M. COLE

J. M. COLE

“PRAYER is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary, in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive him.”—“Steps to Christ,” p. 97. “It is the perfect trust, the firm reliance, the steady claiming of the promises of God, the simple faith that he is, and that he is a rewarder of all those who diligently seek him, that prevaileth with God.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. I, p. 645.

Prayer is not a hard requirement; it is the precious privilege of the creature to commune with his Creator, the simplest homage which human want can pay to divine liberality. Those who refuse to render it may expect that one day, when in their extremity, they will bemoan their folly. They will hear a voice saying, “I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; . . . I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh.” Prov. 1:24-26. If a sinner will not plead the name of Jesus for forgiveness, if he is not willing to bend the knee in prayer and ask for pardon, he cannot accuse the Lord when his prayerless soul is cast away.

To those who do pray, prayer is a most precious thing. It is the channel by which priceless blessings come to us, the avenue through which our needs are supplied by a gracious God. To the believer prayer is the great means of soul enrichment; it is the vessel which trades with heaven, and comes home from the heavenly country laden with treasures of far greater worth than the treasures brought to Solomon by his navy from the land of gold.

Men of prayer are men of power. “Isaac went out to meditate [“to pray,” margin] in the field at the eventide” (Gen. 24:63), and later it was said of him by worldly men, “We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee.” Gen. 26:28. Moses was a mighty man. He was a man who communed with God; he partook of the meekness and gentleness of Christ, but he “wist not that the skin of his face shone.” Ex. 34:30.

David was a man who went through all kinds of oppression; to use his own words, “Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water.” Ps. 66:11, 12. Why did not the sweet psalmist of Israel give up in discouragement? He himself answers us in Ps. 16:8: “I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” His constant prayer was, “Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. . . . Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.” Ps. 61:1, 2. Prayer was the secret of David’s success.

Daniel was a busy statesman, the business and care of a great kingdom rested upon him, but he took time to pray. Three times a day he earnestly sought his God for grace to do right, and for wisdom to make no mistakes. God answered his prayer, and even his enemies could find no fault with him, save concerning the law of his God.

Oh, how many of us today excuse ourselves for not praying, by saying, “We have no time”! The Lord knew that just before his coming, men would be overwhelmed in buying and selling and getting gain. Therefore he placed in his Word a caution to the little flock: “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” Luke 21:34. The sure remedy for all this is, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:36.

If prayer is the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven’s storehouse with its boundless resources, then let me ask, Why are we so reluctant to pray? Why is it so many have even a distaste for prayer? The answer usually comes, “O, I feel so unworthy, so destitute, that I have not the heart to pray! If I do pray, I wonder if God listens to a poor unworthy soul like me.” The Lord knew these thoughts were in the minds of his people, and sent a message straight from heaven: “I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end [“a happy future,” Jewish translation].” Jer. 29:11.

When our children want anything, they do not have to be exhorted to ask. They simply ask, and it is a pleasure to parents to give their children needed, asked-for things. “If ye 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?” Here is heaven’s market, and God’s wares are given away to those who ask for them. If we want to be enriched with heaven’s blessings, then let us not leave the mercy-seat unvisited; but let us “ask,” “seek,” “knock,” and the promise is, “It shall

be opened unto you.” “Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees.” Mary, Queen of Scotland, used to say, “I fear the prayers of John Knox more than any army of ten thousand men.”

“Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares, and your fears before God. You cannot burden him; you cannot weary him. He who numbers the hairs of your head is not indifferent to the wants of his children. ‘The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.’ His heart of love is touched by our sorrows, and even by our utterance of them. Take to him everything that perplexes the mind. Nothing is too great for him to bear, for he holds up worlds, he rules over all the affairs of the universe. Nothing that in any way concerns our place is too small for him to notice. There is no chapter in our experience too dark for him to read; there is no perplexity too difficult for him to unravel. No calamity can befall the least of his children, no anxiety harass the soul, no joy cheer, no sincere prayer escape the lips, of which our heavenly Father is unobservant, or in which he takes no immediate interest. . . . The relations between God and each soul are as distinct and full as though there were not another soul for whom he gave his beloved Son.”—“Steps to Christ,” pp. 104, 105.

From John 18:1, we learn that Jesus had a little quiet resort where he often went to pray. His disciples noticed that his life of secret prayer enabled him to do his mighty works; therefore they asked, “Lord, teach us to pray.” The Lord answered this petition in a very definite manner, and his reply is written for us:—

“When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and . . . pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” Then he showed them by example: “And it came to pass in those days that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” The neglect of secret prayer is the first step back toward the world.

“It is impossible for the soul to flourish while prayer is neglected. Family or public prayer alone is not sufficient. In solitude let the soul be laid open to the inspecting eye of God. Secret prayer is to be heard only by the prayer-hearing God. No curious ear is to receive the burden of such petitions. In secret prayer the soul is free from surrounding influences, free from excitement. Calmly, yet fervently, will it reach out after God. Sweet and abiding will be the influence emanating from him who seeth in secret, whose ear is open to hear the prayer arising from the heart. . . .

“As you go about your daily labor, let your heart be often uplifted to God. It was thus that Enoch walked with God. These silent prayers rise like precious incense before the throne of grace. . . .

“There is no time or place in which it is inappropriate to offer up a petition to God. There is nothing that can prevent us from lifting up our hearts in the spirit of earnest prayer. In the crowds of the street, in the midst of a business engagement, we may send up a petition to God, and plead for divine guidance. . . .

“We may keep so near to God that in every unexpected trial our thoughts will turn to him as naturally as the flower turns to the sun.”—Id., pp. 102-104.

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