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The Power of Prayer

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Oct 5, 1911

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 88, No. 40.

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The Power of Prayer

By GEO. O. STATES

GEO. O. STATES
“For 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. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
In the past when the Lord’s people have been brought into close places, God has always wrought deliverance. “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.” It is possible for a mother to be so unnatural as to forget her own child, but the Lord assures his people that he will never forget them.
We may come to the Lord and ask for things we believe will be for our good and to his glory, and yet be mistaken. The Lord will give us that which is for our good, instead of what we ask for, if that would be to our hurt. The prayer of faith lifts us above our surrounding discouragements, and gives us strength patiently to endure our trials.
The life of the soul depends upon habitual communion with God. Its wants are made known, and the heart is opened to receive new blessings. Gratitude flows from unfeigned lips; and the refreshing that is received from Jesus is manifested in words, in deeds of benevolence, and in public devotion. Where love to Jesus exists in the heart, there must be expression given to it in the life. Secret prayer sustains the inner life. They that love God will desire to commune with him, and will lean on him in perfect confidence.
One can not help being impressed with the fact that in the Reformation the leading men were men of prayer. The “morning star” of the Reformation and his associates were men of God who were willing to risk their lives to advance the cause that was so dear to them. Luther was a man of prayer, or he never could have had the courage to stand before that council, and with open Bible, boldly say:—
“Here I take my stand; I can not do otherwise. God help me! Amen.”
The secret of his ability to take that stand is revealed in his pleading: “O thou my God, help me against all the wisdom of this world. Do this I beseech thee . . . by thine own mighty power. . . . The work is not mine, but thine. I have no business here. . . . I have nothing to contend for with the great men of the world. . . . But the cause is thine, . . . and it is righteous and everlasting. O faithful and unchangeable God, I lean not upon men. . . . Whatever is from man is tottering; whatever proceeds from him must fall. . . . Thou hast chosen me for this work; . . . therefore, O God, accomplish thine own will; forsake me not, for the sake of thy well-beloved Son, Jesus Christ, my defense, my buckler, and my stronghold.” Luther knew upon whom he was dependent, and when the crisis came, the Lord sustained his servant.
Cedaredge, Colo.