Your ShelfYour Projects

PRAYER

17%

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 20, 1877

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 50, No. 25.

Read the full edition

PRAYER

By R. F. Cottrell

PRAYER has ever been inseparably connected with true religion; and Satan himself has seen that in order to make his counterfeit religions pass for genuine, they must have this characteristic; hence every spurious system has its prayers.
The Bible abounds in prayers, and in directions and injunctions in regard to prayer. Yet the carnal mind, being averse to sincere prayer and devotion, would have the religion of Jesus Christ without prayer! Hence the authority for public prayer is made a question at the present day.
No duty is insisted on more, or enjoined with greater emphasis in the New Testament, than prayer. “Praying always with all prayer,” and that without ceasing, is the apostolic rule, not only given by precept, but exemplified in their life and labors.
At Philippi, Paul and Silas went out by the river-side, on the Sabbath day, “where prayer was wont to be made.” Lydia of Thyatira was there to worship God, the Lord had by this means opened her heart to hear the word spoken by Paul; and she was converted, and the church at Philippi resulted from this beginning. But this place of prayer was not abandoned by the apostles as soon as they had had this first meeting there, but they continued to go there for prayer; for it is written, “And as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us.” They were still going out there to the oratory for prayer; and this was not for once only, but we are informed that this same thing was repeated “many days.” Here we have apostolic example; and it agrees with the apostle’s teaching to this same church, as quoted above, “Praying always with all prayer.” Eph. 6 : 18.
The testimony of this spirit of divination, namely, “These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation,” was true, but Paul, not choosing to have Satan advertise for them, cast out the spirit; and this brought them into the Philippian jail, where they again exemplified their own teaching in regard to prayer; for in the inner dungeon, with their feet in the stocks, “at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God; and the prisoners heard them.” True enough, they were in the closet, and the door was shut; but they had hearers there, and One heard them who was able to open the doors and loose their bands. The apostles also taught the churches to sing and make melody in their hearts to the Lord; but the only recorded instance of their singing is that within the walls of that gloomy prison. R. F. COTTRELL.