THE PRAYER-MEETING by W. W. Boyd, D. D.

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Oct 21, 1880

THE PRAYER-MEETING.

By W. W. Boyd, D. D.

BY W. W. BOYD, D. D. To secure the best results from the prayer-meeting, preparation of heart is necessary on the part both of pastor and people. If the leader of the service comes rushing in, without previous heart preparation, he will fail to give that spiritual key-note at the beginning which is essential to the unity and harmony of the meeting. And here is one great defect in prayer-meetings. The pastor, hurried and driven by pastoral duties, forgets the still hour which ought to precede his every public appearance as Christ's ambassador, and stands up to read the opening scripture without that spirit of prayer which alone can make his utterance a tongue of fire. No wonder the meeting drags and everybody seems lifeless. But let the pastor enter the service of prayer with his heart all aglow with communion with God, through his word and Spirit, and the effect is electrical. Then, indeed, he becomes the mouth-piece of God, and his speech is full of truth and grace. What is true of the pastor, is true also of every member of the church. Each should seek his closet of prayer before he attends the public service, and seek a preparation of heart to fit him to speak or pray in the Spirit. When Jesus said to Peter, unless I wash your feet, you have no part with me, Peter exclaimed, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head." But Jesus made a most significant reply, "He that is washed, needeth not save to wash his feet, but is every whit clean." It was the custom in the East for the guest, before going to the feast, to take a bath. He started for the house of his host fresh from the bath. But on his way, the dust of the road would gather upon his open sandals and soil his feet. It was necessary before coming into the presence of the host, not to wash his whole body again, but simply to bathe his feet, for which duty conveniences were provided in the outer room. Jesus draws his illustration from this custom. "He that is washed"—he that is cleansed in regeneration—is washed once for all. He needs no second baptism of the regenerating Spirit. "He needeth not save to wash his feet," to remove the dust of worldliness that may have gathered during his contact with the world. Every day the Christian needs this partial cleansing; and especially when he is to present himself in his Master's house, does he need to come "clean every whit." The worldly thoughts and feelings which the daily duties of life have brought to him, are to be left at home in the closet of prayer. He is not to bring those into the house of God, but to leave them without. A company of Christian believers, thus coming together in the spirit and power of the gospel, will kindle in the prayer-meeting a fire of holy devotion that will strike the hearts of the unconverted present with such irresistible force that they will cry out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" And if, perchance, there should be some cold-hearted professor of religion present, he will find, in the fervent prayers and exhortations of the spiritual, the fire with which to light the dead altar in his own heart and home. All deadness and coldness in the prayer-meeting is attributable to the neglect of closet duties. Men shut Jesus out of their thoughts and companionship during the week, and then wonder why they do not meet him in the house of God. If we do not let the blessed Lord walk with us in our daily duties, and share with him the labors and secrets of common, every-day life, we need not be surprised to find that he is absent from us in the great crises of our lives. Jesus must be our daily friend, brother, counselor, and helper; and then will he be ours always, our inspiration and wisdom when we rise to speak for him, our ever-present help. "Enter into thy closet and shut the door," shut out the world and worldly thoughts, and then see how sweet, refreshing, and spiritual the weekly service of prayer will become to you.—Baptist Flag.