Our Greatest Blessing
23Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.24Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. —1 Samuel 12:23-25
We pray too little! And what is the way by which our sense of the lack of prayer can be made the means of blessing, the entrance on a path in which the evil may be conquered? How can our fellowship with the Father, in continual prayer and intercession, become what it ought to be, if we and the world around us are to be blessed? As it appears to me, we must begin by going back to God’s Word, to study what place God means prayer to have in the life of His child and His church. A fresh sight of what prayer is according to the will of God, of what our prayers can be, through the grace of God, will free us from those feeble, defective views in regard to the absolute necessity of continual prayer, which lie at the root of our failure. As we get an insight into the reasonableness and rightness of this divine appointment and come under full conviction of how wonderfully it fits in with God’s love and our own happiness, we will be freed from the false impression of its being an arbitrary demand. With our whole heart and soul, we will consent to it and rejoice in it, as the only possible way for the blessing of heaven to come to earth. All thought of task and burden, of self-effort and strain, will pass away in the blessed faith—that as simple as breathing is in the healthy, natural life, praying will be in the Christian life that is led and filled by the Spirit of God.
As we occupy ourselves with accept this teaching of God’s Word on prayer[mn1] , we will be led to see how our failures in the prayer life were owing to the failure in the Spirit life. Prayer is one of the most heavenly and spiritual functions of the Spirit life. How could we try or expect to fulfill it so as to please God, except as our souls are in perfect health, and our lives are truly possessed and moved by God’s Spirit? The insight into the place of God means prayer to have, and that any thought of praying more and effectually will be vain, except as we are brought into closer relationship with out Blessed Lord Jesus.[mn2]
If our failures teach us to turn afresh to Him, and to find in Him the grace He gives to pray as we should, this humiliation may become our greatest blessing. —Andrew Murray
Journal:
- What does my prayer life look like?
- What does this reveal about my relationship with Christ?
Prayer – Father in heaven, thank You that at any time of the day or night I can call out to You, and even more amazing, You hear me! Help me to long for the fellowship I have when I am in prayer with You. Make that my passion, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
[mn1]Not sure of the original or how to fix this.
[mn2]This seems unclear. I tried to google around to figure this out…is this the original?
The place God means prayer to take in a full Christian life willshow us that we have not been living the true, abundant life. Any thought of praying more and praying effectually will be vain except as we are brought into a closer relation to our blessed Lord Jesus.
