THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER
EDWARD M. BOUNDS
2. PRAYER AND FAITH
“The
guests at a certain hotel were being rendered uncomfortable by repeated
strumming on a piano, done by a little girl who possessed no knowledge
of music. They complained to the proprietor with a view to having the
annoyance stopped. ‘I am sorry you are annoyed,’ he said. ‘But the girl
is the child of one of my very best guests. I can scarcely ask her not
to touch the piano. But her father, who is away for a day or so, will
return tomorrow. You can then approach him, and have the matter set
right.’ When the father returned, he found his daughter in the
reception-room and, as usual, thumping on the piano. He walked up
behind the child and, putting his arms over her shoulders, took her
hands in his, and produced some most beautiful music. Thus it may be
with us, and thus it will be, some coming day. Just now, we can produce
little but clamor and disharmony; but, one day, the Lord Jesus will
take hold of our hands of faith and prayer, and use them to bring forth
the music of the skies.”
Anon
Genuine, authentic faith must be definite and free of doubt. Not simply
general in character; not a mere belief in the being, goodness and
power of God, but a faith which believes that the things which “he
saith, shall come to pass.” As the faith is specific, so the answer
likewise will be definite: “He shall have whatsoever he saith.” Faith
and prayer select the things, and God commits Himself to do the very
things which faith and persevering prayer nominate, and petition Him to
accomplish.
The American Revised Version renders the twenty-fourth verse of the
eleventh chapter of Mark, thus: “Therefore I say unto you, All things
whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye
shall have them.” Perfect faith has always in its keeping what perfect
prayer asks for. How large and unqualified is the area of operation—the
“All things whatsoever!” How definite and specific the promise—“Ye
shall have them!”
Our chief concern is with our faith,—the problems of its growth, and
the activities of its vigorous maturity. A faith which grasps and holds
in its keeping the very things it asks for, without wavering, doubt or
fear—that is the faith we need—faith, such as is a pearl of great
price, in the process and practice of prayer.
The statement of our Lord about faith and prayer quoted above is of
supreme importance. Faith must be definite, specific; an unqualified,
unmistakable request for the things asked for. It is not to be a vague,
indefinite, shadowy thing; it must be something more than an abstract
belief in God’s willingness and ability to do for us. It is to be a
definite, specific, asking for, and expecting the things for which we
ask. Note the reading of Mark 11:23:
“And shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things
which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatever he saith.”
(Mark 11:23)
Just so far as the faith and the asking is definite, so also will the
answer be. The giving is not to be something other than the things
prayed for, but the actual things sought and named. “He shall have
whatsoever he saith.” It is all imperative, “He shall have.” The
granting is to be unlimited, both in quality and in quantity.
Faith and prayer select the subjects for petition, thereby determining
what God is to do. “He shall have whatsoever he saith.” Christ holds
Himself ready to supply exactly, and fully, all the demands of faith
and prayer. If the order on God be made clear, specific and definite,
God will fill it, exactly in accordance with the presented terms.
Faith is not an abstract belief in the Word of God, nor a mere mental
credence, nor a simple assent of the understanding and will; nor is it
a passive acceptance of facts, however sacred or thorough. Faith is an
operation of God, a Divine illumination, a holy energy implanted by the
Word of God and the Spirit in the human soul—a spiritual, Divine
principle which takes of the Supernatural and makes it a thing
apprehendable by the faculties of time and sense.
Faith deals with God, and is conscious of God. It deals with the Lord
Jesus Christ and sees in Him a Savior; it deals with God’s Word, and
lays hold of the truth; it deals with the Spirit of God, and is
energized and inspired by its holy fire. God is the great objective of
faith; for faith rests its whole weight on His Word. Faith is not an
aimless act of the soul, but a looking to God and a resting upon His
promises. Just as love and hope have always an objective so, also, has
faith. Faith is not believing just anything; it is believing God,
resting in Him, trusting His Word.
Faith gives birth to prayer, and grows stronger, strikes deeper, rises
higher, in the struggles and wrestlings of mighty petitioning. Faith is
the substance of things hoped for, the assurance and realization of the
inheritance of the saints. Faith, too, is humble and persevering. It
can wait and pray; it can stay on its knees, or lie in the dust. It is
the one great condition of prayer; the lack of it lies at the root of
all poor praying, feeble praying, little praying, unanswered praying.
The nature and meaning of faith is more demonstrable in what it does,
than it is by reason of any definition given it. Thus, if we turn to
the record of faith given us in that great honor roll, which
constitutes the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, we see something of the
wonderful results of faith. What a glorious list it is—that of these
men and women of faith! What marvelous achievements are there recorded,
and set to the credit of faith! The inspired writer, exhausting his
resources in cataloguing the Old Testament saints, who were such
notable examples of wonderful faith, finally exclaims:
“And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of
Gideon and Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and
Samuel, and of the prophets.” (Heb 11:32)
And then the writer of Hebrews goes on again, in a wonderful strain,
telling of the unrecorded exploits wrought through the faith of the men
of old, “of whom the world was not worthy.” “All these,” he says,
“obtained a good report through faith.”
What an era of glorious achievements would dawn for the Church and the
world, if only there could be reproduced a race of saints of like
mighty faith, of like wonderful praying! It is not the intellectually
great that the Church needs; nor is it men of wealth that the times
demand. It is not people of great social influence that this day
requires. Above everybody and everything else, it is men of faith, men
of mighty prayer, men and women after the fashion of the saints and
heroes enumerated in Hebrews, who “obtained a good report through
faith,” that the Church and the whole wide world of humanity needs.
Many men, of this day, obtain a good report because of their
money-giving, their great mental gifts and talents, but few there be
who obtain a “good report” because of their great faith in God, or
because of the wonderful things which are being wrought through their
great praying. Today, as much as at any time, we need men of great
faith and men who are great in prayer. These are the two cardinal
virtues which make men great in the eyes of God, the two things which
create conditions of real spiritual success in the life and work of the
Church. It is our chief concern to see that we maintain a faith of such
quality and texture, as counts before God; which grasps, and holds in
its keeping, the things for which it asks, without doubt and without
fear.
Doubt and fear are the twin foes of faith. Sometimes, they actually
usurp the place of faith, and although we pray, it is a restless,
disquieted prayer that we offer, uneasy and often complaining. Peter
failed to walk on Gennesaret because he permitted the waves to break
over him and swamp the power of his faith. Taking his eyes from the
Lord and regarding the water all about him, he began to sink and had to
cry for succor—“Lord, save, or I perish!”
Doubts should never be cherished, nor fears harbored. Let none cherish
the delusion that he is a martyr to fear and doubt. It is no credit to
any man’s mental capacity to cherish doubt of God, and no comfort can
possibly derive from such a thought. Our eyes should be taken off self,
removed from our own weakness and allowed to rest implicitly upon God’s
strength. “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great
recompense of reward.” A simple, confiding faith, living day by day,
and casting its burden on the Lord, each hour of the day, will
dissipate fear, drive away misgiving and deliver from doubt:
“Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by supplication and prayer,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.” (Phil 4:6)
That is the Divine cure for all fear, anxiety, and undue concern of
soul, all of which are closely akin to doubt and unbelief. This is the
Divine prescription for securing the peace which passeth all
understanding, and keeps the heart and mind in quietness and peace.
All of us need to mark well and heed the caution given in Hebrews:
“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of
unbelief, in departing from the living God.”
We need, also, to guard against unbelief as we would against an enemy.
Faith needs to be cultivated. We need to keep on praying, “Lord,
increase our faith,” for faith is susceptible of increase. Paul’s
tribute to the Thessalonians was, that their faith grew exceedingly.
Faith is increased by exercise, by being put into use. It is nourished
by sore trials.
“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold
that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto
praise and honor and glow at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet 1:7)
Faith grows by reading and meditating upon the Word of God. Most, and best of all, faith thrives in an atmosphere of prayer.
It would be well, if all of us were to stop, and inquire personally of
ourselves: “Have I faith in God? Have I real faith,—faith which keeps
me in perfect peace, about the things of earth and the things of
heaven?” This is the most important question a man can propound and
expect to be answered. And there is another question, closely akin to
it in significance and importance—“Do I really pray to God so that He
hears me and answers my prayers? And do I truly pray unto God so that I
get direct from God the things I ask of Him?”
It was claimed for Augustus Caesar that he found Rome a city of wood,
and left it a city of marble. The pastor who succeeds in changing his
people from a prayerless to a prayerful people, has done a greater work
than did Augustus in changing a city from wood to marble. And after
all, this is the prime work of the preacher. Primarily, he is dealing
with prayerless people—with people of whom it is said, “God is not in
all their thoughts.” Such people he meets everywhere, and all the time.
His main business is to turn them from being forgetful of God, from
being devoid of faith, from being prayerless, so that they become
people who habitually pray, who believe in God, remember Him and do His
will. The preacher is not sent to merely induce men to join the Church,
nor merely to get them to do better. It is to get them to pray, to
trust God, and to keep God ever before their eyes, that they may not
sin against Him.
The work of the ministry is to change unbelieving sinners into praying
and believing saints. The call goes forth by Divine authority, “Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” We catch a glimpse
of the tremendous importance of faith and of the great value God has
set upon it, when we remember that He has made it the one indispensable
condition of being saved. “By grace are ye saved, through faith.” Thus,
when we contemplate the great importance of prayer, we find faith
standing immediately by its side. By faith are we saved, and by faith
we stay saved. Prayer introduces us to a life of faith. Paul declared
that the life he lived, he lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved
him and gave Himself for him—that he walked by faith and not by sight.
Prayer is absolutely dependent upon faith. Virtually, it has no
existence apart from it, and accomplishes nothing unless it be its
inseparable companion. Faith makes prayer effectual, and in a certain
important sense, must precede it.
“For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” (Heb 11:6)
Before prayer ever starts toward God; before its petition is preferred,
before its requests are made known—faith must have gone on ahead; must
have asserted its belief in the existence of God; must have given its
assent to the gracious truth that “God is a rewarder of those that
diligently seek His face.” This is the primary step in praying. In this
regard, while faith does not bring the blessing, yet it puts prayer in
a position to ask for it, and leads to another step toward realization,
by aiding the petitioner to believe that God is able and willing to
bless.
Faith starts prayer to work—clears the way to the mercy-seat. It gives
assurance, first of all, that there is a mercy-seat, and that there the
High Priest awaits the pray-ers and the prayers. Faith opens the way
for prayer to approach God. But it does more. It accompanies prayer at
every step she takes. It is her inseparable companion and when requests
are made unto God, it is faith which turns the asking into obtaining.
And faith follows prayer, since the spiritual life into which a
believer is led by prayer, is a life of faith. The one prominent
characteristic of the experience into which believers are brought
through prayer, is not a life of works, but of faith.
Faith makes prayer strong, and gives it patience to wait on God. Faith
believes that God is a rewarder. No truth is more clearly revealed in
the Scriptures than this, while none is more encouraging. Even the
closet has its promised reward, “He that seeth in secret, shall reward
thee openly,” while the most insignificant service rendered to a
disciple in the name of the Lord, surely receives its reward. And to
this precious truth faith gives its hearty assent.
Yet faith is narrowed down to one particular thing—it does not believe
that God will reward everybody, nor that He is a rewarder of all who
pray, but that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Faith
rests its care on diligence in prayer, and gives assurance and
encouragement to diligent seekers after God, for it is they, alone, who
are richly rewarded when they pray.
We need constantly to be reminded that faith is the one inseparable
condition of successful praying. There are other considerations
entering into the exercise, but faith is the final, the one
indispensable condition of true praying. As it is written in a
familiar, primary declaration: “Without faith, it is impossible to
please Him.”
James puts this truth very plainly.
“If any of you lack wisdom,” he says, “let him ask of God, that giveth
to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth (or
doubteth) is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the
Lord.” (James 1:5-7)
Doubting is always put under the ban, because it stands as a foe to
faith and hinders effectual praying. In the First Epistle to Timothy
Paul gives us an invaluable truth relative to the conditions of
successful praying, which he thus lays down: “I will therefore that men
pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”
All questioning must be watched against and eschewed. Fear and
peradventure have no place in true praying. Faith must assert itself
and bid these foes to prayer depart.
Too much authority cannot be attributed to faith; but prayer is the
scepter by which it signalizes its power. How much of spiritual wisdom
there is in the following advice written by an eminent old divine.
“Would you be freed from the bondage to corruption?” he asks. “Would
you grow in grace in general and grow in grace in particular? If you
would, your way is plain. Ask of God more faith. Beg of Him morning,
and noon and night, while you walk by the way, while you sit in the
house, when you lie down and when you rise up; beg of Him simply to
impress Divine things more deeply on your heart, to give you more and
more of the substance of things hoped for and of the evidence of things
not seen.”
Great incentives to pray are furnished in Holy Scriptures, and our Lord
closes His teaching about prayer, with the assurance and promise of
heaven. The presence of Jesus Christ in heaven, the preparation for His
saints which He is making there, and the assurance that He will come
again to receive them—how all this helps the weariness of praying,
strengthens its conflicts, sweetens its arduous toil! These things are
the star of hope to prayer, the wiping away of its tears, the putting
of the odor of heaven into the bitterness of its cry. The spirit of a
pilgrim greatly facilitates praying. An earth-bound, earth-satisfied
spirit cannot pray. In such a heart, the flame of spiritual desire is
either gone out or smoldering in faintest glow. The wings of its faith
are clipped, its eyes are filmed, its tongue silenced. But they, who in
unswerving faith and unceasing prayer, wait continually upon the Lord,
do renew their strength, do mount up with wings as eagles, do run, and
are not weary, do walk, and not faint.
To Top
