Prayer is an Always Thing

“Men ought always to pray, and “-although faintness of spirit attends on prayer like a shadow-“not faint.” The soil in which the prayer of faith takes root is a life of unbroken communion with God, a life in which the windows of the soul are always open towards the City of Rest. We do not know the true potency of prayer until our hearts are so steadfastly inclined to God that our thoughts turn to Him, as by a Divine instinct, whenever they are set free from the consideration of earthly things. It has been said of Origen (in his own words) that his life was “one unceasing supplication.” By this means above all others the perfect idea of the Christian life is realized. Intercourse between the believer and his Lord ought never to be interrupted.

“The vision of God,” says Bishop Westcott, “makes life a continuous prayer.” And in that vision all fleeting things resolve themselves, and appear in relation to things unseen. In a broad use of the term, prayer is the sum of all the service that we render to God,8 so that all fulfillment of duty is, in one sense, the performance of Divine service, and the familiar saying, “Work is worship,” is justified. “I am prayer,” said a Psalmist (Psa. cix. 4). “In everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,” said an Apostle.

This is a quote from Hidden Life of Prayer by David MacIntyre

Moses the Man of Prayer

These are quotes from The Inner Chamber by Andrew Murray on Moses the man of prayer.

Moses’ Prayers—In Egypt, from his first call, Moses prayed.  He asked God what he was to say to the people, Exodus 3:11-13.   He told Him all his weakness, and besought Him to be relieved of his mission, 4:1-13.   When the people reproached him that their burdens were increased, he went and told God, 5:22, and he made known to Him all his fears, 6:12.  This was his first training.  Out of this was born his power in prayer when, time after time, Pharaoh asked him to entreat the Lord for him, and deliverance came at Moses’ request (8:8-9, 12,etc)

Think of the place God had in Moses’ life, as the God who had sent him, the God to whom he was totally devoted, the God who had promised to be with him, and who would and did always help him when he prayed.

Now for the practical application:  How to learn to pray like Moses?  We cannot secure this grace by an act of the will.  Out first lesson must be the sense of impotence.  Then grace will work it in us, slowly and surely, if we give ourselves into its training.  But though the training will be gradual, there is one thing that can be done at once. We can at once decide to give ourselves to this life and take up the right position.  Do this now.  Take the decision, to LIVE ENTIRELY TO BE A CHANNEL FOR GOD’S BLESSING TO FLOW THROUGH YOU TO THE WORLD.  TAKE THE STEP.  If need be, take ten minutes for deliberate thought.  Accept the Divine appointment, and take up some object of intercession.

Prayer is the best way to start the day

The following is a quote from Robert Murray M’Cheyne:

“I ought to pray before seeing any one. Often when I sleep long, or meet with others early, it is eleven or twelve o’clock before I begin secret prayer. This is a wretched system. It is unscriptural. Christ arose before day and went into a solitary place. David says: ‘Early will I seek thee’; ‘Thou shalt early hear my voice.’ Family prayer loses much of its power and sweetness, and I can do no good to those who come to seek from me. The conscience feels guilty, the soul unfed, the lamp not trimmed. Then when in secret prayer the soul is often out of tune, I feel it is far better to begin with God—to see his face first, to get my soul near him before it is near another.”

Prayer sets the direction for the day and lines up the day with God’s interests, God’s will and God’s purposes. Also consider the verse in
Psalms 88:13 But to You I have cried out, O LORD, And in the morning my prayer comes before You.  The morning time is the best time to get started with God.

Here’s another quote from Robert M’Cheyne “Rose early to seek God and found Him whom my soul loveth. Who would not rise early to meet such company?”

God’s Word is a Treasure to be Pursued

The Bible is the Word of God.  Few things can change your life for the better than the time you spend studying God’s Word.  Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, said this of God’s wisdom, “13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. 14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. 16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.” Again in Proverbs 8:10-11 where wisdom personified is speaking, “Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold; For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.” Read those verses again!  God’s wisdom is a treasure.  Who doesn’t love the thought of going on a treasure hunt?  If we knew the location of some buried treasure, we would spare no effort to find it. If we have to miss a meal or two while we dig for treasure—no problem! Job felt that way, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” Job didn’t just say God’s Word was more important to him than food but more important than his necessary food.  Think about! The importance of God’s Word wasn’t lost on Jeremiah either, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.”

Read the Word Daily

So you are eager to study the Bible.  You have your good Bible translation in hand.  Now what?  Well, a good first place to start is a daily reading plan so you can begin to understand the big picture of God’s Word.  Daily reading plans are available from various sources, including Olive Tree to help you read through the entire Bible in a year.  Does reading through the entire Bible in a year sound like something you just don’t have the time for?  Do you realize that by committing yourself to reading the Bible twelve minutes a day you could accomplish just that?  That is just six minutes in the morning and six minutes in the afternoon.  Everyone has time for that. We all waste more time than that every day don’t we?  Just do it.  If you are not ready for that kind of plan, then consider reading just one chapter in the book of Proverbs every day for a month. There are thirty-one chapters in the book of Proverbs, so that would work out great.  Proverbs is filled with very practical information—wisdom from God that meets you where you are today.  Another excellent choice for Bible reading is the Gospel of John, especially if you are a fairly new believer and want to get to know your Savior better.  Even if you are an unbeliever, the Gospel of John is a good place for you to meet the Savior. John says he wrote his gospel that you might believe, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” (John 20:30-31). If you are an unbeliever, you won’t understand the Bible very well, but God will be more than gracious in helping you to understand what you need to know in order to believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior. So to begin Bible study, get into the habit of just reading your Bible—regularly.

Take Advantage of Bible-Study Tools

It is wonderful when you find a great Bible-teaching church, but your responsibility doesn’t stop there.  You need to delve into God’s Word on your own on a daily basis.  Remember, God’s Word is more important than your necessary food.  Physical nourishment is essential, but spiritual nourishment is far more important to the Christian.  This can sound rather intimidating but we are so blessed today to have an abundance of resources that can help us study the Bible on our own.  The first requirement for every student of God’s Word is your textbook, and your textbook, of course, is the Bible and there are literally hundreds to choose from.  When it comes to effective Bible study you should choose a Bible translation and not a paraphrase. The Bible is inspired by God as written in the original languages (Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic).  Peter says in I Peter 1:21 that God superintended the authors of Scripture so that His Word was accurately committed to writing, “For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” Jesus Christ Himself taught in Matthew 5:18 that every individual word and, in fact, every letter of Scripture is inspired and extremely valuable, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Basically Jesus is saying, here, that every stroke of the pen, down the tiniest mark, is inspired by God and will never pass away.  God is a God of details and the details are important.  So choose your Bible translation carefully.  Your christian friend should be able to help you make the best decision, here, but there are numerous good Bible translations out there including; the King James, New King James, New American Standard, The New International,  The English Standard, and Holman Christian Standard, to name a few.  This is not to say that you should not read a Bible paraphrase because they do have their place on your bookshelf, but if you can only afford one Bible, be sure it is a good word-for-word translation as opposed to a thought-for-thought translation or paraphrase.  If you cannot afford a Bible, check with your church. I am sure someone there would be more than happy to give you a Bible. If you have access to a computer or hand-held device such as iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android, etc., there are many Bibles available for free download.  For a list of many free Bible resources, check with Olive Tree Bible Software at www.olivetree.com.

The Believer’s Insatiable Appetite for God’s Word

In light of the fact that God’s Word is a treasure, why do so few Christians love to dig into it?  Why are most of us satisfied being spoon-fed a feel-good sermon on Sunday morning, but not willing to work ourselves at learning what God has to say to us? Take some time to meditate on that question in light of your own attitude toward studying God’s Word.  Bible study is not optional for the believer, “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, [I Peter 2:2].  First of all, that is a command, not a suggestion.  We should desire or long for the pure milk of God’s Word as a baby desires or longs for milk when he is hungry.  Every parent will smile at the imagery used by Peter here. There is no stopping the hungry baby, and the parents had better get the message or they will have no peace!  A desire for God’s Word is one thing that typically characterizes a new believer. This is a God-given desire.

The Spirit is our Wonderful Prayer Helper

Sometimes we start to pray but cannot get a direction, or we have the prayer direction, but we don’t have the words. Also sometime we may not know the best balance between prayer and action. The Holy Spirit is our wonderful prayer helper. In Romans chapter 8, a great chapter on living the christian life in spirit Paul says  “26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit because He makes intercession for the saints according to God. ”  So count on the Sprit to always be ready to help you in your prayer time.