REFORMED WITNESS
Volume III, July 1995, Number 7
The Art Of Prayer
From The Book In The Sanctuary, Expository Sermons On The Lord's Prayer by Prof. Herman Hoeksema
Published by the Reformed Free Publishing Association
As we introduce the subject of prayer, we may well impress upon your mind that it is a very difficult subject to treat. This is true, first of all, because of the very nature of the subject itself. Prayer is a holy art; and if we would analyze it and expound some of its underlying principles, we will have to approach our task in an attitude of holy reverence. It is the highest possible expression of what lives in the believer's heart by grace. Not in our works, not in our sacrifices and offerings, but in our speech, in the word of our mouth, and particularly in our prayers it is that God is glorified the most. Because prayer is an art, a holy art, the Christian will have to become truly efficient in prayer by practice and experience.
This does not mean, however, that there are no underlying principles which control this holy art of prayer and which must be observed by those who are occupied with it. These principles can be derived only from the Word of God itself. We must allow ourselves to be instructed by Scripture in order to bring into practice more consciously and fully the underlying principles of true prayer, that thus we may become more efficient in this holy, spiritual art. In the light of Scripture we must answer such questions as: What is prayer? To whom do we pray? For what may we pray? What is the proper attitude of prayer?
But difficult this subject is, too, because there is, perhaps, no subject which there is so much misunderstanding as on the subject of prayer. How often is prayer, which properly is the chief medium for the glorification of God, considered a means to obtain the fulfillment of our own carnal desires! How often, while it should be the most humble expression of submission to the will of the Father in heaven, it appears to be an attempt to impose our will upon the Almighty! And how frequently, while prayer is properly the seeking of the things of the kingdom of God and His righteousness, it is nothing but the expression of earthly desires! The reason is that we are still largely carnal, and that carnal and earthly things often weigh more heavily with us than things that are spiritual and heavenly. It is expedient, therefore, that we always compare our own prayers with that most perfect prayer which the Lord taught us to pray; and in this discussion of prayer we will do well to follow its lead.
There are innumerable passages in Holy Writ that speak of prayer, both in the Old and in the New Testament. Throughout Scripture we find that the people of God are a praying people, even from earliest times. Without prayer they cannot live. It is the very breath of their spiritual life. They cry to Jehovah in their distress, they call upon His name in the days of trouble, they seek his grace and fellowship, they worship and adore Him, they praise Him and give Him thanks. Almost all the psalms assume the form of prayer and praise. Besides, many other prayers of eminent saints are preserved for us in the Bible, such as the prayers of Abraham and Moses, of David and Solomon, of Isaiah and Hezekiah, of Daniel and Nehemiah, of Elijah and of the remnant according to the election of grace, of the church in Jerusalem and of Paul. Surpassing them all, both in spiritual beauty and perfection of contents, we have the prayers of the Lord Jesus: His marvelous sacerdotel prayer as recorded in John 17, and that profound expression of perfect submission to the will of the Father which He uttered in the hour of His agony in Gethsemane. Our Lord once spake a parable to teach us that we should always pray and never faint, even though God is longsuffering over His people. (Luke 18:1-8) In the sermon on the mount, He assures us: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." (Matthew 7:7,8) We are admonished to continue instant in prayer (Romans 12:12), and to pray without ceasing. (I Thessalonians 5:17) And, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16) The Lord Jesus left us a model prayer which, though not intended to be copied literally only, is a concrete illustration of all the principles that should underlie our prayers.
There are, of course, different forms of prayer and different occasions for prayer. Scripture employs different terms to express different aspects of this holy engagement of the whole soul. In the Old Testament a word is used which denotes the act of exhibiting or exposing one's cause before the Lord. Another term has the same root in it as the word for grace and is often translated by our word supplication. It denotes the act of invoking God's favor, grace, pity, or mercy. Still another word, translated by "cry," is used to denote the prayer of him who is in distress or tribulation and who cries to Jehovah for help and deliverance. Also in the New Testament we find several words for prayer. There is the word which is translated by our English term worship, which vividly expresses the proper attitude of him who presents himself before the face of the Most High, the attitude of deep humility and profound reverence. Other terms emphasize such ideas as confidence, fellowship with God, or devotion to the Most High. The activity of prayer as such is also variously expressed in Scripture. Prayer is called a lifting up of one's soul to God, a calling upon the name of the Lord, a seeking of Him or of His face, a bowing toward His holy place, an entering into His sanctuary, a drawing near unto the Lord, a crying unto Him from the depths, a pouring out of one's heart before Him, a waiting patiently for Him, and even a thirsting and panting of the soul after Him.
Considering all these different Scriptural data, we may conclude that all true prayer contains the following elements:
1.) It is a holy activity of the entire soul, proceeding from the regenerated heart, dominated by the Spirit of Christ.
2.) It is such an activity of the believer as brings him consciously into the presence of God in the face of Christ Jesus, so that he presents himself before His face.
3.) Hence, all true prayer is always an act of worship whereby the soul prostrates itself before the glory of God's infinite majesty in humble reverence.
4.) It is the expression of a real sense of need, principally of God and of His grace, and of a profound longing for Him and His fellowship, and of the heartfelt desire that He hear us and fulfill our need.
5.) Finally, true prayer is the assurance and confidence that He will receive us and give unto us that which we ask of Him, rooted in the consciousness of His great love to usward.
Briefly, prayer is the activity of the believer whereby he acknowledges the living God as the sole and overflowing fountain of all good and approaches that fountain with the earnest desire to drink from its blessed water of life.In all true prayer, then, we address the true and living God. You may, perhaps, think that this is a mere platitude; but if it is, it surely can bear repeating and emphasis. But what does it mean that we direct our prayer to the living God? It means nothing less than that in our prayers we are wholly dominated and guided by the true knowledge of God in the face of Christ Jesus our Lord, as He has revealed Himself in His Word. This is paramount. Only thus is it possible for us to place ourselves in the presence of the God of our salvation, to enter into His holy place, to present ourselves before His face, to worship Him and to have communion with Him. I must know Him, the only true God, in order to be able to pray at all. But I cannot know Him of myself, I cannot find Him. What ever I say about God is sure to be a lie; whatever god of my own imagination I may attempt to make is sure to be an idol. Only He can make known to me Who He is, and what He is. Hence, I must let Him speak to me before I can even begin to speak to Him. This He does in His Word, in the Holy Scriptures. For though it is true that the invisible things of Him are also clearly discerned from the things that are made, yet I cannot know Him as the God of my salvation, Who forgives iniquities, and to Whom I can pray, except from His own Word revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord, contained in the Holy Scriptures. The conclusion from this is evident: the more fully and thoroughly God's people are instructed in the true knowledge of God, the more efficient they will become in the holy, spiritual art of prayer.
From this one fundamental truth follows all we will have to say about prayer in the rest of this chapter.
For, first of all, the consciousness that in our prayers we are addressing the true and living God must needs determine the contents of our prayer. It means that we will not pray thoughtlessly, asking for anything that may come into our minds. But that we will pray with holy intelligence, instructed as to the contents of our petitions by His Word and Spirit. It implies that we are consciously speaking to that great God, Who made all things for His own name's sake, so that in our prayers we are not seeking our own little carnal end, but God Himself, His name, His kingdom, His glory, His cause, and His will. It signifies that we are consciously addressing the absolute Sovereign of heaven and earth, Who governs all things according to His eternal good pleasure, and Whose counsel shall stand forever. And this means that His is omniscient, so that we do not have to inform Him about conditions in the world; for He knows what we need, far better than we do, before we ask Him.
It means, too, that He is the all-wise God, Who governs all things with perfect wisdom, and Who never fails in His judgment, so that in our prayers we do not attempt to inform Him of our judgment as to the way He ought to govern our lives and all things in the world, but we rather humbly beseech Him for grace to submit our judgment to His, and ask Him to show us His way, that we may walk therein. It means also that our prayers are not an attempt to impose our will upon the will of the Almighty, but rather a humble petition for grace that we may submit our will to His and may learn to will His will. For "this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us." (I John 5:14) Frequently the question is asked: does prayer change things? It is very popular to answer this question in the affirmative. I can agree with this, provided you mean that it please God to execute His own unchangeable counsel and to cause His own kingdom to come in the way of the prayers of His saints, prayers which He Himself works in their hearts by His Spirit and instructs them to pray by His Word. But if you should mean that by our prayers we change the will and mind of the absolute Sovereign of all the universe, so that through our prayers not His will, but our will is done, I make bold to state not only that I must utterly disagree with such a view of prayer, but also that I abhor it with all my soul. If ever I felt as if by my prayer I changed the mind of the ever-living God, never would I have the courage to utter another petition! We do not approach the overflowing fount of all good in order to pour anything of ourselves into it and add to its sparkling goodness, but with the empty cups of our existence, that they may be filled by Him!
But still more follows from this one principle that in our prayers we consciously address the living God as He has revealed Himself in His Word. In this consciousness the sense of our real need is quite different from what we usually, in our earthly-mindedness and carnality, conceive it to be. For, as we present ourselves before the face of the living God, we are impressed and overwhelmed with a sense of His holiness. And in that sense many of our imagined needs begin to appear as the product of our sinful desires. Perhaps we had in our heart to pray for prosperity, for meat and drink, for abundance of earthly things, for health and joy, for peace and earthly happiness for ourselves and our children. But as we really stand face to face with the Holy One of Israel, we deeply realize that all these desires are carnal and sinful, that they represent the things after which the Gentiles seek, and our intended petitions die on our lips. Perhaps there is sickness in our home, and we are not satisfied with God's way. We approach the throne of grace, firmly determined to beseech the Lord of all to remove the sickness and to restore to health. But as we stand in the presence of the Most High, we realize that He knows better than we what we really need, and that He sends us all things in order to prepare us for His eternal kingdom. Then we change our prayer into a petition for grace to will His will. Perhaps we thought, as Asaph, that we had reason to murmur and to criticize the ways of the Almighty because we see the wicked prosper, while our punishment is there every morning. But in the sanctuary of God we see all things in the light of the end; and, shamefaced because of our murmuring spirit, we now confess that it is good for us to be near unto God. Perhaps there is war in the world, destruction and madness, devastation and death; and our sons are called to battle. Quite thoughtlessly, even considering it an act of piety, we hastened to the throne of the Almighty and earnestly meant to beseech Him to stop the war at once and to restore peace. But as soon as we are really and consciously in the presence of His majesty, we hear Him say, "I, the Lord, am He that doeth all these things. I make peace, but I also cause war to come. And all these things are subservient to the realization of My counsel and the coming of My kingdom." And with fear and trembling we choke back our intended petition for peace and say, "Thy will be done!" Oh, it is easy in our prayers to ask questions of anxiety and earthly-mindedness, "What shall we eat?" and, "What shall we drink?" and, "Wherewithal shall we be clothed?" as long as we really pray to an idol. But as soon as prayers become petitions to the living and only true God, all these carnal petitions die on our lips and we begin to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, confident that all other things shall be added unto us.
This one principle also determines the spiritual attitude which we assume in our prayers. Concerning this, I may mention especially three elements that are paramount: true humility, truth in our inmost heart, and childlike confidence.
Humility will characterize our attitude in prayer if we approach Him in the consciousness of His glory and majesty. This means, first of all, that we know that He is the Lord, the fulness of all riches, the overflowing fountain of all good, and that we are empty, always in need of Him. We can never bring anything to Him, or add anything to his infinite fulness. We come then with our little empty cups to the fountain, that they may be filled. God is all, we are nothing! That is true humility. But it implies more. For we are sinners, and we have forfeited all things. True humility, therefore, also means that we approach Him with the confession of our utter unworthiness in ourselves to receive ought from Him, yea, of our worthiness of being damned. And thus, this true humility will make us realize that we can approach Him only in Christ Jesus and on the ground of His perfect righteousness, and that we are, above all, in need of grace.
But the knowledge that we present ourselves before the living God, "Who knows all our hearts, and the secrets within," will also impress upon us that we must come before Him with truth in the inmost heart. We cannot approach Him with a lie in our right hand. We must feel in our hearts that we really desire the things we ask of Him. We must really hunger and thirst after righteousness when we ask Him for the forgiveness of sins and for the deliverance from evil. We must really have forgiven one another before we can appear before Him with the prayer "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." We must really desire that His name be glorified, that His kingdom may come, that His will may be done, and that, too, regardless of what may become of our name, of our kingdom, of our will, in order to utter before Him the first three petitions of the Lord's Prayer. For He requires truth in our inmost hearts.
Thus, finally, we will also approach Him in the attitude of confidence that He will grant us our petition. For He that cometh unto God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) We shall be able to close our prayers with a real and true Amen, confident, not merely that He shall give us something but that He shall grant us exactly what we asked of Him according to His will. And the blessed fruit for us will be that He will abundantly give us His grace and Spirit, and that "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7)
God Over All
O God, All-Sufficient,
Thou hast made and upholdest all things by the word of thy power;
darkness is thy pavilion,
thou walkest on the wings of the wind;
All nations are nothing before thee;
one generation succeeds another,
and we hasten back to the dust;
the heavens we behold will vanish away like the clouds that cover them,
the earth we tread on will dissolve as a morning dream;
But thou, unchangeable and incorruptible,
art for ever and ever,
God over all, blessed eternally.
Infinitely great and glorious art thou.
We are thy offspring and thy care.
Thy hands have made and fashioned us.
Thou hast watched over us with more than parental love,
more than maternal tenderness.
Thou hast holden our soul in life,
and not suffered our feet to be moved.
Thy divine power has given us all things necessary for life and godliness.
Let us bless thee at all times and forget not how thou hast
forgiven our iniquities, healed our diseases,
redeemed our lives from destruction,
crowned us with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
satisfied our mouths with good things,
renewed our youth like the eagle's.May thy Holy Scriptures govern every part of our lives,
and regulate the discharge of all our duties,
so that we may adorn thy doctrine in all things.From The Valley of Vision
A Collection Of Puritan Prayers and Devotians
Edited by Arthur Bennett
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