An Unknown Christian

The Kneeling Christian

Chapter 5
What is Prayer?

MR. MOODY was once addressing a crowded meeting of
children in Edinburgh. In order to get their attention he
began with a question: “What is prayer?” —
looking for no reply, and expecting to give the answer
himself.

To his amazement scores of little hands shot up all over
the hall. He asked one lad to reply; and the answer came at
once, clear and correct, “Prayer is an offering up of
our desires unto God for things agreeable to His will, in
the name of Christ, with confession of our sins and
thankful, acknowledgment of His mercies.” Mr.
Moody’s delighted comment was, “Thank God, my boy,
that you were born in Scotland.” But that was half a
century ago. What sort of answer would he get today? How
many English children could give a definition of prayer?
Think for a moment and decide what answer you yourself
would give.

What do we mean by prayer? I believe the vast majority of
Christians would say, “Prayer is asking things from
God.” But surely prayer is much more than merely
“getting God to run our errands for us,” as
someone puts it. It is a higher thing than the beggar
knocking at the rich man’s door.

The word “prayer” really means “a wish
directed towards,” that is, towards God. All that true
prayer seeks is God Himself, for with Him we get all we
need. Prayer is simply “the turning of the soul to
God.” David describes it as the lifting up of the
living soul to the living God. “Unto Thee, O Lord, do
I lift up my soul” (Psa. xxv. 1). What a beautiful
description of prayer that is! When we desire the Lord
Jesus to behold our souls, we also desire that the beauty
of holiness may be upon us.

When we lift up our souls to God in prayer it gives God an
opportunity to do what He will in us and with us. It is
putting ourselves at God’s disposal. God is always on
our side. When man prays, it is God’s opportunity. The
poet says:

Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.

“Prayer,” says an old Jewish mystic, “is
the moment when heaven and earth kiss each other.”

Prayer, then, is certainly not persuading God to do what
we want God to do. It is not bending the will of a
reluctant God to our will. It does not change His purpose,
although it may release His power. “We must not
conceive of prayer as overcoming God’s
reluctance,” says Archbishop Trench, “but as
laying hold of His highest willingness.”

For God always purposes our greatest good. Even the prayer
offered in ignorance and blindness cannot swerve Him from
that, although, when we persistently pray for some harmful
thing, our wilfulness may bring it about, and we suffer
accordingly. “He gave them their request,” says
the Psalmist, “but sent leanness into their soul”
(Psa. cvi. 15). They brought this “leanness” upon
themselves. They were “cursed with the burden of a
granted prayer.”

Prayer, in the minds of some people, is only for
emergencies! Danger threatens, sickness comes, things are
lacking, difficulties arise — then they pray. Like the
infidel down a coal mine: when the roof began to fall he
began to pray. An old Christian standing by quietly
remarked, “Aye, there’s nowt like cobs of coal to
make a man pray.”

Prayer is, however, much more than merely asking God for
something, although that is a very valuable part of prayer
if only because it reminds us of our utter dependence upon
God. It is also communion with God — intercourse with God
— talking with (not only to) God. We get to know people by
talking with them. We get to know God in like manner. The
highest result of prayer is not deliverance from evil, or
the securing of some coveted thing, but knowledge of God.
“And this is life eternal, that they should know Thee,
the only true God” (John xvii. 3). Yes, prayer
discovers more of God, and that is the soul’s greatest
discovery. Men still cry out, “O, that I knew where I
might find Him, that I might come even to His seat”
(Job xxiii. 3).

The kneeling Christian always “finds” Him, and
is found of Him. The heavenly vision of the Lord Jesus
blinded the eyes of Saul of Tarsus on his downward course,
but he tells us, later on, that when he was praying in the
temple at Jerusalem he fell into a trance and saw Jesus.
“I . . . saw him” (Acts xxii. 18). Then it was
that Christ gave him his great commission to go to the
Gentiles. Vision is always a precursor of vocation and
venture. It was so with Isaiah. “I saw the Lord high
and lifted up, and his train filled the temple” (Isa
vi. 1). The prophet was evidently in the sanctuary praying
when this happened. This vision also was a prelude to a
call to service, “Go. . . .” Now, we cannot get a
vision of God unless we pray. And where there is no vision
the soul perishes.

A vision of God! Brother Lawrence once said, “Prayer
is nothing else than a sense of God’s presence” —
and that is just the practice of the presence of God.

A friend of Horace Bushnell was present when that man of
God prayed. There came over him a wonderful sense of
God’s nearness. He says: “When Horace Bushnell
buried his face in his hands and prayed, I was afraid to
stretch out my hand in the darkness, lest I should touch
God.” Was the Psalmist of old conscious of such a
thought when he cried, “My soul, wait thou only upon
God”? (Psa. lxii. 5.) I believe that much of our
failure in prayer is due to the fact that we have not
looked into this question, “What is prayer?” It
is good to be conscious that we are always in the presence
of God. It is better to gaze upon Him in adoration. But it
is best of all to commune with Him as a Friend — and that
is prayer.

Real prayer at its highest and best reveals a soul athirst
for God — just for God alone. Real prayer comes from the
lips of those whose affection is set on things above. What
a man of prayer Zinzendorf was. Why? He sought the Giver
rather than His gifts. He said: “I have one passion:
it is He, He alone.” Even the Mohammedan seems to have
got hold of this thought. He says that there are three
degrees in prayer. The lowest is that spoken only by the
lips. The next is when, by a resolute effort, we succeed in
fixing our thoughts on Divine things. The third is when the
soul finds it hard to turn away from God. Of course, we
know that God bids us “ask” of Him. We all obey
Him so far; and we may rest well assured that prayer both
pleases God and supplies all our need. But he would be a
strange child who only sought his father’s presence
when he desired some gift from him! And do we not all yearn
to rise to a higher level of prayer than mere petition? How
is it to be done?

It seems to me that only two steps are necessary — or
shall we say two thoughts? There must be, first of all, a
realization of God’s glory, and then of God’s
grace. We sometimes sing:

Grace and glory flow from Thee;
Shower, O shower them, Lord, on me.

Nor is such a desire fanciful, although some may ask what
God’s glory has to do with prayer.

But ought we not to remind ourselves Who He is to Whom we
pray? There is logic in the couplet:

Thou art coming to a King;
Large petitions with thee bring.

Do you think that any one of us spends enough time in
pondering over, yes, and marveling over, God’s
exceeding great glory? And do you suppose that any one of
us has grasped the full meaning of the word
“grace”? Are not our prayers so often ineffective
and powerless — and sometimes even prayerless — because
we rush unthinkingly and unpreparedly into God’s
presence, without realizing the majesty and glory of the
God Whom we are approaching, and without reflecting upon
the exceeding great riches of His glory in Christ Jesus,
which we hope to draw upon? We must “think
magnificently of God.”

May we then suggest that before we lay our petitions
before God we first dwell in meditation upon His glory and
then upon His grace — for He offers us both. We must lift
up the soul to God. Let us place ourselves, as it were, in
the presence of God and direct our prayer to the King of
kings, and Lord of lords, Who only hath immortality,
dwelling in light unapproachable . . . to Whom be honor and
power eternal (I Tim. vi. 16). Let us then give Him
adoration and praise because of His exceeding great glory.
Consecration is not enough. There must be adoration.

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts,” cry
the seraphim; “the whole earth is full of his
glory” (Isa. vi. 3). “Glory to God in the
highest,” cries the “whole multitude of the
heavenly host” (Luke ii. 14). Yet some of us try to
commune with God without stopping to “put off our
shoes from off our feet” (Exod. iii. 5).

Lips cry “God be merciful”
That ne’er cry “God be praised.”
O come let us adore Him!

And we may approach His glory with boldness. Did not our
Lord pray that His disciples might behold His glory? (John
xvii. 24). Why? And why is “the whole earth full of
His glory”? The telescope reveals His infinite glory.
The microscope reveals His uttermost glory. Even the
unaided eye sees surpassing glory in landscape, sunshine,
sea and sky. What does it all mean? These things are but a
partial revelation of God’s glory. It was not a desire
for self-display that led our Lord to pray, “Father,
glorify Thy Son” . . . “O Father, glorify Thou
Me” (John xvii. 1, 3). Our dear Lord wants us to
realize His infinite trustworthiness and unlimited power,
so that we can approach Him in simple faith and trust.

In heralding the coming of Christ the prophet declared
that “glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all
flesh shall see it together” (Isa. xl. 5). Now we must
get a glimpse of that glory before we can pray aright. So
our Lord said, “When ye pray, say Our Father, Who art
in heaven [the realm of glory], hallowed be Thy name.”
There is nothing like a glimpse of glory to banish fear and
doubt. Before we offer up our petitions may it not help us
to offer up our adoration in the words of praise used by
some of the saints of old? Some devout souls may not need
such help. We are told that Francis of Assisi would
frequently spend an hour or two in prayer on the top of
Mount Averno, whilst the only word which escaped his lips
would be “God” repeated at intervals. He began
with adoration — and often stopped there!

But most of us need some help to realize the glory of the
invisible God before we can adequately praise and adore
Him. Old William Law said, “When you begin to pray,
use such expressions of the attributes of God as will make
you sensible of His greatness and power.”

This point is of such tremendous importance that we
venture to remind our readers of helpful words. Some of us
begin every day with a glance heavenwards whilst saying,
“Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the
Holy Ghost.” The prayer, “O Lord God most holy, O
Lord most mighty, O holy and merciful Savior!” is
often enough to bring a solemn awe and a spirit of holy
adoration upon the soul. The Gloria in Excelsis of the
Communion Service is most uplifting: “Glory be to God
on high and in earth peace. . . . We praise Thee; we bless
Thee; we worship Thee; we glorify Thee; we give thanks to
Thee for Thy great glory, O Lord God, heavenly King, God
the Father Almighty.” Which of us can from the heart
utter praise like that and remain unmoved, unconscious of
the very presence and wondrous majesty of the Lord God
Almighty? A verse of a hymn may serve the same purpose.

My God. how wonderful Thou art!
Thy majesty how bright.
How beautiful Thy mercy-seat
In depths of burning light!
How wonderful, how beautiful
The sight of Thee must be;
Thine endless wisdom, boundless power
And awful purity.

This carries us into the very heavenlies, as also do the
words:

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
All Thy works shall praise Thy name
In earth, and sky, and sea.

We need to cry out, and to cry often, “My soul doth
magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my
Savior” (Luke i. 46, 47). Can we catch the spirit of
the Psalmist and sing, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
all that is within me, bless His holy name”? (Psa.
ciii. 1.) “Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God,
Thou art very great; Thou are clothed with honor and
majesty” (Psa. civ. 1). When shall we learn that
“in His temple everything saith Glory!” (Psa.
xxix. 9, R.V.) Let us, too, cry, Glory!

Such worship of God, such adoration and praise and
thanksgiving, not only put us into the spirit of prayer,
but in some mysterious way they help God to work on our
behalf. Do you remember those wonderful words, “Whoso,
offereth the sacrifice of thanksgiving, glorifyeth Me and
prepareth a way that I may show him the salvation of
God”?, (Psa. l. 23, R.V., marg.) Praise and
thanksgiving not only open the gates of heaven for me to
approach God, but also “prepare a way” for God to
bless me. St. Paul cries, “Rejoice evermore!”
before he says, “Pray without ceasing.” So then
our praise, as well as our prayers, is to be without
ceasing.

At the raising of Lazarus our Lord’s prayer had as its
first utterance a note of thanksgiving. “Father, I
thank Thee that Thou heardest Me” (John xi. 41). He
said it for those around to hear. Yes, and for us to hear.

You may perhaps be wondering why it is that we should
specially give thanks to God for His great glory when we
kneel in prayer; and why we should spend any time in
thinking of and gazing upon that glory. But is He not the
King of Glory? All He is and all He does is glory. His
holiness is “glorious” (Exod. xv. 11). His name
is glorious (Deut. xxviii. 58). His work is
“glorious” (Psa. cxi. 3). His power is glorious
(Col. i. 11). His voice is glorious (Isa. xxx. 30).

All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small.
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
for His glory.

“For of him and through him and unto him are all
things; to whom be glory for ever” (Rom. xi. 36). And
this is the God who bids us come to Him in prayer. This God
is our God, and He has “gifts for men” (Psa.
lxviii. 18). God says that everyone that is called by His
name has been created for His glory (Isa. xliii. 7). His
Church is to be a “glorious” Church — holy and
without blemish (Eph. v. 27). Have you ever fully realized
that the Lord Jesus desires to share with us the glory we
see in Him? This is His great gift to you and me, His
redeemed ones. Believe me, the more we have of God’s
glory, the less shall we seek His gifts. Not only in that
day “when he shall come to be glorified in his
saints” (II Thess. i. 10) is there glory for us, but
here and now — today. He wishes us to be partakers of His
glory. Did not our Lord Himself say so? “The glory
which thou has given me, I have given unto them,” He
declares (John xvii. 22). What is God’s command?
“Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of
the Lord is risen upon thee.” Nay, more than this:
“His glory shall be seen upon thee,” says the
inspired prophet (Isa. Ix. 1, 2).

God would have people say of us as St. Peter said of the
disciples of old: “The Spirit of Glory and the Spirit
of God resteth upon you” (I Peter iv. 14). Would not
that be an answer to most of our prayers? Could we ask for
anything better? How can we get this glory? How are we to
reflect it? Only as the result of prayer. It is when we
pray, that the Holy Spirit takes of the things of Christ
and reveals them unto us (John xvi. 15).

It was when Moses prayed, “Show me, I pray thee, thy
glory,” that he not only saw somewhat of it, but
shared something of that glory, and his own face shone with
the light of it (Exod. xxxiii. 18, xxxiv. 29). And when we,
too, gaze upon the “glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ” (II Cor. iv. 6), we shall see not only a
glimpse of that glory, but we shall gain something of it
ourselves.

Now, that is prayer, and the highest result of prayer. Nor
is there any other way of securing that glory, that God may
be glorified in us (Isa. Ix. 21).

Let us often meditate upon Christ’s glory — gaze upon
it and so reflect it and receive it. This is what happened
to our Lord’s first disciples. They said in awed tones,
“We beheld his glory!” Yes, but what followed? A
few plain, unlettered, obscure fishermen companied with
Christ a little while, seeing His glory; and lo! they
themselves caught something of that glory. And then others
marveled and “took knowledge of them that they had
been with Jesus” (Acts iv. 13). And when we can
declare, with St. John, “Yea, and our fellowship is
with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (I John
i. 3), people will say the same of us: “They have been
with Jesus!”

As we lift up our soul in prayer to the living God, we
gain the beauty of holiness as surely as a flower becomes
beautiful by living in the sunlight. Was not our Lord
Himself transfigured when He prayed? And the “very
fashion” of our countenance will change, and we shall
have our Mount of Transfiguration when prayer has its
rightful place in our lives. And men will see in our faces
“the outward and visible sign of an inward and
spiritual grace.” Our value to God and to man is in
exact proportion to the extent in which we reveal the glory
of God to others.

We have dwelt so much upon the glory of Him to Whom we
pray, that we must not now speak of His grace.

What is prayer? It is a sign of spiritual life. I should
as soon expect life in a dead man as spiritual life in a
prayerless soul! Our spirituality and our fruitfulness are
always in proportion to the reality of our prayers. If,
then, we have at all wandered away from home in the matter
of prayer, let us today resolve, “I will arise and go
unto my Father, and say unto Him, Father –.”

At this point I laid down my pen, and on the page of the
first paper I picked up were these words: “The secret
of failure is that we see men rather than God. Romanism
trembled when Martin Luther saw God. The ‘great
awakening’ sprang into being when Jonathan Edwards saw
God. The world became the parish of one man when John
Wesley saw God. Multitudes were saved when Whitfield saw
God. Thousands of orphans were fed when George Muller saw
God. And He is ‘the same yesterday, today, and
forever.'”

Is it not time that we got a new vision of God — of God
in all His glory? Who can say what will happen when the
Church sees God? But let us not wait for others. Let us,
each one for himself, with unveiled face and unsullied
heart, get this vision of the glory of the Lord.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see
God” (Matt. v. 8). No missioner whom it has been my
joy to meet ever impressed me quite as much as Dr. Wilbur
Chapman. He wrote to a friend: “I have learned some
great lessons concerning prayer. At one of our missions in
England the audiences were exceedingly small. But I
received a note saying that an American missionary . . .
was going to pray God’s blessing down upon our work. He
was known as ‘Praying Hyde.’ Almost instantly the
tide turned. The hall became packed, and at my first
invitation fifty men accepted Christ as their Savior. As we
were leaving I said, ‘Mr. Hyde, I want you to pray for
me.’ He came to my room, turned the key in the door,
and dropped on his knees, and waited five minutes without a
single syllable coming from his lips. I could hear my own
heart thumping and his beating. I felt the hot tears
running down my face. I knew I was with God. Then, with
upturned face, down which the tears were streaming, he said
‘O God!’ Then for five minutes at least he was
still again; and then, when he knew that he was talking
with God . . . there came up from the depth of his heart
such petitions for men as I had never heard before. I rose
from my knees to know what real prayer was. We believe that
prayer is mighty, and we believe it as we never did
before.”

Dr. Chapman used to say, “It was a season of prayer
with John Hyde that made me realize what real prayer was. I
owe to him more than I owe to any man for showing me what a
prayer-life is, and what a real consecrated life is. . . .
Jesus Christ became a new Ideal to me, and I had a glimpse
of His prayer-life; and I had a longing which has remained
to this day to be a real praying man.” And God the
Holy Spirit can so teach us.

Oh, ye who sigh and languish
And mourn your lack of power,
Hear ye this gentle whisper:
“Could ye not watch one hour?”
For fruitfulness and blessing
There is no royal road;
The power for holy service
Is intercourse with God.

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