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THE KNEELING CHRISTIAN
by Unknown Christian

Some twenty years ago the writer was studying in a Theological College. One morning, early, a fellow-student — who is today one of England’s foremost missionaries — burst into the room holding an open Bible in his hands. Although he was preparing for Holy Orders, he was at that time only a young convert to Christ.

He had gone up to the University “caring for none of these things.” Popular, clever, athletic — he had already won a place amongst the smart set of his college, when Christ claimed him. He accepted the Lord Jesus as a personal Savior, and became a very keen follower of his Master. The Bible was, comparatively, a new book to him, and as a result he was constantly making “discoveries.” On that memorable day on which he invaded my quietude he cried excitedly — his face all aglow with mingled joy and surprise — “Do you believe this? Is it really true?” “Believe what?” I asked, glancing at the open Bible with some astonishment. “Why, this — “ and he read in eager tones St. Matthew xxi. 21, 22: “‘If ye have faith and doubt not . . . all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ Do you believe it? Is it true?” “Yes,” I replied, with much surprise at his excitement, “of course it’s true — of course I believe it.”

Yet, through my mind there flashed all manner of thoughts! “Well, that’s a very wonderful promise,” said he. “It seems to me to be absolutely limitless! Why don’t we pray more?” And he went away, leaving me thinking hard. I had never looked at those verses quite in that way. As the door closed upon that eager young follower of the Master, I had a vision of my Savior and His love and His power such as I never had before. I had a vision of a life of prayer — yes, and “limitless” power, which I saw depended upon two things only — faith and prayer. For the moment I was thrilled. I fell on my knees, and as I bowed before my Lord what thoughts surged through my mind — what hopes and aspirations flooded my soul! God was speaking to me in an extraordinary way. This was a great call to prayer. But — to my shame be it said — I heeded not that call.

Where did I fail? True, I prayed a little more than before, but nothing much seemed to happen. Why? Was it because I did not see what a high standard the Savior requires in the inner life of those who would pray successfully?

Was it because I had failed to measure up my life to the “perfect love” standard so beautifully described in the thirteenth chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians?

For, after all, prayer is not just putting into action good resolutions “to pray.” Like David, we need to cry, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psa. li.) before we can pray aright. And the inspired words of the Apostle of Love need to be heeded today as much as ever before: “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God; and [then] whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him” (I John iii. 21).

“True — and I believe it.” Yes, indeed, it is a limitless promise, and yet how little we realize it, how little we claim from Christ. And our Lord “marvels” at our unbelief. But if we could only read the Gospels for the first time, what an amazing book it would seem! Should not we “marvel” and “wonder”? And today I pass on that great call to you. Will you give heed to it? Will you profit by it? Or shall it fall on deaf ears and leave you prayerless?

Fellow-Christians, let us awake! The devil is blinding our eyes. He is endeavoring to prevent us from facing this question of prayer. These pages are written by special request. But it is many months since that request came.

Every attempt to begin to write has been frustrated, and even now one is conscious of a strange reluctance to do so. There seems to be some mysterious power restraining the hand. Do we realize that there is nothing the devil dreads so much as prayer? His great concern is to keep us from praying. He loves to see us “up to our eyes” in work — provided we do not pray. He does not fear because we are eager and earnest Bible students — provided we are little in prayer. Someone has wisely said, “Satan laughs at our toiling, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.” All this is so familiar to us — but do we really pray? If not, then failure must dog our footsteps, whatever signs of apparent success there may be.

Let us never forget that the greatest thing we can do for God or for man is to pray. For we can accomplish far more by our prayers than by our work. Prayer is omnipotent; it can do anything that God can do! When we pray God works. All fruitfulness in service is the outcome of prayer — of the worker’s prayers, or of those who are holding up holy hands on his behalf. We all know how to pray, but perhaps many of us need to cry as the disciples did of old, “Lord, teach us to pray.”

O Lord, by Whom ye come to God,
The Life, the Truth, the Way,
The path of prayer Thyself hast trod;
Lord, teach us now to pray.

CHAPTER 2: ALMOST INCREDIBLE PROMISES

“WHEN we stand with Christ in glory, looking o’er life’s finished story,” the most amazing feature of that life as it is looked back upon will be its prayerlessness.

We shall be almost beside ourselves with astonishment that we spent so little time in real intercession. It will be our turn to “wonder.”

In our Lord’s last discourse to His loved ones, just before the most wonderful of all prayers, the Master again and again held out His kingly golden sceptre and said, as it were, “What is your request? It shall be granted unto you, even unto the whole of My kingdom!”

Do we believe this? We must do so if we believe our Bibles. Shall we just read over very quietly and thoughtfully one of our Lord’s promises, reiterated so many times? If we had never read them before, we should open our eyes in bewilderment, for these promises are almost incredible. From the lips of any mere man they would be quite unbelievable. But it is the Lord of heaven and earth Who speaks; and He is speaking at the most solemn moment of His life. It is the eve of His death and passion. It is a farewell message. Now listen!

“Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do: because I go unto the Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in My name, that will I do” (John xiv. 13, 14). Now, could any words be plainer or clearer than these? Could any promise be greater or grander? Has anyone else, anywhere, at any time, ever offered so much?

How staggered those disciples must have been! Surely they could scarcely believe their own ears. But that promise is made also to you and to me.

And, lest there should be any mistake on their part, or on ours, our Lord repeats Himself a few moments afterwards. Yes, and the Holy Spirit bids St. John record those words again. “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bare much fruit; and so shall ye be My disciples” (John xv. 7, 8). These words are of such grave importance, and so momentous, that the Savior of the world is not content even with a threefold utterance of them. He urges His disciples to obey His command “to ask.” In fact, He tells them that one sign of their being His “friends” will be the obedience to His commands in all things (verse 14). Then He once more repeats His wishes: “Ye did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide: that whatsoever ye shall ask the Father, in My name, He may give it you” (John xv. 16). One would think that our Lord had now made it plain enough that He wanted them to pray; that He needed their prayers, and that without prayer they could accomplish nothing. But to our intense surprise He returns again to the same subject, saying very much the same words.

“In that day ye shall ask Me nothing” — i.e., “ask Me no question” (R.V., marg.) — “Verily, verily I say unto you, if ye ask anything of the Father, He will give it you in My name. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be fulfilled” (John xvi. 23, 24).

Never before had our Lord laid such stress on any promise or command — never! This truly marvelous promise is given us six times over. Six times, almost in the same breath, our Savior commands us to ask whatsoever we will. This is the greatest — the most wonderful — promise ever made to man. Yet most men — Christian men — practically ignore it! Is it not so? The exceeding greatness of the promise seems to over-whelm us. Yet we know that He is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph. iii. 20).

So our blessed Master gives the final exhortation, before He is seized, and bound, and scourged, before His gracious lips are silenced on the cross, “Ye shall ask in My name . . . for the Father Himself loveth you” (verse 26). We have often spent much time in reflecting upon our Lord’s seven words from the cross. And it is well we should do so. Have we ever spent one hour in meditating upon this, our Savior’s sevenfold invitation to pray?

Today He sits on the throne of His Majesty on high, and He holds out to us the sceptre of His power. Shall we touch it and tell Him our desires? He bids us take of His treasures. He yearns to grant us “according to the riches of His glory,” that we may “be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.” He tells us that our strength and our fruitfulness depend upon our prayers. He reminds us that our very joy depends upon answered prayer (John xvi. 24).

And yet we allow the devil to persuade us to neglect prayer! He makes us believe that we can do more by our own efforts than by our prayers — by our intercourse with men than by our intercession with God. It passes one’s comprehension that so little heed should be given to our Lord’s sevenfold invitation — command — promise! How dare we work for Christ without being much on our knees? Quite recently an earnest Christian “worker” — a Sunday-school teacher and communicant — wrote me, saying, “I have never had an answer to prayer in all my life.” But why? Is God a liar? Is not God trustworthy? Do His promises count for nought. Does He not mean what He says? And doubtless there are many reading these words who in their hearts are saying the same thing as that Christian worker. Payson is right — is Scriptural — when he says: “If we would do much for God, we must ask much of God: we must be men of prayer.” If our prayers are not answered — always answered, but not necessarily granted — the fault must be entirely in ourselves, and not in God. God delights to answer prayer; and He has given us His word that He will answer.

Fellow-laborers in His vineyard, it is quite evident that our Master desires us to ask, and to ask much. He tells us we glorify God by doing so! Nothing is beyond the scope of prayer which is not beyond the will of God — and we do not desire to go beyond His will.

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