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THE KNEELING CHRISTIAN
by Unknown Christian

To pray “in His name” is to pray in His character, as His representative sent by Him: it is to pray by His Spirit and according to His will; to have His approval in our asking, to seek what He seeks, to ask help to do what He Himself would wish to be done, and to desire to do it not for our own glorification, but for His glory alone. To pray “in His name” we must have identity of interests and purpose. Self and its aims and desires must be entirely controlled by God’s Holy Spirit, so that our wills are in complete harmony with Christ’s will.

We must reach the attitude of St. Augustine when he, cried, “O Lord, grant that I may do Thy will as if it were my will, so that Thou mayest do my will as if it were Thy will.”

Child of God, does this seem to make prayer “in His name” quite beyond us? That was not our Lord’s intention. He is not mocking us! Speaking of the Holy Spirit our Lord used these words: “The Comforter . . . Whom the Father will send in my name” (John xiv. 26). Now, our Savior wants us to be so controlled by the Holy Spirit that we may act in Christ’s name. “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. viii. 14). And only sons can say, “Our Father.” Our Lord said of Saul of Tarsus: “He is a chosen vessel unto Me to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts ix. 15). Not to them, but before them. So St. Paul says: “It pleased God to reveal his Son in me.” We cannot pray in Christ’s name unless we bear that name before people. And this is only possible so long as we “abide in” Him and His words abide in us. So we come to this — unless the heart is right the prayer must be wrong.

Christ said, “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John xv. 7).

Those three promises are really identical — they express the same thought in different words. Look at them — Ask anything in my name, I will do it (John xiv. 13, 14).

Ask what ye will (if ye abide in me and my words abide in you), and it shall be done (John xv. 7). Ask anything, according to his will, we have the petitions (I John v. 14).

And we could sum them all up in the words of St. John, “‘Whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things which are pleasing in his sight” (I John iii. 22). When we do what He bids, He does what we ask! Listen to God and God will listen to you. Thus our Lord gives us “power of attorney” over His kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, if only we fulfil the condition of abiding in Him.

Oh, what a wonder is this! How eagerly and earnestly we should seek to know His “mind,” His wish, His will! — How amazing it is that any one of us should by our own self-seeking miss such unsearchable riches! We know that God’s will is the best for us. We know that He longs to bless us and make us a blessing. We know that to follow our own inclination is absolutely certain to harm us and to hurt us and those whom we love. We know that to turn away from His will for us is to court disaster. O child of God, why do we not trust Him fully and wholly? Here we are, then, once again brought face to face with a life of holiness. We see with the utmost clearness that our Savior’s call to prayer is simply a clarion call to holiness. “Be ye holy!” for without holiness no man can see God, and prayer cannot be efficacious.

When we confess that we “never get answers to our prayers,” we are condemning not God, or His promises, or the power of prayer, but ourselves. There is no greater test of spirituality than prayer. The man who tries to pray quickly discovers just where he stands in God’s sight.

Unless we are living the Victorious Life we cannot truly pray “in the name” of Christ, and our prayer-life must of necessity be feeble, fitful and oft-times unfruitful.

And “in His name” must be “according to His will.” But can we know His will? Assuredly we can. St. Paul not only says, “Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus . . .” (Phil. ii. 5); he also boldly declares, “We have the mind of Christ” (I Cor. ii. 16). How, then, can we get to know God’s will?

We shall remember that “the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him” (Psa. xxv. 14). In the first place, we must not expect God to reveal His will to us unless we desire to know that will and intend to do that will. Knowledge of God’s will and the performance of that will go together. We are apt to desire to know God’s will so that we may decide whether we will obey or not. Such an attitude is disastrous. “If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching” (John vii. 17).

God’s will is revealed in His Word in Holy Scriptures. What He promises in His Word I may know to be according to His will.

For example, I may confidently ask for wisdom, because His Word says, “If any . . . lack wisdom, let him ask of God . . . and it shall be given him” (James i. 5). We cannot be men of prevailing prayer unless we study God’s Word to find out His will for us.

But it is the Holy Spirit of God Who is prayer’s great Helper. Read again those wonderful words of St. Paul: “In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness; for we do not know what prayers to offer nor in what way to offer them, but the Spirit Himself pleads for us in yearnings that can find no words, and the Searcher of hearts knows what the Spirit’s meaning is, because His intercessions for God’s people are in harmony with God’s will” (Rom. viii. 26, 27; Weymouth). What comforting words! Ignorance and helplessness in prayer are indeed blessed things if they cast us upon the Holy Spirit. Blessed be the name of the Lord Jesus! We are left without excuse. Pray we must: pray we can.

Remember our Heavenly Father is pledged to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him (Luke xi. 13) — and any other “good thing” too (Matt. vii. 11).

Child of God, you have often prayed. You have, no doubt, often bewailed your feebleness and slackness in prayer. But have you really prayed in His name?

It is when we have failed and know not “what prayers to offer” or “in what way,” that the Holy Spirit is promised as our Helper.

Is it not worth while to be wholly and whole-heartedly yielded to Christ? The half-and-half Christian is of very little use either to God or man. God cannot use him, and man has no use for him, but considers him a hypocrite. One sin allowed in the life wrecks at once our usefulness and our joy, and robs prayer of its power.

Beloved, we have caught a fresh glimpse of the grace and the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is willing and waiting to share with us both His glory and His grace. He is willing to make us channels of blessing. Shall we not worship God in sincerity and truth, and cry eagerly and earnestly, “Lord, what shall I do?” (Acts xxii. 10, R.V.) and then, in the power of His might, do it?

St. Paul once shot up that prayer to heaven; “What shall I do?” What answer did he get? Listen! He tells us in his counsel to believers everywhere just what it meant to him, and should mean to us: “Beloved, put on . . . a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, longsuffering; . . .above all things put on love and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. . . . Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. . . . And whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. iii. 12-17).

It is only when whatsoever we do is done in His name that He will do whatsoever we ask in His name.

CHAPTER 7: MUST I AGONIZE?

PRAYER is measured, not by time, but by intensity. Earnest souls who read of men like Praying Hyde are today anxiously asking, “Am I expected to pray like that?”

They hear of others who sometimes remain on their knees before God all day or all night, refusing food and scorning sleep, whilst they pray and pray and pray. They naturally wonder, “Are we to do the same? Must all of us follow their examples?” We must remember that those men of prayer did not pray by time. They continued so long in prayer because they could not stop praying. Some have ventured to think that in what has been said in earlier chapters I have hinted that we must all follow in their train. Child of God, do not let any such thought — such fear? — distress you. Just be willing to do what He will have you do — what He leads you to do. Think about it; pray about it. We are bidden by the Lord Jesus to pray to our loving Heavenly Father. We sometimes sing, “Oh, how He loves!” And nothing can fathom that love.

Prayer is not given us as a burden to be borne, or an irksome duty to fulfil, but to be a joy and power to which there is no limit. It is given us that we “may find grace to help us in time of need” (Heb. iv. 16, R.V.). And every time is a “time of need.” “Pray ye” is an invitation to be accepted rather than a command to be obeyed. Is it a burden for a child to come to his father to ask for some boon? How a father loves his child, and seeks its highest good! How he shields that little one from any sorrow or pain or suffering! Our heavenly Father loves us infinitely more than any earthly father. The Lord Jesus loves us infinitely more than any earthly friend. God forgive me if any words of mine, on such a precious theme as prayer, have wounded the hearts or consciences of those who are yearning to know more about prayer. “Your heavenly Father knoweth,” said our Lord: and if He knows, we can but trust and not be afraid.

A schoolmaster may blame a boy for neglected homework, or unpunctual attendance, or frequent absence; but the loving father in the home knows all about it. He knows all about the devoted service of the little laddie in the home circle, where sickness or poverty throws so many loving tasks in his way. Our dear, loving Father knows all about us. He sees. He knows how little leisure some of us have for prolonged periods of prayer.

For some of us God makes leisure. He makes us lie down (Psa. xxiii. 2) that He may make us look up. Even then, weakness of body often prevents prolonged prayer. Yet I question if any of us, however great and reasonable our excuses, spend enough thought over our prayers. Some of us are bound to be much in prayer. Our very work demands it. We may be looked upon as spiritual leaders; we may have the spiritual welfare or training of others. God forbid that we should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray enough for them (I Sam. xii. 23). Yes, with some it is our very business — almost our life’s work-to pray, Others —
Have friends who give them pain,
Yet have not sought a friend in Him.

For them they cannot help praying. If we have the burden of souls upon us we shall never ask, “How long need I pray?”

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