“Watch
ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all
these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:36)
THE
COMMUNION OF PRAYER
Christians
often get trapped in the ‘terms’ of worship to the detriment of their meaning.
When we speak of Holy Communion, almost without exception, the Christian
professor will think only of that outward form of the Sacrament conducted
within the hallowed halls of the church building. They may not give much
attention to that inward, spiritual grace that such Communion is intended to
convey. Perhaps the leading cause is that the word Communion becomes simply an
expression for an official performance and not of a heart-centered
communication with the Lord. After all, the word ‘COMMUNION’ means to ‘communicate.’
If the communication is with our Lord, then it becomes a Holy Communion.
Prayer, worship, hymn-singing, and service are all forms of the heart’s
communication with God. Our Lord is strongly present where “two or three are gathered together in my name,”
But He is always present as well with the individual believer. “…Be
strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD
God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
(1 Chron 28:20) “I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee.” (Heb 13:5)
There are many who receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion without holiness at
all. They may receive it out of simply dutiful form, or with sin festering in
their hearts. In such case, the Communion was not Holy for them. They take the
Bread and the Wine to the detriment of their souls. The means of receiving the
Sacrament would be prayerfully, contritely, and with no animosity in the heart.
Prayer itself is a tremendous form of Communion, and it is also Holy when the
Lord is the true object of it. When we enter the church doors for worship, we
should do so reverently and quietly. If we intend to enter into the sanctuary
in an irreverent manner, the other worshippers who wish to have Communion with
God before the Sacrament will be disturbed in their prayers. We leave gossip
and back-biting at our home altars when we leave for worship.
“More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.” Alfred
Lord Tennyson, Morte d’Arthur. Many great gems of truth lie
buried in the storied tales of old England. Some have come to seem so closely
related to Holy Scripture that some mistake them for such. England was the
first nation to be literally saturated with the Word of God in the native
vernacular. It was also one of the first countries to own the Holy Scriptures
in the native language. The English language itself was refined and fashioned
by the great translations of Tyndale, Wycliffe, and the translation committee
appointed by King James.
This devotion is being written by request to address prayer – what is it, what
form should it take, and how often should it be uttered.
Private and corporate prayer: There are two basic venues for prayer – 1)
the prayers of the Prayer Book and of the Bible are corporate prayers. These
prayers may be wafted on high by all present because they are Godly and not in
the least prayers of controversy; and 2) private and personal prayers. These
are prayers between a soul and his/her God. It is a direct communion with God.
These prayers are not to be uttered standing in the public square, but in
secret. God can hear a whisper as well as a shout. “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and
when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy
Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the
heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father
knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” (Matt 6:6-8) If we are seriously praying
to the King of Kings, of what need is there for the servants in His fields to
be party to our petitions? The Lord’s Prayer is a corporate prayer to be
uttered in unison. That is why it begins with “Our Father” and not “My Father.”
Pray as one who is watching and waiting upon the Lord: Peter, James, and
John could not watch and pray with Christ, even at the critical hour of His
Passion. God soldiers never leave the walls of their fortifications without a
night watch. We are weak and vulnerable to the subtleties of the Adversary. We
need Divine help and protection. “Watch and
pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the
flesh is weak.” (Matt 26:41) We do not dominate the conversation
with the Lord. We both speak and LISTEN. The Lord may provide an answer to our
prayers which we do not hear for our long speaking.
Pray in simple faith: “Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For
verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou
removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but
shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall
have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say
unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive
them, and ye shall have them.”
(Mark 11:22-24) This is one of the most difficult principles of prayer to
explain than all others. The point missed by most wistful suppliants is this:
when we pray with great faith, we will be praying righteously only for those
things that accord with the Will of God to grant. If we have put on the Mind of
Christ, we will only be mindful of those things of which Christ is mindful. “Let
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” (Phil 2:5) You
may desire a Porsche, or an ivory-towered mansion, but are these consistent
with the desire of Christ? There are two reasons that prayers are not heard, or
granted: 1) “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.”
(Psalms 66:18); and 2) If we pray out of the fleshly desires of our
carnal natures, this is a nature at enmity with God. “Ye ask, and receive not,
because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” (James
4:3)
Pray with diligence and unceasing persistence: We should be as the widow
who persistently petitions the dishonorable judge for justice until he relented
and granted justice. Persistence in prayer reveals to God our sincerity and
need. “Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is
the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thess 5:17-18) How
do we pray without ceasing? Simple, all that a Christian does or says should be
in an attitude of prayer. Our lives truly should be a living prayer devoted to
God.
Prayer abidingly in Christ: This principle is closely associated with “praying
in simple faith” above. If we are abiding in Christ, our fruits will be His
fruits. An apple is not self-made. It is produced by the tree from which it
comes. If we are Christ’s, the only part of us that is self-made is our sinful
part. The good that a Christian does is not his own works, but those of our
Lord working through our members. We are the branches of that fruitful Vine
which is Christ. “If ye abide in me, and my
words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much
fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”
(John 15:7-8) The purpose of the Vine and its branches is not to amass gold and
silver, but to produce FRUIT worthy of our Lord’s Table.
Pray with specificity: Don’t blither along without any particular point,
or points, when you pray. You were not ashamed to ask your father for an
allowance; therefore, feel free to approach our Father in Heaven with your
specific needs. “Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and
he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by
the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven
gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.” (James 5:17-18) I
should add that Elijah’s prayer was prayed from the authority of other prayers
already offered. He had prayed for the Lord’s will, and he was told. Now he
prays that the Lord’s will be performed – an easy prayer to pray.
Pray effectually: This means praying in the Love and understanding of
the Holy Ghost. “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most
holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of
God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
(Jude 1:20-21) This also lines up with the previously mentioned prayer of
Elijah. Remember, God is not an online order service. Our petitions MUST be
consistent with His will to grant that petition. Perhaps the most
commonly granted grace of God is that many of the prayers that we offered were
not answered according to our desires but according to our needs.
Please read the prayer of a great Englishman. It is a model prayer of grace and
compassion:
Prayer of Sir Francis Drake
'Logos of St Andrew - Dec 99
On the afternoon of the day that the English fleet sailed
forth to meet the Spanish (Invincible) Armada, The Admiral of the Fleet, Sir
Francis Drake, offered this prayer up to God for his men and himself. Note the
tenor and charity of it:
Most merciful and loving Father, we beseech thee
most humbly, even with all our hearts, to pour out upon our enemies with a
bountiful hand whatsoever things thou knowest may do them good; and chiefly a
sound and uncorrupt mind, wherethrough they may know thee and seek thee in true
charity, with their whole hearts, and love us thy children, for thy sake. Let
not their hating of us turn to their harm, neither let us in any wise hurt
them. Seeing that we cannot do them good for want of ability, Lord, we desire
their amendment, and not their punishment. Separate them not from us by
punishing them, but join and knit them to us by thy favourable dealing with
them. And seeing we be all ordained to be citizens of the one everlasting city,
let us begin to enter in that way here already by mutual love, which may bring
us right forth hither; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Miraculously,
the out-gunned and inferior British fleet was victorious over a naval force of
unquestioned superiority. The forces of nature (and of nature's God) combined
to deal a decisive defeat to the would-be invaders of England. Perhaps the only
difference in the outcome was due to the prayer of Sir Francis Drake. What
think ye?
