132773453 the Art of Successful Praying Gordon Lindsay

8/12/2019 132773453 the Art of Successful Praying Gordon Lindsay

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The Art of Successful Praying

The writer considers this volume one of the most importanthe has ever prepared. In it he shows that God has provided an

infallible method by which any person can have a successfullife. Indeed, if these directions are carefully followed, it is possible for one’s life to be completely revolutionized.

Through praying, you can change your world. By the meansof prayer, you can cause God to become your active partner. Byit you can be assured that the great decisions of life will be right.You can protect yourself against unforeseen dangers and

possible tragedies. In effect, the result will be that all things willwor together for your good. !aturally, to achieve this, it willre"uire an honest effort on your part. It taes time and wor tolearn to pray right. There is a period of preparation involved.

#e who masters the art of praying is in a position to lay upgreat treasures in heaven and at the end of life will be able to say

with the $postle %aul, “I have fought a good fight, I have

finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is

laid up for me a crown of righteousness! &II Tim. '()*+.

-any boos appear on the maret today, proposing to showhow one may have a successful life. ome of these have realmerit as far as this world is concerned, but little in relation to theworld to come. /n the other hand, 0hrist has promised thefaithful follower a hundred*fold in this life, and in the world tocome, life eternal1

In the following pages, the writer first relates certain specialvisitations from the 2ord on the matter of the prayer ministry.Then, step by step, he shows those things which are necessary toeffective praying. #e earnestly prays that the lessons of thisschool of prayer will help each reader to add a new dimension tohis prayer life.




by Gordon Lindsay

%repared for The 3orld 0orrespondence 0ourse

%ublished byThe 4oice of #ealing %ublishing 0o.

5allas, Te6as2itho 7. . $.The Year 89:)



"ontentsIntroduction.................................................................................;

2esson I<The chool of %rayer .................................................9

2esson II<%rayer Begins 3ith =epentance.............................8>

2esson III<=estitution.............................................................8;

2esson I4<3hen You %ray ?orgive........................................8)

2esson 4<The Importance of the %rayer #our ........................89

2esson 4I<=ecognizing the %resence of God.........................@>

2esson 4II<True %raying %uts God ?irst................................@;

2esson 4III<%raying -ust Be 5efinite...................................@)

2esson IA<%raying in the 3ill of God....................................@9

2esson A<The %ower of 0onfession and Intercession............>8

2esson AI<The ey to %rayer %ower<$biding in 0hrist......>>

2esson AII<%raying and 3orshipping hould Be in the pirit..................................................................................................>)

2esson AIII<The %ower of %raise............................................>9

2esson AI4<The %ower of the !ame......................................'>

2esson A4<C#ave ?aith in GodD............................................';

2esson A4I<True %raying 4isualizes the $nswer ..................')

2esson A4II<The ecret of %rayer in the pirit......................'9

2esson A4III<The %lace of %raying and ?asting....................;>

2esson AIA<The %rayer That $voids Evil..............................;;

2esson AA<The $greement %rayer .........................................;)



Introduction

This volume is dedicated to the encouraging of men andwomen to pray. -ost people pray at least some time in theirlives, but not many have learned how to pray well. They havenot mastered the art. It is to help people to achieve this end, thatthis volume has been prepared. 2esson by lesson, the reader is

given a special training in GodFs school of prayer.

The 2ord has, during the past years, dealt especially with thewriter in the matter of prayer and the need of God’s people to oin together in their praying so that the nations of the worldmight be reached with the gospel. To further that cause, a 3orld%rayer Band has been formed.

5uring a series of prophetic visitations, the 2ord gave

special instructions about this prayer band. #e said(

Thou shalt begin to pray that I will assemble people andthat I will bring people all agreeing together, and thou needestnot worry, but thou needest to intercede and pray with divine power and divine supplications and intercessions. $nd theangels of God shall be camped around thee to protect theeagainst the violence of atan, and the pirit within thee shallteach thee how to pray and when to pray. ?or a regular hourwas established in the temple of the 2ord, and so it shall beestablished in Israel. ?or my people are lie scattered sheep.The people of my body have not come together even yet asone peopleH they are not united fully. ?or my pirit shall comeupon them to pray day and night. ?or I shall have a world prayer band. $nd they shall pray alone and pray together, andthere shall be ones and twos and threes, and there shall bethousands that pray daily.

3e sent out the call for people to oin this 3orld %rayerBand and many responded.

It is largely due, we believe, to the united prayers ofthousands of people, that the great results on the foreign fields

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have been achieved. Each prayer partner sets aside a specifiedhour to pray. Those who have prayed have been richly rewarded

in having a part in the world harvest. In addition, according totheir many testimonies, God has been faithful in meeting theirown personal needs.

$t a later time, the 2ord spoe about the intercessory phaseof prayer. #e said(

$nd so hath the 2ord designed a great and mighty moveof prayer in the very thing of intercession and reoicings and

thansgivings. o that the intercession shall be tempered withthansgiving... ?or were there no oy for the intercessor, thenthou wilt be silent continuously. But the 2ord will have thee tonow that #e will give thee reoicings, so that it will temperthe power of intercession, of weeping and mourning andcrying out. $nd supplications shall have their courses. ointercession shall follow supplication, and there shall bethansgivings and reoicings and again intercessions andthansgivings and reoicings and petitions and re"uests andrepenting, and all the conditions of the prophet of old will berepeated.

/n still another occasion, the 2ord spoe of the ministry of prayer against the powers of darness. #e said(

%rove me saith the 2ord. %ress into my presence, for the powers of darness are against you. But I say unto you that ifye press into my presence and prove me, I will prove to you

that I am God. I will prove to you that I am behind the clouds,that I am in the heaven and that I hold the world in my hand.

Yea, I hold the heavens and the earth and all those thingsthat are therein, even every man. Everyone in the earth is mine.

$nd now the 2ord thy God shall see that the harvest iscompleted. $nd there shall be a great seething. /h my peopleshall pray. -y people shall wor. !ow is the time toencourage those who by sorrows are oppressed by the

circumstances coming on the earth. Yea, they shall see meearly. Yea, they shall pray the 2ord of the harvest. Thousands,many thousands of souls shall be rescued before the very endof the harvest comes, when they shall say the summer is ended,the harvest is past, and we are not saved.

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Introduction

Ye shall pray for all nations and all ingdoms. But yeshall not pray against my will. Ye shall pray for my wor to

come, and my ingdom to come, but ye shall not pray againstmy word that I send forth to destroy those who are destroyingmy people. ?or my udgments must be in the earth. Becausethe earth is filled with my udgmentsH then the people shalllearn righteousness.

Yet will I show this world that I am also a God of wrath.In a time when sin shall come forth, when it shall increase andwhen it shall destroy many people, I shall send forth the word

of udgment... I do not say that you shall pray then.

You will not be able to reach me in the time of my greatwrath. !o, you will not need to because you will not be here. Ifye shall be obedient to me, ye shall be caught away into therealms of bliss and glory. ?or there will be some that will beleft, and their prayers shall not be heard. ?or it is a time that Iam seeing you to pray now... Ye shall now that this is yourhour. This is your hour to pray and not to delay. Ye shall beginthis very hour, and do not put it off.

?rom this day forth, atan will build new bulwars againstyou. But when ye come into the realm of prayer, ye enter into a place that ye are praying against the wors of atan. #e hasmuch power, and he can press against those that are in my will.But I tell you that you have one thing to do, and that is tocommand his power to cease. You have the authority of a

believer to brea his chains any time and anywhere.

$fter you have carefully studied this boo, we invite you, ifyou are not already a member, to oin the 3orld %rayer Band.The reward of the intercessor is great.

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#esson I$The School of Prayer

$s we have said, the purpose of this boo is to help0hristians to learn to pray and to achieve results from their prayers. The disciples of 0hrist had observed the 2ord in #is private praying. They saw how #e was able to obtain definiteanswers. ometimes #e prayed only a short prayer. /n other

occasions, #e prayed for hours and with great earnestness. Butalways #e prayed until #e prevailed. It was not surprising,therefore, that one day when #e had finished praying, the

disciples should come to #im saying, “#ord, teach us to pray!

&2ue 88(8.

0hrist not only responded to their re"uest and gave theminstructions on how to pray, but throughout #is ministry #e

continued to teach them new lessons in the art. $lthough theyoungest convert can pray and receive answers, praying is an artof such scope that no one ever fully masters it. There are alwaysnew vistas to e6plore, a further outreach to be obtained andgreater victories to win.

ome people regard praying as an e6ercise that has a beneficial influence upon them. %raying is indeed beneficial, but

it is certainly much more than an influence. It is a very realmeans by which we can get definite answers to definite re"uests.It is something that can mae the impossible possible. Yet praying is more than asing God to supply our needs. -any persons come to God merely to implore #im to give themmaterial benefits( food, raiment, health, safety, and comfort.2ie acob at Bethel, they are disposed to e"uate worship ofGod with bread to eat and raiment to put on. But worship that

goes only this far is essentially selfish. 3e worship God becausewe are #is creatures, because #e has made us in #is lienessand image and has endowed us with gifts and potentials thatmae us the masterpiece of #is creation.

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There are many things that we must learn about praying ifwe are to be e6pert in the art and to enoy its full possibilities.

The first thing we should understand is that God is a God ofholiness. It is a sad testimony of our times to find people whoare actually flippant about God. The true worshipper alwaysapproaches God with reverence.

3hen -oses met God at the Burning Bush, he was told totae the shoes off his feet. It is not unusual to hear men talingabout holiness, but too often they are referring to their own. It is

not our holiness that we need to tal about, but God’s13hen Isaiah saw the vision of the 2ord, he beheld the

seraphim crying to one another, “Holy, holy, holy, is the #ord

of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory! Isaiah saw

himself as undone and said, “%oe is me& I am a man of

unclean lips! &Isa. :(;. 3hen Isaiah saw himself as he reallywas, God could then tae him and mae him one of Israel’sgreatest prophets.

3hy are so many prayers unansweredJ Isaiah gives us the

answer. ?irst he says, “'ehold, the #ord(s hand is not

shortened, that it cannot save) neither his ear heavy, that it

cannot hear! &Isa. ;9(8. o far, so good. But the prophet goes

on and says. “*our ini+uities have separated etween you

and your -od, and your sins have hid his face from you, that

he will not hear! &Isa. ;9(@.

%rayer is generally regarded as a pious act, a sign that a manis spiritual, but this is not necessarily so. %roverbs says, “He

that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his

prayer shall e an aomination! Yet God is merciful. $fter5avid committed his terrible sin against 7riah, he was led to

pray, “Search me, . -od, and know my heart: try me, and

know my thoughts: And see if there is any wicked way in me,

and lead me into the way everlasting! &%sa. 8>9(@>*@'. Godwas merciful to 5avid and restored him again into fellowship.

#e who would mae a success in life is the man who learnshow to pray. $ny person who wishes to fulfill the purpose for

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Lesson I—The School of Prayer

his coming into the world and who will mae a covenant withGod to bring before #im daily all the problems of life, involving

his home, family, wor, and every detail of life<will have asuccessful life.

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#esson II$Prayer 'egins %ith/epentance

And he spake this parale unto certain which trustedin themselves that they were righteous, and despisedothers: Two men went up into the temple to pray) the one

a Pharisee, and the other a pulican The Pharisee stoodand prayed thus with himself, -od, I thank thee, that I amnot as other men are, e0tortioners, un1ust, adulterers, oreven as this pulican I fast twice in the week, I give tithesof all that I possess And the pulican, standing afar off,would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, utsmote upon his reast, saying, -od e merciful to me asinner I tell you, this man went down to his house 1ustifiedrather than the other: for every one that e0alteth himself

shall e aased) and he that humleth himself shall ee0alted 2#uke 34:56378

These words of esus are tremendously significant. esuswas calling to our attention that class of persons who considerthemselves righteous and despise others. #e used the parable toshow that all men are sinners and that the prayer of the publican,

“-od e merciful to me a sinner,! is the one that all should

pray before they pray another. -odern religious teaching oftengives the impression that men may have access to God’s blessings without personal repentance. This is a serious mistae.-en may come to the ?ather only through 0hrist. 3hen certainof the ews reected esus, #e told them plainly that God was

not their ?ather. #e said, “If -od were your 9ather, ye would

love me *e are of your father the devil! &ohn +('@, ''. Inother words men in their sinful state cannot approach God on

their own merits.

3hen the yrophenician woman came to 0hrist asing #imto heal her daughter, the 2ord answered her not a word. he hadapproached #im as the son of 5avid, rather than the on of God,

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and as a man only, #e could not help her. 3hen finally sherecognized #im as 2ord and came in deep humility, offering no

merits of her own but depending only on #is mercy, #e heardher prayer and healed her daughter.

%rayer must begin with the acnowledgment that we aresinners. 3hen %eter came into the 2ord’s presence, he was

deeply convicted of his sinfulness and cried out, “epart from

me) for I am a sinful man, . #ord! &2ue ;(+. 0onscious ofhis sinful condition, he thought there was no hope for himH but

actually it was only after he realized that he was a great sinnerthat the 2ord could help him.

God will never tae second place in our lives. 3e mustreceive #im first before we as for #is blessings. True prayer begins when we desire God in our lives more than anything else.

Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and prayunto me, and I will hearken unto you And ye shall seekme, and find me, and ye shall search for me with all yourheart 2;er <5:3<63=8

3hen we see the 2ord with all of our heart, we may restassured that #e will hear us and accept us. $s believers acceptedof the ?ather through 0hrist, we are then ready to learn the art of prayer. 3e have the promise that if we as anything accordingto #is will, #e hears us.

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, ifwe ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us 2I;ohn >:378

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#esson III$/estitution

There is an old*fashioned word called restitution that israrely heard today. But it is an element of successful prayer. 5.2. -oody said that it was a singular thing but he rarely evertouched on the subect without having immediate results. #etold the people that if they had taen what did not belong to

them, their prayers would not go very far toward heaven.

Before Lacchaeus met 0hrist he probably looed uponhimself as an honest man, but after he met the 2ord, thingslooed altogether different. #is only words on record are

“'ehold, #ord, the half of my goods I give to the poor) and if

I have taken anything from any man y false accusation, I

restore him fourfold! &2ue 89(+.

Lacchaeus by maing that remar confessed that he had been dishonest. #e made restitution which was re"uired by thelaw.

If any man steal an o0, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it)he shall restore five o0en for an o0, and four sheep for asheep 2?0 <<:38

3e find this principle of restitution insisted on throughoutthe whole law. 0ertainly men in this dispensation ought to be"uite as honest as they were re"uired by the old law. 3e mightas well face itH a mere sentimentalism that does not straightenout a man’s life is no good.

It has been the writer’s e6perience that not only laymen buteven some ministers are guilty in that way. They will pay their bills only as it is convenient to do so. They do not seem to

realize that it is ust as criminal in the sight of God to refuse to pay an honorable debt as it is to hold up a man with a revolverand tae his money from him. $nd yet they wonder why their prayers are not answered1

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True repentance will bring forth fruit. If we have wrongedsomeone, we should not as God to forgive us until we are

willing to mae restitution ourselves. There is no doubt thatmany do not get their prayers answered because there issomething on their conscience that they refuse to mae right. $swe enter into this prayer ministry, we should mae certain thatwe have made right everything that is within our power.

2et us clear the line to heaven. In this respect there isanother subect to which we need to give our attention<the

matter of forgiveness.

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#esson I@$%hen *ou Pray 9orgive

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have oughtagainst any: that your 9ather also which is in heaven mayforgive you your trespasses 2ark 33:<>8

These words follow immediately the great prayer promise of

-ar 88(@', “%hat things soever ye desire, when ye pray,elieve that ye receive them, and ye shall have them! 3hen

esus said, “Have faith in -od,! #e was calling our attention tothe fact that to get an answer to prayer, we must have the rightrelationship with God. In His next words He shows that we mustalso have the right relationship with man. /ur love for God andour love for our fellow man cannot be separated. %raying from aheart that is not right with God on one hand or with man on the

other will not prevail.

The 2ord taught this great truth in #is ermon on the -ount&-att. ;(@>*@'. #e told #is disciples that when they came withtheir gift to the altar, and they remembered they had oughtagainst their brother, they were to leave their gift and to go and be reconciled to their brother.

ome in reading -ar 88(@'*@; fail to see the connection

between the two verses. The 2ord speas of the dynamic powerof faith<that nothing is impossible to the believer and that

whosoever speas in faith can have “whatsoever he saith!

?ollowing this statement the 2ord introduces the matter offorgiveness which at first sight seems to be another subectaltogether. But it does have a connection, a direct relation, togetting our prayers answered. 3e are told that we should note6pect the forgiveness of God until we forgive our fellow men.?or it is in the consciousness of having forgiven our brother thatwe find the faith that reaches out to claim the promise.

%eople sometimes say they forgive, but it is a forgivenesswith strings attached. $ reluctant half*hearted forgiveness is

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really no forgiveness at all. But how can we truly learn toforgiveJ It is in our realization of God’s forgiveness of us.

3ithout #is great mercy, we would all be sinners doomed andlost. But God through #is infinite love has for 0hrist’s saereversed the sentence and given us a full pardon. 3hy worry andfret because someone has taen advantage of usJ 3hy not rather

go on and claim the promise, “And what things soever ye

desire, when ye pray, elieve ye receive them, and ye shall

have themB!

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#esson @$The Importance of thePrayer Hour

These all continued with one accord in prayer andsupplication, with the women, and ary the mother of;esus, and with his rethren 2Acts 3:378

The church of esus 0hrist was born in a prayer meeting.ust before the 2ord’s ascension to heaven #e told #is disciples

to “tarry in the city of ;erusalem, until ye e endued with

power from on high! &2ue @'('9, and that is what they diduntil the 5ay of %entecost when the #oly Ghost fell on the 8@Kdisciples in the upper room.

$fter the outpouring of %entecost, it might be thought that

the apostles could now rela6 and that constant prayer would nolonger be needed. But they did not understand it that way. Theyinstituted a regular daily hour of prayer. In fact it was while theywere on their way to the temple to attend the hour of prayer thatthe first great miracle of the Early 0hurch occurred.

Cow Peter and ;ohn went up together into the templeat the hour of prayer, eing the ninth hour 2Acts =:38

3hy the special hour of prayerJ %eople are creatures ofhabit. 7nless a time is specified, the pressure of other things will press in and soon the spirit of prayer will be lost. o in the Early0hurch a time was appointed for prayer<the ninth hour of theday<three o’cloc in the afternoon by our reconing. 3hatevertime is chosen for prayer, it must be regular.

$s the thousands of new converts flowed into the church,

they too were taught to observe this special time of prayer.

Then they that gladly received his word wereaptiDed: and the same day there were added unto themaout three thousand souls And they continued stedfastly

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in the apostles( doctrine and fellowship, and in reaking ofread, and in prayers 2Acts <:7367<8

3ith this mighty united prayer force ascending upward toGod, the church moved forward, overcoming all obstacles. ?ivethousand on one day accepted esus as their 2ord. This resultedin a fierce opposition, during which the apostles were seized andthrown into ail. The great company answered this challenge by

gathering at the regular time of prayer, lifting “up their voice to

-od in one accord! &$cts '(@'. $nd God honored their faith

by shaing the very place where they were assembled.And when they had prayed, the place was shaken

where they were assemled together) and they were allfilled with the Holy -host, and they spake the word of -odwith oldness 2Acts 7:=38

It may be added that the apostles were "uicly released from prison.

In the course of time the number of the disciples greatlymultiplied. %roblems arose( there were complaints concerningine"uities in ministering, and soon it became apparent that theapostles’ time might be taen up in a round of petty duties. Theysaw the danger of their prayer ministry being affected, and theycalled together the multitude and ased them to choose deaconswho would share the load and permit them to give themselves totheir spiritual duties. ?or they said,

It is not reason that we should leave the word of -od,and serve tales %herefore, rethren, look ye out amongyou seven men of honest report, full of the Holy -host andwisdom, whom we may appoint over this usiness 'ut wewill give ourselves continually to prayer, and to theministry of the word 2Acts E:<678

The boo of $cts continues to emphasize the all*important

role that prayer played in the Early 0hurch. 3hen another greatcrisis arose and %eter was cast into prison to await e6ecution, thechurch prayed without ceasing until an angel was sent to openthe doors of the prison for him. 3hen the church sent out their

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Lesson —The Importance of the Prayer Hour

first missionaries, the elders gave themselves to prayer andfasting.

The !ey to consistent victory among the people of "od todayis that they will set a prayer hour and allow nothing to hindernor interrupt it.

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#esson @I$/ecogniDing thePresence of -od

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not e as thehypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in thesynagogues and in the comers of the streets, that they may

e seen of men @erily I say unto you, They have theirreward 'ut thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet,and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy 9atherwhich is in secret) and thy 9ather which seeth in secretshall reward thee openly 2att E:>6E8

$fter busy days of ministering, our 2ord made it a rulewhenever possible to find a place of seclusion where #e couldhold uninterrupted communion with #is ?ather. There was a

reason for this. esus in becoming the on of -an too upon#imself the limitations of man. $s a man #e found it necessaryto free #imself from all things that would distract #im in orderto pray effectively.

Prevailing prayer #egins with a recognition of "od$s presence. %eople have a tendency to rush into prayer withirreverent haste. The incoherence of some prayers shows that

those who pray have little consciousness that they are in the presence of God. They pray as if they were praying into emptyspace.

3e must realize that God is present when we pray and that#e leans forward to catch even the whisper of those whoearnestly see #im. $lthough God’s throne is in heaven, in avery real sense #e is also on earth. 2ie the great sun which ismany millions of miles away but reaches to every part of theearth by means of its rays, so God through #is pirit reachesinto every heart that is open to #im. 2ie the radio waves that goout and mae their presence nown to everyone who is tuned in,so God’s pirit reaches each person who opens his heart to #im.

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God is everywhere. #is pirit does not come and it does notgo. $lthough the amaritan woman at the well in her ignorance

supposed that God could only be found at a certain place, esusset her right by saying that all who worship in spirit and in truthmay worship the ?ather at any time and at any place.

To pray effectively, we must recognize that God is as much present as 0hrist was present when the people brought their petitions to #im while #e was on earth. 3e must believe that#e is present with an ear open to hear. $s the writer of the

#ebrews says, “'ut without faith it is impossile to pleasehim: for he that cometh to -od must elieve that he is, and

that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him! &#eb.88(:.

It is in the recognition of the presence of God that we find iteasy to pray and easy to e6ercise faith. In learning to recognize#is presence, praying turns from a chore to a oy and a delight.

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#esson @II$True Praying Puts -od9irst

Thy kingdom come Thy will e done in earth, as it isin heaven 2att E:3F8

To a remarable e6tent all manind believes in prayer. But alarge proportion thins of prayer as useful mainly in time of anemergency or crisis affecting their personal interests. 2et adisaster strie, and saints and sinners alie instinctively have a prayer on their lips. There are some who pray as a matter ofhabit, but who loo upon praying mainly as a means ofsupplying their own needs. $ smaller number pray unselfishlyfor the whole cause of 0hrist. till fewer understand that praying

is worship and that God, too, e6pects to get something out oftheir prayers. To understand this is one of the great secrets of prayer.

3hile it is natural to thin of our own needs first when wecome to God, esus teaches us that we should consider God and#is interests first. In fact #e reverses the usual order. It is thyname, thy ingdom, thy willH then it is give us, forgive us, leadus, and deliver us. In other words, God must come first. Themore we forget ourselves in the desire that God may beglorified, the greater will be the blessing that will eventually beours.

There are two inds of prayer( personal and intercessory.-ost people spend the greater part of their time on their personal needs and very little in intercession for others. But itought to be the other way around. /ur prayer life is immature

until we learn this lesson.

The first recorded words of esus are, “%ist ye not that I

must e aout my 9ather(s usinessB! &2ue @('9. If we putGod and #is business first, then #e will put us first.

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#esson @III$Praying ust 'eefinite

%hat things soever ye desire, when ye pray, elievethat ye receive them, and ye shall have them 2ark33:<78

9riend, lend me three loaves 2#uke 33:>8

/ne of the mistaes that people mae when they pray is thattheir praying is not definite. %eople as God to bless them, guidethem, be with them, help them<all of which is very well, e6ceptthat their prayers are not specific. esus encouraged us to prayfor definite things and to e6pect God to answer.

In all other things of life we are specific. If we go to agrocery store, we as for bread, canned goods, meat, butter,fruit, etc. 3e specify the brand, the amount, the "uantity. If wego to a furniture store, we mae it clear to the salesman whetherwe desire a table, a chair, a bedroom suite, or a divan. If we arein a appliance store, we tell the man who waits on us ust whatwe want, whether it is a washer, a refrigerator, or an electricstove.

/nly when we pray are we indefinite. %eople can e6pressthemselves well in their daily business, but when they come toGod, they tal in vague terms and generalities.

3hat is it that you need from GodJ Is it a special leadingJ5o you have a financial problemJ 5o you have an unsavedloved one you wish to see brought into the ingdomJ Is theretrouble in the homeJ 5oes someone in the family need healingJ

pell out what you need and e6pect God to give the answer, butdo not wait until you see the answer to believe. 4isualize in your

mind that you have it now. $s esus said, “'elieve ye receive

them, and ye shall have them!

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#esson IG$Praying in the %ill of-od

Thy will e done in earth, as it is in heaven 2attE:3F8

Cevertheless not my will, ut thine, e done 2#uke<<:7<8

It is true that all things are possible to him that believeth.But this assumes that the believer is committed to the will ofGod. It has to be that way. 3e would have a strange universeindeed if everyone lived according to his own pleasure. 3ewould have a devil’s universe. elf*will has made the devil whathe is.

God’s will envisages the best for all #is creatures thatinfinity, omnipotence, and omniscience woring together can produce. /ur praying potential, therefore, depends to that degree by which we can move from the realm of self*will, which isultimately harmful both to ourselves and to others, into thedivine will which is the best for all of us.

%raying, therefore, is not a means by which we obtainanything that might tae our fancy. uppose, for e6ample, that ayoung lady prays that a certain young man might be herhusband. There is no promise in the Bible that any person shechooses may be her husband. he must first find God’s will inthe matter. Then let her pray. $ man might pray that he mightmae a million dollars. 3here in the Bible does God give a promise that #e will give a man a million dollarsJ till another

may pray for the gratification of an ambition that is entirely outof God’s plan for his life.

God has a plan for everyone. To achieve the best possible inlife, the man must find what that plan for him is. -an does not

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happen on this planet by chance or accident. God new all abouteremiah and his calling before his birth &er. 8(;. #e foretold

the coming of 0yrus who would liberate his people fromBabylonian captivity long before he came into the world.

God has a purpose for all of us, a purpose in harmony withthe divine plan of the ages. $las, many never discover this planand live their lives according to their own choosing, only to findthat at the end of the road they have missed the purpose for theirliving. /thers enter into God’s plan to the degree that they are

saved, but it is only as by fire, and they have no reward &I 0or.>(8K*8;.

God’s will is entirely beneficent. It is in harmony with our best interests. #is will is not something mysterious andincompatible with reason. The Bible has revealed many thingswhich are #is will. It is the will of God that sicness be taenfrom our midst. &E6. @>(@;. It is the will of God that we should prosper as our soul prospers &III ohn @. It is the will of God

that we should rise above worry &%hil. '(:. It is the will of Godthat we should be baptized in the #oly pirit &-att. >(88H $cts@(8)*8+, >+*>9. It is the will of God that our household should be saved &$cts 8:(>K*>8. The list could be e6tendedindefinitely.

!evertheless, there are matters in which God’s will isunnown. 3hen we pray for these things, we must add,

“Cevertheless not my will, ut thine, e done! 0hrist prayedthat if it were possible the cup might pass from #im. But it wasnot God’s will that the cup should pass from #im. #e had todrin it to the dregs. $nd in drining it all, even unto death, Godhighly e6alted #im so that #is name is above every namewhether in heaven above or in earth below.

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#esson G$The Power of "onfessionand Intercession

And I set my face unto the #ord -od, to seek yprayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, andashes: And I prayed unto the #ord my -od, and made my

confession, and said, . #ord, the great and dreadful -od,keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, andto them that keep his commandments 2aniel 5:=678

The prophet 5aniel was reading the boo of eremiah.$lthough God had given him some of the most outstandingrevelations ever given to man, the prophet did not neglect the prophecies which were already given. 3hile reading the boo oferemiah he learned that the desolations of erusalem were tocontinue for seventy years. =ealizing the time was then up,

5aniel “set his face unto the #ord to seek y prayer and

supplication, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes!

Then the prophet began his confession. $lthough there is nota single recorded failure in 5aniel’s life, he identified himselfwith the nation and its sins. !otice the prayer of confession(

%e have sinned, and have committed ini+uity, andhave done wickedly, and have reelled, even y departingfrom thy precepts and from thy 1udgments: Ceither havewe hearkened unto thy servants the prophets . #ord,righteousness elongeth unto thee, ut unto us confusion offaces ecause we have sinned against thee Ceither havewe oeyed the voice of the #ord our -od, to walk in hislaws *ea, all Israel have transgressed thy law thereforethe curse is poured upon us 2aniel 5:>6338

There is much more of 5aniel’s confession in which heidentified himself with the sins of the people.

$nd then while the prophet was in the midst of his

confession of “my sin and the sin of my people Israel,! the

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angel Gabriel came and gave him the wonderful prophecy of the

-essiah. The angel addressed him saying, “I am come, to show

thee) for thou art greatly eloved! &5an. 9(@>.

/ne of the great privileges of the believer is that ofintercessor. #e confesses not only his own sin to God but the sinof the whole nation. #e stands in the gap between the living andthe dead, that his people will be preserved from destruction&Eze. @@(@K*>8.

3e see 0hrist in #is supreme office of intercessor in ohn

8) in which #e prays not only for #is own disciples but for allthat would believe through their ministry &ohn 8)(@K.

$gain we see the apostle %aul following in the same role ofthe intercessor, praying for the children of Israel, who wereignorant of God’s righteousness and who went about seeing toestablish their own righteousness &=om. 8K(8*>. %aul showed

his compassion and solicitude for Israel when he said, “9or I

could wish that myself were accursed from "hrist for myrethren! 3hat a love he had for his people1 3hat a need wehave today for intercessors who will cry day and night for ournation which is standing on the brin of catastrophe1

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#esson GI$The ey to PrayerPower$Aiding in "hrist

If ye aide in me, and my words aide in you, ye shallask what ye will, and it shall e done unto you 2;ohn3>:8

3ith every promise in the Bible there are conditions. The promises and the conditions are inseparable. 3e can as whatwe will, and it shall be done only if we abide in 0hrist and #is

words abide in us. The law of the ingdom is, “raw nigh to

-od, and he will draw nigh to you! &ames '(+. God alwayshears 0hrist, and if we abide in 0hrist #e will always hear us.0onversely, we have the right to be heard only if we abide

continually in #im.3hen we compare the actual e6perience of most 0hristians

with this powerful promise, we are shoced by the startlingdiscrepancy. 3e have to admit that thousands of prayers go upto God that are not answered. 3hyJ There can only be one oftwo reasons. Either God does not fulfill #is promise, or elsethose who pray are not fully abiding in 0hrist.

It is against human nature to admit our faults, and thiscauses us to put in the "ualifying phrase, CIf it be thy willD to allour prayers. /f course this ind of praying is not only proper butabsolutely necessary in matters in which God’s will is notrevealed. %ut it dishonors "od for us to pray that way for thingsin which His will is clearly revealed. It is obvious that we praythat way so that our sense of complacency will not be disturbed.By means of this comfortable e6planation, we e6cuse our

failuresH but the effect is only to short*change ourselves. !otice in this connection that esus used the illustration of

the vine and the branches. If a branch abides not in the vine, itwithers away and cannot bear fruit. $biding in 0hrist is not a

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static e6perience. The branch must ever grow. The youngconvert abides in 0hrist today by living up to the measure of

light he has received. But he must go on and grow in grace.-any a person has lamented that there was a period in which hegot his prayers answered, but then there came a time when itseemed that many of his prayers were not answered. 3hat wentwrongJ The answer often lies in the fact that he was probablytrying to live in the same light he had in the past, instead ofgoing on into a deeper consecration and into new challenges offaith.

?aith in God is one thing. /bedience is another. The two aretied together. There is a school of thought today that speasmuch about faith but says little about obedience. ?aith isconsidered a means of achieving spiritual power in the same waythat man harnesses the forces of nature. But faith apart from

obedience to God can only wither and die. “9aith without

works is dead! True faith re"uires a conscious, daily

submission to the will of God. There must be a constantcrucifi6ion of the flesh. $s the apostle %aul says, “I die daily,!

so must we die to our own selfish personal desires and continueyielding ourselves to the divine will.

#ow strong self*will can be1 #ow it stubbornly refuses todie1 ome are so headstrong that they will give up everythingelse if they can retain self*will. They would wor for God inself*will. !othing is more worthless than the fruit of self*will.udas schemed and connived to betray his -aster for thirtymiserable pieces of silver. $nd then when his effort wassuccessful and the silver was in his hand, it suddenly becamecursed money which moced him, so that he threw it away. Toolate he saw himself as a traitor who for a few paltry pieces ofsilver had sold the most sacred thing he possessed( his friendshipwith the aviour. !o wonder in his blac despair he went out

into the night and committed suicide.?ew of us would commit the crime udas did. But all self*

will leads in the same direction<to the loss of the very thingthat is desired. /ne second after death we must throw ourselves

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Lesson &I—The 'ey to Prayer Power—A#iding in (hrist

upon the mercy of God and #is faithfulness. 3hy should we,therefore, wait until thenJ hall we not give ourselves now

wholly and unreservedly to the cause of 0hrist to do #is will, tofulfill #is purpose in our livesJ 3e shall not be losers in sodoing. ?or if we abide in #im and #is words abide in us, weshall as what we will, and it shall be done unto us. Yes, theabiding life is within our reach.

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#esson GII$Praying and%orshipping Should 'e in the Spirit

'ut the hour cometh, and now is, when the trueworshippers shall worship the 9ather in spirit and intruth: for the 9ather seeketh such to worship him -od is a

Spirit) and they that worship him must worship him inspirit and in truth 2;ohn 7:<=6<78

-uch worship is merely soul worship<the worship of themind. But man has also the capacity to worship in the spirit. Yetmany people who pray do not now what it is to worship inspirit. The woman at the well was one of these. he did notnow this when she ased esus whether men ought to worshipin erusalem or on -t. Gerizim. he supposed that worshipconsisted only of finding the proper geographical location.

esus pointed out to her that the location was not ofimportance. 3hat was important was that God was a spiritHtherefore, true worship was worship in the spirit. -an is morethan a bodyH he is also a spirit. The sad thing is that man is socarnal that he hardly realizes he is a spirit. Indeed materialistsdeclare that man is nothing more than a human body. 3hen the

body dies, that is the end of him. But man is body, soul, andspirit.

The baptism of the pirit renews the spirit of man. If God’spirit is permitted to have right of way, then man’s spirit will become the dominant part of his nature. /n the other hand if theflesh dominates the spirit, the spirit will atrophy.

God is a spirit. #e is everywhere and not limited to certain

places. Therefore, we can worship #im whether we are on ahigh mountain, in a valley, or down in the bowels of the earth.

esus said the hour cometh when men should worship in thepirit. 3ith the coming of the #oly pirit this was made

>)




possible. The worship in the pirit is one of the great secrets of prevailing prayer.

#ow do we enter into true worship in the piritJ -ore particularly we enter through the spirit of praise. 3e are told to

“?nter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts

with praise! &%sa. 8KK('. 3e consider this in our ne6t lesson.

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#esson GIII$The Power of Praise

And he said, Hearken ye, all ;udah, and ye inhaitantsof ;erusalem, and thou king ;ehoshaphat, Thus saith the#ord unto you, 'e not afraid nor dismayed y reason ofthis great multitude) for the attle is not yours, ut-od(s *e shall not need to fight in this attle: set

yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the #ordwith you, . ;udah and ;erusalem: fear not, nor edismayed) tomorrow go out against them: for the #ord wille with you 2II "hron <F:3>, 38

%raise is prayer’s most powerful ally. It is not only an allyH itis an important element of praying. Even as God hears andanswers our prayers, so in return #e e6pects us to give #im praise and thansgiving. Israel came under udgment becausealthough she enoyed great benefits, she was not thanful.

'ecause thou servedst not the #ord thy -od with 1oyfulness, and gladness of heart, for the aundance of allthings) Therefore thou shalt serve thine enemies, which the#ord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, andin nakedness, and in want of all things 2eut <4:76748

%salms 8K)(@@ says, “And let them sacrifice the sacrifices

of thanksgiving, and declare his works with re1oicing! Theapostle %aul and ilas were arrested and beaten. The instrumentsof torture had plowed furrows in their bacs. Bleeding fromthese lacerations they were cast into the prison with their feetmade fast in stocs. #ere was a picture of perfect miseryHcertainly it would seem a most unpropitious time to praise God.But the two disciples chose that very hour to give the sacrifice of

praise. “At midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praisesunto -od: and the prisoners heard them! &$cts 8:(@;. Theynot only prayed, but they praised God. $nd as they prayed, God

sent an earth"uae< “the foundations of the prison were

shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and

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every one(s ands were loosed!

It is possible that they might have complained to God all

night without an answer, but when they too the attitude ofdeliverance and victory and began to praise the 2ord, theearth"uae came, and set them free. If at the time of the greatesttrial, at the moment of the most pressing need, you tae theattitude of victory and praise to the 2ord, God will if that should be necessary send an earth"uae to bring your deliverance. $syou praise God in faith, the very foundations of your prison*

house will be shaen. It is at the time of severe trial that praisehas its greatest effect.

ehoshaphat had found himself in serious trouble. 3ordcame to him that -oab and $mmon had allied themselves andwere maing common cause against udah. The news wasdismaying to say the least, but the ing refused to panic. Instead,he called the nation together to a time of prayer and fasting &II0hron. @K(>*'. In his prayer before the people, he confessed

their helplessness, saying, “9or we have no might against thisgreat company that cometh against us) neither know we

what to do: ut our eyes are upon thee! &II 0hron. @K(8@.

$nd so they prayed and waited on the 2ord. The prophetLechariah received the word from the 2ord. #e told the people

that they were not to be afraid nor dismayed for “*e shall not

need to fight in this attle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and

see the salvation of the #ord with you!ehoshaphat obeyed the command of the 2ord and set his

people in array, not to fight but to worship the 2ord and praise#im in the beauty of holiness. $nd as they did this, the victorycame.

And when they egan to sing and to praise, the #ordset amushments against the children of Ammon, oa,

and ount Seir, which were come against ;udah) and theywere smitten 2II "hron <F:<<8

/ur warfare is not one against flesh and blood but againstspiritual forces. In our war against them there is a time to pray

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Lesson &III—The Power of Praise

and a time to praise and worship the 2ord. The two<prayer and praise<are the wings by means of which we can soar upward

and onward and triumph over all the power of the enemy. Theclouds may seem dar and heavy, but as we praise the 2ord therewill come a rift, and we shall see that the sun is still shining.

The reason many people are unsuccessful in their prayerwarfare is that they enter into GodFs presence with heaviness andgloom. Their attitude is not conducive to the building of an

atmosphere of faith. The psalmist says, “?nter into his gates

with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise! &%sa.8KK('. Even before we mae nown our re"uests, we ought to pour forth our hearts in praise to God as a fitting approach to#im who has shown us #is great mercy.

If you have a spirit of mourning and heaviness, e6change it

for the garment of praise. The prophet says, “To appoint unto

them that mourn in Jion, to give unto them eauty for ashes,

the oil of 1oy for mourning, the garment of praise for the

spirit of heaviness! &Isa. :8(>.

#ow can we do thisJ The answer is simple. 3e must get oureyes off of ourselves, and off of circumstances, off of feelingsand upon 0hrist and #is promise.

The writer of #ebrews adds these words, “'y him

therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to -od

continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his

name! &#eb. 8>(8;. %raise is sometimes a real sacrifice. It costssomething to praise the 2ord when we do not feel lie it. But thespirit of praise is acceptable in the sight of God, and togetherwith prayer it maes an irresistible combination to cause heavento move on our behalf.

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#esson GI@$The Power of theCame

The master ey to prayer lies in the use of the name of0hrist. 0hrist placed the power of omnipotence in the hands of#is disciples. It was on the basis of this e6traordinary transfer of

power to #is disciples that #e gave them the Great 0ommissionsaying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth

-o ye therefore, and teach all nations! &-att. @+(8+*89.

!otice some of the promises given through the use of thename.

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will Ido, that the 9ather may e glorified in the Son If ye shall

ask any thing in my name, I will do it 2;ohn 37:3=6378

And in that day ye shall ask me nothing @erily, verily,I say unto you, %hatsoever ye shall ask the 9ather in myname, he will give it you Hitherto have ye asked nothing inmy name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your 1oy may efull 2;ohn 3E:<=6<78

At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not

unto you, that I will pray the 9ather for you: 9or the9ather himself loveth you, ecause ye have loved me, andhave elieved that I came out from -od 2;ohn 3E:<E6<8

There is a clear implication of the tremendous powerrepresented in the name. It was the name that gave power to theapostles. They were to cast out devils in #is name. They were tolay hands on the sic in #is name. They were to do these things

because all power in heaven and earth had been delivered tothem. Therefore, no power in the universe can thwart or preventthe believer who uses the name from having the answer to #is prayer, providing of course he is asing in the will of God.

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In praying in the name of esus, we are acting as #isrepresentative. 3e are taing the place of the absent 0hrist,

using #is name and authority to fulfill #is will on earth.3hat is our needJ Is it the salvation of an unsaved son or

daughterJ Is our praying for the healing of a sic one at adistanceJ Is it deliverance for ourselves from some chronicafflictionJ %erhaps it is a serious financial problem. 3hateverthe need is, we can tae the place of 0hrist as we use #is name, ust as if #e were present in person.

3hen %eter told the lame man to rise in the name of esus,he did not even pause to pray for him. #e had already prayed,and 0hrist had given him the authority. 3ith that authority he

ust said, “In the name of ;esus "hrist of CaDareth, rise up

and walk!

o liewise when we have prayed and waited upon the 2ordand have taen authority in the name, we are to believe we have

the answer, nowing that esus has said, “If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it! &ohn 8'(8'.

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#esson G@$“Have 9aith in -od!

'ut without faith it is impossile to please him: for hethat cometh to -od must elieve that he is, and that he is arewarder of them that diligently seek him 2He 33:E8

?aith is the all*important re"uirement of those who come to

God. esus said, “All things are possile to him thatelieveth! &-ar 9(@>. ames ;(8; declares, “The prayer of

faith shall save the sick! “%ithout faith it is impossile to

please him!

ince esus commanded us to have faith in God, it is evidentthat #e has given all men some measure of faith. in, however,can cause men to lose their faith.

?aith is not something hard to understand. ?aith merelymeans taing God at #is word. $ll business in the world wouldcome to a standstill if men did not have faith. It is the matter ofmaing the right choice of whom to believe. C0an the man betrustedJD is the first in"uiry of every businessman before heconsiders a business deal. To find out, he loos at the facts. Isthe man’s credit goodJ 5oes he pay his obligations on timeJ Ishis udgment reliableJ 3hat is his past recordJ $re his present

earning capacity and assets sufficient to mae it possible for himto meet his new obligationsJ 7pon the basis of this evidence agood businessman maes his decision as to whether or not heshould trust the man with whom he is dealing.

o it is with God. Is the God of the universe a good GodJ0an #e be depended upon to eep #is promisesJ 3hat is therecord of millions who have trusted #imJ #ave the prophecies

come to pass as set forth in the cripturesJ 5oes 0hrist give peace to the heart of him who puts his trust in #imJ The answeris that all history proves the veracity of God, #is faithfulness,and #is certainty to eep #is promises.

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7pon this evidence, we put our trust in God. 3e believewhat #e tells us. ?aith then is no mysterious thing. It is merely

taing God at #is word. The evidence of the faithfulness of Godto honor #is word has become so overwhelming that it wouldtae far more faith to disbelieve God than to believe #im1

7nbelief then is the sin of a wiced heart. It is a deliberateturning away from light to darness. The unbelief of God’s people is sin. esus never condoned unbelief in #is disciples. /n

occasion #e “upraided them with their unelief and

hardness of heart!%ut faith to wor in your prayers. %raying is a business

transaction with God.

Tae for granted that God will tae care of #is end of the bargain. ?aith is the set of the soul. If we tae the attitude thatthe thing for which we have ased is done, we will surely haveit.

-ost believers have the faith they need, but they must put itto wor. ?aith is not faith, after the thing has come to pass andthe natural eye sees it. ?aith is faith when we don’t see anything,and we don’t feel anything. ?aith needs nothing but God’s3ord. #aving satisfied ourselves that God’s 3ord is true, westand upon it and are not moved by anything that appears tocontradict the promise.

3hat a need there is in the world for men and women tohave faith in God. 2et us begin at once to put that faith to worfor God.

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#esson G@I$True Praying@isualiDes the Answer

Therefore I say unto you, %hat things soever yedesire, when ye pray, elieve that ye receive them, and yeshall have them 2ark 33:<78

#ere indeed is one of the most important secrets of praying.-an alone, as the masterpiece of God’s creation, possesses theability to pray and to visualize the answer to his prayers. Godimparts to him a prerogative that #e #imself possesses. Godcreated the world out of things that did not appear. #e visualizedwhat would be when there was nothing. -an has been given thisremarable ability which is denied the lower creation. The

animal ingdom lives entirely in the sense realm. ome animals’senses are more highly developed than those of the human, butman on the other hand has the capacity to live in the faith realm,a realm above the senses. By faith man can see what does note6ist as far as the natural is concerned. $lthough the faith realmcannot be seen, it truly e6ists, for by faith that which we desirecan be made to appear in the physical realm.

esus said, “%hat things soever ye desire, when ye pray,

elieve that ye receive them, and ye shall have them! Inother words, we are to see by the eye of faith what we have prayed for and to act as if we already possessed it. 7nfortunatelythe vast maority of 0hristians do not pray in this way. They pray, but they do not believe they have received until they see itwith their natural eye. They live to a great e6tent only in thesense realm. They believe little more than what they see. Instead

of looing with the eye of faith to God’s promise, to God’sword, they loo to their symptoms and to their feelings and tothe circumstances. If they feel better, they believe their prayerfor healing is being answered. If they feel worse, they suppose ithas not been answered. Their faith is not based upon God’s

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word, but upon their feelings.

esus gave us the secret of prevailing prayer. 3hen we pray

we are to believe we receive at that very moment. 3e are to seethe answer by the eye of faith. 3e visualize the answer ashaving received it. ?or that which we see by the eye of faithshall come to pass.

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#esson G@II$The Secret of Prayerin the Spirit

#ikewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for weknow not what we should pray for as we ought: ut theSpirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings

which cannot e uttered 2/omans 4:<E8

The apostle %aul said, “I will pray with the Spirit, and I

will pray with the understanding also! There is such a thingas praying in the pirit, and there is such a thing as allowing thepirit to pray through us.

$s we learn to pray day by day, it is an ever*increasing oyto watch our prayers being answered. !evertheless, it must be

admitted that many of us still find certain obstacles that seem toremain in the way of unanswered prayer. The complete victoryappears to be always ust out of reach. It may be that some habit,some secret sin, some chronic affliction stands in the way of ourfull deliverance. #ow can we fully overcomeJ 3hat is theanswerJ

There are several things that may cause the hindrance. It

may be that we are so accustomed to defeat, that we cannot bring ourselves to believe for the miracle. 3e may be so used toour problem that we cannot visualize being delivered from it.-oreover, we must not forget that we war not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against therulers of the darness of this world, and against spiritualwicedness in high places. The enemy may have gotten himselfso entrenched in a certain part of our nature that our capacity to

come to grips with this particular problem is not sufficient to getthrough to the answer.

Is there deliverance in this caseJ Than God there is. Thereis such a thing as praying in the pirit, and there is such a thing

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as abandoning ourselves so completely to the pirit that thepirit prays through us. There is a place in God wherein we let

the “Spirit itself make intercession for us with groanings thatcannot e uttered!

There are no limitations with "od except our ownlimitations. If we should find that we have reached thatlimitation) then let us *uietly wait #efore "od. +hile we !eepthe posture of prayer with our minds yielded and focused on"od) let us wait until the Spirit #egins to move through us. The

answer lies in the power of the pirit. ometimes the pirit willcome as a rushing torrent in overwhelming force that will carryeverything before it. 3hile we seem almost as a spectator, wewill feel within us another force, another power separate fromourselves coming against the problem that seemed beyond ourown faith to master. It is as %eter sining in the water, reachingup his hand to that of 0hrist, and being saved by the faith ofanother.

Yes, there are no impossibilities with God. $s we learn toyield to the pirit we can achieve victories that seem "uite beyond us. $s we decrease in our strength, so 0hrist increases.There is no place for human glory in such victories. 3e simply become the instrument through which omnipotence in #is greatcondescension chooses to wor.

3e see this truth beautifully depicted in 5avid’s war with

the %hilistines. God had given him several great victories overthe enemies of Israel. #e had destroyed their idols and sent themfleeing in a disastrous defeat. It might have appeared that themenace was ended for all times. But the %hilistines came againin great force and spread themselves out in the 4alley of=ephaim. 5avid was impatient. #e had many things he wantedto do. #e wanted to bring bac the ar and set it in its place inthe tabernacle. But how could he do this if the %hilistines

&typical of our warfare against the flesh were to harass himcontinually. 3hat was the answerJ The 2ord gave 5avid theanswer. #e was not to mae a direct onslaught himself. #e wasto let the pirit of God bring the victory this time. #e was to

;K



Lesson &II—The Secret of Prayer in the Spirit

fetch a compass and to wait over against the mulberry trees.

And let it e, when thou hearest the sound of a goingin the tops of the mulerry trees, that then thou shaltestir thyself: for then shall the #ord go out efore thee tosmite the host of the Philistines 2II Sam >:<78

5avid obeyed the 2ord, and when the pirit of God movedin the mulberry trees, the %hilistines suffered a defeat sooverwhelming that from that day on they were never again aserious menace to the children of Israel.

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#esson G@III$The Place of Prayingand 9asting

Howeit this kind goeth not out ut y prayer andfasting 2att 3:<38

?rom the above cripture we see that esus taught that insome cases praying and fasting were needed to securedeliverance. 3e have many e6amples in the criptures whichdemonstrate the power that comes as a result of fasting. !one ismore impressive than the instance in which 5aniel fastedtwenty*one days before the answer came. $t that time the prophet was informed by the angel that on the very first day of5aniel’s prayer, God had dispatched the answer, but a prince

under control of atan had withstood the angelic messenger.7ltimately God sent reinforcements by the archangel -ichael,and the answer to his petition came. This incident indicates thaton occasion there are tremendous forces involved in theheavenlies which have much to do with getting an answer tocertain prayers.

In the case of the demon*possessed boy which the disciplescould not heal, esus e6plained to the disciples why they couldnot cast him out. The devil had left readily enough when 0hristgave the command, which shows that nothing was involved inthe will of God that would prevent the child’s deliverance. The2ord declared that their failure resulted in their lac of faith.?rom this, it follows that praying and fasting are re"uired in building a faith that is strong enough to cast out certain types ofdemons.

In fasting one should always have his eye single to God’sglory and not for self glory. In Isaiah’s day the 2ord complained

that some fasted for debate and to mae their “voice heard on

high! But the 2ord said that the fast #e had chosen was “to

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loose the ands of wickedness, to undo the heavy urdens,

and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye reak every

yoke! &Isa. ;+(>*:.The "uestion is often ased, C3hen and how shall I fastJD

There should be a definite obect in view. 3hen divine udgment was pronounced against !ineveh, the people from theing on down fasted in deep repentance, in seeing deliverancefor !ineveh. $s a result God graciously spared this city of8@K,KKK souls. 3e might say that a similar crisis faces the

nations today. %raying and fasting at this late date is the only possible remedy to forestall catastrophe.

There are some problems that can only be solved by prayingand fasting. ome people wait for a convenient time when the2ord will put a fast upon them. uch persons rarely fast. ?astingis not a pleasure but a self*denial.

There are other things that are important to now about

fasting. If one feels called to a lengthy fast, it is often advisableto go into it slowly for two or three days. $t the end of the firstday, one may confine himself to a light meal. The second daythey might partae only of li"uids. By the third day he should beready for the fast. 0onversely when the fast is over one should brea it slowly, taing li"uids at first, and then light meals.5uring the fast, one should give much time to praying.

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#esson GIG$The Prayer ThatAvoids ?vil

And lead us not into temptation, ut deliver us fromevil: 9or thine is the kingdom, and the power, and theglory, for ever Amen 2att E:3=8

ome prayers are prayed too late. In the great and terribleday of the 2ord the multitudes will cry out for the mountains andthe rocs to fall on them that they might hide themselves fromthe wrath of God &=ev. :(8;*8). $las, had they prayed a littlesooner, they might have had mercy instead of wrath. 3hat aterrible hopeless realization that although one’s whole soul and being cries out in prayer, that which would have once brought

the great mercies of God, now can accomplish nothing1There are other prayers that are prayed too late, not by

sinners, but by believers. ome people see God earnestly aftertragedy overtaes them, not seeming to realize that had they prayed sooner they might have avoided the disaster. There is

such a thing as foreseeing evil and preventing it. “A prudent

man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself) ut the simple

pass on, and are punished! &%roverbs @)(8@. There is a placeof safety hidden from the eyes of the ordinary passerby. God has promised to protect the man that dwells in the secret place fromthe snare of the fowler &%sa. 98(8*>.

The sad mistae that so many 0hristians mae is that wheneverything is going rosy and well, they have a tendency to settleinto a smug complacency and lose the burden for praying. uch persons rarely attend a prayer meeting. But when trouble stries,

they are calling on everyone to pray for them.There is no respite from this warfare. $ soldier on the front

line always must be on the alert for the enemy to strie. Thosewho would follow 0hrist must stay on the front line. ad to say,

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many are found sleeping at their post when they should be onduty.

0hrist said to pray, “#ead us not into temptation! Thisdoes not mean that God is personally tempting us. ames 8(8>shows that God never tempts man. =ather it is God who protectsus from temptation and evil. Yet #e has bound #imself to dothis only if we pray and as for #is protection. o many peopledo not understand this. 3hen disaster stries, they complain,C3hy did God allow this to happen to meJD But God only grants

#is protection to those who lean upon #im and who pray,“#ead us not into temptation, ut deliver us from evil! The promise is not for those who are careless in their prayer life.

esus saw temptation coming to #is disciples as #e prayed

in the Garden of Gethsemane. #e warned them saying, “%atch

and pray, that ye enter not into temptation! &-att. @:('8.But %eter’s eyes were heavy with sleep, and he slept on, only tofall into the devil’s trap and to deny his 2ord three times.

#ow much better not to wait until disaster stries and thenhave to struggle and go through soul*searing e6periences beforewe finally are recovered from the snares of the enemy.

3e should remember that it is a tric of atan to snea upon us, and if we are not watchful we shall have no premonitionof the attac. But if we daily invoe God’s protection, #e willstay the hand of atan and eep us from the danger that

threatens, while we perhaps are blissfully unaware of the evilthat came so near us.

God will send #is angels to protect us if we pray. #e has

promised that “There shall no evil efall thee 9or he shall

give his angels charge over thee in all thy ways They shall

ear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a

stone! &%sa. 98(8K*8@.

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#esson GG$The Agreement Prayer

Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree onearth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall edone for them of my 9ather which is in heaven 9or wheretwo or three are gathered together in my name, there am Iin the midst of them 2att 34:356<F8

$s we bring these lessons to a close, it is fitting that wespea of the agreement prayer. There is an important place for private prayer. There is also another place for united prayer. 3eare told in the /ld Testament that one shall chase a thousand, but two shall put ten thousand to flight. Evidently there is aspecial chemistry to prayer. Two or more persons praying andagreeing together greatly increase their individual potential.

3hen two or more persons oin in faith and agreement, their prayers become irresistible.

The early church was able to accomplish great things because they prayed together in one mind and in one accord. $classic e6ample is found in the 8@th chapter of $cts, where the people gathered together at -ar’s house and prayed withoutceasing for %eter who was in prison and scheduled to bee6ecuted. $pparently none of them individually had faith for%eter’s release. Indeed, their lac of faith is seen in the fact thatafter he was out of prison, none of those praying actually believed it was %eter at the door. Their combined faith reachedan intensity beyond which their minds had reached individually.

%erhaps the most positive proof of the power of united prayer is seen in the fact that esus, when #e was agonizing in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, re"uested #is disciples to

watch with #im. /ne might thin that surely 0hrist was so adeptin the art of prayer that #e would not need the assistance of #isdisciples. But #e did need their help and #e needed it badly.3hen #e looed upon them and saw that they had fallen asleep,

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#e reproached them saying, “%hat, could ye not watch with

me one hourB! The agreement prayer is the Bible way by which

special problems can be dealt with, that individual prayer maynot reach. Through the agreement prayer, the powers of hell can be bound and their evil schemes frustrated and defeated.

0hristians would do well to institute prayer meetings withfriends and neighbors. They can oin in taing definite re"uestsfor their church, for their own needs, and for world missions,and they can agree together in faith for God to move. esus said

that they could have anything they should as(@erily I say unto you, %hatsoever ye shall ind on

earth shall e ound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shallloose on earth shall e loosed in heaven Again I say untoyou, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall e done for them of my9ather which is in heaven 2att 34:346358

&0aution( %rayer groups should be for the purpose of prayeronly. $void any group that considers the prayer service asubstitute for church, or which promotes some teaching that isout of harmony with the mainstream of truth generally accepted by pirit*filled believers.

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132773453 the Art of Successful Praying Gordon Lindsay

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