The Lutheran Ambassador - December 16, 1986
Even as our gracious Lord extends such rich promises to those who pray in faith and in His Name, He bounds these promises with two vital considerations. An effective prayer life is realized as one prays according to the will of God and as one comes in a spirit of helplessness.
v The Perfect Will of God
Our Lord's perfect conformity to the Father's will is shown so wonderfully in the Incarnation. His submission is stated in classic fashion by the Apostle Paul: "Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men…" (Phil. 2:6-7 NASB). The voluntary condescension of our Lord to come to this planet is awesome to contemplate. His obedience involved placing Himself as the eternal One in the hands of Mary and Joseph, dependent upon their ministrations as the tiny Babe of Bethlehem. That posture of submission took Him ultimately to the cross.
As our Lord faced the agony of the impending crucifixion, He prayer in the garden, "“Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42 NASB). He wanted His prayer answered according to God's perfect will, whatever the personal sacrifice.
The relationship of God's will and prayer is clearly presented by the Apostle John. "This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him" (1 John 5:14-15 NASB). God's will is found in the written Word of God. R.A. Torrey comments in this regard, "Here is one of the greatest secrets of effective prayer: To study the Word, to find what God's will is as revealed there in the promises, and then simply take these promises and spread them out before God in prayer with the confidence that He will do what He has promised in His Word." Luther would sometimes pray with such humble boldness as to lead him to lay down a promise before God and say, "Now, Lord, there is Thy Word: if Thou dost not keep it, I will never believe Thee again."
v The Personal Realization of Helplessness
On at least two occasions our Lord illustrated the need for personal realization that there is simply no place to turn that to God in our helplessness. In the parable of the persistent friend, our Lord notes the desperation of the one in need who was willing to come at an untimely hour with his request. His frank admission, "I have nothing", typifies the inadequacy necessary to persist in prayer. Our Lord promises an answer to such who come asking, seeking and knocking (Luke 11:5-10). In similar vein, our Lord urges continuance in prayer in the story of the unjust judge. It was the widow's sense of helplessness that caused her to repeat her pleas to this man. Unlike the judge, however, our Lord assures that God answers "speedily" those who "cry day and night unto Him" (Luke 18:1-8).
Luther gives testimony to the blessing of sustained prayer in His life. "None can believe how powerful prayer is, and what it is able to effect, but those who have learned it by experience. It is a great matter when in extreme need to take hold on prayer. I know, whenever I have prayed earnestly, that I have been amply heard, and have obtained more than I prayed for. God indeed sometimes delayed, but at last He came."
It is the work of the Holy Spirit through the Word that reveals to us our deep need for God's grace and strength. Oh, may we allow Him to show us our own spiritual poverty and powerlessness that we may be continually depending upon Him in prayer and in His Word.
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