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any otheT pTayeT- will be heaTd.
But,
if
we foTgive otheTs, and "if we
confess ouT sins, he is faithful and
just to foTgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from a lJ unrighteousness"
(1 John l :9).
Prayer, along with meditation, is
a good time for self-examination to
determine whether you truly have
repented youTself and completely
forgiven others. But you can't "fake
it." And even heTe, you've got to ask
God for help and humility.
Make Prayer a Hablt
Many a rticles have been written on
the amazing power which habits
have over our lives. They describe
how building proper thought pat–
terns and daily habits- even in little
things- often spells the difference
between success or mediocrity in
many areas of our lives.
In
no area
of life is this more im–
portant than in the spiritual area of
regular Bible study, meditation and
personal prayer to God.
God puts examples in the Bible
for a reason. Let's no tice.
The prophet Daniel, in danger of
losing his life if he prayed, never–
theless followed his daily habit- the
pattern of life which made him one
of the most honored and powerful
servants of God in history. "Now
when Daniel knew that the writing
was signed [forbidding asking any–
thing from anyone but the king], he
went into bis house; and his win–
dows being open in his chamber
towaTd JeTusalem, he kneeled upon
his knees three times a day, and
prayed, and gave thanks before his
God, as he did aforetime" (Dan.
6: lO).
Note the statement " ... as he d id
aforetime."
It
was Daniel's habit to
pray on bis k:nees before God three
times a day.
Notice also the example of King
David when he was in gTeat distress:
"Evening, and mo rning, and at
noon, will 1 pray, and cry aloud:
and he shalJ heaT my voice" (Ps.
55: 17). David was a ll man. He was a
mighty waTTior, an excellent musí–
cían and composer, and an inspired
leader. But he was often in trouble.
Hence his "supplications" (Ps. 55: l ,
for example)-the word meaos re–
peated prayer on the same subject.
He had to pour out his heart and
22
ask repeatedly foT merey, strength,
guidance and deliverance. The re–
sult?
You cannot read through the in–
spired psalms of David without rea l–
izing that he was a man who lived in
close and continua! contact with his
God. He was vitally a live and Lived
one of the most exciting, Tomantic
and yet meaningful lives in the his–
tory of the human race! His con–
s tant and eve n passi o n ate
communion with God certainly
added depth and breadth to his
Remember James 5:16: " The
effectua/ fervent prayer of a
rlghteous man availeth much."
Realize that you are comlng
to plead your case befare the
Supreme Govemor of the unl–
verse, the Lord and Glver of
//fe. Put your heart, your mlnd
and your being into an alert,
profound, and heartfelt com–
munion wlth your Creator.
magnificent life and character.
Reading David's psalms, you note
the obvious fact tha t David was not
only just praying on his knees. He
was coostantly talking to God, relat–
ing all things to God- the very ceo–
ter of his existence. He was, as we
say, in an "attitude of prayeT" many
times throughout each day.
So should we be.
Do we greet each morning's sun–
rise with a quiet "Thank you,"
Father" as we first look out the win–
dow? Do we bow our head in
thanksgiving over any of our prívate
breakfast, lunch and dinneT meals–
teaching our children by this and
other acts that God is our Creator
and the Giver of every good gift?
Do we ask God's protection as
our children leave for school, as our
car leaves the driveway, as our
plane taxis out for takeoff? Do we
ask our FatheT and Friend fo r wis–
dom and guidance, fo r patience and
me rey, for streogth and love, as we
face vaTious challenges through
eaeh day of ouT lives? We should–
for this, too, is the meaning of
prayer, and of learning to "walk
with God" as did great men of old
like Enoch, Noah and Abraham.
Often Jesus rose up early in the
morning-"a great while befare
day"-aod went toa prívate place to
pray (Mark 1:35). He wanted to re–
establish tha t close contact with
God early in the day.
So should we.
At other times, times of unusual
st ress, or befare making a big deci–
sion such as choosing His twelve
apostles, Jesus would pray long and
hard through part o r even all of the
night- reasoning and pleading with
His Father for help, wisdom and
gu idance on the problems and
decisions o f the morrow (Luke
6: 12-13).
It was the
HABIT
of our Savior
who is our perfect example to pray
to God continually and with His
whole heaTt! So when it carne His
time to die, the most obvious and
natural thlng He couJd and did do
was to drop to His knees, Lift up His
heart and hands to the Almighty
one with whom He had shaTed eter–
nity, and pTay. With peTspiration
pouring off His body and with tears
streaming down His cheeks (He–
brews 5:7), He begged God for the
strength and !ove to become the
peTfect sacrifice which He, and He
alone, could be.
Then, finally, when He knew He
had the Father's answeT, He re–
turned to find His disciples sleep–
ing- seeming ly unawaTe of the
momentous events which were
about to occuT. "[He] said unto
them, Why sleep ye? Rise and
PRA
v,
lest ye enter into temptation" (Luke
22:46).
In this age of potential wo rld an–
nihilation, we, too, had better learn
to do just that. We need to make the
ha bit of constant and fervent pTayer
to God as much a part of our lives
as bTeathing. For, as with the air we
bTeathe, the quality and ultimate
length of our lives d irectly depend
uponit.
O
RECOMMENDED READING
Roderick C. Meredith, a Senior Editor
of
The Plain Truth,
has taught courses
in church history and the epistles of
Paul at Ambassador College for two
decades. His supplementary article
" The Answer lo Unanswered Prayer"
has bettered the lives of thousands.
Request your free copy today.
The
PLAIN TRUTH June 1977