Prayer

Thomas Brooks (1608-1680)

Fervency feathers the wings of prayer, and makes them fly the swifter to heaven. An arrow, it is be drawn up but a little way, flies not far; but if it be drawn up to the head, it will fly far, and pierce deeply: so fervent prayer flies as high as heaven, and will certainly bring down blessings from thence. Cold prayers speak of a denial, but fervent prayers offer a sacred violence both to heaven and earth. Look, as in a painted fire there is no heat, so in a cold prayer there is no heat, no warmth, no omnipotency, no devotion, no blessing. Cold prayers are like arrows without heads, as swords without edges, as birds without wings: they pierce not, they cut not, they fly not up to heaven. Such prayers as have no heavenly fire in them, do always freeze before they reach as high as heaven. But fervent prayer is very prevalent with God: Acts 12:5, ‘Peter, therefore, was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing.’ The Greek word ektenes signifies instant prayer, earnest prayer, stretched out prayer; prayer stretched out upon a rack, as it were. These gracious souls did in prayer strain and stretch themselves, as men do that are running in a race; they prayed with all the strength of their souls, and with all the fervency of their spirits; and accordingly they carried the day with God, as you may see in the following verses.

(From: “Works”)

John Bunyan (1628-1688)

Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart, or soul, to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Spirit, for such things as God has promised (Matt. 6. 6-8).

Prayer is only true when it is within the compass of God’s Word; it is blasphemy, or at best vain babbling, when the petition is unrelated to the Book. David therefore in his prayer kept his eye on the Word of God. ‘My soul,’ says he, ‘cleaveth to the dust; quicken me according to thy word.’ And again, ‘My soul melteth for heaviness, strengthen thou me according unto thy word’ (Ps. 119. 25-28. See also verses 41, 42, 58, 65, 74, 81, 82, 107, 147, 154, 169, 170). And, ‘remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope’ (ver. 49). And indeed the Holy Ghost does not immediately quicken and stir up the heart of the Christian without, but by, with, and through the Word, by bringing that to the heart, and by opening that, whereby the man is provoked to go to the Lord, and to tell him how it is with him; and also to argue, and supplicate, according to the Word. Thus it was with Daniel that mighty prophet of the Lord. He, understanding by books that the captivity of the children of Israel was nearing its end, then, according to that word, he makes his prayer to God. ‘I Daniel,’ says he, ‘understood by books,’ viz., the writings of Jeremiah, ‘the number of the years whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes’ (Ch. 9. 2, 3).

As the Spirit is the helper and the governor of the soul, when it prays according to the will of God; so it guides by and according to the Word of God and his promise. Hence it is that our Lord Jesus Christ himself did make a stop, although his life lay at stake for it. ‘I could now pray to my Father, and he should give me more than twelve legions of angels; but how then must the Scripture be fulfilled that thus it must be?’ (Matt. 26. 53, 54). Were there but a word for it in the Scripture, I should soon be out of the hands of mine enemies, I should be helped by angels; but the Scripture will not warrant this kind of praying, for that says otherwise.

It is a praying then according to the Word and promise. The Spirit by the Word must direct, in the manner, as well as in the matter of prayer. ‘I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also’ (1 Cor. 14. 15). But there is no understanding without the Word. For if they reject the word of the Lord, ‘what wisdom is in them?’ (Jer. 8. 9.)

(From: “A Discourse Touching Prayer”)

John Calvin (1509-1564)

But after we have learned by faith to know that whatever is necessary for us or defective in us is supplied in God and in our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom it hath pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell, that we may thence draw as from an inexhaustible fountain, it remains for us to seek and in prayer implore of him what we have learned to be in him. To know God as the sovereign disposer of all good, inviting us to present our requests, and yet not to approach or ask of him, were so far from availing us, that it were just as if one told of a treasure were to allow it to remain buried in the ground. Hence the Apostle, to show that a faith unaccompanied with prayer to God cannot be genuine, states this to be the order: As faith springs from the Gospel, so by faith our hearts are framed to call upon the name of God (Romans 10:14). And this is the very thing which he had expressed some time before, viz., that the Spirit of adoption, which seals the testimony of the Gospel on our hearts, gives us courage to make our requests known unto God, calls forth groanings which cannot be uttered, and enables us to cry, Abba, Father, (Romans 8:26).

(From: Unknown)

Samuel Rutherford (1600-1661)

There may be much crying with the voice where there is not much praying. David’s enemies in trouble cried, but there was none to save them (Psalm 18:41), “even unto the Lord, but He answered them not”. For the young ravens cry to God (Psalm 147:9) yet they pray not. Micah (3:4) speaking of the oppressors says, “Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but He will not hear them: He will even hide His face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings”. “Though they shall cry unto Me, I will not hearken” (Jeremiah 11:11). “When they fast, I will not hear their cry” (Jeremiah 14:12).

There may be no crying with the voice where there is vehement praying, as Hannah prayed and poured out her soul before the Lord (1 Samuel 1:15). This was heart-crying. “Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard” (verse 13).

There may be much praying where there is no crying. In some prayers, there is much tongue, little spirit and life; so, in some others there is much spirit, little tongue. Light sorrow will speak, extreme grief is dumb and cannot command one word. The deepest floods in their motion speak least, and slide down their banks without noise; shallow brooks flow with great tumbling and din. Some desires are above words; and come out in nothing but in sad sighs and deep groans (Romans 8:26-27). And the Spirit of Christ is as often wrapped in a sigh and in a breathing (Lamentations 3:56), in a panting (Psalm 42:1; 119:131) and in gaping as in set and instructed prayers. When the troubled soul is speaking to God (Psalm 77:3-4), he says he cannot speak: “My spirit was overwhelmed. Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.”

The remnants of a saved and humble Church, they mourn for their iniquities, every one like doves in the valley (Ezekiel 7:16) – that is a weak, low voice. The oppressed Church confessing their sins says, as much as when the voice is low and weak as a dove’s voice, there may be great and loud heart shouts: “We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgment, but there is none. For our transgressions are multiplied (Isaiah 59:11-12).

(From: “The Power and Prevalency of Faith and Prayer”)

Robert Shaw (1795-1863)

Prayer is to be made for things that are lawful, or according to the will of God. As our petitions ought to be regulated by the revealed will of God, his Word must be the rule of prayer. Nor by this rule are our prayers circumscribed within narrow limits; for nothing really necessary for us can be pointed out which is not contained in some divine declaration or promise. We are warranted to ask temporal mercies of God; for “our heavenly Father knoweth that we need of these things” (Matt. vi. 32); but spiritual mercies ought to have the preference in our requests; for thus saith our Saviour: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto your.”–Matt. vi. 33. If we regulate our petitions by the Word of God, then we may feel the utmost confidence that there is an entire harmony between his will and our desires; and we may take the full encouragement of that beautiful and comprehensive promise: “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.”–John xv. 7; see also, 1 John v. 14.

(From: “An Exposition of the Confession of Faith of the Westminster Assembly of Divines”)