Part 1 of 8"Brethren, pray for us" (1 Thess 5:25).
Many a better man has taken up this ever-precious issue of prayer. And What an honor and a privilege is it for believers to have access to God's throne of perpetual grace!
But what about prayer? I certainly do not pretend to know all about it.. but I am pretty good pals with Him to whom all prayer flows! Where can we rightly find the answers that our hearts desire concerning this great and eternal truth? As always, may we turn to the pages of Holy writ - that great, sharp and living organism - the ever-precious Word of God (Heb 4:12)! No place else will give us such a complete, perfect and satisfying view of this great and vital Christian doctrine. Men may have their various interpretations of what prayer is and what it ought to be, but the Lord Jesus, in His precious Word, has given us His wise counsel, such that simply cannot be refuted. All we must do, as always, is search and take heed!
"I will meditate on thy precepts, And have respect unto thy ways" (Ps 119:15).
In studying such a vast theme, I simply want to observe one single, yet multi-faceted aspect: the practice of the apostles: What did they pray? How did they pray? When did they pray? Why did they pray? And who did they pray for? This may appear an unusual approach, but who better for us to examine than the very ones who kept Jesus company, and personally received His instruction, wisdom and teaching. In fact, most of them were the ones who begged, "Lord, teach us to pray" (Lk 11:1).. And therefore, we can be assured that they are likewise the ones who shall give us a glimpse into God's answer to the age old question: How ought men to pray?
Friends, in our mere natural state, "we know not how to pray as we ought" (Rom 8:26). Therefore, let's turn to the Perfect Law of Liberty and discover what God has to say, shall we?
To be continued...
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