Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1103
“And whatever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment. And he that keeps His commandment dwells in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He has given us.” 1 John 3:22-24.
I THOUGHT of addressing you this morning upon the importance of prayer and I designed earnestly to stir you up to pray for me and for the Lord’s work in this place. Truly, I do not think I could have had a more weighty subject, or one which weighs more upon my soul. If I were only allowed to offer one request to you it would be this—“Brethren, pray for us.” Of what use can our ministry be without the Divine blessing and how can we expect the Divine blessing unless it is sought for by the Church of God? I would say it even with tears, “Brethren, pray for us.” Do not restrain prayer—on the contrary, be abundant in intercession, for so, and so only, can our prosperity as a Church be increased, or even continued.
But then, the question occurred to me, what if there should be something in the Church which would prevent our prayers being successful? That is an important question and one which ought to be considered most earnestly even before we exhort you to intercession. As we have already been taught by the first chapter of Isaiah, the prayers of an unholy people will soon become abominations to God. “When you spread forth your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; yes, when you make many prayers, I will not hear.” Churches may fall into such a state that the devotions will be an iniquity. “Even the solemn meeting” will be a weariness unto the Lord. There may be evils in the heart of any one of us which may render it impossible for God, in consistency with His own Character and attributes, to have any regard to our intercessions.
If we regard iniquity in our hearts the Lord will not hear us. According to our text there are some things which are essential to prevalence in prayer. God will hear all true prayer, but there are certain things which the people of God must possess or else their prayers will fall short of the mark. The text tells us, “Whatever we ask we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” Now, this morning the subject of consideration will be the essentials to power in prayer—what we must do, what we must be, what we must have—if we are to prevail habitually with God in prayer, as a matter of constant fact. Let us learn how to become Elijahs and Jacobs.
I. I shall begin, first, by considering THE ESSENTIALS OF POWER IN PRAYER. We must make a few distinctions at the outset. I take it there is a great difference between the prayer of a soul that is seeking mercy and the prayer of a man who is saved. I would say to every person present, whatever his character, if you sincerely seek mercy of God through Jesus Christ you shall have it. Whatever may have been your previous condition of life, if you now penitently seek Jehovah’s face through the appointed Mediator, He will be found of you.
If the Holy Spirit has taught you to pray, hesitate no longer but hasten to the Cross and there rest your guilty soul on Jesus. I know of no qualifications for the sinner’s first prayer except sincerity, but we must speak in a different way to those of you who are saved. You have now become the people of God and while you shall be heard just as the sinner would be heard, and shall daily find the necessary Grace which every seeker receives in answer to prayer, yet you are now a child of God and you are under a special discipline peculiar to the regenerated family. In that discipline answers to prayer occupy a high position and are of eminent use.
There is something for a Believer to enjoy over and above bare salvation. There are mercies, blessings, comforts and favors which render his present life useful, happy and honorable. And these he shall have irrespective of character. They are not vital matters with regard to salvation—the Believer possesses them unconditionally, for they are Covenant blessings. But we now refer to the honors and the dainties of the house which are given or withheld according to our obedience as the Lord’s children. If you neglect the conditions appended to these, your heavenly Father will withhold them from you. The essential blessings of the Covenant of Grace stand unconditioned—the invitation to seek for mercy is addressed to those who have no qualifications whatever, except their need.
But come inside the Divine family as saved men and women and you will find that other choice blessings are given or withheld according to our attention to the Lord’s rules in His family. To give a common illustration—If a hungry person were at your door and asked for bread, you would give it to him whatever might be his character. You will also give your child food whatever may be his behavior—you will not deny your child anything that is necessary for life. You will never proceed in any course of discipline against him, so as to deny him his necessary food, or a garment to shield him from the cold. But there are many other things which your child may desire which you will give him if he is obedient, which you will not give if he is rebellious to you. I take it that this illustrates how far the paternal government of God will push this matter and where it will not go.