* * * * * +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | Transcriber's Note: | | | | Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. For | | a complete list, please see the end of this document. | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------+ * * * * * Lord, Teach UsTo Pray By Rev. Andrew Murray PhiladelphiaHenry Altemus Copyright, 1896, by HENRY ALTEMUS. LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY OR THE ONLY TEACHER. The disciples had been with Christ, and seen Him pray. They hadlearnt to understand something of the connection between Hiswondrous life in public, and His secret life of prayer. They hadlearnt to believe in Him as a Master in the art of prayer--nonecould pray like Him. And so they came to Him with the request, 'Lord, teach us to pray. ' And in after years they would have toldus that there were few things more wonderful or blessed that Hetaught them than His lessons on prayer. And now still it comes to pass, as He is praying in a certainplace, that disciples who see Him thus engaged feel the need ofrepeating the same request, 'Lord, teach us to pray. ' As we growin the Christian life, the thought and the faith of the BelovedMaster in His never-failing intercession becomes evermoreprecious, and the hope of being _Like Christ_ in His intercessiongains an attractiveness before unknown. And as we see Him pray, and remember that there is none who can pray like Him, and nonewho can teach like Him, we feel the petition of the disciples, 'Lord, teach us to pray, ' is just what we need. And as we thinkhow all He is and has, how He Himself is our very own, how He isHimself our life, we feel assured that we have but to ask, and Hewill be delighted to take us up into closer fellowship withHimself, and teach us to pray even as He prays. Come, my brothers! Shall we not go to the Blessed Master and askHim to enrol our names too anew in that school which He alwayskeeps open for those who long to continue their studies in theDivine art of prayer and intercession? Yes, let us this very daysay to the Master, as they did of old, 'Lord, teach us to pray. 'As we meditate we shall find each word of the petition we bringto be full of meaning. 'Lord, teach us _to pray_. ' Yes, _to pray_. This is what we needto be taught. Though in its beginnings prayer is so simple thatthe feeble child can pray, yet it is at the same time the highestand holiest work to which man can rise. It is fellowship with theUnseen and Most Holy One. The powers of the eternal world havebeen placed at its disposal. It is the very essence of truereligion, the channel of all blessings, the secret of power andlife. Not only for ourselves, but for others, for the Church, forthe world, it is to prayer that God has given the right to takehold of Him and His strength. It is on prayer that the promiseswait for their fulfilment, the kingdom for its coming, the gloryof God for its full revelation. And for this blessed work, howslothful and unfit we are. It is only the Spirit of God canenable us to do it aright. How speedily we are deceived into aresting in the form, while the power is wanting. Our earlytraining, the teaching of the Church, the influence of habit, thestirring of the emotions--how easily these lead to prayer whichhas no spiritual power, and avails but little. True prayer, thattakes hold of God's strength, that availeth much, to which thegates of heaven are really opened wide--who would not cry, Oh forsome one to teach me thus to pray? Jesus has opened a school, in which He trains His redeemed ones, who specially desire it, to have power in prayer. Shall we notenter it with the petition, Lord! it is just this we need to betaught! O teach us to _pray_. 'Lord, teach _us_ to pray. ' Yes, _us_, Lord. We have read in ThyWord with what power Thy believing people of old used to pray, and what mighty wonders were done in answer to their prayers. And if this took place under the Old Covenant, in the time ofpreparation, how much more wilt Thou not now, in these days offulfilment, give Thy people this sure sign of Thy presence intheir midst. We have heard the promises given to Thine apostlesof the power of prayer in Thy name, and have seen how gloriouslythey experienced their truth: we know for certain, they canbecome true to us too. We hear continually even in these dayswhat glorious tokens of Thy power Thou dost still give to thosewho trust Thee fully. Lord! these all are men of like passionswith ourselves; teach _us_ to pray so too. The promises are forus, the powers and gifts of the heavenly world are for us. Oteach _us_ to pray so that we may receive abundantly. To us tooThou hast entrusted Thy work, on our prayer too the coming of Thykingdom depends, in our prayer too Thou canst glorify Thy name;'Lord, teach us to pray. ' Yes, us, Lord; we offer ourselves aslearners; we would indeed be taught of Thee. 'Lord, teach _us_ topray. ' 'Lord, _teach_ us to pray. ' Yes, we feel the need now of being_taught_ to pray. At first there is no work appears so simple;later on, none that is more difficult; and the confession isforced from us: We know not how to pray as we ought. It is truewe have God's Word, with its clear and sure promises; but sin hasso darkened our mind, that we know not always how to apply theWord. In spiritual things we do not always seek the most needfulthings, or fail in praying according to the law of the sanctuary. In temporal things we are still less able to avail ourselves ofthe wonderful liberty our Father has given us to ask what weneed. And even when we know what to ask, how much there is stillneeded to make prayer acceptable. It must be to the glory of God, in full surrender to His will, in full assurance of faith, in thename of Jesus, and with a perseverance that, if need be, refusesto be denied. All this must be learned. It can only be learned inthe school of much prayer, for practice makes perfect. Amid thepainful consciousness of ignorance and unworthiness, in thestruggle between believing and doubting, the heavenly art ofeffectual prayer is learnt. Because, even when we do not rememberit, there is One, the Beginner and Finisher of faith and prayer, who watches over our praying, and sees to it that _in all whotrust Him for it_ their education in the school of prayer shallbe carried on to perfection. Let but the deep undertone of allour prayer be the teachableness that comes from a sense ofignorance, and from faith in Him as a perfect teacher, and we maybe sure we shall be taught, we shall learn to pray in power. Yes, we may depend upon it, HE _teaches_ to pray. '_Lord_, teach us to pray. ' None can teach like Jesus, none butJesus; therefore we call on Him, 'LORD, teach us to pray. ' Apupil needs a teacher, who knows his work, who has the gift ofteaching, who in patience and love will descend to the pupil'sneeds. Blessed be God! Jesus is all this and much more. He knowswhat prayer is. It is Jesus, praying Himself, who teaches topray. He knows what prayer is. He learned it amid the trials andtears of His earthly life. In heaven it is still His belovedwork: His life there is prayer. Nothing delights Him more than tofind those whom He can take with Him into the Father's presence, whom He can clothe with power to pray down God's blessing onthose around them, whom He can train to be His fellow-workers inthe intercession by which the kingdom is to be revealed on earth. He knows how to teach. Now by the urgency of felt need, then bythe confidence with which joy inspires. Here by the teaching ofthe Word, there by the testimony of another believer who knowswhat it is to have prayer heard. By His Holy Spirit, He hasaccess to our heart, and teaches us to pray by showing us the sinthat hinders the prayer, or giving us the assurance that weplease God. He teaches, by giving not only thoughts of what toask or how to ask, but by breathing within us the very spirit ofprayer, by living within us as the Great Intercessor. We mayindeed and most joyfully say, 'Who teacheth like Him?' Jesusnever taught His disciples how to preach, only how to pray. Hedid not speak much of what was needed to preach well, but much ofpraying well. To know how to speak to God is more than knowinghow to speak to man. Not power with men, but power with God isthe first thing. Jesus loves to teach us how to pray. What think you, my beloved fellow-disciples! would it not be justwhat we need, to ask the Master for a month to give us a courseof special lessons on the art of prayer? As we meditate on thewords He spake on earth, let us yield ourselves to His teachingin the fullest confidence that, with such a teacher, we shallmake progress. Let us take time not only to meditate, but topray, to tarry at the foot of the throne, and be trained to thework of intercession. Let us do so in the assurance that amidstour stammerings and fears He is carrying on His work mostbeautifully. He will breathe His own life, which is all prayer, into us. As He makes us partakers of His righteousness and Hislife, He will of His intercession too. As the members of Hisbody, as a holy priesthood, we shall take part in His priestlywork of pleading and prevailing with God for men. Yes, let usmost joyfully say, ignorant and feeble though we be, 'Lord, teachus to pray. ' 'LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY. ' * * * * * Blessed Lord! who ever livest to pray, Thou canst teach me too topray, me to live ever to pray. In this Thou lovest to make meshare Thy glory in heaven, that I should pray without ceasing, and ever stand as a priest in the presence of my God. Lord Jesus! I ask Thee this day to enrol my name among those whoconfess that they know not how to pray as they ought, andespecially ask Thee for a course of teaching in prayer. Lord!teach me to tarry with Thee in the school, and give Thee time totrain me. May a deep sense of my ignorance, of the wonderfulprivilege and power of prayer, of the need of the Holy Spirit asthe Spirit of prayer, lead me to cast away my thoughts of what Ithink I know, and make me kneel before Thee in true teachablenessand poverty of spirit. And fill me, Lord, with the confidence that with such a teacheras Thou art I shall learn to pray. In the assurance that I haveas my teacher, Jesus, who is ever praying to the Father, and byHis prayer rules the destinies of His Church and the world, Iwill not be afraid. As much as I need to know of the mysteries ofthe prayer-world, Thou wilt unfold for me. And when I may notknow, Thou wilt teach me to be strong in faith, giving glory toGod. Blessed Lord! Thou wilt not put to shame Thy scholar who trustsThee, nor, by Thy grace, would he Thee either. Amen. 'IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH;' OR THE TRUE WORSHIPPERS. 'The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be His worshippers. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth. '--JOHN iv. 23, 24. These words of Jesus to the woman of Samaria are His firstrecorded teaching on the subject of prayer. They give us somewonderful first glimpses into the world of prayer. The Father_seeks_ worshippers: our worship satisfies His loving heart andis a joy to Him. He seeks _true worshippers_, but finds many notsuch as He would have them. True worship is that which is _inspirit and truth_. _The Son has come_ to open the way for thisworship in spirit and in truth, and teach it us. And so one ofour first lessons in the school of prayer must be to understandwhat it is to pray in spirit and in truth, and to know how we canattain to it. To the woman of Samaria our Lord spoke of a threefold worship. There is, first, the ignorant worship of the Samaritans: 'Yeworship that which ye know not. ' The second, the intelligentworship of the Jew, having the true knowledge of God: 'We worshipthat which we know; for salvation is of the Jews. ' And then thenew, the spiritual worship which He Himself has come tointroduce: 'The hour is coming, and is now, when the trueworshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth. ' Fromthe connection it is evident that the words 'in spirit and truth'do not mean, as is often thought, earnestly, from the heart, insincerity. The Samaritans had the five books of Moses and someknowledge of God; there was doubtless more than one among themwho honestly and earnestly sought God in prayer. The Jews had thetrue full revelation of God in His word, as thus far given; therewere among them godly men, who called upon God with their wholeheart. And yet not 'in spirit and truth, ' in the full meaning ofthe words. Jesus says, '_The hour is coming, and now is_:' it isonly in and through Him that the worship of God will be in spiritand truth. Among Christians one still finds the three classes ofworshippers. Some who in their ignorance hardly know what theyask: they pray earnestly, and yet receive but little. Othersthere are, who have more correct knowledge, who try to pray withall their mind and heart, and often pray most earnestly, and yetdo not attain to the full blessedness of worship in spirit andtruth. It is into this third class we must ask our Lord Jesus totake us; we must be taught of Him how to worship in spirit andtruth. This alone is spiritual worship; this makes us worshipperssuch as the Father seeks. In prayer everything will depend on ourunderstanding well and practising the worship in spirit andtruth. 'God is _a Spirit_ and they that worship Him must worship Him _inspirit_ and truth. ' The first thought suggested here by theMaster is that there must be harmony between God and Hisworshippers; such as God is, must His worship be. This isaccording to a principle which prevails throughout the universe:we look for correspondence between an object and the organ towhich it reveals or yields itself. The eye has an inner fitnessfor the light, the ear for sound. The man who would truly worshipGod, would find and know and possess and enjoy God, must be inharmony with Him, must have a capacity for receiving Him. BecauseGod _is Spirit_, we must worship _in spirit_. As God is, so Hisworshipper. And what does this mean? The woman had asked our Lord whetherSamaria or Jerusalem was the true place of worship. He answersthat henceforth worship is no longer to be limited to a certainplace: 'Woman, believe Me, _the hour cometh_ when neither inthis mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father. ' AsGod is Spirit, not bound by space or time, but in His infiniteperfection always and everywhere the same, so His worship wouldhenceforth no longer be confined by place or form, but spiritualas God Himself is spiritual. A lesson of deep importance. Howmuch our Christianity suffers from this, that it is confined tocertain times and places. A man who seeks to pray earnestly inthe church or in the closet, spends the greater part of the weekor the day in a spirit entirely at variance with that in which heprayed. His worship was the work of a fixed place or hour, not ofhis whole being. God is a spirit: He is the Everlasting andUnchangeable One; what He is, He is always and in truth. Ourworship must even so be in spirit and truth: His worship must bethe spirit of our life; our life must be worship in spirit as Godis Spirit. 'God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him inspirit and truth. ' The second thought that comes to us is thatthis worship in the spirit must come from God Himself. God isSpirit: He alone has Spirit to give. It was for this He sent HisSon, to fit us for such spiritual worship, by giving us the HolySpirit. It is of His own work that Jesus speaks when He saystwice, 'The hour cometh, ' and then adds, 'and is now. ' He came tobaptize with the Holy Spirit; the Spirit could not stream forthtill He was glorified (_John i. 33, vii. 37, 38, xvi. 7_). It waswhen He had made an end of sin, and entering into the Holiest ofall with His blood, had there on our behalf _received_ the HolySpirit (_Acts ii. 33_), that He could send Him down to us as theSpirit of the Father. It was when Christ had redeemed us, and wein Him had received the position of children, that the Fathersent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts to cry, 'Abba, Father. ' The worship in spirit is the worship of the Father inthe Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of Sonship. This is the reason why Jesus here uses the name of Father. Wenever find one of the Old Testament saints personally appropriatethe name of child or call God his Father. The worship _of theFather_ is only possible to those to whom the Spirit of the Sonhas been given. The worship _in spirit_ is only possible to thoseto whom the Son has revealed the Father, and who have receivedthe spirit of Sonship. It is only Christ who opens the way andteaches the worship in spirit. And _in truth_. That does not only mean, _in sincerity_. Nor doesit only signify, in accordance with the truth of God's Word. Theexpression is one of deep and Divine meaning. Jesus is 'theonly-begotten of the Father, _full of_ grace and _truth_. ' 'Thelaw was given by Moses; grace and _truth came_ by Jesus Christ. 'Jesus says, '_I am the truth_ and the life. ' In the OldTestament all was shadow and promise; Jesus brought and gives thereality, _the substance_, of things hoped for. In Him theblessings and powers of the eternal life are our actualpossession and experience. Jesus is full of grace and truth; theHoly Spirit is the Spirit of truth; through Him the grace that isin Jesus is ours indeed, and truth a positive communication outof the Divine life. And so worship in spirit is worship _intruth_; actual living fellowship with God, a real correspondenceand harmony between the Father, who is a Spirit, and the childpraying in the spirit. What Jesus said to the woman of Samaria, she could not at onceunderstand. Pentecost was needed to reveal its full meaning. Weare hardly prepared at our first entrance into the school ofprayer to grasp such teaching. We shall understand it betterlater on. Let us only begin and take the lesson as He gives it. We are carnal and cannot bring God the worship He seeks. ButJesus came to give the Spirit: He has given Him to us. Let thedisposition in which we set ourselves to pray be what Christ'swords have taught us. Let there be the deep confession of ourinability to bring God the worship that is pleasing to Him; thechildlike teachableness that waits on Him to instruct us; thesimple faith that yields itself to the breathing of the Spirit. Above all, let us hold fast the blessed truth--we shall findthat the Lord has more to say to us about it--that the knowledgeof the Fatherhood of God, the revelation of His infiniteFatherliness in our hearts, the faith in the infinite love thatgives us His Son and His Spirit to make us children, is indeedthe secret of prayer in spirit and truth. This is the new andliving way Christ opened up for us. To have Christ the Son, and_The Spirit of the Son_, dwelling within us, and revealing theFather, this makes us true, spiritual worshippers. 'LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY. ' * * * * * Blessed Lord! I adore the love with which Thou didst teach awoman, who had refused Thee a cup of water, what the worship ofGod must be. I rejoice in the assurance that Thou wilt no lessnow instruct Thy disciple, who comes to Thee with a heart thatlongs to pray in spirit and in truth. O my Holy Master! do teachme this blessed secret. Teach me that the worship in spirit and truth is not of man, butonly comes from Thee; that it is not only a thing of times andseasons, but the outflowing of a life in Thee. Teach me to drawnear to God in prayer under the deep impression of my ignoranceand my having nothing in myself to offer Him, and at the sametime of the provision Thou, my Saviour, makest for the Spirit'sbreathing in my childlike stammerings. I do bless Thee that inThee I am a child, and have a child's liberty of access; that inThee I have the spirit of Sonship and of worship of truth. Teachme, above all, Blessed Son of the Father, how it is therevelation of the Father that gives confidence in prayer; and letthe infinite Fatherliness of God's Heart be my joy and strengthfor a life of prayer and of worship. Amen. PRAY TO THY FATHER WHICH IS IN SECRET OR ALONE WITH GOD. 'But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall recompense thee. '--MATT. Vi. 6. After Jesus had called His first disciples He gave them theirfirst public teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. He thereexpounded to them the kingdom of God, its laws and its life. Inthat kingdom God is not only King, but Father; He not only givesall, but is Himself all. In the knowledge and fellowship of Himalone is its blessedness. Hence it came as a matter of coursethat the revelation of prayer and the prayer-life was a part ofHis teaching concerning the New Kingdom He came to set up. Mosesgave neither command nor regulation with regard to prayer: eventhe prophets say little directly of the duty of prayer; it isChrist who teaches to pray. And the first thing the Lord teaches His disciples is that theymust have a secret place for prayer; every one must have somesolitary spot where he can be alone with his God. Every teachermust have a schoolroom. We have learnt to know and accept Jesusas our only teacher in the school of prayer. He has alreadytaught us at Samaria that worship is no longer confined to timesand places; that worship, spiritual true worship, is a thing ofthe spirit and the life; the whole man must in his whole life beworship in spirit and truth. And yet He wants each one to choosefor himself the fixed spot where He can daily meet him. Thatinner chamber, that solitary place, is Jesus' schoolroom. Thatspot may be anywhere; that spot may change from day to day if wehave to change our abode; but that secret place there must be, with the quiet time in which the pupil places himself in theMaster's presence, to be by Him prepared to worship the Father. There alone, but there most surely, Jesus comes to us to teach usto pray. A teacher is always anxious that his schoolroom should be brightand attractive, filled with the light and air of heaven, a placewhere pupils long to come, and love to stay. In His first wordson prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus seeks to set theinner chamber before us in its most attractive light. If welisten carefully, we soon notice what the chief thing is He hasto tell us of our tarrying there. Three times He uses the name ofFather: 'Pray to _thy Father_;' '_Thy Father_ shall recompensethee;' _Your Father_ knoweth what things ye have need of. ' Thefirst thing in closet-prayer is: I must meet my Father. The lightthat shines in the closet must be: the light of the Father'scountenance. The fresh air from heaven with which Jesus wouldhave filled the atmosphere in which I am to breathe and pray, is:God's Father-love, God's infinite Fatherliness. Thus each thoughtor petition we breathe out will be simple, hearty, childliketrust in the Father. This is how the Master teaches us to pray:He brings us into the Father's living presence. What we praythere must avail. Let us listen carefully to hear what the Lordhas to say to us. First, '_Pray to thy Father which is in secret_. ' God is a Godwho hides Himself to the carnal eye. As long as in our worship ofGod we are chiefly occupied with our own thoughts and exercises, we shall not meet Him who is a Spirit, the unseen One. But to theman who withdraws himself from all that is of the world and man, and prepares to wait upon God alone, the Father will revealHimself. As he forsakes and gives up and shuts out the world, andthe life of the world, and surrenders himself to be led of Christinto the secret of God's presence, the light of the Father's lovewill rise upon him. The secrecy of the inner chamber and theclosed door, the entire separation from all around us, is animage of, and so a help to, that inner spiritual sanctuary, thesecret of God's tabernacle, within the veil, where our spirittruly comes into contact with the Invisible One. And so we aretaught, at the very outset of our search after the secret ofeffectual prayer, to remember that it is in the inner chamber, where we are alone with the Father, that we shall learn to prayaright. The Father is in secret: in these words Jesus teaches uswhere He is waiting us, where He is always to be found. Christians often complain that private prayer is not what itshould be. They feel weak and sinful, the heart is cold and dark;it is as if they have so little to pray, and in that little nofaith or joy. They are discouraged and kept from prayer by thethought that they cannot come to the Father as they ought or asthey wish. Child of God! listen to your Teacher. He tells youthat when you go to private prayer your first thought must be:The Father is in secret, the Father waits me there. Just becauseyour heart is cold and prayerless, get you into the presence ofthe loving Father. As a father pitieth his children, so the Lordpitieth you. Do not be thinking of how little you have to bringGod, but of how much He wants to give you. Just place yourselfbefore, and look up into, His face; think of His love, Hiswonderful, tender, pitying love. Just tell Him how sinful andcold and dark all is: it is the Father's loving heart will givelight and warmth to yours. O do what Jesus says: Just shut thedoor, and pray to thy Father, which is in secret. Is it notwonderful? to be able to go alone with God, the infinite God. Andthen to look up and say: My Father! '_And thy Father, which seeth in secret, will recompense thee. _'Here Jesus assures us that secret prayer cannot be fruitless: itsblessing will show itself in our life. We have but in secret, alone with God, to entrust our life before men to Him; He willreward us openly; He will see to it that the answer to prayer bemade manifest in His blessing upon us. Our Lord would thus teachus that as infinite Fatherliness and Faithfulness is that withwhich God meets us in secret, so on our part there should be thechildlike simplicity of faith, the confidence that our prayerdoes bring down a blessing. 'He that cometh to God must believethat _He is a rewarder_ of them that seek Him. ' Not on the strongor the fervent feeling with which I pray does the blessing of thecloset depend, but upon the love and the power of the Father towhom I there entrust my needs. And therefore the Master has butone desire: Remember your Father is, and sees and hears insecret; go there and stay there, and go again from there in theconfidence: He will recompense. Trust Him for it; depend uponHim: prayer to the Father cannot be vain; He will reward youopenly. Still further to confirm this faith in the Father-love of God, Christ speaks a third word: '_Your Father knoweth what things yehave need of before ye ask Him. _' At first sight it might appearas if this thought made prayer less needful: God knows far betterthan we what we need. But as we get a deeper insight into whatprayer really is, this truth will help much to strengthen ourfaith. It will teach us that we do not need, as the heathen, withthe multitude and urgency of our words, to compel an unwillingGod to listen to us. It will lead to a holy thoughtfulness andsilence in prayer as it suggests the question: Does my Fatherreally know that I need this? It will, when once we have been ledby the Spirit to the certainty that our request is indeedsomething that, according to the Word, we do need for God'sglory, give us wonderful confidence to say, My Father knows Ineed it and must have it. And if there be any delay in theanswer, it will teach us in quiet perseverance to hold on:FATHER! THOU KNOWEST I need it. O the blessed liberty andsimplicity of a child that Christ our Teacher would faincultivate in us, as we draw near to God: let us look up to theFather until His Spirit works it in us. Let us sometimes in ourprayers, when we are in danger of being so occupied with ourfervent, urgent petitions, as to forget that the Father knowsand hears, let us hold still and just quietly say: My Fathersees, my Father hears, my Father knows; it will help our faith totake the answer, and to say: We know that we have the petitionswe have asked of Him. And now, all ye who have anew entered the school of Christ to betaught to pray, take these lessons, practise them, and trust Himto perfect you in them. Dwell much in the inner chamber, with thedoor shut--shut in from men, shut up with God; it is there theFather waits you, it is there Jesus will teach you to pray. To bealone in secret with THE FATHER: this be your highest joy. To beassured that THE FATHER will openly reward the secret prayer, sothat it cannot remain unblessed: this be your strength day byday. And to know that THE FATHER knows that you need what youask, this be your liberty to bring every need, in the assurancethat your God will supply it according to His riches in glory inChrist Jesus. 'LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY. ' * * * * * Blessed Saviour! with my whole heart I do bless Thee for theappointment of the inner chamber, as the school where Thoumeetest each of Thy pupils alone, and revealest to him theFather. O my Lord! strengthen my faith so in the Father's tenderlove and kindness, that as often as I feel sinful or troubled, the first instinctive thought may be to go where I know theFather waits me, and where prayer never can go unblessed. Let thethought that He knows my need before I ask, bring me, in greatrestfulness of faith, to trust that He will give what His childrequires. O let the place of secret prayer become to me the mostbeloved spot on earth. And, Lord! hear me as I pray that Thou wouldest everywhere blessthe closets of Thy believing people. Let Thy wonderful revelationof a Father's tenderness free all young Christians from everythought of secret prayer as a duty or a burden, and lead them toregard it as the highest privilege of their life, a joy and ablessing. Bring back all who are discouraged, because they cannotfind aught to bring Thee in prayer. O give them to understandthat they have only to come with their emptiness to Him who hasall to give, and delights to do it. Not, what they have to bringthe Father, but what the Father waits to give them, be their onethought. And bless especially the inner chamber of all Thy servants whoare working for Thee, as the place where God's truth and God'sgrace is revealed to them, where they are daily anointed withfresh oil, where their strength is renewed, and the blessings arereceived in faith, with which they are to bless their fellow-men. Lord, draw us all in the closet nearer to Thyself and the Father. Amen. 'AFTER THIS MANNER PRAY;' OR THE MODEL PRAYER. 'After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven. '--MATT. Vi. 9. Every teacher knows the power of example. He not only tells thechild what to do and how to do it, but shows him how it reallycan be done. In condescension to our weakness, our HeavenlyTeacher has given us the very words we are to take with us as wedraw near to our Father. We have in them a form of prayer inwhich there breathe the freshness and fulness of the EternalLife. So simple that the child can lisp it, so divinely rich thatit comprehends all that God can give. A form of prayer thatbecomes the model and inspiration for all other prayer, and yetalways draws us back to itself as the deepest utterance of oursouls before our God. '_Our Father which art in heaven!_' To appreciate this word ofadoration aright, I must remember that none of the saints had inScripture ever ventured to address God as their Father. Theinvocation places us at once in the centre of the wonderfulrevelation the Son came to make of His Father as our Father too. It comprehends the mystery of redemption--Christ delivering usfrom the curse that we might become the children of God. Themystery of regeneration--the Spirit in the new birth giving usthe new life. And the mystery of faith--ere yet the redemption isaccomplished or understood, the word is given on the lips of thedisciples to prepare them for the blessed experience still tocome. The words are the key to the whole prayer, to all prayer. It takes time, it takes life to study them; it will take eternityto understand them fully. The knowledge of God's Father-love isthe first and simplest, but also the last and highest lesson inthe school of prayer. It is in the personal relation to theliving God, and the personal conscious fellowship of love withHimself, that prayer begins. It is in the knowledge of God'sFatherliness, revealed by the Holy Spirit, that the power ofprayer will be found to root and grow. In the infinite tendernessand pity and patience of the infinite Father, in His lovingreadiness to hear and to help, the life of prayer has its joy. Olet us take time, until the Spirit has made these words to usspirit and truth, filling heart and life: 'Our Father which artin heaven. ' Then we are indeed within the veil, in the secretplace of power where prayer always prevails. '_Hallowed be Thy name. _' There is something here that strikes usat once. While we ordinarily first bring our own needs to God inprayer, and then think of what belongs to God and His interests, the Master reverses the order. First, _Thy_ name, _Thy_ kingdom, _Thy_ will; then, give _us_, forgive _us_, lead _us_, deliver_us_. The lesson is of more importance than we think. In trueworship the Father must be first, must be all. The sooner I learnto forget myself in the desire that HE may be glorified, thericher will the blessing be that prayer will bring to myself. Noone ever loses by what he sacrifices for the Father. This must influence all our prayer. There are two sorts ofprayer: personal and intercessory. The latter ordinarily occupiesthe lesser part of our time and energy. This may not be. Christhas opened the school of prayer specially to train intercessorsfor the great work of bringing down, by their faith and prayer, the blessings of His work and love on the world around. There canbe no deep growth in prayer unless this be made our aim. Thelittle child may ask of the father only what it needs for itself;and yet it soon learns to say, Give some for sister too. But thegrown-up son, who only lives for the father's interest and takescharge of the father's business, asks more largely, and gets allthat is asked. And Jesus would train us to the blessed life ofconsecration and service, in which our interests are allsubordinate to the Name, and the Kingdom, and the Will of theFather. O let us live for this, and let, on each act ofadoration, Our Father! there follow in the same breath, _Thy_Name, _Thy_ Kingdom, _Thy_ Will;--for this we look up and long. '_Hallowed be Thy name. _. ' What name? This new name of Father. The word _Holy_ is the central word of the Old Testament; the_name_ Father of the New. In this name of Love all the holinessand glory of God are now to be revealed. And how is the name tobe hallowed? By God Himself: '_I will hallow_ My great name whichye have profaned. ' Our prayer must be that in ourselves, in allGod's children, in presence of the world, God Himself wouldreveal the holiness, the Divine power, the hidden glory of thename of Father. The Spirit of the Father is the _Holy_ Spirit: itis only when we yield ourselves to be led _of Him_, that the namewill be _hallowed_ in our prayer and our lives. Let us learn theprayer: 'Our Father, hallowed be Thy name. ' '_Thy kingdom come. _' The Father is a King and has a kingdom. Theson and heir of a king has no higher ambition than the glory ofhis father's kingdom. In time of war or danger this becomes hispassion; he can think of nothing else. The children of the Fatherare here in the enemy's territory, where the kingdom, which isin heaven, is not yet fully manifested. What more natural thanthat, when they learn to hallow the Father-name, they should longand cry with deep enthusiasm: 'Thy kingdom come. ' The coming ofthe kingdom is the one great event on which the revelation of theFather's glory, the blessedness of His children, the salvation ofthe world depends. On our prayers too the coming of the kingdomwaits. Shall we not join in the deep longing cry of the redeemed:'Thy kingdom come'? Let us learn it in the school of Jesus. '_Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. _' This petition istoo frequently applied alone to the _suffering_ of the will ofGod. In heaven God's will is _done_, and the Master teaches thechild to ask that the will may be done on earth just as inheaven: in the spirit of adoring submission and ready obedience. Because the will of God is the glory of heaven, the doing of itis the blessedness of heaven. As the will is done, the kingdom ofheaven comes into the heart. And wherever faith has accepted theFather's love, obedience accepts the Father's will. The surrenderto, and the prayer for a life of heaven-like obedience, is thespirit of childlike prayer. '_Give us this day our daily bread. _' When first the child hasyielded himself to the Father in the care for His Name, HisKingdom, and His Will, he has full liberty to ask for his dailybread. A master cares for the food of his servant, a general ofhis soldiers, a father of his child. And will not the Father inheaven care for the child who has in prayer given himself up toHis interests? We may indeed in full confidence say: Father, Ilive for Thy honor and Thy work; I know Thou carest for me. Consecration to God and His will gives wonderful liberty inprayer for temporal things: the whole earthly life is given tothe Father's loving care. '_And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven ourdebtors. _' As bread is the first need of the body, so forgivenessfor the soul. And the provision for the one is as sure as for theother. We are children, but sinners too; our right of access tothe Father's presence we owe to the precious blood and theforgiveness it has won for us. Let us beware of the prayer forforgiveness becoming a formality: only what is really confessedis really forgiven. Let us in faith accept the forgiveness aspromised: as a spiritual reality, an actual transaction betweenGod and us, it is the entrance into all the Father's love and allthe privileges of children. Such forgiveness, as a livingexperience, is impossible without a forgiving spirit to others:as _forgiven_ expresses the heavenward, so _forgiving_ theearthward, relation of God's child. In each prayer to the FatherI must be able to say that I know of no one whom I do notheartily love. '_And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evilone. _' Our daily bread, the pardon of our sins, and then ourbeing kept from all sin and the power of the evil one, in thesethree petitions all our personal need is comprehended. The prayerfor bread and pardon must be accompanied by the surrender to livein all things in holy obedience to the Father's will, and thebelieving prayer in everything to be kept by the power of theindwelling Spirit from the power of the evil one. Children of God! it is thus Jesus would have us to pray to theFather in heaven. O let His Name, and Kingdom, and Will, have thefirst place in our love; His providing, and pardoning, andkeeping love will be our sure portion. So the prayer will lead usup to the true child-life: the Father all to the child, theFather all for the child. We shall understand how Father andchild, the _Thine_ and the _Our_, are all one, and how the heartthat begins its prayer with the God-devoted THINE, will have thepower in faith to speak out the OUR too. Such prayer will, indeed, be the fellowship and interchange of love, alwaysbringing us back in trust and worship to Him who is not only theBeginning but the End: 'FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE POWER, AND THE GLORY, FOR EVER, AMEN. ' Son of the Father, teach us topray, 'OUR FATHER. ' 'LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY. ' * * * * * O Thou who art the only-begotten Son, teach us, we beseech Thee, to pray, 'OUR FATHER. ' We thank Thee, Lord, for these LivingBlessed Words which Thou hast given us. We thank Thee for themillions who in them have learnt to know and worship the Father, and for what they have been to us. Lord! it is as if we neededdays and weeks in Thy school with each separate petition; so deepand full are they. But we look to Thee to lead us deeper intotheir meaning: do it, we pray Thee, for Thy Name's sake; Thy nameis Son of the Father. Lord! Thou didst once say: 'No man knoweth the Father save theSon, and he to whom the Son willeth to reveal Him. ' And again: 'Imade known unto them Thy name, and will make it known, that thelove wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them. ' Lord Jesus!reveal to us the Father. Let His name, His infinite Father-love, the love with which He loved Thee, according to Thy prayer, BE INUS. Then shall we say aright, 'OUR FATHER!' Then shall weapprehend Thy teaching, and the first spontaneous breathing ofour heart will be: 'Our Father, Thy Name, Thy Kingdom, Thy Will. 'And we shall bring our needs and our sins and our temptations toHim in the confidence that the love of such a Father cares forall. Blessed Lord! we are Thy scholars, we trust Thee; do teach us topray, 'OUR FATHER. ' Amen. * * * * * +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | Typographical errors corrected in text: | | | | Page 18: undertand replaced with understand | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------+ * * * * *