004. ON THE IMPORTANCE OF UNION IN PRAYER.
CHAPTER III. ON THE IMPORTANCE OF UNION IN PRAYER. THE efficacy of our prayers depends upon our union with Christ. If we would have them accepted we must put them by faith, as it were, into the hands of our great High Priest, that He may present them before the Father. But it is not merely between ourselves as individuals and God that he stands as Mediator.
He is the Head of the whole Body, to offer up the joint worship of the whole Church. It is, therefore, as members of His Body, individuals within the privileged communion of His Church, that we can lay claim to His mediation. Hence arises the force of His own words, “ That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:19-20.) When we agree with others to pray for any matter, not only do we gain the addition of their prayers, but we intensify our own prayer by a special act of faith. In so doing we make an act of faith, not only in the mediation of Christ between our selves personally and God the Father, but also in the efficacy of that mediation as a bond of union between ourselves, uniting us one with another. Such union for prayer is consequently an act of that love which we must have one towards another if our love to God is to be a real love. When Christ has made a special promise to the efforts of united prayer, we ought certainly not to neglect it. Therefore did S. Paul so affectionately write to the disciples, “ I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me.” (Romans 15:30).) Our own prayer will also, in all probability, have the greater moral earnestness, from our sense of the human obligation which requires us to make it. The Divine obligation of prayer is general. If we are associated with others in a rule of prayer, that original obligation in no way loses the majesty of its Divine character, but it gains the marked importance which arises from general agreement upon a particular point.
Whatever is done by rule, will probably be better done than it would be if it resulted from a merely voluntary impulse. The consciousness of having agreed with others to pray for a given matter, is a perpetual admonition respecting the importance of the work, and the consequent importance of doing it as well as possible.
Private prayer has two great dangers — formality on the one side, and dreaminess upon the other.
Nothing is more calculated to wake up the heart in private prayer than the sympathy of effort in common — the knowledge that other minds are directed to one object in common with ourselves, and that we are pledged to help forward that object by the observance of a common rule.
Oh that men would more realize the blessings of united prayer! What so much as this brings out the hidden spiritual unity of our life in Christ? A congregation gathered together be tween the same walls may have no sense of unity. They are not necessarily all one. But an association agreeing together in prayer, how ever separated by outward circumstances, can only pray together by the very fact of the strength of a Divine unity, which no outward circumstances can break. As we are knit together in one by the gifts of grace, so by agreement in prayer we exercise that unity. We learn its reality by acting upon it. There would be less party spirit if there were more agreement in prayer. Party spirit makes men join themselves together by external accidents. Union in prayer developes the spiritual unity which underlies many accidental diversities, and is our only life.
Union in party is of the world: union in prayer is of heaven. Amidst a world so full of turmoil, how good and joyful a thing it is to dwell together in the secret consciousness of abiding unity, and in the privacy of our intercourse with God to feel that we are not alone, but are acting together as one in Christ Jesus! In united prayer we might find more strength, if we did but seek it earnestly, than any power of the world can give. Let us remember how Ezra led up the people from Babylon. “ I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of Him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. For I was ashamed to require Of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him; but His power and His wrath is against all them that forsake Him. So we fasted, and besought our God for this; and He was intreated of us.” (Ezra 8:21-23.) If the Church of God is to come up from the bondage of the world to the peace of spiritual life, and the privileges which are hei own as the new Jerusalem of God, it must be by her members uniting in prayer as they go on. Which is most wonderful, — the power of united prayer, or the neglect of it? It could not be so neglected if men had faith. S. Paul appeals to the Corinthians for this active exhibition of faith when he tells them how he trusts for his deliverance, “ ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons, thanks may be given by many on our behalf. (2 Corinthians 1:11.) If the Church were to say with one voice, Thy kingdom come, making one great effort of prayer — “ with one mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel 1 ’having thus a lively consciousness of the power inherent in the united act, Christ would come.
Alas! if He were to come now, how little faith He would find’S At least, let us all who have faith join together in using it as best we may, to hasten His coming. “ When Peter was in prison, prayer was made with out ceasing of the Church unto God for him;” and should not we pray together for those who are in the bondage of sin? If we would agree to do this, many souls would be delivered. Is it not our sin, if any perish in their bondage be cause we cannot agree together to pray for them. The hindrance must commonly be merely a hindrance of the will. We have around us many of the signs of evil which tell of Christ’s coming.
Let not that sign be wanting on our part which may make His coming a blessing to ourselves.
“I will pour,” says He, “upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplications.” (Zec. 12:10.) The world associates for the works of the world. Surely the people of God ought to associate for the work of the kingdom of God.
Let mutual sympathy establish us in faith, and make love effectual in prayer. Let us unite together in intercession with the knowledge that Christ is at our head, and that it is His Spirit moving all our hearts which intercedes; so shall we certainly prevail. God will not weary of hearing those who are striving together in the united prayer of faith and love.
He has pledged himself to hear us when we pray. How many murmurings would be stopped if we would but make trial of His fidelity to Hia promise, — “ Ask and ye shall have!” We are too apt to complain of society as incurable, instead of bringing society before the notice of Christ. We can bring society before Christ in prayer as truly as the friends of the palsied man brought him to Christ; and Christ, if He see faith in us, will certainly answer us. The only thing which can make society incurable is the want of faithful agreement in prayer on ita behalf. The knowledge of mutual agreement for the performance of this duty will help us to be faithful in its discharge. We should reflect upon Abraham’s intercession for Sodom. It has been often noticed that Abraham left off asking, but God did not leave off giving. The world may be very openly depraved. Surely it is a good thing that its wickedness is so apparent if it drive us to pray for it. Had there been but a few men in Sodom to strengthen the intercession of Abraham, the city would have been spared.
We do not pray for the world as persons living out of the world. We are part of that world for which we pray. We are to be the salt of the earth as Christians, and surely it is by our prayers that the power of Christ is to spread from us to all round about us. Let us therefore pray, even from very desperation, at the thought of evil; but much more let us pray by reason of our loving confidence in our Father which is in heaven, that He will yet spare the world.
“Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a Messing behind him; even a meat-offering and a drink-offering unto the Lord our God.” (Joel 2:14.) Our prayer should be repeated prayer, earnest and prolonged.
Let us take warning from the want of repetition in the act of Joash. “ He smote thrice upon the ground with the arrows and stayed. But Elisha was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten Jive or six times, then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.” (2 Kings 13:19.) Every repeated act of prayer, is a fresh act of prayer, and brings with it a fresh blessing.
Every lifting up of the heart to God, though it be but the effort of a moment, is a real act of prayer. However short the expression of that effort may be, though it be but a word, neverthe less, if the soul rise before God, throbbing, as it were, with repeated efforts on behalf of the object of its desire, each simple act of prayer will have its own special answer.
Many acts of prayer, made thus with intelli gent faith, in however short a time, are more efficacious than one dreamy act of prayer spread out over a long time. Meditation is of great value for individual advancement in holiness, but we want repeated acts of vigorous intercession on behalf of society at large, if the in fluence of the Church of Christ is to be felt throughout society.
We want such earnestness as we can conceive Elisha himself to have had when he stretched himself upon the body of the dead child. Let us realize that by the gift of prayer God has put into our hands a power capable of effecting the object we desire if we only use it aright. Surely any large restoration of Christian energy through out society would be as “life from the dead.” It may seem as hopeless, but it is not more impos sible; and the difficulty lies not on God’s side, as if He could not shed forth His grace, but on our Bide, because we make so little effort to rise out of our feebleness in asking for it. We may taka the example of S. Paul himself in praying for those who were in danger: “ I would that ye knew what a conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.” (Colossians 2:1.) If there were a multitude of Christians perpetuating that conflict of prayer to God, the world must be won.
We can only grow up towards the earnestness of Elisha and S. Paul in their intercessions by trying to imitate them. We must try over and over again with increasing earnestness of will, in spite of the natural weariness of the flesh. Does a quarter of an hour seem to us a long time to be given to prayer on one subject? Surely not.
If our intercessions are earnest they will be prolonged. Can we think S. Paul was content with a quarter of an hour a-day in this conflict which he speaks of, for those who had not seen his face in the flesh? Nay; of himself, and Silvanus and Timotheus, he writes to the Thessalonians: “Night and day we pray exceedingly that we may see your face, and may perfect that which is lacking in your faith.” (1 Thessalonians 3:10.) Our sympathies cannot but grow with our prayers; and as they grow till they have embraced all mankind, we shall find a quarter of an hour too short a time instead of being too long. But we must persevere. Our intercessions must be prolonged. So was the struggle of Jacob with the angel prolonged until the breaking of the day.
We must feel the whole world to be in a certain way identified with ourselves when we are interceding for the unconverted, and so must lay hold upon the Angel of the Covenant, which is our Lord Jesus Christ; for He bears the full power of the Father to distribute the gifts of heaven upon earth, and we must say: “ I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.” (Genesis 32:26.) Were not the intercessions of Christ Himself prolonged through the night when He was upon earth? If we cannot pray as earnestly as He prayed, if we cannot pray as long as He prayed, yet let us do what we can, that by this means, “ we may come to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13.) As we thus use the energies of Christ, by intercession in union with Him, we carry out His work, which is the salvation of the world.
Let us endeavour to get others to join us in our intercessions. When the people of Nineveh humbled themselves upon compulsion at the king’s bidding, they obtained their desire from God. If we cannot pray like our Lord Jesus, or S. Paul, or Elisha, at least we ought to be able to pray as well as the people of Nineveh. We must not measure what we can do by what we have tried to do. Let us pray for the world in which we are, as they prayed for their city, and with the additional confidence of Christian faith; and then most surely God, who heard them when they did so at the king’s bidding, will hear us when we do so at the bidding of our Great King, His Only-Begotten Son.
We must not think it a thing impossible for God to raise society to Christian life, even though it seem to us rotting in the corruption of spiritual death. Whatever days of evil may be coining on the world, we know, at any rate, that the days shall be shortened for the elect’s sake. Why for their sake, if not in answer to their prayers? Let us make our catting and election sure, by joining in the prayers of God’s elect. “ Shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you that He will aveng* them speedily.” (Luke 18:7.) Cer tainly He is ready to avenge those speedily who do cry earnestly; but how few, it is to be feared, in this faithless age, are crying day and night unto him. The great matter is for every one to try, as far as he can, to swell the number of those who do. We must not be afraid to be importunate with God. Since God has appointed this for us as a duty, we must act accordingly.
“If ye being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” (Luke 11:13.)