03.22. Praying In The Name

Praying in the Name The most incredible things are promised to prayer. The Old Testament abounds in promises and examples. Deliverance and help, guidance and grace were assured to those who called upon God and committed their way unto Him. Nothing was too hard for the Lord, and nothing was impossible to those who prayed. Some of the passages are overwhelming in their challenge to prayer. Here is one: "Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me" (Isaiah 45:11). Prayer passes from entreaty to command. There is no limit to the possibility of prayer, and the Old Testament confirms and attests the promises by examples and demonstrations of its power. Our Lord speaks with the same illimitable speech. His word is, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened" (Matthew 7:7-8). He gave prayer a new basis, a new confidence, and a new range. For He gave as its reason the fact that God is our Heavenly Father. Prayer is a child’s petition. "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:11). There is one saying of Jesus that is even more startling than that of Isaiah. "Therefore," says he, "I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them" (Mark 11:24).