Prayer life in Christian preaching emphasizes the believer's ongoing communication with God, marked by faith, persistence, and sincerity (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Illustrations often contrast prayerlessness with faithful devotion, depict prayer as spiritual training, and show how Christ's righteousness makes imperfect prayers acceptable (Hebrews 4:16). Prayer is portrayed as vital for spiritual growth and communal encouragement.
Selfish prayers hinder spiritual growth and answers from God.
A man once complained to his minister, that he had prayed for a whole year that he might enjoy the comforts of religion, but found no answer to his prayers. The minister replied, "Go home now, and pray, Father, glorify thyself." Reader, are you one of those who find no profit in calling upon God? Ask yourself if your prayers are not all selfish.
Effective prayer requires addressing God, not focusing on human approval.
In the town of—, in Connecticut, there lived Mr. S—, an elderly man of undoubted piety, and one whose catholic and Christian spirit led him to associate with the people of God of all denominations. He circulated to some extent, among Congregationalists, Baptists and Methodists; attended many of their prayer meetings, and was frequently invited to conduct them. Every Christian loved Father S—. One evening he was to conduct a meeting for prayer, and had opened it with reading a portion of Scripture, after which he proposed to lead in prayer. He had nearly finished his chapter, when elder L—, a Baptist minister of high-toned Calvinistic sentiments, entered and took his seat near him. The thought crossed his mind, "Now I am rather moderate in some of my views, and I must try to chape my prayer so as not to give offence to good brother L—." With this thought in his mind, he kneeled and commenced with a few words of address to the Deity—became confused, and stopped. A second and third attempt were made with similar results. No one except the Baptist brother could conjecture what it was that occasioned the embarrassment of father S—. At length he exclaimed, "I don't know what ails me, I can't pray a bit!" "I know what ails you," said Mr. L—, "you are trying to pray to me; pray to God and you will get along well enough." "I believe you are right," said the old gentleman, "I will try once more." He did so, and succeeded to the edification of all present.
Using irreverent language in prayer dishonors God and displeases even children.
An aged minister told me, says a correspondent of the Morning Star, that when he was a young man, he had, on a certain occasion, been praying in a family, and in his prayer he had made a very frequent and energetic use of the terms of good God and God Almighty. At the close of his prayer, a little child, about four years of age, came to his mother and said, "Mother, I don't like to hear that minister pray!" Why, inquired the mother. "Because," said the child, "he swears so when he prays." This reproof from the child, broke the minister of swearing when he prayed. Prayer is petition: and no one would use the name of a ruler, to whom he was making a petition in as harsh a manner as many use the name of the great God.
The Pharisee's self-centered prayer was not regarded by God because it lacked true need.
Pharisee's prayer was more soliloquy than prayer. Prayed "with himself." Not conscious of any need. Thought only of himself. God did not regard him
God values sincere, broken prayers more than eloquent but insincere ones.
A heavy sentence of condemnation was passed upon a minister when it was flatteringly said that his prayer was the most eloquent ever offered to a Boston congregation. As parents take more pleasure in their children’s stammering than in the eloquence of others, even so the Lord takes more pleasure in the weak and broken prayers of His children than in the finely worded prayers of mere eloquence.
In times of need, heartfelt, familiar prayer is more comforting than formal prayer.
When Archbishop Seeker was laid on his dying bed, his friend Mr. Talbot came to see him. He felt it was their last meeting together; so he said, “You will pray with me, Talbot, before you go away?” Mr. Talbot rose, and went to look for a prayer-book. “That is not what I want now,” said the dying prelate; “kneel down by me, and pray for me in the way I know you are used to doing.”
Admitting we don't know how to pray invites God's help and leads to effective prayer.
In Dr. Ryland's memoir of Andrew Fuller is the following anecdote. At a conference at Soham, a friend of slender abilities being asked to pray, knelt down, and Mr. Fuller and the company with him, when he found himself so embarrassed, that, whispering to Mr. Fuller, he said, "I do not know how to go on." Mr. F. replied in a whisper, "Tell the Lord so." The rest of the company did not hear what passed between them, but the man taking Mr. Fuller's advice began to confess his not knowing how to pray as he ought to pray, begging to be taught to pray, and so proceeded in prayer to the satisfaction of all the company.
Prayer transcends space and time, connecting human souls and God through spiritual communication.
See SERVICE, UNSEEN.
PRAYER MEDIA
The ether is the medium not only of light, electric and other force-vibrations, but of thought-vibrations also. The two souls at the ends of the two thousand miles of distance are something like two wireless telegraphic stations. One sends up its cry for help, its prayer-vibration, into the ether; the whole celestial hemisphere quivers with that cry, that soul-vibration. The soul of the friend at this end of the line, being sympathetic, or keyed in unison, picks out of the ether its own; it hears and reads the cry of the beloved soul yonder, and sends back, through the ether, its answer of comforting thought and suggestion. Now, grant that that sort of thing is a fact in human experience, and we have what is very nearly a demonstration of the possibility and nature of prayer. If two human souls can hear and answer each other irrespective of space and time, then the human soul and the divine soul can do likewise. We have only to think God immanent in the universal ether, filling it as a soul fills the body, and our case is complete.
— JAMES H. ECOB
The Muslim call to prayer emphasizes devotion and discipline in daily worship practices.
The call to prayer heard from minarets five times daily in all Moslem lands is as follows: The muezzin cries it in a loud voice and always in the Arabic language: “God is most great! God is most great! God is most great! God is most great! I testify that there is no god but God! I testify that there is no god but God! I testify that Mohammed is the apostle of God! I testify that Mohammed is the apostle of God! Come to prayer! Come to prayer! Come to prosperity! Come to prosperity! God is most great! God is most great! There is no god but God!” In the call to early morning prayer the words “prayer is better than sleep” are added twice after the call to prosperity. (Text.)--SAMUEL M. ZWEMER, “The Moslem World.”
Different religions have distinct practices and directions for prayer, reflecting their beliefs.
The Christian conception of prayer is “enter into thine inner chamber and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father, who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.”
With the Moslems the first requirement of correct prayer is that it be in the right direction; that is, toward the Kaaba at Mecca. Because of this, private houses, as well as mosques, all over the Mohammedan world, are built accordingly, and not on meridian lines. It is often pathetic to hear a wayfarer or a Moslem who travels on an ocean steamer ask which is the proper direction to turn at the hour of prayer. To pray with one’s back to Mecca would be unpardonable. Many Moslems carry a pocket-compass on their journeys to avoid all possible errors of this character. (Text.)--SAMUEL M. ZWEMER, “The Moslem World.”
Conviction drives a man from prayer to repentance, then to a balanced godly attitude.
Mr. Robert Blair, in a memoir of his life, written by himself, says, "That year, (1616,) having, upon an evening, been engaged in company with some irreligious persons, when I returned to my chamber, and went to my ordinary devotion, the Lord did show so much displeasure and wrath, that I was driven from prayer, and heavily threatened to be deserted of God. For this I had a restless night, and resolved to spend the next day in extraordinary humiliation, fasting and prayer; and toward the evening of that day, I found access to God, with sweet peace, through Jesus Christ, and learned to beware of such company; but then I did run into another extreme of rudeness and incivility toward such as were profane and irreligious, so hard a thing is it for shortsighted sinners to hold the right and the straight way."
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