And it came to pass, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples. [ Luke 11:1].
It is not part of life of a natural man to pray. We hear it said that a man will suffer in his life if he does not pray.; I question it. What will suffer is the life of the "Son of God," in him, that is nourished not by food, but by prayer. When a man is born from above, the life of the "Son of Man" is born in him, he can either starve that life or nourish it. Prayer is the way of life of God is nourished. Or ordinary views of prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves; The Bible idea of prayer is that we may get to know God himself.
"Ask and ye shall receive. " We grouse before God., we are apologetic or apathetic, but we ask very few things. yet what a splendid audacity a childlike child has! Our Lord says- "except you become as little children." Ask, and God will do. Give Jesus Christ a chance, give him elbow room, and no man will ever do this unless he is at his wits end. When a man is at his wits end it is not a cowardly thing to pray, it is the only way he can get in touch with reality. Be yourself before God and present your problems, the things you know you have come to your wits end. over. As long as you are self-sufficient, you do not need to ask God for anything. It is not so true that "prayer changes things"
as that prayer changes me. and I change things. God has so constituted things that prayer on the basis of redemption alters the way in which a man looks at things. Prayer is not a question of altering things eternally, but working wonders in a man's disposition.
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