"
And no doubt he is right. Prayer is exceedingly simple. The
faintest cry for help, a whisper for mercy, is prayer. But when
the Holy Spirit comes and fills the soul with His blessed
presence, prayer becomes more than a cry; it ceases to be a
feeble request, and often becomes a strife (Romans xv. 30; Col.
iv. 12) for greater things, a conflict, an invincible argument, a
wrestling with God, and through it men enter into the Divine
councils and rise into a blessed and responsible fellowship in
some important sense with the Father and the Son in the moral
government of the world.
It was in this spirit and fellowship that Abraham prayed for
Sodom (Genesis xviii. 23-32); that Moses interceded for Israel,
and stood between them and God's hot displeasure (Exodus xxxii.
7-14); and that Elijah prevailed to shut up the heavens for three
years and six months, and then again prevailed in his prayer for
rain.
God would have us come to Him not only as a foolish and ignorant
child comes, but as an ambassador to his home government; as a
full-grown son who has become of age and entered into partnership
with his father; as a bride who is one in all interests and affections
with the bridegroom.
He would have us "come boldly to the throne of grace" with a
well-reasoned and Scriptural understanding of what we desire, and
with a purpose to "ask," "seek," and "knock" till we get the
thing we wish, being assured that it is according to His will;
and this boldness is not inconsistent with the profoundest
humility and a sense of utter dependence; indeed, it is always
accompanied by self-distrust and humble reliance upon the merits
of Jesus, else it is but presumption and unsanctified conceit.
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