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The
apostle Paul makes a distinction in the several aspects of prayer. It may not
be clear to the casual reader of the Scriptures, but to those who have given
themselves to a life of more serious prayer the distinction is made obvious by
the Holy Spirit. I am convinced of the wisdom of learning God's purpose for the
various kinds of prayer so that we may be led into the work of prayer God has
for us.
This
book is not about all the different aspects of prayer, but I want to mention
several briefly. Consider Paul's admonition to Timothy, the young Pastor of the
Church at Ephesus:
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"I exhort therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions,
and giving of thanks, be made for all men, For kings and all who are in
authority" (I Timothy 2:1-2).
Here Paul commissions Timothy to teach the Ephesian Church the
primacy and purpose of prayer. We find in Paul's exhortation two
classifications of prayer: General prayer and Objective prayer.
The general category is comprised of prayers, supplications and
thanksgiving. Prayer and supplication include making petitions for
personal needs. Thanksgiving, of course, is the expression of gratitude.
Intercession is the objective form of prayer in which we pray for others
or for particular concerns that need to be addressed.
Now the question arises, "What is my role in carrying out God's
purpose in prayer?" Although we should never minimize the importance of general
prayer, that is the extent of the praying of most Christians who pray. Many
Christians pray generally, but objective prayer is lacking, and the lack of the
work of prayer compels us to resort to human means in the work of the church.
I think the
reason Christians don't pray objectively lies in their limited concept of prayer
they view it as only a devotional activity or personal worship.
When will there be a spiritual awakening in your area in which
the unsaved are brought to an awareness of their sinful state? When will your
unsaved loved ones be brought to faith in Christ? When will the weak and
non-committed Christians in your family or acquaintance begin to grow toward
spiritual maturity? When will the works of the devil be rendered inoperative in
the lives of those for whom you are concerned? When will revival come to your
church and community? These are the objectives for which God would
have us pray. But a
meager kind of prayer will not bring God's power and blessing.
Concerning the kind of prayer this book is about, Samuel Chadwick
wrote, "Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints
from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless religion.
He laughs at our toil, mocks our wisdom, but trembles when we pray."
It is clear in the Bible that God's appointed means for getting His work
done is prayer. Therefore, we must understand that whatever the burden of need
whether it
be the salvation of the lost, the sanctification of the saved, the subjugation
of Satan or the restoration of power and compassion to the church
we must resort to
intentional prayer for these objectives. Someone said, "When God
determines to do a work, large or small, He sets His people to praying for what
He wants to accomplish."
There
is no substitute for prayer. Programs are a wonderful thing if the purpose is
uniting and organizing the people in the work of the church. Preaching,
teaching, singing and witnessing are worthy activities, but none of these things
can make up for the lack of prayer. Prayer is not supplemental to the
ministry of the church it is essential to having God's power and guidance in our
programs. Without prayer all our efforts are futile. By means of
prayer, doors of opportunity are opened unto us and
through these doors
we are
drawn and led into what God is doing the activity of the Throne in Heaven.
It
could be that your church and community are yet to see what God will do through
a Prayer-Worker who will cooperate with our intercessor within, the precious
Holy Spirit, and our intercessor in Heaven, our wonderful Savior and Lord,
through intentional prayer. You really don't have any idea what God can and
will do in answer to your prayer.
Now
let me remind you that prayer did not originate with man: It originated with
God; It is a divine plan, not a human plan; It is a supernatural way, not a
natural means; It is by the Holy Spirit, not by our own human energy.
Therefore, we must understand and comply with the ways of God that are revealed
to us by the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us:
"Now
we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is of God;
that we might know the things that are freely given us of God...which the Holy
Spirit teaches"
(I Corinthians 2:12-13).
Please do not be anxious but
patiently rely upon the Holy Spirit to teach you how to pray in every matter.
As the Lord's disciples said to Jesus, "Teach us to pray," let us do the
same. Again I remind you that this book is not about prayer as a devotional
activity. It is not about your personal Quiet Time, as important as that
is. It is about a deeper involvement with God in what He is doing and what
He wants to do. May God be pleased to use this volume to help you prepare
personally and to plan your ministry of prayer. We must ask ourselves this
vital question:
In All
Our Praying, How Much Of It Is Work?
To order the book "The
Work of Prayer - A Prayer-Worker's Journal" by Sam Wolfe
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