The Wonderful Results in Prayer (Part 1)

My preceding musings closed with the statement that prayer can do anything that God can do. This is a tremendous statement, and rings true through history and experience. If we abide in Christ, and abide in Him we are living in obedience to His holy will approaching God in His name, then we have opened up the sources of the divine treasure-house.

Now the person (man or woman) that truly prays gets from God many things that are denied to the prayer-less man or woman. The aim of all real praying is to get whatever was prayed for, "as the child's cry for bread has for its end the getting of bread" as stated by Bounds. Therefore this view on prayer goes clear out of the sphere of religious performance. "Prayer is not acting a part or going through religious motions". "Prayer is neither official nor formal nor ceremonial, but direct, hearty, and intense." "Prayer is not religious work that must be gone through, and that avails because it is well done." Bounds continues on to state that prayer is "the helpless and needy child crying to the compassion of the Father's heart and the bounty and power of the Father's hand." "The answer is as sure to come as the Father's heart can be touched and the Father's hand be moved." I have stressed before and I will stress it again, if we do not believe that we can change God's mind , move his mighty hand, or have a conversation with him then we deter from what prayer truly is and what is can do.

The value of prayer does not lie in length and numbers, but rather it is found in knowing that we are privileged by our relationship with the Almighty God to unload and unburden our desires as well as make our request known to God. The example Bounds gives is that of a child asking his earthly parents for something he so desires, as Children of God we must be willing to take the time to ask our Him to grant what we so desire (of course in his time).

D.L, Moody the famous preacher and theologian once told the story of a little child whose father and mother had died, and who was taken in by another family. The first night she requested if she could pray as she used to. The new parents consented with an "Oh Yes!" So in hearing their consent she knelt down and prayed as her mother had taught her, then she tacked on her own prayer "O God make these people as kind to me as Father and Mother were." Then she paused and looked up, as if expecting the answer, and then added "Of course you will." If we could just have this simple and sweet faith of this child according to Moody God will answer or prayers. In other words what Bounds and Moody are trying to point out is that God is an approachable, and when we believe that he can answer HE will.