PRAYER AND THE WORD OF GOD

In regard to the connection between prayer and the Word in our private devotion, this expression has often been quoted: I pray, I speak to God; I read the Bible, God speaks to me. There is a verse in the history of Moses in which this thought is beautifully brought out.

We read in Numbers 7:89: "And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him." When Moses went in to pray for himself or his people and to wait for instructions, he found One waiting for him. What a lesson for our morning watch.

Maintaining A Spirit of Prayer

A prayerful spirit is the spirit to which God will speak. A prayerful spirit will be a listening spirit waiting to hear what God says. In true communion with God, His presence and the part He takes must be as real as my own. We need to ask how our Scripture reading and praying can become true fellowship with God.

Get into the right place.

Moses went into the tabernacle to speak with God. He separated himself from the people and went where he could be alone with God. He went to the place where God was to be found. Jesus has told is where that place is. He calls us to enter into our closet, shut the door, and pray to the Father who is in secret. Any place where we are really alone with God can be for us the secret of His presence. To speak with God requires separation from all else. It needs a heart intently set upon and in full expectation of meeting God personally and having direct dealings with Him. Those who go there to speak to God will hear the voice of One speaking to them.

Get into the right position.

Moses heard the voice of One speaking from the mercy seat. Bow before the mercy seat where the awareness of your unworthiness will not hinder you, but will be a real help in trusting God. At the mercy seat you can have the assurance that your upward look will be met by His eye, that your prayer can be heard, that His loving answer will be given. Bow before the mercy seat and be sure that the God of mercy will see and bless you.

Get into the right frame of mind.

Have a listening attitude. Many people are so occupied with how much or how little they have to say in their prayers that the voice of One speaking is never heard, because it is not expected or waited for.

"Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." (Isaiah 66:1, 2).

Let us enter the closet, and prepare ourselves to pray, with a heart that humbly waits to hear God speak. In the Word we read that we will indeed hear the voice of One speaking to us. The greatest blessing in prayer will be our ceasing to pray and to let God speak.

The Link Between Prayer And The Word

Prayer and the Word are inseparably linked together: power in the use of either depends upon the presence of the other. The Word gives me matter for prayer, telling me what God will do for me. It shows me the path of prayer, telling me how God would have me come. It gives me the power for prayer, the assurance that I will be heard. And it brings me the answer to prayer, as it teaches what God will do for me. Prayer prepares the heart for receiving the Word from God Him-self, for the teaching of the Spirit to give the spiritual understanding of it, for the faith that is made partaker of its mighty working.

It is clear why this is so. Prayer and the Word have one common center-God. Prayer seeks God; the Word reveals God. In prayer, man asks God; in the Word, God answers man. In prayer, man rises to heaven to dwell with God; in the Word, God comes to dwell with man. In prayer, man gives himself to God; in the Word, God gives Himself to man.

In prayer and the Word, God must be all. Make God the center of your heart, the one object of your desire. Prayer and the Word will be a blessed fellowship with God, the interchange of thought and love and life: a dwelling in God and God in us. Seek God and live!