“What Is a Christian?” Part 41”
Posted: Fri Nov 29, 2024 4:44 pm
“What Is a Christian?” Part 41” by Romans
We are continuing in our Series, "What Is A Christian?" Tonight, I will be reading the next Installment of Bishop J.C. Ryle's tract, "A Call to Prayer." I have, in years past, read a chapter on "Spiritual Warfare" from Bishop Ryle's book, "Holiness," in a Series I was presenting called, "War and Peace." So, I find his writing to be currently valid, strong, edifying and grounded in the Truth. I hope you have come to the same opinion based on what you heard last week from this tract.
I want to go back, first, and re-emphasize something that I said last week at the beginning of the Discussion. I said that, even though this tract is over a century old, its message is still as valid as when the ink dried on the first printed copy. I still maintain that position.
Last week, I quoted Bishop Ryle as saying the following: "We live in days of abounding religious profession. There are more places of public worship now than there ever were before. There are more persons attending them than there ever were before. And yet in spite of all this public religion, I believe there is a vast neglect of private prayer...
It is one of those private transactions between God and our souls which no eye sees, and therefore one which men are tempted to pass over and leave undone. I believe that thousands never utter a word of prayer at all."
Then I pointed out that, currently, Church attendance in England has dropped to 5%. The vast majority of the places of public worship that Bishop Ryle referred to in the 1880's are either abandoned, or demolished. or have been converted, no pun intended, into warehouse and storage facilities, or in at least one case I am aware of, a recording studio for symphony music, because of its wonderful accoustics, and the magnificent pipe organ that is there.
But what does all of that have to do with modern-day American Christianity? The Barna Group, a Research Agency that takes surveys on Church trends, recently conducted a poll. They wanted to see exactly what the differences were between Americans who attended Church, and those who did not attend Church. They asked a wide range of questions about occupation, education, political affiliation, entertainment, hobbies, etc. To see how the two groups differed.
Their results were shocking and disheartening. The Barna Group determined that THE most prominent difference between those who attended Church, and those who did not, is that the people who went to Church, went to Church, and that the people who did not go to Church, did not go to Church. Period.
There was not any other discernible difference between the two groups who were surveyed. I believe that prayer, or more accurately, the lack pf prayer in the lives of those who profess to be Christians, is at the heart of explaining what this poll discovered about the primary difference between the two groups.
I am a member of a number of Bible and religion-based Groups on Facebook. The disrespect, comtempt and hostility that I have encountered in these Groups is astonishing. And I don't mean the back-and-forth between belivers and the non-believers who log in and criticize Christians and our beliefs, I mean the hostility between believers of different faiths, or with believers whose understandings or practices do not agree with their own.
My mind immediately goes to Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount that I quoted last week: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
A fellow-believer having a belief or practice that differs on a non-essential doctrine or practice does not qualify as persecution. And, when there is actual persecution from an actual enemy, Jesus commands His followers to love that enemy or persecutor, and pray for them! There is no evidence of prayer in the verbal bloodbath that routinely takes place in these supposedly religion-based Facebook Groups against fellow-believers with variant beliefs or practices.
My mind also goes to Paul's admonitions in Romans 14, when he was listing the various alternate understandings and practices of the believers in Rome. Rather than taking sides, first Paul declares, "Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him” (Romans 14:3).
And then Paul demands to know, "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand” (Romans 14:4). Paul's position regarding the various nonessential beliefs held by believers is ignored by the ethusiastic combatants on all sides, in these Facebook Groups. I cannot imagine imagine that they have ever read these words.
A few years ago, I joined a Facebook Group called something like, "A Deeper Understanding of Scripture." I wasn't a member very long, when someone posted something that was completely obnoxious and inexcusable. So I blocked that poster bacause I didn't want to read any more of his corrupt communications.
Next thing I know, I was contacted on Facebook Messenger. "You blocked one of the Deeper Understanding of Scripture Administrators. Unblock him, or you will be evicted from the Group." I responded, "I did not know I blocked an Administrator. Besides, this Group was not what I expected it to be. I was already thinking of leaving." An immediate two-word reply came to my Inbox: "Good riddance."
Now... maybe it's me, but I cannot recall the words or the sentiment "good riddance" appearing anywhere as a Fruit of the Spirit or a godly response from a believer to anyone. Instead, and in stark contrast to "good riddance," the Apostle Paul's words come to my mind: "I... beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3).
Not too long after I wrote the above, and just Monday of this week, I saw that someone posted a request for prayers for Ellen DeGeneres because "something terrible" has happened to her. The first response I read was this, and I quote: "I wouldn’t pray for her if it was my last breath. I do pray that she and all the other pedophiles get what they deserve.! Hopefully she goes slow and painfully.”
What kind of prayer life can there be among Facebook Group members such as these? Is there, can there be, repentance for their own sins, repentance for their corrupt communications, repentance for their condemnations of fellow believers, or repentance for their loveless contempt for real and imagined enemies in and out of the Church? Their self-righteousness justifies and blinds their behavior and their words, and precludes any prayers to God for mercy and forgiveness for their own sins.
I cannot imagine that there are prayer requests from these Facebook Group members for Spiritual Guidance, and Scriptural reproof and correction, or prayer requests for their minds to be renewed to bring them into a godly understanding and acceptance of what it is to be a Christian, and into godly thoughts, words, actions and reactions that glorify God.
Let's continue, now, with the second of three Installments of “A Call to Prayer.” Bishop Ryle writes, “There is a way by which any man, however sinful and unworthy, may draw near to God the Father. Jesus Christ has opened that way by the sacrifice he made for us upon the cross. The holiness and justice of God need not frighten sinners and keep them back.
Only let them cry to God in the name of Jesus, only let them plead the atoning blood of Jesus, and they shall find God upon a throne of grace, willing and ready to hear. The name of Jesus is a never-failing passport for our prayers. In that name a man may draw near to God with boldness, and ask with confidence. God has engaged to hear him. Think of this. Is not this encouragement?
There is an Advocate and Intercessor always waiting to present the prayers of those who come to God through him. That advocate is Jesus Christ. He mingles our prayers with the incense of his own almighty intercession. So mingled, they go up as a sweet savor before the throne of God. Poor as they are in themselves, they are mighty and powerful in the hand of our High Priest and Elder Brother.
The bank note without a signature at the bottom is nothing but a worthless piece of paper. The stroke of a pen confers on it all its value. The prayer of a poor child of Adam is a feeble thing in itself, but once endorsed by the hand of the Lord Jesus it availeth much.
There was an officer in the city of Rome who was appointed to have his doors always open, in order to receive any Roman citizen who applied to him for help. just so the ear of the Lord Jesus is ever open to the cry of all who want mercy and grace. It is his office to help them. Their prayer is his delight. Think of this. Is not this encouragement?
There is the Holy Spirit ever ready to help our infirmities in prayer. It is one part of his special office to assist us in our endeavors to speak with God. We need not be cast down and distressed by the fear of not knowing what to say. The Spirit will give us words if we seek his aid.
The prayers of the Lord's people are the inspiration of the Lord's Spirit, the work of the Holy Ghost who dwells within them as the Spirit of grace and supplication. Surely the Lord's people may well hope to be heard. It is not they merely that pray, but the Holy Ghost pleading in them. Reader, think of this. Is not this encouragement?
There are exceeding great and precious promises to those who pray. What did the Lord Jesus mean when he spoke such words as these: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened" (Matthew 7:7, 8).
"All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer believing, ye shall receive" (Matt. 21:22). "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will 1 do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it" (John 14:13, 14). What did the Lord mean when he spoke the parables of the friend 'at midnight and the importunate widow (Luke 11:5; 18:1)? Think over these passages. If this is not encouragement to pray, words have no meaning.
There are wonderful examples in Scripture of the power of prayer. Nothing seems to be too great, too hard, or too difficult for prayer to do. It has obtained things that seemed impossible and out of reach. It has won victories over fire, air, earth, and water. Prayer opened the Red Sea. Prayer brought water from the rock and bread from heaven.
Prayer made the sun stand still. Prayer brought fire from the sky on Elijah's sacrifice. Prayer turned the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. Prayer overthrew the army of Sennacherib. Well might Mary Queen of Scots say, "I fear John Knox's prayers more than an army of ten thousand men." Prayer has healed the sick. Prayer has raised the dead.
Prayer has procured the conversion of souls. "The child of many prayers," said an old Christian to Augustine's mother, "shall never perish." Prayer, pains, and faith can do anything. Nothing seems impossible when a man has the spirit of adoption. "Let me alone," is the remarkable saying of God to Moses when Moses was about to intercede for the children of Israel - the Chaldee version has, "Leave off praying" - (Exodus 32:10).
So long as Abraham asked mercy for Sodom, the Lord went on giving. He never ceased to give till Abraham ceased to pray. Think of this. Is not this encouragement? What more can a man want to lead him to take any step in religion, than the things I have just told him about prayer?
What more could be done to make the path to the mercy seat easy, and to remove all occasions of stumbling from the sinner's way? Surely if the devils in hell had such a door set open before them, they would leap for gladness, and make the very pit ring with joy.
But where will the man hide his head at last who neglects such glorious encouragements? What can possibly be said for the man who, after all, dies without prayer? Surely I may feel anxious that you should not be that man. Surely I may well ask - Do you pray?
I ask whether you pray, because diligence in prayer is the secret of eminent holiness: Without controversy there is a vast difference among true Christians. There is an immense interval between the foremost and the hindermost in the army of God. They are all fighting the same good fight but how much more valiantly some fight than others.
They are all doing the Lord's work but how much more some do than others. They are all light in the Lord; but how much more brightly some shine than others. They are all running the same race; but how much faster some get on than others. They all love the same Lord and Saviour; but how much more some love him than others. I ask any true Christian whether this is not the case. Are not these things so?
There are some of the Lord's people who seem never able to get on from the time of their conversion. They are born again, but they remain babes all their lives. You hear from them the same old experience. You remark in them the same want of spiritual appetite, the same want of interest in any thing beyond their own little circle, which you remarked ten years ago.
They are pilgrims, indeed, but pilgrims like the Gibeonites of old; their bread is always dry and moldy, their shoes always old, and their garments always rent and torn. I say this with sorrow and grief; but I ask any real Christian, Is it not true?
There are others of the Lord's people who seem to be always advancing. They grow like the grass after rain; they increase like Israel in Egypt; they press on like Gideon, though sometimes faint, yet always pursuing.
They are ever adding grace to grace, and faith to faith, and strength to strength. Every time you meet them their hearts seem larger, and their spiritual stature taller and stronger. Every year they appear to see more, and know more, and believe more, and feel more in their religion. They not only have good works to prove the reality of their faith, but they are zealous of them.
They not only do well, but they are unwearied in well-doing. They attempt great things, and they do great things. When they fail they try again, and when they fall they are soon up again. And all this time they think themselves poor, unprofitable servants, and fancy they do nothing at all.
These are those who make religion lovely and beautiful in the eyes of all. They wrest praise even from the unconverted and win golden opinions even from the selfish men of the world. It does one good to see, to be with, and to hear them. When you meet them, you could believe that like Moses, they had just come out from the presence of God.
When you part with them you feel warmed by their company, as if your soul had been near a fire. I know such people are rare. I only ask, Are there not many such? Now how can we account for the difference which I have just described? What is the reason that some believers are so much brighter and holier than others? I believe the difference, in nineteen cases out of twenty, arises from different habits about private prayer.
I believe that those who are not eminently holy pray little, and those who are eminently holy pray much. I dare say this opinion will startle some readers. I have little doubt that many look on eminent holiness as a kind of special gift, which none but a few must pretend to aim at. They admire it at a distance in books. They think it beautiful when they see an example near themselves.
But as to its being a thing within the reach of any but a very few, such a notion never seems to enter their minds. In short, they consider it a kind of monopoly granted to a few favored believers, but certainly not to all. Now I believe that this is a most dangerous mistake. I believe that spiritual as well as natural greatness depends in a high degree on the faithful use of means within everybody's reach.
Of course I do not say we have a right to expect a miraculous grant of intellectual gifts; but this I do say, that when a man is once converted to God, his progress in holiness will be much in accordance with his own diligence in the use of God's appointed means. And I assert confidently that the principal means by which most believers have become great in the church of Christ is the habit of diligent private prayer.
Look through the lives of the brightest and best of God's servants, whether in the Bible or not. See what is written of Moses and David and Daniel and Paul. Mark what is recorded of Luther and Bradford the Reformers... Tell me of one of all the goodly fellowship of saints and martyrs, who has not had this mark most prominently - he was a man of prayer. Depend upon it, prayer is power.
Prayer obtains fresh and continued outpourings of the Spirit. He alone begins the work of grace in a man's heart. He alone can carry it forward and make it prosper. But the good Spirit loves to be entreated. And those who ask most will have most of his influence.
Prayer is the surest remedy. Against the devil and besetting sins. That sin will never stand firm which is heartily prayed against. That devil will never long keep dominion over us which we beseech the Lord to cast forth. But then we must spread out all our care before our heavenly Physician, if he is to give us daily relief.
Do you wish to grow in grace and be a devoted Christian? Be very sure, if you wish it, you could not have a more important question than this - Do you pray? I ask whether you pray, because neglect of prayer is one great cause of backsliding.
There is such a thing as going back in religion after making a good profession. Men may run well for a season, like the Galatians, and then turn aside after false teachers.
Men may profess loudly while their feelings are warm, as Peter did, and then in the hour of trial deny their Lord. Men may lose their first love as the Ephesians did. Men may cool down in their zeal to do good, like Mark the companion of Paul. Men may follow an apostle for a season, and like Demas go back to the world. All these things men may do.
It is a miserable thing to be a backslider. Of all unhappy things that can befall a man, I suppose it is the worst. A stranded ship, a brokenwinged eagle, a garden overrun with weeds, a harp without strings, a church in ruins, all these are sad sights, but a backslider is a sadder sight still.
A wounded conscience - a mind sick of itself - a memory full of self-reproach - a heart pierced through with the Lord's arrows -a spirit broken with a load of inward accusation - all this is a taste of hell. It is a hell on earth. Truly that saying of the wise man is solemn and weighty, "The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways" (Prov. 14:14).
Now what is the cause of most backslidings? I believe, as a general rule, one of the chief causes is neglect of private prayer. Of course the secret history of falls will not be known till the last day. I can only give my opinion as a minister of Christ and a student of the heart. That opinion is, I repeat distinctly, that backsliding generally first begins with neglect of private prayer.
Bibles read without prayer; sermons heard without prayer; marriages contracted without prayer; journeys undertaken without prayer; residences chosen without prayer; friendships formed without prayer; the daily act of private prayer itself hurried over, or gone through without heart: these are the kind of downward steps by which many a Christian descends to a condition of spiritual palsy, or reaches the point where God allows him to have a tremendous fall.
This is the process which forms the lingering Lots, the unstable Samsons, the wife-idolizing Solomons, the inconsistent Asas, the pliable Jehoshaphats, the over-careful Marthas, of whom so many are to be found in the church of Christ. Often the simple history of such cases is this: they became careless about private prayer.
You may be very sure men fall in private long before they fall in public. They are backsliders on their knees long before they backslide openly in the eyes of the world. Like Peter, they first disregard the Lord's warning to watch and pray, and then like Peter, their strength is gone, and in the hour of temptation they deny their Lord.
The world takes notice of their fall, and scoffs loudly. But the world knows nothing of the real reason. The heathen succeeded in making a well-known Christian offer incense to an idol, by threatening him with a punishment worse than death.
They then triumphed greatly at the sight of his cowardice and apostasy. But the heathen did not know the fact of which history informs us, that on that very morning he had left his bed chamber hastily, and without finishing his usual prayers.
If you are a Christian indeed, I trust you will never be a backslider. But if you do not wish to be a backsliding Christian, remember the question I ask you: Do you pray?
I ask, lastly, whether you pray because prayer is one of the best means of happiness and contentment. We live in a world where sorrow abounds. This has always been its state since sin came in. There cannot be sin without sorrow. And until sin is driven out from the world, it is vain for any one to suppose he can escape sorrow.
Some without doubt have a larger cup of sorrow to drink than others. But few are to be found who live long without sorrows or cares of one sort or another. Our bodies, our property, our families, our children, our relations, our servants, our friends, our neighbors, our worldly callings, each and all of these are fountains of care.
Sicknesses, deaths, losses, disappointments, partings, separations, ingratitude, slander, all these are common things. We cannot get through life without them. Some day or other they find us out. The greater are our affections the deeper are our afflictions, and the more we love the more we have to weep.
And what is the best means of cheerfulness in such a world as this? How shall we get through this valley of tears with least pain? I know no better means than the regular, habitual practice of taking everything to God in prayer. This is the plain advice that the Bible gives, both in the Old Testament and the New.
What says the psalmist? "Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me" (Ps. 50:15). "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved" (Ps. 55:22).
What says the apostle Paul? "Be careful for nothing; but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God: and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6, 7). What says the apostle James? "Is any afflicted among you? let him pray" (James 5:13).
This was the practice of all the saints whose history we have recorded in the Scriptures. This is what Jacob did when he feared his brother Esau. This is what Moses did when the people were ready to stone him in the wilderness. This is what Joshua did when Israel was defeated before the men of Ai.
This is what David did when he was in danger at Keilah. This is what Hezekiah did when he received the letter from Sennacherib. This is what the church did when Peter was put in prison. This is what Paul did when he was cast into the dungeon at Philippi.
The only way to be really happy in such a world as this, is to be ever casting all our cares on God. It is trying to carry their own burdens which so often makes believers sad. If they will tell their troubles to God, he will enable them to bear them as easily as Samson did the gates of Gaza. If they are resolved to keep them to themselves, they will find one day that the very grasshopper is a burden.
There is a friend ever waiting to help us, if we will unbosom to him our sorrow - a friend who pitied the poor and sick and sorrowful, when he was upon earth - a friend who knows the heart of man, for he lived thirty-three years as a man among us - a friend who can weep with the weepers, for he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief - a friend who is able to help us, for there never was earthly pain he could not cure. That friend is Jesus Christ.
The way to be happy is to be always opening our hearts to him. Oh that we were all like that poor Christian who only answered, when threatened and punished, "I must tell the Lord." Jesus can make those happy who trust him and call on him, whatever be their outward condition.
He can give them peace of heart in a prison, contentment in the midst of poverty, comfort in the midst of bereavements, joy on the brink of the grave. There is a mighty fulness in him for all his believing members - a fulness that is ready to be poured out on every one that will ask in prayer. Oh that men would understand that happiness, does not depend on outward circumstances, but on the state of the heart.
Prayer can lighten crosses for us however heavy. It can bring down to our side One who will help us to bear them. Prayer can open a door for us when our way seems hedged up. It can bring down One who will say, "This is the way, walk in it." Prayer can let in a ray of hope when all our earthly prospects seem darkened. It can bring down One who will say, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
Prayer can obtain relief for us when those we love most are taken away, and the world feels empty. It can bring down One who can fill the gap in our hearts with himself, and say to the waves within, "Peace; be still." Oh that men were not so like Hagar in the wilderness, blind to the well of living waters close beside them. I want you to be happy. I know I cannot ask you a more useful question than this: Do you pray?”
There is much more to say on the subject of prayer being a vital part of what it is to be a Christian. God Willing, there will be at least one more Installment of Bishop Ryle's tract, “A Call To Prayer.” I invite all of you who are hearing or reading my words to join us next week at this same place and time.
This concludes tonight's Discussion for our current Series, “What Is A Christian? Part 41.”
This Discussion was presented “live” on Wednesday, December 13th, 2024.
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We are continuing in our Series, "What Is A Christian?" Tonight, I will be reading the next Installment of Bishop J.C. Ryle's tract, "A Call to Prayer." I have, in years past, read a chapter on "Spiritual Warfare" from Bishop Ryle's book, "Holiness," in a Series I was presenting called, "War and Peace." So, I find his writing to be currently valid, strong, edifying and grounded in the Truth. I hope you have come to the same opinion based on what you heard last week from this tract.
I want to go back, first, and re-emphasize something that I said last week at the beginning of the Discussion. I said that, even though this tract is over a century old, its message is still as valid as when the ink dried on the first printed copy. I still maintain that position.
Last week, I quoted Bishop Ryle as saying the following: "We live in days of abounding religious profession. There are more places of public worship now than there ever were before. There are more persons attending them than there ever were before. And yet in spite of all this public religion, I believe there is a vast neglect of private prayer...
It is one of those private transactions between God and our souls which no eye sees, and therefore one which men are tempted to pass over and leave undone. I believe that thousands never utter a word of prayer at all."
Then I pointed out that, currently, Church attendance in England has dropped to 5%. The vast majority of the places of public worship that Bishop Ryle referred to in the 1880's are either abandoned, or demolished. or have been converted, no pun intended, into warehouse and storage facilities, or in at least one case I am aware of, a recording studio for symphony music, because of its wonderful accoustics, and the magnificent pipe organ that is there.
But what does all of that have to do with modern-day American Christianity? The Barna Group, a Research Agency that takes surveys on Church trends, recently conducted a poll. They wanted to see exactly what the differences were between Americans who attended Church, and those who did not attend Church. They asked a wide range of questions about occupation, education, political affiliation, entertainment, hobbies, etc. To see how the two groups differed.
Their results were shocking and disheartening. The Barna Group determined that THE most prominent difference between those who attended Church, and those who did not, is that the people who went to Church, went to Church, and that the people who did not go to Church, did not go to Church. Period.
There was not any other discernible difference between the two groups who were surveyed. I believe that prayer, or more accurately, the lack pf prayer in the lives of those who profess to be Christians, is at the heart of explaining what this poll discovered about the primary difference between the two groups.
I am a member of a number of Bible and religion-based Groups on Facebook. The disrespect, comtempt and hostility that I have encountered in these Groups is astonishing. And I don't mean the back-and-forth between belivers and the non-believers who log in and criticize Christians and our beliefs, I mean the hostility between believers of different faiths, or with believers whose understandings or practices do not agree with their own.
My mind immediately goes to Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount that I quoted last week: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
A fellow-believer having a belief or practice that differs on a non-essential doctrine or practice does not qualify as persecution. And, when there is actual persecution from an actual enemy, Jesus commands His followers to love that enemy or persecutor, and pray for them! There is no evidence of prayer in the verbal bloodbath that routinely takes place in these supposedly religion-based Facebook Groups against fellow-believers with variant beliefs or practices.
My mind also goes to Paul's admonitions in Romans 14, when he was listing the various alternate understandings and practices of the believers in Rome. Rather than taking sides, first Paul declares, "Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him” (Romans 14:3).
And then Paul demands to know, "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand” (Romans 14:4). Paul's position regarding the various nonessential beliefs held by believers is ignored by the ethusiastic combatants on all sides, in these Facebook Groups. I cannot imagine imagine that they have ever read these words.
A few years ago, I joined a Facebook Group called something like, "A Deeper Understanding of Scripture." I wasn't a member very long, when someone posted something that was completely obnoxious and inexcusable. So I blocked that poster bacause I didn't want to read any more of his corrupt communications.
Next thing I know, I was contacted on Facebook Messenger. "You blocked one of the Deeper Understanding of Scripture Administrators. Unblock him, or you will be evicted from the Group." I responded, "I did not know I blocked an Administrator. Besides, this Group was not what I expected it to be. I was already thinking of leaving." An immediate two-word reply came to my Inbox: "Good riddance."
Now... maybe it's me, but I cannot recall the words or the sentiment "good riddance" appearing anywhere as a Fruit of the Spirit or a godly response from a believer to anyone. Instead, and in stark contrast to "good riddance," the Apostle Paul's words come to my mind: "I... beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3).
Not too long after I wrote the above, and just Monday of this week, I saw that someone posted a request for prayers for Ellen DeGeneres because "something terrible" has happened to her. The first response I read was this, and I quote: "I wouldn’t pray for her if it was my last breath. I do pray that she and all the other pedophiles get what they deserve.! Hopefully she goes slow and painfully.”
What kind of prayer life can there be among Facebook Group members such as these? Is there, can there be, repentance for their own sins, repentance for their corrupt communications, repentance for their condemnations of fellow believers, or repentance for their loveless contempt for real and imagined enemies in and out of the Church? Their self-righteousness justifies and blinds their behavior and their words, and precludes any prayers to God for mercy and forgiveness for their own sins.
I cannot imagine that there are prayer requests from these Facebook Group members for Spiritual Guidance, and Scriptural reproof and correction, or prayer requests for their minds to be renewed to bring them into a godly understanding and acceptance of what it is to be a Christian, and into godly thoughts, words, actions and reactions that glorify God.
Let's continue, now, with the second of three Installments of “A Call to Prayer.” Bishop Ryle writes, “There is a way by which any man, however sinful and unworthy, may draw near to God the Father. Jesus Christ has opened that way by the sacrifice he made for us upon the cross. The holiness and justice of God need not frighten sinners and keep them back.
Only let them cry to God in the name of Jesus, only let them plead the atoning blood of Jesus, and they shall find God upon a throne of grace, willing and ready to hear. The name of Jesus is a never-failing passport for our prayers. In that name a man may draw near to God with boldness, and ask with confidence. God has engaged to hear him. Think of this. Is not this encouragement?
There is an Advocate and Intercessor always waiting to present the prayers of those who come to God through him. That advocate is Jesus Christ. He mingles our prayers with the incense of his own almighty intercession. So mingled, they go up as a sweet savor before the throne of God. Poor as they are in themselves, they are mighty and powerful in the hand of our High Priest and Elder Brother.
The bank note without a signature at the bottom is nothing but a worthless piece of paper. The stroke of a pen confers on it all its value. The prayer of a poor child of Adam is a feeble thing in itself, but once endorsed by the hand of the Lord Jesus it availeth much.
There was an officer in the city of Rome who was appointed to have his doors always open, in order to receive any Roman citizen who applied to him for help. just so the ear of the Lord Jesus is ever open to the cry of all who want mercy and grace. It is his office to help them. Their prayer is his delight. Think of this. Is not this encouragement?
There is the Holy Spirit ever ready to help our infirmities in prayer. It is one part of his special office to assist us in our endeavors to speak with God. We need not be cast down and distressed by the fear of not knowing what to say. The Spirit will give us words if we seek his aid.
The prayers of the Lord's people are the inspiration of the Lord's Spirit, the work of the Holy Ghost who dwells within them as the Spirit of grace and supplication. Surely the Lord's people may well hope to be heard. It is not they merely that pray, but the Holy Ghost pleading in them. Reader, think of this. Is not this encouragement?
There are exceeding great and precious promises to those who pray. What did the Lord Jesus mean when he spoke such words as these: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened" (Matthew 7:7, 8).
"All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer believing, ye shall receive" (Matt. 21:22). "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will 1 do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it" (John 14:13, 14). What did the Lord mean when he spoke the parables of the friend 'at midnight and the importunate widow (Luke 11:5; 18:1)? Think over these passages. If this is not encouragement to pray, words have no meaning.
There are wonderful examples in Scripture of the power of prayer. Nothing seems to be too great, too hard, or too difficult for prayer to do. It has obtained things that seemed impossible and out of reach. It has won victories over fire, air, earth, and water. Prayer opened the Red Sea. Prayer brought water from the rock and bread from heaven.
Prayer made the sun stand still. Prayer brought fire from the sky on Elijah's sacrifice. Prayer turned the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. Prayer overthrew the army of Sennacherib. Well might Mary Queen of Scots say, "I fear John Knox's prayers more than an army of ten thousand men." Prayer has healed the sick. Prayer has raised the dead.
Prayer has procured the conversion of souls. "The child of many prayers," said an old Christian to Augustine's mother, "shall never perish." Prayer, pains, and faith can do anything. Nothing seems impossible when a man has the spirit of adoption. "Let me alone," is the remarkable saying of God to Moses when Moses was about to intercede for the children of Israel - the Chaldee version has, "Leave off praying" - (Exodus 32:10).
So long as Abraham asked mercy for Sodom, the Lord went on giving. He never ceased to give till Abraham ceased to pray. Think of this. Is not this encouragement? What more can a man want to lead him to take any step in religion, than the things I have just told him about prayer?
What more could be done to make the path to the mercy seat easy, and to remove all occasions of stumbling from the sinner's way? Surely if the devils in hell had such a door set open before them, they would leap for gladness, and make the very pit ring with joy.
But where will the man hide his head at last who neglects such glorious encouragements? What can possibly be said for the man who, after all, dies without prayer? Surely I may feel anxious that you should not be that man. Surely I may well ask - Do you pray?
I ask whether you pray, because diligence in prayer is the secret of eminent holiness: Without controversy there is a vast difference among true Christians. There is an immense interval between the foremost and the hindermost in the army of God. They are all fighting the same good fight but how much more valiantly some fight than others.
They are all doing the Lord's work but how much more some do than others. They are all light in the Lord; but how much more brightly some shine than others. They are all running the same race; but how much faster some get on than others. They all love the same Lord and Saviour; but how much more some love him than others. I ask any true Christian whether this is not the case. Are not these things so?
There are some of the Lord's people who seem never able to get on from the time of their conversion. They are born again, but they remain babes all their lives. You hear from them the same old experience. You remark in them the same want of spiritual appetite, the same want of interest in any thing beyond their own little circle, which you remarked ten years ago.
They are pilgrims, indeed, but pilgrims like the Gibeonites of old; their bread is always dry and moldy, their shoes always old, and their garments always rent and torn. I say this with sorrow and grief; but I ask any real Christian, Is it not true?
There are others of the Lord's people who seem to be always advancing. They grow like the grass after rain; they increase like Israel in Egypt; they press on like Gideon, though sometimes faint, yet always pursuing.
They are ever adding grace to grace, and faith to faith, and strength to strength. Every time you meet them their hearts seem larger, and their spiritual stature taller and stronger. Every year they appear to see more, and know more, and believe more, and feel more in their religion. They not only have good works to prove the reality of their faith, but they are zealous of them.
They not only do well, but they are unwearied in well-doing. They attempt great things, and they do great things. When they fail they try again, and when they fall they are soon up again. And all this time they think themselves poor, unprofitable servants, and fancy they do nothing at all.
These are those who make religion lovely and beautiful in the eyes of all. They wrest praise even from the unconverted and win golden opinions even from the selfish men of the world. It does one good to see, to be with, and to hear them. When you meet them, you could believe that like Moses, they had just come out from the presence of God.
When you part with them you feel warmed by their company, as if your soul had been near a fire. I know such people are rare. I only ask, Are there not many such? Now how can we account for the difference which I have just described? What is the reason that some believers are so much brighter and holier than others? I believe the difference, in nineteen cases out of twenty, arises from different habits about private prayer.
I believe that those who are not eminently holy pray little, and those who are eminently holy pray much. I dare say this opinion will startle some readers. I have little doubt that many look on eminent holiness as a kind of special gift, which none but a few must pretend to aim at. They admire it at a distance in books. They think it beautiful when they see an example near themselves.
But as to its being a thing within the reach of any but a very few, such a notion never seems to enter their minds. In short, they consider it a kind of monopoly granted to a few favored believers, but certainly not to all. Now I believe that this is a most dangerous mistake. I believe that spiritual as well as natural greatness depends in a high degree on the faithful use of means within everybody's reach.
Of course I do not say we have a right to expect a miraculous grant of intellectual gifts; but this I do say, that when a man is once converted to God, his progress in holiness will be much in accordance with his own diligence in the use of God's appointed means. And I assert confidently that the principal means by which most believers have become great in the church of Christ is the habit of diligent private prayer.
Look through the lives of the brightest and best of God's servants, whether in the Bible or not. See what is written of Moses and David and Daniel and Paul. Mark what is recorded of Luther and Bradford the Reformers... Tell me of one of all the goodly fellowship of saints and martyrs, who has not had this mark most prominently - he was a man of prayer. Depend upon it, prayer is power.
Prayer obtains fresh and continued outpourings of the Spirit. He alone begins the work of grace in a man's heart. He alone can carry it forward and make it prosper. But the good Spirit loves to be entreated. And those who ask most will have most of his influence.
Prayer is the surest remedy. Against the devil and besetting sins. That sin will never stand firm which is heartily prayed against. That devil will never long keep dominion over us which we beseech the Lord to cast forth. But then we must spread out all our care before our heavenly Physician, if he is to give us daily relief.
Do you wish to grow in grace and be a devoted Christian? Be very sure, if you wish it, you could not have a more important question than this - Do you pray? I ask whether you pray, because neglect of prayer is one great cause of backsliding.
There is such a thing as going back in religion after making a good profession. Men may run well for a season, like the Galatians, and then turn aside after false teachers.
Men may profess loudly while their feelings are warm, as Peter did, and then in the hour of trial deny their Lord. Men may lose their first love as the Ephesians did. Men may cool down in their zeal to do good, like Mark the companion of Paul. Men may follow an apostle for a season, and like Demas go back to the world. All these things men may do.
It is a miserable thing to be a backslider. Of all unhappy things that can befall a man, I suppose it is the worst. A stranded ship, a brokenwinged eagle, a garden overrun with weeds, a harp without strings, a church in ruins, all these are sad sights, but a backslider is a sadder sight still.
A wounded conscience - a mind sick of itself - a memory full of self-reproach - a heart pierced through with the Lord's arrows -a spirit broken with a load of inward accusation - all this is a taste of hell. It is a hell on earth. Truly that saying of the wise man is solemn and weighty, "The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways" (Prov. 14:14).
Now what is the cause of most backslidings? I believe, as a general rule, one of the chief causes is neglect of private prayer. Of course the secret history of falls will not be known till the last day. I can only give my opinion as a minister of Christ and a student of the heart. That opinion is, I repeat distinctly, that backsliding generally first begins with neglect of private prayer.
Bibles read without prayer; sermons heard without prayer; marriages contracted without prayer; journeys undertaken without prayer; residences chosen without prayer; friendships formed without prayer; the daily act of private prayer itself hurried over, or gone through without heart: these are the kind of downward steps by which many a Christian descends to a condition of spiritual palsy, or reaches the point where God allows him to have a tremendous fall.
This is the process which forms the lingering Lots, the unstable Samsons, the wife-idolizing Solomons, the inconsistent Asas, the pliable Jehoshaphats, the over-careful Marthas, of whom so many are to be found in the church of Christ. Often the simple history of such cases is this: they became careless about private prayer.
You may be very sure men fall in private long before they fall in public. They are backsliders on their knees long before they backslide openly in the eyes of the world. Like Peter, they first disregard the Lord's warning to watch and pray, and then like Peter, their strength is gone, and in the hour of temptation they deny their Lord.
The world takes notice of their fall, and scoffs loudly. But the world knows nothing of the real reason. The heathen succeeded in making a well-known Christian offer incense to an idol, by threatening him with a punishment worse than death.
They then triumphed greatly at the sight of his cowardice and apostasy. But the heathen did not know the fact of which history informs us, that on that very morning he had left his bed chamber hastily, and without finishing his usual prayers.
If you are a Christian indeed, I trust you will never be a backslider. But if you do not wish to be a backsliding Christian, remember the question I ask you: Do you pray?
I ask, lastly, whether you pray because prayer is one of the best means of happiness and contentment. We live in a world where sorrow abounds. This has always been its state since sin came in. There cannot be sin without sorrow. And until sin is driven out from the world, it is vain for any one to suppose he can escape sorrow.
Some without doubt have a larger cup of sorrow to drink than others. But few are to be found who live long without sorrows or cares of one sort or another. Our bodies, our property, our families, our children, our relations, our servants, our friends, our neighbors, our worldly callings, each and all of these are fountains of care.
Sicknesses, deaths, losses, disappointments, partings, separations, ingratitude, slander, all these are common things. We cannot get through life without them. Some day or other they find us out. The greater are our affections the deeper are our afflictions, and the more we love the more we have to weep.
And what is the best means of cheerfulness in such a world as this? How shall we get through this valley of tears with least pain? I know no better means than the regular, habitual practice of taking everything to God in prayer. This is the plain advice that the Bible gives, both in the Old Testament and the New.
What says the psalmist? "Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me" (Ps. 50:15). "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved" (Ps. 55:22).
What says the apostle Paul? "Be careful for nothing; but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God: and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6, 7). What says the apostle James? "Is any afflicted among you? let him pray" (James 5:13).
This was the practice of all the saints whose history we have recorded in the Scriptures. This is what Jacob did when he feared his brother Esau. This is what Moses did when the people were ready to stone him in the wilderness. This is what Joshua did when Israel was defeated before the men of Ai.
This is what David did when he was in danger at Keilah. This is what Hezekiah did when he received the letter from Sennacherib. This is what the church did when Peter was put in prison. This is what Paul did when he was cast into the dungeon at Philippi.
The only way to be really happy in such a world as this, is to be ever casting all our cares on God. It is trying to carry their own burdens which so often makes believers sad. If they will tell their troubles to God, he will enable them to bear them as easily as Samson did the gates of Gaza. If they are resolved to keep them to themselves, they will find one day that the very grasshopper is a burden.
There is a friend ever waiting to help us, if we will unbosom to him our sorrow - a friend who pitied the poor and sick and sorrowful, when he was upon earth - a friend who knows the heart of man, for he lived thirty-three years as a man among us - a friend who can weep with the weepers, for he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief - a friend who is able to help us, for there never was earthly pain he could not cure. That friend is Jesus Christ.
The way to be happy is to be always opening our hearts to him. Oh that we were all like that poor Christian who only answered, when threatened and punished, "I must tell the Lord." Jesus can make those happy who trust him and call on him, whatever be their outward condition.
He can give them peace of heart in a prison, contentment in the midst of poverty, comfort in the midst of bereavements, joy on the brink of the grave. There is a mighty fulness in him for all his believing members - a fulness that is ready to be poured out on every one that will ask in prayer. Oh that men would understand that happiness, does not depend on outward circumstances, but on the state of the heart.
Prayer can lighten crosses for us however heavy. It can bring down to our side One who will help us to bear them. Prayer can open a door for us when our way seems hedged up. It can bring down One who will say, "This is the way, walk in it." Prayer can let in a ray of hope when all our earthly prospects seem darkened. It can bring down One who will say, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
Prayer can obtain relief for us when those we love most are taken away, and the world feels empty. It can bring down One who can fill the gap in our hearts with himself, and say to the waves within, "Peace; be still." Oh that men were not so like Hagar in the wilderness, blind to the well of living waters close beside them. I want you to be happy. I know I cannot ask you a more useful question than this: Do you pray?”
There is much more to say on the subject of prayer being a vital part of what it is to be a Christian. God Willing, there will be at least one more Installment of Bishop Ryle's tract, “A Call To Prayer.” I invite all of you who are hearing or reading my words to join us next week at this same place and time.
This concludes tonight's Discussion for our current Series, “What Is A Christian? Part 41.”
This Discussion was presented “live” on Wednesday, December 13th, 2024.
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