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Prayer Availeth
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"...Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me..." -- Luke 11:5, 6
There is evidently a ministry of prayer even as there is a ministry of preaching. The teachings of Jesus contained in the parable show us that praying and preaching are integral parts of the plan of salvation.
Preaching is God's way of speaking to man, and praying is man's way of speaking to God. Preaching is God's way of appealing to the will of man, and praying is man's way of appealing to the will of God.
Our Lord's teachings relating to intercessory prayer are clearly revealed in the Epistles. John's Epistles reveal the amazing power made available to God's people through intercessory prayer. Peter assures us that the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers. James said, "...The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up..." The inspired writings of Paul disclose the astonishing possibilities in the ministry of intercessory prayer. In one of Paul's Epistles the ministry of prayer is connected so closely with the ministry of preaching that it is difficult to tell where the prayer ends and the preaching begins. (Colossians 1:9-17.)
Note the boundless possibilities revealed in the prayers of a faithful minister of Christ.
"Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God." -- Col. 4:12.
It is obvious that the fervent prayers of a servant of Christ can enable the believers to stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. Perhaps it is difficult for us to understand how our praying for the children of God can establish them in the faith, nevertheless it is true according to this Scripture. We are convinced that our fervent prayers can obtain power from the throne of grace to preserve some struggling saint in an hour of severe trial.
The man said, "...A friend of mine in his journey is come to me..." Our Lord focused attention on the responsibility to pray for others when He uttered the stirring words in this parable. It obviously was not the man's own personal need that compelled him to request the three loaves; it was the imperative need of the tired traveler that moved him to ask for bread at midnight.
No man can be a faithful follower of Christ and not recognize his responsibility to pray for others. The spiritual life received from Christ motivates a Christian to present the needs of others at the throne of grace, where mercy is obtained, and the promised grace is found to help others in a time of urgent need.
Our personal responsibility to intercede for others is made more apparent when we emphasize the words, "...Is come to me..." What strange combination of circumstances caused the man to seek help from his friend?
Perhaps he had taken the wrong road in the confusing darkness of the night. We are aware that the parable does teach the disturbing truth that men are lost in the darkness of sin, and that it is our duty to lead them to Christ. But the pitiful plight of the pilgrim is not the only startling truth contained in our Lord's teachings.
The statement, "...A friend of mine in his journey...," persuades one to think that the traveler knew before he started on his journey that he could find rest and comfort in the home of his friend. It was his faith in his friend's reputation for hospitality that encouraged him to continue on his journey through the enveloping darkness of the night.
The parable reveals that men will come to us when they are convinced of our ability to obtain help for them through intercessory prayer. The news that a certain man can prevail with God in prayer will soon reach a multitude of hopeless and helpless people. Some distressed soul will soon be knocking at the man's door seeking help and comfort.
It was the good news that Christ was giving help and comfort to all men that caused the multitudes to seek Him day and night. The disciples had a boldness in their preaching and a power in their praying that drew broken and burdened humanity to seek the Savior.
Paul expressed his thanks to God for the church when he said,
"...From you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to Godward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing." 1 Thess. 1:8.
Lost men do not seek Christ by mere chance; He draws them unto Himself through the convicting and convincing power of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit performs His office work in the world through Christ's witnesses. Jesus said,
"...The Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning." -- John 15:26, 27
It is obvious that the Spirit enables the Christians to attract lost men by faithfully witnessing to the Savior. Our Lord has not commissioned all of His people to preach, but He called all of them to pray.
The great revivals born in the hours of agonizing prayer attracted the attention of the civilized world. People came for the express purpose of obtaining spiritual help through the preaching and praying of God's servants. The great revival that began at Asbury College in 1950 was born in seasons of importunate praying. Some of the students prayed all night for a great spiritual awakening. Many of the teachers prayed earnestly for a gracious visitation of God. My own soul was in great agony of prayer. The burden was so great that I confessed the sins of the world to God. In some peculiar manner I had been made aware of the condemnation that rested on the souls of lost men.
During the Chapel service I exhorted the students to seek the Lord. I realized that it was God's appointed hour to answer prayer. At that moment the Holy Ghost moved mightily on the entire student body. Wave after wave of deep conviction swept over the audience. Many were moved to seek the Lord with diligence. It was an hour of triumph for the faithful few who had tarried through long seasons of intercessory prayer before the Lord during the quiet hours of the morning. The news of this marvelous visitation of God spread all over the nation. It was broadcast by radio to several foreign countries. People came hundreds of miles to receive spiritual help. Perhaps more than five thousand people were directly influence by this glorious spiritual awakening born in the hours of intercessory prayer.
I am thoroughly convinced that a great spiritual awakening will come to this benighted world if the people of God will deny themselves of sleep and seek God in the peaceful hours of the morning. It is my firm conviction that the great Asbury revival set the pattern to be followed in order to have a great revival in this day and age of the world. God will hear His people when they see the importance of praying for others. Our Lord revealed this fact when He said, "Because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth." The man's plea for bread was so insistent that he did not heed the protest of his sleepy friend. The need of the traveler who had come to him out of the night was more important than the rest needed by his friend's entire family.
Is it possible that we are too indolent and indifferent to pray? Is there no passion for souls? Is there no sincere concern for the lost? Can it be that we are too sleepy to watch with Christ in the Gethsemane of prevailing prayer? Are our physical comforts more important than our praying for others?
Perhaps our Lord will draw some weary wayfarers to our door asking for help through our intercessory prayers. If He is pleased to trust us with such a responsibility, let us not fail to feed the famishing soul.
The man made an amazing confession when he said to his friend, "...I have nothing to set before him." It is evident that Jesus is not calling attention to the man's embarrassing poverty. He is showing us that our sufficiency is not of ourselves. Paul stated this fact when he said.
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God." -- 2 Cor. 3:5.
We are woefully wanting in natural ability to help others spiritually; we have nothing to set before them. Unless we avail ourselves of the abundant resources of Christ through prayer, we will never have anything of spiritual worth to set before a starving world.
It is not difficult to imagine that the man had an easy chair and a comfortable bed to offer the tired traveler. But furniture is not a substitute for food. The welcome at the door, the furnishing of the house, and the entertaining conversation, cannot satisfy the hunger of the human heart. It requires the bread of life obtained from God to save a famishing soul from death.
Jesus encouraged us to avail ourselves of His resources when He said, "...He will rise and give him as many as he needeth." We have nothing of ourselves to save a lost soul, but we have a faithful Friend, who will give us as much as we request in intercessory prayer.
Jesus would have us understand that our importunate praying can overcome our discouragement's and difficulties. He disclosed this fact when He said, "...He from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee." He is not saying that our heavenly Father is unwilling to grant our requests for others. The Master is teaching us not to cease praying when we encounter some opposing forces in life. There are times when it seems that our earnest requests have been denied. Let us keep in mind that our heavenly Father is willing to give the bread of life in answer to our intercessory petitions for others.
"...Every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." -- Luke 11:10
The plain teachings of Jesus accord us a valid reason to believe that every sincere prayer offered by His people shall be answered.
Jesus stated the three essentials of prayer when He said, "Ask, seek, knock." He disclosed these three essentials of prayer in His parable about the man asking his friend for three loaves. It is quite obvious that he was asking, seeking and knocking when he made his request for bread in the middle of the night.
The Master's words revealing the inherent principles of effectual praying confirm our faith, enlarge our understanding, and enable us to appropriate His certified promises. It is apparent that His promises relating to prayer are as vast in scope as the extent of His promises pertaining to salvation. It is written,
"He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things." -- Rom. 8:32.
This Scripture reveals the possibilities of prayer to be as great as the boundless measure of redemptive grace. The unsparing God places no limit on our praying because there is no limit placed on His giving. If we believe that Christ was sacrificed to save us to the uttermost, we must likewise believe that He is able to supply our needs to the uttermost.
The lamentable fact is we have been exceedingly slow to comprehend the unlimited possibilities of prayer revealed in Christ's plain words. When we fully understand His instructions about praying, and grasp the promises by faith, we will not find it difficult to pray the effectual fervent prayer of achieving faith. We certainly owe it to ourselves and to all men, to consider seriously the fundamental principles of prayer disclosed to His disciples in answer to their request, "...Lord teach us to pray..." The very essence of this request is in itself a prayer to know how to pray.
It is necessary to consider Christ's teachings regarding our daily bread in order to understand the three essentials of prayer. He has focused our attention on the requests for bread in His entire discourse on prayer. Our daily bread is contained in the first direct request revealed in the Lord's prayer, "Give us day by day our daily bread." The request for bread follows the prayer of worship. "...Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done..." The request for bread also precedes the prayer for pardon and preservation. Bread is obviously the central theme of the Lord's prayer, according to the teachings of Jesus.
Our Lord emphasizes the need of bread in the parable of the man seeking the three loaves at midnight, and concludes His discourse by arresting our attention to the son asking bread of his father.
It is apparent that Christ's teachings about asking for bread contain something much more important than our temporal needs in this life. He evidently intended to stress the fact that we needed spiritual food in order to live in time and in eternity. We recall that Jesus astonished His disciples when He said, "I am the bread of life." When He uttered these words He made it clear that we cannot live without Him, for He is as essential to spiritual life as bread is essential to physical life. (See John 6:48-58.)
The three essentials of prayer are readily understood when applied to the Savior., who is the living bread from heaven. When we sincerely ask for the Lord Jesus, we shall receive Him; when we earnestly seek Him, we shall find Him; and when we knock at His door, it shall be opened unto us.
The three fundamental principles of prayer apply to the entire scope of life in this world, and in the world to come. I am thoroughly convinced that the redeemed family of God will ask, seek, and knock in prayer throughout all eternity. Their request will not be hindered by their infirmities of body and mind as they are in this world. We are daily aware of the fact that we know not what we should pray for as we ought. We will be able to make our requests known unto God in that holy place with a clear mind and a glorified body.
It is quite evident that our Lord would have us understand this startling fact seeing that He made the request for bread the central theme of family life. It is certainly true that as long as we live in the Father's house we must depend on Him to sustain us. There is no valid reason to believe that this relationship shall end when we enter heaven. There is nothing in the Master's teachings to show us that we ever become self-sustaining in life, either in this world or in the world to come.
I am fully persuaded that the fundamental principle of asking and giving will continue to all eternity. God stated this fundamental rule of His household when He said to the Son,
"Ask of me, and I shall give thee..." -- Psa. 2:8.
This astonishing principle of asking and giving was clearly an integral part of the Savior's ministry on earth. We find the same basic principle revealed in the amazing fact that He ever lives to make intercession for us.
The three essential principles of prayer are revealed in nature. Every living thing in creation must be fed. Every plant, insect, and living creature on earth must ask, seek, and knock in order to obtain food from nature. We accept this obvious fact without question.
We have no reason to believe that eternal life in heaven will be sustained independent of our relationship to Christ. He supplies our needs in this world in answer to prayer, and He shall continue to supply our eternal requirements in answer to prayer. If this is the rule of the Father's household on earth, it will continue to be the rule for ever.
"...Every one that asketh receiveth..." -- Luke 11:10
When our Lord uttered these immortal words He gave to every child of God the inalienable right to pray. He impressed His disciples with this fact by asking them some pertinent questions:
"If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" -- v. 11-13.
If the father loves his son it would be utterly inconsistent with his nature to give his child a stone, or a snake, or a stinging scorpion instead of bread. The father's answer to his son's request will be granted according to the measure of his love for his child. It is the most natural thing in all the world for a father to listen to the requests of his family. When Jesus said, "...Any of you that is a father ," he compares a man's love for his children to God's love for His children. He asks us to look up from our earthly fathers, and calculate how much more the heavenly Father will be moved to give good gifts to His children. Jesus is teaching us to understand that as much as God's goodness exceeds the goodness of mortal man, so much greater is our assurance that He will grant our childlike petitions.
Every child of God from the youngest to the oldest has a right to ask the Father for the bread of life. Every child, irrespective of age, sex, or race, can come boldly to the throne of grace, and find grace to help in time of need. There are no underprivileged children in God's family. The crippled, the weak, and the sick children have a right to ask the heavenly Father for the living bread from heaven.
The Savior. would have us perceive the imperishable truth that, "...Every one that asketh receiveth..." It is utterly unthinkable that our loving Father would ignore our earnest petitions. He will not remain silent and unmoved when His own children are weeping before Him in earnest petitions.
A missionary was telling about the sufferings endured while a prisoner during the war. He said that the crying of his starving family caused him to suffer more than all the cruel and barbarous treatment received at the hands of the savage and inhuman guards. When we understand how this godly man was moved by the constant crying of his famishing family, we can comprehend how our heavenly Father can be moved to answer the unceasing prayers of His family. It was not possible for the faithful missionary to grant the urgent requests of his children, but it is possible for our heavenly Father to grant the requests of His children.
Jesus teaches us that prayer has a human side and a divine side. The human side is the asking, and the divine side is the giving. The two halves which make up the whole of prayer are the asking and the receiving. Our asking and the Fathers' answering belong to each other. Our requests on earth and the Father's answer in heaven are meant for each other. If we believe that the Father has made an ample provision for the needs of His children, then we must also believe that He will surely give them all good gifts according to the promise.
Jesus teaches us to come to Him day by day to receive the bread of life to sustain us in this world. He wills day by day to do for us what we ask in simple faith.
When the Master said, "...Every one that asketh receiveth...," He stressed the fact that we are not to rest without an answer to our petitions. He is saying that it is the Father's will, and the rule of His house to grant the requests of His believing children.
When no answer is received we are often disposed to say that it is not the will of God to give us the answer. We will find it much easier to yield to our own false reasoning about the answer to prayer than it is to shake off our lethargy and seek God until the answer is obtained. There are so many persons who rest content without the distinct experience of answered prayer. This distressing fact reveals the serious deterioration of Christian life in these last days. These unhappy souls pray daily, they ask many things, and devoutly hope that some of their prayers will be answered. They apparently do not know that it is the norm of spiritual life to receive definite answers to prayer. They obviously do not know that the heavenly Father wills day by day to do for us what we ask in faith.
We must take the words of Jesus just as they were spoken. We must not allow human reasoning to weaken the force of His teachings about our asking and receiving. We owe it to ourselves to take sufficient time while praying, to listen to His voice, and believe the truth that "Every one that asketh receiveth."
We should not make our many failures of the past the measure of our faith for the present. We must hold fast the assuring fact that the effectual fervent prayer of God's obedient child availeth much.
The son's request for bread is based on his relationship to the father. It is by virtue of this relationship that the son has the inalienable right to expect his father to answer his requests. When Jesus speaks of the son asking bread of his father, He is speaking of an obedient son. The son that finds no pleasure in obedience to his father and presumes that he can still ask and receive what he desires will certainly be disappointed. A son who loves and honors his father will find it is the father's good pleasure to answer his daily requests.
Consistent living on the part of God's people is the condition for obtaining the answer to prayer. God's precepts requiring obedience in our living, and His promises relating to our praying are inseparable.
We can certainly count on God's fulfilling His promise to answer prayer when we obey His sovereign will in all things. We should take time to meditate on the tenderness and love the heavenly Father has for His obedient children.
Much of our difficulty in praying is removed when we think on the happy relationship existing between an obedient child and a loving heavenly Father. When He sees His child with sincere purpose and steady will seeking diligently in everything to be and live as a child, then our prayers will prevail with Him as the prayer of an obedient child.
It requires considerable time to comprehend fully the teachings of Jesus regarding the inherent principles of effectual praying. If God's people will take sufficient time to meditate on the essentials of prevailing prayer, they will be rewarded richly for the hours spent in the school of Christ. When once we grasp the gracious truth contained in the words of Jesus, and take a firm hold on the promises relating to prayer, we will then realize the meaning of His words, "...Every one that asketh receiveth". We firmly believe that the Master stated the truth when He said, "...Every one that asketh receiveth..." Nevertheless we are confronted frequently with the startling and disconcerting fact that we do not always receive definite answer to our prayers. We find it exceedingly difficult to reconcile these disturbing facts with the explicit statement of Jesus regarding the answer to our prayers.
When we consider the Master's teachings about prayer, we must not strive to make them conform to our wishful thinking regarding the answer to our prayers. It is possible for us to set our heart on obtaining something we greatly desire for our own personal gratification, and then express our keen disappointment because the request was not granted.
The answer to our perplexing questions about prayer will be found when we study the Master's words about the son asking for bread. We are fully aware that the son cannot live without bread; he must have it or perish. However, there are many things the son may ask which are not as important to life as food. He may ask his father for money, or fine clothing, or toys. The father may consider it wise to give his son these good gifts; and again he might deem it best for the son's own good to withhold these things requested; but when the child asks for food it is a different matter of life, because food is a necessity.
There are many good gifts which our heavenly Father may deem it wise to bestow upon us, such as good health, prosperity, and financial security. If He wills to withhold these things we must submit to His sovereign will without complaint. Perfect health, prosperity, and earthly goods are not essential to life in this world. Our relationship to God does not depend on these creature comforts. These things cannot impart to us the moral strength we need to cope with the trials incident to life in this evil world. It requires the "Bread of life" to give the spiritual strength to sustain us in these last days. We are fully assured that our Father will give us the living bread from heaven to keep us strong in faith, undaunted in courage, and invincible in hope.
The grand climax of our Lord's discourse on prayer was reached when He disclosed the Father's promise to give the Holy Spirit to His praying children. He would have us understand that our urgent requests for the bread from heaven are answered by the Father's gift of the Spirit.
He is teaching us that the Spirit is given to the children of God for the express purpose of sustaining and satisfying life. Our incessant demands for spiritual food are supplied by the indwelling Spirit. Our daily prayer should be, "Lord, evermore give us this bread." The answer from heaven is, "...Every one that asketh receiveth..."
"...He that seeketh findeth." -- Luke 11:10
When Jesus said, "He that seeketh findeth...," He disclosed the second fundamental principle of prevailing prayer. His immortal words assure us that we can make some important discoveries through prayer.
His brief statement presents the greatest challenge known to mortal man. His teachings about prayer are a direct challenge to our profession of faith. If we believe that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, we must believe that some very important discoveries can be made regarding these essential facts about Him.
It is astonishing what men will do when inspired and motivated by the hope of finding the things of earth they so ardently desire. They sail uncharted seas, endure the scorching heat of the desert, scale the ice-covered mountains, and brave the dangers of a trackless wilderness in hope of discovering the things they diligently seek.
It does not require a chart, or compass, or costly equipment to find the things of God. We have no stormy seas to sail, no blistering sands to cross, no snow-clad mountains to scale, and no pathless wastes to encounter in our efforts to find the things we seek from God. We are not haunted day and night by the tormenting fears that we will not obtain the answer to our sincere petitions. We have not the slightest reason to doubt the validity of Christ's statement, "...He that seeketh findeth..." Our faith to seek the things of Christ are based on His integrity and veracity.
When Jesus said, "Seek, and ye shall find...," He was evidently speaking about finding the possessions of our heavenly Father. We are assured that His provision is as great as the manifold needs of His children. The weary can seek and find rest. The weak can seek and find strength. The sick can seek and find health. The Father wills to grant the various requests of His praying and trusting children.
When Jesus revealed the Father's promise to give the Holy Spirit in answer to prayer, He obviously intended to impress His trusting children with the fact that the Spirit would enable them to seek and find the treasures of truth. He later confirmed this remarkable fact regarding the ministry of the Spirit, saying,
"...When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth..." -- John 16:13.
We do not discover the things of God by mere chance; neither can we find them by a process of human reasoning. The things of God are revealed unto us by His Spirit. The Word declares,
"...Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." 1 Cor. 2:9, 10.
Prayer is like the telescope that enables a man to discover remote stars, blazing suns and whirling worlds in outer space. We may think of prayer as a microscope which enables a man to look into the realm of small things.
The Holy Spirit makes visible the invisible things of God. He enables us to pray so persistently that we can focus the light of Christ on the resources of God, and discover worlds, wealth, and wisdom unknown and unseen by the natural man. The inspired Apostle said,
"...We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." -- 2 Cor. 4:18.
We discover the eternal things of God in direct proportion to the measure of our seeking in prayer. The man who seeks diligently to know the things which God has prepared for them that love Him, will be rewarded by a greater measure of knowledge than the man who is casual and indifferent in his seeking.
It is necessary to deny ourselves of many things in order to seek and find the possessions of the Father revealed in His Son. The Apostle disclosed this truth when he said,
"...What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord...." -- Phil. 3: 7, 8
It is impossible to obtain a more perfect knowledge of Christ until we count all things loss for Him. We must lay aside the things we count gain. To be aware of Christ in daily life is of greater value than all earthly knowledge to be obtained in this world. It is written,
"...Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." -- Jer. 29:13
We cannot comply with the conditions stated in this promise unless we divest ourselves of all cumbersome cares.
When Jesus gave us the parable about the son asking daily bread of his father, He fully intended to impress us with several salient facts about prayer. The fact that the son seeks and obtains the things provided by his father is not the only truth contained in the parable. A son worthy of such a loving father would consider him to be more than a generous provider; he would rejoice because of his father's presence with his family. The presence of the father means much to an innocent child in this passing world.
Jesus would have us understand that our heavenly Father is present with His family in this world. We know that our Father has provided good things for us, but He means more to us than a generous Provider. The fact that He is present with us at all times, and in all places fills our hearts with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
Philip expressed much in his brief prayer when he said to Jesus, "...Shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us." When this faithful disciple made this request, he voiced the deepest longings of the human heart. We cannot be satisfied in this distressed earth without a clear revelation of our heavenly Father. Philip did not ask for the impossible when he made his importunate plea to Jesus. Perhaps he had heard Jesus say, "...He that seeketh findeth..." The Savior. answered Philip's request when He said, "...He that hath seen me hath seen the Father..."
If the Father revealed Himself in His Beloved Son in that distant day, we can expect Him to reveal Himself in His Son in this day. Our need is as great as the need of the pleading disciple. When Jesus said, "...He that seeketh findeth...," He had no intention of leaving us confused and in doubt concerning the things to be discovered through prayer.
The Master's word affords us a valid reason to expect the Father to reveal Himself to us in His Son. This is obviously the truth He would have us see in the parable of the son asking bread. It is absolutely unthinkable that an intelligent child would not be aware that his father was present when he asked him for daily bread. It is likewise contrary to truth to suppose that the child's father would be pleased to remain unknown and unseen by his family.
God's infallible Word reveals that He did manifest Himself to His people in the ages past. If the dateless past is the only time God has revealed Himself, then we in this dispensation of grace have no truth to substantiate our claims that Christ was raised from the dead, and showed Himself alive by many infallible proofs.
We cannot persuade ourselves to believe that Christ has clothed Himself with perpetual silence, and cannot and will not reveal Himself to His people. If a seeking soul cannot be as fully aware of Christ's presence as a child is aware of his father's presence, then the Master's words are utterly meaningless. When Jesus said, "...He that seeketh findeth...," He banished for ever our bewildering doubt and confusion of mind concerning the reality of the heavenly Father's abiding presence with His happy family.
If our minds fail to grasp the import of the Savior's teachings about prayer, we should wait patiently before Him in humble submission and quiet meditation until our minds are clear and our faith strong. The prayer of faith can obtain the substance of things hoped for, and make real to us the evidence of things not seen by the natural eye.
It is not unusual to find reliable witnesses who will testify that Jesus has revealed Himself to them while they were devoutly seeking Him in prayer. These godly people are neither fanatics nor mystics. They consider the recurrent visitations of Jesus to be the norm of spiritual life.
During the peaceful hours of the early morning I was praying and waiting before the Savior. when He suddenly revealed Himself to me. I saw Him as clearly as anyone ever saw Him in the days of His flesh. I ceased to pray, and remained quiet and speechless in His Presence. The moments seemed too sacred for me to break the sweet silence by prayer. What could I have said to Him? Was He not the answer to all prayer?
I do not know how long He lingered with me on that memorable morning. I was not aware of the passing of time. To me, all time had ceased, and eternity had begun. No language can express my boundless joy and happy surprise when He stood before me. I shall never forget the beauty of His face and the glory of His garment. The glory radiating from His Person filled the room with a soft silent light. He spoke not a word to me. His attitude was as One who listens attentively when you speak. I realized as never before in my life that He wanted me to pray. My heart was immediately burdened to pray for a visitation of God. I humbled myself in His Presence and put my head between His feet and poured out my soul in the agony of intercessory prayer.
The vision of Jesus satisfied my heart and gave me perfect contentment of mind regarding His willingness to answer prayer. I realized that He was the end of all seeking and the answer to all problems of life. I bowed low before Him, and opened my inmost being to welcome Him as my Lord and Master. I devoutly worshipped Him in spirit and in truth. To this gladsome hour He is as real as the flesh of my body and the earth beneath my feet. I have never had one doubt regarding His presence.
Perhaps some will ask if there is a scriptural basis for believing that the Savior. will reveal Himself to His seeking people. I was confronted with this question after the Lord manifested Himself to me. Could it be that the vision was nothing more than the result of my wishful thinking? Was I a hopeless victim of an overwrought imagination? Was I suffering from a serious mental disorder? Was it a fanciful dream? These were some of the questions confronting me after the Lord had appeared in answer to my prayer of faith.
In my diligent search for truth, I recalled that the Savior. had said,
"...He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." -- John 14: 21.
The gracious words glowed with a new light, and disclosed a new meaning to my rejoicing soul. His assuring words were all I needed to confirm my faith and answer my perplexing questions. I found many promises in the Scriptures, but this one promise was sufficient to satisfy my heart and mind.
Some of my friends firmly believe that I am sick. Certain others are greatly concerned about my mental condition. Perhaps some have devoutly prayed for my immediate healing. I am thankful for their earnest prayers.
I have often wondered how some persons interpret the Savior's own promise to manifest Himself to them that love Him. I wonder if they believe that such an experience is possible in this present age. I am convinced that many do not believe that the Savior's promise extends to anyone except the chosen disciples. They evidently consider all reliable testimony as being fantastic and fanatical.
If we allow ourselves to be hindered by the unbelief of this modern age we will surely fail to grasp the fact that frequent visitations of the Lord are to be expected in a normal Christian life.
When Jesus said, "...He that seeketh findeth...," He intended to impress us with the fact that an obedient child of God would seek to please Him in all things pertaining to life. This truth is obviously revealed in the parable of the son asking bread. Surely the son would seek to please his father. A son worthy of the heavenly Father would seek to please Him in matters of life. The obedient son would also realize that the father was pleased with him. The perfect example of this is revealed in the Son of God. The Father witnessed to His pleasure in His Son when He said,
"...This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." -- Matt. 3:17.
The Beloved Son witnessed to this truth when He said,
"...The Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him." -- John 8:29.
We make the greatest discovery in life when we discover the secret of pleasing God. An obedient child of the Father that lives day by day with an awareness of His pleasure has found the pearl of great price.
Our human frailties and infirmities of body and mind will often hinder us in performing always those things which please our heavenly Father, but there is nothing in the world that prevents us from being a pleasure to Him if we are willing to obey Him in all things relating to life. We can be a pleasure to our Father long before we are able to understand how to do the things which are wellpleasing in His sight. The favor of God rests constantly on the people who believe Him and diligently seek Him. It is written,
"...Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." -Heb. 11:6
When we obtain His approbation we have received the greatest reward known to mortal man. The earthly pleasures we leave behind when we come to the end of life's journey are not important, but the eternal pleasures received at the end of the way are worth all it costs to obtain them.
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