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Literature and History of New Testament Times

[238] <h2>LESSON XLIII</h2> <h3>PRAYER</h3> <h4>1. THE ANSWERER OF PRAYER</h4> The prayers of the apostolic age reveal with startling clearness the apostolic conception of God; and one chief reason why our prayers fall short of the apostolic standard is that our idea of God is different. (1) God Is a Person.—In the first place, true prayer always conceives of God as a Person; whereas much of modern religious thinking conceives of him as only another name for the world. Human life, it is said, is a part of the life of God; every man, to some degree, is divine. Such a philosophy makes prayer logically impossible. It is impossible for us to speak to an impersonal world-force of which we ourselves are merely an expression; the personal distinction between man and God is absolutely essential to prayer. The transcendence of God as over against the world is grandly expressed in the prayer of the Jerusalem church, which was studied in the Student's Text Book; the Jerusalem Christians addressed God as the Lord who made "the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is." Acts 4:24. God, in other words, is not another name for the world, but Creator of the world. He is indeed present in the world; not a single thing that happens is independent of him; the world would not continue for a moment without God's sustaining hand. But that means, not that God is identical with the world, but that he is Master of it. God pervades all things; he is present everywhere; but he is also free. That conception pervades all the prayers of the apostolic Church; in all of them man comes to God as one person to another. God is free; God can do what he will; through Christ he is our Father. He is not bound by his own works; he is independent of nature; he will overrule all things for the good of his children. Such is the God that can answer prayer. (2) God Is an Infinite and Holy Person.—If, however, the prayers of the apostolic age conceive of God as a Person, they also conceive of him as very different from men. Here, also, they[239] provide a salutary example for the modern Church. Many devout Christians of to-day, in avoiding the error which has just been described, in thinking of God plainly as a person, are inclined to fall into the opposite mistake. In their clear realization of God as a person they think of him as a person exactly like ourselves. They regard the difference between God and man as a difference of degree rather than a difference of kind; they think of God as merely a greater man in the sky. The result of such thinking is disastrous for prayer. Prayer, to be sure, is here not absolutely destroyed; communion with God remains possible; but such communion is degraded. Communion loses that sense of mystery and awe which properly belongs to it. Man becomes too familiar with God; God takes merely the leading place in a circle of friends; religion descends to the plane of other relationships. Prayer to such a God is apt to become irreverent. If our prayers are to lift us fully into the presence of God they must never lie on the same plane with the communion that we enjoy with our fellow men, but must be filled with a profound sense of God's majesty and power. The danger of permitting prayer, on account of its very privilege, to become a commonplace thing is one that threatens us all. It may be overcome, however, in the first place, by the contemplation of nature. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork"—and it is a terrible, mysterious God that they reveal. The stupendous vastness of the universe and the baffling mystery of the surrounding infinity oppress the thoughtful mind with a profound sense of insignificance. And God is the Maker and Ruler of it all, the One in whom all the mystery finds its explanation! Such is the employment of nature in the prayer of the Jerusalem church. Acts 4:24. All the prayers of the apostolic Church illustrate the principle which is now being emphasized. There is never anything trite or vulgar about the prayers that are contained in the New Testament; they are all characterized by a wonderful dignity and reverence. If the infinity and omnipotence of God should prevent any irreverence in our prayers, the thought of his holiness is perhaps even more overwhelming. We are full of impurity. Who can stand before the white light of God's awful judgment throne? (3) God Is a Gracious Person.—Nevertheless, despite the majesty and holiness of God, he invites us into his presence. It is a stupendous wonder. No reasoning could have shown it to be probable; only ignorance can regard it as a matter of course. If[240] God were only a somewhat greater man, there would have been comparatively little mystery in prayer; but communion with the infinite and eternal and holy One, the unfathomed cause of all things, is the wonder of wonders. It is a wonder of God's grace. It is too wonderful to be true; yet it has become true in Christ. True prayer brings us not before some God of our own devising, before whom we could stand in our own merit without fear, but into the dread presence of Jehovah. Let us not hesitate to go; God has called us; he loves us as a Father, far more than we can ever love him. Prayer is full of joy; the joy is so great that it is akin to fear. <h4>2. THE INFLUENCE OF JESUS' TEACHING UPON THE PRAYERS OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH</h4> In studying the prayers of the apostolic age, it must always be remembered that they stood upon the foundation of Jesus' example and precept. (1) The Example of Jesus.—With all his power and holiness Jesus was not above asking for strength to perform his gracious work; after that long, wearying day in Capernaum he "departed into a desert place, and there prayed." Mark 1:35. In the hour of agony in Gethsemane, he prayed a truly human, though holy, prayer: "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; remove this cup from me: howbeit not what I will, but what thou wilt." Ch. 14:36. Prayer, moreover, was not something which Jesus reserved for himself; clearly it was a privilege which he extended to all his disciples. In the prayer that he taught his disciples, he summed up all that our prayer should be. Matt. 6:9-15. (2) God as Father.—One thing in particular was derived by the apostolic Church from Jesus—the conception of God as Father. This conception appears in the epistles of Paul as a matter of course; evidently it was firmly established among the readers; it no longer required defense or explanation. Yet it had not lost, through long repetition, one whit of its freshness; in Paul it is never a mere phrase, but always a profound spiritual fact. Obviously this idea of the fatherhood of God was of particular importance for prayer. It taught the disciples "to draw near to God with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father, able and ready to help" them. A characteristic way of addressing God even in the Gentile churches of Paul was "Abba, Father." Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:15. The Aramaic word "Abba" is sufficient[241] to show that this hallowed usage was based ultimately upon the teaching and example of Jesus; the word was the very one that Jesus had used both in his own prayers, for example in Gethsemane, Mark 14:36, and in the "Lord's Prayer" which he taught to his disciples. (3) The Right of Sonship.—What needs to be observed especially, however, is that the right of addressing God as "our Father" was not in the apostolic Church extended to all men. Certainly no justification for such an extension could have been found in the teaching of Jesus; it was not the unbelieving multitude, but his own disciples, to whom Jesus taught the Lord's Prayer. Matt. 5:1; 6:9; Luke 11:1, 2. Paul is even more explicit; the cry "Abba, Father" was to him a proof that a great change had taken place, that those who had been formerly under bondage to the world had now become sons of God. This change Paul represents especially under the figure of adoption, Gal. 4:5; men have to be adopted by God before they can call God Father; and adoption is accomplished only by the work of Christ. Vs. 4,5. (4) The Intercession of the Spirit.—The cry, "Abba, Father" can never be uttered by sinful man alone, but only by the power of Christ's Spirit. The prayers even of the redeemed are faulty. But the Holy Spirit takes up their cry. "And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." Rom. 8:26, 27. There lies the true ground of confidence in prayer. Prayer does not derive its efficacy from any merit of its own, but only from the goodness of God. Let us not worry too much as to whether our prayers are good or bad; let them only be simple and sincere; God knows our weakness; his Spirit will make intercession for us far better than we can intercede for ourselves. <h4>3. PUBLIC PRAYERS OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH</h4> The few individual prayers that have been preserved from the apostolic age are for the most part prayers of a more or less public character. The spontaneous outpourings of the hearts of individual saints before God would usually not be put into writing; the full secrets of the prayer closet are known to God alone. [242] (1) Spontaneity and Sincerity.—Nevertheless, the public character of the prayers of the New Testament does not mean that they are cold and formal. On the contrary, at a time when set liturgies had not yet been formed, public prayer possessed all the spontaneity of more private devotions; the thought of the listening congregation or of a circle of readers did not bring any hampering restraint. There is a sterling sincerity about all the prayers or fragments of prayers in the New Testament. (2) Dignity.—The spontaneity and sincerity of the prayers, however, did not involve any sacrifice of dignity. The prayer of the Jerusalem congregation, Acts 4:24-30, is a marvel of exalted speech; its employment of Scripture phrase is an admirable example for public prayers of all ages. That prayer received a glorious answer; indeed the true prayer of the congregation never remains unheard. Christ's promise is always fulfilled; where two or three are gathered together in his name there is he in the midst of them. In the epistles, there is to be found here and there what may be called, if not the beginning of liturgy, at any rate material of which a magnificent liturgy can be formed. The benediction of Heb. 13:20,21, for example, is characterized by a splendid rhythm as well as by true evangelical fervor. Such a prayer lifts the hearts of the congregation up into the presence of God. There is use for beauty, even in prayer; and the truest beauty is to be found in the prayers of the Bible. <h4>4. PRIVATE PRAYERS OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH</h4> The apostolic guidance in prayer extends even to those private prayers which no one hears except God. In this field, the epistles of Paul are of special value. More fully than any other one man of the apostolic age, Paul has revealed the very secrets of Christian experience; and that experience is rooted in prayer. A glance at the beginnings and endings of the epistles will be sufficient to show how fundamental prayer was in Paul's life; news of the churches was never received without issuing at once in thanksgiving or in intercession, and Paul desires, not merely the good wishes, but the prayers, of his beloved converts. Paul practiced what he preached when he urged the Thessalonian Christians to "pray without ceasing." I Thess. 5:17. Compare chs. 1:3; 2:13; Rom. 1:9; II Tim. 1:3. Evidently, moreover, he regarded prayer as something far more than an incidental expression of the Christian life; he believed in its real efficacy with the Ruler of the world. [243] <h4>5. "MY POWER IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS"</h4> One passage, particularly, will repay special study. In II Cor. 12:8,9, we have information about the most intimate, the most personal of the prayers of Paul. The apostle had been afflicted with a persistent illness; it had apparently hampered him in his work, and caused him acute distress. In his trouble he called upon the Lord; and by that prayer Paul's affliction has been made to redound to the lasting instruction and encouragement of the Church. (1) Prayer Concerning Physical Ills.—In the first place, the prayer concerns not spiritual matters, or the needs of the Church at large, but a simple affair of the physical life. As life is constituted here on earth, we are intimately connected with the physical world; the body is necessary to the soul. But God is Master of earth as well as of heaven; even the simplest needs of life may be laid before him in prayer. To teach us that, we have here the example of Paul, as well as the precept of the Saviour himself. (2) The Answer.—In the second place, the prayer was answered, and answered in a very instructive way. The illness was not removed; but it was made an instrument of blessing. The purpose of it was revealed: "My power," said Christ, "is made perfect in weakness." Physical suffering is worth while if it leads to heroism and faith. Such is often the Lord's will. He himself trod the path of suffering before us, and in his case as in ours, the path led to glory. (3) The Prayer Addressed to Christ.—In the third place, this prayer was addressed, not to God the Father, but to Christ. Compare Acts 7:59,60. Without doubt "the Lord" in II Cor. 12:8, as practically always in the Pauline Epistles, refers to Christ. Usually, in the New Testament, prayer is addressed, through Christ, to God the Father; but there is no reason why it should not be addressed to the Son. The Son as well as the Father is a living Person; and the Son as well as the Father is God. It is well that we have apostolic examples for prayer addressed directly to the Saviour. Christ, to Paul, was no mere instrument in salvation, that had served its purpose and was then removed; he was alive and sovereign, and the relation to him was a relation of love. In a time of acute physical distress, Paul turned to the Saviour. Three times he called, and then the answer came. The answer will always come in the Lord's way, not in ours; but the Lord's way is always best. <hr class="tb" /> In the Library.—Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Bernard, article on "Prayer" (III). Thomas, "The Prayers of St. Paul." <hr class="chap" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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