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 then, 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
broken-winged 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. That true grace shall never be extinguished,
and true union with Christ never be broken off, I feel no doubt. But I
do believe that a man may fall away so far that he shall lose sight of
his own grace, and despair of his own salvation. And if this is not
hell, it is certainly the next thing to it! 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. xiv. 14.)
Now, what is the cause of most backsliding? 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_.
We may be very sure that 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
Origen, the old Christian Father, 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 apostacy. But the heathen did
not know the fact, which Origen himself tells us, that on that very
morning he had left his bedchamber hastily, and without finishing his
usual prayers.
If any reader of this paper is a Christian indeed I trust he will never
be a backslider. But if you do not wish to be a backsliding Christian,
remember the hint I give you,--Mind your prayers.
VII. In the seventh place, _prayer is one of the best receipts for
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 till 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 neighbours, 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 receipt for cheerfulness in such a world as this?
How shall we get through this valley of tears with least pain? I know no
better receipt than the habit 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: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me." (Psalm l. 15.)
"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall
never suffer the righteous to be moved." (Psalm lv. 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. iv. 6, 7.) What says
the Apostle James? "Is any afflicted among you? let him pray." (James v.
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
Ai. This is what David did, when he was in danger at Keliah. 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 the trying to carry their own
burdens which so often makes believers sad. If they will only 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. (Eccles. xii.
5.)
There is a friend ever waiting to help us, if we will only 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 a man, for He
lived thirty-three years as a man amongst 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 negro, 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 who 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! (Gen. xxi. 19.)
I want the readers of this paper to be really happy Christians. I am
certain I cannot urge on them a more important duty than prayer.
And now it is high time for me to bring this paper to an end. I trust I
have brought before my readers things that will be seriously considered.
I heartily pray God that this consideration may be blessed to their
souls.
(1) Let me speak a parting word _to those who do not pray_. I dare not
suppose that all who read these pages will be praying people. If you are
a prayerless person, suffer me to speak to you this day on God's behalf.
Prayerless friend, I can only warn you; but I do warn you most solemnly.
I warn you that you are in a position of fearful danger. If you die in
your present state you are a lost soul. You will only rise again to be
eternally miserable. I warn you that of all professing Christians you
are most utterly without excuse. There is not a single good reason that
you can show for living without prayer.
It is useless to say you _know not how_ to pray. Prayer is the simplest
act in all religion. It is simply speaking to God. It needs neither
learning, nor wisdom, nor book-knowledge to begin it. It needs nothing
but heart and will. The weakest infant can cry when he is hungry. The
poorest beggar can hold out his hand for an alms, and does not wait to
find fine words. The most ignorant man will find something to say to
God, if he has only a mind.
It is useless to say you have _no convenient place_ to pray in. Any man
can find a place private enough, if he is disposed. Our Lord prayed on a
mountain; Peter on the house-top; Isaac in the field; Nathanael under
the fig-tree; Jonah in the whale's belly. Any place may become a closet,
an oratory, and a Bethel, and be to us the presence of God.
It is useless to say _you have no time_. There is plenty of time, if men
will only employ it. Time may be short, but time is always long enough
for prayer. Daniel had all the affairs of a kingdom on his hands, and
yet he prayed three times a day. David was ruler over a mighty nation,
and yet he says, "Evening and morning and at noon will I pray." (Psalm
lv. 17.) When time is really wanted, time can always be found.
It is useless to say you _cannot pray till you have faith and a new
heart_, and that you must sit still and wait for them. This is to add
sin to sin. It is bad enough to be unconverted and going to hell. It is
even worse to say, "I know it, but I will not cry for mercy." This is a
kind of argument for which there is no warrant in Scripture. "Call ye
upon the Lord," saith Isaiah, "while He is near." (Isaiah lv. 6.) "Take
with you words, and come unto the Lord," says Hosea. (Hosea xiv. 1.)
"Repent and pray," says Peter to Simon Magus. (Acts viii. 22.) If you
want faith and a new heart, go and cry to the Lord for them. The very
attempt to pray has often been the quickening of a dead soul. Alas,
there is no devil so dangerous as a dumb devil.
Oh, prayerless man, who and what are you that you will not ask anything
of God? Have you made a covenant with death and hell? Are you at peace
with the worm and the fire? Have you no sins to be pardoned? Have you no
fear of eternal torment? Have you no desire after heaven? Oh, that you
would awake from your present folly! Oh, that you would consider your
latter end! Oh, that you would arise and call upon God! Alas, there is a
day coming when men shall pray loudly, "Lord, Lord, open to us," but all
too late;--when many shall cry to the rocks to fall on them, and the
hills to cover them, who would never cry to God. In all affection I warn
you. Beware lest this be the end of your soul. Salvation is very near
you. Do not lose heaven for want of asking.
(2) Let me speak in the next place _to those who have real desires for
salvation_, but know not what steps to take or where to begin. I cannot
but hope that some readers may be in this state of mind, and if there be
but one such I must offer him encouragement and advice.
In every journey there must be a first step. There must be a change from
sitting still to moving forward. The journeyings of Israel from Egypt to
Canaan were long and wearisome. Forty years passed away before they
crossed Jordan. Yet there was someone who moved first when they marched
from Rameses to Succoth. When does a man really take his first step in
coming out from sin and the world? He does it in the day when he first
prays with his heart.
In every building the first stone must be laid, and the first blow must
be struck. The ark was 120 years in building. Yet there was a day when
Noah laid his axe to the first tree he cut down to form it. The temple
of Solomon was a glorious building. But there was a day when the first
huge stone was laid at the foot of Mount Moriah. When does the building
of the Spirit really begin to appear in a man's heart? It begins, so far
as we can judge, when he first pours out his heart to God in prayer.
If any reader of this paper desires salvation, and wants to know what to
do, I advise him to go this very day to the Lord Jesus Christ, in the
first private place he can find, and entreat Him in prayer to save his
soul.
Tell Him that you have heard that He receives sinners, and has said,
"Him that cometh unto Me I will in nowise cast out." (John vi. 37.) Tell
Him that you are a poor vile sinner, and that you come to Him on the
faith of His own invitation. Tell Him you put yourself wholly and
entirely in His hands,--that you feel vile and helpless, and hopeless in
yourself,--and that except He saves you, you have no hope to be saved at
all. Beseech Him to deliver you from the guilt, the power, and the
consequences of sin. Beseech Him to pardon you and wash you in His own
blood. Beseech Him to give you a new heart, and plant the Holy Spirit in
your soul. Beseech Him to give you grace, and faith, and will, and power
to be His disciple and servant from this day for ever. Yes: go this very
day, and tell these things to the Lord Jesus Christ, if you really are
in earnest about your soul.
Tell Him in your own way and your own words. If a doctor came to see you
when sick you could tell him where you felt pain. If your soul really
feels its disease you can surely find something to tell Christ.
Doubt not His willingness to save you, because you are a sinner. It is
Christ's office to save sinners. He says Himself, "I came not to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Luke v. 32.)
Wait not, because you feel unworthy. Wait for nothing: wait for nobody.
Waiting comes from the devil. Just as you are, go to Christ. The worse
you are, the more need you have to apply to Him. You will never mend
yourself by staying away.
Fear not because your prayer is stammering, your words feeble, and your
language poor. Jesus can understand you. Just as a mother understands
the first babblings of her infant, so does the blessed Saviour
understand sinners. He can read a sigh, and see a meaning in a groan.
Despair not, because you do not get an answer immediately. While you are
speaking, Jesus is listening. If He delays an answer, it is only for
wise reasons, and to try if you are in earnest. Pray on, and the answer
will surely come. Though it tarry, wait for it: it will surely come at
last.
If you have any desire to be saved, remember the advice I have given you
this day. Act upon it honestly and heartily, and you shall be saved.
(3) Let me speak, lastly, _to those who do pray_. I trust that some who
read this paper know well what prayer is, and have the Spirit of
adoption. To all such I offer a few words of brotherly counsel and
exhortation. The incense offered in the tabernacle was ordered to be
made in a particular way. Not every kind of incense would do. Let us
remember this, and be careful about the matter and manner of our
prayers.
If I know anything of a Christian's heart, you to whom I now speak are
often sick of your own prayers. You never enter into the Apostle's
words, "When I would do good, evil is present with me" (Rom. vii. 21),
so thoroughly as you sometimes do upon your knees. You can understand
David's words, "I hate vain thoughts." You can sympathize with that poor
converted Hottentot, who was overheard praying, "Lord, deliver me from
all my enemies; and, above all, from that bad man myself!"--There are
few children of God who do not often find the season of prayer a season
of conflict. The devil has special wrath against us when he sees us on
our knees. Yet I believe that prayers which cost us no trouble should be
regarded with great suspicion. I believe we are very poor judges of the
goodness of our prayers, and that the prayer which pleases us _least_
often pleases God _most_. Suffer me then, as a companion in the
Christian warfare, to offer you a few words of exhortation. One thing,
at least, we all feel,--we must pray. We cannot give it up: we must go
on.
(_a_) I commend, then, to your attention the importance of _reverence
and humility_ in prayer. Let us never forget what we are, and what a
solemn thing it is to speak with God. Let us beware of rushing into His
presence with carelessness and levity. Let us say to ourselves, "I am on
holy ground. This is no other than the gate of heaven. If I do not mean
what I say, I am trifling with God. If I regard iniquity in my heart,
the Lord will not hear me." Let us keep in mind the words of Solomon:
"Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter
anything before God; for God is in heaven, and thou on earth." (Eccles.
v. 2.) When Abraham spoke to God, he said, "I am dust and ashes." When
Job spoke, he said, "I am vile." (Gen. xviii. 27; Job xl. 4.) Let us do
likewise.
(_b_) I commend to you, in the next place, the importance of praying
_spiritually_. I mean by this that we should labour always to have the
direct help of the Spirit in our prayers, and beware above all things of
formality. There is nothing so spiritual but that it may become a form,
and this is specially true of private prayer. We may insensibly get into
the habit of using the fittest possible words, and offering the most
Scriptural petitions; and yet we may do it all by rote, without feeling
it, and walk daily round an old beaten path, like a horse in a mill. I
desire to touch this point with caution and delicacy. I know that there
are certain great things we daily want, and that there is nothing
necessarily formal in asking for these things in the same words. The
world, the devil, and our hearts, are daily the same. Of necessity we
must daily go over old ground. But this I say,--we must be very careful
on this point. If the skeleton and outline of our prayers be by habit
almost a form, let us strive that the clothing and filling up of our
prayers be as far as possible of the Spirit. As to praying out of a
book, it is a habit I cannot praise. If we can tell our doctors the
state of our bodies without a book, we ought to be able to tell the
state of our souls to God. I have no objection to a man using crutches,
when he is first recovering from a broken limb. It is better to use
crutches than not to walk at all. But if I saw him all his life on
crutches, I should not think it matter for congratulation. I should like
to see him strong enough to throw his crutches away.
(_c_) I commend to you, in the next place, the importance of making
prayer _a regular business of life_. I might say something of the value
of regular times in the day for prayer. God is a God of order. The hours
for morning and evening sacrifice in the Jewish temple were not fixed as
they were without a meaning. Disorder is eminently one of the fruits of
sin. But I would not bring any under bondage. This only I say, that it
is essential to your soul's health to make praying a part of the
business of every twenty-four hours in your life. Just as you allot time
to eating, sleeping, and business, so also allot time to prayer. Choose
your own hours and seasons. At the very least, speak with God in the
morning, before you speak with the world; and speak with God at night,
after you have done with the world. But settle it down in your minds
that prayer is one of the great things of every day. Do not drive it
into a corner. Do not give it the scraps, and leavings, and parings of
your day. Whatever else you make a business of, make a business of
prayer.
(_d_) I commend to you, in the next place, the importance of
_perseverance_ in prayer. Once having begun the habit, never give it up.
Your heart will sometimes say, "We have had family prayers; what mighty
harm if we leave private prayer undone?"--Your body will sometimes say,
"You are unwell, or sleepy, or weary; you need not pray."--Your mind
will sometimes say, "You have important business to attend to to-day;
cut short your prayers." Look on all such suggestions as coming direct
from the devil. They are all as good as saying, "Neglect your soul." I
do not maintain that prayers should always be of the same length;--but I
do say, let no excuse make you give up prayer. It is not for nothing
that Paul said, "Continue in prayer," and "Pray without ceasing."
(Colos. iv. 2; 1 Thess. v. 7.) He did not mean that men should be always
on their knees, as an old sect, called the Euchitae, supposed. But he did
mean that our prayers should be like the continual burnt offering,--a
thing steadily persevered in every day;--that it should be like
seed-time and harvest, and summer and winter,--a thing that should
unceasingly come round at regular seasons;--that it should be like the
fire on the altar, not always consuming sacrifices, but never completely
going out. Never forget that you may tie together morning and evening
devotions by an endless chain of short ejaculatory prayers throughout
the day. Even in company, or business, or in the very streets, you may
be silently sending up little winged messengers to God, as Nehemiah did
in the very presence of Artaxerxes. (Neh. ii. 4.) And never think that
time is wasted which is given to God. A nation does not become poorer
because it loses one year of working days in seven by keeping the
Sabbath. A Christian never finds he is a loser in the long run by
persevering in prayer.
(_e_) I commend to you, in the next place, the importance of
_earnestness_ in prayer. It is not necessary that a man should shout,
or scream, or be very loud, in order to prove that he is in earnest. But
it is desirable that we should be hearty, and fervent, and warm, and ask
as if we were really interested in what we were doing. It is the
"effectual fervent" prayer that "availeth much," and not the cold,
sleepy, lazy, listless one. This is the lesson that is taught us by the
expressions used in Scripture about prayer. It is called, "crying,
knocking, wrestling, labouring, striving." This is the lesson taught us
by Scripture examples. Jacob is one. He said to the angel at Penuel, "I
will not let thee go, except thou bless me." (Gen. xxxii. 26.) Daniel is
another. Hear how he pleaded with God: "O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O
Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God." (Dan.
ix. 19.) Our Lord Jesus Christ is another. It is written of Him, "In the
days of His flesh He offered up prayer and supplication, with strong
crying and tears." (Heb. v. 7.) Alas, how unlike is this to many of our
supplications! How tame and lukewarm they seem by comparison! How truly
might God say to many of us, "You do not really want what you pray for!"
Let us try to amend this fault. Let us knock loudly at the door of
grace, like Mercy in "Pilgrim's Progress," as if we must perish unless
heard. Let us settle it down in our minds, that cold prayers are a
sacrifice without fire. Let us remember the story of Demosthenes, the
great orator, when one came to him, and wanted him to plead his cause.
He heard him without attention, while he told his story without
earnestness. The man saw this, and cried out with anxiety that it was
all true. "Ah!" said Demosthenes, "I believe you _now_."