My dear readers,

1. PRAYING DOES NOT COME NATURALLY

The natural man does not like to pray. To him it is tiresome, tasteless and tedious. He would rather lie comfortably in bed, or sit captive before the TV screen, or enjoy himself with the pleasure-mad world. Spending time in prayer is to him foolishness. God’s Word says, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor 2:14). So it is with prayer.

Prayer is spiritual. It is a striving against the flesh, the "natural man." It is a constant and ongoing struggle. It is part of our Christian experience. We all know and agree that we ought to pray, but we fail to do so, and we fail miserably. Instead of praying we have wasted many hours in spiritually unprofitable pastimes. No wonder our spiritual progress is at a standstill. The Apostle Paul expressed this sense of failure thus: "For the good that I would I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do ... when I would do good, evil is present with me" (Rom 7:19, 21).

What, then, must we do? First, let us agree that we must pray, and pray in the Spirit. To be able to pray in Spirit and in truth we must confess our sin, this sin of prayerlessness, of worldliness, of yielding to self and the flesh. Pray for cleansing and forgiveness. We must repent in Spirit and in truth;"a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise" (Ps 51:17). Second, we must be prepared to pay the price, for true praying is costly. You must be willing to forfeit some sleep, leisure, unprofitable pastime – anything which draws you away from your communion with the Lord. Third, you must set a particular time (best in the morning before the day’s busyness descends on you) and keep the holy appointment with God.

In Gethsemane our Lord prayed for us, with sweat "as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:44). To us He says, "What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matt 26:41).

2. PRAYER IS FOR THE HELPLESS

Two men went up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee in his self-sufficiency made a speech before God. The publican in his deep consciousness of sin felt totally unworthy and helpless. He pleaded his case, "God, be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13). His prayer was answered, not the Pharisee’s, for God is not interested in oratory.

Prayer is for the helpless. It is something deeper than words. It is an attitude of heart and mind. It is our attitude toward God. God in heaven recognizes this true attitude of prayer and His heart is touched. It does not take the form of many words, least of all self-exalting eloquence. God is interested in our spiritual condition. If we have no need we are like the Laodicean Church which said, "I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing" (Rev 3:17). To the Lord, this sort of spiritual complacency is spiritual smugness of the worst sort. It is nauseating and disgusting.

The secret of true prayer is the admission of need. We must see our wretched and helpless condition. It is this that drives us on our knees to God. Our problem may be such that we do not know what to do or how to pray. Our mind may be clouded and perplexed, perhaps overwhelmed with sin or some personal problem. Men and circumstances have failed us. Our world has collapsed around us. There seems to be no hope or help in sight. In our desperate struggle our prayers seem to freeze on our lips.

But help is at hand, my friend. Let us be as the publican standing afar off, with head bowed and spirit broken, and cry out to God, "God, be merciful to me a sinner." Our helplessness calls from our heart to the heart of God. It speaks more than any carefully cultured speech. God hears the very moment we are seized with helplessness, and He swiftly comes to our aid.

God helps the helpless, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

3. ASK IN MY NAME

"And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (John 14:13). These words of our Lord specifically teach us how we should approach God in prayer. Every prayer must be sealed in the name of Jesus. Our entire prayer experience must derive its inspiration and authentication by the name of Jesus, the name "which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil 2:9-11).

You ask, "Why must we pray only in the name of Jesus?" The simple answer is: our Lord Jesus alone reconciled us unto God (Rom 5:10-11; Eph 2:13-17). Without Christ we are without hope. We are strangers from the covenants of promise, enemies, far from God."For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father" (Eph 2:18). Jesus is our mediator, the only mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5). Apart from Jesus, we have no way to approach unto God (John 14:6). Therefore, all our prayers and petitions must be authorised by His blessed name.

Some troubled son finds it impossible to approach God in prayer. As he stands in the heavenly light, he is convicted by God’s holy Word. He sees his sins, his past wicked life, his filthy thoughts and immoral acts, his sin-blackened heart. To turn to God is a fearful thought. He feels a great barrier separating him from an angry God. The holy God will have nothing to do with such an unclean person as he is. To such a son, the name Jesus will give him a safe access to a holy God.

God’s light shines through. The penitent sinner begins to see what the name of Jesus means. With joy and gratitude he enters into the presence of God. There, in the name of Jesus, his prayer is heard and accepted. Jesus! His name will be our song of praise through all eternity!

Yours faithfully in the Saviour’s Service,

Dr SH Tow, Sr Pastor