“The Promise of
Prayer”
Originally published the week of March 4 - 10, 2012
In the Morning
“Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55:17).
“Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55:17).
In the morning,
when I rise,
In the morning
when I rise,
In the morning,
when I rise,
Give me Jesus.
Chorus:
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all
this world,
Give me Jesus.
These lyrics from a beautiful Spiritual (#305 Seventh-day
Adventist Hymnal), echo both Psalms 55 verse 17, and Psalms 5, verses 1-3. Psalms 5: 1-3 says, “Give ear to my words, O
Lord, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my
God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O
Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”
King David’s words could have easily been penned by the
prophet and statesman Daniel. Clearly he was a man who lifted his voice to the
Lord throughout the day, for in Daniel 6:10, it says “…. Now when Daniel knew
that the writing was signed (the written legislation forbidding prayer to any
god but the king, upon pain of death), he went into his house; and his windows
being open (he was getting fresh air while he interceded to the God of heaven)
in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day
and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”
Many of us who profess to love the Lord, and who have time
consuming responsibilities, often feel that we are too busy to pray, and that
God ‘knows our hearts’. But here is busy
statesman Daniel, a man hunted and pursued because of envy by his colleagues
and neighbors, kneeling to pray, three times daily, in the relative privacy of
his room – with his windows open. I
would be remiss not to add that Daniel was, by faith even then, engaging in the
principles of healthy living, for his windows were open, and we know in his
early life that he championed the eating of a simple, uncomplicated diet. Obviously Daniel was a man of faith and
prayer.
For Daniel to exercise the faith that he did, he must also
have been a man of the word, for ‘faith comes by hearing and hearing by the
word of God” (Romans 5:17). How did
Daniel, a captive of a conquered people, living in a political environment
hostile to the true worship of God, have access to the Word? While we may not know for sure what physical
access he had to the written word, we do know that prior to being taken captive
to Babylon, he had been trained by his godly parents to know and love God, and
to respect and depend on His word. Thus
Daniel like David, could say, “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might
not sin against Thee” (Psalms 119:11).
Mary the mother of
Jesus was also a follower of God who hid the word in her heart, for in Luke
2:19, the scripture says that Mary kept all these things (the things prophesied
to her) and pondered (or considered) them in her heart.” When we Know the word,
and keep it in our hearts throughout the day as Mary, Daniel and David did,
when we consider and ponder its past meaning and context, it informs our
ongoing prayers. Praying the word is
conversing with God. This is the means
of keeping the promises of God fresh in our minds. This is living by faith—which is to say,
living by every word that proceeds out of His mouth, for food, for clothing,
for friendships, for love, for work (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4).
“It is a wonder we
pray so little! (When) God is so ready and willing to hear the sincere prayer
of the humblest of His children… there is much manifest reluctance on our part
to make known our wants to God. What can
the angels of heaven think when (we) humans are so poor and helpless and
subject to temptation? God’s infinitely loving heart yearns toward us, ready to
give us more than we can ask or think, yet we pray so little and have so little
faith. The Angels love to bow before
God; they love to be near Him. They
regard communion with God as their highest joy; and yet (we) the children of
earth, who need so much the help that only God can give, seem satisfied to walk
without the light of His Spirit, the companionship of His presence” (Ellen
White, Steps to Christ, p. 94 paraphrased).
The Psalmist has said, ‘My voice shalt thou hear in the
morning, O Lord: in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will
look up” (Psalms 5:3). “Why the
morning,” you may ask. “What is so
important about the morning?” It is
because in the morning our minds are usually more rested, calm and free of
cares prior to getting going for the day.
The early morning hours are usually quieter, allowing us to hear what
the Lord will say to us concerning our circumstances for the day or the
time. In the morning, His special
promises to us come unbidden (by us), as we wait on Him in expectation for His
answers to our concerns.
But oh how we hate to wait!
We have things to do, places to go, and people to see. We must get going now! We are controlled by the “tyranny of the
urgent.’ But stop, and imagine if you
will, the Psalmist David seeking the Lord early in the morning before running
off once again to hide from murderous King Saul. Think about the fact that David, the divinely
appointed heir to the throne was running for his life for thirteen years! In this context, our excuses of busyness fall
flat in regard to missing morning devotional time with our Lord. We may feel that we are being pursued by
various agendas, plans, and the ongoing pressing needs of children, spouses and
work – even church work, surely we are not being physically pursued so that our
life might be taken.
Daniel knelt to pray
three times a day under all circumstances.
In his chambers in his room, by his open window (not hidden away) he
prayed even then being pursued by murderous neighbors. You may say, “Well, he was praying for
deliverance, for his life.” Do we not
need deliverance? Is Satan not ‘a
roaring lion seeking whom he may devour’ (I Peter 5:8)? Our only means of
deliverance is hearing the Lord through the word for ourselves, preferably, in
the morning.
Let’s not fall into the same trap that the Israelites did at
Mount Sinai. They told Moses to hear the
word for them, and tell them what God has said.
They said, “If we hear, then we will die” (Exodus 19 & 20). In the morning, the Lord wants to increase
our faith, which comes by hearing the Word of promise which the Lord will tell
us. He wants to renew the impress of the
law on our hearts and minds; that we might be willing to eagerly listen
attentively to His voice, as He unfolds the gospel -- willing to do, even
before we know what He is even asking of us (Hebrew definition of Obey --
Shama).
There is a little
known quote which seems appropriate to conclude our thoughts on prayer. It is attributed to Ellen White in the Review
and Herald, dated October 7, 1865.
“Prayer is the answer
to every problem in life. It puts us in
tune with divine wisdom which knows how to adjust everything perfectly. So often we do not pray in certain situations
because from our stand point the outlook is hopeless. But nothing is impossible with God (Matthew
19:26). Nothing is so entangled that it
cannot be remedied. No human relation is
too strained for God to bring out reconciliation and understanding. No habit is too deep-rooted that it cannot be
overcome. No one is so weak that he
cannot be made strong. No one is so ill
that He cannot be healed. No mind is so
dull, that it cannot be made brilliant.
Whatever we need or desire, if we trust God, He will supply it. If anything is causing worry and anxiety, let
us stop rehearing the difficulty and trust God for healing, love, and power.”
--Raul Diaz
