SILENT TIMES FOR PRAYER
(The prayer life is a sweet, enjoyable life to live, and, in fact, no one can enter into the deep things of God who does not live in a spirit of constant prayer. (1 Thess. 5:17.) One does not have to be upon his knees all the time to do this. A man does not have to lie awake at night, and constantly keep his mind upon that one thing (loving his wife) to see if he really loves her. Awake or asleep, the love is there; at work or pleasure, the love for her burns. Many of God's faithful saints have testified to the fact that often they have wakened up to the fact that tears were flowing, joys leaping, fire burning, and that, too, while they were busy.)
Excuse the writer for a personal reference. Once, while plowing corn, old Jack, a faithful mule, was pulling the plow, his long ears keeping time with his feet. No one was near; corn almost over Jack's back; we were in a spirit of prayer. All at once the tide came in, and Jack went through that corn in a hurry.
("Rejoice evermore" does not mean one must shout all the time at the top of the voice; it means to live in the spirit of rejoicing. So it is with the prayer life, to live in the spirit of prayer. But mind you, there will be times of waiting upon your knees by the hour. There will be seasons of wrestling prayer. There will be protracted sea-sons of prayer.
(The prayer life calls for seasons of silent times, times when we take ourselves away from the crowd, family, loved ones, business, and get quiet before Him. One can be too busy about his Master's work and neglect these quiet, silent times, and become lean, grow peevish, fretful, cross. Too often we talk too much when we pray. We do not give God a chance to say one word, and not a few times, we do nothing but beg -- beg -- beg; there is no note of praise or thankfulness.)
(The prayer life is a sweet, enjoyable life to live, and, in fact, no one can enter into the deep things of God who does not live in a spirit of constant prayer. (1 Thess. 5:17.) One does not have to be upon his knees all the time to do this. A man does not have to lie awake at night, and constantly keep his mind upon that one thing (loving his wife) to see if he really loves her. Awake or asleep, the love is there; at work or pleasure, the love for her burns. Many of God's faithful saints have testified to the fact that often they have wakened up to the fact that tears were flowing, joys leaping, fire burning, and that, too, while they were busy.)
Excuse the writer for a personal reference. Once, while plowing corn, old Jack, a faithful mule, was pulling the plow, his long ears keeping time with his feet. No one was near; corn almost over Jack's back; we were in a spirit of prayer. All at once the tide came in, and Jack went through that corn in a hurry.
("Rejoice evermore" does not mean one must shout all the time at the top of the voice; it means to live in the spirit of rejoicing. So it is with the prayer life, to live in the spirit of prayer. But mind you, there will be times of waiting upon your knees by the hour. There will be seasons of wrestling prayer. There will be protracted sea-sons of prayer.
(The prayer life calls for seasons of silent times, times when we take ourselves away from the crowd, family, loved ones, business, and get quiet before Him. One can be too busy about his Master's work and neglect these quiet, silent times, and become lean, grow peevish, fretful, cross. Too often we talk too much when we pray. We do not give God a chance to say one word, and not a few times, we do nothing but beg -- beg -- beg; there is no note of praise or thankfulness.)
There was one college that had, every morning and evening, a silent time; no sound was heard -- no lessons studied -- all was silent. The whole college was as quiet as if all had been in slumber. One could feel the Spirit of prayer all about the college.
If every one who professes to be His would have one-half hour daily, in quiet prayer, the great revival would rush upon us.
We mean by quiet times, getting off alone, going into one's closet, getting away from all business, getting all out of one's mind -- getting alone with GOD.
The crying need of the day is earnest prayer, wrestling prayer, a praying that brings things to pass. Paul and Silas brought things to pass at Philippi.
This is a busy age, all hands are full from daylight until dark. One said, "I can't take from my business thirty minutes each day." A preacher said to the writer, "I can't find time to pray, I pray on the run all the time. One may be in the spirit of prayer on the run, but there must come into every Christian's life silent times, if we are to be worth while.
Look at those whom God is using today. Stanley Jones of India, a young man who lives upon his knees. Bud Robinson, a man who really brings things to pass, upon his knees. Look at Jim Upchurch, a walking illustration of what can be done through prayer. I tell you, reader, we must live upon our faces more and talk less, if the great revivals are to come.
The devil hates these quiet, silent times, this living upon your face, for when the weakest saint gets upon his or her knees, he knows it is time for him to tremble. What does he do when a Paul or Silas gets upon his knees!
You can organize Bible classes, men's movements, laymen's movements, young people's societies (and they all have their places for good), but until there is really knee work, it all will finally run dry. Prayer oils up the machinery.
One of the greatest needs of this hour is more devotion. Ours is not an age of prayer so much as an age of work. The tendency is to action rather than to worship; to busy toil rather than to quiet sitting at the Savior's feet. Commune with Him. The keynote of our present Christian life is consecration, which is understood to mean devotion to active service. On every hand we are incited to work; our zeal is stirred by every inspiring incentive. The calls to duty come to us from a thousand earnest voices, And this is well; we must toil in His vineyard, we are His harvest men; we are toilers together with Him. But these quiet, silent times alone qualify us to do more and better work, with much more ease and enjoyment, and nothing slavish about it.
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