Devotional - 99-05-25 - P2: Prayer

The Holy Alphabet Series

Ask of Me, and I will surely make the nations as Thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth your possession. Psalm 2:8

"Prayer is an offering up of our desires to God for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies. Psal. 62:8, 1 John 5:14, John 10:23, Psal. 32:5,6, Daniel 9:4, Phil. 4:6." --Robert Port

In the above statement by Port he emphasizes the human side of prayer. This makes his statement helpful to us. Port is willing to acknowledge what many a great theological or Biblical scholar is afraid to acknowledge. Namely, that prayer for the Christian is deeply personal, and not a theological exercise according to some theological maxim. In his summary of prayer Port drives to the front the truth that, in prayer, we offer our desires to God.

Our desires are our hopes, and our dreams. Our desires are our secret longings that maybe no one, not even our spouse, may know about. Where do we take them? Who will listen to them and not mock us for having them? There is one place where we know they will be given a full hearing. There is one place were we will not laughed at for dreaming, and that place is in the secret vicinity where God hears our prayers.

There is an old German proverb, you may have heard it before, that the sweetest grapes on the vine hang the highest from the ground. So it is with our longings and our desires. We ought to take them to the highest place, to the secret places where God hears, knows and cares for us---even for our desires. There is no sweeter place we could bring our desires than to the throne of grace.

There is another proverb also: Every fish that escapes appears greater than it is. And the truth remains that we don't always get what we desire, even if we have offered our desires up to God in prayer. When we pray, as Port says, we offer our desires to God for things agreeable to his will. Sometimes our desires aren't agreeable to the secret will of God, and they appear like those fish that get away, bigger than they really are.

If it is God's will that we really seek we need to place everything under His sovereignty. Even our desires fall into this category. We must place everything into the fire proof safe of the will of God and trust Him fully.

Let us remember also the additional things Port says. We pray in the name of Christ, from whom we have all things. We come in prayer to God confessing our sins and we come in prayer to God greatfully acknowledging His mercies toward us. Prayer is such a privilege. Let us not forget to remember the great advantage and power we have been given in prayer.

"Prayer is the rope up in the belfry: we pull it, and it rings the bell up in heaven." Christmas Evans

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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