Teach Me to Pray - Week 9: The Infinite Fatherliness of God

The next chapter of Murray's book is about the "infinite fatherliness of God". By his repetition of this theme in this book, it's obvious that Andrew Murray understood well the profound need we fallen humans have for a revelation of God's heart as Father, and he applies this particularly to effectiveness in our prayer life. He teaches this theme using Matthew 7:9-11, a powerful portion related to the nature of God. In order to do it justice, I'll be taking two weeks on this chapter.

"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?" (Matthew 7:9-11)

Murray writes: "...the prayer of a child of God is influenced entirely by the relationship he has with the Parent. Prayer can exert that influence only when the child is living and walking in loving relationship in the home and in the service of the Father. The power of the promise "ask and it will be given to you" lies in that good relationship."

He goes on to say that the mark of a true child is "childlike living", which is summed up in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. (Notice how often the words "sons" or "Father" appear in the Sermon on the Mount,especially "Father." I counted about 19 times!) The characteristics of a child in Jesus' teaching there are the following:
1. Those with the virtues given in the Beatitudes: poverty of spirit, mourning over sin, meekness, hunger and thirst for righteousness, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking, suffering for righteousness' sake (Mt. 5:3-11)
2. Those who let their light shine before men (5:16)
3. Those who walk in love (5:45)
4. Those who seek to be perfect (5:48)
5. Those whose fasting and praying and giving is not done for man's praise (6:1-18)
6. Those who forgive as their Father forgives them (6:14,15)
7. Those who trust the Father for all earthy needs, making the pursuit of God's Kingdom their highest priority (6:26-32)
8. Those who not only say "Lord, Lord" but actually do the will of the Father (7:21)

"Such are the children of the Father...To God's true children, answered prayers are certain and abundant."

This list could be overwhelming and demotivating if we read this thinking that we have to arrive at all of it before having any hopes of answered prayer! But Murray touches something so profound and staggering about God that we struggle to actually believe it: "A child is weak; children differ much in age and talents. But the Lord does not demand a perfect fulfillment of the law, only a childlike, wholehearted surrender to Him in obedience and truth. Nothing more and nothing less. The Father asks for a whole heart. And when He sees the child honestly, consistently seeking to live as a child, He will consider the prayer as the prayer of a child. If anyone studies the Sermon on the Mount and takes it at face value as his guide, he will find, in spite of weakness and failure, an ever-increasing liberty to claim fulfillment of the prayer-promises."

If there was ever good news for one who wants to learn to pray effectively, this is it! What a God!...a Father Who is "so much more" than the best of earthly fathers and so unlike the worst of earthly fathers.

Although at first glance this seems to be a simple and obvious truth about God, it
takes the power of the Holy Spirit giving us living understanding for it to impact us in real life situations including believing prayer.

Next week I'll finish with this topic; I pray that the Spirit of truth will touch us related to the nature of God the Father. I'm seeking to know and understand this reality more myself. Lord, come by Your Spirit and cleanse our hearts and minds and imaginations of wrong images of God our Father. Lift us up and out of the quagmire of wrong thinking about what Your fatherliness looks like. Thank You, Jesus, that it's Your delight to show us the Father!