Teach Me to Pray - Week #8

Andrew Murray's greatest concern in this book is that we learn to pray effectively; in other words, that we receive answers to our prayers. His contention throughout the book is that God the Father means for us to receive answers to our prayers, and that mere saying of prayers without genuine expectation of God's hearing and answering us is not true biblical praying.

Chapter five of his book is entitled, "The Certainty of an Answer to Prayer," and he builds on Jesus' words in Matthew 7:7,8 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Murray says of this: "In all this repetition, we can see that He wants to implant in our minds the truth that we may - and must - confidently expect an answer to our prayer. Next to the revelation of the Father's love, there is no more important lesson in the whole school of prayer than this: Everyone that asks receives."

The author presents the thought that the word "ask" refers to the gifts we are praying for. The word "seek" goes further and speaks of looking for God the Giver. The word "knock" takes it even further to not only asking and looking for the gift and/or the Giver in a given moment, but to be "admitted to dwell with Him and in Him" always.

Murray reminds us again of the danger of praying without faith: "...how easily we are inclined to rest in prayer as a religious duty without expecting an answer." The Lord knows how prone we fallen humans are to go through the motions, contenting ourselves with having fulfilled our religious duty with the hopes that we've satisfied God. But the Lord makes clear that real prayer is prayer that expects an answer from a listening Father God; ultimately what prayer is about is relating with a real Person.

"Persevere; let the Word and the Spirit teach you to pray in the right way and do not let go of the confidence he seeks to impart that everyone who asks receives an answer...Let every learner in the school of Christ believe the Master's promise to answer in all simplicity. Let us beware of weakening the Word with our human wisdom...If questions and difficulties arise, let us not seek to have them settled before we accept the Word..."

I have found that one of the greatest stumbling blocks to maturing quickly in God for the western church is this issue of simplicity in receiving God's truth. Because of our strong bent towards having to understand with our minds what God is saying before we take hold of it, our maturing in Him is greatly hindered. There is a wonderful childlike simplicity in the things of God that is able to receive easily the Word of God from the Spirit without having everything figured out first.

The repeated promises of God related to prayer are an example. Rather than simply accept His word on this, we tend to want to approach it "with our human wisdom" and come up with interpretations to it that allow for the fact that we don't receive answers to our prayers.

This isn't to discourage us but to help us face the reality of our great and desperate need to learn to pray. It takes discipline and time to take hold of God and pray according to His will and then to persevere in faith in the waiting time.

Murray says that perseverance in faith is needed to receive the answer and that there are also times in which because we have asked wrongly, God refuses (example of Moses wanting to enter Canaan); but God answers, and we can then change our prayer. In other words, we shouldn't be content without an answer. "We must seek for grace to pray in such a way that the answer comes. It is far easier for the flesh to submit without the answer than to yield itself to be searched and purified by the Spirit until it has learned to pray the prayer of faith."

He concludes the chapter by saying, "In prayer and its answer the interchange of love between the Father and His child takes place...In every situation let us hold to the joyful assurance that man's prayer on earth and God's answer from heaven are meant for each other. Trust Jesus to teach you to pray so that the answer comes. He will do it if we believe His words: 'Ask and it will be given to you.'"

Lord Jesus, we believe Your promise that those who ask receive; help our unbelief. Thank You for Your patience in teaching us to pray. Give us simplicity of heart to take You at Your word, knowing that You will help us understand as we step out in faith believing that You not only want to hear and answer, but You have the power to answer. Thank you for Your Holy Spirit who helps us! Amen.