Sentence Sermons (Christian Inspiration) #31 ---Prayer

The heart of all true prayer is unreserved submission to the will of God. His will is always right and safe and best.

—George W. Truett, The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Ga., April 14, 1942.

If you are a stranger to prayer you are a stranger to the greatest source of power known to human beings. If we cared for our physical life in the same lackadaisical way that we care for our spiritual, we would be as weak physically as we are spiritually. Some of the greatest blessings that people enjoy come from prayer. In earnest prayer you think as the Lord directs, and lose yourself in Him.

—Billy Sunday, Jackson Daily News, Jackson, Miss., Jan. 15, 1925.

God answers prayers gloriously. To pray victoriously one must have the right motive; we must be earnest and have faith in God and have the right relation to our fellowmen.

—George W. Truett, The Commercial Dispatch, Columbus, Miss., Feb. 25, 1932.

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16.) The power of prayer of the righteous, those in right standing with God, accomplishes God's will.

—Paul W. Wilson, First Baptist Church, Cedar Lake, Ind., May 1993.

Prayer is always the charioteer of a spiritual awakening.

—Ernest C. Wareing, Western Christian Advocate, Cincinnati, Ohio, Jan. 10, 1924.

Prayer makes us increasingly conscious of the presence of God. Prayer will be answered–if not in our way, certainly in God's way. Praying Christians realize that they need the Giver more than His gifts. Pray as though all depends upon prayer; act as though all depends upon action.

—James DeForest Murch, Christian Standard, Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov. 30, 1940.

Praying for what you don't deserve is blasphemy.

—E.V. White, Clarendon News, Clarendon, Texas, Feb. 18, 1937.

The Holy Spirit puts earnestness into our prayers. He makes intercession with our prayers. he makes intercession with groanings that cannot be uttered. This intercession of the Spirit is not intercession apart from ours, but he intercedes in and through our praying. We succeed in our praying as we express the mind (or thoughts) of the Spirit. The Spirit knows the will of God and therefore he leads us to pray according to God's will.

—J.E. Nunn, Amarillo Daily News, Amarillo, Texas, Jan. 26, 1929.

Prayer is no hit and miss matter. It requires very definite conditions, motivations, guidelines and dedications.

—W.R. White, Baptist and Reflector, Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 19, 1968.

As a submission of self, without mental reservations, prayer is beautiful. But some of us pray, “Thy will be done,” and do little to help, not even trying to comprehend our own job. It’s like signing on the dotted line, without reading the small print.

—Jack Warwick, Toledo Blade, Toledo, Ohio, July 10, 1940.

The best prayer is not the one which asks God to do something for us, but to do something with us.

—Roy L. Smith, Western Christian Advocate, Cincinnati, Ohio, Feb. 14, 1929.

The best prayer is to ask Providence to give you strength to do all the digging for your daily bread.

—Frank L. Stanton, The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Ga., March 13, 1916.

You never learn to pray properly until you learn to trust God. Trust means putting yourself in the hands of God.

—Vernon Stephenson, Leesville Daily Leader, Leesville, La., Dec. 11, 1987.

Prayer does not require that the worshipper have a trained mind as much as a humble heart.

—Charles A. Stuck, The Louisiana Methodist, Little Rock, Ark., April 25, 1968.

One is always on safe and solid ground when praying for spiritual blessings. We cannot always be certain that it would be best for us to have the material things we ask for, but we can always, with all confidence, pray for spiritual illumination and power.

—Albert L. Scales, Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas, Nov. 27, 1922.

Prayer is faith made audible.

—George W. Ridout, Baptist Standard, Dallas, Texas, May 13, 1920.

Prayer has been likened to a wire connecting with the throne of grace. It has been likened to a golden stairway on which we meet the King in His beauty. But I like to think of it as a window through which we look out and keep the spiritual world in sight and mind.

—Henry Alford Porter, Christian Index, Atlanta, Ga., March 6, 1930.

The word prayer means strong to stay, steadfast in perseverance, to hold fast and firm, to give constant attention to. ... By prayer, the ability is secured to feel the law of love, to speak according to the law of love, to act in accordance with the law of love. Prayer in its magnitude is length without end, width without bounds, height without top, depth without bottom. It is illimitable in its breadth, exhaustless in its height, fathomless in depth and infinite in extension. It should, therefore, be the breath of our breathing, the thought of our thinking, the soul of our heeling, the life of our living, the sound of our hearing, the growth of our growing.

—Louie D. Newton, The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Ga., Feb. 15, 1936.

Prayer is the lever resting on the fulcrum of faith which God's people are to move the heavy obstructions in the path of the kingdom. ... Our petitions will be vain and shallow indeed if we ask God to do things for us which we are unwilling to do for ourselves. It is, for example, a hollow mockery to ask God to forgive us our trespasses if we harbor enmity in our hearts for those who have trespassed against us.

—G.J. Rousseau, The Pensacola Journal, Pensacola, Fla., Jan. 30, 1930.

Prayer gives to one both atmosphere and outlook. It is the communion of man with his Heavenly Father, and this is the highest privilege man enjoys--the privilege of fellowship with the Almighty. There are no shut doors between child and father when prayer is in the heart. Prayer is the effort of the soul to relate itself to the Divine; it is turning our faces to the sunlight. Make the proper contact with God, through prayer, and receive from Him power, which may be stored away for any crisis. As well send soldiers into battle without arms or ammunition, as to start the day or any service without prayer.

—Edwin D. Mouzon, The Shreveport Times, Shreveport, La., April 5, 1932.

Prayer positions us before God. This is not necessarily a physical position. It is an essential attitude of dependence and pleasure with the Fatherhood of God. Prayer serves as an inner gyroscope, regaining and retaining our role as creatures before our Creator. Prayer identifies us before God. The question is not whether God knows who we are, but whether we know our identity. We are His creatures; however, more than this, prayer welcomes us as children before their father. We confess our needs as children; we confess our trust in Him, our Father. Prayer equips us for God's purposes. "Thy will be done" is neither demand nor defeat. It is our way of saying that we welcome the Father's intentions and will happily participate in them. We will mature as sons and we will assist His will to be done on earth as it is in His presence.

—Browning Ware, Beaumont Enterprise, Beaumont, Texas, April 7, 1967.

A Christian who is too busy to stop for private communion with God, with everything and everybody shut out, is indeed too busy and will lack a very essential element in his Christian character and work. Nothing can take the place of prayer and no amount of Christian activity can be substituted for it. For he who would help others must himself drink of the fountain of life so he may give living matters for others. ... The prayer of faith, by one who struggles against sin and whose life is in accord with the work of God, his earnest fervent prayer becomes effectual and accomplishes things. ... The Christian with God can use the wonderfully effective power of prayer and get marvelous results. ... Experience and skill are required, but concentration, cutting loose from sin and worldliness are necessary qualifications.

—R.A. Zahn, ChiIdress Index, Childress, Texas, March 24, 1922.

The afflictions and the reverses of life’s fortunes inevitably drive men to their knees in prayer. It is sad to note that these sorrows must take place BEFORE many men find the value of prayer. Through prayer we come to know God better. ... We should spend time with God to get to know Him and His will concerning us. Through prayer we come to know ourselves. Thomas Arnold, the English educator, once said, “Real knowledge, like everything else of value, is not to be obtained easily. It must be worked for, be prayed for.” James admonishes us that “If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God” and the only contact we have with God is through prayer. So if we would know ourselves as God would have us know ourselves we must cultivate the art of prayer. Christ Himself set the perfect example of prayer and was known as a Man of Prayer. If it was necessary for the Son of God to spend time in prayer, how much more necessary is it for you and I to pray. We live in a world that is governed by profit and loss. “What profit should we have, if we pray unto him.” (Job 21:15.) Here again we all know that there are certain basic conditions necessary before we can receive a profit. The conditions in the spiritual realm are not financial but a broken heart, surrendered to Him to do His will continually.

—V.W. Walker, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Sarasota, Fla., March 6, 1960.

“Ask and it shall be given you.” (Luke 11:9.) This familiar text is usually quoted, and rightly so, as being one of the most precious promises and encouragements to prayer which the Bible contains; but if you look at the text, it is far more than a promise encouraging prayer. It is a declaration of the condition of our receiving any good gift from God. There is the treasure-house full of grace. You go up to it; the doors are locked. You must knock or they will not be opened. There is the river of life open to all, but you may die from thirst on its banks unless you kneel. Ask, says Christ, then you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. Someone asks, “Is it necessary for everyone to pray daily?” In answer, God says, “No grace unless it be sought.” Ye have not–why? Ye have not, because ye ask not. That is the great mystery of prayer.

—Lee Smith, Milwaukee Sentinel, Milwaukee, Wis., May 19, 1952.

To express outwardly what is felt inwardly is real praying that makes a difference. Both inner receptivity and outward action are necessary for prayer to be real. Omit one and the other is ineffective. ... For a man to pray for peace and to live in such a way that causes war--that is not praying. For one to pray for brotherhood in which mankind finds oneness and yet be the initiative of ill-will toward other races--that can never be called prayer. ... Prayer has the power to break a small world wide open and put the concern of the whole world in the mind of the one who prays. When a man becomes receptive enough to let the high purposes of God become operative within him, there is always a tremendous revolution taking place.

—Paul J. Wagner, Tampa Sunday Tribune, Tampa, Fla., March 27, 1955.

Man inevitably prays–consciously or unconsciously, with lips of life, or both; but he instinctively tries to communicate with the source of his being. His motive may be attainment of personal desires or needs. Perhaps he first learned of prayer as a means of getting something desired. This early idea of prayer was to attain some very high ends, such as happiness, usefulness, or peace of mind. Though this may be genuine prayer, surely one stands higher when he learns to pray out of a sense of love for others, or for some great end of God’s Kingdom. One doesn’t really know prayer until it becomes a means of communion with God–when the highest end sought is to know God for His own sake as Father, to talk with Him, to listen, and to accept the answer of love.

—Dwight A. Sharpe, San Antonio Express, San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 16, 1960.

Note: More quotations on Prayer can be found in this Hub: Sentence Sermons (Christian Inspiration) #1