AUGUST 2009

Theme: Fervent Prayer

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man

availeth much” (James 5:16).

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit  (Ephesians 6:18).

If it is the Lord’s will Elder Norvel Mann, pastor of Mount Zion P. B. Church, Ronceverte, WV

will be with us for the 6:30 pm service on Sunday August 2, 2009.

Come and be with us and pray that the Holy Spirit be with us in the meeting.

What True Prayer is ~ John Bunyan

“the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought ” (Rom. 8:26).

On Praying in the Spirit

“I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also”  (I Cor. 14:15).

Prayer is an ordinance of God, and that to be used both in public and private; yea, such an ordinance as brings those that have the spirit of supplication into great familiarity with God; and is also so prevalent in action, that it getteth of God, both for the person that prayeth, and for them that are prayed for, great things. It is the opener of the heart of God, and a means by which the soul, though empty, is filled. By prayer the Christian can open his heart to God, as to a friend, and obtain fresh testimony of God’s friendship to him.

What Prayer is

First What [true] prayer is. Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God hath promised, or according to the Word, for the good of the church, with submission, in faith, to the will of God. In this description are these seven things.

It is a SINCERE pouring out of the soul to God. Sincerity is such a grace as runs through all the graces of God in us, and through all the actings of a Christian…Part of the exercise of prayer is sincerity, without which God looks not upon it as prayer in a good sense. Then “ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13). The want of this made the Lord reject their prayers in Hosea 7:14, where he saith, “They have not cried unto me with their heart, [that is, in sincerity] when they howled upon their beds.” But for a pretence, for a show in hypocrisy, to be seen of men, and applauded for the same, they prayed…Thus, “The prayer of the upright is his delight” (Prov. 15:8).           

1.  And why must sincerity be one of the essentials of prayer which is accepted of God, but because sincerity carries the soul in all simplicity to open its heart to God, and to tell Him the case plainly, without equivocation; to condemn itself plainly, without dissembling; to cry to God heartily, without complimenting…Sincerity is the same in a corner alone, as it is before the face of the world…for it is the heart that God looks at, and that which sincerity looks at, and that which prayer comes from, if it be that prayer which is accompanied with sincerity.

2.  It is a sincere and SENSIBLE pouring out of the heart or soul. It is not, as many take it to be, even a few babbling, prating, complimentary expressions, but a sensible feeling there is in the heart. Prayer hath in it a sensibleness of diverse things; sometimes sense of sin, sometimes of mercy received, sometimes of the readiness of God to give mercy, &c.

i. A sense of the want of mercy, by reason of the danger of sin.

ii. Sometimes there is a sweet sense of mercy received; encouraging, comforting, strengthening, enlivening, enlightening mercy, &c. Thus David pours out his soul, to bless, and praise, and admire the great God for his loving-kindness to such poor vile wretches. “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.  Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psa. 103:1-5). And thus is the prayer of saints sometimes turned into praise and thanksgiving, and yet are prayers still…A sensible thanksgiving, for mercies received, is a mighty prayer in the sight of God; it prevails with Him unspeakably.

iii. In prayer there is sometimes in the soul a sense of mercy to be received. This again sets the soul all on a flame. This provoked Jacob, David, Daniel, with others—even a sense of mercies to be received—which caused them, not by fits and starts, nor yet in a foolish frothy way, to babble over a few words written in a paper; but mightily, fervently, and continually, to groan out their conditions before the Lord, as being sensible of their wants, their misery, and the willingness of God to show mercy (Gen. 32:10,11; Dan. 9:3,4).

3.  Prayer is a sincere, sensible, and an AFFECTIONATE pouring out of the soul to God. O! the heat, strength, life, vigour, and affection, that is in right prayer! “As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God” (Psa. 42:1). “I have longed after thy precepts” (Psa. 119:40). “I have longed for thy salvation” (ver 174). “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God” (Psa. 84:2). “My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times” (Psa. 119:20). Mark ye here, “My soul longeth,” it longeth, it longeth, &c. O what affection is here discovered in prayer! The like you have in Daniel. “O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God” (Dan. 9:19).…Alas! The greatest part of men make no conscience at all of the duty; and as for them that do, it is to be feared that many of them are very great strangers to a sincere, sensible, and affectionate pouring out their hearts or souls to God; but even content themselves with a little lip-labour and bodily exercise, mumbling over a few imaginary prayers…All this is too, too evident by the ignorance, profaneness, and spirit of envy, that reign in the hearts of those men that are so hot for the forms, and not the power of praying. Again, It is a pouring out of the heart or soul. There is in prayer an unbosoming of a man’s self, an opening of the heart to God, an affectionate pouring out of the soul in requests, sighs, and groans. “All my desire is before thee,” saith David, “and my groaning is not hid from thee” (Psa. 38:9). And again, “My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?...When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me” (Psa. 42:2,4). Mark, “I pour out my soul.” It is an expression signifying, that in prayer there goeth the very life and whole strength to God…This is the prayer to which the promise is made, for the delivering of a poor creature out of captivity and thralldom. “If from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Deut. 4:29).

            Again, It is a pouring out of the heart or soul TO GOD. This showeth also the excellency of the spirit of prayer. It is the great God to which it retires. “When shall I come and appear before God?” …Many in a wording way speak of God; but right prayer makes God his hope, stay, and all. Right prayer sees nothing substantial, and worth the looking after, but God. And that, as I said before, it doth in a sincere, sensible, and affectionate way.

            Again, It is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, THROUGH CHRIST. This through Christ must needs be added, or else it is to be questioned, whether it be prayer, though in appearance it be never so eminent or eloquent.

            Christ is the way through whom the soul hath admittance to God, and without whom it is impossible that so much as one desire should come into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth (John 14:6). “If ye shall ask anything in my name...whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13,14). This was Daniel’s way in praying for the people of God; he did it in the name of Christ. “Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake” (Dan. 9:17). And so David, “For thy name’s sake,” that is, for thy Christ’s sake, “pardon mine iniquity, for it is great” (Psa. 25:11). But now, it is not every one that maketh mention of Christ’s name in prayer, that doth indeed, and in truth, effectually pray to God in the name of Christ, or through him. This coming to God through Christ is the hardest part that is found in prayer. A man may more easily be sensible of his works, ay, and sincerely too desire mercy, and yet not be able to come to God by Christ. That man that comes to God by Christ, he must first have the knowledge of Him; “for he that cometh to God, must believe that he is” (Heb. 11:6). And so he that comes to God through Christ, must be enabled to know Christ. Lord, saith Moses, “show me now thy way, that I may know thee” (Exo. 33:13).

4.   Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate, pouring out of the heart or soul to God through Christ, by the strength or ASSISTANCE OF THE SPIRIT. For these things do so depend one upon another, that it is impossible that it should be prayer, without there be a joint concurrence of them; for though it be never so famous, yet without these things, it is only such prayer as is rejected of God. For without a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart to God, it is but lip-labour; and if it be not through Christ, it falleth far short of ever sounding well in the ears of God. So also, if it be not in the strength and assistance of the Spirit, it is but like the sons of Aaron, offering with strange fire (Lev. 10:1,2)…That which is not petitioned through the teaching and assistance of the Spirit, it is not possible that it should be “according to the will of God (Rom. 8:26,27).

5. Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart, or soul, to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Spirit, FOR SUCH THINGS AS GOD HATH PROMISED, &c., (Matt. 6:6-8). Prayer it is, when it is within the compass of God’s Word; and it is blasphemy, or at best vain babbling, when the petition is beside the book. David therefore still in his prayer kept his eye on the Word of God. “My soul,” saith he, “cleaveth to the dust; quicken me according to thy word.” And again, “My soul melteth for heaviness, strengthen thou me according unto thy word” (Psa. 119:25-28; see also 41, 42, 58, 65, 74, 81, 82, 107, 147, 154, 169, 170). And, “remember thy word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope” (ver 49). And indeed the Holy Ghost doth not immediately quicken and stir up the heart of the Christian without, but by, with, and through the Word, by bringing that to the heart, and by opening of that, whereby the man is provoked to go to the Lord, and to tell him how it is with him, and also to argue, and supplicate, according to the Word…

6. FOR THE GOOD OF THE CHURCH. This clause reacheth in whatsoever tendeth either to the honour of God, Christ’s advancement, or his people’s benefit. For God, and Christ, and his people are so linked together that if the good of the one be prayed for, to wit, the church, the glory of God, and advancement of Christ, must needs be included. For as Christ is in the Father, so the saints are in Christ; and he that toucheth the saints, toucheth the apple of God’s eye; and therefore pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and you pray for all that is required of you. For Jerusalem will never be in perfect peace until she be in heaven; and there is nothing that Christ doth more desire than to have her there. That also is the place that God through Christ hath given to her. He then that prayeth for the peace and good of Zion, or the church, doth ask that in prayer which Christ hath purchased with his blood; and also that which the Father hath given to him as the price thereof. Now he that prayeth for this, must pray for abundance of grace for the church, for help against all its temptations; that God would let nothing be too hard for it; and that all things might work together for its good, that God would keep them blameless and harmless, the sons of God, to his glory, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation.

7. And because, as I said, prayer doth submit TO THE WILL OF GOD, and say, Thy will be done, as Christ hath taught us (Matt. 6:10); therefore the people of the Lord in humility are to lay themselves and their prayers, and all that they have, at the foot of their God, to be disposed of by him as he in his heavenly wisdom seeth best. Yet not doubting but God will answer the desire of his people that way that shall be most for their advantage and his glory.

To Pray With the Spirit

SECOND. I will pray with the Spirit. Now to pray with the Spirit—for that is the praying man, and none else, so as to be accepted of God—it is for a man, as aforesaid, sincerely and sensibly, with affection, to come to God through Christ, &c.; which sincere, sensible, and affectionate coming must be by the working of God’s Spirit.

There is no man nor church in the world that can come to God in prayer, but by the assistance of the Holy Spirit. “For through Christ we all have access by one Spirit unto the Father” (Eph. 2:18). Wherefore Paul saith, “For we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts, knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Rom. 8:26,27).

“For we.” Consider first the person speaking, even Paul, and, in his person, all the apostles. We apostles, we extraordinary officers, the wise master-builders, that have some of us been caught up into paradise (Rom. 15:16; I Cor. 3:10; II Cor. 12:4). “We know not what we should pray for.”

“For we know not what we should pray for.” We know not the matter of the things for which we should pray, neither the object to whom we pray, nor the medium by or through whom we pray; none of these things know we, but by the help and assistance of the Spirit. Should we pray for communion with God through Christ? should we pray for faith, for justification by grace, and a truly sanctified heart? none of these things know we. “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God” (I Cor. 2:11). But here, alas! the apostles speak of inward and spiritual things, which the world knows not (Isa. 29:11).

Again, as they know not the matter, &c., of prayer, without the help of the Spirit; so neither know they the manner thereof without the same; and therefore he adds, “We know not what we should pray for as we ought”; but the Spirit helpeth our infirmities, with sighs and groans which cannot be uttered. Mark here, they could not so well and so fully come off in the manner of performing this duty, as these in our days think they can.

The apostles, when they were at the best, yea, when the Holy Ghost assisted them, yet then they were fain to come off with sighs and groans, falling short of expressing their mind, but with sighs and groans which cannot be uttered.

But here now, the wise men of our days are so well skilled as that they have both the manner and matter of their prayers at their finger-ends; setting such a prayer for such a day, and that twenty years before it comes.

“For we know not what we should pray for as we ought.” Mark this, “as we ought.” …But, saith Paul, we must pray as we ought; and this WE cannot do by all the art, skill, and cunning device of men or angels…Nay, further, it must be “the Spirit” ITSELF that helpeth our infirmities; not the Spirit and man’s lusts; what man of his own brain may imagine and devise, is one thing, and what they are commanded, and ought to do, is another.

First. Without the Spirit man is so infirm that he cannot, with all other means whatsoever, be enabled to think one right saving thought of God, of Christ, or of his blessed things…

Second. It must be a praying with the Spirit, that is, the effectual praying; because without that, as men are senseless, so hypocritical, cold, and unseemly in their prayers; and so they, with their prayers, are both rendered abominable to God (Matt. 23:14; Mark 12:40; Luke 18:11, 12; Isa. 58:2, 3). It is not the excellency of the voice, nor the seeming affection, and earnestness of him that prayeth, that is anything regarded of God without it. For man, as man, is so full of all manner of wickedness, that as he cannot keep a word, or thought, so much less a piece of prayer clean, and acceptable to God through Christ; and for this cause the Pharisees, with their prayers, were rejected.

Third. Nothing but the Spirit can show a man clearly his misery by nature, and so put a man into a posture of prayer…O the cursed hypocrisy that is in most hearts, and that accompanieth many thousands of praying men that would be so looked upon in this day, and all for want of a sense of their misery! But now the Spirit, that will sweetly show the soul its misery, where it is, and what is like to become of it, also the intolerableness of that condition. For it is the Spirit that doth effectually convince of sin and misery, without the Lord Jesus, and so puts the soul into a sweet, sensible, affectionate way of praying to God according to his word (John 16:7-9).

Fourth. If men did see their sins, yet without the help of the Spirit they would not pray. For they would run away from God…were it not for the Spirit. When a man is indeed sensible of his sin, it is a hard thing to persuade him to pray; for, saith his heart, “There is no hope” (Jer. 18:12),” it is in vain to seek God. I am so vile, so wretched, and so cursed a creature, that I shall never be regarded! Now here comes the Spirit, and stayeth the soul, helpeth it to hold up its face to God, by letting into the heart some small sense of mercy to encourage it to go to God, and hence it is called “the Comforter” (John 14:26).

Fifth. It must be in or with the Spirit; for without that no man can know how he should come to God the right way. Men may easily say they come to God in his Son: but it is the hardest thing of a thousand to come to God aright and in his own way, without the Spirit. It is “the Spirit” that “searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God” (I Cor. 2:10). It is the Spirit that must show us the way of coming to God, and also what there is in God that makes him desirable.

Sixth. Because without the Spirit, though a man did see his misery, and also the way to come to God; yet he would never be able to claim a share in either God, Christ, or mercy, with God’s approbation. O how great a task is it, for a poor soul that becomes sensible of sin and the wrath of God, to say in faith, but this one word, “Father!”…O! saith he, I dare not call him Father; and hence it is that the Spirit must be sent into the hearts of God’s people for this very thing, to cry Father: it being too great a work for any man to do knowing what it is to be a child of God and to be born again and to believe that the work of grace is wrought in him. This is the right calling of God Father; when in or with the Spirit, a man being made sensible of sin, and how to come to the Lord for mercy; he comes in the strength of the Spirit, and crieth Father. That one word spoken in faith, is better than a thousand prayers, as men call them, written and read, in a formal, cold, lukewarm way…

Seventh. It must be a praying with the Spirit if it be accepted, because there is nothing but the Spirit that can lift up the soul or heart to God in prayer: “The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord” (Prov. 16:1)…It is a great work for any man without the strength of the Spirit, and therefore this is one of the great reasons why the Spirit of God is called a Spirit of supplications, (Zech. 12:10), because it is that which helpeth the heart when it supplicates indeed to do it; and therefore saith Paul, “Praying with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18). And so in my text, “I will pray with the Spirit.” Prayer, without the heart be in it, is like a sound without life; and a heart, without it be lifted up of the Spirit, will never pray to God.

Eighth. As the heart must be lifted up by the Spirit, if it pray aright, so also it must be held up by the Spirit when it is up, if it continue to pray aright…The want of this is that which God complains of; that they draw nigh to him with their mouth, and honour him with their lips, but their hearts were far from him (Isa. 29:13; Eze. 33)…For, as for my heart, when I go to pray, I find it so loth to go to God, and when it is with him, so loth to stay with him, that many times I am forced in my prayers, first to beg of God that he would take mine heart, and set it on himself in Christ, and when it is there, that he would keep it there. Nay, many times I know not what to pray for, I am so blind, nor how to pray, I am so ignorant; only, blessed be grace, the Spirit helps our infirmities (Psa. 86:11).

Ninth. The soul that doth rightly pray, it must be in and with the help and strength of the Spirit; because it is impossible that a man should express himself in prayer without it…I mean, that it is impossible that the heart, in a sincere and sensible affectionate way, should pour out itself before God, with those groans and sighs that come from a truly praying heart, without the assistance of the Spirit. “The Spirit – helpeth our infirmities, - and maketh intercession for us with [sighs and] groanings which cannot be uttered” (Rom. 8:26).

That is but poor prayer which is only discovered in so many words. A man that truly prays one prayer, shall after that never be able to express with his mouth or pen the unutterable desires, sense, affection, and longing that went to God in that prayer.

The best prayers have often more groans than words: and those words are but a lean and shallow representation of the heart, life, and spirit of that prayer.

Tenth. It must be with the Spirit, or else as there will be a failing in the act itself…Prayer is an ordinance of God, that must continue with a soul so long as it is on this side glory. But, as I said before, it is not possible for a man to get up his heart to God in prayer; so it is as difficult to keep it there, without the assistance of the Spirit. And if so, then for a man to continue from time to time in prayer with God, it must of necessity be with the Spirit.

Christ tells us, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (Luke 18:1)…A man without the help of the Spirit cannot so much as pray once, much less continue, without it, in a sweet praying frame, and in praying, so to pray as to have his prayers ascend into the ears of the Lord God of Sabaoth.

Jacob did not only begin, but held it: “I will not let thee go, unless thou bless me” (Gen. 32). So did the rest of the godly (Hosea 12:4). But this could not be without the spirit of prayer.

Excerpts from Prayer

Only Trust the Savior’s Promise ~ Fanny Crosby

When our way is hedged about us, and our cross too great to bear,
How the soul to God is lifted, thro’ the wondrous power of prayer.

O ’tis prayer that brings a blessing, when our hope on Him is stayed;
Prayer that gives us joy and comfort, tho’ the answer be delayed.

Refrain

Only trust the Savior’s promise, do His will, whate’er it be;
Then our faith will hear Him saying, “Come and find a rest in me.”

O the joy of sweet communion, when we know that He is near,
When we feel His love within us, casting out our every fear.

Why, O why should we be troubled, when the Lord Himself declares,
If we call on Him believing, He will grant our fervent prayers.

Fervent Prayer! ~Andrew Gray (1634-1656)

Christ was much in prayer, and will you neglect prayer or pray very rarely? Prayer is the ordinary exercise of every child of God. Why do you not pray? Are you so rich, that you need no supplies of grace; or so careless, that you desire them not? Oh, learn of Christ to be frequent, and fervent, and reverent in prayer! To be frequent, Christ prayed early and late, night and day. "In the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed" (Mk. 1:35). Yes, "He continued all night in prayer to God" (Lk. 6:12). Did Christ spend nights in prayer, and will you not spend hours in prayer? Why do you pray by fits, and not constantly? Why are you so seldom with God, pouring out your hearts to Him?

Are you afraid of coming to God too often? You may come too seldom, but you can never come too often to God. Is there not occasion for prayer to God early and late? Are there not sins early and late to be pardoned, mercies early and late to be procured, mischiefs early and late to be averted, duties early and late to be performed, afflictions early and late to be endured, and temptations early and late to be broken? Now, whence comes your health and strength? Is it not from heaven? And how does it come, but by prayer? Oh above all things, be much in seeking God! You have the very key of heaven, if you have the gift and grace of praying.

Learn of Christ to be fervent; Christ's prayers were earnest and fervent. "And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly" (Lk. 22:44). Did Christ pray fervently, and will you pray slightly, coldly, drowsily, as if you were asleep, or as if you cared not much whether you prayed or not? By this you expose yourselves to the eminent danger of losing your prayers. Cold prayers speak of denial. They are but carcasses of duty, carnal and sinful services which the Lord detests, and will never accept. The greatest liveliness suits us, when speaking in the ears of the living God. Luther was so ardent in prayer, they who stood under his window where he stood praying, might see his tears falling and dropping down. Bishop Latimer, in his prayers, used constantly to beg that the God of mercy would restore His gospel to England once again. He often reiterated, and with such ardency as if he had seen God before him and had spoken to Him face to face. "I care not how long or how short thy prayers be (said Johan Picus, Earl of Mirand, to his nephew) but let them be ardent, and rather interrupted and broken between with sighs, than drawn out with a continual number of words." The more earnest you are in prayer, the more you resemble Christ "who in the days of His flesh, he had offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears" (Heb. 5:7).

Prayer, The Soul’s Desire ~ James Montgomery ( 1771-1854)

Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire unuttered or expressed

The motion of a hidden fire that trembles in the breast.

Prayer is the simplest form of speech that infant lips can try;

Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach the Majesty on high.

Prayer is the contrite sinner’s voice returning from his way;

While angels in their songs rejoice and cry, “Behold, he prays!”

O Thou by whom we come to God, the life, the truth, the way;

The path of prayer Thyself hast trod; Lord, teach us how to pray!

The Need and Results of Fervent Prayer ~ Leonard Davis

It is written for all of God’s children to “confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). This doesn’t seem to require too much of us personally upon reading it. View the words a little closer and understand what James really expects. He said to “confess…and pray that ye may be healed.” Do you see a fork in the road that James purposely points us to? The one direction leads us to consider all the temporal, body ailments, while the other leads us to consider the spiritual aspects. Based upon the words, “…prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Prov. 28:13).

Confess your faults is to acknowledge that one has faults. Some may find this very hard to do, that is admit personal flaws. God had a purpose for every wordto us in the Scriptures so there is a purpose in these words of James. He was viewing the necessity of bonding with one another in a Christian attitude and so doing we find it is very soothing for the soul. James' sense of steering Christians toward maintaining communication thru confession tends to humble the soul into more watchfulness of ones ways. Of course we wish their friends, especially our kindred in Christ, to be prosperous and healthy. We are not nearly so quick to boast when we’ve humbled ourselves before our brothers and sisters in Christ and much less acute in our offenses toward our Lord and Savior. All the more, as we approach the Throne of Mercy it must be in a passionate sense of humility, for we should realize that the Lord knows our need even before we ask. He searches the very depths of our hearts. James did not ask that we confess our faults to the elders of the church or leaders amongst the elders, but to our brothers and sisters in Christ. When this is done, we feel a sense of warmth for one another when we pray in their behalf, that they may be healed in spirit and soul.

A long prayer does not reflect a fervent prayer, but a fervent prayer suggests a divine energy in the supplication made before God. We are to concede our shortcomings one to another, admitting we fall short of letting each other know our zealous concern for them. If our words injure another and we neglect to make amends, then we reflect a state of spiritual sickness. Our duty is to maintain a healthy spirit of prayer for one another, promoting a calmness and peacefulness among God’s children then we can expect God’s blessings to be upon His children. We must always be mindful of the spiritual conditions that we can find ourselves in. The Lord has said that we can be sick in spirit and even dead in spirit, when we fail to express our love one to another as the Apostle Paul stresses in his epistles. For example, “But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another” (1Thes. 4:9). When we confess our sins and our faults, we demonstrate repentance that honors our Savior. King David said, “I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgivest the iniquity of my sin” (Ps. 32:5). Notice that David said he had not hid his iniquity. It is hard to fellowship with one another and open up our hearts when we are afraid what may be discovered or reflected in our words to one another. When we confess, a judgment ensues—a divine judgment expected but tendered with mercy. In Jeremiah 3:13 God said for us to “acknowledge our iniquity.” When you freely speak one to another concerning your fears and doubts and their hindrence upon you, you will discover a feeling as if a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders—a comfort for the mind and soul, no longer the dread of confession and it is much easier now to fight temptations and sin that lingers therein. The commentator Manton James expressed this view of confession:

Confession is an act of mortification. It is as if it were the vomit of the soul; it breeds a dislike of the sweetest morsels when they are found in what is loathsome. Sin is sweet when we commit it but bitter when we remember it.

We find that our dislike for sin is much greater when it is brought before our eyes in confession thereof before one another and to our Lord and Savior. One must first recognize his own shortcomings and failures before he can acknowledge them in confession. David said in Psalm 51:3, “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.” Have you ever heard the old addage that, “Confession is good for the soul?” Do you know why? Have you given it any thought?

One of the hardest things to do is admit or concede wrong by your actions or words, and that you fell way short of spiritual brotherhood. The old carnal nature doesn’t want to admit, much less confess that it was wrong in anything. How then can you seek pardon if you don’t concede to the error of your ways? How can you find peace when you are at war within yourself or with your brother and ignore the word of God by refusing to acknowledge and confess your sins? Confession comes forth only when an intense emotional owning up to the fact that you indeed have sinned against God. David said in Psalm 32:2, “Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no quile.” This is the happy and healthy spirit that we yearn for. We must pray for repentance and then ask pardon from the Lord. You may say, I have admitted my sin and conceded to being at fault, but no heart-felt comfort results. Did you approach the throne of God as you should, with an open heart and clear mind, pleading forgiveness of sin?

Once again we see David, by the influence of the Holy Spirit, showing us the way of the Lord. In Psalm 119:26, we read “I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.” Notice the ending of this verse? We don’t approach the throne of God in prayer asking for pardon; then go out and continue to sin. We must desire the way of the Lord, indicating that we have a yearning for those things which are a comfort to the soul. The sins that wound the soul and bring sickness unto the conscience are of particular concern here. How can we offer advise and comfort to our brothers and sisters when we have never traversed this pathway? “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9). “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults” (Psalm 19:12). “And many that believed came and confessed and showed their deeds” (Acts19:18). What does this mean to us? It means we need to confess to the Lord and each other our shortcomings and faults. For we understand that in this carnal nature we are prone to err and need the grace and mercy of our Lord as well as the brotherhood of the church. How often are we to confess and seek pardon? The Lord tells us in Luke 17:4, “and if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.” Let us approach the Lord in fervent prayer with thanksgiving of heart for our brothers and sisters. Let us make our supplications known unto God, rejoicing in hope, being patient in tribulation, acknowledging that we are sojourners here in this low land of sin and sorrow, looking heavenwardly to the promise of that eternal home with our Lord and Savior. AMEN & AMEN