Prayer Meeting 2/5/2023

Prayer Life M.O.T.

About a year ago, well just short of a year ago, I did a two part teaching at our prayer meeting called ‘Our Lack Of Sustaining A Prayer Life.’ It was in two parts, drawing from the astounding teaching and challenge from one of my heroes of the faith Jonathan Edwards - known by some as the greatest philosopher since bible times.

For me, Edwards’ thinking is just so deep and yet so easy to comprehend. Especially for a church like ours that loves to go deep into the human condition of ourselves in order to overcome. Edwards and Hope United is a marriage both made in heaven and also made inches from Hell.

Well tonight, as it’s been almost a year, I thought we could visit it again and give us a spiritual M.O.T. Hence why I’ve called it ‘Prayer Life M.O.T.’ - to see what’s not working and what has worn out, and what’s stopped being maintained.

Of course, unlike a car we shouldn’t be getting in a worse state but better. But of course some oil may need changed, and some things may be neglected. Also, some will have problems due to careless driving, which will have caused some damage. Anyway, I don’t want to keep giving weak car metaphors. Else I will end up with the’ junk in the trunk’ statements and the like.

So let’s look again at this, and maybe also draw some new thoughts and lessons. I’m sure you’re going to love my initial questions (rhetorical of course), as we check out what’s still working, and what’s stopped after being convicted last year of it.

Edwards’ title for his two sermons (we mostly only covered one of them), was called a much more challenging title than mine. Do any of you remember his titles? – ‘Hypocrites Deficient In The Duty Of Prayer’. Before we go there, let us again draw from one of the puritan prayers. We will read from the ‘Valley Of Vision’ page 146 in the small leather one, and

page 81 in the paperback. It’s the prayer entitled ‘Purification’, and of course is anonymous. The words of the prayer are very much part of what I will be sharing tonight.

Lord Jesus, I sin - Grant that I may never cease grieving because of it, never be content with myself, never think I can reach a point of perfection. Kill my envy, command my tongue, trample down self. Give me grace to be holy, kind, gentle, pure, peaceable, to live for thee and not for self, to copy thy words, acts, spirit, to be transformed into thy likeness, to be consecrated wholly to thee, to live entirely to thy glory. Deliver me from attachment to things unclean, from wrong associations, from the predominance of evil passions, from the sugar of sin as well as its gall, that with self-loathing, deep contrition, earnest heart searching I may come to thee, cast myself on thee, trust in thee, cry to thee, be delivered by thee. O God, the Eternal All, help me to know that all things are shadows, but thou art substance, all things are quicksands, but thou art mountain, all things are shifting, but thou art anchor, all things are ignorance, but thou art wisdom. If my life is to be a crucible amid burning heat, so be it, but do thou sit at the furnace mouth to watch the ore that nothing be lost. If I sin wilfully, grievously, tormentedly, in grace take away my mourning and give me music; remove my sackcloth and clothe me with beauty; still my sighs and fill my mouth with song, then give me summer weather as a Christian.

If the prayer is anything to go by, its maybe not going to be a goosepimple ride tonight, but I hope fruitful. Here are some things we covered from Edwards last year:

Edwards’ scripture is from Job 27:10. Job is in the most tough of persecution, satanic attacks; the man has lost almost everything, yet he is holding fast to prayer and worship, and trust. Not just in good times but in all seasons. In verse 8-10 Job then challenges his so-called friends, and in turn all of us, in our seeking and continued devotion.

Job 27:8-10

8 for what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he may gain much, if God takes away his life? 9 will God hear his cry when trouble comes upon him? 10 will he delight himself in the almighty? Will he always call on God?

The main verse is verse ten and the second part: ‘will he always call on God?’ That is the question I ask tonight again. Are you always calling on God? Not just in trouble, not just when emotions are high, but always?

I said in my notes:

‘Will he always call on God?’ - now there is a challenge. The purpose here in these prayer meetings is not to help you to just get emotional and learn how to say good prayers. The purpose is to challenge us all to be people of prayer, people who are devoted to prayer, no matter whether we are at a prayer meeting, or in the car, or at home.

It’s easy to get someone to pray, it’s another thing to become a person of prayer. Johnathan Edwards, the great 18th century revival preacher, - states that the lack of prayer should ‘shock our peace’, but in order to not be convicted, we touch it ever so slightly after our initial devotion, to trick ourselves into faking our commitment.

Edwards writes:

We may continue to attend prayer meetings as long as we live, yet may never truly call on the name of the Lord. They are present only for the sake of their credit. They may be present at prayer meetings but have no prayer life of their own.

I said something in the first sermon, or teaching, I did on this by Edwards that I want to simply share word for word what I wrote:

Edwards says something that actually first made me laugh out loud, not in a humorous way, but in an astounded by the truth it way. He says:

If your own experience of the nature and tendency of your hope won’t convince you of your falseness of it, what will?

I then explained what Edwards was saying in the statement as this:

If you can convince yourself that you’re better then what you are, if you can justify your level of commitment at times, if you can, within yourself, do just enough to get by and show up enough to look the part; if that way of living, if those actions are not enough to convict you of your own hypocrisy and being fake, then nothing will. If you can keep lying to yourself, then no one else will be able to bring devotion to your life.

I often speak to people who are serial offenders of their flesh, who are experts at justifying it. And I used to get frustrated by it too much, because I thought what I said to them would get the penny to drop and they would see the folly of their carnal pursuit. But as Edwards says, if we can continue to convince ourselves and justify our actions, and your own experience isn’t enough to tell you that you’re a manipulator and liar, and your fake righteousness is false, then nothing else will work.

Edwards says:

How is your conduct consistent with loving God above all if you have not the spirit to love God above your dearest earthly friends, and your pleasant earthy enjoyments.

And there lies the issue with prayer - we have more love and desire to be loved by man, and care for the world, than for God Himself. Hence we don’t miss Him near as much as we miss man’s affection, or the worlds comforts.

I said this at the time:

Surely if our greatest joy is in the things of Lord and the Lord Himself, then that would be where we spend most our time and devotion. Yet we don’t, most of the time God gets the dregs of our time and our devotion. Prayer gets the token clock-in at the end of the day, or at times when we have a moment.

Edwards says:

It is the nature of love to be adverse to absence.

 I said in response to that:

Why do so many crave love from man but not intimacy with God? Well the main reason is that love from man satisfies the flesh. But the intimacy with God crucifies the flesh and satisfies the soul. However, intimacy with God first crucifies flesh before it stirs and fulfils the soul. Our flesh of course knows that, and truly does not want to go there.

Yes, we will pray. We often pray enough to appease guilt but not enough to change our hearts and desires, and obsessions. Edwards puts it this way - you will remember this as soon as I say it, or I hope you do. Edwards says we pray just enough not to ‘shock our peace’, or another way of putting it is: to pray just enough, say just enough, and do just enough to keep us from being truly convicted and/or confronted about our carnal pursuits, and lack of devotion.

Tonight hopefully we will learn a bit more as to why we won’t shock our peace. And by that we don’t mean true peace, but the fake peace of our old ways and carnal desires. This is why many don’t overcome. They will not allow prayer and devotion on a regular basis to convict them of their old habits and desires. They at any point won’t allow themselves to be convicted.

Edwards puts it simply when he says:

Sinning and prayer don’t go well together.

Edwards then adds this, which again almost made me laugh slightly. Not in a funny way but in an astounded again by the ‘depth of truth’ way. I don’t know why it makes me laugh or smile so much. Maybe it’s because it wipes the fake smile off our faces, and our soul cries ‘amen’. Let’s see if it wipes the smile off your faces. Edwards says that:

To keep the duty of prayer after we have given loose to his lusts, would tend very much to disquiet a man’s conscience. It would give advantage to his conscience to testify aloud to him. If he should come from his wickedness into the presence of God, immediately to speak to him, his conscience would as it were, fly in his face.

What capture by Edwards, isn’t it? Our sin would fly in our face and sober us up - hence why you won’t do it. This of course won’t make us consistent in prayer: it will make us consistent in quitting, and consistent in fits and starts. But as soon as our flesh arises and our carnal desires take over all bets are off.

On that note of being inconsistent, Edwards has another wonderful sermon I love, called ‘Wicked Men Inconstant With Themselves’. What a title, and I hate titles. But as soon as I wrote the word inconsistent, I thought of his other sermon. He says this in it, which ties in with this topic. About inconsistent men:

Their lusts have a greater hand in their judgements that they make of things, and by which they govern themselves.

Simply put, but not near as profound or hard hitting is my explanation of what Edwards is saying here: We allow our flesh to make the decisions and use them to direct our lives and our truth. This is another reason why we should always know the ‘God said to me’ stuff is a red herring.

But to the point - without consistent prayer we will create all manner of justification - and worse, simply keep pursuing what we should be killing. Again, in Edwards sermon on ‘Wicked Men Inconsistent With Themselves’ he says:

Reason tells them that it is well worthwhile for every man to deny himself outward pleasures for the good of his soul. But their governing opinion and judgement is contrary… …and that their pleasures and lusts are worth more benefit than they would obtain by seeking salvation.

Lastly, from the sermon on ‘Wicked Men Inconsistent With Themselves’, Edwards points out that even in seeking humility through humiliation, still some people hold onto their desires. Edwards says:

Men do in certain respects desire that a work of humiliation may be wrought in them, and yet are utterly opposed to humiliation. They do many things to be humbled, and pray that they may be brought off from their own righteousness…

He then adds the clincher:

…but they will by no means let it go.

This is why we need resolute, continued, persistent prayer. What will change that? What will bring change and consistency, and not hypocrisy? Edwards says this:

It is not likely that you will ever be constant and persevering in this duty, (prayer) until you shall have obtained a better principle in your heart.

A better principle in our hearts. First things first. ‘First seek the kingdom of God and all His righteousness’ (Matthew 6:33). Persevere. Edwards, as he starts to draw his two sermons to a close, talks much about perseverance. Scripture is wrought with calls to persevere in prayer. Paul’s letters are full of it. In one of the shortest verses in the bible Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

Verse 16: ‘Rejoice always’

Verse 17: ‘Pray without ceasing’

Cornelius in the book of Acts was known as a very faithful man. What qualities made him faithful?

Acts 10:1-2

¹ There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian regiment, ² a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.

He prayed to God always. Paul, in his writing to the Romans says:

Romans 12:12

rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

Steadfast in prayer. Edwards reminds the reader, and as it’s a sermon, the listener, that they need God’s provision. He says:

You stand in need of daily supplies from God. Without God you can receive no spiritual light nor comfort.

He adds:

Without God our souls will wither and pine away and sink into the most wretched state.

Don’t we know that ourselves? Such a pitiful state we see in even God’s people who neglect devotion and perseverance, and prayer. They deteriorate very quickly. Surely when we see such deterioration, yes we need to pray for them. But also it should draw us more to prayer and to seeking God for provision - knowing how quickly we become wretched.

Nothing helps us overcome and develop our relationship with God more than perseverance in prayer and communion with God. Its why Satan hates it so. Edwards ends his two sermons with what he calls two directions.

He first says:

Watch against the beginnings of neglect.

I love this, because it’s something we need to all to get better at. The beginning of neglect needs immediate action. We need to become aware of the patterns of neglect, and catch them early, lest we find it way harder to fix it. The flesh will gather momentum as will the spirit.

That’s worth writing down. The flesh will gather momentum, as will the Spirit. Don’t give the flesh the upper hand, by allowing neglect to gather steam. Prayer is a habit, so is neglecting prayer. Make sure you catch the neglect quick. Else you will be pushing a flat tyre up a hill, or stranded on a back road with no jack, or signal on your phone to call for help. I’m always, always alarmed when I see inconsistent church attendance. It becomes a habit, and that habit gathers momentum.

Lastly, Edwards last of two directions is:

Practice secret prayer.

Edwards asks us to speak to ourselves with our own mouths where we have lapsed in the area of secret prayer. Edwards then challenges young people in the faith by asking them about the company they keep, as it will have a great effect in their prayer life.

I would say that for us all. Bad company corrupts Good habits.

1 Corinthians 15:33

Do not be deceived: “evil company corrupts good habits.”

The more time you spend with faithless, worldly people the more you will neglect your prayer and spiritual life. Surely you know that, or we ought to learn that. If you’re being taught by a mature brother that your company is not good for you, trust me - they know. Take heed. By the way, that also means social media and phone.

Edwards says:

If you can’t deny that this is really the case, then if you seek the good of your souls, forsake these practices. If you value heaven more than little worldly diversions, forsake them.

How did your M.O.T. go? Fail? Pass? Dodgy pass? Major work to pass? A few things to pass? All of us will have advisories.

Amen.