LET GOD BE TRUE

CHAPTER XII

THE WAY TO GOD
THROUGH PRAYER

IT SEEMS to be the general course in this upside-down, unhappy world to take the good things for granted, to drift along the line of least resistance, and then, when unfortunate circumstances arise, to seek relief by resorting to prayer. Then, if the prayers are not immediately answered, the feeling exists that the Lord has fallen down on the job. But the fact that prayers for health, peace and prosperity go unanswered, even when addressed in sincerity to a God believed to be the Almighty, causes thinking persons to pause and give serious thought to this important matter. Seeking the right way, they ask: How should we pray? To whom should prayer be addressed? Are there any special requirements for imperfect men to reach the Almighty? Indeed, why pray at all? The answers to these questions, and many more of equal importance, are found in the Bible, the great Textbook of those who would be heard in prayer. Since all life depends upon the Creator, it is mandatory for those who desire to live to know how to reach

Him in prayer, how prayer should be used, and what it can accomplish.

² Prayer is not a new thing to the human race. It early became apparent to righteously disposed men that many problems that arose in their lives could not be solved by their own efforts. Hence it was that Jeremiah wrote: "0 LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." (Jeremiah 10:23) The righteous man Abel was probably the first to realize this. He offered to God an acceptable sacrifice, undoubtedly accompanied by words of supplication and praise. Abel was followed by many others who sought God through prayer. Among them was the distressed David. When hemmed in and sought after by his enemies, he cried, "Hear my prayer, 0 LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness." (Psalm 143:1) And when God delivered him, David uttered words which are a comfort to us now, saying, "The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him ... in truth." (Psalm 145:18) Jonah, in the darkness of the belly of a great fish, was certainly one who realized his own inability to escape from a seemingly hopeless situation. When, repentantly, "Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly ... the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry

land." (Jonah 2:1,10) Men today must realize their dependence upon the Lord.

³ It is not necessary to assume some special pose or position when praying. Certainly it is fitting to kneel when seeking the Lord in prayer, as Daniel insisted upon doing before he was thrown to the lions, for such a posture shows due humiliation. Paul said, "I bow my knees unto the Father" (Ephesians 3:14); but when he further stated, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication" (Ephesians 6:18), he could hardly have meant that he thought it necessary to remain always in a kneeling position. Jesus himself told his disciples, "And when ye stand praying, forgive ..." (Mark 11: 25); and on other occasions God's servants "bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground". (Nehemiah 8:6) It is not the position that matters. One may pray while in his bed at night, while at a meal, or while going about his daily tasks.

⁴ However, let it be noted that it is Jehovah, not some strange heathen god, who is able to thus answer the prayers of His servants. An outstanding example in proof of this is found in chapter 18 of 1 Kings, wherein the prophets of the heathen god Baal entreated their god repeatedly, but in vain, to bring fire down out of the heavens. Even though they prayed from morning until night, Baal was unable to an-

swer. Then the prophet Elijah prayed unto the true God, Jehovah, 'who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think' (Ephesians 3:20), and Jehovah answered by sending down fire which completely consumed the sacrifice, even though it had been purposely wetted down to guard against any trickery.

⁵ It is Jehovah who is able to hear the prayers of men, his powers of perception being such that he is able to understand the very thoughts of the heart. When in captivity, Nehemiah sadly thought of the downtrodden state of the walls of Jerusalem. He was interrupted by the king whom he served as cupbearer, and who demanded to know the reason for Nehemiah's sadness. Before making known his desire to repair the walls, 'Nehemiah prayed to the God of heaven' (Nehemiah 2:4), and although the prayer was inaudible to the king, it was heard and acted upon by God. It is to Him that all men of flesh must come if they would cease being among those who 'ask, and receive not, because they ask amiss'. (James 4:3) As well stated by David, "0 thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come." — Psalm 65: 2.

⁶ But, since all flesh is imperfect and sinful, how can anyone approach unto a perfect and righteous God? The Bible clearly states (Romans 3:10), "There is none righteous, no, not one"; and then, at Proverbs 15: 29, "The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the pray-

er of the righteous." If it is only the prayers of the righteous that are heard, and there are none who are righteous, then whose prayers are heard? Those men whose entreaties to Jehovah were heard and answered as shown throughout the Hebrew as well as the Greek Scriptures, all Lad something in common which made their communication with God possible. Without exception they had an unshakable faith in the existence of Jehovah, and in his power and willingness to aid those who sought his ways. They believed him capable of fulfilling his promises, regardless of how impossible such might have seemed from a human standpoint; and because of this belief, God counted them righteous. Thus it was that when Abraham's faith strengthened him to believe that God would give him a son in his old age, God "counted it to him for righteousness". (Genesis 15:6) Faith is based upon knowing God's Word.

⁷ In God's due time he sent his only begotten Son, Christ Jesus, who gave up his life that it might serve as a ransom to redeem mankind from sin. Hence, to those who availed themselves of this loving provision, a new approach to God in prayer was opened up, the only avenue of approach now available to man. This was indicated when Jesus said, "No man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14: 6) Religious arguments to the contrary, this automatically bars any prayers from reaching Jeho-

vah by way of a "back door"; whether it be through the pope at Rome, or an innumerable list of "saints" or, yes, even through Mary the mother of Jesus. Not one scripture indicates that prayers should be addressed through any of these. Jesus said: "If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." — John 14:14.

WHY NOT HEARD

⁸ Little wonder it is, then, that so many of the prayers of the peoples and the nations fail to achieve any results, when they refuse to use the only avenue of approach that Jehovah has provided. But there are other reasons for the rejection of their prayers by God. While he is ever ready to hear the prayers of those who seek to do his will, he takes no pleasure in the prayers of the wicked or those who turn their faces from obeying his righteous laws. "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." (Proverbs 28: 9) Into this class must come those religious clergymen who ignored God's law, "Thou shalt not kill," and uttered long prayers that the nation in which they happened to be living might be most successful at taking life. Does Jehovah favor one of such contending sides? "When ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood." — Isaiah 1:15.

⁹ The disciples of Jesus realized the impor-

tance of prayer and asked him to teach them how to pray. Jesus gave instructions that are indispensable to the Christian today. (Luke 11:1-4) As we consider these instructions it should be our desire to conform ourselves to them, even though we might have to change from our present manner of prayer. Some instructions are found in Matthew chapter 6. Said Jesus, "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." When Jesus here instructed his followers to pray in secret he was very forcibly pointing out the folly of making public prayers solely for the purpose of being seen by men and receiving their admiration and praise. Since most prayers for victory, peace and prosperity are spread abroad in high-sounding, formal language over the radio and in the newspapers, it is obvious that they are for the purpose of calling the attention of men to the ones offering the prayers. They receive the reward they seek, the plaudits of men. God hears them not nor does he act on their behalf.

¹⁰ It would not be correct to assume from

Jesus' words that any prayers offered outside the privacy of one's room would be hypocritical, however. Jesus himself prayed otherwise on numerous occasions, and he who set the perfect example would not have done so had it been improper. He prayed within the hearing of others, not to call attention to himself, but rather to give a witness to the glory of God's name and kingdom. Hence, when Jesus offered public acknowledgment to God before he fed the five thousand (Matthew 14:19), when he prayed in the presence of his disciples on numerous occasions, and when they in turn prayed publicly for the purpose of enlightening others (Acts 1:14), neither he nor they were interpreting Jesus' words, "enter into a closet," to mean that prayers must always be said out of the sight and hearing of all others. As to prayer audible to others Jesus said to God: "I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by 1 said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me." — John 11: 42.

¹¹ "But when ye pray," Jesus further instructed his disciples, "use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." The heathen Lamas and Buddhists employed a prayer wheel, a hollow drum into which prayers were put, and each time the

wheel was turned the prayers contained in it were supposed to be effective. Today, millions follow the same routine with rosaries and oft-repeated prayers from prayer books. Those sincerely desiring to pray in harmony with God's will, and perceiving that such a practice is exactly what Jesus referred to, will gladly obey his injunction: "Use not vain [needless] repetitions, as the heathen do ... be not ye therefore like unto them." They will give heed to his further instructions.

MODEL PRAYER

¹² His next words set forth a model prayer; not one to be glibly repeated without thought of its meaning or contents, but one that demonstrates to whom prayer should be addressed, and for what, properly, a Christian should pray. He told them to pray after this manner: 'Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Abandon us not to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' — Matthew 6: 9-13.

¹³ This model prayer is unselfish in every respect. In addressing God as "Our Father" it is recognized that there are others who are children of the Most High and the thoughts

of the one praying are taken away from his personal desires. Furthermore, it is indicated that those thus praying have availed themselves of the ransom provided by Christ Jesus and have become spiritual sons of God. A remnant of these sons are still upon the earth. Joined together with them since A.D. 1918 is an ever-increasing multitude of men of goodwill. These may also properly address Jehovah as "Our Father", for the reason that during the thousand-year reign of Christ they become the earthly children of the Life-giver Christ Jesus, and hence are technically in the position of being "grandchildren" of God. In Scripture the grandfather is often referred to as father.

¹⁴ Since the vindication of Jehovah's name and sovereignty is the foremost doctrine of the Bible, his name and kingdom find first place in the model prayer. Even though the Kingdom has already been established in the heavens, it has yet to come against and completely destroy Satan's entire world of wickedness. Until such time, the servants of God will continue to pray for its coming. While such things as food and shelter are necessary for life, requests for these things take a secondary place. It is permissible to ask for them in amounts sufficient to take care of the daily needs, and they should be received with thanks to Jehovah, who knows our every need even before we ask.

¹⁵ "Thy will be done," said Jesus. World lead-

ers selfishly pray that the Lord help them to put across their personal schemes for dominating the world, and in this the clergy assist with their prayers for victory. At no time did Jesus ever pray for the success or continuance of any of the nations of this world, but, exactly to the contrary, he said, "I pray for them [his followers]: I pray not for the world." (John 17: 9) What does it matter if an entire nation selects a 'Day of Prayer' and unitedly requests that the will of that nation be recognized and followed by God? or of what value if a 'Family of Nations' is brought about and God's blessings asked upon the arrangement? Mere volume of prayers or numbers have no effect on the matter. Prayers not in harmony with God's will are never heard by him. But if one of his faithful creatures makes proper use of prayer, saying, "Not my will, but thine, be done," or says, as did the beloved David, "Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God" (Psalm 143:10), the prayer not only will reach unto the lofty throne of Jehovah, but will also be acted upon favorably. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." — James 5:16.

¹⁶ In harmony with Jesus' instructions, one prays that his trespasses (sins) be forgiven. This cannot mean that one can willfully pursue a wicked course and, by simply repeating these words, be absolved of any further responsibility for the past and be free to repeat such wick-

edness as opportunity affords. This prayer is designed solely for those who sincerely endeavor to follow the instructions of the Lord, but who trespass his righteous requirements because of being imperfect and hence unable to follow a perfect course of action. "Ask, and ye shall receive [forgiveness]," said Jesus. (John 16:24) The trespasses are forgiven through Christ Jesus, and the sins are cleansed away by his blood. But to be forgiven one's trespasses by God's mercy, one must be merciful to those trespassing against one and must forgive them in a Godlike manner. "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."  — Matthew 5: 7; 6:14,15.

¹⁷ Jehovah is never guilty of tempting His servants to sin, but all temptation comes from the evil one, Satan. The expression "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" might better read, 'Abandon us not to temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' (See Matthew 6:13, Diaglott and A.S.V.) Without Jehovah's loving guidance and protection his servants would be at the mercy of the adversary the Devil, who, "as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8) Jehovah does not abandon them to the power of the tempter and his temptation, but invites them to pray to Him for succor in time of need. The added words at Matthew 6:13, "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and

the glory, for ever. Amen," being spurious, are omitted from all modern Bible translations.

¹⁸ When righteous Noah came forth from the ark after the waters of the flood had receded, his first act was to build an altar and offer up sacrifices and prayer to Jehovah in thankfulness for the deliverance of himself and his family. To God, Noah's prayer and acceptable sacrifice were as a "sweet savour". (Genesis 8: 21) Now, just prior to Armageddon, faithful servants of the Lord are going from city to city and extending a gracious invitation to all who will hear. And what is that invitation? Words prophetic, found at Zechariah 8: 21, 22, give the answer to that question, saying: "And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem [New Jerusalem, His Theocratic Government], and to pray before the LORD." Would you be among these "many people" who "seek the LORD of hosts" and who then, as pictured by Noah and his family, survive Armageddon's storm to offer up 'sweet-savoured' prayers to Jehovah throughout eternity? If so, abandon the foolish and repetitious prayers of this dying old world, and both pray for and always seek first God's kingdom by his Son, Christ Jesus.