By Sir Charles Bingley, Esq.

Preface to the reader: 

Near the commencement of the year I was approached, in conjunction with several well-known respected writers, by a literary acharya, who put forward a proposal that by our united endeavors, spread throughout the year in a division of months, we should thrust upon the world a series of essays that would undermine the fallen agencies of modern evils. 

To my dismay however, it would appear that only I and one or two others even have time to change the world (which is what was proposed); but insofar that I consider myself to have but lightly touched upon a subject so profound and important as to be an instrument of change in every Christian’s life, I do humbly beg the pardon of the appearance, for I too, did not rise to the challenge as well as I had intended to do. 

My first aspiration was but to inculcate into men’s minds the benefits of country living; then I shifted to the excellence of small creatures God has made, and ordained to be in our lives; but gradually I came to understand the most powerful thing I could do would be to spur even one soul on, and my own in the process, to a deeper life of communion with God in prayer. 

This essay will be divided into five sections: firstly, why we should pray, secondly, the benefits of prayer, thirdly, inquiries into our failure to do it, fourthly, the joy of waiting on God, and fifthly, worshiping Him in prayer. 

Section I

Why should we pray?

It is no light thing that man, in the indigence of his soul, steeped in original sin from the very moment of Adam’s fall, should fail to be in constant communion with his creator, as Adam was before his act of sin; but it seems yet a graver thing, that man, redeemed by Christ’s own blood, to a full and free adoption, should yet fail to be in constant communion with Him as our Savior, and God as our Father. 

To pray without ceasing might seem an onerous task, but it should be the greatest joy of our lives, for it means constant communion with God. And to the Christian, that is everything. What we heard in our cradles and know in our hearts is that prayer is essential to the Christian’s life; but to the Christian, it is not that alone. It is his lifeblood, it is his crowning joy, it is his delight, it is his greatest earthly pleasure. It is the nearest we can be to heaven. 

Section II

The Benefits and Efficacy of Prayer

They are innumerable. Look at the stars, and you will have their number. Count the answers you receive. They will be as multitudinous as the sand by the seashore. I lie not – I have even in great faithlessness begun to do so, and given up in gratitude; and when there is a petition you have not yet received, be sure that God is wiser, and will do all things better – which is the truest answer He could give. For God gives us every good thing we ask for, and infinitely more. 

But the greatest benefit as I see it is not in receiving; for truly scripture says it is more blessed to give than to receive. Prayer is an instrument of praise; adore God in your prayers, seek His face, not for some earthly benefit, but for the wonder of His grace flowing through your heart; tell Him all you know of Him, and pour out adoration in a spirit of gratitude. Seek Him in pain, and He will not hide His face from you. 

There is the greatest blessing to be derived from calling out to Him in such moments. No matter how small your trial, turn to Him instantly, and He will never fail. He is the strength of the weak, the solace of the lonely, the joy of the sorrowful, the rest of the weary. 

Furthermore, not the least of these benefits is that in praying for others, He melts our hearts in love towards them, however much we may have held against them previously; and in praying for ourselves, He changes our own hearts to be in accordance with His own holy will. 

Section III

Why do we fail to pray? 

Let us not be bashful. At least, I cannot be. How often at the end of a day, I kneel down to realize that all the words I said before that moment to God in prayer were vague repetitions, uncertain thoughts floating about in the chambers of my own earth-saturated head, wishes floating to outer space; that every time another prayed my heart had strayed, against my will, or rather, at the guiding impulse of my fallen will. 

There comes a sharp pang to think that all that day I had not once lifted my heart to Him, and a swift flow of repentance, granted by His grace. In light of which my question is this – why do we fail to pray? Are we too busy? Too weary? Too filled with the world? Too forgetful? 

As a premature old fogey with back problems who’s trying to write a book, weed a garden, and prepare for a month of dancing around the sphere of the globe like it was a coin made to be flipped at any moment for the sake of seeing which side comes up more frequently, I could say yes to all of those. But R.C. Sproul put it this way (I paraphrase): “We simply do not know how to pray. The one extra thing the disciples asked Jesus to expound upon was precisely this. They said, ‘Teach us to pray.’ And Jesus did not say ‘When you pray, pray this prayer’ – He said, ‘After this manner therefore pray ye.’” 

So study prayer, and ask for wisdom; simply ask Him how to pray. We have doubtless all heard the acronym ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. It is one of the things R.C. Sproul mentioned in his lectures on prayer, and it is worth noting he spent the most time talking about the first one. 

Section IV

Waiting On God

There are many facets to this well-known thought. Of course, when someone tells me to wait, I immediately feel consumed with burning impatience; but Anna says that’s because I’m a perverse creature. 

Waiting on God, however, is a major theme in scripture, and one that renders such valuable comfort and exhortation that it cannot safely be skipped over. Psalm 62:1 says “Truly my soul waiteth upon God; from Him cometh my salvation.” 

Waiting connotes silence; the whole verse exudes the richness of the psalmist’s prayer life. Isaiah 30: 18 says “And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him.” 

It gives an unspeakable confidence that our waiting cannot be in vain. God is more than the blessing; and our being kept waiting on Him is the only way for our learning to find our life and joy in Himself. Often – almost always, it costs an effort to wait on God. So use the forest near your house, the closet, the daily walk, the quiet moment, the busy moment. Go forth empty of all but this, and you will return full. 

There is no recipe for waiting on God, but rather it is a blessed exercise as indispensable to the living soul as exhaling and inhaling are to the living body. Write your prayers, say your prayers, live your prayers. 

Section V

Adoration 

And lastly, worship God in prayer. This does not mean our prayers have to be flowery or fancy, but our whole spirit, our whole demeanor, should be one of humble adoration. He saved us that we might spend eternity praising Him; let us begin now. 

To love God is to love talking to Him; ergo, to love prayer is to love Him. If we could look down the swirling worldwind of time through the capsule of prayer, what do you think we’d see? 

I think we would see immeasurable millions and unmeasurable myriads of Answered Prayers, a world transformed by the prayers of the saints. The truest way to change the world begins with prayer, and continues in it. 

R. C. Sproul rightly said, when asked if prayers changed God’s mind (I’m heavily paraphrasing): “The obvious answer is no. God does not change His mind. But He works through the prayers of His saints and ordains them from beginning to end.” 

There are just about four things that matter in life, the last of which is of undisputable momentousness: babies, squirrels, realizing the benefits of countryside living (what this paper was nearly all about), and leaving an indelible, ineradicable, ineffaceable mark on the world by unsparingly pouring forth your life of praise through your life of prayer. 

And because poetry is the breath of every thinking (and might I add English-speaking) soul, I do adduce a poem on the subject. Stir your heart up, my friend, and pray without ceasing. 

Waiting On God

Freda Hanbury

My soul, wait thou only upon God.” – Psalm 62:5
A God….which worketh for him that waiteth for Him.” – Isaiah 64:4

Wait only upon God; my soul, be still,
And let thy God unfold His perfect will,
Thou fain would’st follow Him throughout this year,
Thou fain with listening heart His voice would’st hear,
Thou fain would’st be a passive instrument
Possessed by God, and ever Spirit-sent
Upon His service sweet – then be thou still,
For only thus can He in thee fullfill
His heart’s desire. Oh, hinder not His hand
From fashioning the vessel He hath planned.
Be silent unto God, and thou shalt know
The quiet, holy calm He doth bestow 
On those who wait on Him; so shalt thou bear
His presence, and His life and light e’en where
The night is darkest, and thine earthly days
Shall show His love, and sound His glorious praise.
And He will work with hand unfettered, free,
His high and holy purposes through thee.
First on thee must that hand of power be turned,
Till in His love’s strong fire thy dross is burned,
And thou come forth a vessel for Thy Lord,
So frail and empty, yet, since He hath poured
Into thine emptiness His life, His love,
Henceforth through thee the power of God shall move
And He will work for thee. Stand still and see
The victories thy God will gain for thee;
So silent, yet so irresistible,
Thy God shall do the thing impossible.
Oh, question not henceforth what thou canst do;
Thou canst do nought. But He will carry through
The work where human energy failed,
Where all thy best endeavors had availed
Thee nothing. Then, my soul, wait and be still;
Thy God shall work for thee His perfect will.
If thou wilt take no less, His best shall be
Thy portion now and through eternity.

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