“Call unto Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, that you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3
Dear Ones:
The apostle Paul writes to the Roman Christians on the subject of prayer: “…for we know not what we should pray for as we ought.” (8:26) Just before Jesus fed the five thousand men, who were in a “desert” place, He asked Philip: “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” (Jn. 6:5) Scripture then tells us that, “…He said this to prove, or test, him: for He Himself knew what He would do.” The point here is that Philip did NOT know what the Lord was going to do, but in obeying Him, he would discover it. When the Lord took Ezekiel into the valley of bones, and showed him how many and how dry (lifeless) they were, he then asked Ezekiel: “Can these bones live?” (37:3) The response of Ezekiel was the honest and true one: “O Lord, Thou knowest.” In other words, “Lord, you alone know what YOU will do.” So, where does prayer begin? Most certainly it’s beginning is found in the answer to the request: “Lord, teach us to pray.”
Where did prayer begin for Elijah? How did God teach him to pray? It had not rained in Israel for three and a half years because God had declared that this would be so. However, in the Lord’s perfect time, “…the word of the Lord came Elijah, saying, “Go, show thyself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.” (1 Kings 18:1) The eventual, and effectual, prayer for rain that Elijah would make on Mount Carmel, began with this word from the Lord, the revelation of what HE would do. Prayer begins with God, looking up to see what He will do, what He would have us pray for. This is certainly part of the reason for which the “Lord’s Prayer” begins with: “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.” There is first the recognition of God as our Father, that one who alone, and yet, wholly provides for all of our need. The greatness and wonder of this Father is seen as He is in HEAVEN. Immediately, we are transported heavenward to see Him, sitting upon His throne, in power and authority…and yet, looking down on us in His mercy and love. Does He desire to reveal to us His will, His purpose and plan, His vision of what He desires to do? Most certainly. We see this by the words of the Lord Jesus, which follow in the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done; in earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10) It is inconceivable that God would want us to pray, and not to know His will, and that which pertains to the coming of His kingdom on this earth. And how are we to know it? Paul wrote to the Corinthian church the following words: “I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also.” (1 Cor. 14:15) What does he mean by this? The spirit of a man is that God-given capacity, that very window of the soul open to God, by which he communes with God. This communion is spiritual in nature, as it is by the Holy Spirit. Prayer is thus made in our spirits, our hearts, under the control and inspiration of God’s Spirit. There is also the aspect of praying with the “understanding.” Elijah prayed with the understanding because he received the knowledge of the will of God…God told him He was going to do. The fact that Elijah KNEW what God was going to do, because He had revealed it to him, gave to him the conviction and perseverance to continue to pray in faith seven times, until his servant would see a small cloud arising out of the sea. Then he knew that the answer had come.
Dear Father, give us grace to seek Thee, and wait upon Thee, for a clear understanding of what You desire to do, either in a circumstance or in a life. Strengthen us to articulate precisely our prayer, and persevere, until we see Your answer. We thank Thee, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad