Prevalent Prayer
By Francis Wayland
President of Brown University
(1796 - 1865)“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7).
You must all have observed, my brethren, the importance which the Scriptures attach to the subject of prayer. We are exhorted to pray always, lifting up holy hands without wrath or doubting. We are encouraged in all things, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, to make our wants known unto God. It is the intention of our Father in Heaven that our lives should be a continual prayer, that in all our concerns, whether great or small, we should ask His direction, expecting His blessing, and return to Him without ceasing our tribute of grateful adoration. It is our privilege to live ever in intimate communion with God; so that the spiritual intercourse between us and the Creator should be as unlimited and as incessant as our dependence upon Him.
In the New Testament this subject assumes a new and even more interesting aspect. Sinners might well shrink back from approaching a God of infinite holiness. From the abyss of our moral degradation, it might seem presumptuous to lift up our eyes to the place where His honor dwelleth. But the gospel reveals to us an atoning sacrifice, an all-prevailing intercessor, who has purchased our pardon, through whose merits we are invited to draw near unto God. Approaching the mercy-seat in His name, we may cast behind us our own unworthiness; and pleading the atoning sacrifice of God manifest in the flesh, ask for all that we need, in the full assurance that God will hear us for the sake of the Beloved. We thus have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He hath consecrated for us. Such is the new relation in which we stand to God, the Judge of all, in consequence of the death and sacrifice of His well-beloved Son.
But more than this: God has, in the most explicit manner, assured us that He will answer our prayers. It is not needful for me here to pause and inquire about the manner in which the fulfillment of this promise may be reconciled with the doctrine of the divine decrees; or with the truth that God governs the universe by general laws. God has declared that He never disregards the feeblest supplication of the least of His children. Faith asks for no firmer reliance than the Word of the unchanging God. Our Lord has said to us, “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father...” (Luke 11:9,13) in Heaven give good things to them that ask Him? “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you...” (John 16:23). The Scriptures clearly teach, that whatsoever we ask for, under the conditions which God has revealed, will be granted to us, not indeed according to the measure of our unwise desires, but the measure dictated by omniscient knowledge and infinite love.
I need not remind you, that the Word of God is filled with examples of answers to prayer, for every conceivable blessing. Our great High Priest Himself offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears. The prayers of nations have often prevailed to avert a national calamity. The prayers of individuals, such as Moses and Samuel and David, have been answered in the salvation of a whole people from pestilence and utter destruction. The prayers of saints for temporal as well as spiritual mercies, for themselves, for each other, and for the people of God, have been abundantly answered in time past, and they will be answered in time to come, unless the Spirit of inspiration has taught us to believe a lie. Our Lord places this subject in the strongest light when He says, “... If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20). It may be said, and said truly, that this language is figurative. But though it be figurative, it must mean something; and it can mean nothing, if it does not teach, that things utterly beyond the power of natural causes, are possible to the prayer of humble, earnest, confiding faith.
Such is the teaching of the Word of God, and we believe it all to be true; but how does it correspond with the facts which are everywhere transpiring around us. We believe it to be true, but we most commonly act as if it were false. We generally pray with but little expectation that our prayers will really be answered, and too frequently justify our unbelief by the supposition that some change must have occurred in the manner of the divine dispensations. We take if for granted that we can not expect God to do at this time as He did on the day of Pentecost, and in the time of the apostles. We have been praying for centuries for the conversion of the world, yet the world is not converted. We pray for a revival in our churches, but our churches are not revived. We pray for an increase of piety in our own souls, but we continue immersed and steeped in worldliness. We pray for the conversion of our children, but they grow up without God in the world. How shall we account for all this? Has God ceased to be the unchangeable God? Is not Christ Jesus the same yesterday, today, and forever? Are not His promises, as of old, yea and amen? Hath He said and will He not do it, hath He spoken and will He not make it good?
Such questions as these may perhaps find the elements of a solution in the words of the text. We here find an explicit and universal assurance, that the prayers of the people of God will be answered. With this is connected the condition by which this assurance is limited. The promise is, “...ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done....” The condition is, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you....”
Let us consider first the promise, and secondly, the condition.
I. The promise is, “Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
The first thing which strikes us in reading these words is their universality. The grant which they contain is as absolute as language can make. “Ask what ye will...,” there is no limit as to the objects of prayer. It is like the saying of Christ to the Syrophenician woman, “...Be it unto thee even as thou wilt” (Matthew 15:28). “...It shall be done....” The promise is without a peradventure. It is fixed as the ordinances of God. It is as definite as the promise to Noah, “While the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22). I do not see how we can escape from the plain and literal meaning of the words even if we desired it.
But if this be the case, we naturally ask, is there no restriction in the application of this promise. It was addressed originally to the apostles. Were not they the only persons to whom this assurance was given? This is evidently an important inquiry, for on the answer to it depends our personal interest in the whole matter. We must seek for the truth here, not by attempting to harmonize the words with any theory of our own, but simply by examining the context for ourselves.
We ask then, was our Lord addressing His hearers as apostles, or merely as disciples who stood in the same relation to Him as we do at this moment? Observe the preceding verses. “I am the vine, ye are the branches...” (John 15:5). Were the apostles the only branches of the vine? Were they the only members of the body of which Christ is the head? “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Is this true of the apostles alone, or of every believer? In the verse immediately preceding the text, it is said, “If a man, (not an apostle) abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, ...and men gather them and cast them into the fire” (John 15:6). This is certainly a general sentiment. It is as true of you and me, as it was of the eleven apostles. Then follow the words of the text. “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7). Our Lord proceeds, in the next verse, to say, “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples,” not, my apostles. We can not therefore give to these words a restricted meaning, without doing violence to the whole spirit of the passage, and setting at defiance the plainest principles of interpretation. We must admit that they announce, not a special but a general law of the divine dispensation. But in the laws of God’s moral government, we and the apostles, and all other men stand precisely on a level. We are authorized therefore in taking this promise just as it stands, and receiving it as our own, just as much as the apostles to whom it was originally given.
II. Let us now, in the second place, examine the conditions of this wonderful promise. “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you....”
What is meant by abiding in Christ? I think it has precisely the force of the phrase abide in my love, used in the tenth verse of this chapter. It is to have the love of Christ within us, as an all controlling motive. It is analogous to the words of the apostle, “For the love of Christ constraineth us...” (II Corinthians 5:14). It is that holy, tender, grateful affection to Jesus, which is ever moving us to do whatsoever will please Him, and which renders His approval the highest object of our existence. This is what is meant by being in Christ, or being in His love. But our Lord goes further, He says “...abide in me....” abide in My love. He speaks not of a temporary emotion, present today and forgotten tomorrow. If we abide in Christ, He will take up His abode with us. Love to Him will be the atmosphere which we breathe, which sustains us in life and from which we derive all our spiritual health and vigor. It is the permanent and steadfast condition of the soul. Thus saith the Apostle Paul, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Such is it to abide in Christ.
The immediate result of such a life is, that His words abide in us. His precepts will be written on our hearts, and will control all our affections. We shall not only do His will, but we shall do it from love. It will be the spontaneous acting of the soul renewed and transformed into the image of Christ. These two ideas, love and obedience, are so intimately connected that our Lord in this chapter frequently uses them interchangeably. “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love...” (John 15:10); he that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me. And then again, if a man love Me he will keep My words and the Father will love him. This is the law of God, that we keep His commandments. To abide in Christ then, is to have our affections supremely fixed on Him as the unchanging condition of the soul; and to have His words abiding in us, is to carry out this affection in universal obedience to His commandments. If this be the meaning of the words, the promise of the Saviour is briefly this, if we, with the whole heart, perfectly love and perfectly obey Christ, we may ask what we will, and it shall be done unto us.
Here again you will ask, does Christ intend to declare that every child of God receives all that he asks for? If this be the promise, it certainly is not fulfilled. No, my brethren, this is not quite the promise. Many of those who are, as we hope, His children, pray much and receive but little answer. The Apostle James declares, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss...” (James 4:3). The question then returns, what is the limitation with which this passage is to be understood?
We said, in the beginning, that the promise in the text is to be taken absolutely, and without restriction. The words will bear no other signification. “Ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” In like manner is the condition annexed to it to be taken. If the promise speaks of perfect prevalence in prayer, the condition in like manner speaks of perfect love and perfect obedience. That is to say, if a man love and serve God perfectly, his prayers will infallibly prevail. And this, you see at once, is a general principle in the government of God. We believe that in Heaven, every desire being holy, every desire will be fully gratified. Then “...I shall be satisfied,” saith the Psalmist, “when I awake, with thy likeness” (Psalm 17:15). Thus saith the Revelator, “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb...shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters...” (Revelation 7:16). The meaning of these two passages, though they differ in form, is precisely the same. They teach us that the desires of a holy soul, being perfectly in harmony with the will of a holy God, must be fully gratified.
But you will say, these illustrations are taken from the condition of saints and angels in Heaven. What has this to do with us who are encompassed with infirmity, who bear about with us this body of sin, and who are daily bemoaning its power over us? The words were spoken not to angels and glorified spirits, but to men like ourselves, who can plead no perfect righteousness, and can boast no sinless obedience.
We answer, they are intended to express a general law of the divine dispensation. They announce the general rule by which prevalence of prayer is graduated, the condition under which God pledges His veracity to grant our petitions. That is to say, if the prayer of the perfectly loving and obedient will infallibly prevail, so, in any inferior degree will prayer prevail, in proportion to the perfection of our love and obedience. The words are intended to unfold the relation which exists between the moral temper of our hearts and the prevalence of our prayers. It is as though He had said, your love and obedience is the measure of the guaranty that your prayer shall be answered. I do not say, by any means, that our Father in Heaven does not, in compassion to our infirmity, frequently do much more than He has here promised. This is all of His superabundant love to us in Christ Jesus. It is, however, only as we obey and love Him, that we can plead His promise; and, looking up to Him with confidence, in lowly humility, urge Him to do even as He has said.
The reason of this rule is obvious. Just in proportion as we abide in the love of Christ, and His Words abide in us, His Spirit dwells within us, teaching us how to pray, and what to pray for. The desires which the Spirit of God kindles in the soul, must be according to the will of God. “The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us...” (8:26). The desires of a soul pervaded by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit must be holy, and they can not but be gratified by a holy God. Our prayers are then nothing else than the perfections of God reflected from the soul of the believer, and He must act in harmony with them, unless He deny Himself. The desires of a holy soul in Heaven must be gratified, for they are emanations of the divine will. The desires of a soul in Hell must be ever unsatisfied, for they are, of necessity, perfectly at enmity with God. And so, between these two statements, wherever prayer proceeds from a loving and obedient spirit it will be answered; and the abundance of the answer, will, according to the condition in the text, be measured by our attainments in holiness. It is “... The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16).
But we need hardly appeal to the Scriptures to confirm a truth which is, in fact, legibly written on the conscience of man. Wicked men on their deathbeds, or in any imminent peril, feel the need of help from on high, but have no confidence whatever in the prevalence of their own prayers; they therefore call upon the most pious man they know of to pray for them. No matter though he be a man whom they have injured and scoffed at, and scorned, they come to him in lowly humiliation, and beseech him to intercede for them before the mercy-seat. What is this but a practical version of the text, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7)?
While, however, we thus speak, it is to be remembered that God does not pledge Himself to answer our prayers literally in the manner, and at the time we may desire. He answers according to infinite love, guided by omniscient wisdom, and not according to our finite knowledge. He may not give us precisely what we ask for, because He desires to give us something incomparably better. He may not answer us at the instant, but He reserves for us something in the future, tenfold more valuable. He thus, in fulfilling His promises, gives us all the advantage of His omniscient wisdom and infinite love.
If we expect an answer to our prayers for any particular blessing, the Word of Christ that has respect to that particular thing, must specially abide in us. If we pray that the kingdom of Christ may come, we must obey those Words of Christ which concern the coming of His kingdom. We must seek first the kingdom of God. We must make the progress of the religion of Christ the real object for which we live. We must labor and suffer reproach, and endure cheerfully the scorn of men, and hold our property and all that we call our own, subject every moment to the will of the Master, that so we may glorify His name in the conversion of souls. This was the type of primitive piety, and hence it was that the prayers of the saints then prevailed mightily to the pulling down of strongholds. Our prayers will never in like manner prevail until we follow their example. The Lord’s arm is not shortened that He can not save, nor His ear heavy that He can not hear. Our God is a living God, as truly as He was in the days of the apostles. The Holy Spirit is as powerful to bow the heart of man in penitence as it was ever of old.
This subject may also teach us why so many of our prayers on our own behalf remain unanswered. You have been a professor of religion for many years, and looking back upon your Christian life, perceive that you have made but small progress in holiness. It may be that your evidences of piety grow dimmer as you grow older. Religion has become with you a matter of form, rather than an earnest and ever present reality. You are dissatisfied with yourself. At times you are alarmed at your condition. You tell us that you pray daily for deliverance and for the light of God’s countenance, but your prayers are not answered. You sink deeper and deeper in despondency, and you can find no access to the throne of the heavenly grace.
My brother, is there not a cause? You pray, but does the Word of Christ abide in you? Are you honestly and earnestly laboring to keep all of Christ’s commandments? Have you broken off from everything in word, and thought, and action, that you know is displeasing to Him; and are you doing His will at all hazards and at all sacrifices? When you think of submitting your actual, practical, every day life to Christ, do you not know that before you can do this, a great change must pass over you. The world, its wealth, its pleasures, its ambitions, and its society are engrossing those affections that belong only to God, and encroaching sadly upon those hours which should be given to prayer, meditation, doing good, and the social worship of the saints. What self-denials are you enduring for Christ, what crosses are you taking up and bearing after Jesus? So long as you live thus, it is all in vain to talk about praying for holiness and communion with God. The Words of Christ must abide in you if you would have prevalence in prayer. If you love Christ you must keep His commandments, though in so doing you break loose from every other association, and stand perfectly alone. You never will have the witness in yourself until you make sacrifices for Christ. Until you do your first works, and strengthen the things that are ready to die, your prayers for the indwelling of the Spirit will be as the idle wind. Yea, though you cry aloud and shout, God will not hear your prayer. Awake, thou that sleepest, arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
These same remarks apply emphatically to our prayers for our relatives and friends.
You are a parent. You are anxious, and justly so, about the eternal welfare of your children. You tell us you pray for them daily, and you ask your friends to pray for them. They are nevertheless growing up to be worldly and thoughtless, and are evidently wandering farther and farther from God. Your prayers are unanswered, and it seems as if the promises of God, in your case had utterly failed.
It may be, Christian parent, that God is making trial of your faith. But before you accuse God of unfaithfulness, it may be well to ask, have the Words of Christ respecting this particular thing abode in me. Have you brought these children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Have you on every suitable occasion, set before them their danger, and pointed them to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world? Have you never, for the sake of worldly advantage, placed them in circumstances under which every serious reflection would naturally be dissipated? When ambition for social position leads in one direction, and the will of God in another, which do you really desire your children to follow? Parents have sometimes desired me to converse with their children on the subject of personal religion, while I knew that they were exposing them to all those influences which must render every effort for their salvation utterly hopeless. Brethren, if we desire that our prayers should be answered, our lives and our prayers must be in harmony. It is mocking God to ask Him to do something for us, and then place every obstacle in our power in the way of His doing it. Unless the Word of Christ abide in us, we can never ask in faith that God will hear us.
And lastly, we may learn from this subject that answers to prayer for the conversion of souls is the sure test of the piety of a saint. In all our churches, prayer is made without ceasing for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. If our prayers are not answered, it must be because we do not abide in Christ, and His Words do not abide in us. When, therefore, additions are not continually made to a church, it is a cause for alarm and self-examination. There must be wrong somewhere, and that wrong must be repented of before a blessing can be expected. We should search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord. We must abide in Christ, and His Words must abide in us, and then we may ask what we will, and it shall be done unto us. The mountain of the Lord’s house must be established in the top of the mountains, and exalted above the hills, before all nations shall flow unto it.
========================= [From The Berea Baptist Banner, July, 2016, via Internet. Scanned and formatted by Jim Duvall.]
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