When I Find It Hard To Pray
E. L. Minchin
I believe you have come because this question is one that concerns you. Do you ever find it hard to pray? I was saying last evening that a young man said on one occasion, "I hear about people who pray for an hour or two hours and I have heard about people who have prayed all night. But I don't understand it. It beats me what they talk about. When I pray I only pray for a few minutes and I run out of something to say. What do they talk about? That young man opened his heart to discuss some of the problems of prayer. He was so much problemed about the efficacy of prayer but some of the problems of prayer were concerning him and tonight I want to especially talk about some of the problems of prayer. Yes, we believe in prayer. I don't understand, friend, all of the wonders and the mysteries concerning prayer. I don't understand how that I, a poor human being, sinful, can open my heart and commune with the great God of the universe. Isn’t it wonderful? Oh, what a privilege!
But you know the great majority of human beings today do not know really how to pray. We were made for God weren’t we? Of course we were made for God. We are never really truly happy when we are away from our God. I know, young people and friends, that I was made for God. You were made for Him. And how to know God, how to become acquainted with God, His will and His plan far me. That is the great question and the great longing in so many hearts. Oh, I wish that I could say something tonight that would make God, our Father, the great Creator, our Heavenly Father, real to you. We are living in a materialistic world. We deal every day with the things that we can handle and see, but, friends, the great invisible realities are more real than the things that we can see. We have to believe and accept many things that we cannot see. I don't understand the mysteries of wireless, radio, I don't understand the mystery of it. So, friends, there are great realities that we cannot see all around us.
What Is Prayer?
Now, what is prayer? There are many definitions of prayer. I'm going to read a scripture tonight I want to use as a heart-to-heart basis for our chat this evening about prayer. It's found in Luke 11:1, "And it came to pass, that, as He was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him. Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples" You see the disciples had observed the prayer habit of their Master. They noticed that He frequently, not just occasionally, but frequently went aside to pray. Often times they find Him out on the hillside, or out in the garden praying. Oh I've read it so many times—once in a while before day He went out into a solitary place to pray. I don't understand it, friends, how that my Saviour, the Son of the living God, found it so necessary every day, every week, all the time that He was upon this earth to go out to pray, but He was the Son of God and He found it necessary. He couldn't carry on His work. His mission without it and yet we poor human beings, so sinful and weak, so unlike Him, we seem to think we can get along without prayer. You knew, friends, I believe it may be possible for a person to be saved in the kingdom of God who has never been to a church. He may be where he could never go to church. I believe it could be possible for a man to get into the kingdom of God who never read this Book. He may be where he couldn't obtain the Book of God. He may not be able to have this Book, but I cannot conceive of any one ever getting to the kingdom of God who had never learned to pray.
Lord, Teach Us To Pray
You know, talking about the Master, I was reading over there in the first chapter of Luke about that Sabbath that He spent there in the home of Peter and it said after the sunset that evening the people of the village brought their sick and suffering to the Master and he healed them all. He worked till the later hour that night. I don't know what time Jesus went to bed that night. It was probably near midnight. I am sure that the Saviour wouldn't retire until the last sufferer was attended to. Oh what a wonderful Saviour. And then, friends, I read in the very next verse, "Arising a great while before it was day, Jesus went out to the mountain side to pray." That was on Sunday morning. He worked until nearly midnight probably on Saturday night and Sunday morning before it was day the Master's form could be seen out there on the hillside praying to His Father. Oh, friends, that's where He obtained His power and strength to carry on. The disciple heard Him praying. They watched Him and so one day they were impressed so much as they saw the beautiful light on His face, the peace in His countenance, as He came back from those seasons of communion with His Father and they came to Him and they said “Lord, teach us to pray." Is that your prayer? We know so little about it and He knew so much. I feel in my heart a prayer tonight just like that—Lord, teach me to pray. You see, friends, we need to be taught. I read a little book once by Andrew Murray, a beautiful book called, With Christ In The School of Prayer. And it's a school. I just know that many, many people do not know how to pray.
Some People Have Never Prayed
I remember when I was visiting a home on one occasion gathering in means to send to the mission field. I talked to the lady at the door, had a nice chat with her. I suggested she invite me inside, and I said before I left that we might have prayer and you know that poor woman became quite nervous. She had never prayed in her life. She didn’t know how to pray. I didn’t ask her to pray, but she was even nervous with me suggesting that I pray with her. She had never prayed. Friends, I am not asking you tonight if you say your prayers, I'm asking if you pray? You know some people say their prayers, other people pray. We said our prayer when we were little children. I am afraid still that many people say their prayers. You know I traveled home to Australia with my dear wife a few years ago and on the way back across, there there was a dear old man on the boat. His name was Charles and I knew him quite well. But he had a stroke and I went to see him as soon as I heard about it. He was paralyzed all down one side and he knew he wouldn't live very long, at least they didn't think he would live until we reached Sydney. But I sat by his bed and I found that Charles was a Christian. He was a Protestant, and he loved the Lord. I said, "Charles, I'm a minister. I've come to talk to you about God. Charles, would you like me to pray for you?" And he squeezed my hand with his good hand, he couldn’t talk, he just smiled and nodded. I said, Charles, you believe in God don’t you?" "Yes," his head nodded. "You believe Jesus is your Saviour? Have you made it all right with Him? Have you confessed all your sins to Him and accepted Him as your Saviour?" And he nodded. I said, "Charles, I'm going to pray for you." I gripped his hand, his one good hand as I knelt by his bed in his cabin there and I prayed. I saw the tears glistening on his cheek. I left him and you know, friends, in a few hours time he went unconscious and never regained consciousness again. But the captain sent a cable over to his son in Sydney. Now his son and his wife were Catholics. He had married-a Catholic. But Charles had always remained a Protestant and the son sent a cable back when he heard of the serious illness of his father and he said, "Please baptize Dad a Roman Catholic." I was the only minister on board and they came to me to see if I would baptize Charles a Roman Catholic. They said, "We didn’t like to ask you, Mr. Minchin, but we don’t know what to do. I said, “My dear sir, I prayed with Charles before he became unconscious. I believe I have done all that is possible to be done for this dear man. I believe he is right ready to go." But they said, "The son has requested this. What shall we do?" "Well," I said, "Charles doesn’t know anything about it now and nothing we can do now will make any difference to Charles. If you would like to talk to the Catholic ladies on the boat you just chat with them and see what they would like." And so they did. Those Catholic ladies came to me and they said, "You know, Mr. Minchin, you have done all that can possibly be done. We couldn’t baptize him. We might be able to do it provisionally and if he is still alive when we get to Fiji we could have a priest meet the boat and he could baptize him properly. But, Mr. Minchin, we will go in and say our prayers for him." I said, "Well, my dear friends, I have prayed with Charles. I have talked to God with Charles." And they said, "Just to please the son we’ll take our rosary beads in and we will say prayers for him, but we want you to come in with us." But I said perhaps you should have the service by yourselves." No, they pleaded with me to come. So finally I went in. I had never been in a meeting just like that before. Friends, I’m not making fun of those dear women, they were very sincere women, but you know they said prayers so rapidly they had the rosary beads and they repeated the prayers so rapidly, "Holy Mary Mother, Holy Mother Mary," and then the Lord’s prayer at the close. I didn’t count the number of times they repeated it and then they had another prayer and the leader forgot just at the finish and she said, "Oh, I forgot." Then one reminded her and she went on and finished the prayer. I left their cabin and went to my own cabin and said to my dear wife, "Oh, how I wish I could introduce those dear women to a Friend called Jesus, One to whom they could go directly as their best friend and open their hearts to Him. Yes, friends, God accepts those dear people and every soul who is sincere as far as they know, but are we not privileged to know a precious Jesus who is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. For there is no mediator between man and God and Christ Jesus my personal Saviour. And, friends, what is prayer anyway?
I wonder how many of you have that little book Steps to Christ? Oh, yes, hundreds of hands are going up. I didn't bring my copy of Steps to Christ with me this time. I don't know what happened. I borrowed this one this evening, but I have a little red leather edition a little larger than this one and I have had it since I was seventeen years old. Every page and paragraph just like this one here is marked. It is a beautiful little book. Dear friend, if you want to know Jesus as a personal friend get that little book Steps to Christ. When I have a baptismal class of young people I have every one of those young people read that little book right through before they are baptized. In that book is a chapter called, “The Privilege of Prayer.” In that chapter are some definitions to prayer which are very beautiful. I wonder if you could complete the definition as I commence it: "Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend."
Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend
Do you believe that? Oh those dear young people who came onto the platform last night. I prayed for them last night when I went back to my room, and today, that somehow they might learn to know Jesus as their friend, that they might really learn to pray—not to just say prayers. Oh, when we get older, when we get to the age of accountability we need to know Jesus as a friend. We sing, “What A Friend We Have In Jesus.” It is one thing to sing that song; it is another thing to know it and sing it from an experience. Oh, I fear that there is so much preaching that is too much theory, so little preaching that is an experience and that is true of our talk sometimes as Christians. Prayer is talking to God “as to a friend.” Oh, do you have a very true friend's presence? You love to be able to open you heart to that friend. You know, I said the other night, there is one thing that love hates, and that's distance, isn't it? Just one thing that love hates. You know Saturday night I was a little bit lonesome when I went home from here. I knew that all of my loved ones were home together. They had all been home for Thanksgiving. I was the only one away except my boy over in Loma Linda, but they were there and my sick girlie they brought her home from the hospital on Thanksgiving Day and she was going back on Saturday night and you know, friends, I couldn't resist the temptation. I had put a call through the day before, but I had to have another one—just a talk to the dearest and best on this earth—the precious ones to me. We love to commune with those that we love, don't we? Love hates distance. “Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend.” You tell Him everything. What a Friend we have in Jesus. We can tell Him our joys and our sorrows. He is interested in everything about us. He knows the street I live in. He knows the number of my house, he knows all about me and my background, my weaknesses. He knows the worst about me, but He loves me just the same. That's why I love Him. Yes, young people, that's the kind of friend we need—the one who knows the worst about us, but who loves us just the same.
Prayer is the Breath of the Soul
There's another definition of prayer in that little book: "Prayer is the breath of the soul.”
How long could you live without breathing? Ten minutes? Anybody here like to try? Just imagine, hundreds of people here tonight, but none of us could live for ten minutes, friends, without breathing. What a glorious wonderful life. “Prayer is the breath of the soul.” Do you breathe spiritually? No wonder there are so many dead Christians around—they're not breathing! They're dead. Oh they have an appearance of life. I was over in Washington a while back and I went to a store and saw some magnificent flowers. Oh, I said, I'm going to take a bunch to my wife and I went over to them. I leaned over and started to breathe the fragrance. Fancy that—no fragrance and I looked again. I found they were artificial. I was taken in. I thought they were real. They were beautiful, but when I came to examine them I found that they had the appearance of life, but they were not alive at all; they were dead. There are people who have the appearance of being Christians. They go by the name of Christians, but they are dead. They are artificial, because they don't breathe. “He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son hath not life.” That's what God's Word says. Some people think that by subscribing to a church creed or by going to church or by turning over a new leaf or giving up a few bad habits, and professing to be Christians that that makes them Christians, but it doesn't at all. “He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son hath not life.” I ask you, my friend, is Jesus Christ, the Son of God dwelling in your heart by His Holy spirit? “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man will hear my voice and open the door I will come in and sup with him and he with me.” “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature.” Dear friends, how true that is. And I cannot emphasize this too much. I've said already this week that our young people I've discovered through the years are hungering for reality. They are tired of sham and pretense. There’s a lot of it in the world today, friends. We've come here this week seeking for the real feast. And once more in this series of meetings I present Jesus Christ to you, dear friend, as the answer to your need. Prayer is the breath of the soul and if His spirit is dwelling within me He must breathe His own spirit of life and love through me and radiate His life through me. We don’t imitate Jesus, He is reproduced in us, friends. It is not imitation, it's reproduction and then He will breathe His own life through us. When I wake up in the morning and throw open the window—what a glorious thing it is to breathe in the air. Young friend, dear Christians, dear fellow Christians, how wonderful to know we can by breathing spiritually can breathe the very life of God. Prayer is the breath of the soul. And yet when I go to our churches and to our colleges and academies and talk with older folk and interview young people—I talked with a young man not long ago who told me he hadn't prayed for seven or eight months. I talked with one young person on one occasion who said he didn't remember having prayed for two or three years. I talked with others who say they haven't prayed for six weeks and yet they are professing to be Christians, and they wonder what's the matter with their spiritual life. They are not breathing.
Prayer is the Key In the Hand of Faith
One more definition in this lovely little book: "Prayer is the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven's storehouse wherein are treasured the boundless resources of omnipotence." Isn't that a magnificent statement? Memorize those statements, friends, these are precious things. These are words of life to us. Oh, how often we give ourselves up to everything else. We watch this, we read that, we listen to this, we watch over the television, we listen over the radio, we have time or place to give attention to these great and wonderful truths. The devil is trying to fill up our time with things of minor importance when we've got a heaven to win and a hell to shun. Yes, friends, “Prayer is the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven’s storehouse wherein are treasured the boundless resources of Omnipotence.” Why, friends, think of it—the resources that are at our command, if we have the hand of faith. God reached out to take hold of the hand of faith in us, friends. How’s your hand, friend? Do you have a hand of faith? Have faith in God, my friend, and God reaches out for that hand of faith and prayer is the key to that hand which unlocks heaven’s storehouse. How’s your key, friend? Have you lost it? Is it rusty? Perhaps you’ve never possessed it. “Prayer is the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven’s storehouse.” So many of us are living like spiritual paupers when we might be spiritual millionaires. Is that true, friends? What a tragedy! The tragedy of God’s people today, friends, is that they are satisfied with little when they might have much. That’s our tragedy. Oh, that God could raise up some spiritual giants from out of this audience and send us out to this bruised and battered and torn world to bring healing to it tonight and in the coming days. Friends, I say it is altogether possible for that to happen if we will with the hand of faith reach up with that key and unlock heaven’s storehouse.
Problems Regarding Prayer
But you say. Brother Minchin, there are problems regarding prayer. I believe all that and yet somehow.... I mentioned some of the problems tonight. I just want to talk in an intimate, practical way tonight. This evening may be just a little different from the others, but I am trying to make it practical. The devil will see to it that there are obstacles put in the way of prayer. The whole host of Satan trembles when the saints of God get on their knees. When the weakest saint prays it causes the evil one to tremble. Listen to this statement by a great man of God: "Satan dreads nothing but prayer. The church that lost its Christ was full of good works. Activities are multiplied that meditation might be ousted and organizations are increased that prayer may have no chance. Souls may be lost in good work as surely as in evil ways.”
Too Busy To Pray
Have you ever thought of it that way, friends? The devil is making us so busy that we don’t have time for prayer. He gets us on the run. The one concern of the devil is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray. Some people would sooner engage in activities in the church than sit through an hour and think of the Master, communing with Him, getting His spirit and His power in their hearts, obtaining His transforming grace, to give them victory and righteousness. The first obstacle or difficulty is that of time. I said just now he is making us so busy, and I take this to my own heart— we preachers need to watch this, friends. We can be so busy. Wake up in the morning and we’ve got this to do and that, studies to prepare for, organizing this, planning for that, and he’s got us on the run. Oh, friends, in my own ministry that’s the thing that I am conscious of all the time, that the devil is seeking to rob me of my power with God and power in my own life, by preventing me from taking time to pray. Jesus took time. He felt it was necessary. But you say, Brother Minchin, I am so busy I just don’t know how to get time for it? No time for prayer, but we have time for everything else under the sun—time to eat, time to play, time for pleasure, time for reading the newspaper, time for talking to our friends, time for everything else, but no time for prayer. Friends, we can find time if we determine to do so. I knew a busy mother. She said to me—I find it difficult to get time in the busy morning You know I believe the early morning is the best time for real prayer. We can’t all of us all the time get all the time we need in the morning, but you know over here in the fifth Psalm David spoke about his prayer life and he says in verse 3 “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” Twice in that verse he said “in the morning.” Wonder why he said that? Why is the morning mentioned. Because, friends, for really serious praying the morning is the best time, before we are weary and tired. Give Him the best time of the day, friends.
I talked with a young man who was losing out badly. His mother was worried about him, very worried. And I noticed that this young fellow had to go off to work at a certain time in the morning on a motor cycle. You know that dear boy I just observed stayed in bed until about three minutes before he was to leave in the morning. Then the alarm would go off and there would be a mad scramble. He would grab hold of a sandwich and an apple and off he would go to work on that cycle. The same thing happened every morning. That dear boy was a baptized member of the church. He had been to college. He loved the Lord I knew. So before I left that home I had a good talk with that dear boy and I suggested to him—I said to him, "Now listen, my dear boy, you might give your heart to Him again in a meeting, you might resolve to be consecrated, but there is something that you must do, my dear boy, and that is budget your time and give God more time than you are giving Him in your life. Why not have the courage to go to bed fifteen minutes earlier at night and set your alarm fifteen minutes earlier in the morning and give God five, eight, ten minutes with your Bible and Morning Watch—that beautiful commentary, you know as the Morning Watch. It is lovely this year. Oh, what precious words in that lovely little commentary from the writings of God’s servant. If you have missed it this year, friends, you have missed one of the most precious books that we have—those beautiful gems—have it by you there when you wake up in the morning. Just read that. Take this precious book and read its pages. I don't believe in hurried reading of the Bible, just to say that you have read the Bible through in so much time. I have just been reading through the book of Psalms again and I just love to take one Psalm at a time and go back over it and meditate upon it, or take the Morning Watch or that little commentary and give God a few minutes. Lift your heart up to him and say: “Good Morning, Lord, come into my heart today, put peace and quietness there and the knowledge of sins forgiven. Give me the strength to bear a brave and noble witness for thee today. May I help someone this day.” Why, friend, you show me the young man or the young woman who gives God some time every morning without fail, I’ll show you a young person who is going on to a glorious victory and a usefulness and fruitfulness of God. We don't have to worry about young people who do that, friends. Everything else is put in its rightful place.
A dear mother said to me once. Brother Minchin, I find it difficult in the morning. You know I am a busy mother. I have four children to get off to school and a husband to get off to work and I find it very difficult to have an unhurried time in the morning. So she said at lunch time after the children have gone back to school and dad is away at work the house is empty, then I go to pray in the bedroom and I take my Bible and I spend half an hour with my God. I have found that it is necessary. If you knew that mother and the sweet, patient, Christ-like life that she lives in that home before those children, you would know that that dear mother has discovered the secret of power. She found the time. If it wasn't in the early morning, she found some time through the day. And the place—oh, yes, we can lift our hearts to Him anywhere can't we—in the crowded train, in the bus, at work, in the school room, we can always lift our hearts to Him—practice His presence. That is a wonderful thing to do, friends, to practice His presence. He who doesn't have a place and a time will probably have no place and no time for real prayer. That's one problem.
The Problem of Place
Here is another problem. The problem of place. Jesus found a place. He went out so often to the mountainside. Do you live in a crowded house? Do you live in a room where there are others. Oh, yes, we can pray it through when there are others there, but I can never pray just the same, friends, unless I am just by myself. As the scripture says in Matthew 6:6 “When thou prayest enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." Shut the door. Oh, yes it is possible to be in a streetcar and shut the door and enter into a communion [,?] into a little oratory where you can commune with God, but it is good to have a place where you can shut the door. I have known of folk who have slipped into the [a?] church as they have been going to work and found a little place [,] when they have lived in a crowded home or school. I have known it when I was in my earlier days[,] when I was at college [,] I used to slip down by the riverside in the early morning. I had a little spot there between some trees where there was an open space. I used to go down there and look up. God spoke to my heart. I was just a boy. I can remember it now. Dear young people, I recommend [that] you find a spot somewhere. If you have two in your room why not arrange with each other to have that little room for five, or ten, or fifteen minutes for meditation, reading and prayer. I tell you, friends, if we put this into practice, it would revolutionize many a decayed spiritual life.
We Pray After We Become Tired
And now another problem. We leave our serious praying so often until we are tired. Do you ever go to sleep on your knees? You know, Mrs. Minchin, went to sleep when she was praying one night at her bedside and when she woke up she said, Oh my dear I feel terrible. I went to sleep on my knees. I said “My dear, don't worry. We have a loving father in heaven who remembers our frames. He knoweth that we are dust. He knows that you are a busy tired mother. You've come to the end of the day so weary with the care of five little children and a husband, and you are wearied and tired. I said mother Jesus understands.” I think what we must do is to plan our time so that we can give Jesus the best time in the morning when we are fresh. That's why I think David said "in the morning." So often, friends, when I come to my bedside, if I am really weary and tired, about all I can do is to say, "Heavenly Father, I am so tired, but I love thee still. Come into my heart, send the angels to watch over me. Bless those who are near and dear to me. Raise me tomorrow to serve thee truly. Amen.” And then I just tumble into bed and before many minutes [fall] fast asleep. Sometimes that's just about all I can do and I believe I have a Father Who knows my frailties. That's why I shouldn't dishonor Him, friends, by trying to leave my best praying till the time I'm tired. That's not fair is it, friends? It's not right. Why friends, when I come here to this pulpit it means so much to me if I can come here fresh. As I get older I find I have to have some rest sometimes in the afternoons before I come to a meeting. I need to be quiet with God. I need to get His spirit into my heart again before I come here or I am not doing God's service nor you service. I'm dishonoring Him if I come to Him with a weary, tired body, mind and soul. Let's not give to God those tired moments, friends, when we are just frazzled out. Let's just remember He understands that, but we ought to find time before we are tired to really talk to Him.
Dealing With the Wandering Mind
Another thing, do you ever find your mind wandering when you pray? A young man said to me you know when I pray before I know where I am, I am thinking of something else. I'm thinking of something I’m going to do tomorrow or the next day.
[A young woman heard] a man talking inside a telephone booth and she opened the door and said, "Hear that man talking?" And she called to her mother and said, "Mother, come here, there's a man talking to himself.” And that is what some people think that prayer is—talking to themselves. Now I am going to give you something practical friends. It helps me in this matter of mind wandering and of concentration in prayer. I'm going to give you a text that helped me. One day I was reading it and I thought how wonderful—David gives us something to think about here. Psalms 16 and verse 8, "I have set the Lord always before me, because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved." [Let me repeat that.] David said "I have set the Lord always before me, because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved." You know when I read that scripture I thought[,] how did David set the Lord before him? Why David used the gift of sanctified imagination. David set the Lord before him. He didn't visually see Him, but in imagination David set the Lord before him and because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved. He was looking unto Jesus his Lord. How do you do that? By the gift of a sanctified imagination. Why the devil fills our minds with unholy imagination sometimes doesn't he? How many young people and others have told me of their battle against him—wrong thinking, of images of things that are brought to their attention that they imagine. Oh, my friends, how we need to cast down those imaginations and bring every thought into captivity. How can we do it? Here is the secret, friend. Do you want victory over your thoughts and wrong thinking? Do what David did. I have set the Lord always before me because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. How do I do that? Why then I pray. That's why I close my eyes because then it helps me to concentrate and use my gift of imagination. I am not then conscious so much of my surroundings. In fact, I do like to get out into the open, into the night—the darkness, and look up at the stars and then I can look up and open my eyes and look at the stars, for they tell me of God. But, friends, when I close my eyes how do I set the Lord before me. Oh, I set the Lord before me by looking into His wonderful face. Look into the eyes of my Lord. Just see those eyes—that face—the face of Jesus, the Son of God. No artist, friend, has ever painted a painting that is truly like His. That noble, holy face. Oh, what it is going to be when we see that face, the face of Jesus. It says in the book of Revelation when they see Him coming in the clouds, it says the wicked will call on the rocks and mountains—fall on us and hide us, from what?— His face! The face of Him that sitteth on the throne. They cannot look into His face. Sin cannot look into that face. But oh, my friends, if we have become accustomed here and now of looking into that face, the face of my Saviour and yours. Do it, friends, closing your eyes and setting your sanctified imagination as David did.—I have set the Lord before me. I just love to picture His face. Prayer becomes real to me when I do that. Oh, maybe I will speak to Him tonight up yonder before the throne there, before the Father pleading for me, pleading for you. Why, friends, last night while you slept your Saviour was there interceding for us. He ever ruleth—He never sleepeth. Look into His face, friend. Hear Him plead. Sometimes I like to picture Him coming in the clouds, or sometimes, friends, I will picture Him there in the garden that night of His betrayal, or I picture Him there bowed in prayer, or sometimes I like to picture myself being that leper when I look up and I hear that tender, gentle voice of the Saviour, "Wilt thou be made whole." The man at the pool at Bethesda when he looked up and saw the Saviour standing over him. Imagine yourself to be the cripple, imagine yourself to be the leper, when Jesus said, "I will; be thou clean." Oh, my friend, pray then and Jesus too will become real. I said we are after reality. We're tired of sham. We want the real thing don't we? And He is a real friend.
Prayer Should Be a Two-Way Conversation
I see time is going, but I just wanted to give one more thought here, friend. You know that boy said—"It beats me what they talk about." What was his trouble? That boy had the idea that prayer was all talking. Prayer, my friend, isn't all talking, it's also listening. Give God a chance, friend. Let Him speak to you. It's a two-way conversation isn't it? Some people think that when they pray that they have to do the talking. Some people are very poor listeners and they must do all the talking. I remember a dear old lady came to me once to get help with some trouble she was in, about what one of the church members had been doing toward her, all the nasty things they had said about her, about this one and that one and she talked to me for about twenty minutes and she got up and shook my hand and said, "Thank you. Brother Minchin, I feel so much better now.” And I hadn’t said a word, she just let it all out and she did all the talking. Well, it does help some people to talk but I tell you, friends, let us learn in this great science of prayer to give God a chance to talk to us. Let it be a two-way conversation.
How does He talk to man? He talks to me through His word. This is His love book to me. This is His love message to me. Oh, some people find it uninteresting—why? because they don’t know the author. I had a book on my shelf that I had never read. One day a gentleman was introduced to me and after a little while I discovered that he was the author of the book that I had not read. I said you mean to tell me that you wrote that book? He was a charming fellow—why I had to read that book and I went home and read it with interest, because I had met the author. Have you met the Author, friend? This is His love letter to you. I was away in South America for three and a half months and I had 32 love letters written to me—in three months. We love to get love letters don’t we? Ah, this is a love letter and when we have met the author it becomes a new book to us. Give him a chance to speak to you. I find if I spend ten minutes letting Him speak to me as I read some of these precious pages, maybe I’m reading through the gospel of John—or maybe the book of Psalms, or Romans, or some other precious book, and I am reading it quietly and unhurriedly and asking for help. If I spend ten minutes reading, then meditating, yes, meditating, the art—the lost art of meditating—oh, then, friend, if you can be in your room by yourself, take this book, sit by the window and read it for ten minutes at least and, oh, yes, more if you can spend the time, then meditate. Look up into the stars or out into the open, over the fields and the hills and meditate. I find, friends, if I spend ten minutes doing that I don’t need to say so much to Him. You know Samuel when the Lord called him he said, "Speak lord for thy servant heareth." Speak Lord for I am listening. I wish we could do that more often, friends. Too many of us say, listen, Lord, I’m speaking. It matters not what we do we put it the other way round. We start talking—listen. Lord, I’m speaking. Wouldn’t it be better if we let Him do some of the speaking to us. "Speak, Lord for I am listening and He will whisper wonderful things to your heart. He will tell you wonderful things.
I’m going to close now, friends, I’m not going to call for you dear folk to come down as we have been. I’m going to close with a prayer in a moment, but I am going to [first] tell you something that happened to us as a family that made this very real. You know we had two of our dear children over here in America, and the other three children were in London with us. My boy was friends with an amateur radio ham, and we discovered an amateur radio ham over in London, and we arranged that we would talk as a family over these radio stations one Wednesday afternoon. And it was just exciting. We went to this place where we were to talk and the children went to the other place and we were thousands of miles away from each other and on the way in the streetcar that day we were making up notes, mother and the girls and I, about what we would say. Mother was going to talk about some things and one of the girls was going to talk about a wedding we had been to that day and somebody else was going to talk about the neighbors, etc. and we made out all our notes. Well we finally got to the place and finally a voice came through the air—Hello Dad, is that you, dad. This is Kel here.” That was my boy three thousand miles away across the ocean and I picked up the receiver and said, "Hello, son, is that you? This is dad here,” and, friends, for three-quarters of an hour we talked. Oh, it was so exciting. We had all those notes out there and we didn't look at them once and I remember one of my girlies called out to her sister what an American accent you have, and Joan called back from America and twinnies what an English accent you have and do you know dad I lost my bicycle tire yesterday. It was my Australian bicycle you see. We are Australians and that boy kept his Australian bicycle just as long as he could there in America. He continued, “When I left, home there was an old tire hanging up in the back shed. Do you think you could send it to me? I responded back 3,000 miles over the ocean, "Yes, son, if it is still there I will get it for you.” I went home that night and went out into the back shed and looked up and there it was hanging up there just as he said. Next day it was on its way to America. And then we said goodbye. It was hard to say goodbye. Those dear familiar voices. We hadn't seen them for years and when we went out, friends, we all said to each other, "Wasn't it wonderful! And we didn’t do all the talking. I said dear children a wonderful thing about prayer. I don't understand the mystery how that when I speak this moment, this second, they tell us that if somebody went up 186,000 or 108,000 miles in the air, at this very second they could hear. I don't understand it. It goes round and up. Friends, I don't understand that. But it is just as easy for me to believe that when I pray, when I lift my heart to my God in prayer, those waves go up and reach Him the very second that I pray. It's no more difficult to understand is it? No more difficult. Dear friends, and young people I have talked simply and practically tonight and as I close I feel a big prayer in my heart: “Lord, teach me to pray." How many of you dear people would like me to offer a little prayer for you right here that somehow God will teach you to pray? How many of you want to enter the school of Christ and learn to really pray? Let's see your hands? God bless you, friends. Our loving Father is here. The angels of God are here. They're here to listen to every sincere prayer.
You know, the scripture says "If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me." That blocks it — blocks the channel doesn't it? Let's clear a channel tonight, friends. Let's clear the channel, allow nothing between our souls and the Saviour so His blessed face can be seen. Is the highway clear, friends? Or has the channel been blocked. Now I am going to pray for you just as I have said, but I am going to do it at the close. I wonder if we could stand and sing one verse of "What a Friend We Have in Jesus."
The Sermon concluded with a benediction and the Lord’s Prayer.
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