November 8 - LD 45, Day 4: The Requisites of the Godly Prayer
by Rev. G. Van Baren
Read: Romans 3
The question we face is:
what kind of prayer is “acceptable to God, which He will hear?" That ought
to be of concern to us. Remember: we are but specks of dust on the planet earth
which itself is but a speck in the vastness of the universe. God created and
sustains the whole universe. One might quickly be overwhelmed with the very
thought of approaching such a God. It would seem far more likely that an ant
addresses and seeks to please a human being, than we approach the Infinite,
Sovereign God, the Creator of all.
But the Bible shows the
possibilities and the Catechism summarizes these. First, it must be "from
the heart, to the one true God only, Who has revealed
Himself in His Word." It must come from the born-again, regenerated
heart--it cannot come from the heart of the unbeliever. Prayer is not a matter
of show or pretence, but sincerity. It must be to the one only true God. It
cannot be to God, and something else. It must not be to an idol or a god of
one's imagination. Proper prayer cannot rest either upon "luck," or "change,"
or upon man's own cleverness in taking care of his own needs.
We must thoroughly know
our needs and misery. One does not approach God in prayer only in those
situations where he knows not what to do. We are deeply humbled before His
divine majesty. We confess that "the good that I would I do not: but the
evil which I would not, that I do." (Rom 7:15-25) That's quite a
confession! There is in the Christian a deep consciousness of his own
sinfulness and unworthiness before God. That consciousness arises because he
knows his own old nature against which he still struggles. Not only is he so
very insignificant in size before the Almighty God, but at the same time, he
sees rebellion in his members against God.
But out of his
regenerated heart proceeds that work of the Spirit by which he confesses his
sins daily. He acknowledges his unworthiness. He confesses that he has no where
else to go than God's throne of grace. His prayer, then, is a confession of his
own inability to provide what he needs. He confesses that his God can and does
provide - in the way of his calling upon God.
Let us measure our own
prayers by this standard.