For a condensed version of Jonathan Edwards’ call to prayer see http://www.sbaoc.org/blog/?page_id=762 or go to www.sbaoc.org and go to “BLOG” and then “a call to prayer.”
James 5:16 – “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.”
“It should be pointed out that there is still another aspect that ought to take precedence over thanksgiving and petition, namely self-abhorrence and confession of our own unworthiness and sinfulness. The soul must solemnly remind itself of Who it is that is to be approached, even the Most High, before whom the very seraphim veil their faces (Isa 6:2). Though Divine grace has made the Christian a son, nevertheless he is still a creature, and as such at an infinite and inconceivable distance below the Creator. It is only fitting that he should deeply feel this distance between himself and his Creator and acknowledge it by taking his place in the dust before God. Moreover, we need to remember that we are by nature; not merely creatures, but sinful creatures. Thus there needs to be both a sense and an owning of this as we bow before the Holy One. Only in this way can we, with any meaning and reality, plead the mediation and merits of Christ as the ground of our approach.” (A.W. Pink)
Calvin wrote about how it is only in the sight of God that we can see ourselves. Isaiah found out about this in chapter 6 of his work. “Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (v. 5). Here is the response of a man that has seen something of God and then has seen self in the light of who that God really is. Let us not assume that true prayer is done in a flippant manner and as something casual to get done. While that may be common in many churches, that type of prayer just shows that God is not present. Where God is present in His glory men are on their faces rather than flippantly offering words of supposed prayer.
The Psalms tells us to “Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling (2:11). The book of Hebrews tells us that since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe” (Heb 12:28). Let us not imagine that we are praying if we are not in the presence of God. If we are in the presence of God, we will have reverence and awe and we will not pray as giving a performance or doing some light and trivial thing. A minister must not pray to please the people, but to seek more of the living God for the people. The people do not need a minister that they can be pleased with and smile at; they need to be brought into the presence of the living God. We do not need the type of prayer that we can finish and then pick up the empty things of the world again, but we need the type of prayer that lets us know that we have been in the presence of God and that we are different after being in His presence.
When was the last time you were so broken over your inability to truly pray that you could do nothing but groan? When was the last time you were so broken in the presence of God that you cried out to Christ to cover you that moment or you would perish? When was the last time you were in prayer and God opened your heart to you so that you were so broken you could do nothing but weep? When was the last time in prayer that you hungered for God and a sight of His glory that you felt like your heart would burst? When was the last time that you prayed as if to a God that is alive and that you were doing more than uttering words to a floor or a ceiling? When was the last time you prayed to a God that lived in your soul and not just words to someone out there somewhere?
If we are going to see a true reformation and revival in our day, it will not happen by weak prayers offered by pastors and people too busy to truly pray. It will only happen when our hearts are broken in truth and we give ourselves to prayer. It will only happen if we are willing to suffer in our souls the sight of our own vile hearts in order to be broken more and more in His presence. While many flee from the first sign of discomfort in prayer, it may be that they are fleeing from the presence of God. We will not know what it means to pray until we know what pain in the soul really is. Do we really want revival? God knows if you do. Seek the Lord for hearts to truly pray. If we don’t, He won’t give them and we will continue on in our religious but irreverent ways.
God Loves... Himself 
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