Psalm 78:34 – “When He killed them, then they sought Him, And returned and searched diligently for God; 35 And they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. 36 But they deceived Him with their mouth And lied to Him with their tongue. 37 For their heart was not steadfast toward Him.”
Thoughts from Jonathan Edwards on Prayer:
+ When Christ appeared to Ananias to send him to Paul, before that which must properly be called Paul’s comfort, Christ encourages him with that, “behold, he PRAYETH” (Acts 9:11). Not that he had never prayed before externally. That strict sect of the Pharisees, of which Paul was, abounded in prayer, constantly attended it every day at the stated hours of prayer, besides extraordinary prayer at their fasts (which often were twice a week) and at other times. But these were not counted worthy of the name of prayers, because they were not the prayers of faith.
+ They intended to continue seeking God always; and now suddenly to leave off, would therefore be too shocking to their own minds and partly through the force of their own preconceived notions, and what they have always believed, viz, that godly persons do continue in religion, and that their goodness is not like the morning cloud.
Therefore, though they have no love to the duty of prayer, and begin to grow weary of it, yet as they love their own hope, they are somewhat backward to take a course, which will prove it to be a false hope, and so deprive them of it.
+ Hypocrites never had the spirit of prayer given them. They man have been stirred up to the external performance of this duty, and that with a great deal of earnestness and affection, and yet always have been destitute of the true spirit of prayer. The spirit of prayer is an holy spirit, a gracious spirit. We read of the spirit of grace and supplication, Zech. iii. 10, “I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplications.” Wherever there is a true spirit of supplication, there is the spirit of grace. The true spirit of prayer is no other than God’s own Spirit dwelling in the hearts of the saints. And as this spirit comes from God, so doth it naturally tend to God in holy breathings and pantings. It naturally leads to God, to converse with him by prayer.
Speaking of a true convert, he says “his work is not done; but he finds still a great work to do, and great wants to be supplied. He sees himself still to be a poor, empty, helpless creature, and that he still stands in great and continual need of God’s help. He is sensible that without God he can do nothing. A false conversion makes a man in his own eyes self-sufficient. He saith he is rich, and increased with goods, and hath need of nothing; and knoweth not that he is wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. But after a true conversion, the soul remains sensible of its own impotence and emptiness, as it is in itself, and its sense of it is rather increased than diminished. It is still sensible of its universal dependence on God for every thing. A true convert is sensible that his grace is very imperfect; and he is very far from having all that he desires. Instead of that, by conversion are begotten in him new desires which he never had before. He now finds in him holy appetites, an hungering and thirsting after righteousness, a longing after more acquaintance and communion with God.”
** Prayer, according to Edwards, is what a person without hope in self does by the Spirit while looking to God alone. He saw true prayer as a sign of conversion while the lack of it was a sign that a person was not converted. While Paul as a Pharisee was devoted to external forms of prayer, yet only after a true conversion did he truly pray. Those who have an experience of false conversion may do external prayer, but they will either become too busy or become fooled by the externals. If we truly desire the glory of God in revival by the Spirit, we will pray from the heart. If we truly desire the glory of God in revival by the Spirit, we will continue in prayer. If we truly desire the glory of God in revival by the Spirit, we will not settle for external prayer. We will long for and seek humble hearts that hunger and thirst for the living God and the manifestation of His glory. We will not be satisfied with externals that pass as prayer. We will not be satisfied until we commune with God Himself and see His glory manifested. We must seek the Lord for hearts that will pant after Him for prayer and then in prayer. Dare we pray, as one cried out for political liberty (a lesser thing), give us revival or give us death? Do we really want revival for His sake?
God Loves... Himself 
Leave a comment