Purpose in Prayer (9) ... Ask of me

by Dale Shumaker
Spirit Savvy Network
www.spiritsavvy.net

Finding your mission, Empowering your life through prayer,
Becoming a Missionary in the Marketplace
Leading others to be Missionaries in the Marketplace

In prayer we have the greatest privilege of God's Presence and interacting with God with His purpose than any other activity in our lives. E. M. Bounds in his book, the Purpose in Prayer, we learn how this is so important. Here are excerpts from chapter 9, Ask of Me...

But to pray really, to pray till hell feels the ponderous stroke, to pray till the iron gates of difficulty are opened, till the mountains of obstacles are removed, till the mists are exhaled and the clouds are lifted —this is hard work, but it is God’s work and man’s best labour.
It is hard to wait and press and pray, and hear no voice, but stay untill God answers.

Prayer honours God, acknowledges His being, exalts His power, adores His providence, secures His aid.

The possibilities of prayer run parallel with the promises of God. Prayer opens an outlet for the promises, removes the hindrances in the way of their execution, puts them into working order, and secures their gracious ends. More than this, prayer like faith, obtains promises, enlarges their operation, and adds to the measure of their results.

The possibilities of prayer are found in its allying itself with the purposes of God, for God’s purposes and man’s praying are the combination of all potent and omnipotent forces. More than this, the possibilities of prayer are seen in the fact that it changes the purposes of God. God’s purposes were fixed to destroy Israel, and the prayer of Moses changed the purposes of God and saved Israel.

Prayer puts God in the matter with commanding force: “Ask of Me things to come concerning My sons,” says God, “and concerning the work of My hands command ye Me.” We are charged in God’s Word “always to pray,” “in everything by prayer,” “continuing instant in prayer,” to “pray everywhere,” “praying always.” The promise is as illimitable as the command is comprehensive.

It is the effectual, fervent prayer that influences God.
God’s house is the house of prayer; God’s work is the work of prayer. It is the zeal for God’s house and the zeal for God’s work that makes God’s house glorious and His work abide.

For more on ask of me...
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bounds/purpose.IX.html
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