“Ignorant men raise questions that wise men answered a thousand years ago.”  Johan Wolfgang Goethe.

Worse than raising such questions is presuming wrongly to have the answers to those questions.

In our day of cheap and easy grace, we assure ourselves of our salvation on the basis of a decision, often one made long ago. We prayed a prayer once, and that’s about as much prayer as we figure we need.

Thus, people with prayer-less lives may be encouraged and challenged to pray, but nothing more. It’s up to them whether prayer matters enough to make the effort.

Historically, the church’s teaching and practice have been much different.    

Jonathan Edwards addressed this very issue in his sermon, “Hypocrites Deficient in the Duty of Prayer.” Edwards wasted few words on assessing the state of supposed “Christians” who do not engage in prayer. He says of them:

I would exhort those who have entertained an hope of their being true converts, and yet since their supposed conversion have left off the duty of secret prayer, and do ordinarily allow themselves in the omission of it, to throw away their hope. If you have left off calling upon God, it is time for you to leave off hoping and flattering yourselves with an imagination that you are the children of God.

That is, if you are a “Christian” for whom prayer has little import, you need to face up to the very real possibility that you may not be a Christian at all.

This is strong medicine for a generation that views God as having few expectations for His people other than that they should avoid ending up in hell. 

For too many of us, Christian experience is episodic rather than continuous, with a few religious experiences interspersed throughout our lives, which are otherwise lived on our own terms.

Such people can see little need or use for prayer.

In the weeks ahead we will see Edwards present a much different view, as he challenges us to adopt a holy life devoted to God through worshipping and serving Him.

Such a life requires prayer. 

Until next week, let us not be presumptuous; instead, let us examine our prayer lives. 

Ralph Lehman, Men’s Prayer Coordinator
T. M. Moore, Principal

Download “Men of the Church: A Solemn Call” for free by clicking this link. Make copies for all the men you know, and urge them to join you in this movement of Men at Prayer. Order your copy of Restore Us! and start your own regular Revival Prayer Group.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.