The Doctrine of Christ

LESSON EIGHTY-THREE Experiences in Prayer

1. Job received rich blessings from God when he prayed for his “miserable comforters,” who were “forgers of lies.” Job 42:8, 10. TDOC 263.2

2. Jacob’s bloodless victory over Esau was gained in his night of prayer. Genesis 32:24-30; Hosea 12:4. TDOC 263.3

3. Among the most beautiful prayers on record is that of Moses the man of God! Psalm 90. TDOC 263.4

4. When Hannah had been given a son in answer to her prayer, she poured out her soul in rejoicing and praise. 1 Samuel 1:20; 2:1-10. TDOC 263.5

5. David’s acknowledgment of God’s saving power when he was in. trouble has brought confidence to many distressed souls. 2 Samuel 22:1-51. TDOC 263.6

6. Daniel’s prayer for the restoration of Jerusalem is a model of humble confession and reliance upon God, Daniel 9:4-19. TDOC 263.7

7. The prayer of Jonah was most remarkable in its extraordinary circumstances and immediate results. Jonah 2:1-10. TDOC 263.8

8. The Savior’s public prayers are models of brevity, simplicity, and directness. Matthew 6:7-13; John 17:1-26. TDOC 263.9

9. As the Son of man the Savior depended upon his seasons of prayer as the means of obtaining the needed help for his work. Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12, 9:28. TDOC 263.10

NOTES

Prayer the pivot of Piety. TDOC 264.1

“The pivot of piety is prayer.”-Arthur T. Fierson, D. D. TDOC 264.2

“We have the records of many prayers in Scripture. What a treasure do. we possess in the prayers of Abraham, the friend of God; of Jacob, who became Israel; of Moses, whom the Lord called emphatically ‘My servant;’ in the thanksgiving of Hannah, whose silent supplication and trembling lips were changed into joyous praise and jubilant song; the soul-communing of David, the man after God’s heart, so wonderful in their breadth, the variety of outward and inward condition which occasioned them, and in their depth, the intensity of their feeling; the prayers of Daniel, the man of strong and fervent desires heavenward; and of Jonah, and Isaiah, and Jeremiah; nor ought we to forget, as belonging to Israel, the song of praise uttered by Mary, true daughter of believing Abraham and royal-hearted David; and the praise of Zachariah the Aaronite, who served God in uprightness and humility. What a stream of prayer flowing through so many centuries, amid scenes so grand and varied, until it reaches at last that blessed fulfillment, which is also its source-Jesus, at once the answer and the teacher of all prayer.” TDOC 264.3

“Prayer not only puts us in touch with God, and gives knowledge of him and his ways, but it imparts to us his power. It is a touch which brings virtue out of him. It is a hand upon the pole of a celestial battery, and it makes us charged with his secret life, energy, efficiency. Things which are impossible with man are possible with God, and with a man in whom God is. Prayer is the secret of imparted power from. God, and nothing else can take its place.” Arthur T. Pierson. TDOC 264.4

Jesus, often in prayer

“Jesus himself, while he dwelt among men, was often in prayer. Our Savior identified himself with our needs and weakness, in that he became a suppliant, a petitioner, seeking from his Father fresh supplies of strength, that he might come forth braced for duty and trial. He is our example in all things. He is a brother in our infirmities, ‘in all points tempted like as we are;’ but as the sinless one, his nature recoiled from evil; he endured struggles and torture of soul in a world of sin. His humanity made prayer a necessity and a privilege. He found comfort and joy in communion with his Father. And if the Savior of men, the Son of God, felt the need of prayer, how much more should feeble, sinful mortals feel the necessity of fervent, constant prayer.”-Steps to Christ, 97, 98. TDOC 264.5

Christ’s prayer and ours united

The prayers of believers, and of all who are coming unto God, must be viewed as connected with his prayer. Christ, whom we worship, is also the first of worshipers. The Father regards Christ and the church as one. Jesus identifies himself with us, and thus his prayer and our prayers are united; the Father, strictly speaking, hears only one voice, the voice of the Son, whom he hears always. On the other hand, Jesus, identifying himself with the Father, sends the Spirit into our hearts, and it is no longer we that pray, but Christ in us-the Spirit, as the representative of Christ, enabling us to pray in Christ’s name.” TDOC 264.6

“In the Lord Jesus Christ we see most clearly the union of prayer and life, the harmony and continual interpenetration of the two spheres of life-communion with God and the works of earth. The Son of man, while he lived on earth, was in heaven and in uninterrupted fellowship with God; he glorified the Father on earth by word and deed. Always in communion with the Father, he thought it no interruption when his disciples or the people demanded his help or his teaching; and without any effort, he passed from quiet retirement to activity, and from activity and tumult of life to the more direct and special act of prayer. Nor must we forget that, sinless as he was, he had a work not merely in regard to the world around him but also with regard to himself. We shrink from applying the word ‘self discipline’ to him whose humanity was free from all sin and imperfection. But we read of Jesus that he came not to do his own will. Looking up to God,-that is, by prayer, he continually kept all that was within him in harmony with the divine will. For the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, painful as it was, despising the shame, which he felt as such. TDOC 265.1

“We are to be conformed to Christ: as he was, so are we in the world. It is in virtue of our union with him that we pray aright, and that our prayer becomes the center and power of our whole inner and outer life.” TDOC 265.2