The Faithfulness of God and the Prayers of His Saints Part 1

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Five part series on the faithfulness of God and the prayers of His saints. - Preface, first petition, and conclusion of Lord's Prayer

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Prayer Content include the following:

• Affirmation: Expression of agreement

• Blessing: Uses the formula “bless/blessed”

• Complaint: Report of a specific grievance

• Confession: Confession of faith; the speech act portion of salvation

• Consecration: A kind of oath where one is set apart for divine service

• Curse: Uses the formula “curse/cursed”

• Imprecation: Request for justice or vengeance to come down on another

• Intercession: Request on behalf of another

• Lament: Expressing negative emotion

• Oath: A promise, vow, covenant, or other swearing

• Petition: Request for a specific consideration for oneself

• Praise: Ascribing glory, adoration, worship, or recounting good deeds

• Query: Request for information or direction

• Repentance: Confession of sin, the speech act portion of repentance

• Thanksgiving: An expression of gratitude

• Other: Not otherwise categorized

Scripture

Matthew 6:5–15 ESV
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Daniel 9:3–19 ESV
Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. Therefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice. And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly. “O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”
Psalm 121:1–2 ESV
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 123:1 ESV
To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
Psalm 48:9 ESV
We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple.
Psalm 115:9–11 ESV
O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield. You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and their shield.
Psalm 115:14–15 ESV
May the Lord give you increase, you and your children! May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth!
Genesis 14:19–20 ESV
And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Matthew 11:25–26 ESV
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
Acts 17:23–25 ESV
For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
Isaiah 42:5–9 ESV
Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
Isaiah 44:24–28 ESV
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish, who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins’; who says to the deep, ‘Be dry; I will dry up your rivers’; who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’ ”
Isaiah 45:12–13 ESV
I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways level; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward,” says the Lord of hosts.
Jeremiah 27:5–7 ESV
“It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes. Then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.
Psalm 115:1–3 ESV
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
Psalm 11:4–7 ESV
The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.
Psalm 135:1–7 ESV
Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord, give praise, O servants of the Lord, who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God! Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant! For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel as his own possession. For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
James 1:17–18 ESV
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
John 3:27 ESV
John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.
John 6:44 ESV
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:65 ESV
And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
John 6:32–34 ESV
Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
Malachi 3:6 ESV
“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
Numbers 23:19 ESV
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
Titus 1:1–2 ESV
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began
Hebrews 6:16–18 ESV
For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
Psalm 102:25–28 ESV
Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end. The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.
Psalm 96:1–13 ESV
Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth! Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.” Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Jonah 1:9 ESV
And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
Psalm 146:5–10 ESV
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!
Deuteronomy 10:14–18 ESV
Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.
2 Chronicles 20:5–12 ESV
And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
Genesis 24:12–14 ESV
And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”
Genesis 32:9–12 ESV
And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. But you said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”
Numbers 10:35 ESV
And whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.”
Numbers 14:40 ESV
And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, “Here we are. We will go up to the place that the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.”
Example of Prayer - Confession
Example of Prayer - enemies
Example of prayer - “not worthy”
Example of Prayer - note v. 27 “and said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the LORD has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen.”

Commentary

Systematic Theology D. Attributes of Sovereignty

The sovereignty of God is strongly emphasized in Scripture. He is represented as the Creator, and His will as the cause of all things. In virtue of His creative work heaven and earth and all that they contain belong to Him. He is clothed with absolute authority over the hosts of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth. He upholds all things with His almighty power, and determines the ends which they are destined to serve. He rules as King in the most absolute sense of the word, and all things are dependent on Him and subservient to Him. There is a wealth of Scripture evidence for the sovereignty of God, but we limit our references here to a few of the most significant passages: Gen. 14:19; Ex. 18:11; Deut. 10:14, 17; 1 Chron. 29:11, 12; 2 Chron. 20:6; Neh. 9:6; Ps. 22:28; 47:2, 3, 7, 8; Ps. 50:10–12; 95:3–5; 115:3; 135:5, 6; 145:11–13; Jer. 27:5; Luke 1:53; Acts 17:24–26; Rev. 19:6.

God’s bringing her into the wilderness was to humble her, and fit her to receive vineyards, and to make her see her dependence on God for them, that she might not attribute her enjoyment of them to her idols, as she had done before, for which reason God took them away, as in the twelfth verse. “And I will destroy her vines and her fig-trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me; and I will make them a forest.”

God would first bring her into a wilderness, and thence give her vineyards, as God first brought the children of Israel into a dreadful wilderness.

This hope and comfort should be bestowed on the slaying and forsaking of sin. That is the troubler of the soul. It should be given in the valley of Achor, which was the valley where the troubler of Israel was slain, as you may see in Joshua 7:26.; and the place where the children of Israel sang, when they came up out of the land of Egypt.

Souls are wont to be brought into trouble before God bestows true hope and comfort. The corrupt hearts of men naturally incline to stupidity and senselessness before God comes with the awakening influences of his Spirit. They are quiet and secure; they have no true comfort and hope, and yet they are quiet; they are at ease. They are in miserable slavery, and yet seek not a remedy. They say, as the children of Israel did in Egypt to Moses, “let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians.” But if God has a design of mercy to them, it is his manner before he bestows true hope and comfort on them, to bring them into trouble, to distress them, and spoil their ease and false quietness, and to rouse them out of their old resting and sleeping places, and to bring them into a wilderness. They are brought into trouble, and sometimes into exceedingly great trouble and distress, so that they can take no comfort in those things in which they used to take comfort. Their hearts are pinched and stung, and they can find no ease in any thing. They have, as it were, an arrow sticking fast in them, which causes grievous and continual pain, an arrow which they cannot shake off, or pull out. The pain and anguish of it drinks up their spirit. Their worldly enjoyments were a sufficient good before; but they are not now. They wander about with wounded hearts, seeking rest, and finding none; like one wandering in a dry and parched wilderness under the burning, scorching heat of the sun, seeking for some shadow where he may sit down and rest, but finding none. Wherever he goes the beams of the sun scorch him: or he seeks some fountain of cool water to quench his thirst, but finds not a drop.

Awakened sinners are convinced that they are sinful. Before the sinner thought well of himself, or was not convinced that he was very sinful. But now he is led to reflect first on what he has done, how wickedly he has spent his time, what wicked acts or practices he has been guilty of. And afterwards in the progress of his awakenings he is made sensible of something of the sin and plague of his heart. They are made sensible of the guilt and wrath which sin brings.

The end of this trouble in those to whom God designs mercy is to humble them. God leads them into the wilderness before he speaks comfortably to them, for the same cause that he led the children of Israel into the wilderness before he brought them into Canaan, which we are told was to humble them. Deut. 8:2. “And thou shalt remember all the way, which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, and to know what was in thine heart.” Man naturally trusts in himself, and magnifies himself. And for man to enjoy only ease and prosperity and quietness tends to nourish and establish such a disposition. Deut. 32:15. “Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked.” But by trouble and distress, and by a sense of a heavy load of guilt, God brings men down into the dust. God brings souls thus into the wilderness to show them their own helplessness, to let them see that they have nothing to which they can turn for help, to make them sensible that they are not rich and increased with goods, but wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked; to show them that they are utterly undone and ruined, to make them sensible of their exceeding wickedness, and to bring them to be sensible how justly God might cast them off for ever.

Those legal troubles tend to show them their utter inability to help themselves, as their fears put them on using their utmost endeavours, and trying their utmost strength; and by continuing in that way their experience teaches them their weakness, and they find they can do nothing. It puts them upon repeated trials, and they have as repeated disappointments. But repeated disappointments tend to bring a man to give up the case, and to despair of help in that way in which he has tried for it. It tends to make men sensible of the utter insufficiency of their wisdom, and bring them to see their own exceeding blindness and ignorance. For fear, and concern, and distress, necessarily put a person on intensely thinking, and studying, and contriving for relief. But when men have been thus trying their own wisdom and invention to their utmost, and find it fails, and signifies nothing, and is altogether to no purpose, it makes them more and more sensible of their weakness and blindness, and brings them to confess themselves feels, and blind, as to those things which concern their relief.

But after he has tried and has travelled awhile, and finds that he cannot find the way, and that he spends himself in vain, and only goes round and round, and comes to the same place again at last, he is brought to confess that he knows not where to go, nor what to do, and that he is sensible that he is like one who is perfectly lost, and altogether in darkness, and is brought at last to yield the case and stand still, and do nothing but call for help, that if possible any one may hear, and lead him in the wilderness. For this end God leads men into the wilderness before he speaks comfortably to them.

When they are in fear, they take much more notice of their sins than at other times. They think more how wickedly they have lived, and observe more the corrupt and wicked working of their own hearts, and so are more and more sensible what vile creatures they are. This makes them more and more sensible how angry God is, and how terrible his anger is. They try to appease and to reconcile God by their own righteousness, but it fails. God still appears as an angry God, refusing to hear their prayers, or appear for their help, till they despair in their own righteousness, and yield the case; and by more and more of a sight of themselves are brought to confess that they lie justly exposed to damnation, and have nothing by which to defend themselves. God appears more and more as a terrible being to them, till they have done with any imaginations, that they have any thing sufficient to recommend them, or reconcile them to such a God. Thus God is wont first to bring the soul into trouble by reason of sin, and so to humble the soul, before he gives true hope and comfort in conversion.

Sometimes they grow proud and conceited of themselves, either on account of their own godliness, and the good opinion others have of them, or on some other account. Sometimes they fall into a worldly frame, and spiritual things grow more tasteless to them, and their hearts are desperately bent on the acquisition of worldly good. Sometimes their minds grow light and vain, and their affections are wholly fixed on the vanities of youth, on dress, and gaiety, and fashion. Some, because their minds are not occupied as once they were, with spiritual enjoyments and delights, sweetly meditating on heavenly things, breathing and longing after them, and earnestly seeking them, become the slaves of their sensual appetites. Others grow contentious and quarrelsome, are often angry with those around them, and cherish habitual rancour against them in their hearts. They become wilful and obstinate, and stir up strife, and oppose others with vehemence; determining at all hazards to carry their own measures, and delighting to have those who oppose them defeated and humbled. It hurts them to have others prosper. Their minds and hearts are full of turmoil, and heat, and vehemence against one and another. Others fall into a discontented, fretful, and impatient frame at the disposals of Providence. And oftentimes many of these things go together. And as these persons sink into such unhappy frames in their hearts, so they pursue very sinful courses of conduct. They behave themselves unsuitably, so as to dishonour God, and greatly to wound religion. They do not appear to others to savour of a good spirit. They fall into the practice of allowing themselves too great liberties in indulging their sensual appetites, in the gratification of covetousness and pride, in strife, backbiting, and a violent pursuit after the world. They slide into those corrupt frames and evil ways commonly by means of their first giving way to a slothful spirit. They are not so diligent and earnest in religion as they once were; but indulge their slothful disposition and discontinue their watch, and so lie open to temptation. Thus ill frames imperceptibly creep upon them, and they insensibly more and more fall into sinful practices.

And often when God is about to bring them to themselves, and to restore comfort to them, he first brings them into some very great and sore temporal calamity and trouble, and awakens them by that, and in this first brings them into the wilderness before he speaks comfortably to them

When the saints are in darkness, their darkness is not perpetual, but God will restore hope and comfort to them again. When one of Christ’s sheep wanders away, and gets into the wilderness, Christ the good Shepherd will not leave him in the wilderness, but will seek him, and will lay him on his shoulders, and bring him home again. We cannot tell how long God may leave his saints in the dark, but yet surely their darkness shall not last for ever; for light is sown to the righteous, and gladness to the upright in heart. Psal. 97:11. God, in the covenant of grace in which they have an interest, has promised them joy and comfort; he has promised them everlasting joy. Isa. 61:7. Satan may be suffered for a time to bring them into darkness, but they shall be brought out again. God may be provoked to hide his face from them for a time; and if it seems long, yet it is indeed but a little time. Isa. 54:7, 8. “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment: but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee.” Psal. 30:5. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

There is a gracious humiliation of soul before God for it. The gracious soul, when convinced of sin after great declensions, and recovered out of them, is deeply humbled; for it is brought to the dust before God. There is an evangelical repentance; the heart is broken for sin.

It is that the soul may be prepared for a confiding application of itself to Christ for comfort. It is the will of God that men should have true hope and comfort conferred upon them in no other way, than by Jesus Christ.

We see in temporal things, that the worth and value of any enjoyment is learned by the want of it. He who is sick, knows the worth of health. He who is in pain, knows how to prize ease. He who is in a storm at sea, knows how to prize safety on shore. And people who are subject to the grievances of war, know how to value peace. He who endures the hardships of captivity and slavery, is thereby taught how to value liberty. And so it is in spiritual things. He who is brought to see his misery in being without hope, is prepared to prize hope when obtained. He who is brought into distress through fear of hell and God’s wrath, is the more prepared to prize the comfort which arises from the manifestation of the favour of God, and a sense of safety from hell. He who is brought to see his utter emptiness and extreme poverty and necessity, and his perishing condition on that account, is thoroughly prepared to prize and rejoice in the manifestation of a fulness in Christ. And those godly persons who are fallen into corrupt and senseless frames, greatly stand in need of something to make them more sensible of their want of spiritual comfort and hope.

While sin is harboured and preserved alive, it tends to provoke God to frown and express his anger. Sin is God’s mortal enemy. It is that which his soul infinitely hates, and to which he is an irreconcilable enemy. And therefore if we harbour this, and suffer it to live in our hearts, and to govern our practice, we can expect no other than that it will provoke God’s frowns.

Hence we may learn, that souls, who are in darkness, and, as it were, in a wilderness, have no cause to be discouraged. For by the doctrine we learn that this is the way often, in order to hope and comfort. Persons are very often ready to be discouraged by this. God seems to frown. They have a sense of his anger. They cry to him, and he does not seem to hear their prayers. They have been striving for relief, but it seems to be to no purpose. They are in such circumstances, that every thing looks dark; every thing seems to be against them. They are lost in a wilderness; they cannot find the way out. They have gone round and round, and returned again to the same place. They know not which way to turn themselves, or what to do. Their hearts are ready to sink. But you may gather encouragement from this doctrine; for by it you may learn that you have no cause to despair. For it is frequently God’s manner to bring persons into such circumstances, in order to prepare them for hope and comfort.

But they in a great measure leave off the practice of secret prayer.

We read of the spirit of grace and supplication; Zech. 12:10. “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. Therefore the Spirit is said to make intercession for the saints with groanings which cannot be uttered, Rom. 8:26.

The Lord is high to them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him; he will also hear their cry, and will save them.” Joel 2:32

It is natural to one who is truly born from above to pray to God, and to pour out his soul in holy supplications before his heavenly Father. This is as natural to the new nature and life as breathing is to the nature and life of the body. But hypocrites have not this new nature.

The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume 2 (Doctrine)
True prayer is nothing else but faith expressed. Hence we read of the prayer of faith; James 5:15. True Christian prayer is the faith and reliance of the soul breathed forth in words. But a hypocrite is without the spirit of faith. He hath no true reliance or dependence on God, but is really self-dependent.

But it is far otherwise with the true convert. 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, a hungering and thirsting after righteousness, a longing after more acquaintance and communion with God. So that he hath business enough still at the throne of grace; yea, his business there, instead of being diminished, is rather increased.

The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 98–107

Q. 98. What is prayer?

A. Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God,m for things agreeable to his will,n in the name of Christ,o with confession of our sins,p and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.q

Q. 99. What rule hath God given for our direction in prayer?

A. The whole word of God is of use to direct us in prayer;r but the special rule of direction is that form of prayer which Christ taught his disciples, commonly called The Lord’s Prayer.s

Q. 100. What doth the preface of the Lord’s prayer teach us?

A. The preface of the Lord’s prayer (which is, Our Father which art in heavent) teacheth us to draw near to God with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father, able and ready to help us;v and that we should pray with and for others.w

Q. 101. What do we pray for in the first petition?

A. In the first petition (which is, Hallowed be thy namex) we pray, That God would enable us and others to glorify him in all that whereby he maketh himself known;y and that he would dispose all things to his own glory.z

Q. 102. What do we pray for in the second petition?

A. In the second petition (which is, Thy kingdom comea) we pray, That Satan’s kingdom may be destroyed;b and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced,c ourselves and others brought into it, and kept in it;d and that the Kingdom of glory may be hastened.e

Q. 103. What do we pray for in the third petition?

A. In the third petition (which is, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heavenf) we pray, that God, by his grace, would make us able and willing to know, obey, and submit to his will in all things,g as the angels do in heaven.h

Q. 104. What do we pray for in the fourth petition?

A. In the fourth petition (which is, Give us this day our daily breadi) we pray, That of God’s free gift we may receive a competent portion of the good things of this life, and enjoy his blessing with them.k

Q. 105. What do we pray for in the fifth petition?

A. In the fifth petition (which is, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtorsl) we pray, That God, for Christ’s sake, would freely pardon all our sins;m which we are the rather encouraged to ask, because by his grace we are enabled from the heart to forgive others.n

Q. 106. What do we pray for in the sixth petition?

A. In the sixth petition (which is, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evilo) we pray, That God would either keep us from being tempted to sin,p or support and deliver us when we are tempted.q

Q. 107. What doth the conclusion of the Lord’s prayer teach us?

A. The conclusion of the Lord’s prayer (which is, For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever, Amenr) teacheth us to take our encouragement in prayer from God only,s and in our prayers to praise him, ascribing kingdom, power, and glory to him.t And, in testimony of our desire, and assurance to be heard, we say, Amen.v

The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition Westminster Larger Catechism Question 178–196

Q. 178. What is prayer?

A. Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God,x in the name of Christ,y by the help of his Spirit;z with confession of our sins,a and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.b

Q. 179. Are we to pray unto God only?

A. God only being able to search the hearts,c hear the requests,d pardon the sins,e and fulfil the desires of all;f and only to be believed in,g and worshipped with religious worship;h prayer, which is a special part thereof,i is to be made by all to him alone,k and to none other.l

Q. 180. What is it to pray in the name of Christ?

A. To pray in the name of Christ is, in obedience to his command, and in confidence on his promises, to ask mercy for his sake;m not by bare mentioning of his name,n but by drawing our encouragement to pray, and our boldness, strength, and hope of acceptance in prayer, from Christ and his mediation.o

Q. 181. Why are, we to pray in the name of Christ?

A. The sinfulness of man, and his distance from God by reason thereof, being so great, as that we can have no access into his presence without a mediator;p and there being none in heaven or earth appointed to, or fit for, that glorious work but Christ alone,q we are to pray in no other name but his only.r

Q. 182. How doth the Spirit help us to pray?

A. We not knowing what to pray for as we ought, the Spirit helpeth our infirmities, by enabling us to understand both for whom, and what, and how prayer is to be made; and by working and quickening in our hearts (although not in all persons, nor at all times, in the same measure) those apprehensions, affections, and graces which are requisite for the right performance of that duty.s

Q 183. For whom are we to pray?

A. We are to pray for the whole church of Christ upon earth;t for magistrates,v and ministers;w for ourselves,x our brethren,y yea, our enemies;z and for all sorts of men living,a or that shall live hereafter;b but not for the dead,c nor for those that are known to have sinned the sin unto death.d

Q. 184. For what things are we to pray?

A. We are to pray for all things tending to the glory of God,e the welfare of the church,f our owng or others’ good;h but not for any thing that is unlawful.i

Q. 185. How are we to pray?

A. We are to pray with an awful apprehension of the majesty of God,k and deep sense of our own unworthiness,l necessities,m and sins;n with penitent,o thankful,p and enlarged hearts;q with understanding,r faith,s sincerity,t fervency,v love,w and perseverance,x waiting upon him,y with humble submission to his will.z

Q. 186. What rule hath God given for our direction in the duty of prayer?

A. The whole word of God is of use to direct us in the duty of prayer;a but the special rule of direction is that form of prayer which our Saviour Christ taught his disciples, commonly called The Lord’s Prayer.b

Q. 187. How is the Lord’s prayer to be used?

A. The Lord’s prayer is not only for direction, as a pattern, according to which we are to make our prayers; but may also be used as a prayer, so that it be done with understanding, faith, reverence, and other graces necessary to the right performance of the duty of prayer.c

Q. 188. Of how many parts does the Lord’s prayer consist?

A. The Lord’s prayer consists of three parts; a preface, petitions, and a conclusion.

Q. 189. What doth the preface of the Lord’s prayer teach us?

A. The preface of the Lord’s prayer (contained in these words, Our Father which art in heavend) teacheth us, when we pray, to draw near to God with confidence of his fatherly goodness, and our interest therein;e with reverence, and all other child-like dispositions,f heavenly affections,g and due apprehensions of his sovereign power, majesty, and gracious condescension:h as also, to pray with and for others.i

Q. 190. What do we pray for in the first petition?

A. In the first petition, (which is, Hallowed be thy name,k) acknowledging the utter inability and indisposition that is in ourselves and all men to honour God aright,l we pray, that God would by his grace enable and incline us and others to know, to acknowledge, and highly to esteem him,m hititles,n attributes,o ordinances, word,p works, and whatsoever he is pleased to make himself known by;q and to glorify him in thought, word,r and deed:s that he would prevent and remove atheism,t ignorance,v idolatry,w profaneness,x and whatsoever is dishonourable to him;y and by his overruling providence, direct and dispose of all things to his own glory.z

Q. 191. What do we pray for in the second petition?

A. In the second petition, (which is, Thy kingdom come,a) acknowledging ourselves and all mankind to be by nature under the dominion of sin and Satan,b we pray, that the kingdom of sin and Satan may be destroyed,c the gospel propagated throughout the world,d the Jews called,e the fulness of the Gentiles brought in;f the church furnished with all gospel officers and ordinances,g purged from corruption,h countenanced and maintained by the civil magistrate:i that the ordinances of Christ may be purely dispensed, and made effectual to the converting of those that are yet in their sins, and the confirming, comforting, and building up of those that are already converted:k that Christ would rule in our hearts here,l and hasten the time of his second coming, and our reigning with him for ever:m and that he would be pleased so to exercise the kingdom of his power in all the world, as may best conduce to these ends.n

Q. 192. What do we pray for in the third petition?

A. In the third petition, (which is, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven,o) acknowledging, that by nature we and all men are not only utterly unable and unwilling to know and do the will of God,p but prone to rebel against his word,q to repine and murmur against his providence,r and wholly inclined to do the will of the flesh, and of the devil:s we pray that God would by his Spirit take away from ourselves and others all blindness,t weakness,v indisposedness,w and perverseness of heart;x and by his grace make us able and willing to know, do, and submit to his will in all things,y with the like humility,z cheerfulness,a faithfulness,b diligence,c zeal,d sincerity,e and constancy,f as the angels do in heaven.g

Q. 193. What do we pray for in the fourth petition?

A. In the fourth petition, (which is, Give us this day our daily bread,h) acknowledging, that in Adam, and by our own sin, we have forfeited our right to all the outward blessings of this life, and deserve to be wholly deprived of them by God, and to have them cursed to us in the use of them;i and that neither they of themselves are able to sustain us,k nor we to merit,l or by our own industry to procure them;m but prone to desire,n get,o and use them unlawfully:p we pray for ourselves and others, that both they and we, waiting upon the providence of God from day to day in the use of lawful means, may, of his free gift, and as to his fatherly wisdom shall seem best, enjoy a competent portion of them;q and have the same continued and blessed unto us in our holy and comfortable use of them,r and contentment in them;s and be kept from all things that are contrary to our temporal support and comfort.t

Q. 194. What do we pray for in the fifth petition?

A. In the fifth petition, (which is, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,v) acknowledging, that we and all others are guilty both of original and actual sin, and thereby become debtors to the justice of God; and that neither we, nor any other creature, can make the least satisfaction for that debt;w we pray for ourselves and others, that God of nis free grace would, through the obedience and satisfaction of Christ, apprehended and applied by faith, acquit us both from the guilt and punishment of sin,x accept us in his Beloved,y continue his favour and grace to us,z pardon out daily failings,a and fill us with peace and joy, in giving us daily more and more assurance of forgiveness;b which we are the rather imboldened to ask, and encouraged to expect, when we have this testimony in ourselves, that we from the heart forgive others their offences.c

Q. 195. What do we pray for in the sixth petition?

A. In the sixth petition, (which is, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,d) acknowledging, that the most wise, righteous, and gracious God, for divers holy and just ends, may so order things, that we may be assaulted, foiled, and for a time led captive by temptations;e that Satan,f the world,g and the flesh, are ready powerfully to draw us aside, and insnare us;h and that we, even after the pardon of our sins, by reason of our corruption,i weakness, and want of watchfulness,k are not only subject to be tempted, and forward to expose ourselves unto temptations,l but also of ourselves unable and unwilling to resist them, to recover out of them, and to improve them;m and worthy to be left under the power of them:n we pray, that God would so over-rule the world and all in it,o subdue the flesh,p and restrain Satan,q order all things,r bestow and bless all means of grace,s and quicken us to watchfulness in the use of them, that we and all his people may by his providence be kept from being tempted to sin;t or, if tempted, that by his Spirit we may be powerfully supported and enabled to stand in the hour of temptation;v or, when fallen, raised again and recovered out of it,w and have a sanctified use and improvement thereof;x that our sanctification and salvation may be perfected,y Satan trodden under our feet,z and we fully freed from sin, temptation, and all evil, for ever.a

Q. 196. What doth the conclusion of the Lord’s prayer teach us?

A. The conclusion of the Lord’s prayer, (which is, For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever, Amen,)b teacheth us to enforce our petitions with arguments,c which are to be taken, not from any worthiness in ourselves, or in any other creature, but from God;d and with our prayers to join praises,e ascribing to God alone eternal sovereignty, omnipotency, and glorious excellency;f in regard whereof, as he is able and willing to help us,g so we by faith are imboldened to plead with him that he would,h and quietly to rely upon him, that he will fulfil our requests.i And, to testify this our desire and assurance, we say, Amen.k

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