2 Kings 2:2 KJV 1900

And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el.

Elisha at Bethel

The word Bethel means the "House of God."

It was at Bethel that Jacob met God when running away from Esau, and his self-life effort to steal the blessing. "And Jacob awaked * * and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. * *

Genesis 28:17 KJV 1900

And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

If the believer is to follow God fully, he must know the place and the power of prayer.

1. At the place of prayer, Bethel, we discover the will of God.

How can we do His will, if we know it not? How can we know it unless we seek His face?

Habakkuk said: "I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me" ( Hab. 2:1 ).

We will never get the purpose of God in our lives, if we have no Bethel, no time to be quiet, no time to wait on God, no time to hear His voice. "My soul, be thou silent unto God."

2. At the place of prayer, Bethel, we will find ourselves dying to our old self-life and living to the new.

Jacob had his Bethel, he also had his Peniel. Beth-El meant the "House of God," while Peni-El meant the "face of God."

It was at the latter place that Jacob's name was changed. After a night of intense struggle Jacob could do no more than cling to the Heavenly wrestler, for the angel of the Lord had touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh and it was out of joint.

Then the man who wrestled with Jacob said: "Let me go, for the day breaketh". "And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name?

And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel".

It is in prayer, intense prayer, that the believer comes to the end of his self-life, and God gives him a new name. As we behold His face we are transformed into His image, from glory unto glory.

3. At the place of prayer, Bethel, we will get power to undertake and to carry through our new task, our God-given service.

Matthew 6:6 KJV 1900

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

"And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled".

Charles H. Spurgeon, the great London preach-er, felt that much of his success lay in the prayers of a dear old saint who never failed him at the throne of grace.

Charles Finney was greatly empowered in his testimony, through the prayers of Father Nash.