PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

The Key to Prayer

The age in which we live is extremely hazardous to the proper growth and development of the children whom we bring into the world. It is, as Peter said at the conclusion of his message to the Jews on the day of Pentecost, "this crooked generation" (Acts 2:40). Similarly, Paul called the age, "a crooked and perverted generation" (Philippians 2:15). Moreover, Paul gives us a litany of degradation that will occur in the end times: "But know this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, not lovers of good, traitors, reckless, blinded with pride, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God..." (2 Timothy 3:1-4). I think that we would all readily agree that the age in which our children are growing up and maturing is much more corrupted than the age in which we, the parents, were raised. We often are troubled with concerns of how we can guard our next generation from the dangers of this evil age. As believers, we intuitively maintain the intrinsic conviction that our most certain help comes through prayer. We must pray for our children! Yet, we often find that our prayer seems to be ineffective. We desperately need the key to prayer.

Watchman Nee wrote a very helpful article entitled, "The Key to Prayer" opening to us this theme. We need to pray, he observes, but we need to know the essential principles that will make our prayers effectual. We are reprinting excerpts from that article in this issue of Parenthood.

The key to prayer is to find and express the heart and will of God: "Prayer according to the will of God is only possible when we are in harmony with His will; it is not an exercise of forcing God to oblige man's emotions. Unless our emotions are dealt with, it is impossible for us to pray; prayers will not have a way to be released. Once we are under the control of our emotions, we will pray in a natural way according to our subjective desires; it will be hard to pray according to the inner leading. Therefore, we must touch the key to prayer. Whenever we find ourselves praying ineffectively, fruitlessly, and insufficiently, we must ask the Lord for light and seek to discover the cause."

Prayer is a matter of great importance in the spiritual life of a Christian. Every true Christian realizes this and prays. However, even though some of the Lord's children spend time praying over many matters, they do not seem to get through in prayer. It seems as if they have not found the way to pray. This is because they have not discovered the key.

In whatever we do, we must first have the key, the secret. If we want to enter a room and the door is locked, we will not find the way in unless we possess the key. Suppose we need two people to carry a table through a door. Some may do it without a problem; but others may do it awkwardly, bumping and banging it in a vain effort to get it through the door. The size of the table and the width of the door is the same; the only difference is with the people who are carrying the table. Some have the key to carrying the table, while others do not. People who have found the key do things well; they are able workers. Once a person gets the key, he can do things twice as fast as others do, while those who do not have the key labor in vain. The same principle applies to prayer. Matthew 7 speaks of principles relating to prayer, one of which is, "He who seeks finds" (v. 8). Seeking requires effort. Anyone who looks in a half-hearted, leisurely manner will probably not find anything. Seeking involves patience and perseverance, and unless we are thorough, we will not find what we seek. If God does not answer our prayers, we must exercise patience and diligently seek the key to prayer. God answered the prayers of many of the saints in the past because they had the key to prayer....Many earnest Christians pray at great length; they pray wordy prayers, but they do not receive answers from God. In prayer, words are essential, but our words must be to the point; they should be words that touch the heart of God and move Him so that He has no alternative but to grant our requests. Words that are to the point are the key to prayer. These kinds of words match God's will, and He cannot but respond to them. Let us find the key to prayer from a few scriptural illustrations.

ABRAHAM'S PRAYER FOR SODOM
(GENESIS 18:16-33)

When God made known to Abraham that He was about to execute judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness, Abraham waited before God. Then he began to pray for Sodom. He did not just open his mouth and say, "O God, have mercy on Sodom and Gomorrah!" He did not beseech God with great intensity, saying, "Oh, forbid that Sodom and Gomorrah should be destroyed!" Abraham laid hold of the fact that God is a righteous God (Genesis 18:25); this was the key to his prayer. In deep humility and with great earnestness, he proceeded to ask God one question after another. His questions were his prayers. As he proceeded in prayer, he stood steadfastly on the ground of God's righteousness.... He heard the Lord say, "The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and ... their sin is very grievous ... the cry of it ... is come unto me" (vv. 20-21). If there were not even ten righteous people in a city, what kind of a city was it? The Lord loves righteousness and hates lawlessness (Hebrews 1:9). He cannot cover sin and refrain from judgment.... Abraham's prayer was to the point, and it was answered. There was no unrighteousness with God. He did not "slay the righteous with the wicked" (Genesis 18:25). We worship and we praise Him.

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