Harbinger, June 1, '65. WILL GOD ANSWER PRAYER? 189 cooperation, and test him whether he will not use them to his glory? Whether Maryport, Whitehaven, Carlisle, Aspatria, Dumfries, &c. cannot at once take a like step? Then there is a Midland district growing into life-Birmingham, Walsall, Wednesbury, and Wolverhampton, and other towns, that these churches will have ere long. Brethren around Nottingham are coöperating in useful work, but might they not have their district meetings and sustain in their district an evangelist? There would be not less, but more work for the useful brethren who now journey many miles on the Lord's day to render help where it is most needed. Might not Nottingham, Bulwell, Langley, Leicester, Loughborough, Lincoln, &c. thus systematically combine, having district meeting, fund, and committee. The like may apply to other places. Let each church look around and ask, What can be done? 66 But were this done where would the districts find the evangelists?" In the first place, lay hands on the men already in the field. Have a loving scramble for them if necessary. More will appear ere long. Have everything in readness for their coming. The very existence of the arrangements will tend to their production. Useful men, too, may be found to undertake labor in a district, who would not and who ought not to take to the wider field. Then mind the command," Pray ye the Lord of the harvest." His resources are not so circumscribed as we are apt to think, and it may be that he waits for that being done on our part which we are able to do. A few other jottings on the laborers, their training, qualifications, work, and reward must stand over till a more convenient season. WILL GOD ANSWER PRAYER? THIS is a strange question to appear in a religious periodical. It is still stranger that it should ever become a question among those who profess to worship God. There are but two classes of men who can possibly answer it in the negative, or even hesitate about answering it in the affirmative. They are those who do not believe in the inspiration of the Bible, and those who believe, but are ignorant of Bible teaching upon this subject. Neither of these classes necessarily answer in the negative, for many who have rejected the Bible have retained the belief that God will answer prayer. But he who accepts the Bible as the word of God, and is acquainted with its contents, has no alternative. From the days of Abraham's intercession for Sodom to the close of revelation, he finds examples and precepts and promises almost innumerable, affirming that God's eyes have always been over the righteous, and his ears open to their cries. Yet there are many persons in the churches who have but little confidence in what the Bible teaches upon this subject. They are those who pray but seldom, or whose prayers are a mere form. How many thousands of worshippers are there in religious assemblies who go through the form of prayer with scarcely a thought of their prayers being answered. How many, indeed, of those who lead in public prayer, and of those who are punctual in private devotions, are moved entirely by a mere sense of duty, without the least stimulus from the hope that they will obtain what they ask for. They are like an old sister in the West, who stated her experience as follows: "The Bible says, if you will pray for a mountain to be removed into the sea, it will be done. Well, there is a hill between our house and the public road, I have been praying the Lord for a year, to move it out of the way, and he has not done it; and I knew he wouldn't do it when I was asking him." No doubt much of the want of confidence upon this subject arises from a failure to understand it as it is presented in the Scriptures.-Now from the very nature of the case, there are many prayers which are not, and cannot be answered. One man is praying for rain, and another, whose interests are different, is praying at the same time for dry weather. Two religious parties are each praying for triumph over the other, and two nations at war are each praying for victory. Thousands are praying, too, for God to do things which he has determined not to do, or to do them in a certain way when he has unchangeably fixed upon 190 WILL GOD ANSWER PRAYER? Harbinger, June 1, '65. another way. That such prayers can be answered is either physically or morally impossible, and this fact shows that there is a limitation to the rule that God will answer prayer. This limitation, properly defined, will lead us to better understanding of the whole subject. The Apostle John says, "This is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him." Now the words "according to his will," constitute the limiting clause of this whole statement, so that only when we ask according to the will of God can we claim that he hears and will answer us. This limitation is not often mentioned in the Scriptures, probably because it is so obvious as not to need frequent repetition. But all the precepts we have in reference to the place, the matter, and the manner of prayer, imply this limitation, by showing that God has a will upon the subject which must be complied with. The idea, therefore, is abundantly set forth in the Scriptures. This will of God, according to which we must pray, is not that conceit of the fatalist, by which he has fixed in unalterable fate all things which come to pass in human history. If this were a reality all that we could gain by praying according to his will, would be obtained just as certainly if we prayed not all; and there would be no such thing, properly speaking, as answer to prayer. But the will referred to is God's will on the subject of prayer. So the connection of thought requires us to understand it. We can only know God's will as he has revealed it to us. We know not, therefore, how to make our prayers accord with his will, except by making them accord with the Scriptures. That a prayer which is contrary to the Scriptures, and therefore contrary to the will of God, will remain unanswered, is a maxim of common sense. But a prayer may be contrary to the will of God in several particulars It may be offered in a place which is forbidden-as the private prayers of the Pharisees while standing in the synagogues or on the corners of the streets. When they entered the synagogue, before taking their seats they lifted up their hands and offered a silent prayer, as the members of some churches now do, kneeling upon the benches; and as some preachers do, kneeling down when they first enter the pulpit. All such prayers are contrary to the will of God, and will not be heard in heaven.* Again, a prayer may be offered through the wrong motive-to be seen by men, (Matt. vi. 5.) or to gratify some evil desire, (Jas. iv. 3.) It may be filled with vain repetitions, (Matt. vi. 7,) or it may be prayer for something not promised. In none of these cases is the prayer according to God's will, and therefore an answer need not be expected. The rule, that in order to obtain an answer from God, our prayers must be according to his will, is the great governing principle upon the subject. It prohibits prayer for anything, or in any manner, or under the influence of any motive, known to be contrary to his will. In reference to all matters which are doubtful, it requires the prayer to be hypothetical, and renders the answer equally doubtful. Hence in reference to life and all our plans for the future, James teaches us to say, "If the Lord will, we will live and do this, or that ;" and Paul calls upon the brethren at Rome to join with him in praying “that I may come to you with joy, by the will of God, and may be refreshed among you." Jesus himself also prays, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not my will, but thine be done." This uncertainty as to what is the will of God, applies to thousands of things in the affairs of nations, of communities, and of individuals, and in reference to them all our prayers should be modestly limited by the condition, "If the will of the Lord be so.' There is no positive promise that such petitions will be granted, and therefore we should not, when offering them, too confidently anticipate an answer. We question this. They were condemned for praying to be seen of men. If, upon taking his place in the house of worship, a brother think well to solemnize his mind by silent prayer, who can say that his doing so is not acceptable? Those who do it to b seen will be condemned like the Pharisees of old, but surely not those who do it only to the Lord.-ED. Harbinger, June 1, '65. REST FOR THE WEARY. 191 Again, when God promises certain blessings on certain conditions, our rule requires us to limit our prayers by the conditions imposed. We cannot pray for rain without a cloud, nor for food without labor. Neither can we pray for pardon in unbelief, in impenitence, or in disobedience. Here is the folly of mourning-bench prayers, which call upon God to pardon the sinner before he has complied with the conditions of pardon which the will of God prescribes. Whatever blessing from God, or attainment in Christian life, depends in part upon conditions to be complied with by us, or exertions made by us, can be asked for according to the will of God, only when the prayer is accompanied by the condition or the exertion. Hence Ananias commanded Saul to call on the name of the Lord as he was proceeding to be immersed, and wash away his sins; and hence we are to forgive when we pray, "forgive us." When we pray for wisdom, which God has promised to give to all liberally, we are to let the word of wisdom dwell in us richly; when we pray for stronger faith, we must not forget that faith comes by the word of God; and when we pray for the salvation of sinners, we must preach to them the gospel, which is the power of God to salvation. But finally, when the will of God is certainly known, known in all its conditions, and our prayers are according to it, the answer is certain to be obtained. Of this we have the most solemn assurance of God's word, and if that cannot give us confidence, where will we go to find anything certain beneath the heavens ? Let us, then, constantly study the will of God, and pray with an undoubting faith. We have this great truth to encourage us, that he who knows the most of God's will, will be certain, other things equal, to offer the most acceptable prayers. He who has most escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust, and partaken most of the divine nature, will most frequently will the same things that God wills, and therefore enjoy the most frequent answers to his prayers. There is a boundless room for improvement here, as in all other matters of Christian life. Even Paul could say, "We know not what to pray for as we ought," but "the Spirit helps our infirmities." Let us come, then, with humble hearts to the communication of the Spirit, and learn what to pray for at all times, and to pray as we ought, that our praying may not be in vain. J. W. MCGARVEY. REST FOR THE WEARY. "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. xi. 28) THERE is a very strong tendency in the human mind to seek rest and contentment in present things. The way of the world is to live by sight, and not by faith. It is not at all a pleasant thing to the worldly mind, but very unpleasant indeed, to feel itself a pilgrim" and a stranger, journeying to an unknown clime; and in their forced oblivion of the past men grasp as much of this world's good as they can, and keep it as long as they can. They prefer the present to the future, and for a share of what this world has to bestow barter the life of the world to come. They speak and act, labor and toil, as if this world were their everlasting home. Having no treasure in heaven, their hearts are not there. But the reverse of all this is the case with the children of the kingdom. They remember that they are but strangers and pilgrims-that the fathers are all dead, and that none of the prophets have lived for ever, and to them the world and all the fashions thereof passeth away. The exhortation of the Prophet, though spoken to another people and of another rest, has for them a meaning which they seek to obey-" Arise, ye, and depart; for this is not your rest" (Micah ii. 10.) And like Abraham of old, looking for a city to come". a city" which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God"-they feel that they have "no continuing here," and are cheered with the assurance that there "remaineth a rest for the people of God." They endure as seeing him 66 192 REST FOR THE WEARY. Harbinger, June 1, '65. who is invisible, confident that they shall reap if they faint not. With Jesus himself, the Rest, for their guide, they "Shout while they journey home Songs are in every mouth: Lo! from the North they come, From East, and West, and South. They come to live and reign in thee." Now, although this world is not our rest, we are not restless. While all around is unrest, and the world is so full of evil and sorrow that it cannot be at rest, the children of God have present peace in Christ. He gives rest to the weary and heavy laden, and peace to the troubled spirit. But the world is in a constant fever of anxiety and toil-it affords neither rest nor peace to those who possess most of it. It is, on the contrary, a constant source of uneasiness, perplexity, and trial; and when they have done their best to make a rest here, they find it is full time to lay down life and work in order to rest in the grave. Still less is it a place where the people of God can find rest, because it is entirely unsuited to their dispositions. The whole heart and spirit of the saint aspire to a state free from this world's toil, and sin, and sorrow. Its highest joys satisfy him not, its purest pleasures leave something wanting; here there is nothing that can fill the measure of his desires, his hopes, and expectations. His aspiration is "Oh! draw my spirit unto Thee, By that mysterious magnet Thou hast laid Which, though our footsteps far and wide may roam, This world cannot satisfy him, because it is not suited to his whole nature. If we were intended to be tenants only of earth, and there were nothing contrary to our well-being in it, then it might satisfy our ambition; but such is not the case. It is a world full of suffering and care, even to the saints of God. Full of beauty and excellency as it is, it does not and cannot, in its present state, meet the wants of the soul. Solomon tasted all joys, drank his fill of all earthly pleasures, and then exclaimed out of the deeps of his sorrow-stricken, unsatisfied spirit, "Vanity of vanities! all is vanity.” All the glory of man here withers as a leaf, fades away as the flowers: the chill frosts of the world strike out all the joys and blooms of its poor pleasures, and leave nothing but desolation. Life and the world are often compared to a sea. The wicked are like the sea, whose waters cast up mire and dirt." The deep disquietude of the world is spoken of as the sea and the waves roaring." The sea is always in motion, even when it seems at rest. It is deceitful and treacherous, often stormy, and always fraught with peril. Quicksands, sunken rocks, icebergs, raging storms, and death-dealing calms, are the dread of the mariner. There is no rest anywhere on the face of its wide waters-no rest till the haven is reached, anchor dropped, and sails furled. The sea of life is like it. We are sailing on its solemn waters. Here we find no rest: our rest is in a sunnier clime, and on a happier shore. Here we meet with storms of sorrow and persecution, quicksands of temptation, sunken rocks of false friends and deceitful brethren, icebergs of cold and chilling sorrows-all these proclaim, "This is not your rest." 66 Sometimes the saint compares his present life to a wilderness, and often enough it proves a wilderness indeed. It is a land of pits and snares, and of the valley of the shadow of death. Evils beset the traveller on all sides, perils lurk in unseen places. It is truly a hostile territory, and the god of this world, in every conceivable manner, besets the wayfarer; therefore he hastens through it as best he can. He is a traveller, and his home, his rest, lie on the other side of the wilderness. The burning sands of trial often scorch his feet, and make the way weary and painful; often is he mocked by what appears a joy ready to be gathered, but finds a mirage in the desert-mist, not water-and his thirsting soul is ready to faint. Sharp rocks and rugged mountains, steep and perilous, almost without track, meet him and must be struggled over. The good and Harbinger, June 1, '65. REST FOR THE WEARY. 193 evil report must be borne, the unkindness of unloving hearts meekly endured, the "great fight of afflictions" nobly breasted, till the desert is passed and the rest gained. All these things say, "This is not your rest.” But "Not long the sigh, the toil, the sweat- Slack not thy weapon in the fight; Strike home! strike home!" 66 "The field is the world," said the Saviour. Here we must labor and toil, and bear the heat and burden of the day. Go, work," is the command of Jesus. Here in this field we must sow, often with tears, the seeds of life. Yes, that is it, of life! Sow, regardless of the winds, regardless of the clouds-sow to the Spirit, and reap "life everlasting." Here we are toilers, laborers ; and not till the end of the day shall we receive our penny. But we shall receive it— we shall reap if we faint not. All the great workers for God rested not here. Abraham went out at the command of God, not knowing whither he went. He sought another rest. David said, "O that I had wings like a dove! then would I flee away and be at rest." Job declared he would not live always, and Paul desired to depart and be with Christ. Like them, we seek another rest, where the labor of the day shall be done-" where the wicked cease from troubling, and where the weary are at rest." "In that peace we reap in gladness What was sown in tearful showers! They who all for God surrender, Bring their sheaves in heavenly splendor." 66 Afflictions proclaim that this is not our rest. Multitudes of God's people have to "endure a great fight of afflictions"-poverty, perplexity, distress, disappointment, and trial, in manifold forms. The waterfloods of sorrow sometimes threaten to overwhelm us; but we are not, even in this state of toil, and fear, and sorrow, left alone. The promise of God is, "Fear not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God." Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee." And thus in the midst of deepest sorrow do we hear the peace-speaking voice saying, "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest" (Ex. xxxiii. 14.) So, then, we find rest even now-comfort in the midst of sorrow even now--and in the deepest weariness gracious support. When the stream fails, we repair to the fountain-if the way seems dark and dreary, we go to the Sun of Righteousness for light-and in place of a settled and continuing city here, God is our dwelling-place. In him we find, through Christ Jesus, health, home, felicity-rest Bereavements are sad reminders that this is not our rest. Here we often see the mother weeping over her dead babe, the husband for the wife, and the wife for the husband-Mary over Lazarus and David over Absalom-sundered affections and scattered households. The language of all is, "Set your affections on things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God, and not on things on the earth." All here is transitory and fleeting, vanishing as a shadow; but the rest in the city of God is a rest for ever. Therefore love not the world, neither the things of the world; for this is not our rest. After all, there remaineth a rest for the people of God. Truly we have rest now in Christ Jesus-rest from the yoke of Satan, rest from the terrors of a guilty conscience, rest from the fruitless labor of seeking to build our home below the skies, and sweetest rest in conscious possession of "peace with God." Here we must toil, mind and body; but we have this consolation, that the hardest toilers have the sweetest rest. Here we are constrained to fight, but it is the soldier of many a hard-fought battle, of many a long and weary campaigne, who realizes best what it is to dwell in peace. Here we can obtain no |