The Penn's Grove record., 1911-05-12
.ThyeaLDPrinYaiilege of
:II5ISaa Prayer , .
81 REV, GEORGE z. LOCKWOOD

. ~
Al19 ~ REV. GEoRGER z. LOCKWOOD .noI
- lGgIL
TExT4Be carefull for nothing. but in
everything by Oprayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known unto God. And the peace OF
Cod which lpasseth all understandings,
shall Keep yodr hearts and minds through
Jesus christ.HPhillppians 4'0s-7.
Let me ask you. In the very Begin.
ming of)this sermon, four very personal
questions: Do. you realize what a
privilege, prayer ISL Has prayer been
of real blessing to- you? Can you put
your finger on any particular prayer
and say;,6fH know that prayer was
answered; It was q particular blessing
to 1me?" Is your God not your moth
,er's God. or your fathers God. or some,
body else's God. but is your God q
prayer-ahswering oGod?r
Now, If anybody had any knowledge
Of God except yourself and you were
10 bear witness to the fact that God
Ia hearing and answering prayers,
wouid-you-be able to bring Nlustrar
lions out of your W Individual ex-
~perience? That Is an intensely per-
sonal ana practical question. And the
fourth omne::Hh Do you feel free to go
to God at any time; are you SO much
at home. with. Coz. that you cannot
hold yourself back at times from go
ing and having. a. talk. with Him?
In prayer a privilege that You. enjoy?
Now; let us clear the field for &C
ton by bringing the testimony of
Christ before us. In the chapter that
i have Just read you will notice GER
tain ones coming to Jesus on a very
interesting occasion, They saw Him
praying, and owheng He got through
praying they Immediately = came to
Him and isaad:loGf"Teach us to pray
Lord."'.u e'ioi".' 9h@ "As 'io'2 "'AA2
It seems to me that that picture.
comes right before our minds. We
can see Jesus kneeling there IN
prayer, and. there is q radiance about
His ~countenance; there is a sincerity
about His voice. there Is an intimacy
in the whole atmosphere that sur
rounds Jesus, and the disciples who
are looking at Him feel. why, I have
never had an experience of that sort
in my life; that man is enjoying some
thing ] wish ! could" wi ss[
.oa And so4.they come to Him manfully.
and bravely and say: Lord, teach US
to pray.n And Jesus teaches the great
Lords prayer. And you will notice
that as He goes on down in His beauti-
full conversation with them He says:
knock, and It shall be opened unto
you. ask, and ye shall receive nei
Prayer is a privilege. we MAJ all
enjoy. Anybody, anywhere. any time,
anything. -Anybody@rWhosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved ANY tirne1men ought al
ways to pray" AnywhereAyou re-
member that woman CT Sanarfa. there
at the we'll. She had an idea that It
was necessary, to go on q long pilgrim.
age ito Jerusalem, TO "a certain par
ticular temple, In order to come In
communion with God Jesus said:
woman, not Jerusalem = God dsA a
spirit, and they that would worship
God must worship Him In spirit and in
truth Anythfng-in everything let
your requests be made known unto
God"
+ WIN tell you three reasons that
are the. real enemes, of prayer. II. is
interesting s. sometimes to look into
your life and ask yourself the. ques-
ton: who are my enemies, after
ALI" They are not on the outside;
the real enemies OF prayer are on
the Inside. And what are those things
In your life that make 1T difficult for
you to realize how nearoGod is, and
how willing God is to- answer your
prayer 2. ia The first answer that very
naturally comes is Sin" 1t is the
business of sin to close our eyes to
the presence Of God; to separate the
soul from its Creator. '' Ss'iA !.
Who are the people who sayaseI
don't believe there is a God?" They
are those who don't believe that there
is any Cod, because their lives are In
aicondition oflsin Sin creates in our
hearts a distaste. for prayer.
b Thelsecond enemy Of prayer is @Rea-
son. Reason would take the bread
out of the hand OF a starving child.
Reason would 60 to the bedside of a
sick and dying soul and would take
the wise physician and drive him
away from the bed. ~ Reason would
even reach It's arm tout into the sky
and tearlGod out OF the universe, If
1T only hadthe powerto dc. II. Reason
is one. of the biggest blessings and. one
Of the biggest curses that this world
has eyer had; 1t all depends upon
whether reason is In its rightful place
or not. 10 a9i3a
Then there Is another enemy, and
that isp ~Formality.pt Some Of JUS are
taught to pray at this hour or that
hour: some + taught to pray in the
morning or at night when we retire.
But the very minute that you dis
.coyer that Formally in prayer Is be
coming simply a little fetch that you
are putting In the place OF God. that
moment stop right where you are and
say. God forgive me; l have been
making a little Fetch aout of prayer
and that little fetch has blinded me
to thy presence."'o ! wou4
! LET nae, place upon your lips two
prayers, The first one: "Oh,p Godt
help me to realize Thy presence.r And
when you feel God coming right
through the darkness and standing
right III front Of you, your prayers will
become a. real blessing to you, Also,
place on your lips this prayer: "Oh.
Godt help-me to be very honest In my
prayer.as rAnd the peace that passeth
all understanding 10 shall ~ keep your
hearts and your minds IN Christ
Jesus" -pas5nil
s8l 10
. es,'ss Endless, Life IN God.
ioItiuIuS 10 sft3DI41 9i.sbkstgAa talN