James 5:16-18; John 15:4,5,7
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing…If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): To abide in Christ means to keep up a habit of constant close communion with Him—to be always leaning on Him, resting on Him, pouring out our hearts to Him, as our Fountain of life and strength, and our chief Companion and best Friend. To have His words abiding in us, is to keep His sayings and precepts continually before our memories and minds, and to make them the guide of our actions and the rule of our daily conduct and behavior. Christians of this stamp, we are told, shall not pray in vain. Whatever they ask they shall obtain, so long as they ask things according to God’s mind. No work shall be found too hard, and no difficulty insurmountable. Asking they shall receive—such men were Martin Luther, the German Reformer, and our own English martyr, Hugh Latimer. Such a man was John Knox.
D. L. MOODY (1837-1899): Luther and his companions were men of such mighty pleading with God, that they broke the spell of ages, and laid nations subdued at the foot of the Cross. John Knox grasped all Scotland in his strong arms of faith; his prayers terrified tyrants.
JOHN FLAVEL (1630-1691): The Queen of Scots professed she was more afraid of the prayers of John Knox, than of an army of ten thousand men.
JOHN TRAPP (1601-1699): Great is the power of faithful prayer…Martin Luther was wont to say that prayer was sort of omnipotent: for whatsoever God can do, that prayer can do.
MARTIN LUTHER (1483-1546): Prayer is that mightiest of all weapons that created natures can wield—it is ‘bombarda Christianorum,’ the cannon of Christians. It shaketh heaven and earth.
F. W. KRUMMACHER (1796-1868): Prayer burst the fetters of Peter, and broke open the doors of his prison. Prayer rebuked storms, healed the sick, and brought back the dead to life. And what shall I say more of the power, the wonders, and the performances of prayer—the whole Scripture is full of them. But prayer sleeps amongst us; for what we call praying, morning and evening, according to custom—the sleepy, dull, and heartless repetition of devotional language—does not deserve the name of prayer.
THOMAS WATSON (1620-1686): Lifeless prayer is no more prayer than the picture of a man is a man. To say a prayer is not prayer.
MARTIN LUTHER: Prayer is the sweat of the soul.
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Men who are mighty for God are generally famous for courage with Him. Look at Luther! They say it was wonderful to hear him preach, but a hundred times more so to hear him pray! There was an awful reverence about that heroic man, but there was also such a childlike simplicity of daring that seemed as though he did really lay hold of God.
THEODORA BEZA (1519-1605): I overheard him in prayer—but, good God, with what life and spirit did he pray! It was with so much reverence, as if he were speaking to God, yet with so much confidence as if he were speaking to his friend.
C. H. SPURGEON: This is the boldness for which Luther was remarkable…When you can say, as Moses said upon the Mount, “What will Thou do for Thy great name?” When you can plead as Luther did, “Lord, this is no quarrel of mine, it is Thine! Thou knowest that Thou didst put me to speak against Thy foes; and now if Thou dost leave me, where is Thy Truth?” When you can plead with God in this way, surely He will rescue you. You cannot fail when your cause is God’s cause.
J. C. RYLE: We should cultivate the habit of pleading promises in our prayers. We should take with us some promise, and say, “Lord, here is Thine own word pledged. Do for us as Thou hast said.” This was the habit of Jacob, and Moses, and David. The 119th Psalm is full of things asked, “according to Thy word.”
JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): Let us learn therefore in a word, that if we will pray to God aright, we must know what His will is, and to understand that, we must know what He hath showed us in His Word; we must frame ourselves to it, we must hear what He saith unto us, and compass all our requests according to His will, and rest ourselves upon His promises. And then let us not doubt, but when we shall call upon Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall feel that our prayers shall not be in vain, nor unprofitable.
MARTIN LUTHER: When I get a promise I treat it as a tree in my garden. I know there is rich fruit on it. If I cannot get it, I shake it backwards and forwards by prayer and meditation, until at last the fruit drops into my hand…Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness.
C. H. SPURGEON: Methinks, in a spiritual sense, when Luther first bowed his knee the Church began to chant, “Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered,” Psalm 68:1.
JOHN TRAPP: Luther came leaping out of his closet where he had been praying with vicimus, vicimus—“we conquer, we conquer,” in his mouth.
J. C. RYLE: Now, why is there so little power of prayer like this in our own time? Simply because there is so little close communion with Christ, and so little strict conformity to His will. Men do not “abide in Christ,” and therefore pray in vain. Christ’s words do not abide in them, as their standard of practice, and therefore their prayers seem not to be heard. They ask and receive not, because they ask amiss. Let this lesson sink down into our hearts. He that would have answers to his prayers, must carefully remember Christ’s directions. We must keep up intimate friendship with the great Advocate in heaven, if our petitions are to prosper.
C. H. SPURGEON: Lord send us men of the school of Elias, or at least of Luther and Knox!
MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): They continued in prayer, spent much time in it, more than ordinary, prayed frequently, and were long in prayer. They never missed an hour of prayer; they resolved to persevere herein till the Holy Ghost came, according to the promise, “to pray, and not to faint,” Luke 18:1.
JOHN ANGELL JAMES (1785-1869): Luther thought three hours a day little enough to spend in prayer.
JOHN FLAVEL: These were mighty wrestlers with God, howsoever condemned and vilified among their enemies. There will a time come when God will hear the prayers of His people who are continually crying in His ears, “How long, O Lord, how long?”
C. H. SPURGEON: “Where is thy God?” Psalm 42:3. This is what Queen Mary said when the Covenanters were obliged to fly to the Highlands. “Where now is John Knox’s God?” But when her French soldiers were afterwards put to the rout by the brave Scots, she found out where God was.
JOHN FLAVEL: The prayer of a single saint is sometimes followed with wonderful effects. What then can a thundering legion of such praying souls do?
