God appeared to King Solomon before the commencement of the building of the temple. Solomon must have felt that God had honored him in answering his prayer. The Scripture says, “The LORD appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. And the LORD said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me” (1 Kings 9:2,3). The words “your prayer and plea, which you have made before me.” These words are most significant in terms of prayer. This is part of God’s response to Solomon prayer. And it is essential for us to be aware of when pray. Since our prayer is directed to God, we must go “before Him.” Thats why He told Solomon “your prayer . . . which you have made before me.” He is the only one true and living God.
Prayer is speaking to God. It is conversation with God. And it is to God alone to whom we pray. Should we lose sight of this, we are missing on the meaning of prayer. God in His great wisdom has prepared a “Throne of Grace” in His presence and invites us to “come with confidence.” The Scripture says “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). God wants us to approach Him and tell Him exactly what’s on our minds. Also note the context says, ”that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Everyone needs mercy and grace and God is the God of mercy and grace. He will always be available to give us what we need when we trust Him by faith. The call to prayer is a call to God’s throne of Grace.
Mercy and grace are two of God’s great attributes. We should not be surprised that there is mercy and grace at the throne of grace of which none of us are worthy of. But ah, our sovereign God is also a compassionate God, and willing to forgive us. This enables us to approach His presence in total confidence and with holy boldness. God loves us with an eternal love and this is one of the reasons His divine desire is to help us in all our needs.
In one of his sermons,C.H Spurgeon said, “True prayer is an approach of the soul by the Spirit of God to the throne of God. It is not the utterance of words, it is not alone the feeling of desires, but it is the advance of the desires to God. True prayer is not a mere mental exercise, nor a vocal performance, but it is deeper far than that—it is spiritual commerce with the Creator of heaven and earth. God is a Spirit unseen of mortal eye, and only to be perceived by the inner man, our Spirit within us, begotten by the Holy Ghost and our regeneration discerns the Great Spirit, communes with him, prefers to him its requests, and receives from him answers of peace. It is a spiritual business from beginning to end; and its aim and object end not with man, but reach to God himself” (Sermon No. 1024 on 11.19.1871)
Heartfelt prayer is a spiritual exercise, and involves the intervention of the Holy Spirit of God. ”Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26,27). The Spirit is a Person. Not a force nor an influence of any kind. He is God the Spirit who helps us in our weakness. Our weakness can be one of different things. For example, we are not sure of how God is going to answer our prayers. But the Spirit knows. That is why He is present to help us. Note the text: “we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us.”Isn’t this a most wonderful divine arrangement by Almighty God?
God is in heaven and we are on earth. And we must appreciate the fact that the Most High God is greater than all of us. Hence, we approach God on this basis with absolute reverence and complete submission to the way He is and who He is. The Lord Jesus taught His disciples to pray “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” (Matthew 6:9). Heaven is God’s dwelling place and the Christian’s future home.
Another thing that is of the utmost importance in our prayers is that we do not dictate to God neither do we demand anything from Him. Not even if the situation is dire. We pray in accordance with God’s will. “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” ( Matthew 6:10 ). There is also a “waiting period” for the answers to our prayers. There are times when God answers right away. And at others times we have to wait on the answers. King David said, “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him” (Psalm 62:5). In waiting, let us remember that God knows the future. Only He knows why we must wait for the answers. The key is to trust God and leave the consequences to Him. David also said, “Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust in Him, and He will act. Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:4,5,7).
MY dearly beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, I beg of you, take time to pray. “stir up” yourself and lay hold on God in prayer. He cannot fail, He pledged His word. Exceeding great and precious promises await you. Why not claim them? God will never disappoint.