E. M. Bounds
Chapter 10
Prayer and Full Surrender
Many exemplary men have I known, holy in heart and life, within my four score years. But one equal to John Fletcher — one so inwardly and outwardly obedient and devoted to God — I have not known. – John Wesley
It is important to note that the praying that is given such a transcendent position, and from which great results are attributed, is not simply the saying of prayers, but holy praying. This is the “prayers of the saints” (Rev 8:4). This is the prayers of the holy men and women of God. They are entirely separated from sin and fully separated to God. They always give energy, force, and strength to praying.
Our Lord Jesus Christ excelled in praying because He was supreme in saintliness. Entire dedication to God and full surrender, which carry the whole being in a flame of holy consecration, give wings to faith and energy to prayer. Full surrender opens the door to the throne of grace. It brings strong influence to bear on Almighty God.
The “lifting up [of] holy hands” (1 Tim 2:8) is essential to Christlike praying. It is not, however, a holiness that only dedicates a closet to God. It does not merelly set apart an hour to Him. It is a consecration that takes hold of the entire man. It dedicates the whole life to God.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, who was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (Heb 7:26), had ready access to God in prayer. He had this free, full access because of His unquestioning obedience to His Father. Throughout His earthly life, His supreme care and desire was to do the will of His Father. This fact, coupled with another — the consciousness of having so ordered His life — gave Him confidence and assurance. It enabled Him to draw near to the throne of grace with unlimited confidence born of obedience, promised acceptance, audience, and answer.
Loving obedience puts us where we can ask anything in His name. It gives us the assurance that He will do it. (See John 14:14.) Loving obedience brings us into the prayer realm. It makes us beneficiaries of the wealth of Christ. We receive the riches of His grace through the Holy Spirit, who will abide with us and be in us. Cheerful obedience to God qualifies us to pray effectively.
This obedience that qualifies and is the forerunner of prayer must be loving and constant. It is always doing the Father’s will and cheerfully following the path of God’s commands.
In King Hezekiah’s situation, it was a potent plea that changed God’s decree that he should die and not live. The stricken ruler called upon God to remember how he had walked before Him in truth and with a perfect heart. With God, this counted. He listened carefully to the petition. As a result, death found its approach to Hezekiah barred for fifteen years.
Jesus learned obedience in the school of suffering. at the same time, He learned prayer in the school of obedience. Just as it is the prayer of a righteous man that avails much, so it is righteousness that is obedience to God. A righteous man is an obedient man. He can pray effectively. He can accomplish great things when he goes to his knees.
Remember that true praying is not mere sentiment, poetry, or eloquent speech. It does not consist of saying in sweet tones, “Lord, Lord.” Prayer is not a mere form of words. It is not just a calling upon a name. Prayer is obedience. It is founded on the unbending rock of obedience to God. Only those who obey have the right to pray. Behind the praying must be the doing. It is the constant doing of God’s will in daily life that gives prayer its potency.
Our Lord plainly taught,
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? and then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that worketh iniquity. (Matt 7:21-23)
No name, however precious and powerful, can protect and give effectiveness to prayer that is unaccompanied by doing God’s will. Neither can the doing, without the praying, protect from divine disapproval. If the will of God does not master the life, the praying will be nothing but sickly sentiment. If prayer does not inspire, sanctify, and direct our work, then self-will enters and ruins both the work and worker.
How many great misconceptions there are of the true elements and functions of prayer! There are many who earnestly desire to obtain answers to their prayers but who go unrewarded and unblessed. They fix their minds on some promise of God. Then they endeavor by stubborn perseverance to summon enough faith to lay hold of it and claim it. This fixing the mind on some great promise may help in strengthening faith, but persistent and urgent prayer — prayer that expects and waits until faith grows exceedingly — must be added to this promise. Who is able and competent to do such praying except the man who readily, cheerfully, and continually obeys God?
faith, in its highest form, is the attitude as well as the act of a soul surrendered to God. His Word and His Spirit dwell in that soul. It is true that faith must exist in some form or another in order to prompt praying. However, in its strongest form and in its greatest results, faith is the fruit of prayer. It is true that faith increases the ability and efficiency of prayer. It is likewise true that prayer increases the ability and effectiveness of faith. Prayer and faith work, act, and react one upon the other.
Obedience to God helps faith as no other attribute possibly can. When there is absolute recognition of the validity and supremacy of the divine commands, faith ceases to be an almost superhuman task. It requires no straining to exercise it. Obedience to God makes it easy to believe and trust God. Where the spirit of obedience totally saturates the soul and the will is perfectly surrendered to God, faith becomes a reality. It also does this where there is a fixed, unalterable purpose to obey God. Faith then becomes almost involuntary. After obedience it is the next natural step. It is easily and readily taken. The difficulty in prayer then is not with faith but with obedience, which is faith’s foundation.
If we want to pray well and get the most out of our praying, we must look at our obedience. We must look at the secret springs of action and the loyalty of our hearts to God. Obedience is the groundwork of effective praying. This brings us near to God.
The lack of obedience in our lives breaks down our praying. Quite often our lives are in rebellion. This places us where praying is almost impossible, except for pardoning mercy. Disobedient living produces extremely poor praying. Disobedience shuts the door of the prayer closet. It bars the way to the Holy of Holies. No man can pray — really pray — who does not obey.
Our will must be surrendered to God as a primary condition to all successful praying. Everything about us receives its coloring from our innermost character. Our secret will determines our character and controls our conduct. Our will, therefore, plays an important part in all successful praying. There can be no rich, true praying when the will is not wholly and fully surrendered to God. This unswerving loyalty to God is an utterly indispensable condition of the heart, truest, and most effective praying. We have simply to
Trust and obey.
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey!
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