E. M. Bounds
Chapter 13
Prayer and the Word of God
Some years ago a man was traveling in the wilds of Kentucky. He had with him a large sum of money and was well armed. He stayed at a log house one night but was much concerned with the rough appearance of the men who came and went from this abode. He retired early, but not to sleep. At midnight he heard the dogs barking furiously and the sound of someone entering the cabin. Peering through a chink in the boards of his room, he saw a stranger with a gun in his hand. Another man sat before the fire. The traveler concluded they were planning to rob him and prepared to defend himself and his property. Presently the newcomer took down a copy of the Bible, read a chapter aloud, and then knelt down and prayed. The traveler dismissed his fears, put his revolver away, and lay down to sleep peacefully until morning light. And all because a Bible was in the cabin and its owner a man of prayer. – Rev. F. F. Shoup
Prayer means a success of the preaching of the Word. Paul clearly taught this in that familiar and pressing request he made to the Thessalonians: “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified” (2 Thess 3:1).
Prayer opens the way for the Word of God to run without hindrance. It creates the atmosphere that is favorable for the Word to accomplish its purpose. Prayer puts wheels under God’s Word and gives wings to the angel of the Lord “having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people” (Rev 14:6). Prayer greatly helps the Word of the Lord.
The parable of the sower is a notable study of preaching, showing its differing effects and describing the diversity of hearers. The wayside hearers are many. The soil lies unprepared either by previous thought or prayer. As a consequence, the enemy easily takes away the seed (which is the Word of God). Dissipating all good impressions, Satan renders the work of the sower futile. If only the hearers would prepare the ground of their hearts beforehand by prayer and meditation, much of the current sowing would be fruitful.
The same applies to the stony-ground and thorny-ground hearers. Although the Word lodges in their hearts and begins to sprout, yet all is lost, chiefly because there is no prayer or watchfulness or cultivation following. The good-ground hearers are profited by the sowing, simply because their minds have been prepared for the reception of the seed. After hearing, they have cultivated the seed sown in their hearts by the exercise of prayer. All this gives particular emphasis to the conclusion of this striking parable: “Take heed therefore how ye hear” (Luke 8:18). In order that we can heed how we hear, we must give ourselves continually to prayer.
We have to believe that the success and effect of God’s Word depend on prayer. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall … prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isa 55:11).
In Psalm 19, David magnified the Word of God in six statements concerning it. The Word converts the soul, makes the simple wise, rejoices the heart, enlightens the eyes, endures eternally, and is altogether true and righteous. The Word of God is perfect, sure, right, and pure. It is heart-searching and, at the same time, purifying in its effect.
It is no surprise that after considering the deep spiritually of the Word of God, its power to search the inner nature of man, and its deep purity, the psalmist should close his dissertation with this passage:
Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me … Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. (Ps 19:12-14)
James recognized the deep spirituality of the Word and its inherent saving power in the following exhortation: “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21).
And peter talked among the same line when describing the saving power of the Word of God: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Pet 1:23). Not only did Peter speak of being born again by the incorruptible Word of God, but he informed us that to grow in grace we must be like newborn babes, desiring or feeding on the “sincere milk of the word” (1 Pet 2:2).
Prayer invariably generates a love for the Word of God. Prayer leads people to obey the Word of God and puts an unspeakable joy into the obedient heart. Praying people and Bible-reading people are the same sort of folk. The God of the Bible and the God of prayer are one. God speaks to man in the Bible; man speaks to God in prayer. One reads the Bible to discover God’s will. He prays in order to receive power to do that will. Bible reading and praying are the distinguishing traits of those who strive to know and please God.
Just as prayer generates a love for the Scriptures and causes people to begin to read the Bible, so prayer causes men and women to visit the house of God to hear the Scriptures expounded. Churchgoing is closely connected with the Bible, primarily because the Bible cautions us against “forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is” (Heb 10:25). Churchgoing also results because God’s chosen minister explains and enforces the Scriptures upon his hearers. Prayer germinates a resolve in those who practice it to not forsake the church.
Prayer generates a churchgoing conscience, a church-loving heart, and a church-supporting spirit. Praying people take delight in the preaching of the Word and the support of the church. Prayer exalts the Word of God and gives it preeminence in those who faithfully and wholeheartedly call upon the name of the Lord.
Prayer draws its very life from the Bible. It places its security on the firm ground of Scripture. Its very existence and character depend on revelation made by God to man in His holy Word. Prayer, in turn, exalts this same revelation and turns men toward that Word. The nature, necessity, and all-comprehending character of prayer are based on the Word of God.
Psalm 119 is a directory of God’s Word. With three or four exceptions, each verse contains a word that identifies or locates the Word of God. Quite often, the author broke out into supplication, several times praying, “Teach me thy statutes” (Ps 119:12). He was so deeply impressed with the wonders of God’s Word and with the need for divine illumination to see and understand the wonderful things recorded within that he fervently prayed, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Ps 119:18).
From the opening of this wonderful psalm to its close, prayer and God’s Word are intertwined. Almost every phrase of God’s Word is touched on by this inspired writer. The psalmist was so thoroughly convinced of the deep spiritual power of the Word of God that he made this declaration, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (v 11).
Here the psalmist found his protection against sinning. By having God’s Word hidden in his heart and his whole being thoroughly impregnated with that Word, he was able to walk to and fro on the earth. He was safe from the attack of the enemy and strengthened from wandering away.
We find, furthermore, that the power of prayer creates a real love for the Scriptures and puts within men a nature that will take pleasure in the Word. In holy ecstasy the psalmist cried, “O how I love thy law! it is my meditation all the day” (v 97). And again: “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (v 103).
Do we relish God’s Word? If so, then let us give ourselves continually to prayer. He who would have a heart for the reading of the Bible must not — dare not — forget to pray. A man who loves the Bible will also love to pray. A man who loves to pray will delight in the law of the Lord.
Our Lord was a man of prayer. He magnified the Word of God and often quoted the Scriptures. Right through His earthly life, Jesus observed Sabbath-keeping, churchgoing, and the reading of the Word of God. His prayer intermingled with them all: “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read” (Luke 4:16).
Let it be said that no two things are more essential to a Spirit-filled life than Bible reading and secret prayer. They will help you to grow in grace, to obtain joy from living a Christian life, and to be established in the way of eternal peace. To neglect these all-important duties means leanness of soul, loss of joy, absence of peace, dryness of spirit, and decay in all that pertains to spiritual life. Neglecting these things paves the way for apostasy and gives the enemy an advantage such as he is not likely to ignore.
Reading God’s Word regularly and praying habitually in the secret place of the Most High puts one where he is absolutely safe from the attacks of the enemy of souls. It guarantees him salvation and final victory through the overcoming power of the Lamb.
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