The Necessity of Prayer

Why Christians Ought to Pray

E. M. Bounds

• Publisher: Aneko Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781622455539
• eBook ISBN: 9781622455546
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

New, updated and annotated edition.And all things, whatever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. – Matthew 21: 22Persistent prayer is a mighty movement of the soul toward God, and it stirs the deepest forces of the soul toward the throne of heavenly grace. It is the ability to hold on, press on, and wait. Restless desire, restful patience, and strength of grasp are all embraced in it. Prayer is not an incident or a performance but a passion of soul. It is not a want or half-needed desire but a sheer necessity. List of Chapters
Ch. 1: Prayer and Faith
Ch. 2: Prayer and Unwavering Faith
Ch. 3: Prayer and Trust
Ch. 4: Prayer and Desire
Ch. 5: Prayer and Fervency
Ch. 6: Prayer and Persistence
Ch. 7: Prayer and Perseverance
Ch. 8: Prayer and Character
Ch. 9: Prayer and Obedience
Ch. 10: Prayer and Surrender
Ch. 11: Prayer and Vigilance
Ch. 12: Prayer and the Word of God
Ch. 13: Prayer and Preaching
Ch. 14: Prayer and the House of God

Chapter 2

Prayer and Unwavering Faith

The guests at a certain hotel were being rendered uncomfortable by repeated strumming on a piano by a little girl who possessed no knowledge of music. They complained to the proprietor with a view to having the annoyance stopped. “I am sorry you are annoyed,” he said. “But the girl is the child of one of my very best guests. I can scarcely ask her not to touch the piano. But her father, who is away for a day or so, will return tomorrow. You can then approach him and have the matter set right.” When the father returned, he found his daughter in the reception room and, as usual, thumping on the piano. He walked up behind the child and, putting his arms over her shoulders, took her hands in his and produced some most beautiful music. Thus it may be with us, and thus it will be some coming day. Just now we can produce little but clamor and disharmony; but one day the Lord Jesus will take hold of our hands of faith and prayer and use them to bring forth the music of the skies. – Anonymous

Genuine, authentic faith must be definite and free of doubt – not simply general in character, not a mere belief in the being, goodness, and power of God, but a faith that believes the things that he says will come to pass. As the faith is specific, so the answer will also be definite: whatsoever he says shall be done unto him (Mark 11:23).

Faith and prayer select the things, and God commits himself to do the very things that faith and persevering prayer nominate and petition him to accomplish.

Therefore I say unto you that everything that ye ask for, praying, believe that ye receive it, and it shall come upon you (Mark 11:24).

Whatever You Ask For

Perfect faith always has in its possession what perfect prayer asks for. The all things whatsoever part of that verse is large and unqualified. But the promise, ye shall have them, is definite and specific!

Our chief concern is with our faith, the problems of its growth, and the activities of its vigorous maturity. A faith that grasps and holds the very things it asks for without wavering, doubt, or fear is the faith we need. Faith is like a pearl of great price in the process and practice of prayer.

The statement of our Lord about faith and prayer quoted above is of supreme importance. Faith must be definite and specific, an unqualified, unmistakable request for the things asked for. It is not to be a vague, indefinite, shadowy thing; it must be something more than an abstract belief in God’s willingness and ability to do for us. It is to be a definite, specific asking for and expecting the things for which we ask. Note again Mark 11:23:

And shall not doubt in his heart but shall believe that what he says shall be done whatsoever he says shall be done unto him.

Just as far as the faith and the asking are definite, so also the answer will be. The giving is not to be something other than the things prayed for, but the actual things sought and named. Whatsoever he says shall be done unto him. This is important: whatsoever . . . shall be done. The granting is to be unlimited, both in quality and in quantity.

Faith and prayer select the subjects for petition, thereby determining that God is to do whatsoever he says shall be done unto him. Christ holds himself ready to supply exactly, and fully, all the demands of faith and prayer. If the order on God is made clear, specific, and definite, God will fill it exactly in accordance with the presented terms.

A Holy Energy

Faith is not an abstract belief in the Word of God, a mere mental credence, a simple assent of the understanding and will, or a passive acceptance of facts, however sacred or thorough. Faith is an operation of God, a divine illumination, a holy energy implanted by the Word of God and the Spirit in the human soul. It is a spiritual, divine principle, which takes of the supernatural and makes it clear to understand by the faculties of time and sense.

Faith deals with God and is conscious of God. It deals with the Lord Jesus Christ and sees in him a Savior; it deals with God’s Word and lays hold of the truth; it deals with the Spirit of God and is energized and inspired by its holy fire. God is the great objective of faith, for faith rests its whole weight on his Word. Faith is not an aimless act of the soul but a looking to God and a resting upon his promises. Just as love and hope always have an objective, so also does faith. Faith is not believing just anything; it is believing God, resting in him and trusting his Word.

Faith gives birth to prayer, grows stronger, strikes deeper, and rises higher in the struggle and wrestling of mighty petitioning. Faith is the substance of things hoped for – the assurance and realization of the inheritance of the saints. Faith is also humble and persevering. It can wait and pray; it can stay on its knees or lie in the dust. Faith is the one great condition of prayer; the lack of it lies at the root of all poor praying, feeble praying, little praying, and unanswered praying.

The nature and meaning of faith is more demonstrable in what it does than it is by reason of any definition given to it. Thus, if we turn to the record of faith given to us in that great honor roll in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, we see something of the wonderful results of faith. What a glorious list it is of these men and women of faith! What marvelous achievements are recorded there and set to the credit of faith! The inspired writer, exhausting his resources in cataloging the Old Testament saints who were such notable examples of wonderful faith, finally exclaims:

And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon and of Barak and of Samson and of Jephthae, of David also and Samuel and of the prophets. (Hebrews 11:32)

And then the writer of Hebrews goes on again in a wonderful strain, telling of the unrecorded exploits achieved through the faith of the people from long ago of whom the world was not worthy . . . And these all, he said, were approved by testimony of faith (Hebrews 11:38-39).

People of Faith

What a glorious era of achievements would dawn for the church and the world, if only a lineage of saints of similar mighty faith and wonderful praying could be reproduced! It is not the intellectually great that the church needs, nor is it people of wealth that the times demand. People of great social influence are not what this day requires. Above everybody and everything else, it is people of faith, people of mighty prayer, men and women similar to the saints and heroes listed in Hebrews, who were approved by testimony of faith, that the church and the whole wide world of humanity needs.

Many people of this day earn a good reputation because of their money-giving or their great mental gifts and talents, but there are few who earn a good reputation because of their great faith in God, or because of the wonderful things that happen through their great praying. Today, as much as at any time, we need people of great faith and people who are great in prayer. Faith and prayer are the two essential virtues that make men and women great in the eyes of God. These two things create conditions of real spiritual success in the life and work of the church. It is our chief concern to see that we maintain a faith of quality and texture that counts before God, that grasps and holds the things for which it asks without doubt and without fear.

Doubt and fear are the twin foes of faith. Sometimes, they actually take the place of faith, and although we pray, it is a restless, disquieted prayer that we offer, uneasy and often complaining. Peter failed to walk on the Lake of Gennesaret because he permitted the waves to break over him and swamp the power of his faith.

And when Peter wa...

Table of contents

• Editor’s Foreword
• Prayer and Faith
• Prayer and Unwavering Faith
• Prayer and Trust
• Prayer and Desire
• Prayer and Fervency
• Prayer and Persistence
• Prayer and Perseverance
• Prayer and Character
• Prayer and Obedience
• Prayer and Surrender
• Prayer and Vigilance
• Prayer and the Word of God
• Prayer and Preaching
• Prayer and the House of God
• E. M. Bounds – A Brief Biography
• Similar Titles