Page 9 - The Importance of Prayer Student Textbook

there is nothing we need to study and practice as the art of praying alright”. R. A. Torrey said, “Prayer is
the key that unlocks all the storehouses of God’s infinite grace and power. Prayer can do anything God
can do, and as God can do anything, prayer is omnipotent”. I doubt that anyone comes to the end of
their life saying, “I prayed too much”. But many come to the end of their lives saying, “I prayed too
little”.

Henry Blackaby on Experiencing God Through Prayer

Remember that Keller said
that most Christian writers
approach prayer from two
theological positions. First,
prayer is a tool that God can
use to move us into a deeper
love relationship with Himself.
The second group of Christian
writers’ approach prayer from
a position that prayer is
spiritual warfare.
Looking deeper at the first
definition, Henry Blackaby
writes in Experiencing God
that He is at work in the world, calling people to a love relationship with Himself. He loves humanity and
speaks to everyone through the created order and therefore, they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)
But the created order is not enough to bring people into a saving relationship with Himself. People must
meet God through His word in order to be born again. (Romans 10:14-15, 1 Peter 1:23, John 3:16) Once
a person experiences this born-again relationship thru placing their faith and trust in the finished work
of His Son, a new relationship begins. (John 1:12, Ephesians 2:8-9) God then invites us to Join Him in His
activities. There are many ways that God speaks to us but the primary ways He speaks to us is thru
prayer and the study of His word. Therefore, I want to emphasize that what you do with the Bible and
prayer will determine what He can do with you.

These words of Henry Blackaby are vital to remember before we move on with his illustration of
Experiencing God. He says, “I think God is crying out and shouting to us, ‘Don’t just do something, stand
there! Enter into a love relationship with Me. Get to know Me. Let Me love you and reveal Myself to you
as I work through you. A time will come when the doing will be called for, but we cannot skip the
relationship. The relationship with God must come first’”.

God does not do anything apart from His word or anything that is in contradiction to His word. God’s
word and His actions are identical. For example, God said let there be light and there was light. (Genesis
1:3) We may say, “let there be light”, but for there to be light, we must flip on an electrical switch. The
God of the Bible is a God who by His very nature, acts thru speaking. Therefore, the great theologian R.
A. Torey said, “If we would feed the fires of our prayers with the fuel of God’s word all our difficulties in
prayer would disappear”. The conclusion is clear. God acts through His words, and the Word is alive and
Active. (Heb 4:12) The way to have God actively working in our lives is through the Bible. To understand
the scriptures in not simply to get information about God, but rather it is an encounter with God.

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