The Reality of Prayer
God has everything to do with prayer, as well as everything to do with the one who prays
Prayer is loyalty to God. Non-praying is to reject Christ and to abandon Heaven. A life of prayer is the only life which Heaven counts. ~ Bounds
Today we study a chapter from the work of E. M. Bounds. 1
In this chapter, Bounds emphasizes the profound significance of prayer in the lives of individuals who belong to God. Prayer is described as an obligation for those who are devoted to God, even more so than worldly success or wealth. It is portrayed as an essential and necessary act, a means of demonstrating loyalty to God and maintaining a connection with Him.
God is vitally concerned that we should pray. We are bettered by prayer, and the world is bettered by praying. God does His best work for the world through prayer. God’s greatest glory and man’s highest good are secured by prayer. Prayer forms the godliest men and makes the godliest world.
Bounds here, highlights that prayer is not merely a religious duty but a vital aspect of life, as important as breathing. Through prayer, believers can access God's promises and activate His plans. This chapter stresses that prayer is not limited by God's purposes but rather influences and shapes them. God encourages people to pray and assures them that He will respond to their prayers, not only because of His promises but also because of the father-child relationship He shares with them.
Here we read of the boundless potential of prayer, and he asserts that there is nothing too great or good for God to grant through prayer. Prayer is the means by which God's will is enacted on Earth, allowing His kingdom to be established and His purposes fulfilled. It sanctifies daily life, secures forgiveness, and defeats evil.
There is nothing on earth nor in Heaven, for time or eternity, that God’s Son did not secure for us. By prayer God gives us the vast and matchless inheritance which is ours by virtue of His Son. God charges us to “come boldly to the throne of grace.” God is glorified and Christ is honored by large asking.
Furthermore, Bounds underscores that prayer is not merely a one-sided conversation; it is a relationship between God and His children. It symbolizes the dependence of the child on the father and strengthens the bond between them. God's willingness to answer prayers is seen as a demonstration of His care for His creation.
The Child of God prays on the relation of a child. What the father has belongs to the child for present and prospective uses. The child asks, the father gives. The relationship is one of asking and answering, of giving and receiving. The child is dependent upon the father, must look to the father, must ask of the father, and must receive of the father
Biblical examples of how prayer can alter God's purposes
In Psalm 2, the purposes of God promising the unsaved to belong to Jesus are reliant upon prayer for their fulfillment: “Ask of me.”
In Psalm 72, we see prayer being the means by which the Lord puts the movements of Christ to work.
In Ephesians 3, Paul tells his readers he bows his knees to God, that His eternal purpose would be accomplished.
In Job, the Lord’s purposes toward his three friends—and for Job himself, are all conditioned on Job’s own prayers
In Revelation 8, God’s operational plan of salvation for the lost—and the movement of angels, are necessitated by prayers of the saints.
In Jonah, Gods purposes to destroy a wicked city were changed by the fasting and prayers of the Ninevites Jonah proclaimed his warning.
These illustrate for us the significant impact of calling to God in prayer. We should never underestimate what He will do with the prayers of even just one person. That person might just be you.
Prayer is not only a religious practice but a way to please God and align with His will. Bounds is calling on believers to pray for the salvation of all humanity, reflecting God's heart for the salvation of all people and highlighting the importance of interceding for others.
In conclusion, this chapter highlights the central role of prayer in the lives of those who belong to God. It portrays prayer as an obligation, a privilege, and a means of influencing God's purposes and demonstrating loyalty to Him. Bound reminds us, and encourages all believers to embrace the profound significance of prayer and to intercede for the salvation of all humanity, following the example of Jesus Christ.
Thinking about this, and the full chapter, we are wondering what does this suggest about the role of prayer in shaping God's purposes and plans? Do we really understand the boundless potential of prayer and the willingness of God to answer?
Far from being an additional or occasional faith activity, prayer is to be without ceasing. If all of the Lord’s activity among us is tied to the praying of His children, then our neglect of it may be what contributes to many of the difficulties we—and our churches, our country, etc, find ourselves in today!
Is there any work, higher work for the disciple to do than His Lord did? Is there any loftier employment, more honorable, more divine, than to pray for others? To take their woes, their sins, and their perils before God; to be one with Christ? To break the thrall which binds them, the hell which holds them and lift them to immortality and eternal life?
Taken from The Reality of Prayer by E. M. Bounds, pp. 13-16. Full text available: https://www.embounds.online/_files/ugd/06aa1c_544b127e41e34f5fad0cccca26659bfb.pdf