The Supreme Motive in Prayer

We are not our own; we are the Lord’s. He has bought us, and the price that He paid is an evidence that He greatly desired us. Sometimes while traveling, we see by the wayside a poster in large letters, “WANTED.” In fancy we can see in large letters across the vault of heaven this word—“WANTED.” God wants souls. He considers. He looks at the soul; He sees its capability of bearing His image and reciprocating His love; He sees its eternity; He looks at the price necessary to ransom it. Oh! will He pay, or will He refuse? Listen while we softly and feelingly read—“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”* (John 3:16) But why does He love us so? Because we are His. “Thou art mine,”* (Isaiah 43:1) He says, “I will redeem thee.” And why does He want us? He wants us to bear His image and to glorify Him in our body and spirit. Whatsoever we do in word or deed we are to do to His glory. Life should be spent exclusively to the glory of God. All self should be left out. Self should be crucified and must be if we are to live for God. Not a breathing, not a pulse-beat, of a selfish life; not one word, one act, one thought, for the glory and praise of the creature—all, all for God. Man is unseen, but we see Him. Man is unknown—“we know no man.” What we do for our fellow men, we do it as unto Jesus; we give the cup of cold water out of love for Christ. Oh! it means much, but it is blessed.

Prayer, that it may make fragrant the atmosphere around the throne of God, must be unselfish. “Ye ask amiss” when ye ask from any selfish interest. The spirit of “Thy will be done”* (Matthew 6:10; Matthew 26:42; Luke 11:2) must permeate every word of our prayers. Many prayers go unanswered because there is a slight selfish interest—just a little glory for the creature, a little self-gratification, a little ease, a little blessing for one’s own enjoyment, a little having of one’s way. Let us not be so selfish as the man who prayed: “Lord, wilt Thou be pleased to preserve me in health today. It is miserable to be sick; besides, I have so much to do. Keep all my family in health, for I need their help. Be pleased also, Lord, to protect my buildings from fire and storm; also, protect my stock from disease, and especially my horses, for I greatly need their service today. Wilt Thou forbid that the bank fail and I suffer any loss thereby, and I pray that Thou wilt put it into the heart of neighbor Jones to pay me what he owes me. And wilt Thou withhold the rain for a few days until I get my hay all in, and then thou mayest send a shower, as my corn will need it by that time. Now, Lord, do these things for me and all else that might be to my interest. Amen.”

We need to examine closely, lest we pray more for ourselves than for others and have too great an interest in self. Jesus prayed, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me,” but immediately added, “nevertheless, not my will, but as thou wilt,”* (Matthew 26:39) and then gave Himself up to death on the cross. Oh! why should man draw one selfish breath? Why should he have one thought of self and the flesh? Why should he ponder over earthly things and spend unnecessary thought upon the temporal side of life? Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and these temporal things shall be added unto you. We should, of course, pray for temporal blessings for ourselves, but only to glorify God with them. It is good to pray for a closer walk with God if we desire it only for God’s praise. If we desire it merely that we may enjoy it or that others may think us spiritual, our motive is not pure. Do not seek deliverance from trials so earnestly, but seek the good that God sends to you by them, so that He may be glorified. When trials discourage you, you do not yet know the Lord and His ways as you should, and it may be you are a little selfish. Trials are as good for you as showers are for the flowers—provided you make the proper use of your trials.

It is raining, little flower!
Be glad of the rain;
Too much sun would wither thee.
’Twill shine again.
The sky is very black, ’tis true,
But just behind it shines the blue.

Art thou weary, tender heart?
Be glad of pain;
In sorrow sweetest things will grow
As flowers in rain.
God watches; and thou wilt have the sun
When clouds their perfect work have done.

Pure love to God should permeate every prayer. God’s glory and pleasure should be kept uppermost in our mind. We should seek Him, not so much because we want Him, as because He wants us. A young man leaves the parental roof to go out into the world, and the parents’ hearts are saddened. They mourn for him and long for his return. After a time he decides to come back to his home. But why does he come? Does he desire the purple robe and the gold ring and the fatted calf? or is he coming to comfort and gladden the hearts of his parents? We should go to God, not so much for the good things He has to give and the enjoyment of companionship with Him, as for the pleasure and delight it gives Him to have us come.

Our prayer-life might take on a different phase if we better understand the nature of God. The more we study the Bible and the more we pray, the better we know Him. “The prayer of the upright is his delight.”* (Proverbs 15:8) Do not pass too hurriedly by these words. If we comprehend the love that God has for communion with His saints, if we conceived the intense desire that He has for us to come to Him, we should not be so neglectful of prayer. Surely, too, our hearts would thrill with joy if we, by an eye of faith, could see with what eagerness and delight He receives us when we come to Him in prayer. It is the Bridegroom going out to meet His bride. Love is beating in His heart. In His love He gave His life for thee, and now thou hast stepped aside from the world for a time, purposely to be alone with Him in some secluded place, and there talk with Him and pillow thy head upon His bosom. It is His joy. His yearning heart awaiteth thee. Wilt thou go? Alas that traffic with the world engageth thee and giveth thee no time to be alone with God!

But how can our feeble prayers add anything to the happiness of the Lord? I can see why it is, and I pray the Lord to help me tell it so you also can perceive it. God created man for His glory and His pleasure. That God might delight Himself with man, He created Him in affinity with Himself, so that He might have the most intimate communion with Him. Now, God delights the moment we are redeemed, but prayer lifts us into that life of close affinity with Him for which we were created; consequently God rejoices to have us seek Him alone in the closet, by the riverside, or in the solitary place, that the soul may be freed from the entanglement of material things and be enabled to soar aloft on the wings of holy prayer into the embrace of its Beloved. The young wife may be weary and indisposed; but, knowing that her husband delights to have her meet him at the gate, she, for his sake, meets him there. The highest, purest motive in prayer is that God may be glorified, and our hearts may be so surrendered that He can work in us to will and do of His own good pleasure.

Lord, I would live so very near to Thee
As to be guided hourly by Thine eye,
Nor miss one tender glance or warning look,
But follow closely as the days flit by.

Lord, I would have my inward ear alert
To catch the softest whispers of Thy love,
And quick to note the changing in its tone
When Thou for some omission wouldst reprove.

Lord, I would have my body, spirit, soul,
Attuned always to each soft touch of Thine;
Now set each cord vibrating with Thy breath
And fill my life with harmony divine.