A pitiful, sickly, and self-centered kind of prayer and a
determined effort and selfish desire to be right with God are never
found in the New Testament. The fact that I am trying to be right with
God is actually a sign that I am rebelling against the atonement by the
Cross of Christ. I pray, “Lord, I will purify my heart if You will
answer my prayer— I will walk rightly before You if You will help me.”
But I cannot make myself right with God; I cannot make
my life perfect. I can only be right with God if I accept the atonement
of the Lord Jesus Christ as an absolute gift. Am I humble enough to
accept it? I have to surrender all my rights and demands, and cease from
every self-effort. I must leave myself completely alone in His hands,
and then I can begin to pour my life out in the priestly work of
intercession. There is a great deal of prayer that comes from actual
disbelief in the atonement. Jesus is not just beginning to save us— He
has already saved us completely. It is an accomplished fact, and it is
an insult to Him for us to ask Him to do what He has already done.
If you are not now receiving the “hundredfold” which Jesus promised (see Matthew 19:29),
and not getting insight into God’s Word, then start praying for your
friends— enter into the ministry of the inner life. “The Lord restored
Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends.” As a saved soul,
the real business of your life is intercessory prayer. Whatever
circumstances God may place you in, always pray immediately that His
atonement may be recognized and as fully understood in the lives of
others as it has been in yours. Pray for your friends now, and pray for those with whom you come in contact now.
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