The School of Prayer

In my devotion time early in the morning I have been reading the classic Andrew Murray book: “With Christ in the school of Prayer”. One of the lines in the early chapters caught my attention this morning. In teaching about our prayer place, he writes:

“Listen to your teacher! He tells you that when you go to private prayer, your first thought must be that God is waiting for you there in secret. Don’t let a cold and prayerless heart keep you from the presence of the loving father. The Lord is concerned about you the way a father is concerned about his children. Do not think about how little you have to give to God, but about how much He wants to give to you.”

It is a wonderful thing when our children call or email us to tell us what is happening in their lives. It seems that our heavenly Father enjoys a call from His children too. If we want the wisdom of God in our circumstances, we need to make time for Him to speak it into us. Finding a quiet place where “His Spirit bears witness with our Spirit that we are His children”

I must however guard against only going to God for what He can give me. My real reason for entering prayer should be simply because God is worthy. I do not and cannot understand all there is about God but I can know by faith that He is there and wants that fellowship with His creation.

William Walford was a man of little education but a full heart for God. He was a blind preacher who spent much time learning about prayer and memorizing the Bible. In 1845 He penned a poem that was later put to music that has come across the centuries to still bless us today:

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief,
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare,
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
The joys I feel, the bliss I share,
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
Where God my Savior shows His face,
And gladly take my station there,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear
To Him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since He bids me seek His face,
Believe His Word and trust His grace,
I’ll cast on Him my every care,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!


Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
May I thy consolation share,
Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home and take my flight.
This robe of flesh I’ll drop, and rise
To seize the everlasting prize,
And shout, while passing through the air,
“Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!”