Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent (John 17:3).
Prayer, in the minds of some people, is only for emergencies. Danger threatens, sickness comes, things are lacking, difficulties arise—then they pray…
Prayer is, however, much more than merely asking God for something, although that is a very valuable part of prayer, if only because it reminds us of our utter dependence upon God. It is also communion with God—talking with, not only to, Him. We get to know people by talking with them. We get to know God in like manner.
The highest result of prayer is not deliverance from evil, or the securing of some coveted thing, but knowledge of God. “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God” (John 17: 3). Yes, prayer discovers more of God, and that is the soul’s greatest discovery. Men still cry out, “Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!” (Job 23:3).
The kneeling Christian always finds Him, and is found of Him. The heavenly vision of the Lord Jesus blinded the eyes of Saul of Tarsus on his downward course, but later on he tells us that when he was praying in the temple at Jerusalem, he fell into a trance and saw Jesus: “I… saw Him.” Then it was that Christ gave him his great commission to go to the Gentiles (Acts 22:17-21).
Vision is always a precursor of vocation and venture. It was so with Isaiah, when he was evidently praying in the sanctuary: “I saw… the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.” This vision also was a prelude to a call to service, “Go….” (Isaiah 6:1-9). We cannot get a vision of God unless we pray. And where there is no vision the soul perishes (Proverbs 29:18).
~ Albert E. Richardson~ ca. 1924
They who know the Savior shall in Him be strong,
Mighty in the conflict of the right ’gainst wrong;
This the blessed promise given in God’s Word,
Doing wondrous exploits, they who know the Lord.
~ Lelia N. Morris ~ 1901
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