In considering the deeply important subject of prayer, two things claim our attention:first, the
moral basis of prayer; secondly, its moral conditions.

From passages such as John 15:7, 1 John 3:21, 22, and Heb. 13:18 we learn that the basis of
effectual prayer is an obedient heart, an upright mind, and a good conscience. If we are not in
communion with God, we cannot expect answers to our prayers; for we shall be "asking amiss."
There is a terrible amount of unreality in our prayers, a sad lack of the moral basis, a vast amount
of "asking amiss." Our God will have reality; He desires truth in the inward parts. He, blessed
be His name, is real with us and He will have us real with Him. He will have us coming before
Him as we really are, and with what we really want.

How often it is otherwise both in private and in public! How often are our prayers more like
orations than utterances of need! It seems, at times, as though we meant to explain principles to
God and give Him a large amount of information. These types of "prayers" cast a withering
influence over our prayer meetings, robbing them of their freshness, their interest, and their value.
We deeply feel the want of reality, sincerity, and truth in our prayers and prayer meetings. Not
infrequently it happens that what we call prayer is not prayer at all, but the utterance of certain
known and acknowledged truths and principles, to which one has listened so often that the
reiteration becomes tiresome in the extreme. What can be more painful than to hear a man who
is supposedly praying explaining principles and unfolding doctrines? The question forces itself
upon us, "Is the man speaking to God, or to us?" If to God, surely nothing can be more irreverent
than to attempt to explain things to Him; but if to us, then it is not prayer at all, and the man
would do better to give a lecture.

What are the moral conditions or attributes of prayer? In Matt. 18:19 we read, "Again I say unto
you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be
done for them of My Father which is in heaven." Thus, one necessary condition of our prayers
is unanimity. If we come together to pray for something, we must be of one mind in the matter,
we must make one common sound before God. It is very questionable indeed whether any of us
have given sufficient attention to this point. Have we not to deplore the objectless character of our
prayer meetings? Ought we not to come together more with some definite object on our hearts,
as to which we are going to wait together upon God?

Matthew 18:19 is our warrant for coming together to pray for anything that may be laid on our
hearts. Whatever may be the spiritual need in us or around us, if at least two of us feel that need
let us come together "with one accord in one place" and pour out our hearts to God as the heart
of one man. Let us wait on God, in holy concord, and the blessing is sure to come.

In Matthew 21:22 we find another essential condition of effectual prayer. "And all things
whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." If our prayers are to have an
answer, they must be prayers of faith. It is one thing to utter words in the form of prayer and
another thing altogether to pray in simple faith, in the full, clear, and settled assurance that we
shall have what we are asking for.

It is greatly to be feared that many of our so-called prayers never go beyond the ceiling of the
room. In order to reach the throne of God, they must be borne on the wings of faith and proceed
from hearts united and minds agreed in holy purpose to wait on our God for the things which we
really require.

Now, the question is, are not our prayers and prayer meetings sadly deficient on this point? Is not
this deficiency manifest from the fact that we see so little result from our prayers? Ought we not
to examine ourselves as to how far we really understand these two conditions of prayer, namely,
unanimity and confidence? If it be true that two persons agreed to ask in faith can have whatever
they ask, why do we not see more abundant answers to our prayers? Must not the fault be in us?
Are we not deficient in concord and confidence?

How vastly different it would be if our prayer meetings were the result of a cordial agreement on
the part of two or more believing souls to come together and wait upon God for a certain thing
and to persevere in prayer until they receive an answer! How little we see of this!

Instead of merely attending the prayer meeting from week to week, ought we not to be exercised
before God as to how far we are agreed in reference to the object or objects which are to be laid
before the throne? The answer to this question brings us to another of the moral conditions of
prayer.

In Luke 11:5-10 we read of the importunate man who at midnight asked his friend for three
loaves. These words are part of the Lord’s answer to His disciples’ request, "Teach us to pray."
What do we learn from Luke 11? First it teaches us to be definite in our prayers. The man
confines himself to one request, "Lend me three loaves." Must we not admit that our reunions for
prayer suffer sadly from long, rambling, desultory prayers? Do we not frequently give utterance
to a whole host of things of which we do not really feel the need and which we have no notion of
waiting for at all? We believe it would impart great earnestness, freshness, reality and power to
our prayer meetings were we to attend with something definite on our hearts, to which we could
invite the fellowship of our brethren. Some of us seem to think it necessary to make one long
prayer about all sorts of things; many of the things may be very right and good, no doubt, but the
mind gets bewildered by the multiplicity of subjects. How much better to bring some one object
before the throne, earnestly urge it, and pause, so that the Holy Spirit may lead out others in like
manner, either for the same thing or something else equally definite.

There is another important moral condition set forth in Luke 11 and that is "importunity." The
man succeeded in gaining his object simply by his importunate earnestness. Importunity prevails
even where the claims of friendship prove inoperative. The man is bent on his object; he has no
alternative. In short, he will not take a refusal. How far do we understand this great lesson? It is
not that God will ever answer us "from within." He will never say to us, "Trouble me not." He
is ever ready to give. Still, He encourages importunity, and we need to ponder His teaching.
There is a sad lack of importunity in our prayer meetings. Indeed, it will be found that in
proportion to the lack of definiteness is the lack of importunity. Where the thing sought is as
definite as the "three loaves," there will generally be the importunate asking for it and the firm
purpose to get it. The fact is, we are too vague and too indifferent in our prayers and prayer

meetings. We do not seem like people asking for what they want and waiting for what they ask.
This is what destroys our prayer meetings and renders them powerless.

Another moral condition is found in Luke 18:1, "And He spake a parable unto them to this end,
that men ought always to pray, and not to faint." The condition found here is perseverance. This
is closely connected with the definiteness and importunity to which we have already referred. We
want a certain thing; we cannot do without it. We importunately, unitedly, believingly, and
perseveringly wait on our God until He graciously sends an answer, as He most assuredly will if
the moral basis and the moral conditions be duly maintained. But we must persevere. We must not
faint and give up though the answer does not come as speedily as we might expect. It may please
God to exercise our souls by keeping us waiting on Him for days, months, or perhaps years.
Daniel waited for an answer to prayer for "three full weeks" (Dan. 10:2) during which time
Daniel continued to pray.

We, too, may have to wait long in the holy attitude of expectancy and in the spirit of prayer, but
we shall find the time of waiting most profitable for our souls. Very often God, in His wise and
faithful dealing with us, sees fit to withhold the answer, simply to prove us as to the reality of our
prayers. The grand point for us is to have an object laid upon our hearts by the Holy Spirit_an
object which corresponds with some distinct promise in the Word_and to persevere in prayer until
we get what we want. "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints" (Eph. 6:18).

Let us all unite in earnest prayer and supplication. Let us seek to get together according to God;
to come as one man and prostrate ourselves before the mercy seat and perseveringly wait upon
our God for the revival of His work, the progress of His gospel, and the upbuilding of His people.
Let our prayer meetings be really prayer meetings. The prayer meeting ought to be the place of
expressed need and expected blessing, of expressed weakness and expected power. It ought to be
the place where God’s people assemble with one accord to take hold of the very throne of God,
to get into the very treasury of heaven and draw thence all we want for ourselves, our households,
the whole Church of God, and for the vineyard of Christ.

Such is the true idea of a prayer meeting if we are to be taught by Scripture. May the Holy Spirit
stir us all up and press upon our souls the necessity of unanimity, confidence, definiteness,
importunity, and perseverance in all our prayers and prayer meetings.

(Condensed from "Prayer and the Prayer Meeting," Miscellaneous Writings, Volume 3.)