We know that in whatever we do, the results always depend on the kind of person we are. You may do the same thing someone else does, but when you do it, it turns out another way. The Chinese have this saying: “The outcome of any matter hinges upon the person doing it.” Many consider the method the key to everything, but actually the person is more important than the method. The method is dead, but the person is living. Hence, it is not enough just to have a particular method; it is also necessary to have a particular person. And in spiritual matters it can almost be said that the person is the method. If the person is not right, the method is useless regardless how right it may be; for spiritual things are matters of life, and life does not depend on methods. Life merely expresses itself according to its nature. Thus, regarding spiritual matters, the person equals the method.
In the whole Bible, God seldom taught methods of service to those who served Him; rather, He dealt with the persons themselves. Take the example of Moses, one of the greatest servants of God in the Old Testament. Neither at the time of, nor prior to the time of his calling, is there any record of God telling him many different methods of service. Rather, God spent eighty years dealing with Moses’ very being; for in matters of contacting God, the person is the method. Although we have spoken of some principles of prayer which tell us what prayer really is, if our person is wrong, and we merely try to pray according to those principles, they will not work. Hence, if we wish to learn how to pray, we must know what kind of person a man of prayer should be. Since this is such an extensive subject, we can only mention some important principles.
If a person only knows how to seek after himself and his own desire, he may pray, but he is not a man of prayer. A man of prayer must become such that in all the universe he only cares for God and His will, having no other desire besides this.
We can see this characteristic very clearly in our Lord Jesus when He lived as a man on this earth. When He was praying in Gethsemane, He fellowshipped with God the matter of His death saying, “If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.” But then He also said, “Yet not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39). Three times He told God, I want Your will, not Mine. Ordinarily we think that when a person prays he asks God to do something for him. For example, he has a desire, so he prays according to his desire and asks God to fulfill it for him. But in Gethsemane we see One Who prayed thus: “Not as I will, but as Thou will.” In effect, the Lord Jesus was saying, “Although I am praying here, I am not asking You to accomplish something for Me; rather, I am asking that Your will be done. I seek nothing for Myself in this universe. My only desire is that You may prosper and that Your will may be carried out. I am such a One Who only wants You and Your will.”
Again, let us look at the model prayer with which the Lord Jesus taught His disciples how to pray; it is according to the same principle. At the very outset He said, “Let Your name be sanctified; Let your kingdom come; let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth” (Matt. 6:9-10). These words of prayer tell us clearly what His inner desire was. Brothers, if we know only how to pray for our own living, business, and family, then our prayers really fall short. This proves that we are not single and pure before God, but that we are still rather complicated and mixed within-we desire other things besides God.
Sometimes even in God’s work we covet something for ourselves. Both our spirit and our heart have not yet been purified to the extent that we only want God and His desire; hence, we are not a man of prayer. We may pray, but as far as our being is concerned, we are not a man of prayer. A man of prayer is one whose many prayers before God are for the sake of His desire-for God to prosper, and for His will to be done. He does not seek his own prosperity, increase, enjoyment, or fulfillment. All he wants is God and God’s will; he is satisfied as long as God has a way to go on and accomplish His will. Brothers and sisters, only such a one is a man of prayer.
Although it may seem that this word is a little premature and a little high for a new believer, you and I ought to have the kind of faith that from the start we would cause the new believers to be properly trained concerning prayer. You can tell them simply but clearly that even when we pray concerning the food at breakfast, we should say to God, “O God, although we pray that You give us our daily bread, our prayer is not for our own sake, but for Your sake. We eat and drink because we want to live for You. Even when we pray for such an insignificant matter, our heart is still only for You, not for ourselves. We only want You and Your will, not our enjoyment and prosperity.”
Even in doing business, in teaching, and in other things, the principle is the same. You can say to God, “O God, bless this business not for our sake but for Your sake. We are praying here in order that this business may prosper and make some profit, but this is not for ourselves but for Your kingdom.”
This same principle also applies to our preaching the gospel and our establishing, administering, and building up the church. Sometimes after suffering a blow in the work one sheds tears sorrowfully before God. But this sorrow may not necessarily be of value and this shedding of tears also may not be remembered by God. God will ask you, “For whom do you feel sorry? And for whom do you shed tears?” God will cause you to see that your inner motive is not pure, but that in God’s work you still have your own desire, expectation, and goal.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, whatever we pray for, we must be able to tell God, “O God, I am praying for this matter for Your sake and for Your kingdom’s sake-I only care for You and Your will.” One who can pray thus is a man of prayer. Here we must be examined and tried by God. Apparently we are just praying to God for something and asking Him to bring it to pass unto us, but do we realize that our prayers are tests, testing where we stand?
What are we actually after in this universe? What are we for? Do we seek after our own interests or God’s? Are we for ourselves or for God? Do we want God to fulfill our desire or His desire? Sooner or later every one of us must be tested in our prayers. Unless one has been led by God to such a state of purity, he is not a man of prayer. He may pray many prayers, but they are of little value before God, and he still cannot be counted as one who works with God, cooperates with Him, prays to Him, and fulfills His will.
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