A Call to Prayer
J. C. Ryle
1875
&
www.MountZion.org
Course CTP Lessons 1-7 (File CTP 1-7)
(13 lessons in total)
“Men ought always to pray” - Luke 18:1
“I will that men pray everywhere” - 1 Timothy 2:1
Contents
page
Lesson 1 Prayer Is Needful to Salvation................................ 3
Lesson 2 The Habit of Prayer: Mark of a True Christian........ 4
Lesson 3 Prayer: The Most Neglected Duty........................... 6
Lesson 4 Prayer Produces Great Encouragement................... 8
Lesson 5 Diligence in Prayer, the Secret of Holiness............. 10
Lesson 6 Prayer and Backsliding......................................... 12
Lesson 7 Prayer and Contentment....................................... 13
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Suggestions…
This study course is based on the booklets A Call to Prayer by J. C. Ryle (lessons 1 – 9), and Times of Refreshing by L. R. Shelton, Jr. (lessons 10 – 14). Please answer the questions from the information given in the reading text. Before you begin the questions, be sure and read the booklet’s sections for the lesson you are taking.
Please read slowly enough so you understand what you read. It is also always good to pray before each lesson, asking the LORD for wisdom to apply what you learn to your life¾and to enable you to love Him with all your mind, heart, soul, and strength... for this is the first commandment (Mark 12:30).
Most questions are response questions, and are intended to support a basic understanding of the material. These questions form the basic part of the study.
Making It Personal questions bring the biblical principles into practical application. Please answer these in your own words. The goal here is change in your own life toward God. There are no right or wrong answers; we are looking only for your honesty with yourself in personal commitments.
About the Authors
John Charles Ryle (1816-1900) began his service to the Lord as a minister of the gospel in parish churches within the Church of England, for almost forty years. He then became Bishop of Liverpool in 1880, and came to international prominence as preacher, Bible expositor, and author. Today he is best known for his plain and lively writings on practical and spiritual themes, in a style deliberately used to reach ordinary people. His great aim in all his ministry was to encourage strong and serious Christian living. His tracts and books sold in the millions in the late 1800s, and many have been republished in modern times. Ryle’s successor as Bishop of Liverpool commented, “The words of such a man acquire new force as we read them. Ryle lived near God, and God lived through him.”
L. R. Shelton, Jr. was founding pastor of Mount Zion Bible Church in Pensacola, Florida, from 1980 to 2003.
Part I
A Call to Prayer
by J. C. Ryle
A Call to Prayer
Chapter 1
Do you pray?
I have a question to offer you. It is contained in three words, Do you pray?
The question is one that none but you can answer. Whether you attend public worship or not, your minister knows. Whether you have family prayers in your house or not, your relations know. But whether you pray in private or not, is a matter between yourself and God.
I beseech you in all affection to attend to the subject I bring before you. Do not say that my question is too close. If your heart is right in the sight of God, there is nothing in it to make you afraid. Do not turn off my question by replying that you say your prayers. It is one thing to say your prayers and another to pray. Do not tell me that my question is unnecessary. Listen to me for a few minutes, and I will show you good reasons for asking it.
Needful for salvation
I ask whether you pray, because prayer is absolutely needful to a man’s salvation.
I say, absolutely needful, and I say so advisedly. I am not speaking now of infants or idiots. I am not settling the state of the heathen. I know that where little is given, there little will be required. I speak especially of those who call themselves Christians, in a land like our own. And of such I say, no man or woman can expect to be saved who does not pray.
I hold salvation by grace as strongly as any one. I would gladly offer a free and full pardon to the greatest sinner that ever lived. I would not hesitate to stand by his dying bed, and say, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ even now, and you shall be saved.” But that a man can have salvation without asking for it, I cannot see in the Bible. That a man will receive pardon of his sins, who will not so much as lift up his heart inwardly, and say, “Lord Jesus, give it to me,” this I cannot find. I can find that nobody will be saved by his prayers, but I cannot find that without prayer anybody will be saved.
It is not absolutely needful to salvation that a man should read the Bible. A man may have no learning, or be blind, and yet have Christ in his heart. It is not absolutely needful that a man should hear public preaching of the gospel. He may live where the gospel is not preached, or he may be bedridden, or deaf. But the same thing cannot be said about prayer. It is absolutely needful to salvation that a man should pray.
Personal responsibility
There is no royal road either to health or learning. Princes and kings, poor men and peasants, all alike must attend to the wants of their own bodies and their own minds. No man can eat, drink, or sleep by proxy. No man can get the alphabet learned for him by another. All these are things which a person must do for himself, or they will not be done at all.
Just as it is with the mind and body, so it is with the soul. There are certain things absolutely needful to the soul’s health and well-being. Each must attend to these things for himself. Each must repent for himself. Each must apply to Christ for himself. And for himself each must speak to God and pray. You must do it for yourself, for by nobody else can it be done.
To be prayerless is to be without God, without Christ, without grace, without hope, and without heaven. It is to be on the road to hell. Now can you wonder that I ask the question, Do you pray?
Study Questions: Lesson 1
First please read chapter 1 in the text.
Do you pray?
1. Please commit to pray daily in a quiet place for the duration of your taking this course, and indicate where and when on your answer sheet.
Needful for salvation
2. The author makes it clear that a person is saved by God’s grace, not by prayer. What does he mean, then, by saying: “No man or woman can expect to be saved who does not pray”?
Personal responsibility
3. What are the consequences of being prayerless?
4. The Scriptures below relate to the theme of chapter 1: “Prayer Is Needful to a Man's Salvation.” For each scripture below, write the reference and key meaning of the verse in your own words. When giving the meaning, please explain only the verse part which relates to the chapter's theme: “Prayer Is Needful to a Man's Salvation.”
a. Romans 10:9-10
b. Acts 10:1-6
A Call to Prayer
Chapter 2
Those who pray
I ask again whether you pray, because a habit of prayer is one of the surest marks of a true Christian.
All the children of God on earth are alike in this respect. From the moment there is any life and reality about their religion, they pray. Just as the first sign of life in an infant when born into the world is the act of breathing, so the first act of men and women when they are born again is praying.
This is one of the common marks of all the elect of God, “They cry unto him day and night” (Luke 18:7). The Holy Spirit, who makes them new creatures, works in them the feeling of adoption, and makes them cry, “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15). The Lord Jesus, when he quickens them, gives them a voice and a tongue, and says to them, “Be dumb no more.” God has no dumb children. It is as much a part of their new nature to pray, as it is of a child to cry. They see their need of mercy and grace. They feel their emptiness and weakness. They cannot do otherwise than they do. They must pray.
I have looked carefully over the lives of God’s saints in the Bible. I cannot find one of whose history much is told us, from Genesis to Revelation, who was not a man of prayer. I find it mentioned as a characteristic of the godly, that “they call on the Father” (I Peter 1:17), or “the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (I Cor. 1:2). Recorded as a characteristic of the wicked is the fact that “they call not upon the Lord” (Ps. 14:4).
I have read the lives of many eminent Christians who have been on earth since the Bible days. Some of them, I see, were rich, and some poor. Some were learned, and some unlearned. Some of them were Episcopalians, and some Christians of other names. Some were Calvinists, and some were Arminians. Some have loved to use a liturgy, and some to use none. But one thing, I see, they all had in common. They have all been men of prayer.
I study the reports of missionary societies in our own times. I see with joy that heathen men and women are receiving the gospel in various parts of the globe. There are conversions in Africa, in New Zealand, in Hindustan, in China. The people converted are naturally unlike one another in every respect. But one striking thing I observe at all the missionary stations: the converted people always pray.
Not praying
I do not deny that a man may pray without heart and without sincerity. I do not for a moment pretend to say that the mere fact of a person’s praying proves everything about his soul. As in every other part of religion, so also in this, there may be deception and hypocrisy.
But this I do say, that not praying is a clear proof that a man is not yet a true Christian. He cannot really feel his sins. He cannot love God. He cannot feel himself a debtor to Christ. He cannot long after holiness. He cannot desire heaven. He has yet to be born again. He has yet to be made a new creature. He may boast confidently of election, grace, faith, hope, and knowledge, and deceive ignorant people. But you may rest assured it is all vain talk if he does not pray.
Real evidence
And I say, furthermore, that of all the evidences of the real work of the Spirit, a habit of hearty private prayer is one of the most satisfactory that can be named. A man may preach from false motives. A man may write books and make fine speeches and seem diligent in good works, and yet be a Judas Iscariot. But a man seldom goes into his closet, and pours out his soul before God in secret, unless he is in earnest. The Lord himself has set his stamp on prayer as the best proof of a true conversion. When he sent Ananias to Saul in Damascus, he gave him no other evidence of his change of heart than this, “Behold, he prayeth” (Acts 9:11).
I know that much may go on in a man’s mind before he is brought to pray. He may have many convictions, desires, wishes, feelings, intentions, resolutions, hopes, and fears. But all these things are very uncertain evidences. They are to be found in ungodly people, and often come to nothing. In many a case they are not more lasting than the morning cloud, and the dew that passeth away. A real, hearty prayer, coming from a broken and contrite spirit, is worth all these things put together.
I know that the Holy Spirit, who calls sinners from their evil ways, does in many instances lead them by very slow degrees to acquaintance with Christ. But the eye of man can only judge by what it sees. I cannot call any one justified until he believes. I dare not say that any one believes until he prays. I cannot understand a dumb faith. The first act of faith will be to speak to God. Faith is to the soul what life is to the body. Prayer is to faith what breath is to life. How a man can live and not breathe is past my comprehension, and how a man can believe and not pray is past my comprehension too.
Never be surprised if you hear ministers of the gospel dwelling much on the importance of prayer. This is the point we want to bring you to; we want to know that you pray. Your views of doctrine may be correct. Your love of Protestantism may be warm and unmistakable. But still this may be nothing more than head knowledge and party spirit. We want to know whether you are actually acquainted with the throne of grace, and whether you can speak to God as well as speak about God.
Do you wish to find out whether you are a true Christian? Then rest assured that my question is of the very first importance—Do you pray?
Study Questions: Lesson 2
First please read chapter 2 in the text.
Those who pray
1. a. The children of God are all alike in what respect?
b. In your own words, what is the key point of Luke 18:1-7 (especially verse 7)?
c. Do you do this? If not, why not?
2. a. What three different groups or types of people are mentioned as those who pray in different paragraphs of this section?
b. Are the observations about these groups significant to you? Why or why not?
Not praying
3. “Not praying is a clear proof that a man is not yet a true Christian.”
a. If you do not pray, what things can you do or not do?
b. Which of these describe you?
Real evidence
4. What is the relationship among being justified, believing, and prayer?
[‘Being justified’ is the state of being made right with God, by having your sins forgiven through faith in Christ. This is the essence of the gospel: Jesus Christ took on Himself the sins of His children, so that He could give them His righteousness instead. He did this at the cross, where He died to pay the penalty for their sins.]
5. What is the relationship between prayer and faith?
6. The Scriptures below relate to the theme of chapter 2: “The Habit of Prayer: Mark of a True Christian.” For the verses below, write the reference and key meaning of the verse in your own words. When giving the meaning, please explain only the verse part which relates to the chapter's theme: “The Habit of Prayer: Mark of a True Christian.”
a. Ephesians 6:18
b. Philippians 4:6-7
c. Colossians 4:2
A Call to Prayer
Chapter 3
Some never pray
I ask whether you pray, because there is no duty in religion so neglected as private prayer.
We live in days of abounding religious profession. There are more places of public worship now than there ever were before. There are more persons attending them than there ever were before. And yet in spite of all this public religion, I believe there is a vast neglect of private prayer. It is one of those private transactions between God and our souls which no eye sees, and therefore one which men are tempted to pass over and leave undone. I believe that thousands never utter a word of prayer at all. They eat. They drink. They sleep. They rise. They go forth to their labor. They return to their homes. They breathe God’s air. They see God’s sun. They walk on God’s earth. They enjoy God’s mercies. They have dying bodies. They have judgment and eternity before them. But they never speak to God. They live like the beasts that perish. They behave like creatures without souls. They have not one word to say to Him in whose hand are their life and breath, and all things, and from whose mouth they must one day receive their everlasting sentence. How dreadful this seems; but if the secrets of men were only known, how common.
Some use form only
I believe there are tens of thousands whose prayers are nothing but a mere form, a set of words repeated by rote, without a thought about their meaning. Some say over a few hasty sentences picked up in the nursery when they were children. Some content themselves with repeating the Creed, forgetting that there is not a request in it. Some add the Lord’s Prayer, but without the slightest desire that its solemn petitions may be granted.
Many, even of those who use good forms, mutter their prayers after they have gotten into bed, or while they wash or dress in the morning. Men may think what they please, but they may depend upon it that in the sight of God this is not praying. Words said without heart are as utterly useless to our souls as the drum beating of the poor heathen before their idols. Where there is no heart, there may be lip work and tongue work, but there is nothing that God listens to; there is no prayer. Saul, I have no doubt, said many a long prayer before the Lord met him on the way to Damascus. But it was not till his heart was broken that the Lord said, “He prayeth.”
Does this surprise you? Listen to me, and I will show you that I am not speaking as I do without reason. Do you think that my assertions are extravagant and unwarrantable? Give me your attention, and I will soon show you that I am only telling you the truth.
Why men do not pray
Have you forgotten that it is not natural to any one to pray? “The carnal mind is enmity against God.” The desire of man’s heart is to get far away from God, and have nothing to do with him. His feeling towards him is not love, but fear. Why then should a man pray when he has no real sense of sin, no real feeling of spiritual wants, no thorough belief in unseen things, no desire after holiness and heaven? Of all these things the vast majority of men know and feel nothing. The multitude walk in the broad way. I cannot forget this. Therefore I say boldly, I believe that few pray.
Have you forgotten that it is not fashionable to pray? It is one of the things that many would be rather ashamed to own. There are hundreds who would sooner storm a breach, or lead a forlorn hope, than confess publicly that they make a habit of prayer. There are thousands who, if obliged to sleep in the same room with a stranger, would lie down in bed without a prayer. To dress well, to go to theaters, to be thought clever and agreeable, all this is fashionable, but not to pray. I cannot forget this. I cannot think a habit is common which so many seem ashamed to own. I believe that few pray.
Have you forgotten the lives that many live? Can we really believe that people are praying against sin night and day, when we see them plunging into it? Can we suppose they pray against the world, when they are entirely absorbed and taken up with its pursuits? Can we think they really ask God for grace to serve him, when they do not show the slightest desire to serve him at all? Oh, no, it is plain as daylight that the great majority of men either ask nothing of God or do not mean what they say when they do ask, which is just the same thing. Praying and sinning will never live together in the same heart. Prayer will consume sin, or sin will choke prayer. I cannot forget this. I look at men’s lives. I believe that few pray.
Have you forgotten the deaths that many die? How many, when they draw near death, seem entirely strangers to God. Not only are they sadly ignorant of his gospel, but sadly wanting in the power of speaking to him. There is a terrible awkwardness and shyness in their endeavors to approach him. They seem to be taking up a fresh thing. They appear as if they wanted an introduction to God, and as if they had never talked with him before. I remember having heard of a lady who was anxious to have a minister to visit her in her last illness. She desired that he would pray with her. He asked her what he should pray for. She did not know, and could not tell. She was utterly unable to name any one thing which she wished him to ask God for her soul. All she seemed to want was the form of a minister’s prayers. I can quite understand this. Death beds are great revealers of secrets. I cannot forget what I have seen of sick and dying people. This also leads me to believe that few pray.
I cannot see your heart. I do not know your private history in spiritual things. But from what I see in the Bible and in the world I am certain I cannot ask you a more necessary question than that before you—Do you pray?
Study Questions: Lesson 3
First please read chapter 3 in the text.
Some never pray
1. How is not praying similar to living life “like the brute beasts”?
Some use form only
2. a. Why are formal forms of outward prayer said to be “not praying”?
b. How does this describe you?
Why men do not pray
3. Why is it not natural for a person to pray?
4. Why is it impossible both to flirt with sin and worldliness, and at the same time also to mean what we pray?
5. a. Ryle mentions the following reasons or evidences of “not praying.” Which of these describe you?
- it is not natural to pray
- it is not fashionable to pray
- many are taken up with the world’s pursuits
- at death, many seem strangers to God
b. In what ways have you purposed to change?
6. The Scriptures below relate to the theme of chapter 3: “Prayer, The Most Neglected Duty.” For each scripture below, write the reference and key meaning of the verse in your own words. When giving the meaning, please explain only the verse part which relates to the chapter's theme: “Prayer, The Most Neglected Duty.”
a. 1 Samuel 12:23
b. Luke 18:1
c. 1 Timothy 2:1
A Call to Prayer
Chapter 4
God is ready
I ask whether you pray, because prayer is an act in religion to which there is great encouragement.
There is everything on God’s part to make prayer easy, if men will only attempt it. All things are ready on his side. Every objection is anticipated. Every difficulty is provided for. The crooked places are made straight and the rough places are made smooth. There is no excuse left for the prayerless man.
There is a way by which any man, however sinful and unworthy, may draw near to God the Father. Jesus Christ has opened that way by the sacrifice he made for us upon the cross. The holiness and justice of God need not frighten sinners and keep them back. Only let them cry to God in the name of Jesus, only let them plead the atoning blood of Jesus, and they shall find God upon a throne of grace, willing and ready to hear. The name of Jesus is a never-failing passport for our prayers. In that name a man may draw near to God with boldness, and ask with confidence. God has engaged to hear him. Think of this. Is not this encouragement?
There is an Advocate and Intercessor always waiting to present the prayers of those who come to God through him. That advocate is Jesus Christ. He mingles our prayers with the incense of his own almighty intercession. So mingled, they go up as a sweet savor before the throne of God. Poor as they are in themselves, they are mighty and powerful in the hand of our High Priest and Elder Brother. The bank note without a signature at the bottom is nothing but a worthless piece of paper. The stroke of a pen confers on it all its value. The prayer of a poor child of Adam is a feeble thing in itself, but once endorsed by the hand of the Lord Jesus it availeth much. There was an officer in the city of Rome who was appointed to have his doors always open, in order to receive any Roman citizen who applied to him for help. Just so the ear of the Lord Jesus is ever open to the cry of all who want mercy and grace. It is his office to help them. Their prayer is his delight. Think of this. Is not this encouragement?
There is the Holy Spirit ever ready to help our infirmities in prayer. It is one part of his special office to assist us in our endeavors to speak with God. We need not be cast down and distressed by the fear of not knowing what to say. The Spirit will give us words if we seek his aid. The prayers of the Lord’s people are the inspiration of the Lord’s Spirit, the work of the Holy Ghost who dwells within them as the Spirit of grace and supplication. Surely the Lord’s people may well hope to be heard. It is not them merely that pray, but the Holy Ghost pleading in them. Reader, think of this. Is not this encouragement?
Promises
There are exceeding great and precious promises to those who pray. What did the Lord Jesus mean when he spoke such words as these: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened” (Matt. 7:7, 8). “All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer believing, ye shall receive” (Matt. 21:22). “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13, 14). What did the Lord mean when he spoke the parables of the friend at midnight and the importunate widow (Luke 11:5; 18:1)? Think over these passages. If this is not encouragement to pray, words have no meaning.
Examples
There are wonderful examples in Scripture of the power of prayer. Nothing seems to be too great, too hard, or too difficult for prayer to do. It has obtained things that seemed impossible and out of reach. It has won victories over fire, air, earth, and water. Prayer opened the Red Sea. Prayer brought water from the rock and bread from heaven. Prayer made the sun stand still. Prayer brought fire from the sky on Elijah’s sacrifice. Prayer turned the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. Prayer overthrew the army of Sennacherib. Well might Mary Queen of Scots say, “I fear John Knox’s prayers more than an army of ten thousand men.” Prayer has healed the sick. Prayer has raised the dead. Prayer has procured the conversion of souls. “The child of many prayers,” said an old Christian to Augustine’s mother, “shall never perish.” Prayer, pains, and faith can do anything. Nothing seems impossible when a man has the spirit of adoption. “Let me alone,” is the remarkable saying of God to Moses when Moses was about to intercede for the children of Israel—the Chaldee version has, “Leave off praying”—(Exod. 32:10). So long as Abraham asked mercy for Sodom, the Lord went on giving. He never ceased to give till Abraham ceased to pray. Think of this. Is not this encouragement?
What more can a man want to lead him to take any step in religion, than the things I have just told him about prayer? What more could be done to make the path to the mercy seat easy, and to remove all occasions of stumbling from the sinner’s way? Surely if the devils in hell had such a door set open before them, they would leap for gladness, and make the very pit ring with joy.
But where will the man hide his head at last who neglects such glorious encouragements? What can possibly be said for the man who, after all, dies without prayer? Surely I may feel anxious that you should not be that man. Surely I may well ask—Do you pray?
Study Questions: Lesson 4
First please read chapter 4 in the text.
God is ready!
1. How has God opened a way for you to draw near to Him?
2. Who is your Advocate before God, and how does He intercede for you?
3. How does the Holy Spirit help your infirmities in prayer?
Promises
4. What is your own personal response to the Scriptures cited as promises to those who pray (ie, what do you think about them; how do they apply to you)?
Examples
5. What are some of the Scriptural examples of prayer which are mentioned? Using a concordance, see if you can find some of these in the Bible. If so, list the Bible reference for each.
6. The Scriptures below relate to the theme of chapter 4: “Prayer Produces Great Encouragement.” For each scripture below, write the reference and key meaning of the verse in your own words. When giving the meaning, please explain only the verse part which relates to the chapter's theme: “Prayer Produces Great Encouragement.”
a. James 5:16-18
b. John 14:12-14
c. Matthew 7:7-11
A Call to Prayer
Chapter 5
Vast difference
I ask whether you pray, because diligence in prayer is the secret of eminent holiness.
Without controversy there is a vast difference among true Christians. There is an immense interval between the foremost and the hindermost in the army of God.
They are all fighting the same good fight; but how much more valiantly some fight than others. They are all doing the Lord’s work; but how much more some do than others. They are all light in the Lord; but how much more brightly some shine than others. They are all running the same race; but how much faster some get on than others. They all love the same Lord and Savior; but how much more some love him than others. I ask any true Christian whether this is not the case. Are not these things so?
There are some of the Lord’s people who seem never able to get on from the time of their conversion. They are born again, but they remain babes all their lives. You hear from them the same old experience. You observe in them the same want of spiritual appetite, the same want of interest in any thing beyond their own little circle, which you observed ten years ago. They are pilgrims, indeed, but pilgrims like the Gibeonites of old; their bread is always dry and moldy, their shoes always old, and their garments always rent and torn. I say this with sorrow and grief; but I ask any real Christian, Is it not true?
There are others of the Lord’s people who seem to be always advancing. They grow like the grass after rain; they increase like Israel in Egypt; they press on like Gideon, though sometimes faint, yet always pursuing. They are ever adding grace to grace, and faith to faith, and strength to strength. Every time you meet them their hearts seem larger, and their spiritual stature taller and stronger. Every year they appear to see more, and know more, and believe more, and feel more in their religion. They not only have good works to prove the reality of their faith, but they are zealous of them. They not only do well, but they are unwearied in well-doing. They attempt great things, and they do great things. When they fail they try again, and when they fall they are soon up again. And all this time they think themselves poor, unprofitable servants, and fancy they do nothing at all. These are those who make religion lovely and beautiful in the eyes of all. They wrest praise even from the unconverted and win golden opinions even from the selfish men of the world.
It does one good to see, to be with, and to hear them. When you meet them, you could believe that like Moses, they had just come out from the presence of God. When you part with them you feel warmed by their company, as if your soul had been near a fire. I know such people are rare. I only ask, Are there not many such?
The reason for the difference
Now how can we account for the difference which I have just described? What is the reason that some believers are so much brighter and holier than others? I believe the difference, in nineteen cases out of twenty, arises from different habits about private prayer. I believe that those who are not eminently holy pray little, and those who are eminently holy pray much.
I dare say this opinion will startle some readers. I have little doubt that many look on eminent holiness as a kind of special gift, which none but a few must pretend to aim at. They admire it at a distance in books. They think it beautiful when they see an example near themselves. But as to its being a thing within the reach of any but a very few, such a notion never seems to enter their minds. In short, they consider it a kind of monopoly granted to a few favored believers, but certainly not to all.
Now I believe that this is a most dangerous mistake. I believe that spiritual as well as natural greatness depends in a high degree on the faithful use of means within everybody’s reach. Of course I do not say we have a right to expect a miraculous grant of intellectual gifts; but this I do say, that when a man is once converted to God, his progress in holiness will be much in accordance with his own diligence in the use of God’s appointed means. And I assert confidently that the principal means by which most believers have become great in the church of Christ is the habit of diligent private prayer.
Prayer is power
Look through the lives of the brightest and best of God’s servants, whether in the Bible or not. See what is written of Moses and David and Daniel and Paul. Mark what is recorded of Luther and Bradford the Reformers. Observe what is related of the private devotions of Whitefield and Cecil and Venn and Bickersteth and M’Cheyne. Tell me one of all the goodly fellowship of saints and martyrs, who has not had this mark most prominently—he was a man of prayer. Depend upon it, prayer is power.
Prayer obtains fresh and continued outpourings of the Spirit. He alone begins the work of grace in a man’s heart. He alone can carry it forward and make it prosper. But the good Spirit loves to be entreated. And those who ask most will have most of his influence.
Prayer is the surest remedy against the devil and besetting sins. That sin will never stand firm which is heartily prayed against. That devil will never long keep dominion over us which we beseech the Lord to cast forth. But then we must spread out all our case before our heavenly Physician, if he is to give us daily relief.
Study Questions: Lesson 5
First please read chapter 5 in the text.
A vast difference in holiness
1. What are some characteristics of those who seem not to advance in the Christian life?
2. What are some characteristics of those who seem always to be advancing in the Christian life?
The reason for the difference
3. Describe the predominant reason for the difference.
4. Explain the misunderstanding that some believers have about the nature of holiness.
5. Ryle states: “spiritual... greatness depends in a high degree on the faithful use of means within everybody’s reach.” The word ‘means’ refers to the instruments which God uses to cause us to grow. Some of these would include hearing the preaching of the Word, personal Bible study, Christian service, and personal prayer.
If diligent private prayer is the principle means which God uses for progress in holiness, then true holiness is available to all believers. It is not dependent upon some special talent or gift from God. If you will pray regularly and diligently, then God will cause you to grow in holiness.
a. What is your personal response to this availability?
b. What commitment will you make to develop the discipline of diligent private prayer?
Prayer is power
6. Have you known some ‘prayer warriors’ personally? What was their degree of holiness?
7. “Prayer obtains fresh... outpourings of the Spirit.” Why is this important?
8. How is prayer “the surest remedy against... besetting sin”?
9. Please consider making a commitment to pray regularly for the filling of the Spirit, and against a specific sinful habit that you want to stop.
If you have made such a commitment, indicate on your answer sheet what it is.
10. The Scriptures below relate to the theme of chapter 5: “Diligence in Prayer, the Secret of Holiness.” For each scripture below, write the reference and key meaning of the verse in your own words. When giving the meaning, please explain only the verse part which relates to the chapter's theme: “Diligence in Prayer, the Secret of Holiness.”
a. Jeremiah 29:13
b. Daniel 6:10,23
A Call to Prayer
Chapter 6
Backsliding really happens
Do you wish to grow in grace and be a devoted Christian? Be very sure, if you wish it, you could not have a more important question than this—Do you pray? I ask whether you pray, because neglect of prayer is one great cause of backsliding.
There is such a thing as going back in religion after making a good profession. Men may run well for a season, like the Galatians, and then turn aside after false teachers. Men may profess loudly while their feelings are warm, as Peter did, and then in the hour of trial deny their Lord. Men may lose their first love as the Ephesians did. Men may cool down in their zeal to do good, | 
