Proverbs 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.… Prayer is one of the surest tests both of Christian conviction and Christian character. The clear consciousness and firm conviction of God compel frequency and gladness in prayer. The character of a Christian can be almost unmistakably told by the character of his prayers. Prayer is a crucial touchstone of the spiritual life. What is this prayer? Words are generally, not always, necessary to prayer. It is only the insincerity of repetitions that makes them vain. There are occasions when prayer in words is impossible. Thinking over our prayers, without actually saying them, is generally nothing better than a kind of spiritual indolence. But not until words are the true expression of the wishes of the heart, the audible movement of the inmost soul, are they clothed with the character of prayer. Prayer is often hard and exhausting work. It is often difficult, because our hearts are idle and errant; and because prayer is essentially submission. Of all hard things none is more hard than the surrender of the will. There is peace and strength in prayer, but there is also toil and unspeakable sacrifice. God protects us, in our prayers, against ourselves. He will not suffer our ignorance to be our ruin, and only grants such prayers as are for our own good. Unanswered prayers may be an evidence of the love of God and the ignorance of man. Prayers prompted by the Holy Spirit are never unanswered prayers. (Canon Diggle.) Parallel Verses KJV: The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight. |
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