Now, there are these two comprehensible and cardinal evils which do exceedingly mar and intercept the obedience of Christians unto this great and precious command of praying without ceasing, and they are these two, atheism and idolatry; too much confidence in ourselves, and too much leaning to our own understanding, which is idolatry…and too little confidence and trusting in God, which is our atheism, employing ourselves in all, and employing God in nothing…And what is this practice, but involving ourselves in that woeful curse, – Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, who heart departeth from the Lord…[Jer. 17:5].
– Andrew Gray, Directions and Instigations to the Duty of Prayer [Pray Without Ceasing], from The Works of Andrew Gray (Soli Deo Gloria), p. 213
Andrew Gray was a young (and brilliant) Scottish preacher in the 17th Century who died at the age of 22. His wisdom was far beyond his years. My conscience was ripped and up and put back together again by this beautiful sermon. This is where it was ripped up:
‘What keeps you from praying?’ he asks. He sees only two possibilities – atheism and idolatry. Either you don’t believe in God, or you believe that you are a god. Possibility one is that there is no God; possibility two is that if there is a God, you are strong enough that you don’t need his help and don’t need to say ‘thanks.’ Repentance is in order.
What he says about prayer following this is wonderfully helpful and will come in the next post.
My first desire was to object, saying that sometimes it is simply an issue of the hectic and busy nature of life getting in the way. Then I was reminded of this oft quoted line from Martin Luther: “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” It is certainly true that frenetic activity displaces our time for other aspects in our life, especially the quieter ones like prayer. However, with a large vision of God’s grandeur and our neediness, we will MAKE a space for prayer. It will be a necessity we CANNOT ignore, as Luther demonstrates. As basic and binding as breathing. “He must increase, and I must decrease.”
Thanks for sharing the Luther quote. I know I’ve seen it before, but it actually hit me pretty hard reading it just now. Great application.