Agreement in Prayer. By J. R. Graves ( )

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1 Prevailing Prayer By Milburn R. Cockrell ( ) Agreement in Prayer By J. R. Graves ( ) Prayer and Salvation By Rosco Brong ( ) You probably recall from te Book of Genesis te nigt tat Jacob wrestled wit te Angel of te Lord. As te morning began to dawn te struggle ended. Te Angel of te Covenant touced te allow of Jacob s tig, causing im to be lame te rest of is life. Jacob now realized e could no longer count on is own strengt in tis contest, and e was Te Cristian and Prayer By Tom Ross of Sout Point, Oio And it came to pass, tat, as e was praying in a certain place, wen e ceased, one of is disciples said unto im, Lord, teac us to pray, as Jon also taugt is disciples (Luke 11:1). PRINCIPLES OF PRAYER Tere is probably not a subject in te Cristian world today tat as been as neglected as te science of prayer. Preacers not only neglect to teac on prayer in te pulpit, if te sad trut be known, te reason (Continued on page 2) I say unto you, Tat if two of you sall agree on eart as toucing any ting tat tey sall ask, it sall be done for tem of my Fater wic is in eaven (Matt. 18:19). Is tere a ricer promise witin te lids of te Bible? And can we ave any ting, concerning wic we may agree to ask? Wat (Continued on page 5) wy is because tey practice it so little in teir closets. We can expect little power in our curces if tere is little praying among our pastors and curc members. We need to return to te sacred and deligtful duty of prayer if we are to ever expect te winds of revival to sweep over our curces. Spirituality, godliness, and purity (Continued on page 8) By Paul Stepp of Indore, West Virginia For everyone wo sall call upon te name of te Lord sall be saved, ow ten sall tey call to im wom tey did not believe? And ow sall tey believe im of wom tey did not ear? And ow sall tey ear witout a preacer?...so ten te fait is from earing, and te earing is troug te (Continued on page 6) Te Promise of Answered Prayer Someting tat we, as Cristians, often talk about is ow tat God is a God Wo ears prayers. We constantly remind ourselves and oters about te need tat we ave for prayer unto God, and ow our prayers are eard by a God tat is able and willing to answer our prayers. Te Lord Jesus Crist said in te Beatitudes, Ask, and it sall be given you; seek, and ye sall find; knock, and it sall be opened unto you: For every one tat asket receivet; and e tat seeket findet; and to im tat knocket it sall be opened (Matt. 7:7-8). Tis is a very familiar passage tat concerns prayer; and probably all of us ave eard tis passage preaced on many times. Now I want us to tink about prayer, and ow God as given us a promise in regards to our prayers. Specifically, wat, let us tink about, are some ways in wic we must pray? Te Lord as promised to answer our prayers, and tis is someting tat we take great comfort in. But, e as also (Continued on page 16) for, beold, e prayet (Acts 9:11).

2 Page 2 Te Berea Baptist Banner January 5, 2019 January 5, 2019 Volume XXXIX, Number 1 Wole Number 474 Editor: Cristoper Cockrell Staff: Seron Cockrell, Marsa Kiser, Virginia Cockrell TE BEREA BAPTIST BANNER (UPS ) is publised montly for $6.00 per year by te autority of te Berea Baptist Curc, 3881 igway 363, Mantacie, Mississippi Periodical Publication postage paid at Mantacie, Mississippi. POSTMASTER: Send address canges to TE BEREA BAPTIST BANNER, P. O. Box 39, Mantacie, Mississippi PUBLICATION POLICIES: All matter for publication sould be sent to te editor. All manuscripts are to be typed and double spaced. All suc material becomes te property of BBB and will not be returned unless requested by te writer. We reserve te rigt to edit and condense all materials sent to us for publication. Te publication of an article does not necessarily mean te editor is in complete agreement wit te writer, nor does it mean e endorses all tis person may ave written on oter subjects. COPYING PRIVILEGES: Unless oterwise stated any article publised in tis paper may be copied by oter publications, provided tey give proper credit line stating tat suc was copied from tis publication, and te date of publication; provided tat suc materials are not publised for profit. If we are not on an excange list wit te publication copying, it is requested tat a copy of te issue containing te article be sent to our address. All copyrigted materials may not be copied witout written consent. PUBLISED MONTLY wit paid circulation in most states in te U.S.A. and some foreign countries. SUBSCRIPTION RATES - U.S. One year...$6.00 Two years...$10.00 Five years...$24.00 SUBSCRIPTION RATES - FOREIGN One Year $45 PLANNING TO MOVE? Notify us tree weeks in Tune in to te Berea Baptist Broadcast STATION TIME DIAL WATTS WCNA, Myrtle, MS...Sunday 9:30-10:00 a.m ,000 FM WCTT, Corbin, KY...Sunday 9:00-9:30 a.m ,000 AM WFTA, Tupelo, MS...Sunday 9:00-9:30 a.m ,000 FM KARI, Blaine, WA...Saturday 10:30-11:00 a.m ,000 AM Berea Baptist Banner PO Box 39 Mantacie, Mississippi (662) request@bereabaptistcurc.org bbcurc@nexband.com Planning a move? Please let us know your new address. Te post office carges us $.59 for eac returned wrong address. advance. Te post office will only forward periodical mail for 90 days. Tey carge us $.70 for eac cange of address tey ave to send us. Please save us tis expense and te post office time. BUNDLES TO ONE ADDRESS: Tese are sent for $4 per paper for a year. An example: 10 papers for one year at $40 or 20 papers for one year at $ LOCATION OF PUBLISING CURC: Our curc is located on state igway 363 about one mile sout of Mantacie, Mississippi. Readers are always welcome to visit our services. CURC PONE: A PAPER WITOUT SUBSCRIPTION: Some times people write to us and say tat tey did not subscribe for te BBB. Tey are receiving our paper because someone else as paid for teir subscription. We trust te BBB will be received as an outstretced and to you. Take wat you find elpful and discard wat you cannot use.if you do not want to receive suc a gift subscription, please write to us. We are appy to cancel suc a subscription. We do not want to go were we are not wanted. DISCLAIMER: Te Editor assumes tat te articles submitted for publication in te BBB are written by te person wose name tey bear, unless oterwise indicated by a quote from anoter writer. owever, te Editor cannot personally guarantee tat tis is te case in all articles wic appear in te BBB. Te purpose of te Berea Baptist Banner is as follows: 1.To onor God and to exalt te Lord Jesus Crist. 2. To preac te gospel to lost sinners. 3. To spread te wole counsel of God s Word. 4. To encourage God s preacers and to strengt-en is curces in te most oly fait. 5. To motivate God s cildren to a closer fellow-sip around is Word. 6. To inform people of world events in ligt of Bible propecy. 7. To condemn and expose error werever it may rear its ugly ead. 8. To stimulate Cristian growt in grace. 9. To make te Devil and is demons as mad as possible. FALLEN TO SLEEP WAITING ON TE MAIL? Look at your mailing label on te front page of tis mont s paper. If you see above your name Expires 1/2019 ten tis will be your last issue. So do not doze off wile waiting for te mailman! Renew now so you will not miss next mont s Banner. Prevailing Prayer (Continued from page 1) mindful tat only te Lord could elp im. Toug wounded in te struggle, e still ad great courage and persistence. e clung to te Angel of te Lord and refused to let im go until e blessed im. Te Angel ten asked, Wat is ty name? And e said, Jacob. And e said, ty name sall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince ast tou power wit God and wit men, and ast prevailed (Gen. 32:27-28). In osea 12:3-4 I also read tis concerning Jacob: e took is broter by te eel in te womb, and by is strengt e ad power wit God: Yea, e ad power over te angel, and prevailed: e wept, and made supplication unto im: e found im in Betel, and tere e spake wit us. It is plainly seen from tis last text tat Jacob prayed, or made supplication, to te Angel of te Lord. Jacob s prayer gives us te key as to ow to pray a prevailing prayer, for te prayer of te patriarc was suc. WAT IS IT? Prevailing prayer is a prayer wic obtains te blessing tat it seeks as did Jacob. It is to ave power wit God and to prevail. It is te prayer wic effectually moves God. Wen I say it moves God I do not mean tat prayer canges te mind of God. Te mind of God is exempt from cange and is will is immutable (Job 23:13). But I still say tat prayer moves God. It produces suc a cange in us as renders it consistent for God to do as it would not be consistent for im to do oterwise. Most students of te Scriptures concede tat Jacob wrestled tat nigt wit te eternal Son of God in one of is preincarnate forms. Te patriarc said of tis experience tat e ad seen God face to face (Gen. 32:30). e called te place Peniel, wic means te face of God. osea tells us Jacob by is strengt e ad power wit God (os. 12:3). Jacob s wrestling was only te sign of tat spiritual conflict by wic e obtained te onorable victory, even fervent prayer. Mark carefully te words of Jacob to te Angel of te Lord: I will not let tee go, except tou bless me (Gen. 32:26). Jacob is seen ere clinging to Jeova- Jesus. Clinging to te pleading Crist is te all-conquering attitude of te soul wo would prevail wit God. Te prayer warrior must cling to Crist wit a stubborn trust. We must wrestle wit God and refuse to be overcome until we obtain from is goodness te petition we desire. So prevailing prayer is wrestling wit God until te blessing comes. PRAYER AVAILS MUC In James 5:16 it is written: Te effectual fervent prayer of a rigteous man availet muc. Te Revised Version as it: Te supplication of a rigteous man availet muc in its working. Tis verse is adorned wit a number of jewels of luster Divine. First, for a prayer to be answered, te man wo prays it must be a rigteous man. Second, a formal prayer is of no wort. One must really pray. Too many say prayers but never pray. Tird, if prayer is earnest and by a rigteous man like Jacob was, it will ave great power wit God. Tere is more power in tat kind of a prayer tan te Atomic Bomb. Suc a prayer is God-moving. I cannot understand ow te migty God, Wo rules te universe by is sovereign power, (Continued on page 3)

3 January 5, 2019 Te Berea Baptist Banner Page 3 Prevailing Prayer (Continued from page 2) can be affected by te prayer of one of is cildren, but James 5:16 says e is. Altoug e rules and reigns according to is counsel and purpose, e someow permits te cries of is cildren to fit into is plans. Te supplications of te elect were considered by God in is eternal purpose and plan. Te God of te Bible is a prayer-earing God! IT IS DEFINITE PRAYER Jacob did not pray at random witout any distinct or definite object in mind. e made supplication to te Angel of te Lord for deliverance from is enraged broter, Esau. Tis was te blessing e sougt and obtained. Tis was te distinct object before is mind wen e wrestled wit te Angel. It was by tis definite prayer tat e gained is P.W.G. in te Divine scool; tat is, is Power Wit God. If we would engage in prevailing prayer tere sould be definite objects for wic we plea. We often ramble in our prayers and get noting because we do not really desire anyting. We catter about a number of topics, but our soul does not concentrate on any one object. We must never approac te trone of grace witout tinking beforeand wat we want to ask God for. No one would go to te store and not know wat article e wants. No person would fire is gun witout knowing wat te target was. Ten wy fall down on our knees witout knowing wat petition we desire of im? No wonder we ave no power wit God! Our attempts at praying are so poor tat we do not even know wat to ask God wen we pray unto im! We cannot get a blessing witout asking for one! A vague petition for grace is not effectual prayer. A general entreaty for God s strengt and protection troug te day tat is dawning is not enoug. An indiscriminating invocation for te guidance of te oly Spirit will not get te attention of God. Te prayer wic prevails wit God must be minute and detailed as well as earnest. All te effectual prayers of te Bible were for a definite ting. Abraam prayed for te rigteous in Sodom. Moses interceded for Israel. Josua asked for te sun to stand still. anna prayed for a son. Elija requested no rain for tree and a alf years. Te early curc prayed for Peter. Solomon prayed for wisdom. AN EARNEST PRAYER You cannot read te account about Jacob witout seeing tat e was earnest in is petition. osea disclosed: e wept, and made supplication unto im (os. 12:4). e begged for te blessing wit tears in is eyes. is prayer was like tat of our Savior. ebrews 5:7 says: Wo in te days of is fles, wen e ad offered up prayers and supplications wit strong crying and tears unto im tat was able to save im from deat, and was eard in tat e feared. In Luke 22:44 it is again written of im: And being in an agony e prayed more earnestly: and is sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to te ground. ezekia prayed a prevailing prayer, just like Jacob did. Te Propet Isaia told ezekia tat e would die. Tis message caused ezekia to pray unto te LORD and to weep sore (II Kings 20:1-3). Isaia was ten told to return to ezekia and say: Tus sait te LORD, te God of David ty fater, I ave eard ty prayer, I ave seen ty tears: beold, I will eal tee: on te tird day tou salt go up unto te ouse of te LORD (II Kings 20:5). ere was a man wo was a prince of God, a man wo ad power wit God and prevailed! anna prayed earnestly for a son (I Sam. 1). Se prayed unto te Lord in bitterness of soul and wept sore (I Sam. 1:10). Se poured out er soul before te LORD (I Sam. 1:15). Tis sincere petition prevailed wit God. Later se declared: For tis cild I prayed; and te LORD at given my petition wic I asked of im (I Sam. 1:27). Te psalmist spoke of prayer as pouring out te soul to God: I cried unto te LORD wit my voice; wit my voice unto te LORD did I make my supplication. I poured out my complaint before im; I sewed before im my trouble. Wen my spirit was overwelmed witin me, ten tou knewest my pat (Ps. 142:1-3). Paul spoke of prayer as te travail of te soul: My little cildren, of wom I travail in birt again until Crist be formed in you (Ga. 4:19). Te Galatians ad backslidden and Paul was agonizing in prayer for tem like a parent would over a wandering cild. Tis same apostle urged te Cristians at Rome to strive togeter wit me in your prayers to God for me (Rom. 15:30). Epapras, a member of te curc at Colosse, was always labouring fervently for is bretren in prayer (Col. 4:12). Elija prayed earnestly tat it migt not rain: and it rained not on te eart by te space of tree years and six monts. And e prayed again, and te eaven gave rain, and te eart brougt fort er fruit (Jas. 5:17-18). Tese men prayed prevailing prayers before God, and so sould we. Prayer witout fervency is like a sacrifice witout fire, a body witout a spirit, a bullet witout powder. Prayer witout earnestness is no prayer; it is speaking, not praying. A stillborn cild is no eir, neiter is a prayer tat wants life te eir to any promise of God. Lifeless prayer is no more prayer tan painted fire is fire. Fervency is to prayer as fire to te license; it makes it ascend to eaven as a sweet perfume. Do you desire to engage in prevailing prayer like Jacob and Elija did? Ten pray wit all your eart, wit emotion and wit zeal, wrestle wit God, weep before im, agonize before te trone of grace. Be earnest and intense in your requests to God, and you will ave power wit God. Pour out your soul wit tears and strong crying to te God of eaven, and eaven will ear you! O, God elp us to always pray a prevailing prayer before tee! PERSEVERING PRAYER It would seem tat Jacob was very persevering in is prayer to te Angel of te Lord. e refused to let im go until e ad blessed im wit te petition e desired. If we would prevail in prayer to God we must persevere in te grace of praying. I believe tat we all can agree tat it is far easier to begin a abit of prayer tan it is to keep it up. We find it ard to fix our tougts upon God and spiritual tings, so as to old on till te blessing comes. Too many times we become weary of praying, and we eed te suggestion of Satan tat prayer is of no use. Do you ever feel a secret inclination to urry your prayers? to sorten (Continued on page 4)

4 Page 4 Te Berea Baptist Banner January 5, 2019 Prevailing Prayer (Continued from page 3) tem? or to omit tem? Tis is a direct temptation from te Devil. By causing us to leave off prayer, Satan robs us of te blessing of prevailing prayer. O, my bretren, let us recall tat our Savior taugt tat men ougt always to pray, and not to faint (Luke 18:1). Te apostle said: Praying always wit all prayer and supplication in te Spirit (Ep. 6:18) and again: Continuing instant in prayer (Rom. 12:12). We are admonised in I Tessalonians 5:17: Pray witout ceasing. May we never cease to cry day and nigt unto im (Luke 18:7), for tis is te duty of all is elect. A PRAYER IN SUBMISSION TO GOD S WILL Te nigt wrestler of my text knew tat God only could grant te blessing e sougt. e plead wit tearful eyes tat te Messenger of te Covenant migt grant is request. e knew te blessing could be given, or witeld, at God s pleasure. Wile is prayer was sincere and earnest, it was neverteless in submission to te good pleasure of God. We know tat Jacob did pray according to te will of God because God granted is petition. Jesus Crist is our great example in praying according to te will of God. e prayed in te Garden of Getsemane: Not as I will, but as tou wilt (Matt. 26:39). e again said: I seek not mine own will, but te will of te Fater wic at sent me (Jon 5:30). Still again e declared: I do always tose tings tat please im (Jon 8:29). Being mindful of tis, I ave no problem in knowing tat e also said: Fater, I tank tee tat tou ast eard me. And I knew tat tou earest me always... (Jon 11:41-42). To pray for a ting contrary to God s will is to tempt te Lord God; it is not prayer but rebellion. We must pray according to God s promise and predictions, for only tose prayers tat are in submission to is will are eard by im. I Jon 5:14-15 says: And tis is te confidence tat we ave in im, tat, if we ask any ting according to is will, e earet us: And if we know tat e ear us, watsoever we ask, we know tat we ave te petitions tat we desired of im. Someone may be saying: I know you must pray according to te will of God, but my problem is tat I often don t know wat te will of God is. ow ten can I pray a prevailing prayer? You must depend upon te oly Spirit Wo as been sent to aid you in your prayers to God. Wen tere is no clear precept from te Bible, wen providence is dark, wen we know not God s will for our life, let us lean upon our eavenly Assistant sent down from te Upper World. Romans 8:26-27 reads: Likewise te Spirit also elpet our infirmities: for we know not wat we sould pray for as we ougt: but te Spirit itself maket intercession for us wit groanings wic cannot be uttered. And e tat searcet te earts knowet wat is te mind of te Spirit, because e maket intercession for te saints according to te will of God. TE PRAYER OF FAIT Truly Jacob believed tat Jeova-Jesus was able to grant te blessing e sougt; oterwise, e would not ave asked im. Te patriarc believed e would grant it, if e eld on to im till te blessing came. Jacob s prayer was a prayer of fait (James 5:15). We must expect to obtain te tings for wic we ask in prayer. We need not look for an answer if we pray witout fait, for faitless prayer is fruitless prayer. A number of prayers are not eard because we do not believe tat God will grant our petitions. If any of you lack wisdom, let im ask of God, tat givet to all men liberally, and unbraidet not; and it sall be given im. But let im ask in fait, noting wavering. For e tat waveret is like a wave of te sea driven wit te wind and tossed. For let not tat man tink tat e sall receive any ting of te Lord (James 1:5-7). Jesus Crist urged us to pray te prayer of fait. In Mark 11:24 e declared: Terefore I say unto you, Wat tings soever ye desire, wen ye pray, believe tat ye receive tem, and ye sall ave tem. Wen we pray let us pray wit confidence in God s power and ability to answer our prayers, for te Lord said: According to your fait be it unto you (Matt. 9:29). TREMENDOUS POWER OF PRAYER Tere is tremendous power available to God s cildren, wic is seldom tapped. Prayer as explosive power; it is spiritual dynamite! It gets tings done. It works miracles. It provides irresistible energy. Prayer puts us in contact wit te Supreme Power of te universe. It puts us before te trone of te Almigty! Wen we enter te secret camber of intercession, let us remember tat wile we pray God is really doing te tings we are asking for. As we pray for te gospel to be sent to sindarkened lands, God baffles te powers of darkness and moves te earts of kings. As we pray, God breaks down te barriers to evangelization, loosens te bands of superstition, and opens te patway to forbidden lands. As we pray, God opens te purses of is cildren and trusts fort laborers into te fields wite unto arvest. Wat a tremendous responsibility is ours! All te power of an omnipotent God is ready and waiting to be put into triumpant, irresistible action at te prayer of one of is cildren! Wat a unique privilege is offered us! Te very ost of eaven is marsaled against te powers of darkness at te cry of one of God s elect. CONCLUSION Prayer is to te soul wat air is to our lungs; it is te life-breat of true Cristianity. It is one of te first acts of te saved soul (Acts 9:11). It is te means of causing our spiritual life to flouris, and te lack of it causes it to decay. Wen we cease to watc and pray we enter into temptation (Matt. 26:40-41). Tank God for te privilege of prayer! eaven be praised tat we, like Jacob, can become a prince of God and prevail wit God. Men would do well to fear men and women wo know te secret of prevailing prayer. Jon Knox was a man famous for is power in prayer, so tat Queen Mary of England used to say tat se feared is prayers more tan all te armies of Europe. And events sowed tat se ad reason to do it. e used to be in suc an agony for te deliverance of is country, tat e could not sleep. e ad a place in is garden were e used to go to pray. One nigt e and several friends were praying togeter, and as tey prayed, Knox spoke and said tat deliverance ad come. e could (Continued on page 5)

5 January 5, 2019 Te Berea Baptist Banner Page 5 Prevailing Prayer (Continued from page 4) not tell wat ad appened, but e felt tat someting ad taken place, for God ad eard teir prayers. Wat was it? Wy, te next news tey ad was, tat Mary was dead! (Revivals of Religions, p. 72, 1886 edition). Tose wo scoff at te concept of prayer ave missed one of te greatest blessings tis side of eaven. Tey ave by-passed a idden dimension of reality more real tan life itself. Tey are ignorant of te great Creator Wo answers te prayers of is people. Tey are unaware tat te Bible calls te prayers of te saints sweet perfume to God (Rev. 5:8). Prayer is not a waste of time. It is obtaining mercy and grace to elp in te time of need (eb. 4:16). It is tarrying before te trone of grace; wrestling wit God; agonizing in is presence, until we be endued wit power from on ig (Luke 24:49). It is asking and receiving te petitions tat we desire of im. We can pray prevailing prayers. Our prayers can be God-moving, ell-defeating, Devil-routing, sinner-saving, Crist-exalting and worker-producing! O, my bretren, let us go often to te trone of grace, pray earnestly before our God, and tarry long in is presence! Te Lord says to us: Call unto me, and I will answer tee, and sew tee great and migty tings, wic tou knowest not (Jer. 33:3). Agreement in (Continued from page 1) a boundless grant! ave we ad no desires? ave we never seized upon tis promise, and been agreed to ask? And our prayers not answered? Wy? We eiter ave not complied wit te conditions of prevailing prayer, or God is not true. If we ave failed to comply wit te conditions, doubtless it as been because we ave misunderstood tem. Is it not desirable to secure so great a blessing? Let us ten endeavour to understand te condition, agree...toucing anyting. Wat are we to understand, ten, by being agreed, as toucing? I. We must be agreed in prayer. Prayer implies desire. To pray, we must ave desires---ten: 1. We sould be agreed in our desires for te object. To agree in word is not to agree in desires. ow often te prayer and eart disagree! But desire also implies motive. We must ten: 2. Agree in motive. Not only our desires must be te same, but our motives te same; still we migt agree in motive and our motives be purely selfis: (1) To ave our congregation enlarged, and made more respectable; it flatters te pride of te uman eart, to be connected wit large numbers. (2) To compel our enemies to acknowledge tat God blesses us, or our curc. (3) To ave our cildren, and our friends converted. 3. We must be agreed in good motives. To ave our congregation enlarged, not merely because it is te one to wic we belong, or to ave our cildren and friends converted only because tey are ours. Our motive in desiring a revival sould be because God s name would be onoured and glorified in te conversion of sinners, weter tey were our own, or our neigbor s cildren. Wen we begin to love souls, rater tan persons, ten we may ope tat our motives please God. Te prayer of Moses wen e pleaded wit God for Israel (Ex. 32:11) is a beautiful illustration of te proper motive in prayer. e pleaded God s onour in te salvation of Israel. So great was is love for souls and te onour of God, toug te Lord promised to make of im a great nation in case e cut off tat people, yet e pleaded for tem. e ad no selfisness in is eart. A selfis prayer is a God-displeasing, Goddisonouring prayer. 4. We must agree, also, toucing te time wen we desire te blessing to come. Many Cristians pray for a revival of religion in teir curces wo would be astonised, and disappointed, if God suddenly answered te language of teir prayers, witout regard to te feelings of teir eart. Tey would be sadly disappointed if teir prayers were answered, because tey would not feel tat tey could lose teir time from teir business, teir crops, or teir professions. Cristians usually pray for a revival wen it will best suit teir convenience. Wen are campmeetings and protracted meetings appointed? Invariably, tose seasons wen tere is little else to be done, after planting, or working crops, or arvesting. We imitate te sin of Jews, in tus bringing te lame, te alt, te blind, and te torn of beasts, and tat wic is ready to peris, and offer it to God for a sacrifice. It is not sacrifice, for it is wortless to use is idle time. If we could be making two or tree dollars per day, we would never offer it to God--- would never tink of passing it away in meetings. Now, te same time would ardly ever meet te convenience of two persons, differently employed---and ow can tey agree as toucing te time wen tey would be willing to receive te blessing? But we must agree on te time, and on te present time, for present time is God s time. e as no promises for te morrow. is time must be our time. We must be willing to receive wen e is willing to give, and tat is today. 5. We must agree to ask in fait. Tis is made one of te conditions of prevailing prayer. But let im ask in fait, noting wavering. For e tat waveret is like a wave of te sea driven wit te wind and tossed (James 1:6). Unbelief is a sin, and if we ask, doubting God s Word, e will be displeased. We must absolutely believe tat our prayers will be answered. II. We are to agree in everyting tat is essential to obtaining te blessing. 1. We must agree in feeling te necessity of a revival. Te term re-vival implies excitement. Tere never was a revival witout more or less excitement. Tere was no small excitement wen te oly Spirit was poured out on te day of Pentecost. Te apostles acted and talked like men full of new wine, and wen tousands were convicted at te same time tere was, no doubt, some little confusion; and wen te tree tousand appy converts lifted up teir voices togeter and praised God, tere must ave been noise enoug. Many of our good bretren like revivals, but will seriously object to any excitement, or confusion, or noise wit it. Take it calm, say tey; don t be excited about it. Take tings in a rational way; so muc noise and crying and praising aloud do no good. God is not deaf, or a great way off, tat e cannot ear. Noise does no good. (Continued on page 6)

6 Page 6 Te Berea Baptist Banner January 5, 2019 Agreement in (Continued from page 5) Tese are like tose persons wo were near blind Bartimeus wen e eard tat Jesus was passing by, and began to cry out: Jesus, tou Son of David, ave mercy on me! Don t cry so loud! Noise doesn t do any good. e can ear you--- be calm and quiet about it. And many carged im tat e sould old is peace (keep peaceable), but e cried out te more te great deal. Tose tender-eared bretren will be greatly troubled in eaven, unless tey void teir present notions, for tere will be a great noise toug it doesn t do any good, wen te ten tousand times ten tousand and tousands of tousands sout wit a loud voice, Worty te Lamb tat was slain, and every creature respond in loud Alleluias. We do not advocate more sound tan sense, i.e., more excitement tan religion, but many of our bretren ave more fastidiousness tan religion. 2. We must agree in regard to te importance of a revival. We must feel it so as to desire and seek it wit unutterable agony---more tan our meat or our drink: Ye sall find me, sait God, wen ye seek for me wit all your eart. For so soon as Zion travailed se brougt fort er cildren. 3. We must agree in regard to te measures essential to promote a revival or religion in te Curc. In umiliation and prayer, and turning to God, and examining te state of our own earts, and setting te temples of our earts in order. Forsaking every appearance of evil. 4. In removing every impediment: (1) In discipline, cut off te dry and fruitless brances. (2) By mutual confessions, confessing our faults one to anoter. (3) By forgiving our enemies. If tou bring ty gift to te altar, and tere rememberest tat ty broter at ougt against tee; Leave tere ty gift before te altar, and go ty way; first be reconciled to ty broter, and ten come and offer ty gift (Matt. 5:23-24). If ye forgive not men teir trespasses, neiter will your Fater forgive your trespasses (Matt. 6:15). 5. We must be agreed in labouring to promote it. 6. In determination to persevere, Elija prayed seven times, ere tere appeared a cloud as large as a man s and. Te importunate widow sould be our exemplar. We learn from tis subject: 1. Wy so many prayers offered in te Curc are mere mock offerings, improper desires---improper motives---no agreement; also: 2. Te ypocrisy of tose wo profess to be praying for a revival of religion, wile tey are doing noting to promote it. Would you not pronounce tat man a ypocrite wo professed to desire a crop, yet did noting to secure one? 3. Wy so many of te cildren of Cristian parents live and die unconverted? And ow tat two pious parents migt insure te salvation of teir cildren, could tey but be agreed as toucing it. We cannot be too tankful tat it is promised to two. 4. Wy tis is generally understood to mean someting different from wat it says. It is read wrong, i.e., as if it read ask instead of agree. 5. ow a few individuals are often more successful in gatering in and building up a curc, tan a muc larger number. Tey are agreed: Tree agreed can do more tan 300 disagreed. 6. We learn wen glorious tings may be expected for te Zion of God---wenever curces are agreed to accomplis te work, wen te people ave a mind to work. 7. Finally, we see te awful guilt of te Curc, and Cristian parents, in neglecting teir duty in tis respect. Te salvation of sinners and our cildren, is entrusted into our ands. To us e at given te keys of binding and loosing. Will we by our prayers unlock te gates of eaven to tem, or by our neglect lock tem down to ell? Let us tis day decide te caracter in wic we will appear to tem, ---as ypocrites, or as consistent Cristians, wo love teir souls. Prayer and Salvation (Continued from page 1) word of God (Rom. 10:13-17, improved translation). Can or sould a lost sinner pray, and if e does pray, will God ear im? One preacer tells te sinner to accept Crist ; anoter urges im to come to Crist ; a tird demands tat te sinner repent and turn to God ; a fourt says believe or trust im; still anoter invites te sinner to ask God to save you for Jesus sake. Are tere so many different ways to be saved? Or are tese just different ways of directing sinners to te one Way, Jesus Crist? Our answer must depend upon weter tese and oter invitational expressions are scripturally explained and understood. A PUZZLED PREACER Specifically, I ave at and a letter from a good and faitful broter asking some questions about Romans 10:13 and context---questions of general interest and deserving sincere and earnest attention. I sall try to give onest and scriptural answers to tese questions after a careful examination of our text. First of all, if we recognize te Bible as God s Word, we must agree tat tis Word is trut and terefore is in perfect armony wit itself. If our interpretations of different portions of Scripture conflict, our interpretations must be wrong. ALL Scripture is God-breated and profitable (II Tim. 3:16). CALLING IN TRUT One time a preacer was arguing tat a sinner cannot be saved witout praying or asking God to save im. Ten ow about te mute, wo as no voice wit wic to call? O, of course, prayer is te eart s sincere desire, and e need only call upon God from is eart. Ten cannot any sinner be saved te same way, calling upon God from is eart, but witout audible voice? Must any prayer be audible to uman ears in order for God to ear it? In fact, under te name of Wisdom, God declares to rebellious sinners: Because I ave called, and ye refused;...i also will laug at your calamity; ten sall tey call upon me, but I will not answer; tey sall seek me early, but tey sall not find me (Prov. 1:24-28). Again we read, As e cried, and tey would not ear; so tey cried, and I would not ear, sait te LORD of osts (Zec. 7:13). And again, Your iniquities (Continued on page 7)

7 January 5, 2019 Te Berea Baptist Banner Page 7 Small Drops By Josep M. Sidders of Temperance, Micigan My doctrine sall drop as te rain, my speec sall distil as te dew, as te small rain upon te tender erb, and as te sowers upon te grass: Because I will publis te name of te LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God (Deuteronomy 32:2-3). CARITY I ad just stopped for lunc at my favorite fast food diner wen, as I walked in, I saw an older lady wrestling wit er cane, er tray of food, and er soft drink wit a crooked lid on it. Toug te restaurant ad nearly 20 oter people in it, none seemed to be botered by te need of tis woman. I quickly got to er and offered to carry er tray to er table for er, fixing te lid on er cup as we walked. Se offered to pay me for tis kindness, but onestly te joy it brougt me to be able to elp er far outweiged anyting else se could offer. It is during tis winter time of year tat we tend to tink more of carity tan oter times. Wen te Bible uses te word carity, it is speaking of love. Paul says it best wen speaking to a prideful curc in I Corintians 13:3, And toug I bestow all my goods to feed te poor, and toug I give my body to be burned, and ave not carity, it profitet me noting. Doing someting nice for oters sould be an act of love. Biblically, even pity is defined as aving compassion on or sowing mercy for someone else. Bot love and pity are acts of freely, unconditionally giving someting of ourselves for someone else s benefit. Carity (love) can be as simple as tat. Carity, as Paul writes, goes te distance. It is kind and warm. Carity is not spiteful or braggadocios. It is not empty but rater very full. True carity, true love, as te ability to fill bot te receiver and te giver. It would ave been great to ave been able to buy tis woman s meal, or to ave placed a undred dollar bill on te table for er, but tat was not te need se ad. Jesus, as e was speaking to te disciples of ow to pray, told tem of our immense need for communication wit te Fater. e told us to not be asamed of our need. For every one tat asket receivet; and e tat seeket findet; and to im tat knocket it sall be opened. If a son sall ask bread of any of you tat is a fater, will e give im a stone? or if e ask a fis, will e for a fis give im a serpent? Or if e sall ask an egg, will e offer im a scorpion? If ye ten, being evil, know ow to give good gifts unto your cildren: ow muc more sall your eavenly Fater give te oly Spirit to tem tat ask im? (Luke 11:10-13). As carity is also unselfis, let us put our pride aside today to seek ow we may love our friends, family and neigbors. Communicate wit tose around you to determine te needs tey ave. Love oters enoug to pray for solutions to te existing problems and urt all around us, and wen able, provide your love selflessly troug small acts of service and kindness. And now abidet fait, ope, carity, tese tree; but te greatest of tese is carity (I Cor. 13:13). Prayer and Salvation (Continued from page 6) ave separated between you and your God, and your sins ave id is face from you tat e will not ear (Isa. 59:2). Space forbids multiplied quotations from Scripture to sow tat a mere calling upon God wit te lips, wile te eart remains unbelieving and rebellious, is an abomination to God (Prov. 28:9). But on te oter and, Te LORD is nig unto all tem tat call upon im, to all tat call upon im IN TRUT (Ps. 145:18). CONTINUING SALVATION It is too bad tat even good preacers and oter Cristians are sometimes more interested in winning teological arguments tan in simply declaring te message of God s Word and leaving some room for te oly Spirit to interpret and apply te trut in individual earts. Really, salvation as its past, present, and future aspects, including besides salvation from te legal penalty of sin (justification), salvation from te practice of sin (sanctification) and salvation from te presence and effects of sin (glorification). So to win an argument, we must say tat te promise of Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, and Romans 10:13 refers only to te continuing and eternal salvation of believers already saved by fait. But I am not sure tat tis would be quite fair or completely adequate interpretation. True, wen Paul analyzes te promise in our text, e sows tat logically, te word of salvation must be preaced, eard, and believed, in tis order, before tere can be te kind of calling upon God to wic te promise of salvation is attaced. It is good to ave tis analysis, and if eeded it will deliver us from te folly of supposing tat a sinner can pray troug to forgiveness witout accepting te terms of te gospel. Neverteless, uman beings are seldom logical, especially in religious matters. Probably most sinners do some vain praying before tey ave te saving fait tat enables tem to call upon God in trut. And it is doubtful tat tere is often any lapse of time between te first exercise of true fait and te first (inner) expression of true prayer. QUESTIONS ANSWERED Now we come to some of te questions in te letter before me: 1. Sould unsaved sinners ever pray? Yes, of course, everyone sould do all kinds of good works, rater tan bad. But sinners need to learn tat tey tat are in te fles cannot please God (Rom. 8:8) and tat all teir rigteousness are as filty rags (Isa. 64:6). Still, it is better for sinners to pray, as sincerely as tey can, tan to blaspeme, or to forget God entirely. 2. Is believing on Jesus te way to be saved from te penalty of sin? Yes, see Jon 3:18; Rom. 3: Is calling on te name of te Lord te way to be saved from te penalty of sin? I know of no Scripture tat says so, exactly. As Paul explains it, a true calling on te name of te Lord is an expression of fait. 4. Would it be improper to urge sinners to Ask te Lord to save you for Jesus sake, and trust im to do it? Tis is not quite scriptural language, and yet I find it difficult to see ow a sinner could be led far astray by it unless it is so empasized (Continued on page 8)

8 Page 8 Te Berea Baptist Banner January 5, 2019 Prayer and Salvation (Continued from page 7) tat it becomes a sort of magic formula of mere words witout scriptural meaning. 6. In Romans 10:14 does te first sentence mean believe istorically or is te belief mentioned tere a eartfelt trust? Of course, logically, tere must be saving fait before tere can be a saving call, in trut. If te sinner will not believe te promises of God e is calling God a liar (I Jon 5:10), and is call is a call of ypocrisy. 6. Is calling on te name of te Lord wat we would call prayer? Yes---altoug prayer can include muc else. Jesus tells us of a Parisee wo prayed tus wit imself (Luke 18:11). Tis Parisee addressed God formally, but certainly e did not call upon im in te sense of Romans 10: Sould I continue to urge te lost to Believe on te Lord Jesus Crist or sould I, in addition to or instead of tis, urge tem to Call on te name of te Lord.? Indubitably te scriptural empasis is on fait, and you need never apologize for urging te lost---and te saved--- to believe---and to keep on believing---on or in te Lord Jesus Crist. I do doubt te necessity of muc urging of te lost to call on te name of te Lord. Wen spiritually convicted of teir sins and brougt to a saving knowledge of Crist, tey just naturally come to, receive, and call upon im. Saved people are generally te ones tat need to be reminded to pray witout ceasing (I Tess. 5:17). Te Cristian and (Continued from page 1) will continue to dwindle if a spirit of prayer is not rekindled in our curces. Te practice of prayer was very important to te Lord Jesus Crist. Luke records Jesus praying more tan any oter of te writers of te Gospel. Jesus prayed at is baptism (3:21), in te wilderness (5:16), before calling te twelve (6:12-13), at Caesarea Pilippi (9:18), before is transfiguration (9:28-29), before e gave te principles of prayer as recorded in our text (11:1-4), for Peter (22:41), in Getsemane (22:41), on te cross (23:34), and finally in is post resurrection body at Emmaus (24:30). If Jesus Crist, te ead and Lawgiver of is curces, was often found praying sould not tose wo profess to follow im and carry out is commission also be muc engaged in tis sacred duty? Te disciples in our text ad eard te powerful prayers of Jesus. is entire being was engaged in sweet communion wit is Fater. As te disciples listened to te earnest outpourings of is eart tey were muc impressed wit te prayers of Jesus. As tey eard im pray tey must ave tougt tat tey needed to be enrolled in te Master s Scool of prayer because tey exclaimed: Lord, teac us to pray... O, tat te earts of God s people would today long for instruction in te science of prayer even as te disciples of old did! In Luke 11:1-13 Jesus goes into great detail concerning te principles of prayer. May God teac us to pray troug is Word and Spirit so tat we migt glorify is name and serve im wit greater earnestness and zeal. TE PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER Te first principle illustrated by Crist is tat prayer is a grand and glorious privilege reserved for tose wo can call God teir Fater. Te worlding wose eart is as cold as a stone cares little for te prayer closet. Tey may recite written formal prayers, but tey know noting at all of te spiritual communion wit God tat is enjoyed by one wose eart as been canged by te power of God. Proverbs 21:27 declares: Te sacrifice of te wicked is abomination: ow muc more, wen e bringet it wit a wicked mind? Te wise man also observed: Te LORD is far from te wicked: but e earet te prayer of te rigteous (Prov. 15:29). Te communion and closeness of talking wit God is enjoyed by tose wo are called is cildren. Tose wo ave embraced Jesus as Lord and Saviour are entitled as sons to enter in to te secret place of te Most ig (Ps. 91:1). As te disciples eard teir Lord speaking of is Fater wit familiarity and enjoyment, tey were led to perceive tat prayer was truly a privilege and a deligt to te soul. Tey were impressed to seek te Lord so tat tey could engage in suc a spiritual privilege. I wonder if our seasons of prayer cause our faces to sine wit te glory and peace of God in suc a way tat oters are led to seek te sacred privileges tat we enjoy as cildren of God? Could it be tat we ave ceased to view prayer as a glorious privilege to be enjoyed? Could it be tat we now view prayer as a drudgery and a duty to be performed rater tan a deligtful employment of te soul? Peraps te reason wy te cildren and young people of our curces take little deligt in te tings of God is because we as te people of God ave ceased to enjoy te tings of God. Our cold earts need to be warmed again so tat we anticipate and look forward to seasons of prayer and opportunities for worsip and service. May God revive our earts and lead us back to te trone of grace were we may drink deeply of te fountain of intimate communion wit te oly One! Prayer is a sacred privilege tat every cild of God sould take advantage of eac and every day. TE PLACE OF PRAYER Wen te disciples eard Jesus praying tey found im in a certain place. Te Scripture does not record weter Jesus was sitting, kneeling, or standing. Nor does it say tat is ead was bowed or is eyes were closed. Nor is te lengt of is prayer recorded. It does say tat e was praying in a certain place. Te point tat I am making is tat true prayer is not necessarily a posture or a certain form. It is an outpouring of te eart of te cild of Crist tat finds its release at te trone of God. Jesus stopped in te midst of is busy day at a certain place to direct is eart to te trone of God in prayer. If we are to expect te blessings and power of God to be sowered upon our lives we must take time out eac and every day and resort to te place of prayer. Te secret place were we can quietly and earnestly commune wit God in prayer. I fear tat many of us allow te cares and responsibilities of daily life to draw us away from te place of prayer. We sould look forward to tat time and place in our day wen we can retire from te clamor and business of te world and spend time alone wit God in prayer. Dear reader, ave you taken time out of your (Continued on page 9)

9 January 5, 2019 Te Berea Baptist Banner Page 9 PAUL S PRAYER LIST...tat witout ceasing I ave remembrance of tee in my prayers nigt and day; Greatly desiring to see tee, being mindful of ty tears, tat I may be filled wit joy (II Timoty 1:3-4). Paul loves Timoty and always prays for im. ow muc do we pray for our loved ones? ow muc do we pray for our friends? Wat joy to know someone is praying for you. Knowing someone wo as your interest at eart and goes to te trone of grace on your bealf is a great encouragement. Let us turn tis around. If you tell someone you will pray for tem, do you? Wat a terrible lie, to tell someone tey are in your prayers, and you ave yet to pray for tem. Wat deception to say, I ll pray and forget about it and move on. Te ypocrites love to be eard of men, and to let people know tey will pray, and probably ave a prayer list five pages long. Paul prayed nigt and day for Timoty, and you could take tat to te bank. Paul wanted to see Timoty again and likely remembered wen tey last saw eac oter and left, and wat a tearful parting it was. Te degree of sadness wen tey parted would be matced by te degree of joy at seeing eac oter again. Wat a friendsip! If you ave suc a friend, treasure tem and protect tat friendsip, because tey are certainly a rare ting in tis world. Paul ad fair-weater friends wo Narrow Pats By Doug Newell IV of Clendenin, West Virginia Because strait is te gate, and narrow is te way, wic leadet unto life, and few tere be tat find it (Mattew 7:14). left im wen tings got toug, but Timoty was a true friend. Proverbs 17:17, A friend lovet at all times, and a broter is born for adversity. Paul is about to get after Timoty a little bit, and to ligt a fire under im, but because tey are friends, Timoty is not going to pout and get angry, because e also knows Proverbs 27:6, Faitful are te wounds of a friend; but te kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Timoty s tears were genuine because is love for is friend was genuine. DESPISED AND REJECTED I don t know wy people don t like me? Wat s not to love? Bob sat on te porc, trying to unravel te enigma of ow anyone could be upset wit im. I don t know man, is friend replied you re pretty awesome. umble too. Te older you get, te more you understand tat some people are just not going to like you. But you also may begin to realize tere are more tan a few justifiable reasons. I am a sinner, saved by grace. I still battle remaining sin, and will until I die, so I know I offend people. I open my mout wen I sould not and keep it sut wen I sould open it. My jokes fail. My words come out wrong and offend. My words come out rigt and wrongfully give offense. I m a sinner, and I would guess tat most of te times wen I am not liked, tey are more tan justified in teir carge. e is despised and rejected of men (Isaia 53:3). But Crist was despised and rejected. Jesus was scorned by te Scribes, ated by te Parisees, and mocked by te Romans. Wy did men despise im? e ealed te sick, raised te dead, and fed te ungry. Te Messianic Psalm tells us Jesus deligted to do te law of God. e did not refrain imself from preacing rigteousness. Jesus did not ide tis trut, but declared God s faitfulness from te great congregation (Psalm 40:7-10). And e was despised. e was rejected. For example, in Mattew 12, Jesus explains te true nature of te Sabbat Day. Te Sabbat was given to man, by God, for te good of man. Only a wicked sinner and depraved eart could despise God for giving people a day off to rest. Te ensured everyone got to rest teir bodies from work and rest teir souls by meditating on God. Te Parisees ad so twisted te meaning of te Sabbat, men were in subjection to te Sabbat, rater tan blessed by te Sabbat. But Jesus sowed te true meaning of te law, revealed God s trut, and set men free from te bondage of legalism. Ten, to illustrate te point, Jesus eals a man, demonstrating ow God would ave mercy and not sacrifice in tese matters. ow did te Parisees react? Ten te Parisees went out, and eld a council against im, ow tey migt destroy im (Matt. 12:14). Te Lord Jesus lived a sinless life. e we perfect in every action, pure in every tougt. Jesus never misspoke. Jesus never lost is temper and souted tings e wised to take back. Jesus did not live wit te regret of wasted words, or wasted tougts. Every day, every moment, is life was directed to loving te Fater and doing is will and loving is neigbors. e deligted to do te will of te Fater. Jesus was not proud. e was not ypocritical. e always told te trut. e was never a false friend or never betrayed friend or enemy. e never disrespected Josep or smarted off to Mary. Tere was no rebellious pase. e was compassionate to te downcast. e was kind to te unkind. e loved te unlovable. e died for is enemies and made tem is friends. Wat a glorious Saviour! Wic makes tese words, wic are still true, so socking. e is despised and rejected of men. Te Cristian and (Continued from page 8) day to go to te place of prayer? Weter it is in our cars on te way to work or kneeling at our bedside, we must follow te example of our blessed Lord and find a place of prayer were we can commune and speak wit our eavenly Fater. TE PATTERN FOR PRAYER And e said unto tem, Wen ye pray, say, Our Fater wic art in eaven, allowed be ty name. Ty kingdom come. Ty will be done, as in eaven, so in eart. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one tat is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil (Luke 11:2-4). In tese verses Jesus gives te disciples a pattern or guideline for prayer tat is pleasing to God. Te fact tat tis passage differs from te one in Mattew six proves tat te Lord was not necessarily teacing tat te form of tis prayer sould be daily repeated, but rater tat te guidelines (Continued on page 10)

10 Page 10 Te Berea Baptist Banner January 5, 2019 Te Cristian and (Continued from page 9) set fort sould be remembered. Prayer sould not be entered into apazardly. Our earts and minds sould be prepared to speak to te Most ig. Te pattern of prayer set fort by Jesus in tese verses will enable us to approac te trone of God in te rigt spirit. 1. Wen we pray we are encouraged to address God as our Fater. Tis immediately sould flood our earts wit joy, wonder, and umility. Could it be tat we wo were once cildren of te devil, alienated from te life of God, and rebels against is oly laws could now be addressing te Most ig as our Fater? Every time we bow our unworty eads and utter Fater our minds sould remember te great love our Fater as bestowed upon us by saving us and wasing us in te precious blood of is dear Son. Our earts sould burst wit worsip and tanksgiving of God for canging our lives and making us accepted in te beloved (Ep. 1:6). If e is our Fater, ten we must be te eternal objects of is love and favor. Every cild deligts to keep company and converse wit a loving, compassionate Fater. Wat an encouragement to spend muc time conversing and communing wit our eavenly Fater. e loves us, is concerned for our welfare, and deligts in earing us come to im wit our praise as well as our problems. If e is our Fater, we are also reminded tat e as autority over us and tat we must render loving submission to im in every area of our lives. ow muc our prayer lives would be enriced if we would only remember tat te one we are praying to is our Fater! 2. Our Saviour ten directs our minds to te dwelling place of God. Our Fater excels all eartly Faters because e is exalted above all, is dwelling place is in eaven. Tere is none iger tan God. e is te sovereign wo dwells as a Majestic Monarc in eaven. Our affections are to be set upon tings above wic is wy Jesus directs us to pray to Our Fater wic art in eaven. Wen we understand tat God is above all in sovereignty and power our spirit of murmuring and complaining sould at once cease. Te God wo dwells above knows wat is best for our lives and as written te capters of Providence for our good and is glory. We are also reminded of te fact tat if our Fater is in eaven e must know all our tougts, ear all our words, and see all our actions. ebrews 4:13 declares: Neiter is tere any creature tat is not manifest in is sigt: but all tings are naked and opened unto te eyes of im wit wom we ave to do. Suc tougts of is omniscience sould inspire us to live oly lives. 3. Te Saviour ten reminds us tat we are to allow or reverence te name of God. If e is our Fater wo dwells as te Most ig in te eavens, ten is name is worty of our deepest respect and reverence. Cildren bring same upon te name of teir eartly fater troug disobedience and inappropriate beaviour. If we are to reverence te name of God ten we are to conduct ourselves as cildren wo are desiring to bring onor rater tan reproac upon is oly name. II Timoty 2:19 states: Neverteless te foundation of God standet sure, aving tis seal, Te Lord knowet tem tat are is, And, Let every one tat namet te name of Crist depart from iniquity. To allow te name of God implies reverential fear. Proverbs 16:6 declares: By mercy and trut iniquity is purged: and by te fear of te LORD men depart from evil. All acceptable service to God is associated wit godly fear as caracterized by allowing is name. ebrews 12:28-29 declares: Werefore we receiving a kingdom wic cannot be moved, let us ave grace, wereby we may serve God acceptably wit reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire. Dear saint of God, wen you take te name of God upon your lips in prayer, do you realize tat e alone is worty of your deepest respect and admiration? Wen oters take is name in vain or speak ligtly of im, our earts sould be smitten and our ears sould burn wit rigteous indignation. Obedient cildren are submissive, respectful cildren wo ceris and onor te good name of teir eavenly Fater. 4. We are instructed to pray for te coming of te Lord s kingdom. Tere is coming a grand and glorious Millennial day wen God s will in eaven will be executed upon te eart. Te purpose of te eart will reac its grand consummation wen Jesus Crist reigns as king upon it and te knowledge of te Lord sall be universal. It will be a time of unsurpassed spirituality, worsip, and peace like te eart as never known or experienced. Alas, tat day as not yet come, but te saints of God are directed to anticipate te glorious tousand year reign of Jesus upon te eart. One way in wic te saints of God may sow tat tey are anticipating te coming kingdom is to beave now as toug tey were te loyal subjects of te King. We are presently part of a spiritual kingdom in wic Crist is to reign supreme upon te trone of our earts. We ave been commissioned as ambassadors to sow fort te glories of our King until e returns. ow can we possibly sow fort is glory if we are not joyfully and faitfully serving im until e returns? Our attitudes and beaviour manifest weter or not we are is loyal subjects as Romans 14:17-18 implies: For te kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but rigteousness, and peace, and joy in te oly Gost. For e tat in tese tings servet Crist is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Jesus associated readiness for is coming wit watcfulness and prayer in Mattew 24:42 and 44 wic state: Watc terefore: for ye know not wat our your Lord dot come...terefore be ye also ready: for in suc an our as ye tink not te Son of man comet. Jesus directs te saints to fervently attend te trone of grace in order to prepare tem for te coming of te Lord. 5. We are ten directed to pray eac day for our daily bread or sustenance. Our dependence upon God and is care for us is implied by tis petition. We are reminded tat if we are to be sustained pysically and spiritually on a day to day basis we must rely upon our God to nouris and strengten us. ow gracious our God is to provide is cildren wit te tings tey ave need of on a daily basis! e gives us food to enric our bodies and te manna of eaven (is Word) to enric our souls. We are truly a people blessed of God and gratitude, appreciation, and a spirit of tankfulness sould (Continued on page 11)

11 January 5, 2019 Te Berea Baptist Banner Page 11 Te Cristian and (Continued from page 10) naturally flow from our lives. 6. Te Lord ten reminds us of our frailty. We are sinners wo break God s rigteous commands eiter by omission or commission on a daily basis. Because of our wanderings and disobedience we are to seek forgiveness from God in prayer. Prayers wit no confession of sin and umility over our failings are not eard by God according to Psalms 66:18 wic states: If I regard iniquity in my eart, te Lord will not ear me. God detests our sin because it breaks our fellowsip wit im. But e deligts wen we openly and onestly confess our sins and restores us to fellowsip and communion. ow foolis it is for us to attempt to ide our sins from God and ten expect im to bless our lives. I Jon 1:8-9 declares: If we say tat we ave no sin, we deceive ourselves, and te trut is not in us. If we confess our sins, e is faitful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrigteousness. Jesus instructs us to confess our sins and seek forgiveness from God because we will be spiritually prospered by so doing. Proverbs 28:13 states: e tat coveret is sins sall not prosper: but woso confesset and forsaket tem sall ave mercy. We are also reminded of te unfailing grace of God in tis petition. Our earts sould be umbled wen we tink tat God would be so gracious to forgive us wen we fail im. ow tankful I am tat God is not like men wo arbor bitterness and resentment wen you offend tem. God freely forgives and restores to fellowsip wen we confess our sins and seek is forgiveness. Tere is no sin so black and foul tat te blood of te Lord Jesus Crist can t cleanse and forgive. 7. We are also reminded tat effectual prayer can only be uttered wen we ave a forgiving spirit in our earts toward tose wo ave wronged or offended us. Jesus implies tat e takes it for granted tat we naturally forgive tose wo ave offended us. God s people are not to arbor an unforgiving, bitter, resentful spirit. God will not bless suc an attitude. Tose wo pray best are tose wo are able to umbly forgive te most. Wen we consider te amount and enormity of te sins tat Crist as forgiven us of, ten surely we will be able to find it in our earts to forgive oters of lesser offenses. We can expect little power and liberty in prayer were a spirit of unforgiveness and pride reigns supreme. May God teac us to emulate our Lord and follow te admonition of Epesians 4:31-32 wic states: Let all bitterness, and wrat, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, wit all malice: And be ye kind one to anoter, tenderearted, forgiving one anoter, even as God for Crist s sake at forgiven you. 8. Te last guideline included in Jesus s pattern in prayer is a recognition of our proneness to evil and our need to be delivered from it. If we are to conquer temptation to do evil we must daily be found on our knees umbly pleading wit God to deliver us from it. Included in tis petition is a desire to remove from our lives anyting tat would feed our flesly lusts and cause us or oters to stumble in our Cristian walk. Romans 13:14 states: But put ye on te Lord Jesus Crist, and make not provision for te fles, to fulfill te lusts tereof. Rater tan promoting our unlawful desires, we are to war against tem as I Peter 2:11 commands us: Dearly beloved, I beseec you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from flesly lusts, wic war against te soul. Our world is filled wit ungodliness and temptation. Satan is a roaring lion wo stalks te people of God desiring to ruin teir testimony and effectiveness for te Lord. In order to combat tese foes we must spend time in prayer asking God to deliver us from evil. TE POSITION OF PRAYER And e said unto tem, Wic of you sall ave a friend, and sall go unto im at midnigt, and say unto im, Friend, lend me tree loaves; For a friend of mine in is journey is come to me, and I ave noting to set before im? And e from witin sall answer and say, Trouble me not: te door is now sut, and my cildren are wit me in bed; I cannot rise and give tee. I say unto you, Toug e will not rise and give im, because e is is friend, yet because of is importunity e will rise and give im as many as e needet (Luke 11:5-8). In tese verses Jesus is illustrating te principle of te proper position tat sould be taken in prayer. Te man wo came to ask for te loaves of bread ad noting. e was in dire need of elp so e sougt assistance outside of imself. Tis must be te attitude tat we approac te trone of grace wit. We must recognize our own poverty if we are to enjoy te Lord s bountiful provision. Wen we come to God in prayer we are to take a position of umility, not demanding tings of God, but rater umbly asking im. Tose wo are filled wit pride and self-sufficiency rarely pray arigt. Notice also tat even toug te man came at an incovenient season of te nigt e knew tat is request would be granted because e was approacing a friend. Even toug is friend was reluctant to rive up and give im te bread, te man doing te asking obviously came to is door in fait expecting to receive someting from is friend. Our position in prayer must not only be one of dependence and umility but also of fait. ebrews 11:6 declares: But witout fait it is impossible to please im: for e tat comet to God must believe tat e is, and tat e is a rewarder of tem tat diligently seek im. If we are to be effective prayer warriors we must come to God in persevering fait, asking for tings in fait, and expecting im to answer in fait. James 1:6-7 declares: But let im ask in fait, noting wavering. For e tat waveret is like a wave of te sea driven wit te wind and tossed. For let not tat man tink tat e sall receive anyting of te Lord. Eac time te Lord enables us to pray in fait we sould anxiously await is answer and expect im to undertake for us. God is pleased wen we come to an end of our own self-reliance and come to im expecting im to miraculously intervene in our lives. Prayer is suc a spiritual duty it must of necessity be linked wit a position of genuine fait. Notice also tat te man was seeking to benefit someone besides imself. is desire for bread was not selfis. Rater e offered up supplication so tat is visitors would be adequately fed. A proper position in prayer is to be found offering up supplications to God for oters. We sould not just pray for our own needs (Continued on page 16)

12 Page 12 Te Berea Baptist Banner January 5, 2019 Te Berea Baptist Banner Forum Submit your questions on any Bible topic. 1. Wy was te temple veil rent at te deat of Crist and not at is resurrection? Tom Ross 6339 County Rd. 15 Sout Point, O Pastor Mt. Pleasant Baptist Curc 6939 County Rd. 15 Cesapeake, O Mattew 27:50-51 declares: Jesus, wen e ad cried again wit a loud voice, yielded up te gost. And, beold, te veil of te temple was rent in twain from te top to te bottom; and te eart did quake, and te rocks rent. Te rending of te Temple veil after Crist ad offered up is Spirit to te Fater and died on te cross, signified tat te work of redemption was finised. Jesus Crist, te Lamb slain from te foundation of te world, ad completed te work is Fater ad given im to do. is perfect life, obedience, merits, rigteousness, and precious blood ad been offered in te stead of all tat te Fater ad given im in te Covenant of Grace. Te rending of te veil signified tat te deat of Jesus Crist was te fulfillment of all te Old Testament types and sadows relating to te worsip of te Tabernacle and te Temple. Te veil was torn from top to bottom, signifying it was a miraculous work of God alone. Te veil was so tick tat one Rabbi said tat two teams of oxen would not ave been able to tear it in two. Imagine ow startled tose were wo witnessed tis miraculous event! Te veil was rent in twain, tus revealing te mystery of te Most oly Place, te ark wit te mercy seat, and te symbolic presence of God. Te blood sedding and deat of te Lord Jesus Crist ad opened up te way to God! Tere would be no more need of priests or yearly sacrifices to atone and cover sins. Te Lord Jesus ad just offered te one sacrifice tat did not merely cover sin, but actually put away sin. Now all tat Crist died for could come into te very presence of God by virtue of is perfect offering and precious blood. ebrews 10:19-22 reveals: aving terefore, bretren, boldness to enter into te oliest by te blood of Jesus. By a new and living way, wic e at consecrated for us, troug te veil, tat is to say, is fles; And aving an ig priest over te ouse of God; Let us draw near wit a true eart in full assurance of fait, aving our earts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies wased wit pure water. Complete freedom, forgiveness, liberty, and access to God ad been purcased for te elect by te blood of Jesus Crist. Te reason wy te Temple veil was rent in twain in conjunction wit te deat of Crist is because te Temple veil was associated wit te Day of Atonement wen te ig priest would offer te blood upon te mercy seat. It was a yearly sacrificial ritual tat pointed in type to te deat of te true Lamb of God, te Lord Jesus Crist. Te rent veil signified tat te redemptive, sacrificial work of Crist was finised on te cross. is resurrection from te dead proved tat te work was accepted and tat all te sins of God s elect ad been put away, tus securing for tem justification and peace wit God. Romans 4:25-5:2 states: Wo was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. Terefore being justified by fait, we ave peace wit God troug our Lord Jesus Crist: By wom also we ave access by fait into tis grace werein we stand, and rejoice in ope of te glory of God. Te significance of te rent veil was directly linked to Crist s deat and blood sedding. is resurrection signified tat is work ad secured justification, peace, and everlasting life for all te elect. TOM ROSS Roger Reed 20 Ledgewood Dr. Mansfield, Oio Missionary of West Jefferson Missionary Baptist Mission 90 E. Main St. West Jefferson, Oio At my first reading of tis question I was prepared to give tis detailed answer about te oly place, te bells on te ig priest robe, and our access to te oly place. But after I sat down and was prepared to answer te question I realized wat te questioner was actually asking. Before I answer te question, te veil being rent as always fascinated me and I am so blessed tat it was. But to me it is not just tat te veil was rent from top to bottom, And te veil of te temple was rent in twain from te top to te bottom (Mark 15:38), but te Saviour s final words (or saying) tat blesses me te most. It is ironic tat Jon is te only one of te four gospel writers tat gives us tese final words of Jesus. Also Jon is te only one of te four tat does not mention te renting of te veil. To answer tis question we need to understand te importance of tese final words tat Crist spoke, It is finised. To answer tat will answer te question being asked. Concerning Jon 19:30 It is finised, A. W. Pink makes tis statement, Eternity will be needed to make manifest all tat it contains. So it will be impossible for me to give a complete discourse on tis question. Rater I will give a sort synopsis of wy I believe te temple veil was rent at Crist s deat and not at is resurrection. Wen Jesus terefore ad received te vinegar, e said, It is finised: and e bowed is ead, and gave up te gost (Jon 19:30). Wen Jesus said, It is finised tat is exactly wat e meant. e finised all tat was required of im by God and te law. After tis, Jesus knowing tat all tings were now accomplised, tat te scripture migt be fulfilled, sait, I tirst (Jon 19:28). At tis point God s wrat was appeased. Pink says tis, Te costly ransom was given, te great conflict ad been endued, sin s wages ad been paid, Divine justice satisfied. True, tere was te committal of is spirit into te ands of te Fater, wic immediately followed is word ere; tere was is resurrection, ascension, and session on ig, but tese are te fruit and reward of tat work wic e completed. Noting more remained for im to do; noting more awaited its fulfillment; is work on eart was consummated. I agree, wen Jesus said It is finised, it was! Everyting was (Continued on page 14)

13 January 5, 2019 Te Berea Baptist Banner Page Did Adam and Eve experience pain in te Garden of Eden before te fall? Te Berea Baptist Banner Forum Submit your questions on any Bible topic. Mattew Stepp 286 Big Creek Road Wayne, WV Pastor Big Creek Baptist Curc 286 Big Creek Road Wayne, WV Te first law in our study is tat God is a Creator of perfection. Always. e did not create divinity or immutability in Adam and Eve, but e did create perfection. Lo, tis only ave I found, tat God at made man uprigt; but tey ave sougt out many inventions (Eccl. 7:29). Te coices tat Adam and Eve made canged tat perfection into ruin, but until sin entered via te fall of man in Genesis 3 after seventyfive years of paradise, tere, simply put, was NO knowledge of evil, and tat includes pain. Sela! Tink about it! Te clearest revelation to wat Adam and Eve s bodies were like before te fall, would be to examine te body of Eve s seed, te Messia, Jesus Crist. Jesus was born of a virgin, because e could not ave a fallen nature or body suc as all of Adam s seed. As te Son of te woman/eve and simultaneously, te Son of God, Crist Jesus was born wit a body in tat prefall condition tat Adam, te first son of God, was also created in. Remember, Adam was created in te image of God (Gen.1:27). Tat would be after te pattern of Jesus Crist in is 100% uman body. Sela! Tink about it! As we examine te uman body of Jesus, we notice tat a big cange was made at is deat and resurrection. After tat event, is body was glorified! It could appear/disappear at will (Luke 24:31, 36), did not need food/ drink anymore to survive (Jon 21:13) and just naturally (or rater supernaturally) was wat we expect in our future. So wen tis corruptible sall ave put on incorruption, and tis mortal sall ave put on immortality, ten sall be brougt to pass te saying tat is written, Deat is swallowed up in victory (I Cor. 15:54). But te body tat Jesus was born wit is more analogous to Adam and Eve s bodies. External forces weiged upon im in is eartly walk, in tat is body was able to be weary (deprived of sleep- Luke 8:23); able to be ungry and tirsty (deprived of necessary food and drink- Jon 4); able to feel pain at is scourging, pummeling and ultimately is crucifixion (deprived of protection and defense- Mattew 27). But tat is te kicker ere- all of tese feelings of pain, unger, tirst, weariness, etc were externally inflicted upon te body of Jesus, because of deprivation. Internally, e ad not te corrupt blood composition of fallen Adam and Josep, but rater te internal cemistry of primal Eve, troug te virgin Mary, wom te oly Gost oversadowed in divine conception. Te Son of Man, Wo was te Son of God (Luke 3:38). In all of is tirty-tree and a alf years on tis eart, te son of Mary never got sick, because of is perfect immune system, tat did not allow for fallen viruses, bacterias, etc witin is pure red blood cells, plasma and emoglobin. None of is body cells were depraved or sin-infected, so tere was no possibility of cancer, eart disease, smallpox or any internal affliction in is pure body. Tis is terefore, te original state of Adam and Eve. Pure, sinless and oly on te inside. But wat about te outside? Externally is were all te woes came upon our Saviour in affliction, rigt? Nasty Parisees, arrogant Romans, and even to a degree, te ot, dusty roads; te crowds of jostling diseaseridden Jewry and no place to lay is blessed ead on cold, ard nigts. Tat is were te suffering of Crist Jesus and is uman body came in. So ow would te external afflictions affect Adam and Eve s bodies? Beold! te environment of te pristine Garden of Eden! Perfection was not only in te internal bodies of Adam and Eve, but te God of perfection ad also created a perfect external milieu. Te LORD is ty keeper: te LORD is ty sade upon ty rigt and. Te sun sall not smite tee by day, nor te moon by nigt. Te LORD sall preserve tee from all evil: e sall preserve ty soul (Ps. 121:5-7). No ot, dusty roads to produce exaustion or tirst. No crowds of diseased jostlers, no omeless wanderings for tese coice citizens of Paradise. Tese naked bodies did not even need clotes (Gen. 2:25), muc less blankets, walls or locked front doors. Every need was supplied, even before tey could envision calling it a need. Be not ye terefore like unto tem: for your Fater knowet wat tings ye ave need of, before ye ask im (Matt. 6:8). God s sovereign protection and provision was te rule, wit zero exceptions in te Garden of Eden. Before te Fall, ten, could Adam and Eve feel pain? ypotetically, te answer is, yes, witout a doubt. owever, te nerve endings on teir fingers, tongues and toes were used exclusively to explore, taste, feel and sensate at te vibrant wonders of teir glorious world tat God ad created tem for and into, perfection. Realistically, tey could feel warmt, so teir bodies were capable of being burnt. Tey could relis te cool evening (Gen. 3:8), so te sensory ability was also tere to feel cold cills siver down teir spine. Wen te Fall occurred, te pysical nature and composition of te first usband and wife would not ave canged, else Crist in tat same, litesome body would not ave been able to feel eat, cold, pain and all of te myriad sensations tis externally mutated Creation still yet as to offer. Te more wondrous question is weter Adam and Eve did feel pain, before te Fall? Tat answer is an unequivocal NO! Praise God! Teir uncursed bodies in an uncursed environment would never know evil pain or evil anyting, until te tree of knowledge of good and evil was violated. Before te Fall, we see te sovereignty of God in decree and purpose, not just Creation. Because tou ast made te LORD, wic is my refuge, even te most ig, ty abitation; Tere sall no evil befall tee, neiter sall any plague come nig ty dwelling. For e sall give is angels carge over tee, (Continued on page 14)

14 Page 14 Te Berea Baptist Banner January 5, 2019 Forum #1 (Continued from page 12) done! And as soon as tat veil was rent, God s elect people ad full access to te Trone of God, tat oly place were only te ig priest could go, was now given to us to go anytime we are pleased to do so, all because of te finised work of Jesus Crist. Praise te Lord! It is ironic (but I am not real surprised, considering tat is ow te oly Spirit works) tat a few days after I read tis question te following was te devotional for te morning reading from Morning and Evening by C.. Spurgeon: Josua te ig priest standing before te angel of te Lord (Zecaria 3:1). In Josua te ig priest we see a picture of eac and every cild of God, wo as been made nig by te blood of Crist, and as been taugt to minister in oly tings, and enter into tat wic is witin te veil. Jesus as made us priests and kings unto God, and even ere upon eart we exercise te priestood of consecrated living and allowed service. But tis ig priest is said to be standing before te angel of te Lord, tat is, standing to minister. Tis sould be te perpetual position of every true believer. Every place is now God s temple, and is people can as truly serve im in teir daily employments as in is ouse. Tey are to be always ministering, offering te spiritual sacrifice of prayer and praise, and presenting temselves a living sacrifice. But notice were it is tat Josua stands to minister, it is before te angel of Jeova. It is only troug a mediator tat we poor defiled ones can ever become priests unto God. I present wat I ave before te messenger, te angel of te covenant, te Lord Jesus; and troug im my prayers find acceptance wrapped up in is prayers; my praises become sweet as tey are bound up wit bundles of myrr, and aloes, and cassia from Crist s own garden. If I can bring im noting but my tears, e will put tem wit is own tears in is own bottle for e once wept; if I can bring im noting but my groans and sigs, e will accept tese as an acceptable sacrifice, for e once was broken in eart, and siged eavily in spirit. I myself, standing in im, am accepted in te Beloved; and all my polluted works, toug in temselves only objects of divine aborrence, are so received, tat God smellet a sweet savour. e is content and I am blessed. See, ten, te position of te Cristian a priest standing before te angel of te Lord. All tis Crist did wit tose final words, It is finised! And not only tat but we now ave suc a relationsip wit our God, For ye ave not received te spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye ave received te Spirit of adoption, wereby we cry, Abba, Fater (Rom. 8:15). ( Abba means papa a term of endearment) tat we can call im Papa, all because of te finised work of Jesus Crist. God Bless! ROGER REED Mattew Stepp 286 Big Creek Road Wayne, WV Pastor Big Creek Baptist Curc 286 Big Creek Road Wayne, WV Te temple veil represented te deat or separation of man from God. Wen Jesus Crist suffered our merited deat, it destroyed te separation between God and man, so te veil was rent between te oly and te oliest of olies. aving terefore, bretren, boldness to enter into te oliest by te blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, wic e at consecrated for us, troug te veil, tat is to say, is fles; And aving an ig priest over te ouse of God; Let us draw near wit a true eart in full assurance of fait, aving our earts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies wased wit pure water (eb. 10:19-22). Sela! Tink about it! Te precise moment of te rending of te temple veil is at te second sout from our Saviour on te Cross. A comparison of te Gospel readings reveal tis sout to be it is finised! Jesus, wen e ad cried again wit a loud voice, yielded up te gost. And, beold, te veil of te temple was rent in twain from te top to te bottom; and te eart did quake, and te rocks rent (Matt. 27:50-51). Wen Jesus terefore ad received te vinegar, e said, It is finised: and e bowed is ead, and gave up te gost ( Jon 19:30). Tis sout was followed by Crist s final benediction from te cross in And wen Jesus ad cried wit a loud voice, e said, Fater, into ty ands I commend my spirit: and aving said tus, e gave up te gost (Luke 23:46). So wen te temple veil was rent, accompanied by te victorious cry of it is finised!, te Lord was telling all te world tat te atonement was finised! Te Passover Lamb ad been provided by God and is Sacrifice was complete. Te separation of God from is cildren was totally obliterated. Te burden of te Law was fulfilled. Te work of te Messia in sovereign grace was acieved. Te vicarious substitutionary deat of Isaia 53 was perfected. Te Son of God ad given is all- is blood and is life to te work of saving is people from teir sins. It is finised! Symbolically, yet literally, te veil in te temple of God s worsip was rent in twain. As Crist s body/ veil was rent in twain. Sela! Tink about it! You can see te glory now! Te ripping of te veil opened up te very person of God. Te aura above te Mercy Seat were God promised to meet wit is people (Ex. 25:22) was now accessible to ALL of God s cildren, not just te ig Priest (Jesus Crist, bot pictorially in te Old Testament, and manifest literally in te New Testament). Because of te blood, Crist emerged from beind te curtain in te glory of God, manifest in te fles. e comes out to us, and we can go in to im. Praise te Lord! Sure, te resurrection was necessary in tree days. Salvation is not complete witout te wole picture of baptism- te deat, burial and resurrection of Jesus Crist, but te resurrection unto life was ALREADY assured by te power of Crist taking OUR deat upon is immutable self to destroy it completely at te Cross of Calvary. It is finised! Jesus, wen e ad cried again wit a loud voice, yielded up te gost. And, beold, te veil of te temple was rent in twain from te top to te bottom; and te eart did quake, and te rocks rent; And te graves were opened; and many bodies of te saints wic slept arose, And came out of te graves after is resurrection, and went into te oly city, and appeared unto many (Matt. 27:50-53). Te veil was not rent at te resurrection, just as te graves were not ten opened for tese parabolic (Continued on page 15)

15 January 5, 2019 Te Berea Baptist Banner Page 15 Forum #1 (Continued from page 14) saints tat God resurrected to validate Crist s resurrection. Te power of te opened grave was secured at te invincible deat of Jesus Crist. Freely, Crist was able to exit te grave, after te 72 ours from Wednesday nigt at 6pm to Saturday nigt at 6pm, because te battle was won on Calvary. So, too, tese risen saints did not ave to ave te stone rolled away- te seal broken on resurrection dayte veil was already torn tree days earlier, and te justification was triumpantly validated by te regenerating power of God tat ad no lawful detractors and no legal restraints any longer. And te times of tis ignorance God winked at; but now commandet all men every were to repent: Because e at appointed a day, in te wic e will judge te world in rigteousness by tat man wom e at ordained; wereof e at given assurance unto all men, in tat e at raised im from te dead (Acts 17:30-31). Te rent veil, above all else, says: It is finised! Sela! Tink about it! MATTEW STEPP Forum #2 (Continued from page 13) to keep tee in all ty ways. Tey sall bear tee up in teir ands, lest tou das ty foot against a stone (Ps. 91:9-12). Tey could not das teir foot against a stone. ow marvelous is tat? Not tat te toe was incapable of feeling pain as we carelessly stub it against a root jutting out into te road. But tat angels ad carge over Adam and Eve and God s predestined decrees would not ever allow te ammer to it te fingernail. It would always be painless and perfect. It would always be glorious joy forevermore. Tat is our future, no doubt, but as we zoom back in to Adam and Eve, it was just as surely, teir past, as tey looked in te rear-view mirror as tey departed te garden of paradise. Now, bot internal and external deat (separation from God s presence and blessings) was released upon tem as tey plunged into te abyss of depravity. Ouc! was a new word in teir vocabulary, as tey stumbled into te torny buses to ide from God, te oly Judge. Tat urts, Adam! sorrows my imagination, as we now know te grief of pain, all too well. Sela! Tink about it! MATTEW STEPP Tom Ross 6339 County Rd. 15 Sout Point, O Pastor Mt. Pleasant Baptist Curc 6939 County Rd. 15 Cesapeake, O Tis is a question tat is largely speculative and pilosopical. We do not ave a clear indication from Scripture tat Adam and Eve did or did not experience pain prior to te Fall. Te only int tat would lead me to believe tat tey did experience pain or at least te potential for experiencing pain is tat God put Adam to sleep before removing one of is ribs in order to make Eve. Genesis 2:21-22 records: And te LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and e slept: and e took one of is ribs, and closed up te fles instead tereof; And te rib, wic te LORD God ad taken from man, made e a woman, and brougt er unto te man. Wy would God put Adam in a state of deep sleep prior to removing one of is ribs? Peraps it is for te very same reason doctors use anestesia on patients prior to surgery, to spare tem te experience of pain. Peraps God put Adam to sleep so tat e would not experience te pain of opening is fles and removing a rib. TOM ROSS Roger Reed 20 Ledgewood Dr. Mansfield, Oio Missionary of West Jefferson Missionary Baptist Mission 90 E. Main St. West Jefferson, Oio Unto te woman e said, I will greatly multiply ty sorrow and ty conception, in sorrow tou salt bring fort cildren; and ty desire sall be to ty usband, and e sall rule over tee. And unto Adam e said, Because tou ast earkened unto te voice of ty wife, and ast eaten of te tree, of wic I commanded tee, saying, Tou salt not eat of it: cursed is te ground for ty sake; in sorrow salt tou eat of it all te days of ty life; Torns also and tistles sall it bring fort to tee; and tou salt eat te erb of te field; In te sweat of ty face salt tou eat bread, till tou return unto te ground; for out of it wast tou taken: for dust tou art, and unto dust salt tou return (Gen. 3:16-19). Te above Scripture sows te results of Adam and Eve s sin. It is my belief tat tere was no pain or suffering before te fall. Tese Scripture s bear tis out wit te wording. God would not ave ad to tell Adam and Eve tese tings if tey already existed. Te result of sin brougt tese canges. Tis is a quote from Te Covenants of te Bible from te capter te Adamic Covenant by te late Milburn Cockrell: Wen Adam and Eve ate te forbidden fruit at te insistence of te serpent, teir eyes were opened and tey saw teir nakedness. Tey made aprons of fig leaves to cover teir same. Wen te Lord came to visit wit tem, tey id from im among te trees of te garden. At te fall, man for te first time acquired a knowledge of te appiness of oliness and te misery of a sinful condition. Same, remorse, and a sense of guilt feelings to wic e ad before been a stranger now filled is mind. Man ad a conscience for te first time in is existence. By te opening of is eyes, I understand te eyes of te conscience wic smote im for wat e ad done. e saw a loving God provoked and is nature corrupted. e was stripped and deprived of all te joys of te Paradise-state. Before e sinned e welcomed te visits of te Almigty. Sin broke fellowsip between God and man. Tis is wy te visit of God was a terror to Adam. e ad a guilty conscience wic accused im. Tis is te period of time called by Bible scolars te Dispensation of Conscience. It is well described in tis manner; for ever since te fall man as been conscious of sin and oliness. One day we will see te eart restored to its original condition, wen all te sin as been purged wit fire from its face. No sin of any kind will remain, and we will inabit it once again as it was intended from te beginning (II Pet. 3). No pain, no suffering, no deat, we will never experience tese tings again (Rev. 21:1-2). God Bless! ROGER REED

16 Page 16 Te Berea Baptist Banner January 5, 2019 Te Cristian and (Continued from page 11) to be met but also for te needs of oters. We need to pray for tose wo are lost, tose wo are less fortunate, tose wo are backslidden, for oter members of te curc, for te pastor, and for our missionaries. Te list of supplications tat we could offer up on bealf of oters is endless. May God grant us te grace to obey te admonition of Epesians 6:18 wic states: Praying always wit all prayer and supplication in te Spirit, and watcing tereunto wit all perseverance and supplication for all saints. PERSEVERANCE IN PRAYER And I say unto you, Ask, and it sall be given you; seek, and ye sall find; knock, and it sall be opened unto you. For every one tat asket receivet; and e tat seeket findet; and to im tat knocket it sall be opened (Luke 11:9-10). Te story of te importunate man and Jesus comment upon te story illustrates te principle of perseverance in prayer. We are not merely to ask once and give up, or seek te Lord once and ten forget it. We are to beseec God in perseverance for te tings wic lay eavy upon our earts. We are to bombard eaven wit te prayers and supplications te Spirit of God as laid upon our earts. God at times delays is answers to our prayers to develop patience and perseverance in us. ow often are we guilty of giving up in prayer wen we sould be following te command of Crist in Luke 18:1 wic states:...tat men ougt always to pray, and not to faint. I Tesalonians 5:17 commands us to: Pray witout ceasing. As we patiently persevere in prayer our earts are encouraged and our fait is nourised wen God answers and intervenes on our bealf in a miraculous way. Dear saint of God, don t give up on praying or upon God. Wait patiently upon im, and e will grant te desire of your eart in is own time and in is own way. TE PROMISE OF PRAYER If a son sall ask bread of any of you tat is a fater, will e give im a stone? or if e ask a fis, will e for a fis give im a serpent? Or if e sall ask an egg, will e offer im a scorpion? If ye ten, being evil, know ow to give good gifts unto your cildren: ow muc more sall your eavenly Fater give te oly Spirit to tem tat ask im? (Luke 11:11). Tere is a great promise associated wit persevering prayer. If we ask, God will give. If we seek e will cause us to find. If we knock e will open. If we seek im for our needs, as a Fater we are promised in is Word tat e will provide. We ave an evil nature as uman faters, and yet we seek to meet te needs of our cildren. God is infinitely good and oly. e as promised to meet our needs and answer our prayers tat are according to is will. I fear tat we ave allowed te Carismatics to rob us of te promises associated wit prayer. Many times we don t receive simply because we don t ask. James 4:2-3 declares:...yet ye ave not, because ye ask not, ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, tat ye may consume it upon your lusts. We are not promised by God tat e will answer our unlawful desires tat will not profit our spiritual lives or furter is cause. But we can be assured tat if we ask according to is will e will not only ear but grant our requests. Jesus promised tis in Jon 14:13-14: And watsoever ye sall ask in my name, tat will I do, tat te Fater may be glorified in te Son. If ye sall ask any ting in my name, I will do it. Te only boundaries for prayer ten is te onor and glory of God. If we begin to pray for growt in grace, more power in prayer, more fait, greater usefulness, a greater atred of sin, oliness, etc. ten we can be assured tat God will ear and answer. Our problem is tat we often do not pray wit te promises of God and is will in mind. Rater we pray wit an eye on our selfis desires. It is te eigt of folly to presume tat God will answer our prayers wen we ask amiss to consume our requests upon our own lusts. May God enable us to ave a renewed confidence in te promise associated wit scriptural praying. I Jon 5:14-15 declares: And tis is te confidence tat we ave in im, tat, if we ask any ting according to is will, e earet us: And if we know tat e ear us, watsoever we ask, we know tat we ave te petitions tat we desired of im. If we could only believe te promise associated wit prayer ow our prayer lives would be revitalized! We must take God at is Word and pray wit earnestness and confidence in is promises. e is a good God wo never fails to perform tat wic e as promised. May we take great comfort in tat fact as we spend time on our knees. CONCLUSION If te simple principles of prayer as taugt by our Lord were studied and put into practice, I believe tere would be an increased spirituality in our curces. Tere would be more power to walk wit God. Our fait would be nourised and strengtened as we witness te migty and of God answering our prayers. Dear reader, ave you been praying? If not, wy not? May God open our eyes to see wat an important place prayer is to ave in our lives. May God not just give you grace to read about prayer but to practice tis sacred exercise on a daily basis. Ten and only ten can we expect te power of God to rest upon us and our curces. Te Promise of (Continued from page 1) taugt us te specifics about ow, wen, wy, and were to pray. In oter words, e as promised to ear our prayers, but e as also levied certain requirements upon us---wic requirements and truts we must upold, if we desire tat our God would ear and answer our prayers according to our expectations. So, let us look at some of te keys to answered prayer. Certainly God will ear our prayers, and certainly e will answer our prayers. But from our perspective, we don t usually consider our prayers to be answered unless te precise result tat we expect is delivered to us. Sometimes God does answer us in te exact way in wic we expect im to answer our prayers. owever, many times e does not do exactly as we ad anticipated im doing, and peraps te anticipated result is not completely realized. I want us to be sure to understand tat tere is more to prayer tan a simple request and ten a fulfilling of tat request in te way in wic we desire. A lot of folks today--- (Continued on page 17)

17 January 5, 2019 Te Berea Baptist Banner Page 17 Te Promise of (Continued from page 16) even many supposed Cristians- --tend to treat our God as if e were a modern day drive-tru. Tey seem to tink tat tey can just put in teir requests unto God and ten tey can pull up to te window and ave teir requests fulfilled. Tese folks must not realize just ow wonderful, awesome, fearful and sovereign our God is! We must not come before im on a wim! Nor sould we take ligtly te wonderful blessings of prayer! It is true tat God as promised to answer our prayers, but it is also true tat e as given us instructions concerning our prayers. I tink it would be good for us to look at some ways in wic we can pray and consider our prayers to ave been answered. BE FAITFUL One of te first aspects of prayer wic we usually consider is te necessity of fait in prayer. Te Lord Jesus Crist told is disciples, Jesus answered and said unto tem, Verily I say unto you, If ye ave fait, and doubt not, ye sall not only do tis wic is done to te fig tree, but also if ye sall say unto tis mountain, Be tou removed, and be tou cast into te sea; it sall be done. And all tings, watsoever ye sall ask in prayer, believing, ye sall receive (Matt. 21:21-22). Te Lord wanted is disciples to believe in im and to trust im. e wanted tem to ave every confidence in is abilities to ear and answer teir prayers. And I believe te Lord still expects te same attitude from us today. We read in James 1:5-6: If any of you lack wisdom, let im ask of God, tat givet to all men liberally, and upbraidet not; and it sall be given im. But let im ask in fait, noting wavering. For e tat waveret is like a wave of te sea driven wit te wind and tossed. James also tells us in James 5:15, And te prayer of fait sall save te sick, and te Lord sall raise im up; and if e ave committed sins, tey sall be forgiven im. If you notice, James, in all of tese verses, speaks of prayers being answered as a result of fait. It wouldn t do us any good to pray to a God tat we didn t believe could answer our prayers. And, any Cristian tat comes before te Trone of Grace witout fait, is just as well off if e did not pray at all! Do not waver in your fait and confidence in God! Surely e can do anyting tat it is is will to do. Terefore, if we will pray unto im and we will do so in fait, ten we can trust tat e will ear us and answer us. In te Old Testament wen Elija brougt te propets of Baal togeter so tat e could prove, in te sigt of all Israel, tat te Lord was God (see I Kings 18), we find tat Baal could not even ear is followers. owever, Elija s God (and our God) not only eard Elija, but e was also able to answer im. Wen you look more closely at te Scriptures we ave just read in te Book of James, you will notice tat all of tese tings wic are prayed for are tings tat it is rigt and proper and good for men to pray for. Now, we will talk some more about tis later, but let me just say at tis point tat fait in prayer is necessary, but to pray for someting tat is approved of God (suc as wisdom or ealt in sickness or te forgiveness of sins) is also necessary in order to be sure of te promise of answered prayer. KEEP IS COMMANDMENTS We read in I Jon 3:22: And watsoever we ask, we receive of im, because we keep is commandments, and do tose tings tat are pleasing in is sigt. God as placed certain requirements upon us as to wat we sould do. And God as placed certain restrictions upon us as to wat we sould not do. Tese are all included in is commandments unto us. Wen we abide by tese commandments, ten we can fully expect im to ear our cries and answer our prayers. David once said in Psalms 34:15, Te eyes of te LORD are upon te rigteous, and is ears are open unto teir cry. Te faitful and te rigteous in tis world are te ones tat can expect to ave teir prayers answered. Surely, it would not do us muc good to pray unto God---and expect im to ear us and answer us---if we are willingly pursuing evil and contaminating ourselves wit te sins of te world. Again we read in Jon 15:7, If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye sall ask wat ye will, and it sall be done unto you. Tose folks tat will love and obey and keep te Word of God, will, wen tey pray, ave teir prayers answered in suc a way as tey migt expect. You know, it is always a pleasure to consider te fact tat te Son of God prayed wile e was ere on tis eart. As you tink about tis, it becomes obvious tat e always received wat e prayed for, because wat e prayed for was in perfect conjunction wit te will and te purpose of God. e always did wat is Fater sent im to do---e did not vary from is commandments or expectations in te sligtest way. If we conform ourselves to God in tat same manner, we ave te same assurances of answered prayer as wat te Son of God did wen e walked tis eart during is eartly ministry. DO NOT ASK AMISS Let s read wat James as to say in James 4:1-3, From wence come wars and figtings among you? come tey not ence, even of your lusts tat war in your members? Ye lust, and ave not: ye kill, and desire to ave, and cannot obtain: ye figt and war, yet ye ave not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, tat ye may consume it upon your lusts. To me, tis idea of asking amiss generally revolves around our flesly desires. Sometimes we ask for tings tat we want, rater tan for tings tat we need. Tis is a great problem in Cristianity today. Cristians today ave a ard time distinguising between teir wants and teir desires. We must be sure of our petitions before we offer tem up. It is nearly sacrilegious to make a request of our sovereign God tat is centered on a want or some selfis desire. It s not as if we are wasting is time, but te principle is te same. And, wen we are faitful unto God; and wen we are rigteous in our doings; and wen we keep is commandments; ten, I believe, we will find tat we will more and more, ask for tose tings tat we ougt to ask for. In oter words, if we will conform ourselves unto God, ten we will find out tat te occasions tat we ask amiss will be fewer and fewer. ACCEPT IS WILL We read in I Jon 5:14-15, And tis is te confidence tat we ave in im, tat, if we ask any ting according to is will, e earet us: And if we know tat e ear us, watsoever we ask, we know tat we ave te petitions tat we desired of im. Tis is ard for Cristians to conform to as well. We are so accustomed to a religion tat inserts man s will (Continued on page 18)

18 Page 18 Te Berea Baptist Banner January 5, 2019 Te Promise of (Continued from page 17) and is abilities at te top of our doctrines, tat we ave a difficult time subjecting our will to God s will, muc less anyone else s will. owever, to put it plainly, we do not always know best---but God does. To me, tis concept of submitting our will to te will of God is a part of te culmination of answered prayer. Surely, if we will grow and learn and beave ourselves in te oly Spirit, ten, inevitably, our will and our desires will be more and more in line wit te will and desire of God imself. Terefore, wen we pray unto God---just as Jesus Crist did wile e was ere on tis eart---our requests will be eard and answered, because tey are te same desires tat God imself as! Let s read Job 38:1-8, Ten te LORD answered Job out of te wirlwind, and said, Wo is tis tat darkenet counsel by words witout knowledge? Gird up now ty loins like a man; for I will demand of tee, and answer tou me. Were wast tou wen I laid te foundations of te eart? declare, if tou ast understanding. Wo at laid te measures tereof, if tou knowest? or wo at stretced te line upon it? Wereupon are te foundations tereof fastened? or wo laid te corner stone tereof; Wen te morning stars sang togeter, and all te sons of God souted for joy? Or wo sut up te sea wit doors, wen it brake fort, as if it ad issued out of te womb? Tese verses demonstrate to us te futility and te absolute absurdity of any man tinking tat e knows more tan God wen e prays. And yet, tat is te attitude of probably te vast majority of Cristians today. Wo are we to oppose te will and te desire of God? And yet, it we persist in asking amiss; or if we persist in asking for wants rater tan needs, it is not likely tat God will consistently answer our prayers. I know tat God instructs us to be persistent in our prayers---we read about tis in Luke 18:1-8: And e spake a parable unto tem to tis end, tat men ougt always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, Tere was in a city a judge, wic feared not God, neiter regarded man: And tere was a widow in tat city; and se came unto im, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And e would not for a wile: but afterward e said witin imself, Toug I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because tis widow troublet me, I will avenge er, lest by er continual coming se weary me. And te Lord said, ear wat te unjust judge sait. And sall not God avenge is own elect, wic cry day and nigt unto im, toug e bear long wit tem? I tell you tat e will avenge tem speedily. Neverteless wen te Son of man comet, sall e find fait on te eart? Certainly tis widow woman was persistent in er requests and er desires. But, we can see tat er requests and desires were also just and needful. So, along wit being persistent, our prayers sould be in accordance wit, and subject to, te will of God. We read about tis in Mark 14:35-36, 39-41, And e went forward a little, and fell on te ground, and prayed tat, if it were possible, te our migt pass from im. And e said, Abba, Fater, all tings are possible unto tee; take away tis cup from me: neverteless not wat I will, but wat tou wilt...and again e went away, and prayed, and spake te same words. And wen e returned, e found tem asleep again, (for teir eyes were eavy,) neiter wist tey wat to answer im. And e comet te tird time, and sait unto tem, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enoug, te our is come; beold, te Son of man is betrayed into te ands of sinners. In prayer, as in all tings, te Lord Jesus Crist is our ultimate and best example. And, even as e submitted imself to te will of God---and tis is not a sow of weakness, but rater, tis is proof of subjection and obedience---even so, we sould submit ourselves to te will of God, even in our prayers. AVE A CLEAR CONSCIENCE I suppose tat to ave a clear conscience is important in all of our service unto God. But, especially, we must be careful to cleanse our earts and minds wen we come into te presence of te Great King! We read in Mark 11:24-26, Terefore I say unto you, Wat tings soever ye desire, wen ye pray, believe tat ye receive tem, and ye sall ave tem. And wen ye stand praying, forgive, if ye ave ougt against any: tat your Fater also wic is in eaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neiter will your Fater wic is in eaven forgive your trespasses. Tese verses mention te need for fait and belief in God. But, tese verses also empasize our need to forgive one anoter. ow many curc members do you know tat will old grudges against oters---even against oter broters and sisters in Crist? And, ow many curces do you know, were you can plainly see te animosity or lack of kindness between broters and sisters in Crist? I ave ad folks tell me tat tey cannot get along wit tis preacer or wit tis broter or wit tis sister. Don t you tink tat tese tougts and attitudes will impede te prayers of te saints of God? Ougt we to not just frankly forgive our broters and sisters? And, if not, ten ow can we expect our Fater to forgive us our own sins? Are you and I pure enoug tat we condemn oters of teir sins against us, and expect tat we ave no sins for wic God or man migt ave to forgive us? I tink tat we do God and our broters and sisters a disservice if we do not forgive one anoter, and seek to come before God wit pure earts, and wit pure motivations. It is ten, wen we ave sanctified our earts and minds, and wen we ave cast out te distractions and te sins and te grudges of te fles---it is ten tat we can come before God in prayer, and expect tat e will ear us and answer us according to our desires. IN TE NAME OF JESUS CRIST Finally, let s read wat Jesus Crist ad to say to is disciples in Jon 16:24. iterto ave ye asked noting in my name: ask, and ye sall receive, tat your joy may be full. Wile te Lord Jesus was ere on tis eart, is disciples did not pray in te name of Jesus Crist. But, since e as ascended into eaven, and is, even now, on te rigt and of God interceding on our bealf, it now beooves us to pray unto God in te name of Jesus Crist. All of tese oter tings tat we ave mentioned are very important. It is important tat we ave fait in God s power, tat we obey God tat we do not ask amiss, tat we accept is will, and tat we ave a clear conscience. But, all of tese tings would not do us any good, if it were not for te fact (Continued on page 19)

19 January 5, 2019 Te Berea Baptist Banner Page 19 Te Promise of (Continued from page 18) tat Jesus Crist as made te way clear for us! e as opened te very doors of eaven, into te presence of God te Fater. Now, we can come before im and offer up our tanksgiving and praises; and we can come before im and present our prayers and our supplications. I tink tat it does us all good, every time we pray, to remind ourselves tat prayer is a blessing and a privilege---and prayer is only granted to us troug and by our blessed Saviour, Jesus Crist. Terefore, it is quite appropriate, tat, wen we pray, we announce unto God and to oters tat we are praying in te name of te Lord Jesus Crist. CONCLUSION It is true tat God promises to answer our prayers. Wen we pray to God, we ave an invincible and sovereign God tat we pray to. Wat a wonder and a comfort it is to ave our God to pray unto! Tere is no oter God like im! Tose of us tat are saved are beneficiaries of te blessing of prayer---and we ougt not to take tis blessing for granted. Tink about tis also: It is a blessing tat God doesn t always give us wat we want in exactly te way we desire it. e knows better tan we wat we need. I am glad tat e does, and I am glad tat wen I don t pray for wat I sould or in te manner tat I sould, e still ears, and e answers my prayers in te way tat tey sould be answered so tat, ultimately, only is name is glorified. We read in Romans 8:26-27, Likewise te Spirit also elpet our infirmities: for we know not wat we sould pray for as we ougt: but te Spirit itself maket intercession for us wit groanings wic cannot be uttered. And e tat searcet te earts knowet wat is te mind of te Spirit, because e maket intercession for te saints according to te will of God. Remember, if we pray according to te will of God, and if we do tese oter tings tat we ave mentioned, our prayers most certainly will be answered and tey will be answered in precisely te way tat we expect tem to be answered. owever, wen we don t pray in a way tat reflects all of tese tings tat we ave talked about, our prayers are still eard and answered, but peraps we don t receive wat we anticipate, because we aven t observed all of te requirements of prayer. Only wen our expectations are totally in line wit God s expectations, can we expect our prayers to be answered according to our expectations. Don t let us be quick to speak against God wen we don t get exactly wat we request. Te problem is not wit im, it is wit us. And te answer tat we receive is exactly te answer tat we sould receive. And, te answer tat we receive is exactly wat we sould ave been praying for all along---tat God s will be done. By J. W. Porter ( ) Prayer Beold, e prayet (Acts 9:11). In our great desire for organization and in magnifying metods, tere is danger lest we forget te privilege and power of prayer. All of God s blessings are conditioned on prayer and witout faitful fervent prayer tere can be no acceptable service. Peraps, as never before, tere is a crying need for a revival of te spirit and practice of prayer. A migty revival, weter local or worldwide, is impossible witout prayer. If a multitude of our curces would cease trying to work up a revival and earnestly strive to pray one down, tey would meet wit infinitely more of success. Te trut is, many professed Cristians ave lost fait in prayer, and ence in a prayer-earing and a prayeranswering God. Probably no more pertinent question could be propounded tan---wat is prayer? It is not, as some seem to surmise, an address to te people in te presence of te Lord. All too often we say our prayers instead of praying. Paul ad been saying is prayers for many years, but te first time e really prayed God looked down from is trone on ig and said, Beold, e prayet. Would God e migt say te same ting of us, at tis moment. Some of us are sadly conscious of te fact tat many of our so-called prayers ave been but perfunctory performances. Tere ave been many definitions of prayer. One of te simplest and best peraps is tat it is talking wit God. Mr. Spurgeon as said tat it is pulling te bell-rope and earing te bell ring by te trone of God. Martin Luter, wit is martial spirit, said tat prayer was bombarding te eavens. Anoter saint as described it as begging and tanking. Tis definition would probably be more complete ad e said it was praising, tanking and begging. A poet claims tat prayer is--- Te soul s sincere desire, Unuttered or expressed. Wat is prayer? Te converse of te soul wit God. Fait speaking to God. As our senses put us in connection wit visible tings so does fait wit tings unseen; and prayer is te voice of fait. Fait pleading wit God. Te utterance of strong desire, pleading wit prevailing arguments and irresistible warrants. It is worty of note tat man is te only being tat prays. Te lower animals are blessed wit instinct, but not wit te instinct to pray. Yet man prays instinctively, even te unregenerate man. It is natural for te little cild to pray and just as natural for te aged man or woman. We may repress te instinct to pray, but wen all else fails we turn to prayer. Te origin of prayer was probably wit Adam and Eve in te Garden of Eden. We know tat tere were sacrifices in te time of Abel and tere could ave been no sacrifice witout sacrificial prayers. As it as been said, we do not read tat men began to call upon te name of te Lord until after Set was born, but we may be quite sure tis was not te origin of prayer. Tere as been no nation were prayer of some kind as not been known. Pytagoras said: In all tou dost, first let ty prayers ascend, And to te gods ty labours first commend; From tem implore success, and ope a prosperous end. Te Cristian finds ample autority for prayer in te fact tat Crist commands it and commends it, and is ever ready to listen to te supplications of is cildren. In te Kensington Museum tere is a picture of Dr. Jonson waiting outside in te anteroom of royalty, waiting is turn for an audience. Te King of kings never keeps us waiting, but will give us a earing at any moment. Martin Luter says: I ave so muc business today tat I sall not be able to get troug it wit less tan tree (Continued on page 20)

20 Page 20 Te Berea Baptist Banner January 5, 2019 us to pray. We may cultivate te uman eart or moved te eart Prayer act of praying; but God only can of God. It is said tat one went A Godly Man (Continued from page 19) teac us te science of prayer. to Demostenes and asked im Is A Praying Man ours prayer. Many of us, under like pressure, would ave been disposed to ave made te tree ours tree minutes. If we expect God to guide us we must ask is guidance. Te pillar of cloud and fire await us for te asking. In Te Victory Life tere appears te story of Dr. J. J. Lucas, wo was for fortyfive years a missionary in India. Dr. Lucas says: Te most real ting in my life is te sense and presence of God s guidance. In 1870 e was under appointment to go as missionary to India. Word was sent to im and ten oter missionaries wo were to accompany im to be ready to sail October 8 t on te steamsip Cambria. Passage ad been engaged and all were ready to go. It was ten urged tat tey remain over Sunday and be given a farewell service. Te missionaries listened to te entreaty and agreed to remain. Te party finally sailed on October 12 t. Te Cambria went down at sea and all were lost save one, and e, wen rescued, was demented. Cinese Gordon used to put a andkercief at te opening of is tent wen e prayed, tus saying to te world e must not be disturbed wen e was talking to God. Let te soul alone in te closet wisper its longings into te listening ears of te Eternal. Te way is dark, my Fater! Cloud on cloud Is gatering tickly o er my ead, and loud Te tunders roar above me. See I stand, Like one bewildered! Fater, take my and, And troug te gloom Lead safely ome, Ty cild. Well may we ask ow sould we pray. First of all, and above all, we sould entreat te Lord to teac Tere are, owever, some tings tat are absolutely essential to prevailing prayer. Among tese fait probably deserves te first place. Watever else prayer may require, fait is absolutely essential. It is at tis point tat a multitude of our prayers miscarry. Probably te greatest surprise tat could come to some people would be for God to answer teir prayers. Many even forget wat tey pray for. It is ardly reasonable to expect God to remember wat we ask for wen we ourselves forget it. As fait witout works is dead, so is prayer witout fait. God will not regard te prayer tat is not made in fervent fait. If we would exercise te same fait in our eavenly Fater tat te cild as in te eartly parent, God would ear and answer our prayers. We sould confidently look for and expect an answer to our prayers. Just as one writes a letter and expects an answer, so sould we expect a reply to our prayers. Te little girl tat prayed tat God would send er broter and ten went ome and brougt im, demonstrated a real fait in er prayers. It is told of an engineer tat a woman asked im wat time is train was due at a certain station. e told er te time te train was due, to wic se replied, My daugter is dying and tat will be twenty minutes too late. Te old engineer went to te telegrap office and obtained permission to run twenty minutes aead of time. Passing te woman on te way to is engine, e said, Get aboard; if God will give me ten minutes, I will make up te oter ten minutes. It is our duty to pray according to our ability and to get up from our knees and elp God answer our prayers. We sould pray in real earnest. Cold prayers never warmed a to plead is cause. e eard im witout attention wile e told is story witout earnestness. Te man, noting is inattention, cried out, It is true. A, said Demostenes, I believe you now. Jacob wrestling wit te angel troug te lonely nigt is a splendid example of earnest prevailing prayer. Daniel, in spite of te royal decree, wit is windows opened towards Jerusalem, inspires us to fait in earnest prayer. Martin Luter eard tat Melancton was dying. Wen e approaced te bedside te symptoms of deat were quite apparent. Melancton aroused imself and seeing Luter said: O, Luter, is tis you? Wy don t you let me depart in peace? We can t spare you, Pilip, was te reply. Luter fell upon is knees and wrestled wit God for more tan an our for te recovery of is friend. Again Melancton said, Dear Luter, wy don t you let me depart in peace? Te reply was, We cannot spare you yet. Luter ten ordered some nourisment, wic was refused wit te question, Dear Luter, wy will you not let me go ome and be at rest? Luter ten added, Take tis soup or I will excommunicate you. e took te soup and soon regained is wonted strengt. Wen Luter returned ome e said to is wife, God gave me my broter Melancton back in direct answer to prayer. Wo will doubt but tat is life was graciously spared in answer to te prayer of is friend? O, ow praying rests te weary, Prayer can turn te nigt to day; Ere you left your room tis morning, Did you tink to pray? By Tomas Watson ( ) Everyone tat is godly sall pray unto tee (Ps. 32:6). As soon as grace is poured in, prayer is poured out: but I give myself unto prayer (Pa. 109:4). In te ebrew it is, but I prayer. Prayer and I are all one. Prayer is te soul s traffic wit eaven. God comes down to us by is Spirit, and we go up to im by prayer. Caligula placed is images in te Capitol wispering in Jupiter s ear; prayer wispers in God s ear. A godly man cannot live witout prayer. A man cannot live un- less e takes is breat, nor can te soul, unless it breates fort its desires to God. As soon as te babe of grace is born, it cries; no sooner was Paul converted tan beold, e prayet (Acts 9:11). No doubt e prayed before, being a Parisee, but it was eiter superficially or superstitiously. But wen te work of grace ad been done in is soul, beold, now e prays. A godly man is on te mount of prayer every day; e begins te day wit prayer; before e opens is sop, e opens is eart to God. We burn sweet perfumes in our ouses; a godly man s ouse is a ouse of perfume ; e airs it wit te incense of prayer; e engages in no business witout seeking God. Scipio never entered te Senate ouse witout first ascending te Capitol, were e did is (Continued on page 21)

21 January 5, 2019 Te Berea Baptist Banner Page 21 A Godly Man Is (Continued from page 20) devotions. A godly man consults God in everyting; e asks is leave and is blessing. Te Greeks asked counsel at teir oracles; so a godly man enquires at te divine oracle (Gen. 24:12; I Sam. 23:3-4). A true saint continually soots up is eart to eaven by sacred ejaculations. Question: Is prayer a sign of a godly man? May not a ypocrite pray eloquently and wit seeming devotion? Answer: e may: tey seek me daily (Isa. 58:2). But a ypocrite does not pray in te Spirit (Ep. 6:18). A man may ave te gift of prayer, and not ave te spirit of prayer. Question: ow sall we know tat we ave te spirit of prayer? Answer: Wen te prayer wic we make is spiritual. Question: Wat is it to make a spiritual prayer? Answer 1: Wen we pray wit knowledge. Under te law, Aaron was to ligt te lamps wen e burned te incense on te altar (Ex. 30:7). Incense typified prayer, and te ligting of te lamps typified knowledge. Wen te incense of prayer burns, te lamp of knowledge must be lit: I will pray wit te understanding (I Cor. 14:15). We must know te majesty and oliness of God, so tat we may be deeply affected wit reverence wen we come before im. We must put up suc petitions as are exactly adequate and agreeable to God s will. Be not ras wit ty mout, to utter any ting before God (Ecc. 5:2). Te Lord would not ave te blind offered to im (Mal. 1:8). ow can we pray wit affection wen we do not pray wit judgment? Te Papists pray in an unknown tongue. Crist may reply to tem as e did to te moter of Zebedee s cildren, Ye know not wat ye ask (Matt. 20:22). e tat prays e knows not ow, sall be eard e knows not wen. Answer 2: A spiritual prayer is wen te eart and spirit pray; tere are not only words but desires. It is excellent wen a man can say, Lord, my eart prays. anna prayed in er eart (I Sam. 1:13). Te sound of a trumpet comes from witin and te excellent music of prayer comes from witin te eart. If te eart does not accompany duty, it is speaking, not praying. Answer 3: A spiritual prayer is a fervent prayer: Te effectual fervent prayer... availet muc ( Jas. 5:16). Te eart, like te mainspring, sould carry te affections in a most zealous and rapid manner; fervency is te wing of prayer by wic it ascends to eaven. Prayer is expressed by sigs and groans (Rom. 8:26). It is not so muc te gifts of te Spirit as te groans of te Spirit wic God likes. Prayer is called a wrestling (Gen. 32:24) and a pouring out of te soul (I Sam. 1:15). Prayer is compared to incense (Ps. 141:2). Incense witout fire makes no sweet smell. Prayer witout fervency is like incense witout fire. Crist prayed wit strong crying and tears (eb. 5:7); crying prayer prevails. Wen te eart is inflamed in prayer, a Cristian is carried as it were in a fiery cariot up to eaven. Answer 4: A spiritual prayer is suc as comes from a broken eart: Te sacrifices of God are a broken spirit (Ps. 51:17). Te incense was to be beaten to typify te breaking of te eart in prayer. It is not te voluble tongue but te melting eart wic God accepts. O, says a Cristian, I cannot pray like oters. As Moses said to te Lord, I am not eloquent. But can you weep and sig? Does your soul melt out at your eyes? God accepts broken expressions wen tey come from broken earts. I ave read of a plant tat bears no fruit, but it weeps fort a kind of gum wic is very costly. So, toug you do not flouris wit tose gifts and expressions like oters, yet if you can weep fort tears from a contrite eart, tese are exceedingly precious to God, and e will put tem in is bottle. Jacob wept in prayer and ad power over te angel (osea. 12:4). Answer 5: A spiritual prayer is a believing prayer: watsoever ye sall ask in prayer, believing, ye sall receive (Matt. 21:22). Te reason wy so many prayers suffer sipwreck is because tey split against te rock of unbelief. Praying witout fait is sooting witout bullets. Wen fait takes prayer by te and, ten we draw near to God. We sould come to God in prayer like te leper: Continued from page 44 Lord, if tou wilt, tou canst make me clean (Matt. 8:2). It is a disparagement to Deity to ave suc a wisper in te eart, tat God s ear is eavy and cannot ear (Isa. 59:1). Wat is said of te people of Israel may be applied to prayer Tey could not enter in because of unbelief (eb. 3:19). Answer 6: A spiritual prayer is a oly prayer: Werefore lift up pure ands (I Tim. 2:8). Prayer must be offered on te altar of a pure eart. Sin lived in makes te eart ard and God s ear deaf. Sin stops te mout of prayer. It does wat te tief does to te traveler puts a gag in is mout so tat e cannot speak. Sin poisons and infests prayer. A wicked man s prayer is sick of te plague, and will God come near im? Te lodestone loses its virtue wen it is spread wit garlic; so does prayer wen it is polluted wit sin. If I regard iniquity in my eart, te Lord will not ear me (Ps. 66:18). It is foolis to pray against sin and ten to sin against prayer. A spiritual prayer, like te spirits of wine, must be refined and taken off te lees and dregs of sin: tat tey may offer unto te LORD an offering in rigteousness (Mal. 3:3). If te eart is oly, tis altar will sanctify te gift. Answer 7: A spiritual prayer is a umble prayer: LORD, tou ast eard te desire of te umble (Ps. 10:17). Prayer is te asking of an alms, wic requires umility: te public an, standing afar off, would not lift up so muc as is eyes unto eaven, but smote upon is breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner (Luke 18:13). God s incompreensible glory may even amaze us and strike a oly consternation into us wen we approac near to im: O my God, I... blus to lift up my face to tee (Ezra 9:6). It is comely to see a poor noting lie prostrate at te feet of its Maker. Beold now, I ave taken upon me to speak unto te Lord, wic am but dust and ases (Gen. 18:27). Te lower te eart descends, te iger te prayer ascends. Answer 8: A spiritual prayer is wen we pray in te name of Crist. To pray in te name of Crist is not only to name Crist in prayer, but to pray in te ope and confidence of Crist s mediation. As a cild claims is estate in te rigt of is fater wo purcased it, so we come for mercy in te name of Crist, wo as purcased it for us in is blood. Unless we pray tus, we do not pray at all; no, we rater provoke God. As it was wit Uzzia, wen e wanted to offer incense witout a priest. God was angry and struck im wit leprosy (II Cron. 26:16-19). So wen we do not come in Crist s name in prayer, we offer up incense witout (Continued on page 22)

22 Page 22 Te Berea Baptist Banner January 5, 2019 A Godly Man Is (Continued from page 21) a priest, and wat can we expect but to meet wit wrat? Answer 9: A spiritual prayer is wen we pray out of love to prayer. A wicked man may pray, but e does not love prayer. Will e deligt imself in te Almigty? ( Job 27:10). A godly man is carried on te wings of deligt. e is never so well as wen e is praying. e is not forced wit fear but fired wit love. I will make tem joyful in my ouse of prayer (Isa. 56:7). Answer 10: A spiritual prayer is wen we ave spiritual goals in prayer. Tere is a vast difference between a spiritual prayer and a carnal desire. Te goals of a ypocrite are secular and carnal. e looks asquint in prayer. It is not te sense of is spiritual needs tat moves im but rater lust. Ye ask amiss, tat ye may consume it upon your lusts ( Jas. 4:3). Te sinner prays more for food tan for grace. Tis, God does not interpret as praying but as owling: Tey owled upon teir beds: tey assemble... for corn and wine (osea 7:14). Give me only rices (Ovid). Prayers wic lack a good aim lack a good answer. A godly man as spiritual goals in prayer. e sends out is prayer as a mercant sends out is sip, so tat e may ave large returns of spiritual blessings. is design in prayer is tat is eart may be more oly and tat e may ave more communion wit God. A godly man engages in te trade of prayer so tat e may increase te stock of grace. Answer 11: A spiritual prayer is accompanied wit te use of means. Tere must be works as well as prayer. Wen ezekia was sick e did not only pray for recovery, but e laid a lump of figs to te boil (Isa. 38:21). Tus it is in te case of te soul wen we pray against sin and avoid temptations. Wen we pray for grace and use opportunities to te full, tis is laying a fig on te boil wic will make us recover. To pray for oliness and neglect te means is like winding up te clock and taking off te weigts. Answer 12: A spiritual prayer is tat wic leaves a spiritual mood beind upon te eart. A Cristian is better after prayer. e as gained more strengt over sin, as a man by exercise gets strengt. Te eart after prayer keeps a tincture of oliness, as te vessel favors and relises te wine tat is put into it. aving been wit God on te mount, Moses face sone. So, aving been on te mount of prayer, our graces sine and our lives sine. Tis is te sign of a godly man e prays in te Spirit. Tis is te rigt kind of praying. Te gift of prayer is ordinary, like culinary fire. But spiritual prayer is more rare and excellent, like elemental fire wic comes from eaven. Use 1: Is a godly man of a praying spirit? Ten tis excludes from being godly: 1. Tose wo do not pray at all. Teir ouses are unallowed ouses. It is made te note of a reprobate tat e calls not upon God (Ps. 14:4). Does tat poor creature wo never asks for alms tink tat e will get any? Do tose wo never seek mercy from God tink tat tey will receive it? Truly, ten God sould befriend tem more tan e did is own Son. e offered up prayers and supplications wit strong cries (eb. 5:7). None of God s cildren are tongue- tied. Because ye are sons. God at sent fort te Spirit of is Son into your earts, crying, Abba, Fater (Gal. 4:6). Creatures by te instinct of nature cry to God: te young ravens wic cry (Ps. 147:9). Te lions seek teir meat from God (Ps. 104:21). Not to cry to God is worse tan brutis. 2. Oters pray, but it is seldom like tat profane ateist of wom eylin speaks, wo told God tat e was no common beggar; e ad never troubled im before and if e would ear im now, e would never trouble im again. 3. Oters pray, but not in te oly Gost ( Jude 20). Tey are more like parrots tan weeping doves. Teir earts do not melt in prayer: tey exercise teir inventiveness more tan teir affection. Use 2 : As you would prove te new birt, cry Abba, Fater ; be men of prayer. Pray at least twice a day. In te temple tere was te morning and evening sacrifice. Daniel prayed tree times a day. No, e so loved prayer tat e would not neglect prayer to save is life (Dan. 6: 10). Luter spent tree ours every day in prayer. Objection : But wat need is tere of prayer, wen God as made so many promises of blessings? Answer : Prayer is te condition annexed to te promise. Promises turn upon te inge of prayer: I will yet for tis be inquired of by te ouse of Israel (Ez. 36:37). A king promises a pardon, but it must be sued for. David ad a promise tat God would build im a ouse, but e sues for te promise by prayer (II Sam. 7:25). Crist imself ad all te promises made sure to im, yet e prayed and spent wole nigts in prayer. Terefore if you would be counted godly, be given to prayer. Prayer sanctifies your mercies (II Tim. 4:5). Prayer weeds out sin and waters grace. Tat I may encourage Cristians and old up teir eads in prayer, as Aaron and ur eld up Moses ands (Ex. 17:12), let me propound tese few considerations: 1. Prayer is a seed sown in God s ear. Oter seed sown in te ground may be picked up by te birds, but tis seed (especially if watered wit tears) is too precious to lose. 2. Consider te power of prayer. Te apostle, aving set out te wole armor of a Cristian, brings in prayer as te cief part (Ep. 6:18). Witout tis (says Zancius), all te rest are of little value. By prayer, Moses divided te Red Sea. Josua stopped te course of te sun and made it stand still ( Jos. 10:13). No, prayer made te Sun of rigteousness stand still: And Jesus stood still (Matt. 20:32). Prayer is te entrance to all blessings, spiritual and temporal. Wen Aurelius Antonius went against te Germans, e ad in is army a regiment of Cristians, wo upon teir earnest prayer obtained rain for te refresment of is army and because of te power of teir prayers, e called tem te tundering regiment. Prayer as a power in it to destroy te insolent enemies of te curc. We read tat te two witnesses ave a flame on teir lips fire proceeds out of teir mouts wic devours teir enemies (Rev. 11:3, 5). Tis fire is certainly to be interpreted of teir prayers. David prayed, Lord... turn te counsel of Aitopel into foolisness (II Sam. 15:31). Tis prayer made Aitopel ang imself. Moses prayer against Amalek did more tan Josua s sword. Prayer as a kind of omnipotency in it; it as raised te dead, overcome angels, cast out devils. It as influence upon God imself. Jacob s prayer eld God: I will not let tee go, except tou bless me (Gen. 32:26). Prayer finds God free, but leaves im bound. 3. Jesus Crist prays over our prayers again. e takes te dross out and presents noting but pure gold to is Fater. Crist mingles (Continued on page 23)

23 January 5, 2019 Te Berea Baptist Banner Page 23 A Godly Man Is (Continued from page 22) is sweet odors wit te prayers of te saints (Rev. 5:8). Tink of te dignity of is person e is God; and te sweetness of is relationsip e is a Son. O ten, wat encouragement tere is ere for us to pray! Our prayers are put in te ands of a Mediator. Toug, as tey come from us, tey are weak and imperfect, yet as tey come from Crist, tey are migty and powerful. 4. Te sweet promises wic God as made to prayer: e will be very gracious unto tee at te voice of ty cry (Isa. 30:19). Ten sall... ye go and pray unto me, and I will earken unto you. And ye sall seek me, and find me, wen ye sall searc for me wit all your eart ( Jer. 29:12,13); and before tey call, I will answer; and wile tey are yet speaking, I will ear (Isa. 65:24). Tese promises keep te ead of Continued from page 45 prayer above water. God is bound wit is own promises, as Samson was bound wit is own air. Let us, ten, close ranks and wit our Saviour pray yet more earnestly (Luke 22:44). Let us be importunate suitors, and resolve wit Bernard tat we will not come away from God witout God. Prayer is a bomb wic will make eaven s gates fly open. Question: ow sall we go about praying arigt? Answer: Implore te Spirit of God: praying in te oly Gost ( Jude 20). Te oly Gost bot indites prayer and inflames it. God understands no oter language but tat of is Spirit. Pray for te oly Gost tat you may pray in te oly Gost. Requirements In (Continued from page 24) ye sall ask of te Fater in my name, e may give it you. Ten in I Jon 5:14 we read, Tis is te confidence tat we ave in im, tat, if we ask anyting ACCORDING TO IS WILL, e earet us (emp. EGC). It must be according to is will. And in James 1:6-7 we read, Let im ask in fait, noting wavering. For e tat waveret is like a wave of te sea driven wit te wind and tossed. For let not tat man tink tat e sall receive any ting of te Lord. If we cannot believe tat we will receive te ting we are asking for it is better for us not ask for it at all. But if we are to qualify as one wo is effectual in is prayer life, ere is te clincer, If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye sall ask wat ye will, and it sall be done unto you (Jon 15:7). Tis word abide (MENO) means to continue in. It does not mean tat we can pay our Lord a visit on Sunday, and keep is Word in us during te Sunday Scool our and still receive wat we ask for. It means tat we are to just be at ome in Crist, e is talking about fellowsip wit im ere. We must continue in sweet fellowsip wit our dear Lord, and keep is Words ever at and if we would prevail in prayer. TO SUM IT ALL UP For us to be able to pray an effectual prayer we must first be born again. We must pray to te Fater in te name of, or on te merits of Jesus Crist, and according to is will. It must be done in, and by, te power of te oly Spirit, and in all umility. It must be specific, and at te same time it must be in according wit is will and is Word. It must be earnest (not frantic), and wole eartedly. It must be in fait, noting wavering. Unless we can believe tat we will receive it, we sould not ask for it. To ask just to be asking witout fait is sinful. We sould always tank God for past blessings before we ask for more of tem. e likes to be appreciated you know. We must keep is teacings, and do te tings tat are pleasing to im, and we must continue to just be at ome in im, and to just let is Word be at ome in us if we are to prevail wit im in prayer. Is it any wonder tat so many prayers never get troug te ceiling? Is it any wonder tat so many wo call temselves praying never get an answer? God does not play wit us, so let us ask ourselves, Do I qualify for effectual praying? BEREA BAPTIST BANNER Financial Report to Beginning Balance... $1, RECEIPTS: Berea B. C., Mantacie, MS Berea B. C., Stonington, IL Betel B. C., Pasadena, TX Big Creek B. C., Wayne, WV Briar Creek B. C., Williamsburg, KY Bruce Allen, Fairmount, GA Carol Willett, Edgewater, FL Citrus M. B. C., Inverness, FL Emmanuel B. C., Oldtown, KY Fait B. C., Lynn, AR Gail Knowles, Scarboroug, ME Gary Fields, Dublin, GA Grace B. C., Rural all, NC Grace M. B. C., Tulsa, OK Indore B. C., Indore, WV Landmark B. C., Moncks Corner, SC Te Lord s Curc, Goose Creek, SC Micael Serman, Asland, KY Mt. Pleasant B. C., Cesapeake, O New Testamnet B. C., Gosen, IN Piladelpia B. C., Decatur, AL Portland B. C., Plumerville, AR Soutside B. C., Fulton, MS Sovereign Grace B. C., Silsbee, TX Victory B. C., Courtland, VA Subscriptions Anonymous Dividing cecks Sub Total... $2, TOTAL... $4, EXPENDITURES: Printing Postage Wages... 2, FICA Dividing cecks Bank Carge Total Expenditures... $3, ENDING BALANCE... $ BEREA BAPTIST BROADCAST Financial Report to Beginning Balance... $1, RECEIPTS: Berea B. C., Mantacie, MS Briar Creek, Williamsburg, KY Calvary I. B. C., Sumas, WA TOTAL...2, EXPENDITURES: Radio Time Bank carge TOTAL EXPENDITURES Interest ENDING BALANCE... $1,700.31

24 Page 24 Te Berea Baptist Banner January 5, 2019 ANNOUNCEMENTS Te Grace Landmark Baptist Curc of Buckannon, WV, is seeking a pastor. Te curc is Sovereign Grace and Landmark in doctrine and practice. Any interested called pastor of like fait may contact Broter Brad Butcer at (304) or (304) ****** Te Piladelpia Baptist Curc of Decatur, Alabama is seeking te Lord s guidance in calling is eternally appointed man to fill te vacancy left wen e called is faitful servant Elder Wm. Doyal Tomas unto is everlasting ome September 29, If any broter of like fait and order would like to be considered for tat pastorate or would like information on te curc please call or text Broter Mike Gibson at or Broter James Reynolds at admin@ pbcofdecaturalabama.org. or text (ONLY) ****** Te Lord s Baptist Curc in Tacoma Wasington is in need of a pastor. For more information please contact Gaylen Russell at (ome) or (cell) or by gaylenr@rainierconnect. com. ****** Te Sovereign Grace Baptist Curc of Caldwell, KS is in need of a pastor. For more information please contact te curc in writing at SGBC, 400 N. Main St., Caldwell, KS 67022, or by pone Broter Darin Wiley ****** Te Victory Baptist Curc of Cealis, Wasington is in need of a pastor. Any interested broter may call Gerry Greisen at (360) , or Mark Fenison at (360) ****** Te Fait Missionary Baptist Curc of Cobbitty, Sout Wales, Australia is in need of a pastor. For more information please contact David Jackson at 4 Station Street, Tirlmere, NSW 2572, Australia or sellie45@bigpond.com.au. Requirements In Order to Pray an Effective Prayer By E. G. Cook ( ) All of us sould be interested in just wat requirements we must meet in order for us to be able to pray an effective prayer. So may we consider some of tose requirements? David says in Psalm 5:3, In te morning will I direct my prayer unto tee. So our prayer is to be directed to God. In Psalm 65:2 e says, O tou tat earest prayer. David says God is te one wo ears prayer, but under just wat condition does e ear our prayer? Jesus Crist says in Mattew 7:7, Ask and it sall be given you. On te surface tis seems to be a blank ceck tat we can just fill out to our eart s content. But Peter tells us in II Peter 1:20 tat no propecy of scripture is of any private interpretation. Tis does not mean tat we must go to te Catolic Curc, or any oter curc in order to get te interpretation of a Scripture. It simply means tat we are to interpret any given Scripture in te ligt of all te oter Scriptures on te subject. So, under wat conditions can we ask and it sall be given us? Jesus says in Mattew 21:22, All tings watsoever ye sall ask in prayer, BELIEVING, ye sall receive (emp. EGC). So one of te conditions tat we must meet is tat we must believe tat we will receive te ting we are asking for. But wo is it tat believes? In Jon 9:31 we read, We know tat God earet not sinners: but if any man be a worsipper of God, and DOET IS WILL, im e earet (emp. EGC). Te Psalmist says in Psalm 80:18, Quicken us (tat is, make us alive spiritually), and we will call upon ty name. We see ere tat we must first be born again, be a worsipper of God, and be doing is will. But tere are still oter requirements tat we must meet. In Psalm 10:17 we read, LORD, tou ast eard te desire of te umble. So umility is anoter requirement tat is essential to effective praying. Ten in Pilippians 4:6 one translation says, Don t worry over anyting watever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and tankful prayer. So anoter requirement is tat we must not worry. It is a sin for us to worry wen we are told not to do tat. A person simply cannot worry and trust God at te same time. Tose two tings just do not go togeter. Now tat we ave seen some of te requirements for effective praying let us consider ow we are to pray. In Epesians 6:18 we read Praying always wit all prayer and supplication in te Spirit. Tis simply means tat we must tank and praise our wonderful God for past blessings before we supplicate (or ask) for more blessings. And it must be done in te Spirit, tat is, we must let te oly Spirit guide us in our praying. Ten in Psalm 119: 58 David says, I entreated ty favour wit my wole eart. Tere is no place for alf-earted praying. Ten wen we ave met te requirements we are told in ebrews 4:16 to Come boldly unto te trone of grace. But, as we come to te trone of grace boldly let us remember it must be done in umility and wole eartedly. Ten in Luke 18:1 Jesus says, Men ougt always to pray, and not to faint. Tat is wen we ave met te requirements we sould not become despondent and quit praying because God does not answer our prayer immediately. In Daniel 10, Daniel prayed for tree weeks before te answer came. And te one wo indered te answer to Daniel s prayer is still in te indering business today. Ten on wat ground sould we pray? Paul says in Epesians 2:18 Troug im (Jesus Crist) we bot (Jew and Gentile) ave access by one Spirit unto te Fater. We go to te Fater troug te Son, in te power of te oly Spirit. In Jon 16:23 Jesus says, In tat day (tis curc age) ye sall ask me noting. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Watsoever ye sall ask te Fater in my name, e will give it you. For us to ask in is name means muc more tan to just tack on is name at te end of our prayers. It includes is merit before te Fater, and, furtermore, it means to be in accord wit is will as set fort in is Word. In Jon 14:13-14 Jesus says, Watsoever ye sall ask in my name, tat will I do, tat te Fater may be glorified in te Son. If ye sall ask anyting in my name, I will do it. In Jon 16:23 e says te Fater will give it you, e says e will do it, but tere is no contradiction ere. In Jon 10:30 e says, I and my Fater are one. By tat e means tey are one in purpose and in performance. Wat one does te oter does. In Jon 15:16 we read, Ye ave not cosen me, but I ave cosen you, and ordained you, tat ye sould go and bring fort fruit, and tat your fruit sould remain; tat watsoever (Continued on page 23)

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