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THE
NEW LIFE by
John Marshall
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Chapter
13 • THE
WAY OF PRAYER
Another
occasion when devout prayer can set the tone is at our public
assembly when we meet to worship and remember our Lord, and
when we meet to herald the Kingdom or to study the Scriptures.
We pray then on behalf of our brethren and sisters, and should
have them, as well as our Father, very much in mind. Because
of the fear of vain repetition in using the Lord's prayer,
we have by our neglect of this, substituted phrases which
are neither beautiful nor devout, and they have become so
familiar throughout the years that young brethren absorb them
and repeat them in successive generations. Yet when we pray
we stand before "The Most High God" to speak for
all.
Men of Prayer
If, on such occasions, we recall some of the most important
elements of prayer already cited: humility, worship, praise,
thanksgiving, penitence and supplication; and if, also, we
devote time to absorbing the spirit of the prayers of Abraham,
Moses, Samuel, David, Solomon, Elijah, Hezekiah, Jeremiah,
Daniel, Nehemiah, and above all, Jesus, we shall gradually
imitate the worship and devotion which animated these men
of God, and shall find a nobler spirit and expression of prayer
taking possession of our minds.
"Lord, teach us to pray." Jesus was the only one
who had the power and authority to teach men to pray, and
it is one of the miracles of John's Gospel that his greatest
and most intimate prayer is there at all. He prayed for many
things, including the care of those whom he was about to leave
behind. Who but Jesus would have prayed for those yet spiritually
unborn? "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them
also which shall believe on me through their word; that they
all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe
that thou hast sent me."
The new life is a way of prayer as well as a way of faith.
Whilst doctrine can inform our minds prayer, as devout communion
with the Father, can transform them. But we all need the help
of one another. Brethren, pray for me.
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References
John 17v20-21
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Chapter
14 • WORK
WORK is God-given and plays an important part in the development
of character.
"Thus
all must work: with head or hand,
For self or others, good or ill;
Life
is ordained to bear, like land,
Some fruit, be fallow as it will."
Even
in his innocence man worked: he had dominion over the things of
the earth and sea; he dressed and kept the garden of Eden, and named
the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Work for him then
was full of delight, and each day must have brought him the pleasure
of achievement. But sin corrupts everything, and henceforth thorns
and thistles were to plague his life, and his work would be by the
sweat of his brow. However, though work may often be less pleasurable
it is still vital for the formation of character; and for the one
who cheerfully and gratefully accepts the challenge of a difficult
or even unpleasant task it can yield the satisfaction and pleasure
of work well done.
The Doctrine of Work
As in all aspects of life and living one should develop a conscious
and clear aim in the daily round: a positive doctrine of work, so
that life may have a unity of purpose as well as a harmony of the
spirit, because the life of the spirit is one and there should be
no sharp division of conduct between one activity and another: no
selfish standard at work and a selfless one at home or in the ecclesia.
If a false weight in Israel's trading was an abomination to the
Lord, a false spirit in our work would be a sin against Him.
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References
Richard Monkton, Gen 1v28, 2v15, 19, Prov 20v10, 23
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