Lately I’ve been reading The Necessity of Prayer, by E.M. Bounds. He has some good things to say, but a
couple chapters on obedience raised questions for me. He states:
“Prayer is obedience. It is founded
on the adamantine rock of obedience to God. Only those who obey have the right
to pray. Behind the praying must be the doing; and it is the constant doing of
God’s will in daily life which gives prayer its potency” (ch. 10).
He makes other comments that give the impression that
complete victory over sin is not only possible in this life but is required for
anyone who wants to pray.
“He who would pray, must obey. He
who would get anything out of his prayers, must be in perfect harmony with God…
[A]n obedient life is a necessity to prayer, to the sort which accomplishes
things. The absence of an obedient life makes prayer an empty performance, a
mere misnomer… (ch. 9).
I don’t want to discount the importance of obedience and
making every effort to overcome sin in our lives—Samuel did say “to obey is
better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22 ESV)—but I think Bounds overstates the
case. Even the Apostle Paul said, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me,
that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the
ability to carry it out” (Romans 7:18), and I don’t think that anyone would say
Paul was ineffective in prayer.
Certainly, outright rebellion and excusing sin are
hindrances to prayer and to any kind of spiritual growth, but for those who
endeavoring to pursue obedience grace abounds. A stumble into sin or a sin that
has not yet come to our awareness is not reason for despair. If we always had
to be “confessed up” before we could pray, we could spend all our time scouring
our conscience for any possible offenses and never get around to any other
prayers. (And if we did get that far, there would be pride to deal with!)
The author of Hebrews wrote, “For we do not have a high
priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every
respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with
confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find
grace to help in time of need” (4:15-16). I see nothing there that indicates
God is waiting for us to clean ourselves up before we can come into His
presence. He knows our weaknesses, sin, and blind spots, and He loves us
anyway. He wants to hear from His children at any and all times. His grace and
mercy far exceed our ability to obey perfectly.
One might bring up James 5:16, “Therefore, confess your sins
to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of
a righteous person has great power as it is working.” It is true that confession
will always be a recurring part of our prayer times, but it does not need to be
so meticulous and detailed that we have time for nothing else. However, it is
also true that the believer is clothed in Jesus’ righteousness and therefore
does not need to fear the condemnation due to sinners. “I will greatly rejoice
in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for He has clothed me with the
garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness…”
(Isaiah 61:10). It is because of Christ’s righteousness that we can draw near
with confidence, not because of any righteousness we have in ourselves. In Him,
“we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him”
(Ephesians 3:13). I have difficulty singing a certain familiar hymn that
downplays faith in God’s redeeming work and stresses obedience as the source of
blessing.
Prayer should be something that brings joy and encouragement,
not a sense of dread and obligation to do it just right. We should delight in
spending time with our Heavenly Father, communing with Him, learning from Him, and
receiving correction and strength from Him.
“Who is to condemn?
Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the
right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8:34).
© 2016 Dawn Rutan.
