Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He send forth labourers into His harvest. – Matt. 9:38.

What a remarkable call of the Lord Jesus for help from His disciples in getting the need supplied. What an honor put upon prayer. What a proof that God wants prayer and will hear it. Pray for laborers, for all students in theological seminaries, training homes, Bible institutes, that they may not go, unless He fits them and sends them forth; that our churches may train their students to seek for the sending forth of the Holy Spirit; that all believers may hold themselves ready to be sent forth, or to pray for those who can go.

How to Pray – In Faith, Nothing Doubting

Jesus saith unto them, Have faith in God. Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he saith shall come to pass, he shall have it. -Mark 11:22, 23.

Have faith in God! Ask Him to make Himself known to you as the faithful mighty God, who worketh all in all; and you will be encouraged to believe that He can give suitable and sufficient laborers, however impossible this appears. But, remember, in answer to prayer and faith. Apply this to every opening where a good worker is needed. The work is God’s. He can give the right workman. But He must be asked and waited on.

Special Petitions

I will send the Comforter to you. And He, when He is come, will convict the world in respect of sin. -John 1:7, 8.

God’s one desire, the one object of Christ’s being manifested, is to take away sin. The first work of the Spirit on the world is conviction of sin. Without that, no deep or abiding revival, no powerful conversion. Pray for it, that the gospel may be preached in such power of the Spirit, that men may see that they have rejected and ,crucified Christ, and cry out, What shall we do? Pray most earnestly for a mighty power of conviction of sin wherever the gospel is preached.

How to Pray – Stir Up Yourself to Take Hold of God ‘s Strength

Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me. -Isa. 27:5.
There is none that calleth upon Thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee. -Isa. 64:7.
Stir up the gift of God which is in thee. -2 Tim. 1:6.

First, take hold of God’s strength. God is a Spirit. I cannot take hold of Him, and hold Him fast, but by the Spirit. Take hold of God’s strength, and hold on till it has done for you what He has promised. Pray for the power of the Spirit to convict of sin.

Second, stir up yourself – the power is in you by the Holy Spirit — to take hold. Give your whole heart and will to it, and say, I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me.

Special Petitions

And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion shall be called holy: when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, by the Spirit of Judgment and the Spirit of Burning. -Isa. 4:3.

A washing by fire! a cleansing by judgment! He that has passed through this shall be called holy. The power of blessing for the world, the power of work and intercession that will avail, depends upon the spiritual state of the Church; and that can only rise higher as sin is discovered and put away. Judgment must begin at the house of God. There must be conviction of sin for sanctification. Beseech God to give His Spirit as a Spirit of Judgment and a Spirit of Burning – to discover and burn out sin in His people.

How to Pray – In the Name of Christ

Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do. If ye shall ask Me anything in My name, that will I do. -John 4:13, 14.

Ask in the name of your Redeemer God, who sits upon the throne. Ask what He has promised, what He gave His blood for, that sin may be put away from among His people, Ask – the prayer is after His own heart – for the spirit of deep conviction of sin to come among His people. Ask for the spirit of burning. Ask in the faith of His name – the faith of what He wills, of what He can do – and look for the answer. Pray that the Church may be blessed, to be made a blessing in the world.

Special Petitions

FOURTEENTH DAY
What to Pray – For the Church of the Future

That the children might not be as their fathers, a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God. -Ps. 78:8.
I will pour My Spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thy offspring. -Isa. 44:3.

Pray for the rising generation, who are to come after us. Think of the young men and women and children of this age, and pray for all the agencies at work among them; that in associations and societies and unions, in homes and schools, Christ may be honored, and the Holy Spirit get possession of them. Pray for the young of your neighborhood.

How to Pray – With the Whole Heart

The Lord grant thee according to thine own heart. -Ps. 20:4.
Thou hast given him his heart’s desire. -Ps. 21:2.
I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord. -Ps. 119:145.

God lives, and listens to every petition with His whole heart. Each time we pray the whole Infinite God is there to hear. He asks that in each prayer the whole man shall be there too; that we shall cry with our whole heart. Christ gave Himself to God for men; and so He takes up every need into His intercession. If once we seek God with our whole heart, the whole heart will be in every prayer with which we come to this God. Pray with your whole heart for the young.

Special Petitions

As for Me, this is My Covenant with them, saith the Lord: My Spirit that is upon thee and My Words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever. -Isa. 59:21.

The future of the Church and the world depends, to an extent we little conceive, on the education of the day. The Church may be seeking to evangelize the heathen, and be giving up her own children to secular and materialistic influences. Pray for schools and colleges, and that the Church may realize and fulfill its momentous duty of caring for its children. Pray for godly teachers.

How to Pray – Not Limiting God

They limited the Holy One of Israel. -Ps. 78:41.
He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. -Matt. 13:5.
Is anything too hard for the Lord! -Gen. 1 8. 14.
Ah, Lord God! Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power; there is nothing too hard for Thee. Behold, I am the Lord: is there anything too hard for Me! -Jer. 32:17, 27.

Beware, in your prayer, above everything,of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things, above all that we ask or think. Each time you intercede, be quiet first and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, of how He delights to hear Christ, of your place in Christ, and expect great things.

Special Petitions

Thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and will save thy children. -Isa. 49:25.

Every part of the work of God’s Church is His work. He must do it. Prayer is the confession that He will – the surrender of ourselves into His hands to let Him – work in us and through us. Pray for the hundreds of thousands of Sunday School teachers, that those who know God may be filled with His Spirit. Pray for your own Sunday School. Pray for the salvation of the children.

How to Pray – Boldly

We have a great High Priest, Jesus the Son of God. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace. -Heb. 4: 14, 16.

These hints to help us in our work of intercession – what are they doing for us? Making us conscious of our feebleness in prayer? Thank God for this. It is the very first lesson we need on the way to pray the effectual prayer that availeth much. Let us persevere, taking each subject boldly to the throne of grace. As we pray we shall learn to pray and to believe and to expect with increasing boldness. Hold fast your assurance: it is at God’s command you come as an intercessor. Christ will give you grace to pray aright.

Special Petitions

I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgiving, be made for all men; for kings and all that are in high places; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in aII godliness and gravity. -1 Tim. 2:1,2.

What a faith in the power of prayer! A few feeble and despised Christians are to influence the mighty Roman emperors, and help in securing peace and quietness. Let us believe that prayer is a power that is taken up by God in His rule of the world. Let us pray for our country and its rulers; for all the rulers of the world; for rulers in cities or districts in which we are interested. When God’s people unite in this, they may count upon their prayers effecting in the unseen world more than they know. Let faith hold this fast.

How to Pray – The Prayer before God as Incense

And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should add it unto the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. And the angel taketh the censer; and he filled it with the fire upon the altar, and cast it upon the earth: and there followed thunder, and voices, and lightning, and an earthquake. -Rev. 8:3-5.

The same censer brings the prayer of the saints before God and casts fire upon the earth. The prayers that go up to heaven have their share in the history of this earth. Be sure that thy prayers enter God’s presence.

Special Petitions

EIGHTEENTH DAY
What to Pray – For Peace

I exhort therefore first of all, that supplications be made for Kings and all that are in high places; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour. -1 Tim. 2:1-3.
He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth. -Ps. 46:9

What a terrible sight! – the military armaments in which the nations find their pride. What a terrible thought!. – the evil passions that may at any moment bring on war. And what a prospect for suffering and desolation that must come. God can, in answer to the prayer of His people, give peace. Let us pray for it, and for the rule of righteousness on which alone it can be stablished.

How to Pray – With the Understanding

What is it then will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding. -1 Cor. 14: 15.

We need to pray with the spirit, as the vehicle of the intercession of God’s Spirit, if we are to take hold of God in faith and power. We need to pray with the understanding, if we are really to enter deeply into the needs we bring before Him. Take time to apprehend intelligently, in each subject, the nature, the extent, the urgency of the request, the ground and way and certainty of God’s promise as revealed in His Word. Let the mind affect the heart. Pray with the understanding and with the spirit.

Special Petitions

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. -2 Tim. 3:5.
Thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou art dead. -Rev. 3: 1.

There are five hundred million nominal Christians. The state of the majority is unspeakably awful. Formality, worldliness, ungodliness, rejection of Christ’s service, ignorance, and indifference – to what an extent does all this prevail. We pray for the heathen – oh! do let us pray for those bearing Christ’s name – many in worse than heathen darkness. Does not one feel as if one ought to begin to give up his life, and to cry day and night to God for souls? In answer to prayer God gives the power of the Holy Ghost.

How to Pray – In Deep Stillness of Soul

My soul is silent unto God: from Him cometh my salvation. -Ps. 62:1.

Prayer has its power in God alone. The nearer a man comes to God Himself, the deeper he enters into God’s will; the more he takes hold of God, the more power in prayer. God must reveal Himself. If it please Him to make Himself known, He can make the heart conscious of His presence. Our posture must be that of holy reverence, of quiet waiting and adoration. As your month of intercession passes on, and you feel the greatness of your work, be still before God. Thus you will get power to pray.

Special Petitions

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Behold, these shall come from far; and these from the land of Sinim. -Isa. 49: 12.
Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall haste to stretch out her hands to God. -Ps. 68:31.
I the Lord will hasten it in his time. -Isa. 60:22.

Pray for the heathen, who are yet without the Word. Think of China, with her three hundred millions – a million a month dying without Christ. Think of Dark Africa, with its two hundred millions. Think of thirty millions a year going down into the thick darkness. If Christ gave His life for them, will you not do so? You can give yourself up to intercede for them. Just begin, if you have never yet begun, with this simple monthly school of intercession. The ten minutes you give will make you feel this is not enough. God’s Spirit will draw you on. Persevere, however feeble you are. Ask God to give you some country or tribe to pray for. Can anything be nobler than to do as Christ did? Give your life for the heathen.

How to Pray – With Confident Expectation of an Answer

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and will shew thee great things and difficult, which thou knowest not. -Jer. 33:3.
Thus saith the Lord God: I will yet be inquired of, that I do it. -Ezek. 3:37.

Both texts refer to promises definitely made, but their fulfillment would depend upon prayer: God would be inquired of to do it. Pray for God’s fulfillment of His promises to His Son and His Church, and expect the answer. Plead for the heathen: plead God’s promises.

Special Petitions