Constant, Instant, Expectant

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Romans 12:12

Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

I. INSTANT. The Greek word means "always applying strength in prayer"; "blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee." Brooks saith that the word is a metaphor taken from hunting dogs, which will never give up the game till they have got it. Prevalent prayer is frequently spoken of in Scripture as an agony — "striving together with me in your prayers," and as "wrestling." We must go with our whole soul to God or He will not accept us. We are to pray as if all depended upon our praying. How are we to attain to this urgency?

1. Let us study the value of the mercy which we are seeking at God's hand. Whatever it is that thou art asking for, it is no trifle. If it be a doubtful thing, lay it aside: but if thou art certain that the blessing sought is good and necessary, examine it as a goldsmith inspects a jewel when he wishes to estimate its worth.

2. Meditate on thy necessities. See thy soul's poverty and undeservingness. Look at what will happen to thee unless this blessing come.

3. Endeavour to get a distinct consciousness of the fact that God must give thee this blessing, or thou wilt never have it.

4. Eagerly desire the good thing. Stand not before God as one who will be content whether or no. There are times when you must say, "I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me."

5. Now comes the tug of war; you are to plead with all your might. Gather up all your faculties to see whether this thing be a matter of promise or no. When you have found the promise, plead it by saying, "Lord, do as Thou hast said." If you do not seem to prevail with one promise seek out another and another, and then plead, "For Thy name's sake, for Thy truth's sake, for Thy covenant's sake"; and then come in with the greatest plea of all, "For Jesus' sake."

6. Still there is one thing more wanted, and that is strong faith. You cannot be instant in prayer, nay, you cannot offer an acceptable prayer at all except as you believe in the prayer-hearing God.

II. CONSTANT — "continuing." Go back to the hunting dog. We saw him rushing like the wind after his game, but this will not be enough if it only lasts for a little; he must continue running if he is to catch his prey. It is a sign of failure in the iron trade when the furnaces are blown out; when business flourishes the fire blazes both day and night; and so will it be with prayer when the soul is in a flourishing state. If prayer be the Christian's vital breath, how can he leave off praying? "That is difficult," says one. Who said it was not? All the processes of the Christian life are difficult; but "the Spirit helpeth our infirmities." Prayer must be continuous, because —

1. It is so singularly mixed up with the whole gospel dispensation.

2. It is connected with every covenant blessing.

3. It has been connected with every living spiritual experience you have ever had.

4. There is no time when we can afford to slacken prayer.

5. Such remarkable gifts are vouchsafed to importunity.

6. The continuance of our instancy in prayer is the test of the reality of our devotion. Earnest men of business cannot afford to open the shop and do a little occasional trade, and then put up a notice, "The proprietor of this shop has gone out for an excursion, and will resume his business when he feels inclined to." Beware of spasms of prayer.

III. EXPECTANT. It is not in the text verbally, but it must be there really, because there will be no such thing as instancy or constancy unless there is an expectation that God can and will give that which we seek. Go back to our dog again: he would not run at so great a rate if he did not expect to seize his prey. If some people looked out for answers to prayer they might soon have them, for their prayers would be answered by themselves. I was reminded of that by a little boy whose father prayed in the family that the Lord would visit the poor and relieve their wants. When he had finished, his little boy said, "Father, I wish I had your money." "Why so?" "Because," he said, " I would answer your prayers for you." I like better still that story of the good man at the prayer-meeting, who reading the list of prayers found one for a poor widow that her distress might be relieved, so he began to read it, but stopped and added, "We won't trouble the Lord with that, I will attend to that myself." The Lord might well say to us, "Thou sayest, Thy kingdom come; arise and help to make My kingdom come!" I shall close by recommending to all of you one simple but very comprehensive prayer. It was offered by a poor man in Fife, and it was copied out by the Duchess of Gordon, and found among her papers when she died. "O Lord, give me grace to feel my need of Thy grace! Give me grace to ask for Thy grace! Give me grace to receive Thy grace! And when in Thy grace Thou hast given me grace, give me grace to use Thy grace!"

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