Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer (aff). Uhrichsville, OH: Barbor Publishing, 2005. 237 pages.
This book is not new, but it is a Christian classic. I highly recommend reading Christian books that have stood the test of time and whose authors sound very much like Scripture! Everything Andrew Murray wrote is worth reading. This book is one of his finest, and it is on an important topic.
Murray wrote the preface in 1895 in Wellington, South Africa. I have visited his church there, and it is a beautiful venue from which to consider the role prayer plays in the Christian’s life. He notes, “Power with God is the highest attainment of the life of full abiding” (7). He goes on to say, “. . . the place and power of prayer in the Christian life is too little understood . . .” (7). He concludes, “. . . there is nothing that we so need to study and practice as the art of praying aright” (8). He wrote this book for that reason.
Murray takes the reader into Christ’s school of prayer, providing 31 lessons from the life of Jesus on prayer. He also includes additional material at the end on the prayer life of George Muller. Murray starts with the elementary lessons Jesus taught and then progresses to more difficult issues related to prayer. I will not cover all he says. You must take time to read his insights and learn from not only what he says but how he says it. I’ll just highlight some of what he mentions.
Murray begins by arguing, “Though in its beginnings prayer is so simple that the feeblest child can pray, yet it is at the same time the highest and holiest work to which man can rise. It is fellowship with the Unseen and Most Holy One. The powers of the eternal world have been placed at its disposal. It is the very essence of true religion, the channel of all blessing, the secret of power and life” (12).
Murray notes, “True prayer that takes hold of God’s strength, that availeth much, to which the gates of heaven are really opened wide—who would not cry, ‘Oh, for someone to teach me thus to pray?’” (12). He observes of prayer, “At first there is no work appears so simple; later on, none that is more difficult” (13). He adds, “To know how to speak to God is more than knowing how to speak to man” (15).
The following are some quotes that caught my attention:
“Is it not wonderful to be able to go alone with God, the infinite God? And then to look up and say: ‘My Father!’” (25).
“Oh let the place of secret prayer become to me the most beloved spot on earth” (28).
“In each prayer to the Father I must be able to say that I know of no one whom I do not heartily love” (33).
“. . . so the proof that we have prayed aright is the answer” (37).
“The child that by preference forsakes the father’s house, that finds no pleasure in the presence and love and obedience of the father, and still thinks to ask and obtain what he will, will surely be disappointed” (42).
“God loves you not because you are clever, not because you are good, but because He is your Father. The cross of Christ does not make God love us; it is the outcome and measure of His love to us” (46).
“Failure does not always mean fault” (47).
“It is often spiritual sloth that, under the appearance of humility, professes to have no will, because it fears the trouble of searching out the will of God, or when found, the struggle of claiming it in faith” (71).
“We want to stand at the door and cry; Jesus would have us first enter in and realize we are friends and children” (83).
“In the spiritual world failure has but one cause, the want of faith” (86).
“Men of strong faith are men of much prayer” (88).
“A prayer meeting without recognized answer to prayer ought to be an anomaly” (101).
“Effectual working needs first effectual prayer” (130).
“A life marked by daily answer to prayer is the proof of our spiritual maturity; that we have indeed attained to the true abiding in Christ” (145).
“Prayer is very blessed; the answer is more blessed still” (145).
“Prayer that is really, spiritually, in union with Jesus is always answered” (147).
“While we have been excusing our unanswered prayers, our impotence in prayer, with a fancied submission to God’s wisdom and will, the real reason has been that our own feeble life has been the cause of our feeble prayers” (151).
“Entire consecration to the fulfilment of our calling is the condition of effectual prayer . . .” (154).
“Jesus solemnly gives to all His disciples a general and unlimited power of the free use of His name at all times for all they desire. He could not do this if He did not know that He could trust us with His interests, that His honor would be safe in our hands” (160).
“We understand then that our true aim must not be to work much and have prayer enough to keep the work aright but to pray much and then to work enough for the power and blessing obtained in prayer to find its way through us to men” (212).
George Muller: “I do crave the honor and the glorious privilege to be more and more used by the Lord” (228).
“When I began the orphanage in 1835, my chief object was the glory of God, by giving a practical demonstration as to what could be accomplished simply through the instrumentality of prayer and faith, in order thus to benefit the church at large and to lead a careless world to see the reality of the things of God” (232).
Murray addresses many important aspects of prayer. He claims that the need for perseverance in prayer is a mystery. Yet he explains that sometimes prayers must be accumulated in an area before God’s answer is released (105-106). He notes that children are tempted to pick unripe fruit, yet the mature know to wait until it is ready (107). He uses this example as a metaphor for waiting until our prayers and their requests have matured.
He also argues that tagging on “if it be Thy will” was foreign to Jesus’ prayers (139). Murray claims that Jesus knew His Father’s will, so He prayed confidently without any escape clauses.
This book is rich with insight into prayer. Clearly Murray knew prayer and practiced it. This book is considered one of the best books on prayer. I highly recommend it!
Rating: 5
