The Key to service - Chambers, Oswald

After Noon address at founder ‘s day, the annual meetings of the Pentecostal
League of Prayer, London , may 5, 1915

Chapter XI

Pray ye therefore the lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. Matthew 9:38

This is the key to the whole problem of christian work. It is simple in words, but amazingly profound, because our lord jesus christ said it.

Our masters orders

pray ye therefore . . .

Prayer is usually considered to be devotional and more or less unpractical in ordinary life. Our lord in his teaching always made prayer, not preparation for work, but the work. Thank god for all the marvellous organisation there is in christian work, for medical missions and finely educated missionaries, for aggres- sive work in every shape and form; but these are, so to speak, but wards to the lock, the key is not in any of our organisations, the key lies exactly to our hand by our lords instruction, pray ye therefore. Verily, verily, i say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that i do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because i go unto my father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name that will i do, that the father may be glorified in the son ( john 14:1213). Have the greater works been done? They certainly have. The men our lord said these words to wrote the new testament, and the reason they wrote it is that our lord when he was glorified sent forth the personal paraclete, the holy ghost not only in his power his power and influence were at work before pentecost but he sent him forth on to this earth personally where he is to this hour, and through his might and inspiration were produced the greater works, i. E. , the new testament.

But what does it mean for us? Have we also to do greater works than jesus did? Certainly we have, if our lords words mean anything, they mean that; and the great basis of prayer is to realise that we must take our orders from our master. He put all the emphasis on prayer, and he made prayer not preparation for the work, not a sentiment nor a devotion, but the work. There is a real danger of worshiping prayer instead of praying because we worship. It is easy to do it if once we lose sight of our lord and the emphasis is put not on his command, but on the thing which he commands.

Bases everything on prayer, then the key to all our work as Christians is, pray ye therefore.

When we pray for others the spirit of god works in the unconscious domain of their being that we know nothing about, and the one we are praying for knows nothing about, but after the passing of time the con- scious life of the one prayed for begins to show signs of unrest and disquiet. We may have spoken until we are worn out, but have never come anywhere near, and we have given up in despair. But if we have been praying, we find on meeting them one day that there is the beginning of a softening in an enquiry and a desire to know something. It is that kind of intercession that does most damage to satans kingdom. It is so slight, so feeble in its initial stages that if reason is not wedded to the light of the holy spirit, we will never obey it, and yet it is that kind of intercession that the new testament places most emphasis on, though it has so little to show for it. It seems stupid to think that we can pray and all that will happen, but remember to whom we pray, we pray to a god who understands the unconscious depths of personality about which we know nothing, and he has told us to pray. The great master of the human heart said, greater works than these shall he do. . . . And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will i do.

Not only is prayer the work, but prayer is the way whereby fruit abides. Our lord puts prayer as the means to fruit-producing and fruit-abiding work; but remember, it is prayer based on his agony, not on our agony. Ye have not chosen me, but i have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the father in my name, he may give it you ( john 15:16).

Prayer is not only the work and the way fruit abides, but prayer is the battle. Put on the whole armour of god, . . . Stand therefore, . . . And then pray. Paul says, praying always . . . For all saints, and for me (see ephesians 6:1119). Do we remember to pray on the ground of our lords orders for all who minister in his name? If the apostle Paul earnestly solicited prayer on his behalf that he might make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, (rv) surely it behoves us to remember that this is the key our lord puts into our hands for all christian work; not prayer because we are helpless, but prayer because god is almighty.

Our masters ownership

the lord of the harvest . . .

Jesus did not say, go into the field, he said, pray ye therefore the lord of the harvest. . . . That does not so much mean that the harvest is the world, it means that there are innumerable people who have reached a crisis in their life, they are white already to harvest. We find them everywhere, not only in the foreign field, but in the people living beside us, and the way we discern it is not by intellect, not by suggestions, but by prayer. Think of the countless crises in peoples lives at this time; they are at the parting of the ways, say not ye, there are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, i say unto you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. Pray ye therefore the lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

When we read the concluding verses in st. Mat- thews gospel, we are apt to put the emphasis on the fact that Jesus said, go ye therefore, and teach all nations, whereas the emphasis should be on go because all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Then the going is in perfect order, put- ting the emphasis where our lord puts it. Go ye therefore, . . . And, lo, i am with you alway, that he may work his mighty works through us.

Our masters option

. . . That he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

There is only one field of service that has no snares, and that is the field of intercession. All other fields have the glorious but risky snare of publicity; prayer has not. The key to all our work for god is in that one word we are apt to despise pray. And prayer is labourer work.

The reason prayer is so important is, first because our lord told us that prayer on the ground of his redemption is the most mighty factor he has put into our hands, and second, because of the personal presence of the holy ghost in the day in which we live. We receive our knowledge of the holy ghost not by experience first, but by the testimony of the lord jesus christ. The testimony of jesus christ regarding the holy ghost is that he is here, and the real living experience the holy spirit works in us is that all his emphasis is laid on glorifying our lord jesus christ. We know the holy spirit first by the testimony of jesus, and then by the conscious enjoy- ment of his presence. Pray ye therefore.

Prayer is labour, not agony, but labour on the ground of our lords redemption in simple confidence in him. Prayer is simple to us because it cost him so much to make it possible to us. God grant that we may work his victories for him by taking his way about it

We pray on the great fundamental basis of redemption, and our prayers are made efficacious by the wonderful presence of the personal holy ghost in the world. Prayer is simple, prayer is supernatural, and to anyone not related to our lord jesus christ, prayer is apt to look stupid. It does sound unreasonable to say that god will do things in answer to prayer, yet our lord said that he would. Our lord

O Lord, this morning disperse every mist, and
shine clear and strong and invigoratingly. For-
give my tardiness, it takes me so long to awaken
to some things.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lord God Omniscient, give me wisdom this day to
worship and work aright and be wellpleasing to

Thee. Lord, interpret Thyself to me more and more
in fulness and beauty.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dark and appalling are the clouds of war and
wickedness and we know not where to turn, but,
Lord God, Thou reignest.