One of the most picturesque descriptions ever read is from Andrew Murray in his classic, With Christ in the School of Prayer.
Murray compared prayer to water pipes carrying water from a large mountain stream to the town below. The water, Murray said, is like God’s blessings, ever flowing down to His people. The pipes are like our prayers--directing where the blessings will descend. [With Christ in the School of Prayer, Pyramid Publications, July, 1976, p. 167.]
We’re taught to ask for what we need [Matthew 6:9; Philippians 4:6; Ephesians 6:20], even though we learn in Ephesians that in Christ we have already been given every spiritual blessing [Ephesians 1:3].
We’re taught that if we don’t ask, we won’t have [James 4:2] and that not to pray for each other is a sin [1 Samuel 12:23]. The Lord chooses to use our prayers to release His blessings.
If we think in terms of a personal pipeline of prayer, it’s established for us through Christ. The strength of our pipeline is our personal love relationship with the Lord.
Our obedience keeps it in good repair, and our confession keeps it clean and clear of obstruction.
Water pipes come in sections, which connect, representing the prayer promises of Scriptures--each to be considered in light of the others, and in the context of both the passage in which it appears and the whole body of truth found in the Word. For reasons beyond us, God chooses to allow our prayers to direct His blessings--when we take the time to ask.
Today, may you pray something like this:
Father, may we and those we love never go without Your blessings because we’ve failed to pray. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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