David Pawson - Prayer to The Father

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Thoughtful Thoughts 11.7.25 by John Dunning. WHY PRAY?

PROLOGUE…

Today we look at a story behind a hymn, then we see Joshua’s learning experience of what happened when he skipped over checking in with God…

Our devotional page provides a link to the movie of William Carey, missionary to India. A link to that devotional page is at the end of this study.

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1). INTRODUCTION TO  “WHY PRAY?”

When King David of Israel, shared his prayers in the Psalms, pouring out his heartfelt problems to God, his prayer turned his emotional and mental state from looking at the problem, to looking at God instead.

That background helps us to see the value of the prayer by Scriven turned into a hymn by a composer, that we know as, “What a friend we have in Jesus”. Behind the hymn, there was personal distress…

In 1844 Scriven’s fiancée was thrown from her horse and drowned in the River Bann, the day before their wedding. Overwhelmed by grief, Scriven left Ireland for Canada in 1845, settling in Port Hope, Ontario. In Canada, Scriven committed his life to God and service, at 25.

A decade after his first fiancée’s death, Scriven fell in love with Eliza Roach who died from pneumonia in 1860. Despite these losses, Scriven’s faith remained, writing “What a friend we have in Jesus” for his mother. In 1865 Charles Converse put the prayer to music, making it one of the best known hymns of all time…which we can see later…

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In the book of Joshua, we see what happened when Joshua still hadn’t discovered what would happen if he didn’t “take it to the Lord in prayer…” (although Joshua did learn by experience, that’s not today’s lesson!)

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When I get on my knees, I can stand up to anything!

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2). WHY PRAY?

A). Joshua’s 1st mistake…

– Joshua had just had an amazing victory at Jericho… So much so, that he became over-confident by not asking God before attacking Ai. He ASSUMED it would be a ‘pushover’, because he PRESUMED on God. As a result Israel was soundly defeated. Then Joshua blamed God (Joshua 7:7-9)...

God answered that He had not helped Israel because someone had broken the conditions of God helping them at Jericho. 

As Joshua had not asked God first before attacking Ai, he was in total ignorance that God had departed from them because of disobedience. Joshua had not prayed…

Then, Joshua used what was called the “Lot”, which showed who had disobeyed by looting at Jericho. The guilty party was executed… and by dealing with the crime, God helped the Israelites again, with a total victory at Ai.

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B). Joshua’s 2nd mistake…

– Then along came the Gibeonites who tricked Joshua by lying, in order to have a peace treaty, (Joshua 9). They pretended that they lived in a far away country. Again Joshua didn’t ask God and he took their words at face value. In reality, those people lived just around the corner.

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c). Joshua’s 3rd mistake…

– Tribes put up a heap of stones, and a misunderstanding arose. (Joshua 22:12). A rumour started that the tribe of Reuben and half the tribe of Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh had set up a rival altar to the official one, which was forbidden. So the Israelites mobilised the whole army of all the tribes, to go up against the tribe of Reuben. 

Suddenly there had to be a summit of leaders, where the tribe of Reuben told their brother tribes that they had got it all wrong. All they had done was to create a heap of stones as a witness to their children that they were part of all the other tribes.

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These mistakes happened when Joshua didn’t take it to the Lord in prayer…

Someone once spoke of a denomination that was quite happy operating without God. 

That idea was taken up for an idea in a TV comedy called “Yes Prime Minister”, when the Prime Minster had to provide the monarch with a shortlist for the next bishop. What made it so funny was that the audience were able to recognise the denomination choosing bishops who didn’t believe what the Bible taught…

This is the first study in a series on prayer… 

For those wishing additional study, this is a link to a study on the prayers of Moses.

https://www.inspirational.org.nz/products/pawcb01?_pos=8&_sid=b0d9413de&_ss=r

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EPILOGUE

The hymn What a friend we have in Jesus, by Joseph M. Scriven has examples of why we should, “take it to the Lord in prayer”. 

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

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Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

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Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.

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Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised
Thou wilt all our burdens bear;
May we ever, Lord, be bringing
All to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright, unclouded,
There will be no need for prayer—
Rapture, praise, and endless worship
Will be our sweet portion there.

(–by Joseph M. Scriven)

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This is John Dunning signing off from “Thoughtful Thoughts” for another week.

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