Prayer — Peter Orasuk

An assembly prayer meeting. I want to look at it and I want to look at the prayer meeting not only as to its scripture and the support of it, where it's found, what supports it, why we have it. I want to look at the very nuts and bolts of it, the practicality of it.

I'm going to use some headings, but I trust that it will be a help to all and it's been a real help to me. I must admit, what I'm taking up this evening has been a help to me in direction as far as my own participation in not only prayer meetings, but the worship that takes place also in the Remembrance Meeting or the Breaking of Bread.

So let's look then at 1 Timothy and chapter 2. You should know that if you're going to support the existence of a prayer meeting, you could go to the Book of Acts for the practical demonstration of it in three places, but if you're going to go to the pattern, at least, or the description of it, in context, it will be in 1 Timothy.

I know different times we say that 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians are the great assembly epistles. Really, it's 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy that are. There is more about the New Testament church in those two epistles than any of the others combined.

So they are great New Testament epistles dealing with a New Testament church. So let's look at 1 Timothy, chapter 2, and I'm going to read most of the chapter. Verse 1, I exhort therefore that first of all supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men.

Now let me just clarify something. When the term prayer is used distinctly in a verse with other aspects of prayer, it's not only talking about communication with God, it is using it, the term, which is the same term for a pleading or a beseeching.

So when it's found prayer here, even though we refer to it as prayer, it's more the thought of entreating God or an entreaty, where prayer is the general term of communication between men and God. So I'm not looking at the general term in the first verse, that's just one aspect of it.

Supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made, now notice the term all, for all men, for kings and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Father, who will have all men to be saved.

I don't know how you can ever read this portion of scriptures and come up with limited atonement. I really can't see it. I would think you would have to just literally turn away from this altogether, especially the next few verses.

For there is, verse 5, there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher and an apostle, I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity or actuality.

I will therefore that men, I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. In like manner, now here's our also again, it's appeared in everything I've taken up so far, in like manner also that women adorn themselves in modest apparel with shamefacedness.

Let me clarify something. I have been discussing this word with a man at home who is not in the assembly and in his condition should not be in the assembly with the views that he holds. He thinks that a sister should be shamefaced in the sense that she's never looking directly into a man's eyes.

And I told him exactly what I'm going to tell you, that is merely and nothing short of chauvinism. When it talks of shamefacedness here, even though the term can mean a humility, it is the thought of it.

It's only used twice in the scriptures, this word, and in both occasions, it's with God. So it's shamefacedness with God. In other words, it's not brazenly standing in contrast or contrary to the mind of God.

That's how it's used here. And that is done, of course, by her going other than what God's word does require as far as her apparel and her deportment with shamefacedness and sobriety, not with broided hair.

Now, I'm sure you've heard this before, but if you haven't, that does not mean that a sister can't have her hair done in a, I don't, we call it at home, we call it the Ramsey roll, I don't know what they call it here, rolled up and done in a bun, or that she can't have her hair long, or she couldn't have her hair in different strands, or she couldn't have her hair woven together like some little girls do as pigtails.

That doesn't mean that. It is talking about the intricate weaving into the hair of precious metals or even forms of different, what would I say, silks and other things. And thereby, it's the rare word, you get the word embroidery, embroidering the hair.

That's what it means. So that's not to be done. But it doesn't condemn sisters doing various things with their hair. Now, or gold or pearls or costly array. Now, notice the expression of verse nine in light manner.

Also, we're going to discuss what that means in light manner. Verse 10, but which become up women, women professing godliness with good works. Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor you to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

Now, we didn't have one other scripture for it. This should tell us it's referring to a New Testament church gathering. It's the only place where you have that truth required. It's not the thought of it in the home.

It's not the thought of it in relationships or social environments. It's in the gathering of a New Testament church. So he is not merely talking about people praying whenever they should or feel like it.

He's talking about it in the capacity of a New Testament church. And I think that's all we'll read at this point. Yeah, I think that is all. I want to look at it under five headings. Maybe I've got four, but I think I've got five.

Five Aspects of the Prayer Meeting

I want to look at prayer as to the conviction of it. We're going to find that there needs to be conviction. When it comes to the prayer meeting, we need of us say it to the Lord for what we're going to teach relevant to prayer.

It's found here. Then I want to look at the truth of the conditions of it. And we'll find that the expression is used, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. And that has great applications, but I want to look at also the context of that.

Then we're going to look at the care that's found in it or a compassion, because sometimes we say there's nothing to pray about. And we need to take a look around. Then I want to think of the truth of the when it comes to the prayer meeting consideration in it.

Brother, let me say something. I'm not really sure how it goes here in Ontario. I've been to a few prayer meetings. I've been to a few meetings and assemblies. And I must admit, sometimes it lacks, it smacks of the lack of consideration when it comes to men praying.

That shouldn't be. And then finally, I want to look at the truth of the contribution of sisters to it, because we're going to find they haven't, as we looked at the other meeting, they have an integral part of it, integral, that the women in like manner or also.

Now, before we go any further, I think I will look at one more scripture just so you'll see exactly what I mean by what I'm going to say. In First Corinthians, chapter one, just for an expression that's on there for you to tuck away in your thinking.

And it is. First Corinthians, chapter one and verse two. Unto the church of God, which is at Corinth. To them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, call to be saints with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ, with all that up in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.

Well, that'll do. I said we're looking at the prayer meeting. And someone might turn around and say, but I thought this is just talking about praying and that we should pray and that we should take every opportunity to pray on every occasion.

There's a lot of truth to that. We're told not to think when it comes to prayer. But this is not talking about that. This is not talking about the fact that you shouldn't give up praying. The apostle here is talking about the responsibility of men in a prayer meeting.

And that's what I want to look at. I don't think there's room for offense by what we're going to say here, because I think you're going to see it's from the word of God. And someone might say, well, you just said that it's a prayer meeting because we know it's an actual meeting of the assembly because of the requirement of the imposition of silence upon the sisters.

And that is definitely a good reason to believe it is. But there's another one. When the apostle uses what they call an apostolic edict, though, that simply means this. There are people that will tell us today that when the apostle says, and I think or I would have you to, that it's really his own particular thoughts and it doesn't rate the same response as of us, saith the Lord.

They say it's the apostle simply giving his own particular view on something. Let me say this, though, the apostle at the time of the writing of it might have not had a particular truth from the Old Testament or a particular vision or a statement spoken to him from a risen Lord.

But the conviction that caused him to say it has brought it to be a part of the scriptures and it is due the same response and reverence and recognition as any other part of the word of God. In other words, it has been given to us, convicting the apostle himself, and the fact it's been maintained, sustained and preserved and put into the scriptures in itself reveals to us it's not merely his own personal feelings.

It is the mind of God. So when he says I would, it's not just the thought, like the religious world will say today, that the apostle Paul had particular desires and he tried to impose them upon others.

I could do that from this platform. I could start turning around and saying what my response or my thoughts would be pertaining to a particular thing. And I could try to give it more impact than was due because I could be wrong.

But when this apostle in the word of God states this, gives us a statement, I would, that the man, it is the word of God in its entirety and it's to be given all, rendered all respect and due reverence.

More than that, he says, I would, that the men, I will therefore, I would is actually the word, that the men pray everywhere. The word, there are two words, for example, I know that you know when it comes to John, in the gospel of John chapter 3 and verse 3 or verse 5, when the statement is made, except a man be born again, that that's not just saying that the males need to be born again.

It is the term for except a person. It's the term representatively of mankind. It's really saying except a person be born again, male or female. And often times in the scriptures, the word man is used in that way.

Most times, in fact. But there is another word, and I'm not going to try to attempt the Greek, I'm doing hard enough, I haven't had enough time in English. But I will say this, the other word is a gender word.

And it means male. You know the apostle Paul says, I will therefore, that the males, that the males pray everywhere. He is making the distinction. Can you tell me, where is there the distinction found, in the scriptures, where males pray audibly, and the word for, and the women is the word for the females, are silent.

What other capacity or what other situation would you ever have that in, apart from the meeting of a New Testament church? And so what we are looking at here, is nothing short of instruction for a prayer meeting.

Let's stop here. He turns around and says, I will therefore, that the men pray everywhere. Now the reason I read that passage in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 2, where it says that all and every place, is the same word.

And it's a reference to every place, consistent with the place that he is speaking to. In other words, a New Testament church. So here's what he says. I will, in other words, the word of God declares, that the males, pray in every place where this is fitting, in the capacity of a New Testament church.

That's the conviction of it. Let me make a statement, and I want to make it very clearly. Because sometimes individuals think that, well maybe you're not as clear as you should be, or it's a little vague.

But let me just say this. The Bible teaches, that apart from a physical disability or impediment, apart from, even sometimes there is an emotional impediment. That every male in a New Testament church has a responsibility to take part audibly in prayer.

Individuals, I know some people might turn around and say, you don't know how difficult I find it. And you're right, I don't. Some people don't think I have a shy bone in my body, and I'm beginning to wonder.

You don't think I'm shy, no. I'm not. I will say this, I'm always afraid when I get up. I'm always nervous when I get up to pray. Don't let me come to you that it's easy for me to do it. When I go to the platform, I am always nervous.

I'm always afraid that I'll blunder. And sometimes I do. And when it comes to prayer, I'm always afraid that I'll get up there and I'll either go on about nothing. And it will have no source of gaining approval from God.

It won't be pleasing to God, and it won't be beneficial to God's people. I recognize that. But there are individuals that have a real difficulty rising to their feet in a prayer meeting, for example, before a gospel meeting, or the prayer meeting that they hold through the week, or even worship in the gathering of the Lord's people.

And it remembers me. There are brethren that have a real difficulty. It is hard on them. And I'm not saying it's not. But it does not make a difference. In this sense, God says, I will. That the males...

Brethren, that shouldn't be hard for us to figure out where we fit in this. That the males pray in every New Testament church. And it's obviously a reference to audible prayer. You know, I thought this.

Can you just for a minute imagine this. I suppose some sister came into this meeting tonight, and she didn't know any different. It's happened before. I've seen it happen. And I hope when it happens, if it's ever happened here, men have handled it graciously and kindly.

Because sometimes, in their ignorance, people don't know any better. And you have to be gentle with them. But you still have to be thorough. And a sister will come, and not knowing the truth that is found in this passage, the silence of the sister in the congregation, it was really shocking because we had our eyes closed, and all of a sudden there was this voice that wasn't just the tender voice of a male.

It was a woman's voice. And she started to pray. And I'll tell you something. She prayed well. But she wasn't led by the Spirit to do it. That's one thing I was positive of. Because the Spirit of God would never lead her contrary to the Word of God.

Now let me tell you something. Our brethren were gracious to her. They were kind. And one brother just finally, as she went on quite a length, and they feared that she was going to get engaged in some other things, a brother got up and interjected with a hymn.

And she sat down. And afterwards, two or three of our brethren headed for the door, two or three of them, to talk to this sister. And they confronted her. And guess where they took her? Well, I know they could have gone to 1 Corinthians.

But they took her to 1 Timothy chapter 3, chapter 2. And they showed her that passage, dealing with sisters being silent in the congregations. You know what the amazing thing was? Two of those brethren that confronted her were men up to this point that I have never heard once rise to their feet and speak to the Lord in prayer audibly.

They had never done it. And what she might well have said was this. How is it that you are charging me with not carrying out the Word of God that is so clear here when you're not doing it? But she didn't know them.

Let's face it, brethren. If somebody came here tonight and tried to speak out some sister, our responsible brethren, I know you. You would speak to her. You would talk to her. You would tell her it was wrong.

But the very passage that would teach the truth that it is wrong also teaches this. It is wrong for men. Having no reasonable or natural impediment or even emotional impediment whereby they can't rise to their feet and take an audible part in prayer or worship, it is equally wrong for them to do it.

The same passage teaches us. We've got to be balanced, brethren. And so it's not just the thought of a privilege for a man to take part in prayer. It is the truth of a responsibility. I just asked myself this question.

You ask yourself this question. If everybody took part in prayer as much as I did in a prayer meeting, would there be a prayer meeting? You know, I know an assembly, and I'm not mentioning where it is.

I'll mention if good things happen, but if it's not a good thing, I won't tell you where. That's a kind way to do it. And these brethren, they were anxious. It was a small assembly. And this young man came along, and I must admit he was afraid.

He was a timid type person. And mind you, so was Timothy. But he died confronting a mob who was beaten, almost beaten to death outside of Ephesus confronting a mob and idolatry. Not so timid when he had to stand up.

Anyway, this young man came, and he asked about coming into the assembly. He sat back for a while. He was no doubt saved. The brethren had baptized him. So they didn't ask him when they had the interview, how did you get saved?

They asked him that when they baptized him. They hadn't changed between baptism and reception. Same conversion. But they did ask him. They said this, Brother, do you know that when you come into the assembly there are privileges and responsibilities in the assembly?

He said, well, yeah, I know. That's what worries me. He said, do you have to take the privileges? And they said, well, Brother, we don't expect you to, a person to start right away. And then he turned around and he said, well, I really don't think I could come into the assembly if I had to take part in prayer.

And then he made a kind of a pact. It went like this. He said, if you men will accept me the fact that I can just come to the meetings, support them by my presence, as do the sisters, then I'll come into the assembly.

But if you expect me to pray, and he didn't say preach. And neither would I. He said, I wouldn't come in if you expect me to pray. Now he said, what's it going to be? And all those men thought, they thought to themselves, they thought, well, we need people.

The assembly is getting small. We need a man to help with the Sunday school. Maybe he could do that. And finally they said this to him. No. You can come into the assembly and you don't ever have to take part in prayer or worship.

Just as long as you come in. Now they were 100 wrong. They were wrong. And they weren't faithful. They weren't faithful. If the only way we can have individuals come into the assembly, and the assemblies can grow, is on the grounds of compromise.

And the fact that they will not be expected to fulfill their priestly responsibilities. Brethren, we've lost sight of really what the assembly is. Now let me clarify something else. I don't mean when a young man comes into the assembly, that the first Sunday he's there, or maybe even the first year he's there.

It may take him a while to get steady enough. Maybe he'll start with just giving out a hymn. Maybe he'll commence with just in the prayer meeting when the brethren or some of the sisters are able to get together before the gospel meeting.

Maybe he'll just start with just 15 seconds and rise to his feet and say, Lord, we thank Thee for giving the Lord Jesus to die for us. And down he goes. And everybody says, Amen. It happens. But every brother, according to this Scripture, has a responsibility.

And it doesn't mean that it's going to be easy. And it doesn't mean that it won't cost you something. But when we come into the assembly, we accept the privileges of it and the responsibilities. And the Bible teaches that God says, I will therefore that all the males pray.

That doesn't mean they can all pray at the same meeting. That doesn't mean that every day, that every occasion there's a prayer meeting, they'll get up to pray. Sometimes they won't have the opportunity.

Sometimes their exercise will be expressed by another. But they should come prepared to contribute. So the apostle says, I will therefore that the males pray in every assembly. Brethren, I just want to be clear on this.

What I'm telling you tonight is this. What the Bible teaches. It is wrong for a man in the assembly to sit week in, week out, month in, month out, and never take part and open his mouth in prayer. That's not what the Bible teaches.

We have a responsibility. I want to think of the conditions of it. It says, lifting up holy hands. And I know, I've even seen some people, some people tell me that I do it. I don't think I do. But some people will start to, when they're going to pray, they'll...

And I don't know what that means. I think I just mean, we're all going to pray now. I don't have any significance in doing it. And some, of course, refer to the time with Moses. Remember his hands hung down and whenever his hands dropped, the people in the valley were losing.

And so these men came and they lifted up his holy hands. But I don't think that's what it means at all. Do you know what it really is? It is a term not only of devotion, but dependency. It's the thought of an individual.

Do you ever see a child and they're asking for something and they reach toward a paradigm and they just go like this? It is a term of entreaty. That's how he's using it. Not that we literally do it. But lifting up holy hands is really the thought.

And we talk about bowed knees. And we do bow the knee. But God is exercising, God is interested, rather, in a bowed heart. And so lifting up holy hands is the thought of individuals that are totally dependent upon God.

They're crying to God. They're entreating God. They're appealing to God. They're lifting up holy hands or they're reaching out with holy hands, extending them in plight. And then it says, without wrath and doubting.

And the context of this is found in the passage because remember it says this, to pray for all men. Now at this time, the rulers of the land were dragging them and feeding them to the lions. They were slaughtering them.

They were killing them. Men like Saul of Tarsus were breaking into their homes and dragging them out of their homes and their families were being slaughtered in front of them. They were being thrown in prison.

And the rulers in the lands were doing it. You'd almost expect them to turn around and start saying, Oh God, destroy these individuals. Send down fire from Heaven and smite them. There are ungodly men in the world we're living in.

There are ungodly men that will get into governments. And I'm not naming them. But there are ungodly men with ungodly views and immoral inclinations that will rise and get into a place of power. And they do a hindrance to the people of God and a harm to the work of God.

But it was never God's intention we should pray for their destruction. Never! It says to pray for all men. And these men in power, they were to pray without rest. Remember when Peter turns around and he comes back and they say this?

We met men and we bid fire. Lord, bid fire come down out of Heaven. And the Lord says, you don't know what manner of men you are at this point in time. That's inconsistent with the mind of God. You know, I've often thought of Saul of Tarsus.

If we were talking about Saul of Tarsus back in those days, maybe two weeks ago, your family was dragged out from their prison and Saul of Tarsus was engineering the whole thing. And all you could think of is, oh God, do something about this man.

He's destroying our families. He's breaking up our homes. Our congregations are being devastated by this man. He's so industriously working against them. And we'd almost be tempted back in those days to say, oh God, destroy them!

You know what they did? They prayed for the powers that be. And God, it is... You know what they did? They prayed for the powers that be. And God, it is mercy came in and saved the man and made him a blessing and helped him.

I'll tell you something that's wrong, brother. I was told this. I used to work in a sheet metal shop and I was told by my brother in there that, not my brother in there, excuse me, but the fellow workers in that shop used to say to me, why don't you come and be active in the union?

I just paid my dues. I had no vote. They took it away from me. Because I didn't want to use it. I didn't want to go to their meetings. I wouldn't go. And I could be... They would let me exist. I just paid my dues for the right to work in a union zone.

I remember different times they'd come back after they had union meetings and discuss raises and who was going to be voted in. You know what it's like. And they'd come back and the first thing I'd be saying, oh, no, they didn't get him.

Oh, they shouldn't have settled for two and a half percent. I remember what one man said to me. You know what he said? If you're so interested in it, then you should be there. And if you're not going to be there and support it, then you've got nothing to say and keep your mouth out of it.

You know what I did? Kept my mouth out of it. Brethren, we don't participate. We really shouldn't. I believe that the Scriptures teach, and I'm not talking about the fact that we're an ambassadage for Christ.

That's not the truth to use to abstain from believers, abstaining from voting. But the powers that be are ordained of God. God will put His man in. You don't have to pray that the right man gets in. We pray for the man when he's in there until he's not in.

Pray for the powers that be, even those that despitefully use you. But today we shouldn't be marked by literally ridiculing or running down individuals. Because if we're so involved and we know so much about them, we've got so much to say about them, then we should be out there voting.

Otherwise, say nothing. And pray for them. Pray for them. You know, when it comes to the truth of wrath and holy hands with wrath and doubting, and of course, they were not only to pray for these men, they were to not doubt the fact that God could come in and do something.

God could work. God could save them. In other words, they didn't pray for their destruction, they prayed for their deliverance and they expected God to do it and many times God did. But I want to make an application of it.

You know what it is? We can't pray together if we're not getting along together. We can't. We really can't. And it is a slight... It is contrary to the mind of God and more than that, it is spineless.

To get at a brother or a sister through prayer. There should never be an aggressive feature in our prayer that we're literally trying to get somebody or hurt somebody or put somebody in their place through our praying.

That's cowardly. It's not faithful and it's not fair. And more than that, if we're not getting along, brethren, our prayers will be hindered. You see assemblies where individuals get down to pray and they're at odds.

We can say all we want. We can raise all the wonderful words and have all the great features of prayer that we want, but that prayer doesn't get any higher than the ceiling and it doesn't even get that far.

If there's a bitterness, if there's an animosity that's not been settled between brethren, so we can only pray without wrath and without doubting. Expecting God to do what we pray for. But let me get to not only the conditions and the care of it.

Compassion and Intelligent Burdens in Prayer

You know, there are individuals, I was one of them. I remember I used to blame a lot of the older men that prayed long. I still do. I think I'm becoming one of them. The older men that prayed long. We're going to get to them.

And I used to think to myself, they clean everything up. And in the end, there's nothing to pray for. There's nothing to pray for. We have so many things we can pray for intelligently and with compassion and with care that individuals by their exercise bring into a prayer meeting and thereby put it before everybody, bring it before the whole congregation and present it to God.

There are so many things. You know what the problem is? We don't get down before God before and really ask God to give us an exercise for what to pray for, for who to pray for. You say, well, they prayed for the widows.

And they prayed for the gospel meetings. There has never been a day when God's people have needed prayer more. There are so many sick. There are so many with unsaved loved ones. There are so many individuals with difficulties in their business.

There are so many that are going through trials and difficulties with their health. There never was a time when there was more to pray for. The problem is that we don't have material to pray for. We don't have an exercise to pray.

You know, I've said this here before. I know I have, but I don't hesitate to say it. I remember the first prayer meeting I took part in. It was in Charlottetown. And when I got up to pray, I was scared.

Those men could pray. I could still see them. They could pray in such a way that there was a reverence to their prayer. There was a respect to their prayer. There was an intelligence to their prayer. And here I was fumbling and mumbling.

I thought, no, I can't do this. But one thing that did help me, I'll tell you this, I used to pray out loud when I was at home. Before I'd go to bed or when I'd get up in the morning beside my bed, I'd pray out loud.

So I got used to praying out loud. It helped me. And finally I got to my feet and they prayed for a vast number of things and individuals. And there was a storm that night. It was a terrible storm. And the thought came to me, there are men out there and if those ships go down, those fishing boats, those lobster fishermen, most of them will go a lot deeper than the bottom of the Atlantic.

And the only thing I could think about through that prayer meeting, oh, I amen the other men. I listened to what they said. You can't amen it if you're not listening to it. That's why there's no amens.

Because oftentimes we're distracted. We're not even listening to what they're praying. And if we say amen then, it's hypocrisy. But I remember getting to my feet and in fear and trembling. You talk about nervous.

You've never seen me nervous like this. And I just said, oh God, there's men out there and there's ships and if the ships go down, they'll go down to hell. Save them, Lord. Save them. And I sat down on my seat.

It was a hearty amen. People were stirred. They were moved. And before I got out of the hall that night, two sisters came to me. One sister, an older sister, said, I have a son out there. And the whole prayer meeting, I've been thinking about him.

And she said, when you get up to pray, you expressed exactly what was on my own heart. And another woman said, I have a friend out there. Her husband. In fact, it's her husband. And this is his first year fishing.

And I was thinking, if he goes down, they have those young children. She said, it's all I could think about. And she said, I was literally amazed when you mentioned it in prayer. It was almost as if God heard exactly what was on my own heart and expressed it through you.

Now see what would have happened in my 15 second prayer if I had stayed in my seat and not said what was on my heart. Those two sisters would have been robbed of the encouragement and the enjoyment of what was said in that prayer.

And I'll tell you something else. God was merciful. Not one boat went down. Not one soul was lost. We've got lots to pray for. We need to open our eyes and look around. Look at the assemblies. Look at the trials of God's people.

Look at the Gospel. Look at the perishing. And there's nothing to pray for. We don't have enough time in a day to pray for it. There needs to be a care. There needs to be a compassion. Let me say something else, brethren.

I want to balance this with saying this. When you come to a prayer meeting, remember, there are some things that are your own personal prayer and your own personal exercise. And they're your own closet prayer.

For example, the man that gets up and says, and remember Joe and Jim that it's going bad for them. And everybody's wondering, who's Joe and Jim? What's going on? What's happening with Joe and Jim? In other words, nobody in that whole congregation is intelligent.