We’re studying prayer in Sunday School, working through Philip Yancey’s video study series. On the side, I’m reading whatever I can as I prepare. An excerpt from one of Jonathan Edward’s sermons, “The Most High, a Prayer-Hearing God”, was Friday’s reading in “A Journey Toward Heaven” edited by Justin Benge. I looked it up online and found the entire text of the sermon, and a link to that sermon is below.
The Most High is a God that hears prayer. Though He is infinitely above all, and stands in no need of creatures, yet He is graciously pleased to take a merciful notice of poor worms of the dust. He manifests and presents Himself as the object of prayer and appears as sitting on a mercy seat, that men may come to Him by prayer. When they stand in need of anything, He allows them to come and ask it of Him, and He is wont to hear their prayers. God, in His Word, hath given many promises that He will hear their prayers. The Scripture is full of such examples, and in His dispensations toward His church, He manifests Himself to be a God that hears prayer.
Here it may be inquired, what is meant by God’s hearing prayer? There are two things implied in it.
First, His accepting the supplications of those who pray to Him. Their address to Him is well taken; He is well-pleased with it. He approves of their asking such mercies as they request of Him and approves of their manner of doing it. He accepts of their prayers as an offering to Him. He accepts the honor they do Him in prayer.
Second, He acts agreeably to His acceptance. He sometimes manifests His acceptance of their prayers by special discoveries of His mercy and sufficiency, which He makes to them in prayer or immediately after. While they are praying, He gives them sweet views of His glorious grace, purity, sufficiency, and sovereignty and enables them, with great quietness, to rest in Him, to leave themselves and their prayers with Him, submitting to His will and trusting in His grace and faithfulness. … He not only inwardly and spiritually discovers His mercy to their souls by His Spirit, but also outwardly, by dealing mercifully with them in His providence, in consequence of their prayers, and by causing an agreeableness between His providence and their prayers.
The sermon can be read in its entirety here. This excerpt is only the first point of the sermon, and Benge left out a great example from the life of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1 in his retelling.
