Christ teaches, not only by His spoken ministry, but also by His order and method. From preaching He descended into prayer. By Christ's example His under-shepherds are taught to realize that the preaching of the Word is not fruitful without the Divine influence of the Spirit of grace.

This same principle is well established by the history recorded of our Saviour's teaching His disciples after His resurrection on the way to Emmaus.

As they walked our Saviour opened the Scriptures unto them saying, "O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself," LUK 24:25-27.

Even with such clear teaching by the very Person of Christ, it was not until He descended from preaching into prayer that the understanding of His disciples was enlightened to understand.

"And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight," LUK 24:30-31.

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself had spoken to them, revealing from the Word that He was the very Christ--yet their eyes were held from knowing Him until He prayed with them.

The principle that a God given ministry cannot be separated from effectual prayer is taught throughout Scripture. The ministry of the apostles was another good example of this principle where they said, "...we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word," ACT 6:4.

Prayer is the key to open the heart for the Word because that is what opens heaven's ear. Those who do not know what it is to hold communion with God may well think like Samuel that it is the voice of a man when God does speak to them as we read of in 1 Samuel 3:8-9.

To fail to follow up on the Sermon with prayer is to forsake Christ's established method. Giving ourselves continually unto prayer (that is before and during as well as after the sermon) is not only the duty of the pastor, but of all those who expect a blessing. When we pray the pastor full, he will preach us full.

See how the apostle pleads with the congregation for their prayers in ROM 15:30-31. "Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints." Amen.

Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray;
This is my heart-cry, day unto day;
I long to know Thy will and Thy way;
Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray;

Power in prayer, Lord, power in prayer,
Hear 'mid earth's sin and sorrow and care;
Men lost and dying, souls in despair:
O give me power, power in prayer.