When the power of prayer is properly understood, it becomes a subject of amazing interest.  I am persuaded there is a vast amount of unbelief, in relation to this matter, among Christians.  If it were not so, the chariot wheels of God’s salvation would roll on with mighty power.  There would be a glorious movement in every part of the world.  The Spirit of the Lord would be shed forth like a “mighty rushing wind.”  The promises of God to his people are so large and full, that the utmost stretch of their faith cannot reach them.  The great and eternal God has condescended to lay himself under obligation to hear and answer the prayers of mortal worms.  If we collect the promises relating to this subject, we shall be astonished at the amount of assurance which is given.  So confident was David on this point, that he addresses God as the hearer of prayer, as though that were a distinguishing trait in his character.  Again, he says, “He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.”  Solomon says, “The prayer of the upright is his delight;” and again, “He heareth the prayer of the righteous.”  The apostle James Bays, “The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”  The apostle Peter says, “The eyes of the Lord are open to the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers.”  And Christ himself has assured us, in the strongest possible terms, of the willingness of God to give spiritual blessings to those that ask for them.  He says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall he opened.”  But, as if this assurance were not sufficient to convince us of this most interesting truth, he appeals to the tenderest sympathies of our natures.  He asks if any father would insult the hungry cries of his beloved son, when fainting for a morsel of bread, by giving him a stone; or, if he ask an egg, to gratify his appetite, will he give him a venomous scorpion, to sting him to death?[B] He then argues, that if sinful men exercise tender compassion towards their children, how much more shall our heavenly Father, whose very nature is love, regard the wants of his children who cry unto him.  Is it possible to conceive a stronger expression of the willingness of God to answer the prayers of his people?

  [Footnote B:  The scorpion is a little animal, of the shape of an egg,
  whose sting is deadly poison.]

And these precious promises are confirmed by striking examples, in every age of the church.  Thus, Abraham prayed for Sodom; and, through his intercession, Lot was saved.  His servant, when sent to obtain a wife for Isaac, received a direct answer to prayer.  When Jacob heard that his brother Esau was coming against him, with an army of four hundred men, he wrestled all night in prayer, and prevailed; so that