Concerted Prayer
by Edward McKendree Bounds
Prayer and church discipline are not new revelations of the Christian dispensation. These two things had a high place in the Jewish church. Instances are too numerous to mention all of them. Ezra is a case in point. When he returned from the captivity, he found a sad and distressing condition of things among the Lord's people who were left in the land. They had not separated themselves from the surrounding heathen people, and had intermarried with them, contrary to divine commands. And those high in the church were involved, the priests and the Levites with others. Ezra was greatly moved at the account given him, and rent his garments and wept and prayed. Evildoers in the church did not meet his approval, nor did he shut his eyes to them nor excuse them, neither did he compromise the situation. When he had finished confessing the sins of the people and his praying, the people assembled themselves before him and joined him in a covenant agreement to put away from them their evil doings, and wept and prayed in company with Ezra.
The result was that the people thoroughly repented of their transgressions, and Israel was reformed. Praying and a good man, who was neither blind nor unconcerned, did the deed.
Of Ezra it is written, "For he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away." So it is with every praying man in the church when he has eyes to see the transgression of evildoers in the church, who has a heart to grieve over them, and who has a spirit in him so concerned about the church that he prays about it.
Blessed is that church who has praying leaders, who can see that which is disorderly in the church, who are grieved about it, and who put forth their hands to correct the evils which harm God's cause as a weight to its progress. One point in the indictment against those "Who are at ease in Zion," referred to by Amos, is that "they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph." And this same indictment could be brought against church leaders of modern time. They are not grieved because the members are engulfed in a craze for worldly, carnal things, nor when there are those in the church walking openly in disorder, whose lives scandalize religion. Of course such leaders do not pray over the matter, for praying would beget a spirit of solicitude in them for these evildoers, and would drive away the spirit of unconcern which possesses them.
It would be well for prayerless church leaders and careless pastors to read the account of the ink horn man in Ezekiel nine, where God instructed the prophet to send through the city certain men who would destroy those in the city because of the great evils found therein. But certain persons were to be spared. These were they who "sigh and cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst of the city." The man with the ink horn was to mark every one of these sighers and mourners so that they would escape the impending destruction. Please note that the instructions were that the slaying of those who did not mourn and sigh should "Begin at my sanctuary."
What a lesson for nonpraying, unconcerned officials of the modern church! How few there are who "sigh and cry" for present abominations in the land, and who are grieved over the desolations of Zion! What need for "two or three to be gathered together" in a concert of prayer over these conditions, and in the secret place weep and pray for the sins in Zion!
