SO said a poor sick woman to the one who was seeking to lead her to Christ. She was deeply in earnest, and very sensible of her sinfulness; but had not found peace with God. The fact was that she was not yet on the right way to obtain it. Her visitor was much concerned about her, so he very simply pointed out her mistake, and told her that instead of praying for faith, she ought without delay to obey the command of the gospel, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” He told her that he feared she was trusting in her own prayers and efforts instead of coming straight to Jesus and accepting Him as her personal and all-sufficient Saviour.
At length, after many days of struggling with her unbelieving heart and stubborn will, she looked to that blessed Redeemer, who on the cross with dying breath cried, “It is finished,” and she realized the truth that He had then offered Himself as the one completed sacrifice for the whole world and therefore for her. When she saw this to be indeed the truth, in her own simple way she kept repeating the chorus of the well-known hymn—
“I do believe, I will believe
That Jesus died for me,
That on the cross He shed His blood
From sin to set me free.”
So she became ready with the devout Simeon to sing, “Lord, lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.”
Hers was just the mistake into which thousands of even well-educated persons fall—praying for salvation instead of simply taking it by faith. When we have believed, the Holy Spirit will seal our faith, teach us, and take of the things of Christ and show them unto us. But when at first the Holy Spirit in His Word points us to Christ as the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world, we should not hesitate for a moment to turn to Him in faith, as the Almighty and all-loving deliverer from the guilt and power of sin. With such direct looking to Jesus and hearty acceptance of mercy is linked true peace of mind and salvation. In the language of another hymn we would say to such persons—
“Come, thou weary, Jesus calls thee
To His wounded side,
Come to Me, saith He, and ever
Safe abide.
Dost thou feel thy life is weary?
Is thy soul distressed?
Take this offer, wait no longer,
Be at rest.”
Very different from this poor woman’s was the experience of a bricklayer who had fallen from a high scaffold, and had been taken up in a sadly injured and dying state, though quite conscious. A Christian minister went to him, and with deep sympathy and earnestness said, “My friend, I am afraid that your end is near, so take my advice and make your peace with God at once.” He had never seen him before and did not know how it was with his soul. He was therefore much surprised and pleased by his bright reply, “Oh, sir,” the dying man faltered out, “thank God, I have no need to do that, for my peace was made nineteen centuries ago, when my Saviour died on the cross in my place, and was suffering for my justification, and in that peace I am not afraid to die.” He had evidently looked and was looking unto Jesus, and had found life in a look at the crucified One.
Very clear are our Lord’s words in John 5:3434But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. (John 5:34) (R.V), “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life.” Here we see that all that is required is that we should hear His word and believe the Father, who hath sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world, and that when we do so in truth with all our hearts, we have everlasting life. There is nothing said about our hoping, or seeking, or praying for life, but that whosoever complies with these conditions has life, and that life is everlasting. “Faith cometh by hearing,” not by praying.
Our first concern, therefore, should be, not about the nature or degree of our faith, but about the object on which our faith is directed, the Lord Jesus Christ. If I wish to behold the sun in his mid-day splendor, I do not examine my eyes to find out whether they are sound and clear, I direct my gaze to it and look on it so far as I can. So, if we feel our need of Christ, we are not to ask for grace to believe on Him, but to simply believe Him at once. An Irish boy being asked what was saving grace, made this true and admirable answer, “It is grasping Christ with the heart.”
At the same time, we should not be backward to pray for a larger measure of faith, as well as of every other Christian grace. Faith is after all a gift of God (see Eph. 2:88For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Ephesians 2:8)). The apostles therefore did well when they had been exhorted by their Divine Master to carry to the uttermost length the difficult duty of forgiving those that had offended them, to say, “Lord, increase our faith.” “The increase of faith,” wrote Matthew Henry, the great commentator, “we should earnestly desire, and we should offer up that desire to God in prayer.” So when, with the father of the demoniac boy, we are conscious of the weakness of our confidence in God’s promises, and are told of the wonderful power of faith, it is not only natural but right to urge the same petition as he did, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief” (Mark 9:2424And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. (Mark 9:24)); that is a cry of the struggling heart, which is sure of a full and gracious answer. Still we are nowhere in the Bible told or commanded to pray for faith. We are everywhere by precepts, examples, promises, encouraged to exercise it. Like the man with the withered hand, we are to stretch out our souls in the attitude of believing trust and expectation of the blessings, spiritual or temporal, that we need: Then according to our faith, so will it be to us.
“Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve,
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come.”
W. B.