The School of Prayer – Part Two
The Prayers of His Children
by Walter Beuttler
We are going to consider the prayer of a child of God, as in Matthew 6:6. Remember, the Lord talked about the prayer of the Pharisee, the prayer of the heathen. Now, He makes a contrast.
“But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly.” Matthew 6:6
A few years ago, during the early hours of the morning, the Lord had drawn my attention to this remarkable chapter. As I sat before the Lord, He brought to me a ten-fold revelation of the heavenly Father contained in these passages. I am going to read this ten-fold revelation from my notes that will give the actual revelation, not any explanation.
We have here in this verse a revelation of:
1) The Father’s distinction
2) The Father’s expectation
3) The Father’s direction
4) The Father’s intimation
5) The Father’s exhortation
6) The Father’s omnipresence
7) The Father’s observation
8) The Father’s disposition
9) The Father’s admonition
10) The Father’s assurance
I will come back to these. Bear in mind again the Lord had just talked about the prayer of the Pharisees and the prayer of the heathen. Now He said to them, “But you.” Here we have the Father’s “distinction.” The Father differentiates between the prayers of the hypocrite, the prayers of the heathen and the prayers of His children.
The idea being: inasmuch as God’s children have a different relationship to God, their prayers are likewise expected to be different. The Father takes the position: truly as His children, we are not going to pray like the hypocrite, we are not going to pray like the heathen. We are naturally going to pray like a child of God.
Here, the Father makes a differentiation, a distinction, “But you.” In other words, your prayers are different. They are differently motivated, have a different objective, a different method, a different basis. There is bound to be a distinction between the true child of God, and the hypocrite and the heathen.
“When you pray.” This is the Father’s “expectation.” Notice it does not say, “If” you pray, but rather, “when” you pray. The Father takes for granted that His children communicate with Him. It is not a matter of mere option. The Father expects that you and I, as His children, communicate with Him. So, here again is this aspect of the heavenly Father who looks to you and me to pray, even for our needs.
We read in James 4:2, “…You have not because you ask not.” The Father expects that we ask. Yesterday we observed the scripture, “Your heavenly Father knows what things you have need of, before you ask him.” Why then does God expect us to ask, if He already knows what we need? Yet we are told, “You have not because you ask not.” Again, why ask if He already knows?
The implication is when we pray for our personal, material necessities of life, we are not praying in order to inform God. We are praying in the first place because we have an honest desire, and not a mere wish. God has three specific reasons for asking us, or expecting us to ask, even though He knows what we need.
1) To keep us aware of our dependence upon God whom we would otherwise take for granted and even forget, days without number.
2) To enable God to demonstrate his goodness and faithfulness to us, which would otherwise remain unrecognized.
3) To satisfy his heart by our thankful expression of praise for his bountiful and benevolent care.
God desires to keep us aware of our dependence upon Him. Supposing God would not have instituted the principle of prayer. If the Lord simply throws our way everything we need without our asking, we would lose every sense of our dependence on God. We would take God for granted, as He would not get any credit for supplying our needs.
God does not like to be taken for granted, so He moves through the avenue of prayer to keep us in a constant realization that we are dependent upon our heavenly Father. Furthermore, we would not recognize His faithfulness, His goodness, His kindness. But when you pray and you receive, there is in our spirit a recognition of the fact of the goodness of God. And you know, God is awfully nice. We have the nicest God anybody ever had.
I had gone to Europe; Most often it was the North Atlantic Route: New York – London, New York – Amsterdam, New York – Zurich, New York – Paris, what have you. It was always the same routine.
As a child in Germany, I was always fascinated by the Azores. Do not ask me why. In my earlier years of traveling for the Lord, the airlines did not have service by way of the Azores for tourist class passengers. I travel tourist class when it is available, so I always had to use the Northern Route and could never make even a refueling stop in the Azores. I just had something about the Azores. I wanted to see them.
One year, I was all set, I had my ticket: New York, Zurich, Rome with Swiss Air, and felt in my heart that I was in the center of the Lord’s will. My heart is up here, but you know the Bible heart is not the blood pumping station; rather, it is the center of our personality, our true self that lives in these bodies.
This is why Paul could say, “Absent from the body, present with the Lord.” What you see up here is not Beuttler, it is the house that he lives in. I see one right down there, a bungalow that could stand a little roofing.
Well, I felt a deep inner peace, tranquility, assurance, an assurance that my schedule was right in the will of God, New York, Zurich, Rome. Lo and behold, after all this, I picked up the Philadelphia Inquirer and saw a caption, “Airlines opening up the Azores for tourist travel to Europe.”
I thought, “I could have gone by way of the Azores.” I knew it would be the same fare. So I went back to my heavenly Father. I am talking about His goodness. I said, “Father, did You perchance read the Philadelphia Inquirer?” That is how I pray.
He did not say anything. Of course I know. I said, “Father, for so long I had wanted to stop in the Azores, and now I have missed it. Would You mind if I changed my route and went by way of the Azores, Lisbon and over there?”
And the Lord gave me such a witness, an assurance as though saying, “Well, if you would rather go by way of the Azores, that is all right by Me, it makes no difference.” So, I changed my ticket. After I had known that I was in the perfect will of God the other way, He let me change it. He is not a Pharaoh.
Once God knows that He can have your cooperation whenever He wants it, you would be amazed what freedom He will give you. One year I could not make up my mind whether to go to Africa, or to South America for a summer. I said, “Father, I do not know which place to go.” And the Lord somehow gave me the understanding that I could go where I wanted, so I went to both places. It was all right with Him.
When I came back in the fall I told my class about the goodness of the Lord. I told them how God let me change my ticket and we had a message in tongues, interpretation, which said something like, “God is pleased when He sees that he can please His children. For God loves to please His children and rejoices in their pleasure.”
When He saw how pleased I was when He let me switch my ticket, then He was tickled because I was pleased. So we were both pleased and the whole class was rejoicing. We do not have to be so complex in our approaches to God. Here I am thinking of the prayers that I heard in New Guinea, which is north of Australia.
I will forget their prayers. The people are simple, extremely primitive, and I heard them pray. They use pigeon English. They have a very limited vocabulary. This is under Australian control. This is a poor area really on the island of New Guinea.
They pray, “Oh, Papa God, You nice fellow upstairs.” They have no word for heaven, so they use upstairs. “Oh, Papa God, You nice fellow upstairs, me no am any good, but You, nice Papa God.” Oh! I got thrilled when I heard those prayers time and time again. This is where we have a communion service out of a coconut shell.
If we did not pray, how would we recognize the goodness of God? Furthermore, how would God receive the satisfaction of His heart when He sees that we appreciate what He is doing for us? This is why God asked us to pray even though He already knows what we need. There may be other reasons, but this is what I see – the Father’s expectation.
“Then enter into your closet.” This is the Father’s “direction” that we should do our praying in a secret place where we are unobserved, undistracted, undisturbed. Here, we have to be careful. Jesus is principally not talking about collective prayers in Church. Do not go out and say, “Brother Beuttler said we should all pray alone, so why do we have public prayer meetings?”
We are to pray alone, but this is only one side of the coin. It is amazing what people say about preachers, and Bible students about teachers. When I hear a student in school testify, “Brother Beuttler said,” I have turned cold, wondering what is coming. Very, very seldom do they ever repeat what I really said, so I want to be careful here that you do not get me wrong, to your own hurt.
While I was sitting in the bathtub one morning before Chapel, the Lord gave me a message for the next morning’s chapel service. Now this happened only once. I shared this with the students, because I like to share how God works, because as you observe the working of God in other people, you learn the ways of the Lord, from the way God is dealing with others. So I shared this.
About two years later, one of our presbyters from New England came to school, “Brother Beuttler, I want to see you.” I could tell from the tone that something was up. “What are you teaching in this school?” he asked. “Well, what I am supposed to,” I answered.
“Are you supposed to teach the students that the only way to get a message is by sitting in the bathtub?”
I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “We have one of your graduates, and whenever he wants a message for his church, he sits in the bathtub. When we heard about it, we challenged him and he said, ‘That is Brother Beuttler’s teaching’’ It was not my teaching at all. I related one incident, and it happened only once in my 32 years in school, and at no other time. So we are dealing here in the context of our material necessities of life. Bear this in mind.
As you go through the chapter, you will find that Jesus has very much on His mind our food, our drink, and our clothing. Now there are prayers that should only be prayed in private. This does not do away with public prayers.
There is a need for our going into the closet. Now the “closet” is simply here intended to be a secret place where we are alone, undisturbed, undistracted, unobserved. We do not want to have our devotions observed by other people. That is not always easy. It depends on our home conditions, but very, very often it is amazing how we can find a place to pray.
I was in Philadelphia walking the street. I got a heavy spirit of prayer and I did not want to keep walking. I thought, “Where will I go to have a time of prayer?” There was a subway station nearby. I got myself on the subway train in the last car in the last corner and rode all the way down to Snyder Avenue, all the way up to North Philadelphia, all the way back, all the way north several times until the thing lifted. Then I went on my way. I was in the secret closet.
I was shopping in Gimbals in Philly. I had a shopping list and was half done when I got a spirit of prayer. “Where should I go?” I went up to the telephone booth on the sixth floor, took the receiver off, sat on this little stool there and had a great time talking into that telephone, but I didn’t put a coin in. I had a wonderful time of prayer. I was in the secret place. If anybody walked by they might have said, “My, that fellow has an earnest conversation.”
“Go enter into your closet.” We need a place of seclusion. While I am at it, we can find a secret closet of prayer in the midst of a public concourse, on a plane, in a hotel lobby. Walking the streets in a crowd, we can withdraw in our spirit into our own little cathedral, and though people are all about us, in there our spirit is withdrawn in communion with God.
“And when you have shut your door.” Now this is the Father’s suggestion or “intimation” that we really need to make a conscience effort to be undisturbed. When you have children in the house, if the door is open, they run in and out. If the door is shut, there is a better chance for complete privacy. Sometimes you have to escape the telephone. I have in my study a gadget to shut the thing off. When I want to pray, I turn off the phone. It is shutting the door, making a conscience effort, at least as far as we can, that we are going to be undisturbed and undistracted for the time of our devotions. This is often easier said than done, nevertheless, the effort ought to be made.
Now we come to the crux of the whole thing that I want to take time with. “And pray to your Father.” Notice what Jesus did not say. He did not say, “And pray to your God.” He said, “pray to your Father.” This is an important distinction. When it comes especially to our personal needs, clothing, food, money, drink, the personal necessities of life, it is far better to pray to the Father than it is to pray to God.
Here, the theologians could raise a big question, “Is not God and the Father the same person?” Of course, but there is a difference just the same. The difference is this, and try to get this because it is crucial to what I am trying to get across. God is the God of all people. God is the God of saint and sinner alike. God is the God of all the rascals in the world. God is the God of all people. They do not recognize Him as such, but He is God just the same.
But, He is the Father only of those who believe; therefore God has an obligation to us, His children, which He does not have to those who are not His children. We as His children have rights, privileges in relation to the heavenly Father, which the sinner does not have. What Jesus is saying here is that our prayers, especially prayers for our personal needs, ought to be based on our personal relationship to God as our heavenly Father. He is our Father. As such, He has obligations, and as children, we have privileges. He grants us special attention and discharges His obligation to us, not because we are in need, but because we are His child.
Jesus said, “And pray to your Father.” This relationship has all sorts of connotations. It also means that the heavenly Father will discipline us, because we are His children, even when He does not discipline others. He will punish them eventually, but He does not discipline them. You and I, He takes out into His woodshed, and figuratively speaking, does what our parents used to do, give us some extra special education on a strategic part of our anatomy.
In fact, this is what’s missing today in America. It is this discipline and related things that are missing, that are dragging this country down exactly to where Rome and Greece went in their day. This country is on the decline. We are going the way of Rome, the way of Greece. I do not think you can stop it.
I was a youngster in Germany, and was a rascal. I had a friend, and we went out to a meadow that belonged to a widow. We knew she had a nice cherry tree, and we went up this tree, stealing cherries. She came along and saw us and said, “You bad boys. Will you get off this tree?”
I picked another cherry and dangled it so she could see it, opened my mouth and dropped it in. What could the poor thing do? She walked away, and I heard the voice of a man that sent chills down my spine. My Father was in the habit of Sunday morning walks, and he happened to come this way.
Later, I learned that this widow gave him a bag of cherries to take home to his children, and then said, “Mr. Beuttler, would you please go over to that tree. There are some bad boys up the tree stealing my cherries.” And he came over and saw his son up the tree. I was up a tree all right, as he was some disciplinarian. I knew what to expect if he would catch me. We came down.
Well, I was quick and he did not catch me, as I ran. Pop Beuttler ran also. He did not bother the other boy, as he got away totally free. How come? I was his son. He had a responsibility toward me, but not the other one. Incidentally, we ran for some two hours over hill and dale. We ran through a brook, we went over fences and hedges. I looked back: Pop Beuttler was coming. He was an officer in the German army. He could run, but I was young and could really run. Finally, youth had it over age and he was left behind and I was huffing and puffing. But I knew what to expect. I had to come home sometime.
I got home and he gave me such a beating that all the kids in the neighborhood came together and stood in front of the house, and my Mother finally had to intervene. I thought he would kill me.
The kids had a good time with me, every day when I went to school, for weeks to come, “Ha, Ha, you sure got it.” And I did. I never forgot it, but the other fellow got away free. How come? My Father had no responsibility toward him. I was his son.
So God has responsibilities. We have privileges. It is His responsibility, also of course, to supply our need.
We are to come to God for our personal needs on the basis of our personal relationship as a child to a father. One year my little girl, Norma, came along and showed me her shoe. She said, “Daddy, did you ever see the hole in my shoe?” I said, “No Norma, I did not know that.” She asked, “Don’t you think I ought to have another pair of shoes?”
“You sure do need a pair,” I answered. Now this girl did not take the shoe and hit me over the head with it saying, “Hey Daddy, I need a pair of shoes. Hey, need a pair of shoes, need a pair of shoes.” Do you ever hit God over the head with His promises, “Now Lord, You said in Your Bible. I’ll quote it for you. Now God You got to…”
I think I would have said to my girl if she had done that, “Honey, you do need a pair of shoes, but while we are on the way, let us stop and see a psychiatrist.” A child does not come to a father like that, “Hey you, I want something to eat. Hey you…” Oh no, no, no.
Have you ever heard people pray? How do you pray to a Father that cares? Our heavenly Father is a good Father. Some earthly fathers do not care, I know, but that is not what we are talking about. “And pray to your Father.”
I had it hard in the United States when I first came. If it had not been for God intervening in my life, I would not be here today. I was alone in New York, had no job, no friends, did not know the language, had very little money. I had only a little change left. I had a gun, not to kill people, but to defend myself in case I needed to, and to commit suicide in case I did not make it.
How would you like to get off a boat as a young man of 20, no friends, no job, no language, little money, two suitcases on your hand, an umbrella under your arm, “All right Beuttler, get going.” This is what happened to me. I got in such despair, I stood on the Brooklyn Bridge at the edge over the East River. I climbed up that railing, had a gun on this side with 6 bullets in it. I was going to lean over and then shoot myself. By leaning over, I would fall down into the river just in case the bullet did not work quite right.
I heard a voice. I was not saved, but I heard a voice, “What will your Mother think when she hears this?” I felt sorry for my Mother and put the gun in my pocket, walked across the bridge into Brooklyn and found a job in a German machine shop. That was a close one. Already, while He was not yet my Father, He knew someday I would be His boy, and He saved me from shooting myself on the Brooklyn Bridge.
We are to come to Him, as being our Father. He cares. One day, I had no money to buy any food. I was saved now and I always went to a certain restaurant and got a nice meal for $.50. This is in the 1920’s. I could not go, but I was very hungry, and had no money. I said, “Father, I am going to talk to You. You are my heavenly Father. If I were Your boy, I would give him something to eat. Now Father surely, You are not going to leave Your boy, hungry. If You were my boy, and I were God, I would give You something to eat.”
So I said, “Father, I am going to go to the restaurant without money, and I will sit down and order my meal.” Now, I am not recommending that you do this. “And Father, I believe You are going to somehow pay for my meal, maybe let me find a half a dollar on the way.”
As I walked out of the door, the telephone rang. A lady called from the church, “Brother Beuttler, have you had supper?” “No,” I said, “I am just on my way to the restaurant.” She said, “You are just on your way to come right over here. We have chicken noodle soup, sauerkraut and pork. How about it?” “I will be right there. Thank you, Father.”
My Father cared. You know this thing works. I could tell you so many incidents, but I am going to concentrate on one. I came to EBI in 1939. We had a pastorate, but finances were very low. In school, we earned only $10.00 a week. I had to provide my own accommodations. We were given a little camp cottage that we had to buy. We were as poor as a church mouse. I had a topcoat that was about ten years old, and it looked it: I was so ashamed.
I was dean of men at the same time, and I did not look well dressed at all. When I went for a walk on the campus, sometimes some of the girls came my way, so I went a different way, as I was so ashamed of that coat. One day I went to Philadelphia in that coat. Next to me sat a preacher with a nice new coat, a coat that I liked, so I looked at it.
I knew him well and said, “Say brother, you got a nice coat there. That’s all wool isn’t it?” Yes, he answered. “That is a nice coat. Where did you buy it?” “Bonds, in Philadelphia.” Could you tell me what you paid?” “$25.00.”
This was way out of my reach. And I prayed, not out loud so he could hear it. I was not praying for his coat. Have you ever heard people pray for other people’s things? I was in the Philippines one year and had one of these white nylon shirts. You do not wear ties there. It’ is too hot and humid. One of the preachers prayed, “O Lord, make Brother Beuttler give me his white shirt.”
Well, Father did not answer, because he was not praying to Him. He was praying to me, and I did not answer because I did not think he had any business to pray for what I had.
I prayed in my heart. I withdrew into the secret closet in the cathedral of my own spirit. I go there a lot, to the cathedral where the Presence of the Lord is. There you worship.
I said in my heart only, “Father, will You take a look at his coat and then look at mine?” That is how I pray. I gave Him an opportunity to make a comparison. I am here and God has been nice to me. So I prayed again and said, “Father, will You give me a coat just like his?” I prayed only in my heart, no more, no less.
A few days went by and I received a letter from a businessman. He had never written me before, nor since. He wrote something like: “Dear Brother Beuttler, God has prospered me in my business and I felt the Lord would have me share with you some of my prosperity, so I’m sending you a check for $25.00.”
What do you think I did? I went to Philadelphia to Bonds, to the men’s department, went through the topcoats and there it was, my size. This is my Father. And pray to your Father.”
Now then, I will share the rest. I have told this story in I do not know how many countries, the world over. These national pastors get such a thrill out of it because they have their own needs. I came back to the States and told this story in a church. To my surprise, who sat in back of the audience, but the brother who originally sent me the check?
He came up to me after, all-aglow. He said, “Brother Beuttler, I am so happy that the Lord has made that check such a blessing all over the world to those national pastors. I never knew it would turn into anything like that. Now that is some five years ago. By now it must be time for a new coat. Prices have gone up, so Brother Beuttler here is $50.00 for another coat.” That’s my Father! For telling the story all over and making it a blessing to these people, my heavenly Father saw to it that I got a second coat out of it. The man was so happy, he wanted to give me a second coat.
“And pray to thy Father.” Do you ever spread your needs out before the Lord, a bill, a problem, a personal need that you have? “Father.” Do you ever show Him your worn shoes, your worn clothing, “Father, look at this suit. It has had its day. Father, I would like to ask You for a new suit.” It is amazing what the heavenly Father will do.
The other day, I spoke to you on the manifest Presence of God, the enveloping Presence of God, the awareness of the Presence of God. Now here comes the other side of the coin. We do not have to feel the Presence of God to know that He is with us.
I do not walk by feeling, but I walk by faith. I have lots of feeling. I revel in God’s Presence, but there are times when God withdraws it. It does not make any difference, then I have the Word, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” When you go to the secret place, you may not feel like praying. It may feel like God is a million miles away.
Do not start out with your shopping list and drop on your knees and say, “Oh God, I need #1, #2…in Jesus Name, Amen.” That’s not prayer, that’s parrot talk. You know what the Lord’s Prayer teaches us? That real prayer does not begin with petition. “Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be Your Name.” Take a little time for worship before you present your shopping list.
“Father, I thank You for Your Presence.” Often, before I present my needs, and even say it out loud, I assure my own heart that my Father is present. It also says, “Thy Father which sees in secret.” Then, we have assured our hearts of His Presence, irrespective of feeling. God is not with us because we feel Him to be with us. God is with us because He says that He is with us. This is a sheer act of faith. Then we proceed.
One day, two girls came to my office to say, “Goodbye.” Some just walk out on you, others have the decency at least to say, “Brother Beuttler, I am leaving and want to say goodbye.” I said, “Why school has only started. What’s happened?” They said, “We cannot find God.” I said, “You better sit down a minute before you leave. What’ is the trouble?”
They tearfully said, “When we first came to school, we knew we were in the Lord’s will, and we had such a wonderful Presence. But the last couple of weeks, we do not even know where God is. We must be out of His will.” I said, “That is a funny one. The fact is that you are already in God’s school of faith. God is already leading you on.”
“Well, we want to feel His Presence. We want to find Him.” I took them to Jeremiah 23 where it says, “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” I said, “Will you read this Scripture?” They read, “Do not I fill heaven and earth?”
I asked, “Now, where is God?” They said, “I do not know.” I said, “Will you read it again?” “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” I asked, “All right, where is God?” “I do not know. I am still looking for Him.” I said, “What is your room number?” They answered, “123.” I said, “Is your room a part of this earth?” They answered, “Well yes, I guess so.” “Well if God fills heaven and earth, does not He fill your room?” “Yes, I guess so.” I said, “You girls go right back to your room. God is waiting for you. He is already there.” They went back. One stayed and graduated later. The other one left anyhow and went home.
I can honestly say that the Lord is present in each situation or circumstance that you face. If you will come to Him as your Father, You can expect Him to respond and reveal Himself to you.