Lord’s Day 45
Q116. Why do Christians need to pray?
Because prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness God requires of us. And also because God gives his grace and Holy Spirit only to those who pray continually and groan inwardly, asking God for these gifts and thanking him for them.
Scripture Proofs — King James Version
Psalm 50:14–15
“Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”
Psalm 116:12–19
“What shall I render unto the LORD all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the LORD the death of his saints. O LORD, truly I thy servant; I thy servant, the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds. I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD. I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people, In the courts of the LORD'S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
“Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Matthew 7:7–8
“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 be opened.”
Luke 11:9–13
“And I say unto you, 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 be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
Modernized Commentary — Zacharias Ursinus (1616)
The purpose of the ninth commandment is to establish and preserve truth among people. It therefore forbids false testimony and everything closely related to it, all of which falls under the broader category of lying. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Within this negative command, there is also a positive one: You shall bear true witness for your neighbor. In other words, if you want to be a person of integrity, cultivate a love for truth in both learning and speaking. The foundation and source of all the virtues this commandment requires is truth itself, or more precisely, veracity in our words, thoughts, judgments, contracts, and doctrine. When we speak of truth in this context, we mean the agreement between what we know or say and the actual reality of the thing we're describing. A statement is true when it aligns with the thing itself. By the same logic, falsehood is the source and root of all the vices this commandment condemns.
The Virtues of the Ninth Commandment
1. Truth, or veracity, is a firm commitment of the will by which we consistently hold to what is true, profess and defend it as duty and circumstance require, keep our contracts and promises, and avoid all deceptive pretense in both speech and conduct, for the glory of God and the good of our neighbor. With this end in view, the devil cannot be called truthful, even when he happens to say something true; for only the person who speaks and loves the truth, and genuinely desires to promote it for God's glory and the welfare of others, deserves to be called true. Aristotle addresses this virtue briefly but brilliantly in his Ethics. He assigns truthfulness in contracts to the domain of justice, and reserves the title of a true man for the person who is honest in speech and life even when honesty brings him no personal advantage, and who is consistently so by habit. This observation reinforces the point that the devil and dishonest people are liars at their core, not truthful, even when they occasionally say something accurate., or boldness, which is the virtue by which we profess the truth fearlessly and willingly, to whatever degree the time, place, and urgency of the situation demand. The confession of the truth is required both here and in the third commandment, since the same virtue can be viewed from different angles and fall under the scope of more than one commandment. Yet what is required here differs from what is required there. In the third commandment, the confession of truth is required as the direct worship and praise of God; here, it is required because we refuse to deceive our neighbor and genuinely want his reputation and well-being to be protected.