Thomas Watson’s wisdom on prayer can strengthen and deepen our devotion in prayer. We have a gracious calm in our soul. We trust God’s answers and timing. We receive the benefits of Christ. We pray for others. Others pray for us. We pray in faith. We receive the blessings God gives. We pray for needs. Remember—and practice—Watson’s wisdom on prayer for a stronger and deeper experience of drawing “nigh to God”!

Thomas Watson (ca. 1620-1686) was a great Presbyterian Puritan preacher who wrote much and whose books are still read today. Watson’s most famous work, A Body of Practical Divinity, published posthumously in 1692, consisted of 176 sermons on the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Watson was a clear writer, adept at providing memorable phrases and illustrations. He joined theological understanding with warm spirituality and piety. When he died suddenly, he was engaged in private prayer.

Watson’s wisdom lives on, especially his wisdom on prayer. Prayer was central and crucial in Watson’s understanding of Christian faith and life. He wrote that a godly person “will as soon live without food, as without prayer.” For “in Prayer we draw nigh to God.” Faith is necessary in prayer: “Faith must take Prayer by the hand, or there is no coming nigh to God.” “Prayer is the Key of Heaven,” said Watson, but “faith is the Hand that turns it.” “Prayer without Faith is unsuccessful,” Watson believed. Most simply: “A Prayer that is Faithles is Fruitles.”

What wisdom from Watson is especially important for us today?

A Gracious Calm in the Soul

The story of Jesus calming the turbulent sea wonderfully conveys his power, love, and the peace Jesus brings. When Jesus spoke, “the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm” (Mark 4:39).

Watson referred to this story when he wrote that “prayer does to the heart, as Christ did to the sea, when it was tempestuous, he rebuked the wind, and there was a great calm; so when the passions are up, and the will is apt to mutiny against God, Prayer makes a gracious calm in the soul.” This is what we need, too. In the midst of all the storms of our lives, we need “calm in the soul.” We cannot create this in ourselves. Only Jesus can convey calm to us. Jesus provides “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) which can “calm our Spirits, and conquer our Wills,” wrote Watson, so we have peace and can trust Christ. Through prayer the “peace of Christ” (Colossians 3:15) can bring “a gracious calm” to us.

Delayed But Not Denied

We pray in faith, believing God hears and answers our prayers. But sometimes, those answers seem to be a long time in coming! We like immediacy: Hand over a credit card and receive our purchase—right away. But God’s answers are not always speedy or instantaneous. Our faith may get frayed as we await God’s response to our prayers.

But lest we falter in faith, hear Watson when he said:

“God may hear us when we do not hear from him; as soon as prayer is made God hears it, though he doth not presently answer. A friend may receive our letter, though he doth not presently send us an answer of it….God may delay prayer, and yet not deny.”

Our waiting for God’s answers to our prayers does not mean God is inattentive or indifferent or choosing not to respond to our petitions. Instead, our focus should be on trusting that God will act in our best interests at the time God chooses. God’s will is to be gracious to us and we can believe God’s timing is the best. While we may feel our prayers are delayed, they are not necessarily denied. So we preserve in faith; and keep open to ways God may be answering our prayers—ways we do not expect or maybe even easily recognize. God’s timing is best!

Read More