The service begins with the readings of Isaiah 40:31 and Psalm 27:14 (00:00-00:28). No introduction is given for John Terrill Wayland, but he was Professor of Religious Education. He begins by speaking about America’s status for popularity concerning religion, questioning its legitimacy. He mentions statistics showing that more activities occur in church today than prayer, proceeding to emphasize the importance and difficulties of recovering prayer in our churches. These difficulties include one’s intellect, devotion, and, most of all, desire to be with God (00:29-06:22). Created in the image of God, we find our highest self in prayer, not merely in thinking or in struggling (06:23-08:27). Jesus’s disciples saw the effects of prayer on Him, saying to Him, “teach us to pray” (08:28-09:16). Prayer is a combination of two great truths: we must surrender our wills completely to God’s will, and we must assert ourselves to commune with God in faith (09:17-10:54). It is good to know that all that we ask will not be done by God, since God will accomplish His purposes instead of our purposes (10:55-12:10). We should pray so that we might find God and His strength for daily living as well as to see prayers answered for the good of all in God’s timing (12:11-13:54). He closes his time by reciting a poem about prayer (13:55-14:44) and praying (14:45-15:20).
