The CatechismGlobal Methodist Church
Question 45 of 77 · Wesleyan Characteristics

Are there other means of grace?

Yes. Among them are prayer and searching the Scriptures.

Catechism for the Global Methodist Church, question 45

Commentary

The catechism has called both sacraments means of grace. This question widens the circle. The answer names two more, prayer and searching the scriptures, and the source is John Wesley rather than a single article of the Confession. In his sermon "The Means of Grace" Wesley named prayer, searching the scriptures, and the Lord's Supper as the chief means God has appointed, and the General Rules of the Methodist societies, which Methodism has kept from the beginning, list among the ordinances of God public worship, the ministry of the Word, the Supper, family and private prayer, searching the scriptures, and fasting. Article V of the Confession of Faith on the Holy Scriptures and Article XIII on public worship stand behind the answer as well.

The scripture references for prayer are all promises. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7). The greatest gift is named in Luke: "how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him" (Luke 11:13). Jesus told the parable of the widow and the judge "about the necessity of always praying and not losing heart" (Luke 18:1). James adds that anyone who "lacks wisdom" should "ask from God, who gives to all without reserve" (James 1:5), and that "the effective petition of a righteous person is powerful" (James 5:16), with Elijah, "a human being like us," as the proof (James 5:17).

The references for searching the scriptures show what the reader finds there. Jesus told his opponents that the scriptures "are the ones that testify about me" (John 5:39). The Bereans "received the word with all eagerness, examining the writings every day to see whether these things were so," and "many of them therefore believed" (Acts 17:11-12). Paul reminds Timothy that the sacred writings "are able to make you wise for salvation through faith that is in Christ Jesus," because "all Scripture is breathed out by God" (2 Timothy 3:15-16).

For a Methodist, this teaching fills the week between Sundays. Grace is given at the table and the font, and it is also given in a morning prayer, a family Bible reading, a class meeting, or a fast. Wesley expected the people called Methodists to use every one of these means steadily, and the General Rules make that use a condition of membership in the society, because through them God quickens, strengthens, and confirms faith just as he does in the sacraments.