We are all unclothed in the prayer closet. Maybe this is why we are so uncomfortable there. Do we shrink from the eyes that are a flame of fire because we know He cannot be deceived?He cannot be influenced by anything except pure motive.He cannot be persuaded to give us our priorities just for the asking.Our poverty in prayer is the seedbed of all our failure.Leonard Ravenhill
Our poverty in prayer is the seedbed of all our failure.Amen!
Discipline is the harness by which we enable the Spirit to get the best out of our frail humanity. The Apostle Paul was a disciplinarian like his master:He disciplined his body: “I keep my body under.”He disciplined himself to loneliness: “All men forsook me.”He disciplined himself to scorn: “We are fools for Christ’s sake.”He disciplined himself to rejection: We are despised.”He disciplined himself to death: “I die daily.”He disciplined himself to suffering: Persecuted, but not forsaken.”May this be our prayer, “Oh Lord, I bow my neck to Thy yoke!”Leonard RavenhillMeat for Men
(From the latest Life Action newsletter www.lifeaction.org ):"...David Wilkerson asked the following questions to help paint a picture of what revival might look like:What about your church? Is the tangible, piercing, manifest presence of Jesus evident in your midst? Do the people melt before Him, weeping over their sin and rejoicing in the awesome peace He brings? Do they go to their knees in all-consuming adoration of Him? And do they leave the place with the special glow of having been in Christ's presence?What about your home? Do visitors sense the presence of Jesus in your household? Does the aroma of His holiness permeate your family, your marriage, your relationships? Are there tears of intercession by family members, cries of brokenness, a sincere desire to make all wrongs right? Or does the flesh rule? Every Christian household ought to be an elevated place, a mountain of separation from the world and the flesh, a holy banqueting hall with Christ." ---end of quote---Included in this newsletter is a cool tract about "The Four Points" with 4 windows revealing what God had shown Evan Roberts to be of highest importance. Since this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Welsh Revival, these might make good tools for revival evangelism. In my own life, I find few people understand real revival. They need to be taught. I feel my calling from God is to be a Typhoid Mary of revival... spreading the 'germ' to everyone I meet. So I do what I call revival evangelism with my Christian friends and family. The more people who understand what God has done in the past, and believe God might actually 'rend the heavens and come down' in our time, the more interest and prayers take place, the more revival He does in my / our hearts, which slops over into other hearts... it's a beautiful cycle that grows and grows.Only it's painful too... this dying to self. I'm not having fun. I'm a broken mess. Thanks be to GOD.
This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot and then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that, yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy... when I see my image If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.
Dear Mrs. Fred's Wife ;-) (revival9)May the Lord bless you and keep you.Only it's painful too... this dying to self. I'm not having fun. I'm a broken mess. Thanks be to GOD.Yes, O it is a awful and beauitful thing, that times of refreshing may come. And they will.
Ed, a great illustration brother.Wonder if this application is transferable in the spiritual;Used to make printed circuit boards and part of the process was to dip the soldered boards into a 'fuse pot', which was an oil heated to about 400 degrees if I recall correctly. This would also cause them to have a shine on those areas of the solder. If they got marred or otherwise afterwords you could always drop them in for a quick dip and they would again be purified and given a nice clean shine again....Maybe I am hoping this is the case in the spiritual, actually would prefer to just avoid the oil altogether!
I believe most of us will need the tears wiped from our eyes when the books are opened at the judgment bar of God, and our personal prayer record is read.By a strange paradox those who pray most, feel they pray little.This much is sure: No man who prays, struts!Leonard RavenhillRevival praying
Alone he goeth weeping, bearing seed.There are no mass production lines in grace.This is where the test of spiritual stamina comes in.What is my breaking point?With how much dare the Lord challenge me?Leonard RavenhillRevival Praying
God is bypassing men – not because they are too ignorant, but because they are too self-sufficient. Our abilities are our handicaps, and our talents our stumbling blocks.Leonard RavenhillWhy revivals tarries
How much are we willing to be stripped and washed in the water of the Word? How willing are we to endure the humiliation of nakedness before men, before even the first priestly garment can be put on? Moses washed Aaron and his sons before the garments were donned. It was a public humiliation, and all Israel was watching the preliminaries of their consecration. Humiliation is, therefore, at the heart of the meaning of the word priesthood. The garments were attached to the priests with skillfully woven cords. There was no quick on-and-off backstage costume change. Priesthood is not a role to be performed behind the pulpit, and then discarded upon returning home. It is not a calling that a man chooses because he thinks it is appealing. It is an exacting preparation, not entered into lightly, nor performed with indifference. Art Katz Apostolic Foundations
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