PRAYER AND PRAYING MEN

PRAYER AND PRAYING MEN“The closer we grow to Christ, the greater our desire becomes to live wholly in his presence. Moreover, we begin to see more clearly that Jesus is our only true foundation.The Bible tells us Abraham “looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10). To Abraham, nothing in this life was permanent. Scripture says the world was “a strange place” to him. It was no place to put down roots.Yet Abraham was no mystic. He wasn’t an ascetic who put on holy airs and lived in a spiritual haze. This man lived an earthy life, heavily involved in the world’s affairs.”David Wilkerson, Faith without Intimacy is no Faith at allThe central issue of a functional relation, even of a vocational fellowship, between God and man might be defined in terms of prayer and worship.The prayer altar is perhaps the absolute symbol of man’s surrender to the eternal purposes of the Father. Under this heading, along this thread, we will pick up some small things that have been said about this, the inward journey. Perhaps we will be able to bring forth essentials concerning the building of an altar. A great task lies before us to make preparations to be heard in Heaven, Isa 58. “The main reason why we do not have a heaven-born, Spirit-operated revival in our day is that we are content to live without it.” Ravenhill, Sodom had no Bible.“The Ministry of prayer has been the peculiar distinction of all God’s saints. This has been the secret of their power. The energy and the soul of their work has been the closet. The need of help outside of man being so great, man’s natural inability to always judge kindly, justly, and truly, and to act the Golden Rule, so prayer is enjoined by Christ to enable man to act in all these things according to the Divine will. By prayer, the ability is secured to feel the law of love, to speak according to the law of love, and to do everything in harmony with the law of love.” E. M. Bounds, The Possibilities of Prayer

The secret of praying is praying in secret. Books on prayer are good, but not enough. As books on cooking are good but hopeless unless there is food to work on, so with prayer. One can read a library of prayer books and not be one whit more powerful in prayer.We must learn to pray, and we must pray to learn to pray.While sitting in a chair reading the finest books in the world on physical health, one may waste away. So one may read about prayer, marvel at the endurance of Moses, or stagger at the weeping, groaning Jeremiah, and yet not be able to stammer the ABC’s of intercessory prayer. As the bullet unspent bags no game, so the prayer-heart unburdened gathers no spoil.Leonard RavenhillWhy Revival tarries

Ravenhill:After I spoke at a session in the Bible School of Wales, dear Mrs. Rees Howells called me for a private talk. We stood in the veranda of her home overlooking beautiful Swansea Bay. I can see her finger upheld as she said, “Many talk of my husband’s buying this place with a shilling (fourteen cents) in his pocket. What they forget is that he prayed twelve hours a day for eleven months to know the mind of God.”Brethren, that’s discipline!Discipline, then, is a 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 poverty: “We suffered need.”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

The greatest benefactor this age could have is the man who will bring the teachers and the church back to prayer.E. M. BoundsPower through Prayer

Prayer, much prayer, is the price of preaching unction; prayer, much prayer, is one, sole condition of keeping this unction. Without unceasing prayer the unction never comes to the preacher. Without perseverance in prayer, the unction, like manna overkept, breeds worms.This unction is not an inalienable gift. It is a conditional gift, and its presence is perpetuated and increased by the same process by which it was at first secured; by unceasing prayer to God, by impassioned desires after God, by estimating it, by seeking it with tireless ardour, by deeming all else loss and failure without it.E. M. BoundsPower through Prayer

Dear Greg and Friends,I find it extremely hard to write about prayer. I am not even able to write in a casual manner about every-day-things.I find it hard indeed to write about what really goes on within, in my spirit, in regards to what should come under the label ‘relating to and walking with the Lord’. For one thing, I am not at all content with living without revival. We are right now passing one of those way marks – twenty years of involvement in prayer mobilization, operating a network of prayer groups and churches in more than 100 nations. But I am heartily displeased.We are able to do much, work is plenty, contacts and friendship is fine. But the pursuit of God, and the knowledge of the Holy pushes us – I am including my wife in these things – onwards into a pilgrimage where there is no paths to follow.We are not content to live with words about revival – some of the best are gathered right before our noses and ears; a most – and I say it again – precious gift.I am not content signing a list. There will come moments for us all when we are asked to leave everything behind for the sake of the Presence.I am fully behind the intent of stirring men and women to make a decision in favour of an awakening, a revival, but we have a very long way to go from there. To many are easily stirred, what is left when the goings gets tough is but a remnant. May I ask you, dear friends, to think and pray before you sign. The Father, the Lord, will come and look for fruit. What if there is none….

YOUR DEVOTIONAL LIFEA. W. TozerBe strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. (Ephesians 6:10)Too many of us object, perhaps unconsciously, to the rather evident fact that the maintenance of the devotional mood is indispensable to success in the Christian life.And what is the devotional mood?It is nothing else than constant awareness of God’s enfolding presence, the holding of inward conversations with Christ and private worship of God in spirit and in truth!To establish our hearts in the devotional mood we must abide in Christ, walk in the Spirit, pray without ceasing and meditate in the Word of God day and night. Of course this implies separation from the world and obedience to the will of God, as we are able to understand it.No matter how we may argue, true holiness and spiritual power are not qualities that can be once received and thereafter forgotten, as one might wind a clock or take a vitamin pill. Every advance in the spiritual life must be made against the determined resistance of the world, the flesh and the devil!From Renewed day by day, vol.2

We must prepare the way.

"Let's consider what God does to get people in right standing with Him during times like we are living in right now. What does He do? He not only brings judgment on a nation but He raises up a small group of people called "remnant intercessors" and shines His glory on them. He reveals His heart to them and empowers them with His grace and authority. Then He causes them to model what He wants for their nation. God does not just destroy and hope something good comes of it. He always brings forth the firstfruits before he reaps the full harvest. In a time of national judgment and a need for repentance, God raises up a remnant - He raises up intercessors that have the spirit of the remnant people of God. This is the message found in chapter 2 of Zephaniah."Gary Wilkersonfrom: The Divine Intercessor

Neither man nor God will find much of eternal value and timeless quality in our Christian appearance, prayer and testimonyif the Word of God causes no trembling within – and what a source ready at hand to produce timely stature for times never ending,and if man’s sorrows, sin and misery cannot find a way to touch our heart – compassionate tears flowing unhindered, seed preparing a harvest in days when God reveals things bound for glory. Therefore, pray until your inner capacities are ignited and lighted by the fire from the Altar,then you will pray and continue to pray because of the flaming heart given to you as a gift for eternal purposes.Lars Widerberg

Neither man nor God will find much of eternal value and timeless quality in our Christian appearance, prayer and testimonyif the Word of God causes no trembling within – and what a source ready at hand to produce timely stature for times never ending,and if man’s sorrows, sin and misery cannot find a way to touch our heart – compassionate tears flowing unhindered, seed preparing a harvest in days when God reveals things bound for glory. Therefore, pray until your inner capacities are ignited and lighted by the fire from the Altar,then you will pray and continue to pray because of the flaming heart given to you as a gift for eternal purposes.Lars Widerberg

Prayer is the language of the poor and broken.Self-satisfied people can not see why they need to pray.Self-righteous people can not make themselves heard in Heaven.Leonard Ravenhill

Prayer is the language of the poor and broken.Self-satisfied people can not see why they need to pray.Self-righteous people can not make themselves heard in Heaven.Leonard Ravenhill

If we set out to learn to pray and to pray eagerly, to pray to be heard,we will learn to listen, to hear the Father’s voice.If we learn to listen we will know how to pray,because we will be told what is on His mind, what He wants to accomplish.If we know how to pray, much uncertainty, much wavering, a lot of dreaming and floating, most of the divisions and conflicts will fade.L. W.