January 1, 1916. Must watch against getting up too late these intensely cold mornings. The indwelling Christ is my successful weapon against all sin these days-praise Him!
Sunday, Jan. 2. An earnest desire to save souls is on me, but prayer is rather unstable. I must regain my equilibrium in the prayer life. I must maintain, also, my abiding in Christ, by prayer without ceasing (silent), which I am now finding blessedly possible. Romans 6 is not now my weapon so much as John 15.
Tuesday, Jan. 4. Finished Finney’s autobiography; much help received from it. Finney’s strong point is the using of means to an end. My own leading is not a little along that line also. I do not intend to be one of those who bemoan little results, while “resting in the faithfulness of God.” My cue is to take hold of the faithfulness of God and use the means necessary to secure big results.
Sunday, Jan. 16. Not a single person at service in the morning …. The walls of Jericho fell down “by faith.” Of all the instances of faith in Hebrews 11, this corresponds most nearly to my case. But not faith only was necessary; the wall fell down after it had been compassed about for seven days. Seven days’ patience was required, and diligent compassing of the city every day-which seems to typify encompassing the situation by regular, systematic prayer. Here then we see God’s way of success in our work, whatever it may be-a trinity of prayer, faith and patience.
Jan. 18. Prayer, today, rather on general than particular lines; patience the chief thought. Abraham was called out by God and went in blind faith. When he got to the land of promise, he found nothing but a famine-much like me with the Lisu, these two years. But Abraham, or his seed, later on possessed the milk and honey of the whole land. God’s time had come for Abraham but not for the Amorites. God’s time has come for me, but not perhaps, just this month or this year, for the Lisu.
Am impressed, too, that I do not yet know the channels which the grace of God is going to cut out among the people here. Hence general prayer has its place, until God’s plan is revealed a little more fully.
There have been a few souls who had professed Christ, but in temptation they had fallen back into the ways of their old life. Fraser was brought more and more to a keen realization of the forces arrayed against him, and also of his need for believers in the homeland who would cooperate with him in prayer.
Feb. 4. No meal till 2 p.m. Thoroughly depressed about state of work at Tantsah. Feel much inclined to “let Ephraim alone,” but I am torn between two alternatives, for I seem to have no leading to leave Tantsah. My prayer is not so much, “Lord lead me somewhere else,” as “Lord, give me a solid church here at Tantsah.”
Feb. 5. I am not taking the black, despondent view I took yesterday. The opposition will not be overcome by reasoning or by pleading, but (chiefly) by steady, persistent prayer. The men need not be dealt with (it is a heart-breaking job, trying to deal with a Lisu possessed by a spirit of fear) but the powers of darkness need to be fought. I am now setting my face like a flint: if the work seems to fail, then pray; if services, etc., fall flat, then pray still more; if months slip by with little or no result, then pray still more and get others to help you.
Mar. 13. Cloud seems to have lifted considerably-perhaps because prayer burden fought right through …. After much pressure, even agony, in prayer for Lisu souls, enabled to break through into liberty, and to pray the definite prayer of faith for signal blessing among the Lisu during the next few months …. Real, prevailing prayer, for the first time for a week or more, and well worth the travail that led up to it …. Much peace and rest of soul after making that definite prayer, and almost ecstatic joy to think of the Lisu Christian families I am going to get.
Aug. 27. The Cross is going to hurt-let it hurt! I am going to work hard and pray hard too, by God’s grace.