#4 Intensely Earnest Prayer

Dr. R. A. Torrey shares with us, "Let us consider another phrase used in Acts 12:5, the two words, "without ceasing.The Greek word here is 'ektenos,' and it means 'stretched-out-edly.' It represents the soul stretched out in earnestness towards God.

It is the intensely earnest prayer to which God pays attention, and which He answers. This thought comes out again and again in the Bible.

We read in Jer. 29:13, "Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."

The thought of wrestling or fighting in prayer is not that we have to wrestle with God. No! Our wrestling is against the Devil and all his forces.

There is no place where the devil so resist us as when we pray. What shall we do? Give up?

No! A thousand times, No!

Fight through on your knees to God, and win.

The mighty men of God, who through the centuries have wrought great things by prayer, were men who had much painful toil in prayer.

Take for example David Brainerd, that physically feeble, but spiritually might man of God.

Trembling for years on the verge of tuberculosis, from which he ultimately died at a early age, David Brainerd felt let of God to labour among the North American Indians in the early days, in the primeval forests of Northern Pennsylvania, and sometimes on a winter night he would go out into the forest and kneel in cold snow, when it was a foot deep, and so labour with God in prayer that he would be wringing wet with perspiration, even out in the cold winter night hours.

And God heard David Brainerd and sent such a might revival among the North American Indians as had never been heard of before, as indeed had never been dreamed of.

Ah, that we had more men who could pray like David Brainerd, then we would have more men that could preach like Jonathan Edwards. [He preached on the subject of "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."

But there is a right way to obtain real, heart-stirring, heart-wringing, and God moving earnestness in prayer.  

What the right way is, the Bible tells us. 

It tell us in Romans 8:27 "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh
intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

# 4 Intensely Earnest Prayer, in the series by what Prayer can do, by Dr. R. A. Torrey. Published by REVIVAL MOVEMENT
ASSOCIATION, of Northern Ireland.
www.revivalmovement.org

The next post will be 4/18 #5 Conflicts and Assurance of Revival

[Google images added]

Our prayer challenge: When praying over something or someone, we're to be specific so as to release God in the situation.

Biblical Virtues to pray for your kids: #23 Faith. "I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children's hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them" Luke 17:5-6; Heb. 11:1-40

Our quote today: Max Lucado – “How vital that we pray, armed with the knowledge that God is in heaven. Pray with any lesser conviction and your prayers are timid, shallow, and hollow. But spend some time walking in the workshop of the heavens. Seeing what God has done—seeing what your Father has done and watch how your prayers are energized!”

Our thought for today: Gratitude is evident that we recognize our humanness, and God's all-powerfulness.

Tomorrow’s post:  {I accidentally deleted this post, sorry}

A popular post:    TAKING A LEAP OF FAITH