Thoughts for Life: #117 Wrestlers with God

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel: Over the centuries men and women of God have known in their experience what it means to wrestle in prayer and obtain God's mighty answers.

Some have wrestled and almost immediately gained outstanding, even miraculous, answers to their prayers. Others have had special times of wrestling before God and have seen their whole lives and ministry thereafter transformed.
(Google image, Man wrestling in prayer).

No doubt having learned the power and blessing from wrestling in prayer, they often thereafter wrestled before God as they prayed for the advance of Christ's kingdom.

Others have prevailed through mighty wrestlings in prayer and have left their imprint upon a nation, tribe, church, or organization. In their case it was not a wrestling for an immediate victory for a particular person or local place but a wrestling for the soul of a people or the future of a ministry.

Charles G. Finney often experienced periods of great prayer wrestlings throughout the years of his ministry. His whole life and continued ministry were transformed by a tremendous day of wrestling in prayer on shipboard in 1834 as he returned from the Mediterranean. He was praying for revival in America.

"My soul was in utter agony. I spent almost the entire day in

prayer in my stateroom, or walking the deck in intense agony,

in view of the state of things. In fact, I felt crushed with the

burden that was on my soul. There was no one on board to

whom I could open my mind or say a word.

It was the spirit of prayer that was upon me; that which I

have often before experienced in kind but perhaps never before

to such a degree, for so long a time. I besought the Lord to go

on with His work, and to provide himself with such

instumentalities as were necessary. It was a long summer day,

in the early part of July. After a day of unspeakable wrestling

and agony in my soul, just at night, the subject cleared up to

my mind. The Spirit led me to believe that all would come out

all right, and God had yet a work for me to do; that I

might be at rest; that the Lord would go forward with His

word, and give me the strength to take any part in it that He

desired." (Charles G. Finney, Memoirs of Rev. Charles G. Finney

[New York: Revell, 1876], 328-29.)

Shortly thereafter Finney began a series of lectures on revival, which was then published as Lectures on Revival Religion...These writings prepared the way for revival in Wales, England, Canada, the island world, and all across America.

Supported by his continuing prayer ministry of wrestling before God, they laid the foundation for the great revival of the United Prayer Meetings that swept across America in the 1850s and undoubtedly helped prepare the way for the great revival in Wales in 1904-5.

The records of eternity will probably show that directly and indirectly several million people were won to Christ as a result of that day of wrestling prayer.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Used by permission of the author and Duewel Literature Trust, Inc., Greenwood, Indiana, (with Jean's impressions added)

Mighty Prevailing Prayer
##117 Wrestlers with God
by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
(pp. 217-220) Zondervan

Lady praying

Prayer-

Father, help us learn what it means to wrestle in prayer and obtain Your mighty answers.
May we be persistent to learn of the power and blessing from wrestling in prayer, to the advantage of Christ's kingdom.
People like Charles Finny, found that when the Spirit of prayer came on him with a certain burden for America, he spent the entire day walking and praying about it.
As I learn to pray more effectively for my neighbors, friends, church and nation, may I also be open to Your Spirit's moving on me to wrestle in prayer, until I'm given a release, signifying that it will be taken care of.
I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Today's Bible verses-

(Ps. 119:126 KJV) "It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law."

(Ps. 107:6 KJV)"Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses."

‭‭(Philippians ‬4:13) “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

Today's quotes-

~ Ernie Miller- "the only difference between those victorious and those defeated .....is that the victorious is weak and knows it ...the defeated thinks he is strong and doesn't know it ..... For victory belongs to the Lord .....

~ Jack Donahue- "“If you believe your goal in life is to get to heaven, then anything you do in life needs to take you to that goal. It’s like a heat-seeking missile that rejects anything outside the target. And the target is to align your work with your eternal salvation. If you do that, it is a joyful experience.” (As seen on the Patriot Voices 6/3/17)

~ Henry C. Spence- "Beloved, you have been by faith to that place called Calvary; you have been cleansed from all sin by His precious blood. But have you fully surrendered your heart and life to Him who loved you and gave Himself for you, and now is at the right hand of the throne of God, ever living to make intercession for us (Heb. 7:25)? (As seen in the Oct. 2016 Herald of His Coming, p.7)

Today's popular post-

#83 How to Agree in Prayer

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel: When two or more Christians are willing to agree in prayer for a need, what steps can they take to make their unity in praying true agreement in heart and soul, the kind of agreement that fulfills the conditions Jesus gave in Matthew 18:19?

Upcoming posts-

#118 Prayer Groans in Prayer Agony

8th- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel

Where is Your Trust?

10th- Saturday's post by Lee Forbes

#119 Prayer Agony is Godlike

13th- Tuesday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel

#120 We are Most Godlike When We Share God's Travail

15th- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel

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