You must wait on God if you would be refilled. You must feast on His words, chapter after chapter, if you would be refilled. (Google image, A prayerful church).
Remember Torrey's words,
In His last teaching before the cross, Jesus revealed to us, His followers, that praying was to take a whole new dimension of power through praying in His name, through His words abiding in us, and through the help of the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit.
Are Jesus' words true of your prayer life? They can be. By God's grace, they must be. By your setting your soul's determination, through spiritual discipline and habits of prevailing intercession, they will be.
Prayer power is not something worked up. It is not loudness or voice or physical or emotional self-assertion. It is power of the Spirit within your spirit. Can you paraphrase Paul's words and say,
"To this end I pray, struggling with all His energy, which
so powerfully works in me"? (Col. 1:29)
He will work mightily in you as He prays mightily through you. He will burn the "ought" of prevailing prayer in your innermost soul. He will give you a holy "must' that drives you to your knees.
In this restless, busy age most of us have never learned to give God time in prayer. We would rather work for God than pray. We would rather attend another service than pray.
We would rather watch TV than pray. May God forgive us!
Bishop J. C. Ryle confessed,
"We spend our spiritual strength and forget to renew it. We multiply engagements and curtail prayer . . . We work when we ought to pray, because to an active mind work is far easier than prayer . . . The servant whom the Holy Spirit is to use must resist the tyranny of overwork. He must resolve to be alone with God even if the hours spend with Him appear to rob his fellowmen of his service." (Payne, Greatest Force on Earth, 119-20). But, you protest, so often my heart seems cold and prayerless.
R. A. Torrey testified,
"Many of the most blessed seasons of prayer I have ever
known have begun with the feeling of utter deadness and
prayerlessness; but in my helplessness and coldness I have
cast myself upon God, and looked to Him to send His
Spirit to teach me to pray, and He has done it." (Torrey, How
to Pray, 56-57).
Beloved Andrew Murray wrote,
"Heaven is still as full of spiritual blessings . . . God still delights to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him. Our life and work are still as dependent on the direct impartation of the Divine power as they were in Pentecostal times. Prayer
is still the appointed means for drawing down
these heavenly blessings in power upon ourselves and those around us. God still seeks for men and women who will, with all their other work of ministering, specially give themselves to persevering prayer." (Murray, Ministry of Intercession, 36).
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Used by permission of the author and Duewel Literature Trust, Inc., Greenwood, Indiana. Creative reading style by Jean.
Mighty Prevailing Prayer
#149 Go Alone With God
by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
(pp. 312-313) Zondervan
Let's pray-
 |
| Praying woman |
May we take the time to get alone with You so we can be refilled through feasting on Your Word, the Bible.
Help us have the determination to discipline ourselves into forming a habit of prevailing intercession.
As we have seen, our prayer power is not something that we can work up through loudness of voice, physical or emotional self-assertion, but through Your Spirit working within our spirits.
Forgive our choosing to do other things rather than praying! Let our determination to be a part of what You're doing draw us deeper into fellowship with You, and may we commit to meeting with You to pray for things You're concerned about.
I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Today's Bible verses-
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts: (v. 24) And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Ps. 139:23-24 KJV).
"A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels." (Prov. 1:5 KJV)
"Seek, inquire for, and require the Lord while He may be found [claiming Him by necessity and by right]; call upon Him while He is near." (Is. 55:6 AMP).
"A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels." (Prov. 1:5 KJV)
~ Elisabeth Elliot- “The will of God is not something you add to your life, it’s a course you choose.”
~ A. W. Tozer- "The Spirit-filled life is not a special, deluxe edition of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people."
Use the nearness of the end as an incentive and opportunity for prayer, but don't lose your head in the process. What we desperately need in today's out-of-control world are self-controlled, level-headed, mature, sober-minded prayer warriors."
(As seen in the June 2017 issue DECISION, The Evangelical Voice for Today, from the Billy Graham ministry, p. 16)
(As seen in the June 2017 issue DECISION, The Evangelical Voice for Today, from the Billy Graham ministry, p. 16)
Today's popular post-
Jean Oathout: When we see a picture like this, we wonder at the information given us, as to Who it is, and what it means for us today, some 2,000 years later.
Let's hear what Charles H. Spurgeon said in his writing . . .
Let's hear what Charles H. Spurgeon said in his writing . . .
Today's questions-
Most people are settled in their ways, and have no desire to be changed. They may be afraid of what's true about themselves, or they may just like living in their sinful chosen ways. They do not understand that Jesus is able to free them of their bondages, help them release forgiveness for past deeds, and can give them peace. When they hate their sin enough, He'll shine His Light on them through His Word, and expose their real need is for Him to help. (See Ps. 139:23-24).
Why are people not coming to Jesus to have Him examine their lives, when He knows them anyhow, and wants to help them?
#150 Will You Join Me in this Prayer?
12th- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
The Beauty of Brokenness
14th- Saturday's post by James Banks
#1 Foreword for ABLAZE For GOD
17th- Tuesday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
#2 You Can Be Ablazed!
19th- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
Jean's blog
(Click to see snippets of the 7 recent posts)
(Click to see snippets of the 7 recent posts)
Below, you have an opportunity to leave a comment
No comments:
Post a Comment