Many a minister of the gospel has experienced freshness of body and a special sense of God's blessing and presence on the service and particularly upon the ministry of the hour. (Google image, Man praying in pew)
How well I remember a busy day of ministry in Monaghan, Erie. One Sunday morning we drove from Belfast, Northern Ireland, to County Armagh and across the boarder into Eire to Monaghan.
I preached in the morning service in the Presbyterian church, had lunch with the Presbyterian minister, was taken to the home of relatives of our OMS British home director, and shown the family agricultural plant.
Then came visiting with the family and very little time to get alone for prayer and quiet. In the early evening I spoke at a Methodist church, and immediately after was taken to a Baptist church for my final message of the day before we drove back to Belfast.
As I sat behind the pulpit in the last service of the day I felt weary, emotionally exhausted, and spiritually empty and dry. As the service began I bowed my head in my hands and prayed,
"O Lord, you have been so gracious with me and used me
today. But now I feel so empty and dry. I have many things
I could say, but how do I know what you want me to say
to these people? I am like the man whose friend came at
midnight who had nothing to set before him. O Lord, I
have nothing fresh to give to these people. You have
anointed me today. I bow my head for You to place Your
hand upon me again. I need a new anointing."
As I raised my head I saw, to my surprise, a godly Irish farmer, his wife, and daughter from Armagh enter the church and take their seats in the well-filled building. I was amazed that they had driven there and were in the service. I looked at them, and they smiled and nodded.
As I stepped behind the pulpit, a fresh anointing came upon me from heaven. Instantly my weariness was gone, I was refreshed and alert, my thoughts began to flow rapidly, and from the first words I sensed the anointing of the Lord upon me. I gave a missionary challenge and plea for prayer for India. God came mightily and took charge of the service.
Just before the benediction the pastor said to the people,
"This is not an ordinary service. God has spoken to us
tonight. I do not want you to leave this service in the
ordinary way. Don't speak to one another. Go silently to
the door. I will have Brother Duewel stand at the door.
If you are going to pray for him and his ministry in India,
just grip his hand as you go out the door. Don't say a word
to others. Go home, get down on your knees beside your
bed, and ask God what He would have you do."
As I stood by the door, person after person had tears in his eyes as he gripped my hand. Then came the Mulligans. Mr. Mulligan squeezed my hand so forcefully that I almost winced. The daughter, Bertha, about twenty, barely touched my hand and almost ran out to the car.
Mrs. Mulligan gripped my hand, looked with tears into my eyes, and said, "I'll just say this. Our family spent the entire afternoon on our knees praying for you and for this service!" Then I understood the gracious anointing!
Later I found that they drove all the way back to their farm in Northern Ireland without saying one word. When they reached home, Bertha ran upstairs to her room and did not come down till late the next morning.
When she appeared, she said, "Daddy, Mama, last night Jesus called me to be a missionary." She later enrolled in Bible college, married a young Methodist minister, and they served some years in the West Indies. They now pastor a church in Ulster.
That family's obedience to God in prayer had brought God's special anointing on me anew and on that missionary service, and brought their daughter into missionary service. Included in that anointing were God's physical, emotional, and spiritual touches.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Used by permission of the author and Duewel Literature Trust, Inc., Greenwood, Indiana. Creative reading style by Jean.
Ablaze for God
#85 Prayer, Trust, and Waiting on the Lore Remove Weariness
by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
(pp. 258-260) ZondervanPublishingHouse
Let's cover Pastor Paladin's family, as they go through the process of their son's receiving a bone marrow transplant from a sister who is a half-match. Thanks!
 |
| Train up a child in the way he should go |
Father, small children are learning
from their parents, teachers and ministers how to claim spiritual power no matter how small they may be.
There is no limit to our physical and spiritual power when simple faith is used to pray for another person.
As adults, we need to spend time praying, trusting and waiting on the Lord to renew physical and spiritual power, especially when we experience weakness.
It's been said that God placed weakness in us to cause us to ask for His help to do what He needs done in the kingdom's work.
Many a minister of the gospel has experienced this need at times. They found freshness in their bodies, with a special sense of God's blessing and presence during a service when they paused, asked for and waited on the Lord's power; they were renewed in strength!
Oh, for this to be true of our leaders when they sense a tiredness in their efforts to accomplish Your will in their ministering!
We ask for Your help, too, when we become weak in our bodies in efforts to minister in our homes, our churches or on our jobs. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Savior. Amen.
Today's Bible verses-
Ps. 90:1, 4 (NKJV) "He who dwells in the secret place
of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. (v. 4) He shall cover you with His feathers,
and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth
shall be your shield and buckler."
Ps. 9:10 (NKJV) "And those who know Your name
will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not
forsaken those who seek You."
Prov. 3:5, 6 (NKJV) "Trust in the LORD with all your
heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all
your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your
paths."
Ps. 90:1, 4 (NKJV) "He who dwells in the secret place
of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. (v. 4) He shall cover you with His feathers,
and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth
shall be your shield and buckler."
Ps. 9:10 (NKJV) "And those who know Your name
will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not
forsaken those who seek You."
Prov. 3:5, 6 (NKJV) "Trust in the LORD with all your
heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all
your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your
paths."
Today's special link: Maintaining faith in Christ through the college years. Billy Graham
Upcoming posts-
#86 The Spirit's Anointing Enables You Mentally
6th- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
A New Unction of the Holy Spirit
8th- Saturday's post by Lois Stucky
(After Saturday's post, I'll not be posting for a while. I hope to create a FaceBook page to show my crafts that are for sale, and, hopefully fill orders. I hope to take some time to rest from writing and posting 3 drafts each week, and possibly get some projects done! A New Unction of the Holy Spirit
8th- Saturday's post by Lois Stucky
Jean's blog (Click to see snippets of the 7 recent posts)
No comments:
Post a Comment