Thoughts for Life: #32 The Recompense of Prayer

Samuel Chadwick: "Thy Father which seeth in secret shall recompense thee." Our Lord did not hesitate to associate recompense with prayer, and who can measure the blessings that come through the avenue of prayer?

Those who deny that prayer changes things, or effects any wonders of deliverance and help, are among the first to exalt its influence upon the soul that prays. (Google image, Man praying alone) [Great message on praying for others]

The value of a daily habit of withdrawal and hallowed seclusion is beyond exaggeration. The contemplation of the unseen, the attempt to think in terms of the eternal, and the honest endeavor of the soul to enter in communion with God in themselves redeem life from all that is fitful, fretful and futile.

Apart altogether from specific blessings, the sheer influence of a daily habit of private prayer is incalculable. I propose to consider three, maybe four, examples.

It has been said that the mountains of the Bible well repay the climber, and no life is richer in mountain scenes than that of Moses. For forty years he had wandered among their solitary heights, feeding his flock and grappling with the great problems of his people and their God.

He had been schooled in all the learning of the Egyptians, but when God wanted to instruct him He took him from the valleys and up onto a mountain. It was amid the silence of the everlasting hills that the polished courtier and distinguished scholar was fitted for the work of delivering and guiding the people of God.

His service both began and ended on mountain peaks. On the eve of every new development, and on every critical occasion, God called him and he went up. Whenever the burden of his charge oppressed him, he hastened to seek God on the Mount. What he found in those ascents is still the wonder of the world.

The Mount of God was a privileged place of peculiar sanctity. God had commanded that it should be fenced, lest the cattle should trample it. "Set bounds about the mount and sanctify it." The people were not permitted to approach. Even priests and elders must stop at the boundary. No companionship was allowed.

The most trusted and intimate had to be left to tarry while the servant of God went alone into the Holy Place. The Lord commanded him to get ready and come up early in the morning.
God wants man at his best. All these instructions of the Pentateuch anticipate the Sermon on the Mount.

There is a very special sense in which God dwells in the secret place. He is in secret: He seeth in secret. God wants us on the Mount: Come away! Come up! Come up early! Before daybreak Jesus and Moses were alone with God. Let us go up with Moses, that we may learn what He found on the Mount of God.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

THE PATH OF PRAYER
By Samuel Chadwick
(Click on the title to buy)

Used by the permission of

www.cliffcollege.ac.uk
(Emphasis added)

Let's pray-

Father, our daily habit of withdrawing in hallowed seclusion enables us to contemplate what's unseen, in an attempt to think in terms of the eternal.

Help us to honestly endeavor to enter into communion with You to redeem our lives from all it's fitful, fretful and futile ways.

We see that it was amid the silence of the everlasting hills that polished Moses to fit him for the work of delivering and guiding Your people.

It was there in his aloneness, that he encountered You, and became willing to follow Your orders. We follow him through Scriptures, to see that he often drew aside to meet You alone on the tops of mountains.

As there is a very special sense in which You dwell in the secret place, and see us in secret, You bid us to come away, come early, and to be alone with You.
May we go to the secret place to learn what Your will is for us each day on our "Mount of God."
In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

Today's Bible verses-

1 Cor. 9:16, 17 (NKJV) "For if I preach the gospel,
I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon
me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!
(v. 17) For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if
against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.

Rom. 8:1, 14, 18 (NKJV) "There is therefore now no
condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,
who do not walk according to the flesh, but
according to the Spirit. (v. 14) For as many as are
led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
(v. 18) For I consider that the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared with
the glory which shall be revealed in us."

Today's quotes-

~ Ron Hutchcraft- Now you belong to Jesus Christ; the One of whom the Bible says, "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work" (1 John 3:8). By His death on the cross for all your sin, Jesus broke the power of that sin once and for all. You need to stand by that cross and boldly claim the freedom Jesus paid for there. Your freedom cost your Savior too much for you to continue to let the devil keep you enslave.

The next time Satan pushes one of those tired old buttons, stand up in Jesus' strength and say, "The button's not going to work anymore. Jesus my Lord has set me free." So there sits your enemy, frantically pushing the button that has always worked on you—and getting absolutely no response. (p. 29 of his devotional, A DAILY WORD, vol. 1, Food for your Soul).

~ Charles Spurgeon- “Hope forever, for God will not fail you!”

Did you know?

~ Conversion is not gradual, but instant. Maturing in faith is a process.

~ Our conversion gives us a "bent" toward obeying God.

Today's popular post-

#90 Give God Time to Answer- Part 2

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel: 4. Sometimes it takes time for God to prune from your own life things that are hindering your prayer.

Today's sermon spotlight-

APRIL 14, 2019

Expanded Thinking

Speaker: Gary Heyes (Visiting prophet)

CFC Canton

Upcoming posts-

Leave Room for God
27th- Saturday's post by Oswald Chambers

#33 The Place of Revelation
30th- Tuesday's post by Samuel Chadwick

#34 The Place of Power
5/2- Thursday's post by Samuel Chadwick

Easter . . . On Both Sides of the Dirt
4th-Saturday's post by Ron Hutchcraft