Thoughts for Life: #71 Kneeling, they Conquered

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel- David Livingston, John Knox, John Wesley—all were mighty men of God. Yet some today would like to rewrite biographies and dig up all the mud, tarnish the halos, and point out all the weaknesses of such great heroes of the faith.

Despite their imperfections, however, God used all of them, just as He uses you and me. Their greatest role may ultimately not be that for which they were most famous. Livingston may have been greatest in prayer. He died on his knees. (Google image, God's mighty men)

John Knox was a rigid, unyielding leader, but he fought and won the spiritual battle for Scotland on his knees. It was his prayers, more than his sermons or actions, that saved Scotland.

John Wesley did not have a happy home life. How could he at the pace at which he lived. His wife did all she could to embarrass him. Yet this man turned England upside down for God, teaching holiness of heart.

John Wesley often traveled on horseback sixty to seventy miles per day, preaching several times. For fifty-four years he averaged 5,000 miles on horseback per year, traveling a total of 290,000 miles, a distance equal to that of circumnavigating the earth twelve times.

During his forty-four years of ministry, he averaged fifteen sermons per week, plus many other exhortations and addresses. At times he addressed ten, twenty, and thirty thousand people in the open air without any kind of amplification.

Wesley's ministry is credited by some secular historians as having so transformed England that the the country was spared a repetition of the bloody French Revolution. John Wesley made his mistakes. But John Wesley was a man of prayer.

He said, "God does nothing but in answer to prayer." Of him it was said, "He thought prayer to be more his business than anything else, and I have seen him come out of his closet with a serenity of face next to shining." Wesley spent two hours each day in prayer.

Rugged Martin Luther, too, was intensely human, yet a man of prayer. He wrote, "I judge that my prayer is more than the devil himself; if it were otherwise Luther would have fared differently long before this. Yet men will not see and acknowledge the great wonders of miracles God works in my behalf. If I should neglect prayer but a single day, I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith."

People spoke of Luther as "the man who can have whatever he wishes of God." When they brought a demon-possessed girl to Luther, he put his hand on her head, prayed, and she was completely delivered. Luther's powerful prayers for healing brought people back from the brink of death.

Melanchthon's eyes were set, his speech and hearing seemingly gone. He recognized no one, and he had ceased to take any nourishment. When Luther saw his condition, Luther began to plead mightily with God, took Melanchthon by the hand and said, "Be of good courage, Philip, thou shalt not die . . Trust in the Lord who is able to kill and to make alive." While he spoke Philip began to move, breathe again, and was raised to health and strength.

In the last stages of tuberculosis, the beloved leader Myconius lay dying when Luther prayed for him. "May God not let me hear so long as I live that you are dead," Luther wrote him," but cause you to survive me. I pray this earnestly and will have it granted, and my will will be granted herein, Amen." Myconius said it was as if he heard Christ saying, "Lazarus, come forth." Myconius was healed and outlived Luther.

All of God's saints were human like you and me, but became mighty in payer. You will never be any greater than your prayer. But you can be great in prayer in spite of all else if you will walk with God. Probably most of God's greatest intercessors are almost unknown to all but Him.

Beware, however. You will never be great if it is your strong ambition to be great in the eyes of God. "Should you then seek great things for yourself? Seek them not" (Jer. 45:5). If you are willing to be disregarded by men, praised perhaps for a time and then forgotten, considered a failure by many human standards, you may, like John the baptist, become "great in the sight of the Lord" (Luke 1:15).

(Chapter 20, pp. 155-157, italics added for emphasis)

Used by permission

of the Duewel Literature Trust, Inc,

Greenwood, Indiana

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Let's pray-

Father, these mighty men of faith and prayer, despite their imperfections, were used by You to accomplish some great roles. They did their battles on their knees, and affected their nations, saving some of them from destruction that was impending.

They preached many sermons, but their prayers were what was most effective. Wesley, even as a rigid leader, fought and won spiritual battles on his knees. He was known to "turn the world upside down" through teaching holiness of heart. Horseback was his mode of traveling, preaching up to 15 times a week, and covering many thousands of miles in his lifetime of ministry.

Father, all of Your saints were human like us, who became mighty in prayer. Their examples show us that heart-felt prayer for people and nations will make a difference in the outcome of affairs of the people prayed for.

May we become greater in prayer in spite of all else as we walk with You, though we may not be known as intercessors of importance to anyone but You. I ask this in the name of Jesus, that He may be honored by our prayers. Help us be faithful and obedient to Your calling on us to pray. Amen

Today's Bible verses-

  Philippians 4:8 (NIV) “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
   1 Cor. 10:13 (NIV)  “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
  Rom. 12:21 (NIV) “Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Quotes for today-

~ Max Lucado- "Something holy happens around a dinner table that will never happen in a sanctuary. In a church auditorium you see the backs of heads. Around the table you see the expressions on faces. In the auditorium one person speaks; around the table everyone has a voice. Church services are on the clock. Around the table there is time to talk."

~ John Newton- "You who have access to the throne of grace, whose hearts are concerned for the glory of God—you, I trust, will show yourselves true friends to your country, by bearing your testimony and exerting your influence against sin (the procuring cause of all our sorrows), and by standing in the breach and pleading with God for mercy, in behalf of yourselves, and of the nation. If ten people, thus disposed, had been found even in Sodom, tit would have escaped destruction" (Gen. 18:32).

Words of wisdom-

~ When something ails you, do you ask for a friend to pray with you? That is what church is for. When we lose our grip on life, let's ask Jesus to help bring things together, and then reach out to someone to pray with/for us.

Today's guest post-

Excellent message for parents of young children

https://nurtureandthriveblog.com/toddler-defiance/

"Preschoolers are very active thinkers, but their thinking is also rigid and limited.
They think in terms of logical steps yet they are unable to apply that logic.
Couple that with the newfound sense of self and egocentric-thought and you have the perfect recipe for defiance." Jean Piaget

Today's question-

Does God have a plan?

The Bible runs throughout with evidence that there is a plan that has been unfolding from the beginning of time, and will be completed when the Almighty says it's accomplished everything He'd planned for. Each fulfillment of the plan came into existence when He planned for it; none too soon, and none later than planned.

As the Father is Perfect, His Son, Christ Jesus was the Perfect image of Him, and He came to provide the Perfect Salvation for mankind. Everything connected to Him has followed the Father's plan, as nothing can make it fail. We're the only ones who can fail to follow the Plan the Father has established. He has an individual plan for each of us. Will we choose to seek it, and to walk it out?

When the time for the Gentiles to receive Christ's salvation came, (Acts 10), the apostle Peter was used to open that door for those of us who were not Hebrew, as they were. The door of Salvation is now open to all mankind, so we have the right and opportunity to become like Christ, and begin to walk out our faith with Him on our way to heaven.

Let's make every effort to be examples to those around us to follow the Son of God. May our lives lead them to Christ through the Salvation He provided through the cross some 2,000 years ago. As we anticipate Christ's return in what is called the Rapture, let's keep our focus on Him and His immediate plans for His church.