The Preacher and His Prayer Life (E.M. Bounds reflections)

Source: Wikipedia.com

We are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the Church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the Gospel. This trend of the day has a tendency to lose sight of the man, or sink the man in the plan or organization. God's plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else. Men are God's method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.

What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organization, or more novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use—men of prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men — men of prayer.

Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still. He will never talk well and with real success to men for God who has not learned well how to talk to God for men.

It is necessary to iterate and reiterate that prayer, as a mere habit, as a performance gone through by routine, or in a professional way, is a dead and rotten thing. Such praying has no connection with the praying for which we plead. We are stressing true praying, which engages and sets on fire every high element of the preacher's being—prayer which is born of vital oneness with Christ and the fulness of the Holy Ghost, which springs from the deep, overflowing fountains of tender compassion, deathless solicitude for man's eternal good; a consuming zeal for the glory of God; a thorough conviction of the preacher's difficult and delicate work and of the imperative need of God's mightiest help.

It is prayer-force which makes saints. Holy characters  are formed by the power of real praying. The more of true saints, the more of praying; the more of praying the more of true saints.

More time and early hours for prayer would act like magic to revive and invigorate many a decayed spiritual life. More time and early hours for prayer would be manifest in holy living. A holy life would not be so rare or so difficult a thing if our devotions were not so short and hurried.

To pray is the greatest thing we can do; and to do it well there must be calmness, time, and deliberations, otherwise it is degraded into the littlest and meanest of things. True praying has the largest results for good; and poor praying, the least. We cannot do too much of real praying; we cannot do too little of the sham. We must learn anew the worth of prayer, enter anew the school of prayer.

—Selections from "Preacher and Prayer."

Intercessory Prayer's Powerful Potential

"God has a wonderful plan by which you can have world-wide influence. This plan is not just for a chosen few. It is for you ...

• Through prayer you can accompany any missionary to remote reaches of the earth ....
• Through prayer you can contribute to the ministry of any pastor or evangelist in a church or gospel hall anywhere in the world ....
• Through prayer you can take a suffering infant in your arms.
• Through prayer you can touch a fevered brow in any hospital, mediating the healing love of Jesus.

God has given you a way to make your presence count, a way to be a true partner in His Kingdom's work, if you really want to be .... There is no reason in the world why you cannot become so steadfast in your personal prayer life that Christ will count on you to help build His church ... in many parts of the world. You yourself can influence more people for God and have a greater role in advancing Christ's cause by prayer than in any other way. It is not the only thing you must do, but it is the greatest thing you can do."  ~Wesley Deuwel Touch the World through Prayer

God Can Pour On The Blessings!

God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it, 

He throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy in reckless abandon. His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out.
 This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.

~ 2 Corinthians 9:8-11 (The Message)



Let Us Thank God Heartily Every Time We Pray!

Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will draw our hearts out to God and keep us engaged with Him; it will take our attention from ourselves and give the Spirit room in our hearts.

- Andrew Murray

Have You Talked To The Lord Today?

The Summer Vacation Is Over. Long Live The New School Year!

I am joining many parents in a huge collective sigh of relief as our young ones return to school. Summer was fun while it lasted, but I was glad to kiss my three boys as they left for school yesterday. Yes!! Praise the Lord for teachers!

Don't Lose Heart ... Consider It Pure Joy! (6/6)

James 1:2-8
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

Have you become half-hearted, double-minded, unstable in what you do?

Believe God. Believe that He will give you the wisdom you need for your situation.

What is trying to pull the heart out of you right now?

Call it by its name and declare that the Name of Jesus and power of Jesus is greater than this thief, this robber and murderer of hope in your heart!

• Decide right now: I will not lose heart!
• Decide right now: I will encourage myself in the Lord!
• Position yourself in environments that will help you protect your heart.
• Fill your eyes and ears with encouraging promises from God’s Word.
• Fill your mouth with the prayers and praise that God wants to hear.

People are waiting on you to help them regain their hearts.

Don't lose heart ... consider it pure joy!

1. Call someone you trust and pray with them about the one thing that tries to make you lose heart.
2. Encourage everyone you meet today! Tell them to not lose heart!

People Lose Heart When They Are Just Going Through The Motions Of Serving God (5/6)

In this time with so many people discouraged and overwhelmed, I share these thoughts on “not losing heart.” I preached from these notes last year in May after listening to a sermon by Pastor Brian Houston from Australia. I present these ideas in six subsequent posts.

WHEN DO PEOPLE LOSE HEART?

4. People Lose Heart When They Get Stuck In The Rut Of Merely Going Through The Motions Of Serving God.

Maybe you are still reading the Bible, praying and praising God. Maybe you are still faithfully serving His people in your local church, but it all has lost its spark, its passion, its heart. Almost like Martha, who lost her joy and became discouraged in the midst of serving the Lord. She even felt the need to complain about her sister to the Lord.

On the other hand, her sister Mary knew to seek His face first, and to sit in His presence long enough to find out what He desires. That positioned her to not become weary and lose heart, like Martha did. She considered Him first!

Hebrews 12:3
3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Don’t get tired in the battle!

If you are feeling like Martha, with fatigue settling into your life, consider HIM!

Look at His life, His sacrifice, His example, His faithfulness, His promises ....

Consider Him, don’t just go through the mechanics of serving Him. If not, you will be defeated and overwhelmed by life’s many challenges.

2 Samuel 22:46
46 They all lose heart; they come trembling from their strongholds.

David had a revelation of what happens when people lose heart ... They will end up coming trembling from their strongholds (their place of refuge and safety) and they will submit to the opposition.

 That’s why David urged King Saul and the people to not lose heart at the sight of Goliath, the Philistine giant.

Maybe that is what is happening to many believers right now .... They are abandoning their Refuge, their Stronghold, namely the Lord. They are submitting to the opposition with trembling, because they have lost heart in the midst of the battle!

It is imperative, of utmost importance, to take heart in the midst of our trials, our tribulations, and to not lose our cheer, our courage, our zeal and passion for God, for His House or His cause! 

We must keep our heart, our zeal for the purposes of God!

Whatever it is that God called you to do ... don’t lose your heart for it! So many things in your life are trying to pull your heart out of your God-given purpose and destiny. You cannot allow this to happen!

You cannot afford to lose your passion, your fire, your zeal for God’s purposes in your life! The enemy wants you to lose heart, and to come trembling out of your Stronghold, surrendering to mediocrity and compromise.

Again, if you are feeling like Martha, with fatigue settling into your life, consider HIM! Look at His life, His sacrifice, His example, His faithfulness, His promises …. Don’t just go through the mechanics of serving Him.

Consider Him first.

People Lose Heart When They Get Emotional About What Is Happening In Their Nation (4/6)

 WHEN DO PEOPLE LOSE HEART?

3. People Lose Heart When They Get Emotional About What Is Happening In Their Nation.

Jeremiah 51:46

46 Do not lose heart or be afraid when rumors are heard in the land; one rumor comes this year, another the next, rumors of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler.

When you start looking at ...

    •    The forecasts
    •    The indexes
    •    The reviews
    •    The reports of the pundits
    •    The price of fuel
    •    The prognosticators

.... it is tempting to lose heart. You may even start to question all your beliefs and assumptions ….

    •    What is going to happen to us in these troubled times?
    •    Who will help us?
    •    Where will we go?
    •    What will we do?

Listen carefully. You cannot be swayed and ruled by every wind of change that blows through the land and around your life!

If you are going to live like that, your faith will go out the window and fear will walk in the front door!

Look at some the people in the Bible ... people like Joseph, Elijah, and Daniel who stayed faithful and powerful until the end, regardless of what was happening to their nation. They somehow believed that God can turn everything "right side up" again.

Don’t get spooked by the gloom and doom of what seems to be your tomb! It is not over yet! God can still show up and turn the tables on all the naysayers.

    •    Jesus said that He will never leave us or forsake us! If you are still alive, Jesus is right there next to you.
    •    Jesus said that He is the Resurrection and the Life. Even if you die, He will resurrect you into something better!
    •    Jesus said, “Don’t lose heart!”
 
Don’t get into listening to and spreading all the bad news rumors.

    •    Build faith, not fear!
    •    Faith stands, regardless of circumstances!

There would be no point to have faith if you were living in a perfect world!

    •    Have faith in Jesus! Don’t lose heart, take heart. Be of good cheer!

Question: Are you losing heart over the rumors of bad times in your nation?

Remember, God is not done with your nation yet!

People Lose Heart When They Get Overwhelmed By Circumstances (3/6)

by jaroslavd on flckrIn this time with so many people discouraged and overwhelmed, I share these thoughts on “not losing heart.” I preached from these notes last year in May after listening to a sermon by Pastor Brian Houston from Australia. I present these ideas in six subsequent posts.

__________

WHEN DO PEOPLE LOSE HEART?

2. People Lose Heart When They Get Overwhelmed By Their Circumstances.

It is natural and to be expected that whenever you see the size of your challenges, to be tempted to lose heart. Young David knew to resist the temptation to lose heart when he addressed King Saul regarding the giant Goliath:

I Samuel 17:32
32 David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."

David faced his big problems by depending and leaning on the strength of his even greater God! As the story goes, he defeated that giant and obtained the great reward of a champion.

However, David did not always have it easy in his life, yet he carried his experiences and lessons forward into his tough seasons. Even after a particularly devastating day in which his whole camp was plundered and all the women and children were carried off into captivity, David still knew not to lose heart. Instead, he made a quality decision to encourage and strengthen himself in the Lord.

1 Samuel 30:3-6
6 David was greatly distressed, for the men spoke of stoning him because the souls of them all were bitterly grieved, each man for his sons and daughters. But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

After this he received a clear instruction from the Lord to pursue his enemies, and he gained back everything the enemy stole from him.

Today, we too can make a quality decision to not be discouraged, but to encourage and strengthen ourselves in the Lord. I believe that God will see our hearts turn towards Him to receive strength and wisdom, and that He will show us the next steps to victory, regardless of our circumstances!