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Over thirty years ago Rev. C.E. French delivered a message at a large Pentecostal church in Tennessee. French had been a missionary, returned to the states, and his wife was teaching at a nearby college.  At the time he was probably in his sixties. I happened to be in that service.  His sermon left an indelible impression upon my heart.

In his delivery Rev. French told the story of a missionary evangelist, preaching a revival in the foreign country where he was laboring and who was staying in the home of the pastor hosting the revival.  One day the missionary had an inclination to do some shopping and wound up at a local grocery market.  While there he felt inclined to pick up several items.  Doing so,  he questioned his actions and wondered why he would have any desire to purchase these particular products.  All the while he was buffeted by the devil with disconcerting thoughts of how the pastor would view his bringing these goodies back to the parsonage.

On his walk back to the pastor’s home he was passing a housing unit that had a stairway with several landings.  He felt impressed to go up those stairs.  Having arrived at the second or third landing he was then directed to a particular door.  When the evangelist knocked on the door a little old lady opened the door saying, “Hello, I’m Granny Hurt.  How is it with your soul today?” The evangelist quickly explained that he had picked up several items at the grocery store, felt that he had been directed to Granny’s door, and offered the bag of merchandise that he had purchased.  Granny said, “Let me get my list.” She retrieved a list written on a piece of brown paper and carefully went through her list checking to see if everything was in the bag.  Then she said, “Well, Lord, I see you sent me everything I asked for today but my ginger.”  Excitedly answering, the evangelist said, “Granny, as sure as I’m standing here, the ginger is in the bottom of the bag.”

Granny Hurt was one of those wonderful souls who wholeheartedly trusted God.  She believed and expected that God would bring her what she needed.  She may not have possessed much in this life as far as material goods are concerned, but she had a radiant life that few ever find.

Many years ago it was also my privilege to hear a popular evangelist tell of how he would visit his grandmother, staying with her a few days at a time.  During those visits he noticed that his grandmother spent a lot of time in prayer.  On one occasion his grandmother said that prayer was a real struggle during her prayer time.  “The sky was as brass” she stated, but God still answered.  A knock came to her door and someone brought her food.  This little widow trusted God for everything.  Most of her small social security pension was given to the local church.  What a blessed life she lived!

A vibrant prayer life is a radiant life because praying brings one into communion and fellowship with the Living Christ.

In Luke 18 Jesus speaks a parable with the purpose of teaching that “men ought always to pray and not faint!” We have here in a certain city a widow and we have an unjust judge who had no regard for God or man.  Yet, because this widow continually comes to him pleading for him to avenge her of her adversary, he decides to respect her wish and grant her petition.  In His parable, Jesus says, “hear what the unjust judge saith.” In respect to this parable there are several items of interest that are noteworthy.

First, it is possible for men to faint. From time to time we all become discouraged over something.  Many times we pray over extended periods of time without there seeming to be any end, answer, or way.   We are flesh and blood.  We do not nor can we see the future.  What we see is right now.  At the time of the parable the widow is terribly disturbed by an adversary.  Who or what the trouble was we are only left to speculate.  Whatever it was, the problem was weighing heavily upon this widow, so much so that she felt there was absolutely no way out except the judge avenge her.

Secondly, Jesus is telling us to pray.  The very idea of prayer itself suggests many things.  If we are to pray, then the entity (person, God) to whom we pray must be able to hear us.  And if there is the ability to hear there must still be the ability to act on our behalf.  There would be no need to just scream out into the open air if no one was to hear.  There would be no need to cry out into space if no one is available to come to our rescue.  Jesus is telling us to pray BECAUSE THERE IS an All Powerful, All Seeing, and everywhere Present All sufficient God who not only hears, has the ability to help, but finds pleasure in rescuing His beloved.

Thirdly, Jesus says something that is strange.  Here is Jesus, our Righteous Redeemer, God in the flesh, but He tells us to hear — hear what?  Hear what this “unjust judge” is saying.  Can you find or think of any other place in the scripture where we are told to hear what an unjust person is saying?  I don’t know of any.  But, you see, this unjust judge is speaking a truth.  What is that truth?  He said in essence, “she is not going to quit coming to me.”  If I don’t avenge her today she will be back here tomorrow.  And, she will continue until she completely wears me out.  This unjust judge understood and recognized the tenacity and perseverance with which this widow continued coming to him. Did you get the message?  DON’T QUIT!!!!!!!

Keep on praying!  Keep on crying out to God!  If He doesn’t answer today, be back crying out to Him tomorrow!  Do not let God alone until you get your answer!  Like a bull dog sticks in a fight, lay hold of the horns of the altar and don’t turn lose until you answer comes. MY WHAT A MESSAGE!!  I feel the Holy Spirit now as I am writing this post.  God wants to help.  Jesus told us to pray.  He knows God will speedily avenge His elect who cry day and night unto him even though He bear long with them. We must continue in FAITH KNOWING that He hears, He sees, He is able, He will answer.  Cry with all of your heart, with all of your might, with all of your soul to God.

And Fourthly, Jesus says there is a remedy to fainting.  There is a remedy to weariness and helplessness.  It is coming to the end of yourself and totally trusting and depending upon God.  I have many stories to tell of how God has come through for me.  Some of those will be shared in later posts.  But for now, please — KNOW that God truly loves you and He will answer your prayer just as surely as He will any other person’s prayer.  One of my favorite scriptures is Jeremiah 29:13 “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

EDWARD McKENDREE BOUNDS did not merely pray well that he might write well about prayer. He prayed because the needs of the world were upon him. He prayed, for long years, upon subjects which the easy-going Christian rarely gives a thought, and for objects which men of less thought and faith are always ready to call impossible. From his solitary prayer-vigils, year by year, there arose teaching equaled by few men in modern Christian history. He wrote transcendently about prayer, because he was himself, transcendent in its practice.
As breathing is a physical reality to us so prayer was a reality for Bounds. He took the command, “Pray without ceasing” almost as literally as animate nature takes the law of the reflex nervous system, which controls our breathing.
Prayer-books — real text-books, not forms of prayer — were the fruit of this daily spir- itual exercise. Not brief articles for the religious press came from his pen — though he had been experienced in that field for years — not pamphlets, but books were the product and result. He was hindered by poverty, obscurity, loss of prestige, yet his victory was not wholly reserved until his death.
In 1907, he gave to the world two small editions. One of these was widely circulated in Great Britain. The years following up to his death in 1913 were filled with constant labour and he went home to God leaving a collection of manuscripts. His letters carry the request that the present editor should publish these products of his gifted pen.
The preservation of the Bounds manuscripts to the present time has clearly been providential. The work of preparing them for the press has been a labour of love, consuming years of effort.
These books are unfailing wells for a lifetime of spiritual water-drawing. They are hidden treasures, wrought in the darkness of the dawn and the heat of the noon, on the anvil of experience, and beaten into wondrous form by the mighty stroke of the Divine. They are living voices whereby he, being dead, yet speaketh. — C.C.

The above Foreword was written by Claude Chilton, Jr., an ardent admirer of Dr. Bounds, and to whom we owe many obligations for suggestions in editing the Bounds Spiritual Life Books. We buried Claude L. Chilton February 18, 1929. What a meeting of these two great saints of God, of shining panoply and knightly grace!
HOMER W. HODGE.
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

The Necessity of Prayer

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Enjoy reading this wonderful book on the necessity of prayer.

 

Welcome to our WordPress blog.  Sorry for the inconvenience, but we are under construction.  You gotta start some place. Hopefully you will return again and again to pick up information on the vast subject of Prayer.  An interesting and broad subject for all of us, prayer is what we should be involved with every day of our lives. Thanks for coming. Return again soon!