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Prayer
Related
Prayer
A comparison of the following book titles on the subject of prayer points
up some of the tensions of the subject:
Where
is the Lord of Elijah? (Cox.) vs. You Never Walk Alone (Mesner)
How
Can God Answer Prayer? (Biederwolf) vs. Getting Things from God
(Blanchard)
Let’s
Pray Together (Fromer) vs. The Hidden Life of Prayer (McIntyre)
Saying
Better Prayers (Karney) vs. Prayer Without Pretending (Townsend)
Teach
Yourself to Pray (Winward) vs. The Holy Spirit-Our Teacher in Prayer
(Walton)
Five
Laws That Govern Prayer (Gordon) vs. Beyond the Natural Order (Best)
…and
lastly Taking Hold of God (Zwemer) vs. Prayer: Conversing With God
(Rinker)
── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Lord’s
Prayer
A
minister parked his car in a no-parking zone in a large city because he was
short of time and couldn’t find a space with a meter. So he put a note under
the windshield wiper that read: “I have circled the block ten times. If I don’t
park here
I’ll miss my appointment. Forgive us our trespasses.”
When
he returned
he found a citation from a police officer along with this note:
“I’ve circled this block for ten years. If I don’t give you a ticket
I’ll lose
my job. Lead us not unto temptation.” ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Prayer
Eight-ninths of
the bulk of an iceberg is below the waterline and out of sight. Only one-ninth
is visible above the surface. Our prayer life should be like an iceberg
with
about one-ninth showing in public group prayer and eight-ninth out of sight in
our personal prayer time.
Prayer
Thyra Bjorn
told the story of accompanying her pastor father one evening to the shack of a
poverty-stricken old man. He was crippled with age and pain
yet he offered
them what hospitality he could
and when they prayed together
the old man’s
face came alive as the agony of his present life gave way to radiant joy.
Rather than asking anything of God
the man thanked him in detail for his
shack
his warm bed
his visitors
for everything that was a part of his
seemingly cramped and limited existence. When he had finished
Bjorn wrote
“he
looked as happy and contented as though he had no discomfort at all.”
On the way home through
the dark could fall air
Thyra’s father sighted the lamp being lit in their
parsonage in the valley below and called his daughter’s attention to it. Then
the thought struck the young girl that this too was what the old man in the
cabin had seen: “He had seen his Father’s house and knew that he soon would be
home. There would be no more sickness or pain or loneliness there
and no more
sorrow. And the light of prayer would lead him home.”
Humorous
Prayer
A little boy was saying his bedtime
prayers with his mothe: “Lord
bless Mommy and Daddy
and God
GIVE ME A NEW
BICYCLE!!!”
Mom: “God’s not deaf
son.”
Boy: “I know
Mom
but Grandma’s in
the next room
and she’s hard of hearing!”
Humorous
Prayer
A boy
age six
was invited by a
friend to have dinner. When his friend’s family were all seated around the
table
the food was served. The young guest was puzzled and-with the frankness
children are so well known for-asked
“Don’t you say any prayer before you
eat?” The host was embarrassed by the question and mumbled
“No
we don’t take
time for that.” The boy was silent for a moment and then said
“Oh
I see
you
eat like my dog does. He just starts right in
too.”
Prayer
Lord
I crawled across the barrenness
To you with my empty cup
Uncertain
In asking any small drop of
refreshment.
If only I had known you better
I’d have come running with a
bucket.
—
Nancy
Spiegelberg
The moment you wake up each morning
all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the
first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that
other voice
taking that other point of view
letting that other
larger
stronger
quieter life come flowing in.
C.S. Lewis
He who runs from God in the morning
will scarcely find Him the rest of the day.
John Bunyan
The fewer the words
the better the
prayer. To have prayed well is to have studied well.
Martin Luther
In Ivan endures all the horrors of a
Soviet prison camp. One day he is praying with his eyes closed when a fellow
prisoner notices him and says with ridicule
"Prayers won't help you get
out of here any faster." Opening his eyes
Ivan answers
"I do not
pray to get out of prison but to do the will of God."
Our Daily Bread
December 29
1993
A friend of mine took his small son
with him to town one day to run some errands. When lunch time arrived
the two
of them went to a familiar diner for a sandwich. The father sat down on one of
the stools at the counter and lifted the boy up to the seat beside him. They
ordered lunch
and when the waiter brought the food
the father said
"Son
we'll just have a silent prayer." Dad got through praying first
and waited for the boy to finish his prayer
but he just sat with his head
bowed for an unusually long time. When he finally looked up
his father asked
him
"What in the world were you praying about all that time?" With
the innocence and honesty of a child
he replied
"How do I know? It was a
silent prayer."
Our Daily Bread
December 12
When Robert Louis Stevenson was a boy
he once remarked to his mother
"Momma
you can't be good without
praying." "How do you know
Robert?" she asked. "Because
I've tried!" he answered. This brings to mind a story about another little
fellow -- one who had been sent to his room because he had been bad. A short
time later he came out and said to his mother
"I've been thinking about
what I did and I said a prayer." "That's fine
" she said
"if you ask God to make you good
He will help you." "Oh
I
didn't ask Him to help me be good
" replied the boy. "I asked Him to
help you put up with me."
Our Daily Bread
June 15.
When we pray
remember:
1. The love of God that wants the best
for us.
2. The wisdom of God that knows what is best for us.
3. The power of God that can accomplish it.
William Barclay
Prodigals and
Those Who Love.
"...Men may spurn our appeals
reject our message
oppose our arguments
despise our persons -- but they are
helpless against our prayers."
Sidlow Baxter
Pray as if everything depends on God
then work as if everything depends on you.
Martin Luther
Dr. Helen Roseveare
missionary to
Zaire
told the following story. "A mother at our mission station died
after giving birth to a premature baby. We tried to improvise an incubator to
keep the infant alive
but the only hot water bottle we had was beyond repair.
So we asked the children to pray for the baby and for her sister. One of the
girls responded. 'Dear God
please send a hot water bottle today. Tomorrow will
be too late because by then the baby will be dead. And dear Lord
send a doll
for the sister so she won't feel so lonely.' That afternoon a large package
arrived from England. The children watched eagerly as we opened it. Much to
their surprise
under some clothing was a hot water bottle! Immediately the
girl who had prayed so earnestly started to dig deeper
exclaiming
'If God
sent that
I'm sure He also sent a doll!' And she was right! The heavenly
Father knew in advance of that child's sincere requests
and 5 months earlier
He had led a ladies' group to include both of those specific articles."
Source Unknown.
Attending church in Kentucky
we
watched an especially verbal and boisterous child being hurried out
slung
under his irate father's arm. No one in the congregation so much as raised an
eyebrow -- until the child captured everyone's attention by crying out in a
charming Southern accent
"Ya'll pray for me now!"
Jean McMahon (Dyer
Ind.) in Reader's
Digest
April 1980.
Early African converts to Christianity
were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a
separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over
time the paths to these places became well worn. As a result
if one of these
believers began to neglect prayer
it was soon apparent to the others. They
would kindly remind the negligent one
"Brother
the grass grows on your
path."
Today in the Word
June 29
1992.
God can pick sense out of a confused
prayer.
Richard Sibbes
"There is nothing that makes us
love a man so much as prayer for him.
William Law
If I should neglect prayer but a
single day
I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith.
Martin Luther
When Luther's puppy happened to be at
the table
he looked for a morsel from his master
and watched with open mouth
and motionless eyes; he (Martin Luther) said
'Oh
if I could only pray the way
this dog watches the meat! All his thoughts are concentrated on the piece of
meat. Otherwise he has no thought
wish or hope."
Luther's Tabletalk
What the Church needs today is not
more machinery or better
not new organizations or more novel methods
but men
whom the Holy Ghost can use--men of prayer
men mighty in prayer.
E.M.Bounds
He that cannot pray
let him go to
sea
and there he will learn.
God never denied that soul anything
that went as far as heaven to ask for it. John Trapp
John Trapp
I fear John Knox's prayers more than
an army of ten thousand men.
Mary
Queen of Scotland
While very ill
John Knox
the founder
of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland
called to his wife and said
"Read
me that Scripture where I first cast my anchor." After he listened to the
beautiful prayer of Jesus recorded in John 17
he seemed to forget his
weakness. He began to pray
interceding earnestly for his fellowmen. He prayed
for the ungodly who had thus far rejected the gospel. He pleaded in behalf of
people who had been recently converted. And he requested protection for the
Lord's servants
many of whom were facing persecution. As Knox prayed
his
spirit went Home to be with the Lord. The man of whom Queen Mary had said
"I fear his prayers more than I do the armies of my enemies
"
ministered through prayer until the moment of his death.
Our Daily Bread. April 11
I had rather stand against the cannons
of the wicked than against the prayers of the righteous.
Thomas Lye
The angel fetched Peter out of prison
but it was prayer fetched the angel.
Thomas Watson
Christ went more readily ad crucem (to
the cross)
than we do to the throne of grace.
Thomas Watson
When thou prayest
rather let thy
heart be without words than thy words without heart.
John Bunyon
You can do more than pray
after you
have prayed
but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.
John Bunyon
Prayer will make a man cease from sin
or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer."
John Bunyon
More things are wrought by prayer than
this world dreams of.
Alfred Lord Tennyson
A tale is told about a small town that
had historically been "dry
" but then a local businessman decided to
build a tavern. A group of Christians from a local church were concerned and
planned an all-night prayer meeting to ask God to intervene. It just so
happened that shortly thereafter lightning struck the bar and it burned to the
ground. The owner of the bar sued the church
claiming that the prayers of the
congregation were responsible
but the church hired a lawyer to argue in court
that they were not responsible. The presiding judge
after his initial review
of the case
stated that "no matter how this case comes out
one thing is
clear. The tavern owner believes in prayer and the Christians do not."
J.K. Johnston
Why Christians Sin
Discovery House
1992
p. 129.
Mr. and Mrs. Moody often had guests in
their Chicago home. One evening
fter a very demanding day
Moody asked a
visiting Christian to lead in family devotions. The man waxed eloquent as he
expounded the symbolism in a difficult chapter of the Bible. Then he prayed at
great length. When the worship was over
Mrs. Moody and the guest got up from
their knees
but Moody remained bowed in prayer. The guest thought that he was
praying
but Mrs. Moody soon detected that her husband was--asleep!
W. Wiersbe
The Wycliffe Handbook
of Preaching & Preachers
p. 206.
When I cannot pray I always sing.
Martin Luther.
Knowing that intercessory prayer is
our mightiest weapon and the supreme call for all Christians today
I
pleadingly urge our people everywhere to pray. Believing that prayer is the
greatest contribution that our people can make in this critical hour
I humbly
urge that we take time to pray--to really pray. Let there be prayer at sunup
at noonday
at sundown
at midnight--all through the day. Let us all pray for
our children
our youth
our aged
our pastors
our homes. Let us pray for our
churches. Let us pray for ourselves
that we may not lose the word 'concern'
out of our Christian vocabulary. Let us pray for our nation. Let us pray for
those who have never known Jesus Christ and redeeming love
for moral forces
everywhere
for our national leaders. Let prayer be our passion. Let prayer be
our practice.
Robert E. Lee.
What a man is on his knees before God
that he is
and nothing more.
Robert Murray McCheyne.
Among those in the court of Alexander
the Great was a philosopher of outstanding ability but little money. He asked
Alexander for financial help and was told to draw whatever he needed from the
imperial treasury. But when the man requested an amount equal to $50
000
he
was refused--the treasurer needing to verify that such a large sum was
authorized. When he asked Alexander
the ruler replied
"Pay the money at
once. The philosopher has done me a singular honor. By the largeness of his
request he shows that he has understood both my wealth and generosity."
Today in the Word
MBI
August
1991
p. 19.
If the request is wrong
God says
"No."
If the timing is wrong
God says
"Slow."
If you are wrong
God says
"Grow."
But if the request is right
the timing is right and you are right
God says
"Go!"
Bill Hybels
Too Busy Not To Pray
IVP
p. 74.
In its early days
Dallas Theological
Seminary was in critical need of $10
000 to keep the work going. During a
prayer meeting
renowned Bible teacher Harry Ironside
a lecturer at the
school
prayed
"Lord
you own the cattle on a thousand hills. Please sell
some of those cattle to help us meet this need." Shortly after the prayer
meeting
a check for $10
000 arrived at the school
sent days earlier by a
friend who had no idea of the urgent need or of Ironside's prayer. The man
simply said the money came from the sale of some of his cattle!
Today in the Word
MBI
January
1990
p.
36.
Prayer is surrender--surrender to the
will of God and cooperation with that will. If I throw out a boathook from the
boat and catch hold of the shore and pull
do I pull the shore to me
or do I
pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will
but the
aligning of my will to the will of God.
E. Stanley Jones
Liberating
Ministry From The Success Syndrome
K Hughes
Tyndale
1988
p. 73.
Sir George Adam Smith tells how he and
his guide were climbing the Weisshorn in the Swiss Alps. It was stormy and they
were making their climb on the sheltered side of the peak. When they reached
the summit
they were filled with the exhilaration. Sir George forgot about the
fierce winds
leaped up and was nearly blown over the edge to the glacier
below! The guide grabbed hold of him and exclaimed: "On your knees
sir.
You are safe here only on your knees!"
Source Unknown
When our children were small and we
were trying to teach them to pray
we had three kinds of prayer: "Please
prayers
" Thank you prayers
" and "Sorry prayers."
S. Briscoe
Getting into God
p. 55.
How important is faithfulness in
prayer? Dr. Wilbur Chapman often told of his experience when
as a young man
he went to become pastor of a church in Philadelphia. After his first sermon
an old gentleman said to him
"You're pretty young to be pastor of this
church. But you preach the Gospel
and I'm going to help you all I can."
Dr. Chapman thought
"Here's a crank." But the man continued:
"I'm going to pray for you that you may have the Holy Spirit's power upon
you. Two others have covenanted to join with me in prayer for you." Dr.
Chapman said
"I didn't feel so bad when I learned he was going to pray
for me. The 3 became 10
the 10 became 20
and 20 became 50
the 50 became 200
who met before every service to pray that the Holy Spirit might come upon me. I
always went into my pulpit feeling that I would have the anointing in answer to
the prayers of those who had faithfully prayed for me. It was a joy to preach!
The result was that we received 1
100 into our church by conversion in three
years
600 of whom were men. It was the fruit of the Holy spirit in answer to
prayer!"
Source Unknown.
Eighteen-year-old Hudson Taylor
wandered into his father's library and read a gospel tract. He couldn't shake
off its message. Finally
falling to his knees
he accepted Christ as his
Savior. Later
his mother
who had been away
returned home. When Hudson told
her the good news
she said
"I already know. Ten days ago
the very date
on which you tell me you read that tract
I spent the entire afternoon in
prayer for you until the Lord assured me that my wayward son had been brought
into the fold."
Daily Bread
July 19
1989.
When people do not mind what God
speaks to them in His Word
God doth as little mind what they say to Him in
prayer.
William Gurnall (a saying of a Puritan
preacher).
Prayer is the first thing
the second
thing
the third thing necessary to a minister. Pray
then
my dear brother;
pray
pray
pray.
Edward Payson
Preacher and Prayer
E.M. Bounds
1907
p. 32.
Five young college students were
spending a Sunday in London
so they went to hear the famed C.H. Spurgeon
preach. While waiting for the doors to open
the students were greeted by a man
who asked
"Gentlemen
let me show you around. Would you like to see the
heating plant of this church?" They were not particularly interested
for
it was a hot day in July. But they didn't want to offend the stranger
so they
consented. The young men were taken down a stairway
a door was quietly opened
and their guide whispered
"This is our heating plant." Surprised
the students saw 700 people bowed in prayer
seeking a blessing on the service
that was soon to begin in the auditorium above. Softly closing the door
the
gentleman then introduced himself. It was none other than Charles Spurgeon.
Our Daily Bread
April 24.
I have been driven many times to my
knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own
wisdom
and that of all about me seemed insufficient for the day.
A. Lincoln.
The story goes that one time when Bill
Moyers was a special assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was asked to
say grace before a meal in the family quarters of the White House. As Moyers began
praying softly
the President interrupted him with "Speak up
Bill! Speak
up!"The former Baptist minister from east Texas stopped in mid-sentence
and without looking up replied steadily
"I wasn't addressing you
Mr.
President."
Don Oberdorfer in Washington Post.
Reader's Digest
April 1980.
It is strange that
while praying
we
seldom ask for change of character
but always a change in circumstance.
Baptist Challenge
December 1981.
Dear Pastor
I know God loves me but I
wish He would give me an "A" on my report card so I could be sure.
Love
Theresa. (Age 8
Milwaukee)
Dear Pastor
Could you say a special
blessing for my Aunt Beatrice? She has been looking for a husband for 12 years
and still hasn't found one. Yours sincerely
Debbie. (Age 9
Duluth)
Dear Pastor
Do I have to say grace
before every meal? Even when I am only having a peanut butter and jelly
sandwich?
Wesley. (Age 9
Baltimore)
Dear Pastor
Thank you for your sermon
on Sunday. I will write more when my mother explains to me what you said. Yours
truly
Justin. (Age 9
Westport)
Dear Pastor
Please pray for all the
airline pilots. I am flying to California tomorrow. Laurie. (Age 10
New York
City)
Dear Pastor
We say grace every night
before we eat dinner even when we have leftovers from the night before. Yours
truly
Jacki. (Age 9
Chicago)
Dear Pastor
I say my prayer before I
eat my supper but my mother still makes me finish my spinach and drink my milk.
Julie. (Age 9
Buffalo)
Dear Pastor
1980 by Bill Adler Books
Inc.
A woman went to Andrew Murray with the
problem of feeling she couldn't pray. He said
"Why then
do you not try
this? As you go to your inner chamber
however cold and dark your heart may be
do not try in your own might to force yourself into the right attitude. Bow
before Him
and tell Him that He sees in what a sad state you are
and that
your only hope is in Him. Trust Him
with a childlike trust
to have mercy upon
you
and wait upon Him. In such a trust you are in a right relationship to Him.
You have nothing -- He has everything." The woman later told Murray that
his advice had helped her. She discovered that her trust in Christ's love for
her could help her pray
even when prayer did not come easily.
Our Daily Bread
November 13.
Keep praying
but be thankful that
God's answers are wiser than your prayers!
William Culbertson.
Prayer is an offering up of our
desires unto God
for things agreeable to His will
in the name of Christ
with
confession of our sins
and thankful acknowledgement of His mercies.
Westminster Shorter Catechism.
When asked how much time he spent in
prayer
George Muller's reply was
"Hours every day. But I live in the
spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk and when I lie down and when I arise. And
the answers are always coming."
Source Unknown.
True story. A Christian leader --
we'll call him Steve --was traveling recently by plane. He noticed that the man
sitting two seats over was thumbing through some little cards and moving his
lips. The man looked professorial with his goatee and graying brown hair
and
Steve placed him at fifty-something. Guessing the man was a fellow-believer
Steve leaned over to engage him in conversation. "Looks to me like you're
memorizing something
" he said. "No
actually I was praying
"
the man said. Steve introduced himself. "I believe in prayer too
" he
said. "Well
I have a specific assignment
" said the man with the
goatee. "What's that?" Steve asked. "I'm praying for the
downfall of Christian pastors." "I would certainly fit into that
category
" Steve said. "Is my name on the list?" "Not on my
list
" the man replied.
Common Ground
Vol. 10 No. 7.
Things looked bleak for the children
of George Muller's orphanage at Ashley Downs in England. It was time for
breakfast
and there was no food. A small girl whose father was a close friend
of Muller was visiting in the home. Muller took her hand and said
"Come
and see what our Father will do." In the dining room
long tables were set
with empty plates and empty mugs. Not only was there no food in the kitchen
but there was no money in the home's account. Muller prayed
"Dear Father
we thank Thee for what Thou art going to give us to eat." Immediately
they heard a knock at the door. When they opened it
there stood the local
baker. "Mr. Muller
" he said
"I couldn't sleep last night.
Somehow I felt you had no bread for breakfast
so I got up at 2 o'clock and
baked fresh bread. Here it is." Muller thanked him and gave praise to God.
Soon
a second knock was heard. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in
front of the orphanage. He said he would like to give the children the milk so
he could empty the cart and repair it.
Source Unknown.
An Iranian invented a compass-like
device engraved with the names of 150 cities
in Arabic. The devout Muslim
turns the instrument until the needle indicates north
twists a dial to the
name of the city he is in -- and the arrow points the way to Mecca
which
Muslims face to pray five times a day.
Martin J. Shannon
The Wall Street
Journal.
The prayer of Jabez moved the heart of
missionary John Hyde to pray with great faith
expecting answers to his
prayers. As a result
he became known as Praying Hyde and the world still feels
the impact of his powerful life.
Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman once wrote to a
friend
telling of Praying Hyde's influence on him. He had been holding
meetings in England
but the attendance had been disappointingly small. Then he
received word that Praying Hyde was going to pray down God's blessing upon him
and his work.As a result of Hyde's powerful praying
the tide soon turned and
the meeting hall became packed with people. At Chapman's first public
invitation
fifty men received Christ as their Savior.
Relating the story
Chapman said: As
we were leaving I said
"Mr. Hyde
I want you to pray for me." He
came to my room
turned the key in the door
and dropped to his knees
and
waited five minutes without a single syllable coming from him lips. I could
hear my own heart thumping
and his beating. I felt hot tears running down my
face. I knew I was with God. Then with upturned face
down which the tears were
streaming
he said
"O God." Then for five minutes at least he was
still again; and then
when he knew that he was talking with God
there came
from the depths of his heart such petitions for me as I had never heard before.
I rose from my knees to know what real prayer was."
Roger F. Campbell
You Can Win!
SP Publications
1985
pp. 17-18.
James Duncan
preaching with great
unction and power
was asked what was the secret of such powerful preaching.
"The secret
" he said
was "thirteen hours of consecutive
prayer."
When asked the secret of his spiritual power
Charles Spurgeon said: "Knee
work! Knee work!"
Livingston of Shotts
on two different occasions
preached with such power that
in each service 500 were converted. Both sermons were preceded by a night of
prayer.
Charles Finney
after spending a day in the woods in prayer and fasting
preached that night in a phenomenally irreligious congregation. The sermon was
accompanied by such divine power that the whole congregation
except one man
fell
prostrate upon the floor
and voiced their agony under conviction of sin
in
such loud outcries that the preacher was forced to stop.
Of "Uncle" John Vassar
The Tract Society colporteur
his pastor says:
"He absolutely prayed day and night -- prayed about everything
prayed for
almost everything
prayed with almost everybody he met. He prayed when he went
out and when he came in. He prayed before every religious service
and then
prayed all the way through it. I have occupied the same room with him night
after night
and rarely went to sleep without hearing him in prayer
or awoke
without finding him in prayer."
Christ Life Newsletter.
Roger Simms
hitchhiking his way home
would never forget the date--May 7. His heavy suitcase made Roger tired. He was
anxious to take off his army uniform once and for all. Flashing the hitchhiking
sign to the oncoming car
he lost hope when he saw it was a black
sleek
new
Cadillac. To his surprise the car stopped. The passenger door opened. He ran
toward the car
tossed his suitcase in the back
and thanked the handsome
well-dressed man as he slid into the front seat. "Going home for
keeps?" "Sure am
" Roger responded. "Well
you're in luck if
you're going to Chicago." "Not quite that far. Do you live in
Chicago?" "I have a business there. My name is Hanover." After
talking about many things
Roger
a Christian
felt a compulsion to witness to
this fifty-ish
apparently successful businessman about Christ. But he kept
putting it off
till he realized he was just thirty minutes from his home. It
was now or never. So
Roger cleared his throat
"Mr. Hanover
I would like
to talk to you about something very important." He then proceeded to
explain the way of salvation
ultimately asking Mr. Hanover if he would like to
receive Christ as his Savior. To Roger's astonishment the Cadillac pulled over
to the side of the road. Roger thought he was going to be ejected from the car.
But the businessman bowed his head and received Christ
then thanked Roger.
"This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me."
Five years went by
Roger married
had
a two-year-old boy
and a business of his own. Packing his suitcase for a
business trip to Chicago
he found the small
white business card Hanover had
given him five years before. In Chicago he looked up Hanover Enterprises. A
receptionist told him it was impossible to see Mr. Hanover
but he could see
Mrs. Hanover. A little confused as to what was going on
he was ushered into a
lovely office and found himself facing a keen-eyed woman in her fifties. She
extended her hand. "You knew my husband?" Roger told how her husband
had given him a ride when hitchhiking home after the war. "Can you tell me
when that was?" "It was May 7
five years ago
the day I was
discharged from the army." "Anything special about that day?"
Roger hesitated. Should he mention giving his witness? Since he had come so
far
he might as well take the plunge. "Mrs. Hanover
I explained the
gospel. He pulled over to the side of the road and wept against the steering
wheel. He gave his life to Christ that day." Explosive sobs shook her
body. Getting a grip on herself
she sobbed
"I had prayed for my
husband's salvation for years. I believed God would save him."
"And
" said Roger
"Where is your husband
Mrs. Hanover?"
"He's dead
" she wept
struggling with words. "He was in a a car
crash after he let you out of the car. He never got home. You see--I thought
God had not kept His promise." Sobbing uncontrollably
she added
"I
stopped living for God five years ago because I thought He had not kept His
word!"
J. Kirk Johnston
Why Christians
Sin
Discovery House
1992
pp. 39-41.
The phone rang and I greeted a young
pastor friend from Arlington
Virginia.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Studying
" I replied. "Nothing special."
"Are you sitting down?"
"Yes
why?"
"Your father just trusted Christ this evening."
"He what? You've got to be kidding!" I blurted out.
Such an inappropriate response grew
out of long detours in our father-son journey. Ever since I received Christ as
a boy my concern has been for the salvation of my family and loved ones. On
repeated occasions I had broached the subject of the gospel with dad
but his
response was less than excited.
My father has always been a very
important person to me. Not that I approved of everything he said or did or
that I imitated him consciously in any way. We weren't really close friends
either. But he was important in my life because of the indirect impact he made
upon me.
Dad was a military man. He had seen
action around the world. During the periods when he was embroiled in battle
I
would become very sensitive to his spiritual need. I and my family prayed for
him
but at times I'm afraid my faith sputtered. His response was always the
same: Son
don't worry about me. I'll work it out with God (as if God could be
manipulated like a Pentagon official).
God brought a man into my life
a man
with a passion for men. His name was Butch Hardman. One day before we knew each
other Butch was boarding a plane in Detroit when a friend handed him a cassette
tape. "Ever hear Hendricks? Here's a tape you should listen to." On
that tape I related my father's spiritual need.
Butch listened and something about the
anecdote reminded him of his own father with whom he had shared Christ shortly
before he died. He began to pray for this unknown man
George Hendricks. Some
months later Butch attended a pastors' conference in Philadelphia where I was
the speaker. He shook my hand afterward. That was the only time our paths
crossed before a remarkable incident in Arlington.
Butch was driving the church bus down
the street
having discharged all his passengers. He saw a man standing on the
corner who reminded him uncannily of Howard Hendricks. Could it possibly be...?
He backed up the bus
stopped
got off
and went over to the man.
"Are you by any chance Howard
Hendricks' father?"
It is easy to imagine the startled
response. "Er-ah (I can envision my father's critical once-over with his
steely blue eyes) yeah -- you a student of my son?"
"No
I'm not
but he sure has
helped me. Got time for a cup of coffee?"
That encounter began a friendship
skillfully engineered by the Spirit of God. Butch undoubtedly sensed dad's
hesitancy when he discovered he had met a preacher. For a long time Butch did
not invite him to attend his church. He simply suggested that dad drop by the
office of coffee. Patiently he endured dad's cigars and his endless repertoire
of war stories. Before long he also learned that dad had been diagnosed as
having a terminal throat cancer.
Months later Butch was at his bedside.
"Mr. Hendricks
I'll be leaving shortly for a Holy Land trip. Instead of
my listening to you tonight
would you let me tell you a story?" Butch had
earned his hearing and he began simply to relate the interview of Jesus Christ
with Nicodemus as recorded by the Apostle John. At the conclusion dad accepted
Butch's invitation to receive Jesus Christ as his own personal Savior. Then dad
got up out of bed
stood
and saluted with a smile. "No I'm under a new
Commander-in-Chief!" That night Butch called Dallas.
The last time I saw dad alive I could
not believe he was the same man I had known. His frame was wasted
but his
spirit was more virile than I had ever known.
In accordance with dad's specific
provision in his will
Butch Hardman conducted the crisp military funeral in
Arlington cemetery where the gospel of Jesus Christ was presented to the small
group of family and military attendants. As the guns saluted their final
farewell
I knew God had vindicated forty-two years of prayer.
Howard & Jeanne Hendricks
Footprints
Multnomah Press
1981
pp. 16-19.
In general we must hold that whenever
any religious controversy arises
which either a council or ecclesiastical
tribunal behoves to decide; whenever a minister is to be chosen; whenever
in
short any matter of difficulty and great importance is under consideration: on
the other hand
when manifestations of the divine anger appear
as pestiliece
war
and famine
the sacred and salutary custom of all ages has been for
pastors to exhort the people to public fasting and extraordinary prayer.
Calvin
Institutes
IV
12
14.
When we rely upon organization
we get
what organization can do; when we rely upon education
we get what education
can do; when we rely upon eloquence
we get what eloquence can do
and so on.
Nor am I disposed to undervalue any of these things in their proper place
but
when we rely upon prayer
we get what God can do.
A.C. Dixon
Evangelism
A Biblical
Approach
M. Cocoris
Moody
1984
p. 108.
The central significance of prayer is
not in the things that happen as results
but in the deepening intimacy and
unhurried communion with God at His central throne of control in order to
discover a "sense of God's need in order to call on God's help to meet
that need"
E.M. Bounds
The Weapon Of Prayer.
Far away from the Bible's example are
most people when they pray! Prayer with earnestness and urgency is genuine prayer
in God's account. Alas
the greatest number of people are not conscious at all
of the duty of prayer. And as for those who are
it is to be feared that many
of them are very great strangers to sincere
sensible
and affectionate--
emotional--pouring out of their hearts or souls to God. Too many content
themselves with a little lip-service and bodily exercise
mumbling over a few
imaginary prayers. When the emotions are involved in such urgency that the soul
will waste itself rather than go without the good desired
there is communion
and solace with Christ. And hence it is that the saints have spent their
strength
and lost their lives
rather than go without the blessings God
intended for them.
John Bunyan
Pilgrim's Prayer Book.
For more than half a century
I have
never known one day when I had not more business than I could get through. For
40 years
I have had annually about 30
000 letters
and most of these have
passed through my own hands. I have nine assistants always at work
corresponding in German
French
English
Danish
Italian
Russian
and other
languages. Then
as pastor of a church with 1200 believers
great has been my
care. I have had charge of five orphanages; also at my publishing depot
the
printing and circulation of millions of tracts
books
and Bibles. But I have
always made it a rule never to begin work till I have had a good season with
God. George Mueller
Richard Mayhue
Keys to fruitful
prayer--Divine Healing Today
Moody Press
p. 104.
The pulpit of this day is weak in praying.
The pride of learning is against the dependent humility of prayer. Prayer is
with the pulpit too often only official--a performance for the routine of
service. Prayer is not to the modern pulpit the mighty force it was in Paul's
life or Paul's ministry. Every preacher who does not make prayer a mighty
factor in his own life and ministry is weak as a factor in God's work and is
powerless to project God's cause in this world.
E.M. Bounds
Preacher and Prayer
1907
p. 13.
It was your Lord who put an end to
longwindedness
so that you would not pray as if you wanted to teach God by
your many words. Piety
not verbosity
is in order when you pray
since He
knows your needs. Now someone perhaps will say: 'But if He knows our needs
why
should we sate our requests even in a few words? Why should we pray at all?
Since He knows
let Him give what He deems necessary for us.' Even so
He wants
you to pray so that He may confer His gifts on one who really desires them and
will not regard them lightly.
Augustine.
Spurgeon once said: "There is no
need for us to go beating about the bush
and not telling the Lord distinctly
what it is that we crave at His hands. Nor will it be seemly for us to make any
attempt to use fine language; but let us ask God in the simplest and most
direct manner for just the things we want...I believe in business prayers. I
mean prayers in which you take to God one of the many promises which He has
given us in His Work
and expect it to be fulfilled as certainly as we look for
the money to be given us when we go to the bank to cash a check. We should not
think of going there
lolling over the counter chattering with the clerks on
every conceivable subject except the one thing for which we had gone to the
bank
and then coming away without the coin we needed; but we should lay before
the clerk the promise to pay the bearer a certain sum
tell him in what form we
wish to take the amount
count the cash after him
and then go on our way to
attend to other business. That is just an illustration of the method in which
we should draw supplies from the Bank of Heaven." The Kneeling Christian
Clarion Classics
1986
Zondervan Publishing House
Page 79-80
Herbert Lockyer
Christ &
Prayer
Fairest of All
Eerdmans
1936
p. 43ff.
But some one will say
Does He not
know without a monitor both what our difficulties are
and what is meet for our
interest
so that it seems in some measure superfluous to solicit Him by our
prayers
as if He were winking
or even sleeping
until aroused by the sound of
our voice? Those who argue thus attend not to the end for which the Lord taught
us to pray. It is not so much for His sake as for ours. He wills indeed
as is
just
that due honor be paid Him by acknowledging that all which men desire or
feel to be useful
and pray to obtain
is derived from Him. But even the
benefit of the homage which we thus pay Him rebounds to ourselves.
John Calvin.
Research at San Francisco General
Hospital has revealed that victims of heart attack
heart failure and other
cardiac problems who were remembered in prayers fared better than those who
were not. Cardiologist Randy Byrd assigned 192 patients to the
"prayed-for" group and 201 patients to the "not-prayed-for"
group. All patients were in the coronary intensive care unit. Patients
doctors
and nurses did not know which group patients were in. Prayer group members were
scattered around the nation and given only the first names
diagnoses and
prognoses of patients. The researcher said that the results were dramatic. The
prayed-for group had significantly fewer complications than the unremembered
group. And fewer members of the former died. The latter group was five times
more likely to develop infections requiring antibiotics
and three times more
likely to develop a lung condition
leading to heart failure. These findings
were published in the American Heart Association.
Adopted From Chicago Sun-Times.
According to a poll on prayer for Newsweek (3/31/97)
the following percentage
said:
They ask for health or success for a
child or family member when they pray -- 82
They ask for strength to overcome a personal weakness -- 75
They never ask for financial or career success -- 36
God answers prayers -- 87
God doesn't answer prayers -- 51
They believe God does not play favorites in answering prayers -- 82
God answers prayers for healing someone with an incurable disease
-- 79
Prayers for help in finding a job are answered -- 73
They believe that when God doesn't answer their prayers
it means it wasn't
God's will to answer -- 54
They don't turn away from God when prayers go unanswered --
82
Princeton Research Associates.
Types of Prayer
o 42% ask for
material things when they pray; of this group
59% are evangelicals. 66% are
black.
o Meditative
prayer increases with age: 45% of 18 to 24 year olds pray meditatively; 70% of
65 year olds do so.
o Of those who
say God exists
70% pray daily
as do 10% of those who don't believe in God.
o 91% of women
pray
as do 85% of men.
o 94% of blacks
and 87% of whites
o 32% regularly
feel a deep sense of peace. 12% never experience this.
o 26% regularly
sense the strong presence of God: 21% never do.
o 15% regularly
receive a definite answer to a specific prayer
27% never have
25% have once
or twice.
Sources: Poloma and gallup
"Varieties of prayer": Norc Greeley
Newsweek: January
6
1992.
This poem by Adam Baum expressed the
need for perseverance in prayer:
Pray on
when rough and dark your
pathway
And you cannot see the light;
When every spark of hope has vanished
And bright day has turned to night.
Pray on
for God doth surely hear you
Noting well each sad request;
Pray then in faith
truly believing
That He always gives what's best."
Our Daily Bread
October 23.
I asked God for strength that I might
achieve.
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked God for health that I might do greater things.
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy.
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for--but everything I had hoped for...
Almost despite myself
my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men most richly blessed.
An unknown Confederate soldier.
Speak to Him then
for He hears
And spirit with spirit can meet;
Closer is He than breathing
And nearer than hands or feet.
Alfred Lord Tennyson.
Someone has vividly expressed this in
a humorous little poem that reads as follows:
"The proper way for man to
pray
" said Deacon Lemuel Keyes; "The only proper attitude is down
upon his knees."
"Nay
I should say the way to pray
" said Reverend Doctor Wise
"Is standing straight with outstretched arms with rapt and upturned
eyes."
"Oh
no
no
no
" said Elder Snow
"such posture is too
proud." A man should pray with eyes fast-closed and head contritely
bowed."
"It seems to me his hands should be austerely clasped in front. With both
thumbs pointing to the ground
" said Reverend Doctor Blunt."
"Last year I fell in Hodgkin's well headfirst
" said Cyril Brown.
"With both my heels a-stickin' up
my head a-pointing' down; And I done
prayed right then and there; best prayer I ever said
The prayin'est prayer I
ever prayed
a-standin' on my head."
Our Daily Bread
March 10.
Two men were talking together. The
first challenged the other
"If you are so religious
let's hear you quote
the Lord's Prayer. I bet you $10.00 you can't." The second responded
"Now I lay my down to sleep
I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And If I die
before I wake
I pray the Lord my soul to take." The first pulled out his
wallet and fished out a ten dollar bill
muttering
"I didn't think you
could do it!"
Source Unknown.
Eleven leaders of conservative renewal
movements
representing eight groups from within six Protestant denominations
pooled common concerns at a third annual meeting.
Conference convener Matthew J. Welde
of Presbyterians United for Biblical Concerns
noted an increase in renewalist
groups
and Gordon-Conwell Seminary professor Richard Lovelace told the group
that greater unity among evangelicals
across denominational lines
is
possible. One concern of the group: prayerlessness. They cited recent studies
showing that "the average pastor surveyed prays only three minutes each
day."
Christianity Today
April 6
1979.
At a meeting of the Fellowship of
Christian Athletes
Bobby Richardson
former New York Yankee second baseman
offered a prayer that is a classic in brevity and poignancy: "Dear God
Your will
nothing more
nothing less
nothing else. Amen."
Source Unknown.
"Bestow upon me
O Lord my God
understanding to know thee
diligence to seek thee
wisdom to find thee
and a
faithfulness that may finally embrace thee."
Thomas Aquinas.
Lord
Be Thou within me
to strengthen me;
Without me
to keep me;
Above me
to protect me;
Beneath me
to uphold me;
Before me
to direct me;
Behind me
to keep me from straying;
Round about me
to defend me.
Blessed be Thou
O Lord
our Father
for ever and ever.
A bishop in the Church of England
Andrewes served as royal chaplain to Queen Elizabeth I and later to Kings James
I and Charles I. He was fluent in 15 languages
and when the Hampton Court
Conference convened in 1604
he was chosen as one of the translators of the
proposed new English Bible. When the King James Version was published in 1611
his contribution could be seen in the Pentateuch and the historical books.
Lancelot Andrewes (1555 - 1626).
Lord
I renounce my desire for human
praise
for the approval of my peers
the need for public recognition. I
deliberately put these aside today
content to hear you whisper
"Well
done
my faithful servant." Amen
Source Unknown.
May the grace of Christ our Savior
And the Father's boundless love
With the Holy Spirit's favor
Rest upon us from above.
Thus may we abide in union
With each other and the Lord
And possess
in sweet communion
Joys which earth cannot afford.
John Newton.
Lord
make me an instrument of Thy
peace; where there is hatred
let me sow love; where there is injury
pardon;
where there is doubt
faith; where there is despair
hope; where there is
darkness
light; where there is sadness
joy.
Source Unknown.
O divine Master
grant that I may not
so much seek to be consoled as to console
to be understood as to understand
to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive it; it is in
pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born to eternal
life.
Francis of Assisi.
Make us choose the harder right
instead of the easier wrong
and never to be contented with half truth when whole
truth can be won. Endow us with courage that is born of loyalty to all that is
noble and worthy
that scorns to compromise with vice and injustice and knows
no fear when right and truth are in jeopardy.
Prayer said at West Point during
chapel services.
Dear God: Please send a new baby for
Mommy. The new baby you sent last week cries too much. Debbie
7
Dear God: Who did you make smarter?
Boys or girls? My sister and I want to know. Jimmy
6
Dear God: How many angels are there in
heaven? I would like to be the first kid in my class to know the answer. Norma
8
Dear God: This is my prayer. Could you
please give my brother some brains. So far he doesn't have any. Angela
8
Dear Lord: Thank you for the nice day
today. You even fooled the TV weather man. Hank
7
Dear God: Please bring me a new
brother. The one I got socks me all the time. Agnes
6
Dear God: Please help me is school. I
need help in spelling
adding
history
geography and writing. I don't need
help in anything else. Lois
9
Dear God: Do you have any helpers in
Heaven? I would like to be one of Your helpers in Heaven when I have summer
vacation. Natalie
7
Dear Lord; Tomorrow is my birthday.
Could you please put a rainbow in the sky? Susan
9
Dear God: I need a raise in my
allowance. Could you have one of your angels tell my father. Thank you. David
7
Dear God; I am saying my prayers for
me and my brother
Billy
because Billy is six months old and he can't do
anything but sleep and wet his diapers. Diane
8
Dear God
before I go to sleep
And end another day
I'm happy that you're always here
To listen while I pray.
Please bless my special family
Lord
Whom I love as much as you.
Please help me to be good for them
The way you'd want me to.
So God
please watch me as I sleep
But Lord
before I do
It's good to know you're loving me
As much as I love you.
Good night God.
Lord Jesus
receive my spirit
and put
an end at Thy good pleasure to this my miserable life; for justice and truth are
not to be found among the sons of men...Be merciful unto me
O Lord...Now after
many battles
I find nothing in me but vanity and corruption. For in quietness
I am negligent
in trouble impatient
tending to desperation;...pride and
ambition assault me on the one part
covetousness and malice trouble me on the
other; briefly
Oh Lord
the affections of the flesh do almost suppress the
operation of Thy Spirit...In none of the aforesaid I do delight; but I am
troubled
and that sore against the desire of my inward man which sobs for my
corruption
and would repose in Thy mercy alone; to which I claim
and that in
the promise that Thou hast made to all penitent sinners of whose number I
profess myself to be one. "Answer to a Letter of James Lurie
a Scottish Jesuit
"
in John Knox--A Great Intercessor
by Bessie G. Olson
Hall of Fame Series
Des
Moines: Walfred
1956
pp. 45-46
Quoted in The Adversary
Mark
Bubeck
Moody Press
p. 33.
Three Great Prayer Chapters
(1) Ezra 9──In 457 B.C. Ezra thanked God for ‘a
little reviving’ and confessed his own and his people’s failure.
(2) Neh.9──In 445 B.C. Nehemiah thanked God for
His care for
(3) Dan.9──In 538 B.C. Daniel had confessed his
own and his people’s sins and pleaded with God to shine upon His sanctuary
v.17.
ASKING.
Ⅰ. Who to ask—
Our Heavenly Father. “ Whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My
name” ( John 15:16).
Ⅱ. How to ask—
In the name of Christ. “
Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name
I will do it” (John 14:13).
In the power of the Spirit.
“ Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities” ( Rom. 8:26; Eph.2:18).
In faith. “ And all things
whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer
believing
ye shall receive” ( Matt.21:22; James 1:6).
Ⅲ. What to ask for—
Help of the Lord. “ And Judah gathered themselves together
to ask
help of the Lord” (2 Chron.20:4).
Fulness of the Spirit. “ How mach more shall your beavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him” ( Luke 11:13).
Fulness of joy.
“ Ask
and ye shall receive
that your joy may be full” (John 16:24).
Wisdom. “If any of you lack wisdom
let him ask of God” (James 1:5).
Anything. “If ye shall ask anything
in My name
I will do it” (John 14:14).
Ⅳ.
The Condition—
Abiding in Christ. “If ye
abide in Me
and My words abide in you
ye shall ask what ye will” (John 15:7; 1.John 3:22).
Ⅴ.
Encouragements ask—
Promise of
Christ. “I say unto you
whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name
He will
give it” (John.16:23).
He heareth us.
“If we ask anything according to His will
He heareth us” (1.John 5:14
15).
Christ praying.
“ I will pray the Father for you” ( Jno.16:26).
── F.E. Marsh《Five Hundred Bible Readings》