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In Everything Give Thanks

Before God can launch us out into the breadth and sweetness of His service, and entrust to us great things for Himself, we must be perfectly subdued in every part of our nature to His will and the disposition of His mind. We must be subdued in our hearts, in our wills, in our words, in our tempers, in our manners; subdued through and through so thoroughly that we will be flexible to all His purposes and plans. We must be so subdued that harshness, severity, criticism, sluggishness, laziness, impetuosity and all wanting our own way, even in religious matters, must be subdued out of us . . . Being able to preach strong sermons on sanctification will not do it, or having charge of camp meetings, or conventions, or bible schools, or the writing of books and editing papers on Christian holiness will not prove adequate for this.

We must be subdued. Not merely in our own opinion, not merely think ourselves subdued, not only be subdued in the esteem of our friends and fellow-workers, but subdued so perfectly that the all-seeing eye of God can look us through and the omniscient One knows that we are subdued.

God must conquer the man that He can trust with His great thoughts and plans. The Holy Spirit must saturate us with a divine conquest before He can use us to conquer other souls. The Lord will begin to subdue us with gentle means, and if we sink lovingly and promptly into His mind, the work will be done, but if we have flint or iron in our nature and it is necessary, He will use heroic means and put us between the millstones and grind us to powder until He can mold us without any resistance to His purpose. The greatest difficulty in the way of God's using His servants is that they are not perfectly, universally, and constantly subdued under the power of God.

We must be so subdued as to stop meddling with other people's matters that God has not entrusted us with, so subdued as not to be calling God's servants hard names, and thrusting at Christians who are doing what they can in their various fields for the Master. So subdued that we can hold our tongues, and walk softly with God, keep our eyes upon Jesus, attend to our own work, and do God's will promptly and lovingly, glad to have a place in His kingdom and to do a little service for Him.

Oh, it is grand to be absolutely conquered by the Holy Ghost, and swing out a thousand miles from everybody and everything into the ocean of God's presence, and work with Him in humility, without stumbling over others, without religious peevishness and bend with every plan God gives us.

When we are subdued in the sight of God, He will work miracles in us and power in experience, in healing, in finance, in service, in gentleness and sweetness of the inner heart life; miracles in grace that will astonish us and surprise our friends and utterly amaze our enemies when they come to know the magnitude of what God has wrought. Let us get subdued in every way, in everything; subdued that we can keep still in God and see Him work out the great, bright thoughts of His eternal mind in our lives. -Selected.

Many and precious are the promises which God gives to His praying children. He tells us that as we pray and receive our joy shall be full, (John 16:24); that if we bring all things to Him in prayer His own unspeakable peace shall possess and keep our hearts in Christ Jesus, (Phil. 4:7) that of all who ask from Him not one shall be turned away; that to any who knock at His door it shall without fail be opened, (Matt. 7:7,8). Familiar enough and gracious too is His truth that as we ask He gives. So says His Word again and again: "Ask and it shall be given you"; "Every one that asketh receiveth; .... How much more will your heavenly Father give good things to them that ask of Him." But in the heart of this great chapter, the fourteenth of John, we come upon the greatest promise God has ever given to His praying children. Presuming - as we do in all that is said in these opening chapters concerning prayer - that the child of God is asking in His name, or according to His will, the wondrous statement is here twice made that not only as we pray does God give, but that

God, the eternal God of the universe, stands, as it were, like an almighty servant and says: "If you, my child, will only pray I will work; it you will only be busy with asking I will see to the doing." Not only does He bestow at our cry, but He acts. Not only does our praying evoke His bounty, it sets in motion His omnipotence. Wherefore, as we enter into the secret chamber of prayer, nothing will so stir us to mighty intercession, nothing will so soon make us master-pleaders with God for a lost world, as to whisper to our own soul, again and again, this wonderful truth, "While I am praying GOD is really DOING that which I am asking!"

Thus to a child of God bowed in prayer that the gospel may be sent to the dark lands, though he may not see it, yet as he prays God baffles the powers of darkness; as he prays God moves the hearts of kings; as he prays God breaks down the barriers to evangelization; as he prays God loosens the bands of superstition; as he prays God opens up the pathways to forbidden lands; as he prays God unclasps the purses of His children; as he prays God raises up and thrusts forth the gospel messengers to the whitened harvests. As he is praying GOD is DOING. This is explicitly asserted, "Search my word," says our Lord. Find out clearly in it what my will is concerning the world. Pray according to that will. Then as you pray "Lord thrust forth laborers into the harvest," I thrust them forth! As you pray "Lord break down the obstacles," I break them down! As you pray "Lord stir men's hearts to give," I stir them! "Whatsoever ye ask in my name, I do." Beloved what a tremendous responsibility is ours! What a unique privilege! That all the power of an omnipotent God is ready and waiting to be put into triumphant, irresistible action at the prayer of one of His children! That the very hosts of heaven are marshaled against the powers of darkness at that importunate call of yours which is according to the will of God! He declares that all power in heaven and earth is His, and then, as it were, places Himself at our disposal and says, "Now my child you pray and I will work, you ask and I will do." As an engineer might suffer a child powerless in itself, to call forth power, not its own, by opening the throttle of his great machine, so God says to us weaklings, "all power is mine, but unto you it is given to call it forth by prayer." If it be true, then, that God's omnipotence is placed at our disposal, we are as responsible for its exercise through prayer as though we possessed it ourselves. Behold here the shame of an unevangelized world, of two thousand years delay, of our cowardice and faltering in the presence of difficulties. For though we have had no power to do, yet the mighty God, linking Himself with us as a real yoke-fellow and co-worker, has said,

They who are charged with the erection of costly public or private buildings count it a rare privilege to have a great artist offer his services. They seek to employ the greatest architect, the most famous painter, the most skillful sculptor to do their work. But who is it here who offers to do for us, if we will only ask? It is no untried apprentice, no bungling worker accustomed to failure. It is God Himself. It is the mightiest doer in the universe who says"I will do, if you ask." Unrivaled wisdom, boundless skill, limitless power, infinite resources are His. Think a moment who it is that promises. He who shrouded the land of Egypt in awful darkness; He who turned her streams of water to streams of blood; He who laid His hand upon her first-born and filled her borders with mourning; He who broke the stubborn will of her impious king; He who led forth His people Israel, with mighty arm and outstretched hand; He who parted the great sea, and made the glassy walls of water to be bulwarks of safety to them, and swift avalanches of death to their pursuing foes.

He who, when His children cried for water, sweetened the bitter wells to quench their thirst; He who, when they hungered sent them bread from heaven; He who when they marched about Jericho in utter self-helplessness, leveled its towering walls by the word of His power; He who walked with His three children in the fierce, fiery furnace, yet kept them even from the smell of scorching garments; He who stilled the tempest, walked on the seas, cast out devils, healed the living and raised the dead - it is this same mighty Doer who says He will do for me, if I ask! This omnipotence is the very same omnipotence whose doing is awaiting my praying!

Yea the God who holds the sea in the hollow of His hand; the God who swings this ponderous globe of earth in its orbit more easily then you could swing a child's toy rubber ball; the God who marshals the stars and guides the planets in their blazing paths with undeviating accuracy; the heaven creating, devil-conquering, dead-raising God who says to you and to me:

Author Unknown

Napoleon quickly observed where the strategic position for a battle field lay. He would then thrust all his forces and resources into conquering and keeping that position, no matter what the sacrifice to his troops.

To claim spiritual conquests, soldiers in the army of God must be prepared and alert to do the same. Gordon B. Watt once said: "The point of obstruction must be found out, and prayer focused upon it. The mind must be convicted. The will must be stirred into right action. On the obstruction, whatever it may be, as it is revealed through waiting upon God, prayer must be concentrated."

"Oh, the wonders of prayer! ‘Abraham's servant prays . . . Rebekah appears. Jacob wrestles and prays and prevails with Christ . . . Esau's mind is wonderfully turned from the revengeful purpose he has harbored for twenty years. Moses cries to God . . . the sea divides. Moses prays . . . Amalek is discomfited. Joshua prays . . . Achan is discovered. Hannah prays . . . Samuel is born. David prays . . . Ahithophel hangs himself. Asa prays . . . a victory is gained. Jehoshaphat cries to God . . . God turns away his foes. Isaiah prays . . . the dream is revealed. Daniel prays . . . the lions are muzzled. Daniel prays . . . the seventy weeks are revealed. Ezra prays at Ahava . . . God answers. Nehemiah starts a prayer . . . the King's heart is softened in a minute. Elijah prays . . . a drought of three years succeeds. Elijah prays . . . rain descends apace. Elisha prays . . . Jordan is divided. The church prays ardently . . . Peter is delivered by an angel.’

"The weapon of prayer against the forces of evil prevails. It brings power. It brings fire. It brings rain. It brings life. It brings God! There is no power like that of prevailing prayer. Dare to be definite with God; dare to lay hold of the promises and to wait in faith until the answer comes. Victory is through Calvary!"

The weapons of our warfare are . . . mighty to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Cor. 10:4).

In the Great War in France a strong position had to be taken. The enemy's lines were so defended by trenches, parapets and barbed wire, that any assault, however determined, by whatever number of men, must have failed. However brave the attackers might have been, not a man would have reached the enemy's trenches alive. It was, in fact, quite impossible for the place to be taken by infantry assault. But the attacking general had collected large numbers of the most powerful artillery, firing the most explosive shells. With this excessive strength of massed artillery a continuous fire was kept up for over five hours on the one objective till trenches were blown in, palisades thrown down, and wire entanglements blown to pieces.

Then, when the artillery had done its work, the waiting troops were at last able to go up 'every man straight before him,' and, with comparatively little loss, to capture the position. What had been absolutely impossible to them before had been made possible by the sustained fire of the artillery.

I believe this is a most accurate and instructive picture of spiritual warfare. There are positions of the adversary that cannot be stormed or starved. There are defenses that are impregnable. There are obstructions which effectually bar the progress of the most devoted members of God's great missionary army. Before such can possibly succeed there is necessary the sustained and continuous fire of the artillery of prayer. Nothing else will take its place. Nothing will avail until it has done its work.

Too often, in the absence of prevailing prayer, the assault has to be made without, and precious lives are sacrificed, time is lost, and all efforts are in vain; not because God is unfaithful, or the servant is not devoted, but because the artillery of prayer has been lacking, and no breach has been made in the enemy's defenses.

From Charles G. Finney's Lectures on Revivals

CHARLES G. FINNEY, in speaking of his revival work, says: "I had been in the habit of rising early in the morning, and spending a season in prayer alone in the meeting house: and I finally succeeded in interesting a considerable number of brethren to meet me there in the morning for a prayer meeting. This was a very early hour; and we were generally together long before it was light enough to see to read.

"One morning I had been around and called the brethren up, and when I returned to the meeting-house but few of them had got there. As I came up, all at once the glory of God shone upon and around about me, in a manner most marvelous. The day was just beginning to dawn. But all at once a light perfectly ineffable shone in my soul, that almost prostrated me to the ground. I think I knew something then, by actual experience, of that fight that prostrated Paul on his way to Damascus.

"I used to spend a great deal of time in prayer; sometimes, I thought, literally praying 'without ceasing'. I also found it very profitable, and felt very much inclined to hold frequent days of private fasting. On these days I would seek to be entirely alone with God, and would generally wander off into the woods, or get into the meeting house or somewhere away entirely by myself.

"The spirit of prayer that prevailed in those revivals was a very marked feature of them. It was common for young converts to be greatly exercised in prayer; and in some instances, so much so that they were constrained to pray for whole nights, and until their bodily strength was quite exhausted, for the conversion of souls around them. There was a great pressure of the Holy Spirit upon the minds of Christians; and they seemed to bear about with them the burden of immortal souls. They manifested the greatest solemnity of mind, and the greatest watchfulness in all their words and actions. It was very common to find Christians whenever they met in any place, instead of engaging in conversation, to fall on their knees in prayer.

"Not only were prayer meetings greatly multiplied and fully attended, not only was there great solemnity in those meetings, but there was a mighty spirit of secret prayer. Christians prayed a good deal, many of them spending many hours in private prayer. It was also the case that two or more, would take the promise: 'If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be Done for them of My Father which is in heaven,' and make some particular person a subject of prayer. It was wonderful to what extent they prevailed. Answers to prayer were so Manifestly multiplied on every side, that no one could escape the conviction that God was daily and hourly answering prayer.

"If anything occurred that threatened to mar the work, if there was an appearance of any root of bitterness springing up, or any tendency to fanaticism or disorder, Christians would take the alarm, and give themselves to prayer that God would direct and control all things; and it was surprising to see, to what extent, and by what means God would remove obstacles out of the way in answer to prayer."

Prayer is the essential link in the chain of causes that lead to revival: As much so as truth is. Some have zealously used the truth to convert men, and laid very little stress on prayer. They have preached and talked and distributed tracts with great zeal, and they wondered why they had so little success. And the reason was that they forgot to use the other branch of the means, effectual prayer. They overlook the fact, that truth by itself will never produce the effect, without the Spirit of God, and that Spirit is given in answer to earnest prayer.

David Brainerd did his greatest work by prayer. He was in the depths of the forests alone, unable to speak the language of the American Indians, but he spent whole days in prayer.

We cannot account for it, only that it was the tremendous power of God behind him.

After he was dead, William Carey read his life and went to India: Robert McCheyne read his diary and went to the Jews; Henry Martyn read his journal and went to India.

The hidden life, in communion with God in trying to reach the source of power, is the life that moves the world.

Those living such lives may soon be forgotten. There may be no one to speak a eulogy over them when they are dead. The world may take no note of them. But by and by the great moving current of these lives will begin to tell as in the case of this young man not quite thirty years of age.

The marvelous missionary revival of the nineteenth century is due more to his prayers than to any other thing.

Of course every one knows that! If one wing is broken or wounded, all the bird can do is flutter and flounder. Many who know that birds fly with two wings fail to make a spiritual application to their prayer life. The two basic elements of prayer are petition and praise. Many of us never get off the ground in our prayer life because we are always asking, begging, pleading. The Bible says by prayer, and supplication with thanksgiving. "Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of' men" (Psalms 107:8, 15, 21, 31). "By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His Name" (Hebrews 13:15).

Let us praise the Lord together. But where can we begin, and where can we stop? Praise God that He, who is the everlasting and omnipotent God of all the universes, is our loving Heavenly Father. Praise Him that He loved us and gave His only begotten Son to die in our place. Praise Him that He still loves us and that nothing in Heaven above or Hell beneath can separate us from His love.

Yes, let us praise the Lord Jesus that He gave Himself for us. He now gives Himself to us as we give ourselves to Him. He is in us, and we are in Him. We are complete in Him. We are accepted in Him. Praise Him that He ever lives to make intercession for us.

He is a merciful and compassionate High Priest. Praise Him that He is coming again to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords on this old sin-cursed earth.

Praise the Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit of God; He is the Spirit of Christ. Praise Him for all that He has done and all that He is doing.

Praise God for His Word. Praise Him that He has caused you to believe the Word, and to love the Word. Praise Him for the understanding that He has given you of the Word.

Praise God for blessings physical and temporal. Even though we have many infirmities now, we can praise Him that one day we shall have a new and glorified body. Praise Him for testings and trials for they serve to conform us to the image of Christ. Praise Him for His patience, praise Him for His power, for His grace, for His mercy, for His wisdom. Yea let everything that hath breath praise the Lord!

Wanted: Men, and women who will obey God's command to pray.

"Knowing the time . . . it is high time to awake out of sleep " (Romans 13:1 1).

"More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of." Queen Mary declared she feared the prayers of John Knox more than all the armies of Europe, and well she might. It yet remains to be seen what great things God will do in answer to the prayer of faith.

The purpose of this message is to start a Spirit-energized revival of prayer that will arouse and inspire recruits for God's army of prayer warriors. There is a mighty revival of prayer now overdue. The call of prayer to every Christian is now the Spirit's loudest and most urgent call. The Lord teaches His people to pray for what He soon means to work. A work of the Holy Spirit is before us absolutely unparalleled in the history of the human race.

How little we know of those infinite resources that belong to the kingdom of prayer. Prayer is the mightiest force in the universe. One praying man or woman, shut up with God, will shake Satan's kingdom. "The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." If there would arise one utterly believing man, the history of this world would be changed.

Prayer succeeds when all else fails. Where is the God of Elijah? He is waiting for some Elijah to call on Him. Prayer can do all that God is able to do (Mark 9:23; 10:27). The man who can really pray has nothing to fear. Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees. When we feel least like praying, that is when we need to pray most.

Prayer is the greatest privilege of a redeemed soul. Prayer is a weapon in the hour of conflict; a defense in the moment of peril; a retreat in the season of exhaustion. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

Praise pleases God. Right prayers are usually sugared with thanksgiving (Psalms 50:23). The children of God should maintain a thankful heart. How much of thanksgiving and praise has your heart rendered to God lately? God created and commanded man to praise Him. "Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord." The more praise we offer the more fruit and glory God gets. Psalm 100:4 says that praise is the royal password by which we may enter His courts and have an audience with the King. Psalm 22:26 tells us the way to seek God is to praise Him. Try David's remedy; change from begging to perpetual praise. Read 2 Chronicles 20. How much must I praise Him? Psalm 34:1 says, "Continually." Psalm 35:28 says, "All the day long." One says, "That is too much." Can God ask too much of those He has created and redeemed? (Psalm 68:19).

God rewards so richly when we praise His name. See how He showed His presence "at midnight," as Paul and Silas "prayed, and sang praises." They were set free, prisoners loosed, souls saved, and joy given. "Judah" means praise, and Jesus came from the tribe of Judah. He will never fail to come to those who truly praise Him. "Hallelujah" means "Praise God." Jesus said, "Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?" Only one returned to give thanks. Are you yearning for God to answer your prayer? Try thanksgiving. Praise changes things. Our praise will still open fountains in the desert, when murmuring will bring only judgment. If we would praise more, we would have more to praise for (Hebrews 13:15).

Praise lifts your eyes from the battle to the victory, for Christ is already victor, and you have the victor in your heart that you might have His victory in your life.

Have you ever noticed the way God multiplies your faith when you begin praising Him? There are times when it is more important to praise God than to pray to Him a prayer of intercession. Praise lifts your eyes from your circumstances to your almighty Father who is Ruler over all. Not one circumstance in your life can come without His permission, and that means that He has a way of causing it to work together with other things for His glory and your good.

Praise lifts your eyes from the battle to the victory, for Christ is already victor, and though we do not yet see all things under His feet, they are there (Heb. 2:8; Eph. 1:22) in a divine reality. When you need faith there are two steps to take; go to God's Word, and begin praising Him. These two go together as naturally as hydrogen and oxygen together make water. Stop worrying, fearing; try praising. Do you need faith? PRAISE THE LORD!

If you want a new fountain of joy to spring up in your soul, start praising God. God's Word tells us that He places a song in our hearts. If we are not singing Christians, we are disappointing God. God wants His people to begin His worship, to approach Him with praise, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise" (Psa. 100:4). All the graces of the Holy Spirit grow much better in a happy heart.

In each crisis when God meets the soul in a new way, He brings unspeakable joy, new peace, a touch of His glory, and praise is as inevitable as for water to flow from a fountain. Whenever the clouds of darkness begin to hide God's loving face, praise is the quickest way through to His glorious light again. Is your spiritual life lacking in joy? Be sure that there is no hidden sin, and then just start praising God. PRAISE THE LORD!

Have you ever realized that God's answers to your prayers are at times delayed by your lack of praise to God? Have you seen God remove insurmountable difficulties and obstructions in answer to praise? Did you know that you can often rout Satan faster by praise than in any way? Have you experienced the effectiveness of praise and fasting? Did you know that bodies have been healed, demons have been cast out, and peace restored to troubled hearts by simply praising the Lord?

Have you ever deliberately gone into an impossible situation with the weapon of praise to God, and watched God perform the miracle? Oh hungry - hearted, struggling child of God, oh saint of God battling the forces of darkness, oh interceding prayer warrior, this may be God's message to you! Look up just now and begin to praise God. PRAISE THE LORD!

Perhaps it is seldom that God would have us do nothing but ask and intercede; it may also be true that God would seldom have us spend a protracted time in nothing but praise to God.

There is scarcely a spiritual conflict into which we enter without some measure of prayer; but how often do we, like Judah under Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 20:20-21) march into battle doing nothing but believing and praising? Oh, my Christian brothers and sisters, let us begin to praise God more. Praise changes things, and praise will transform you!

There is, at times, a deep sacrifice in praise. There are times when we must praise God though tears be in our eyes. There are times when all we can say is, "The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord." There is no sweeter music under heaven, there is no more fragrant perfume than that which arises from a life of suffering which is nevertheless filled with praise.

No doubt you are today facing situations not of your own choosing. Can you look up just now out of your Gethsemane and still say, PRAISE THE LORD!

Praise will sweeten and hallow all that it touches. Praise will kindle a new faith. Praise will fan the sparks of your smouldering love into flaming love for God. Praise will start the joybells ringing in your soul; you will soon have all heaven joining in on the chorus and you will have a little touch of heaven in your heart. Praise will pierce through the darkness, will dynamite away longstanding obstructions, and will strike terror in the heart of Satan.

We have praised God a little and occasionally; let us praise Him more and more. We have praised God in the past; come and let us praise Him just now! Look up to heaven just now and praise your mighty Redeemer. Praise Him for His love and faithfulness; praise Him for His power and goodness. He is worthy of all praise; let us praise Him now! PRAISE THE LORD! He is worthy to be praised;

THERE'S POWER IN PRAISE!

By Nathanael Olson

Christian friend, there's power in praise! Praising God for everything is the key to a happy, victorious Christian life. An unknown author wrote this factual, forceful formula for happiness:

"The shortest, surest way to all happiness is this: Make it a rule to thank and praise God for everything that happens to you, for it is certain that, whatever seeming calamity comes to you, if you thank and praise God for it, you turn it into a blessing. Could you, therefore, work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit, for it needs not a word spoken and turns all that it touches into happiness."

Christian, do you thank God for the unpleasant things as well as the pleasant things which come your way? Complaining will drag you down into the darkness of despondency; praise will lift you into the light of God's presence. Don't smile weakly and say, "I'm not doing too bad under the circumstances," when praise can lift you above the circumstances!

A poor man, with just a fifty-cent piece in his hand, was on his way to buy his last meal. Suddenly, he stumbled, and the money slid down under the board sidewalk. Instead of complaining, this thankful man said, "Well, praise God! I still have my appetite!"

When the Psalmist David didn't see a very pleasant present, he thanked God for the blessings of the past. Have you praised God recently for all His past benefits? Are you so busy asking, "Please give me this," that you have no time to say, "Thank you for that?"

Remember, there's always something for which to be thankful. So praise God:

There's power in praise! Therefore, obey the Biblical command, "In EVERYTHING give thanks." You have the power to decide whether you will be a grumbling, defeated Christian or a praising, triumphant Christian. You must make that decision. Oh friend, decide to praise God for everything, -pleasant or unpleasant. Begin that life of praise, and begin it, -NOW!

Some years ago there was a preacher in Germany, whose name was Paul Gerhardt. He was an earnest Christian man, and loved to preach about the Lord Jesus. But the ruler of that part of the country - he was called the Elector of Brandenburg - did not like that kind of preaching, so he sent word to this minister that he must give up preaching in that way, or go away out of the country. Paul Gerhardt sent back this message; "That it would be very hard for him to leave his country and his friends, and go with his family among strangers, where they would have nothing to live on; but as for preaching anything else than what the Bible taught him, he would rather die than do that." So he had to go into banishment with his wife and little children.

At the end of their first day's journey they came into a wood, and rested for the night at a little inn they found there. The children were crying with hunger, and clinging to their mother; but she had no food to give and no money to buy any with. She had tried to keep up all day but now she began to cry too. This made Paul Gerhardt have a very heavy heart. He left his family, and went alone into the dark wood to pray. It was a time of great trouble to him, and there was no one to whom he could go for help but to God.

While he was alone in the wood praying, a text of Scripture came into his mind. It seemed to him as if an angel had come and whispered it to him; "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass " (Psalm 37:5). This gave him great comfort. "Yes," he said to himself, "though I am banished from my home and my friends, and do not know where to take my wife and children for shelter, yet God, my God, sees me in this dark wood. He knows all about us. Now is the time to trust in Him. He will show me through; He will 'bring it to pass.'"

He was so happy in thinking on this text and so thankful to God for bringing it into his mind, that he walked up and down under the trees, and made some verses on it, which were afterwards written down and printed.

When he had finished making these verses he went into the house. He told his wife about the sweet text that had come into his mind, and repeated to her the verses he had made upon it. She soon dried up her tears, and began to be as cheerful and trustful as her husband was. The children were in bed and asleep. The husband and wife knelt down together and prayed, and resolved to "commit their way unto the Lord," and leave it for Him to "bring to pass" as He saw fit. Then after writing down his sweet verses they went to bed.

Before they had fallen asleep a great noise was heard at the door of the inn. It seemed as though some important person was knocking there. When the landlord opened the door, a man on horseback was standing before it. He said, in a loud voice "I am a messenger, I come from Duke Christian of Meresburg, and I am trying to find a minister named Paul Gerhardt, who has just been banished from Brandenburg. Do you know whether he has passed this way?"

"Paul Gerhardt?" said the landlord; "Why yes, he is in this house; but he has just gone to bed. I can't disturb him now."

"But you must," said the messenger. "I have a very important letter for him from the Duke: let me see him at once." So the landlord went upstairs and told Gerhardt, who came down to see what this could be about.

The messenger handed him a large, sealed letter; and to his great joy, he read in it that the good Duke Christian had heard of the intended banishment of himself and family, and had written to him saying, "Come into my country, Paul Gerhardt and you shall have a house and home, and plenty to live on, and liberty to preach the Gospel just as much as you please."

Then the good minister went up and told his wife, and they praised God for His love; and the next morning they started off with glad hearts and cheerful feet to their new home.

If we are to walk in the Spirit, we must live by faith. Oh, how sad to see wonderful, sincere Christians who have been deceived by the wrong emphasis on emotions. We do not live by feelings. We live by faith. Feelings are the byproducts of obedience. There is nothing wrong with feelings. Thank God we have them. Do not be ashamed of feelings, but do not look for them. Never emphasize them. Let them find their proper place in your relationship with Christ. In John 14:21, Jesus said, "He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is who loveth Me. He that loveth Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."

You live according to God's promise, according to the integrity of God Himself. You see, faith must have an object. And the object of our faith as Christians is God and His Word. God has proven Himself to be worthy of our trust. There are thousands of promises and no Christian has ever found any of them to be untrue. When God says something, you can stake your life on it you can know that He will not fail you.

Two very important verses demonstrate the significance of faith. In Romans 8:28 we read, "All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Do you believe that? It is a promise. Then, we are told in I Thessalonians 5:18: "In all things give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Do you give thanks when things go wrong? Have you learned to say "thank You" when you lose a loved one; when you have financial reverses; or when you fail an exam?

You may say that only a fool would do such a thing. No, not if all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. If God has commanded us to give thanks, there is a reason for it. And let me tell you, as one who has had some experience in this area, this is one of the most exciting lessons I have ever learned the lesson of saying "thank You" when things go wrong. In previous years, I used to lose my patience. I would storm, and try to force doors to open. If they did not open before me, I broke them down. I became tense inside, and I was often impatient with people; if anyone got in my way, someone had to move. And then I discovered what a fool I was. Oh, how tragically we can mutilate our brothers with such thoughtlessness. Christians are oftentimes this way.

But God has given us a better plan. We can relax. We can say "thank You" when the whole world is crumbling around us. Why? Because the God whom we serve is sovereign, and omnipotent. He holds the world in His hands and we can trust Him. He loves us. He personally visited this planet, took upon Himself our sins, and He is waiting to bless us. But He cannot bless us if we are worried. He cannot bless us if we complain and criticize and find fault.

Some time ago, a young woman came to our headquarters for one of our institutes. After one of my lectures, we talked together, and shared through her tears that her heart was broken-she had lost her dearest friend who had been killed in an accident. She had been driving the car when he was killed. They were coming home from their engagement party, and an oncoming automobile crossed the center, forcing her off the road into a telephone pole. The sadness of it, and the loss of her dearest friend were compounded by the guilt of knowing that she had been driving the car. She asked, "What shall I do?"

Months had passed, and she had gone to psychiatrists, psychologists, ministers and many others, seeking counsel. She said, "If I find no help, I fear for my sanity." I asked her if she were a Christian, and she said, "Yes." We read Romans 8:28 and I asked, "Do you believe this?" She said, "Yes, I believe that." We turned to I Thessalonians 5:18. She read it aloud: "In all things give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

I said, "Have you thanked God for this accident yet?" She looked at me in horror and said, "How can I ever thank God for this?" I replied, "You do not trust God, do you?" "Yes I trust God," she insisted "Then why not show that you do?" I asked "Will you pray and tell God that you trust Him and give thanks in everything?" As we knelt together, she prayed, "God, I don't understand, but I know that I can trust You: and I do say 'thank You'." Now, what was she saying when she said "thank You?" She was saying to God, "I trust You." The Bible says that without faith you cannot please God. If you complain, or if you are finding fault, you are not trusting God. You may hate God because you have lost a loved one, or your inheritance, or a lot of money, or your business, or your health. You may ask, "Why did God do this to me?" God says, "In every thing give thanks."

That young lady came to my office early the next morning literally bubbling over with joy. She said, "Last night I slept without medication for the first time since the accident. And this morning when I awakened, my heart was filled with praise and thanksgiving to God. I just cannot understand it, but I know that it has something to do with what you taught me about saying ‘thank You’ to God."

I remember the time when there was a need for over a half million dollars in our headquarters operation. The whole of a great world-wide ministry was at stake. Because of a technicality, the rug had been pulled out from under us and we were flat on our faces. The whole work was in danger of being destroyed, and my own reputation would be shattered. When the word came to me from a friend that the money which we had been promised was no longer available, I rushed to my office, got down on my knees and said, "Lord, thank You, thank You, thank You." I shall never forget that experience as the tears flowed down my cheeks. Everything had fallen in - the world had crumbled. Yet God was not dead. God can be trusted. Another day would come, and another plan far more wonderful than the first would be revealed. And before I left my knees, God gave me that assurance. Within a few weeks a better plan developed and God demonstrated that, when we trust Him, He is faithful.

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Copyrighted 1969

Campus Crusade for Christ.

All rights reserved.

Faith yields positive results. To walk by faith brings glory to God. The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of faith is the end of anxiety. God never overtaxes our faith (Phil. 2:27). Faith in God is the most practical thing in the world. There is no such thing as chance in the faith realm. The man of faith is standing on the most solid ground in the universe and need not be pitied. God is looking for somebody to trust Him. "This is the victory that overcometh . . . even our faith." "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin." "Without faith it is impossible to please Him."

God often encourages the weak in faith by giving speedy answers to prayer; but he strong in faith will be tested by God's delays. Delayed answers to prayer are not only trials of faith, but opportunities of honoring God, by our steadfast confidence in Him (Dan. 10:12, 13). Satan delayed Daniel's answer three full weeks. He nearly succumbed, but God will not suffer anything to come to us above that we are able to bear (1 Cor. 10: 13). Hell does its worst with the saints, but Heaven will not desert them. Trials and difficulties may pile up mountains high, but they drive us to the bosom of God (Psa. 46: 10). Let the testing time be the trusting time.

Faith, which always acts according to the mind of Christ, stoops to no unworthy device for deliverance from trial. (Rom. 8:28). "Hope thou in God." Faith stirs God to do wonders for us (1 John 3:22). We cannot be losers by trusting God. A steadfast purpose to trust God, when He seems to be breaking promise, betokens a growth in faith (Job 13:15). Faith must undergo fiery trials (1 Pet. 4:12, 13). Trials are the flood of faith. Our faith is strengthened greatly when we are brought to see that no arm but God's can help. God's method of developing faith is peculiar testings, and unheard of trials. The next test must be more severe than the last. Are we going to break with God, or will our faith stand the test? Faith must grip the faithfulness of God (Heb. 4:2). Abraham, over twenty-four long years, "believed Him faithful that promised.

"Afflictions coming upon God's people are no proof that they are displeasing Him. Is God with them or not is the test (Gen. 39:21; Jer. 38). The clinging hand of a child of God makes a desperate situation, a delight to Him. Difficulty is the very atmosphere of miracles. In great miracles, the condition is not difficulty, but impossibility. When we depend upon organizations, education, or men, we get what they can do; but when we depend upon God we get what He can do. (Read Heb. 11).

God never says to us, "Stand still," "Sit still," or "Be still," unless He is going to do something. Tarry at a promise until God meets you there. Why is it we find believers who are believing God for great things? "Command ye Me," God is saying today.

"The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him." Very few of us can enter into the full sorrow of Jeremiah. Almost all the Jews had fallen victims to war, famine, or pestilence, or had been carried away as captives. Jerusalem and the temple had been burned. The walls around the city had been broken down. But Jeremiah is not overwhelmed. There is yet hope. Hope in the living God. Keep your fears to yourself, share your courage with, others.

"He hangeth the earth upon nothing." It hangs all right, doesn't it? A God who can make an earth, sun, moon, and stars out of nothing can supply all your needs. (Phil. 4:19). He that trusts Him wholly finds Him wholly true.

Why did Christ use so trifling a symbol of faith as the mustard seed? Because He is contrasting faith and God. The emphasis here is not on the "Have faith," but on "Have faith in God." Faith insures every attribute of God in my defense. It helps me defy the hosts of hell. To come to the place of faith, we must pass from the place of helplessness. Faith may be cultivated by meditating upon the ways and the works of God.

Mueller rested on the simple promises found in the sixth chapter of Matthew. He believed the Word, and practiced it. Begin in a little way. "At first I was able to trust the Lord for ten dollars, then a hundred, then a thousand, until with the greatest ease I would trust Him for a million dollars, if there was occasion. But first, I should quietly, carefully, deliberately examine and see whether what I was trusting for was something in accordance with His promise in His written Word." No one will get achieving faith by waiting for it. Faith comes by using what you have. We ofttimes wait for the obstacle to be removed, when we ought to go forward as if there were no obstacles (Josh. 3:15-17).

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Many people are willing to believe regarding those things that seem probable to them. The province of faith begins where probabilities cease, and where sight and sense fail. Ofttimes to look is to fail. When Peter looked at the waves, and took his eyes off Jesus, he began to sink.

(Matt. 11:12; Gen. 32:25)

Violent faith, prayer and determination to conquer are needed. "According to your faith be it unto you." "O ye of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Doubt digs the grave of faith. Doubts sealed the doom of the Israelites in the wilderness. "Lord, increase our faith." The Master showed them that it was not quantity they needed, but quality. Jesus could do "not many mighty works there because of their unbelief." "If Thou canst do any thing, to help us." See how a doubter speaks to the mighty Lord, who made all men and demons. Jesus said, "If thou canst believe." The father, seeing that his son's salvation was thrown back upon him, cried, "Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief." Trust God to have mercy upon you.

"With God all things are possible," is the clear statement of our Lord. (Mark 11:23; 1 John 5:4; 1 Tim. 6:12). Take the shield of faith and with it quench all the fiery darts, doubts, and questions of Satan.

A crisis is not a calamity to faith, but a glorious opportunity (John 11:4; 2 Cor. 4:18).

Mr. Hyde had a wonderful experience to which he owed, I believe, his power with God, and therefore with man. He used to speak of it as one of the most direct and solemn lessons God had ever taught him. He was up in the hills resting for a short time. He had been burdened about the spiritual condition of a certain pastor, and he resolved to spend time in definite intercession for him. Entering into his "inner chamber," he began pouring out his heart to his Heavenly Father concerning that brother somewhat as follows:

". . . 0 God! Thou knowest that brother, how 'cold' he was going to say, when suddenly a Hand seemed to be laid on his lips, and a Voice said to him in stern reproach, 'He that toucheth him toucheth the apple of Mine eye.' A great horror came over him. He had been 'judging' his brother. He felt rebuked and humbled before God. It was he himself who first needed putting right. He confessed his sin. He claimed the precious Blood of Christ that cleanseth from all sin. 'Whatsoever things are lovely . . . if there be any praise, think on these things.' Then he cries out, 'Father, show me what things are lovely and of good report in my brother's life.'

"Like a flash he remembered how that brother had given up all for Christ, enduring such suffering from relations whom he had given up. He was reminded of his years of hard work, of the tact with which he managed his difficult congregation, of the many quarrels he had healed, of what a model husband he was. One thing after another rose up before him and so all his prayer season was spent in praise for his brother instead of in prayer. He could not recall a single petition, nothing but thanksgiving! God was opening His servant's eyes to the highest of ministries, that of praise.

"Mark the result also on that brother's life! When Mr. Hyde went down to the plains, he found that just then the brother had received a great spiritual uplift. While he was praising, God was blessing. A wonderful Divine Law, the law of a Father's love. While we bless God for any child of His, He delights to bless that one!

"This was the secret of John Hyde's power with God; he saw the good in God's little ones, and so was able to appreciate God's work of grace in that heart. Hence he supplied the Heavenly atmosphere of praise in which God's love was free to work in all its fullness. This, too was what gave him power with men. We are attracted to those who appreciate us. All our powers expand in their presence, and we are with them at our best. Hence they call out all that is good in us, and we feel uplifted when with them. When we look at people's faults we shrivel up their energies, they are at their worst. In a word, we encourage their faults by thinking about them.

Let us remember above all else that God's people on this earth are in the making. This is His workshop and souls are being fashioned and formed in it. The final polishing touches we will not receive in the present life, but when this body of our humiliation has been transformed . . . suppose you go into a carpenter's shop and begin to find fault with his unfinished chairs and tables! You say, 'How rough this is! What an ugly corner that is!' The carpenter will doubtless get angry and say, 'Bear in mind that I am still making these things. They are not yet finished. Come and see the pattern after which they are being fashioned. See, this is what they will be yet like when I have done with them. He shows you beautiful chairs and tables-shining, perfectly formed, polished to perfection! Is the carpenter not right? Is the critic not in the wrong? The one looks at the things that are lovely and eternal; the other at those which are unlovely and, thank God, fleeting.

How often Mr. Hyde excused men who had been unkind to him. 'They do not understand' he said 'I know they do not want to be unkind,' he once replied when he was asked to defend himself against a bitter and unjust attack. A friend even offered to write and explain, but he quietly said, 'This is my cross which He wants me to take and carry for Him.'

What if we all had this spirit-misunderstandings in mission stations, etc., would cease . . . . Oh, these petty quarrels, jealousies, and misunderstandings among the dear children of God! How can they be done away with? I think that Hyde's way is sure to succeed. BE MUCH IN PRAYER; let any slight or even insult be an occasion to pray for the very persons who do these things, and praise God for the privilege of being permitted to bear these things. I think it is Madam Guyon that used to say when she was insulted or persecuted, 'Thank you, Father; you saw I needed just this humbling.' But we need a life of prayer to be able to do this, not a spasmodic spurt, but a habit of prayer, to live in communion with Him. . .

"The secret of Hyde's power with God and with men-'Giving thanks in everything.' This is God's command to those who would be full of the Holy Spirit, and no one I have ever known obeyed this command more faithfully than John Hyde. It was one great source of his joy and therefore of his attractive power. Again and again he would declare that if we want to know why trials are sent us, let us begin by thanking God for them, and we will doubtless soon see why they have been sent. We had among ourselves a phrase, 'Praising God through shut teeth:' that meant praising God in the face of the greatest troubles and darkest hours of life. This we can always do, for we can never doubt that He is our Father in Heaven, and so all must be well for us at all times and in all circumstances."

I am writing this aboard ship on the way to Brazil. This fact is the fruit of God's answering my prayer.

I am a young missionary. My problem is common to nearly all missionary candidates: I needed money for passage. I had some money in my passage account but needed another $250 to be able to book passage.

I found myself perplexed in mind as to what attitude I should have concerning this situation. The question in my mind was, "Is this delay God's direction or the Devil's intervention?"

On Sunday evening I shared these thoughts with a fellow missionary candidate. I told him, "I must know soon because if I am not out of the country within three weeks, my visa will expire."

"If I were you," he said, "I would take several mornings and I would carefully and prayerfully go over the lists of sins in the Bible. On each point open your heart to God for any conviction. Deal with each one until the Spirit witnesses that, 'In this point, your heart is clean.' Then, after you have thoroughly dealt with everything in your heart, go to God for a definite promise. Not some verse jerked out of context, but some promise that rests deep in the character of God, which definitely applies to your situation. Then once you have this promise: start moving!"

I took this advice to heart. Faith at once welled up in my heart. So much so, that I told the Lord that if He sent in the money before I had completely gone over the scripture at hand, I would be sure to finish the job.

The money was in hand within hours. I was able to immediately book passage on a ship which left two days before the last embarkation date on my visa.

It was a great thrill to see God answer that prayer for financial provision. But, even greater is God's wonderful continuing provision for the prayer: "Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin" (Psalms 51:2; 51:7; 139: 23, 24).

TRUSTING INSTEAD OF TRYING

The amazing thing, which never ceases to cause me to rejoice, is that as we operate on the principle of proceeding as the Lord provides, whenever Our expenses rise or special funds are needed, the Lord miraculously increases our income, often from some totally unexpected source. Conversely, on occasion in the past, when I have become impatient with our progress, or become panicky in the face of what I considered to be some emergency, and have gone out to try to raise some money, I have invariably failed! I am praying that I will learn the lesson of always trusting the Lord instead of trying to do the job through self-effort. For, "except the Lord build the house they labor in vain that build it" (Ps. 127: 1).

THE PRAYER OF COMMITTAL

Taken from "Haven of Rest"

Commit thy way unto the Lord: trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass." (Hebrew, "He worketh.") Psalm 37:5.

There is a kind of prayer that we need to learn. It involves a definite transaction with God. Generalities are avoided. Time is saved and results are obtained. It is a "common-sense" kind of prayer.

The above text may be summarized in three phrases: "commit, trust and He worketh."

To commit anything fully to God, it is necessary to have a definite transaction with God.

We heard of a farmer who had great difficulty in becoming established in his Christian life. He was always giving himself to God and in a short time the enemy would tell him that nothing was done, that he was not a Christian and that his consecration did not amount to anything; and he would fall into uncertainty and doubting. This up-and-down experience troubled him and he rarely had any peace of mind. The devil seemed to torment Him continually. Drawn by a new impulse he made up his mind that, right where he was in the field, he would yield himself to the Lord once for all and to make it absolutely definite, he would drive a stake in the ground on the very spot. Not long after, as he was at work in another field, Satan attacked him as aforetime and told him that he had not given himself to God. He replied, "Come this way, Mr. Devil." Over the fence he went and back to the field where he had driven the stake. "Look here, Mr. Devil, here is the spot where I did it, and this is the stake I drove, and this is the place where God accepted me." This definiteness and decision lifted him far above all doubts and suggestions of the adversary. Many are in doubt because of their lack of definiteness in dealing with God.

Many pray about their needs and keep on praying as though they did not believe and in consequence pray themselves out of faith. In Mark 11: 24, we see that we are to be definite in making our requests known to God, and it is just as necessary to be definite in believing what God says about the answer. After praying and believing, if the answer still tarries outwardly do not continue to pray for it in such a way that it is evident you are not believing Him for it. If you do, you will find when you have finished praying that your faith has weakened or has entirely gone. If God keeps you waiting for the conscious answer tell Him that you are waiting and are still believing and praising Him for the answer, thus you become one of the Lord's "Remembrancers," spoken of in Isaiah 62: 6-7 (margin), by reminding Him of His word of promise and by still maintaining your stand of faith and saying "Lord I believe Thee and praise Thee."

Other methods of prayer may result in praying yourself out of faith altogether. It is ruinous to faith to go back over the same ground again and again. There is nothing that so fully clinches faith as to be so sure of the answer that you can thank and praise God for it. We may know we have believed the Lord because after we pray we are not restlessly planning and working for the answer to our prayer but are filled with restful praise because we have believed God's word that He "worketh."

A sure sign that we have believed is found in Hebrews 4:3, "We which have believed do enter into rest." Prayers that pray us out of faith are the result of centering our thoughts on the difficulties in the way rather than on God's promises. We are not to be occupied with our feelings or symptoms of our faith, or lack of faith, but only with what God has said. The simple way is to begin calling the things we have prayed for ours and to thank God for them before we feel or see the answer. God is faithful. He cannot deny Himself.

Joshua dared to claim a promised victory on the authority of God's word alone, while as yet there were no signs of that victory being accomplished, and according to their faith God did unto them, so that when they "shouted" (praised), He made the walls to fall. Abraham, "considered not his own body . . . He staggered not at the promise of God." Rom. 4:19-20. 4:10-20. See also 4:17.

If the realization of what we have believed for always came immediately where would faith have any chance to grow and be perfected?

The same thing is true about committal or consecration as about prayer. People consecrate and re-consecrate over and over again, not realizing that each repetition discounts the one previously made. If you were to give a book to a friend and then went and repeated this gift day after day, soon nobody would know to whom the book belonged. We find that in the law of offerings in the Bible when an offering was once laid upon the altar, from that moment it belonged to the Lord and no man dared to stretch forth a hand to retake it. The surrender having been made the next thing to do is to believe that God accepts it and to reckon that it is His and keep on reckoning this. Don't keep on committing and re-committing your case to God. One of Satan's most subtle traps is to get us to do this.

To commit suggests not only bringing the matter to God, but also leaving it there. This matter of bringing it to God is hard enough, but to leave it there is harder. Yet it is necessary to leave it with Him and, trust Him if He is to work.

Suppose you have something the matter with your watch. You take it to the watchmaker and ask him if he can repair it. After he looks at it through his magnifying glass, he replies, "Yes," then you take the watch and, say, "Thank you," and go your way. Will your watch be repaired? No, if you want it repaired you must leave it with the watchmaker. So often when we pray we ask the Lord if He will undertake a certain difficult thing for us. He says, "Yes," and yet we fail to leave it with Him and nothing is done.

We have to learn to really hand over to God our requests and pray till we believe and then leave them with Him. So often when there are difficult things or urgent matters, we like to feel that we have them still in the power of our hand. It is difficult for us to give up the control. Why not give God a chance to work?

Let us look again at another analogy, a parable in nature that teaches exactly the same lesson. A small boy who had been born and brought up in a large city asked his parents for permission to plant some Indian corn in their little garden, and was given a few seed corn. He recalls the wonder and responsibility when he planted that corn. He committed it to the ground and buried it out of sight. He watered it, and although he hardly expected it to come up the first day or two he could not resist the temptation of digging up each grain and seeing how it was getting on. Needless to say he raised no corn from that planting. He had to begin all over and put in some new seed: and after a long while gathered the little harvest of corn.

There are some requests which we commit to God that we treat exactly as he did those grains of corn. We commit them to Him and water them with our prayers and tears, but we are too impatient. It is hard to wait. We dig them up and take them in our hands to see how they are getting on. This blocks the working of God. Never dig up in unbelief what you have sown in faith. There is too much self-effort and too little real committing to God. Some prayers have to be hidden in God's hand till they die, and God wants us to leave them there by faith, for God knows that "if it die it bringeth forth much fruit."

When anything is really committed to God we must not act as we did before. Usually He does not want us to do anything but trust Him. If there is anything else He will make it plain. We must be careful to do only what He directs. Nothing must be done by us inconsistent with the faith of committal.

The Word of God tells us, "When ye pray believe," Mark 11:24. Many, when they pray, simply pray and think that there is virtue in saying prayers; but God, in this text, calls our attention to the necessity of believing what we pray. This believing is not simply believing in God, but means to believe for the very thing for which we are asking Him.

We must take the definite place of believing God. This is not merely to believe that God will answer our prayer some time, for that would be putting God's working off until some future time and would be only hope instead of faith. We must believe that we have the answer, even though we neither see nor feel that we have (See I John 5:14-15).

God says "Now faith is" -Heb. 11:1, not faith shall be, for that would be only hoping for and not present tense believing and having. Faith begins now.

The faith that one has must be more than a mental willingness to believe; it must be a faith founded on God's promise. Beside, you must believe it is God's will to answer this particular prayer. If you so believe Him You can begin to thank Him. If you honestly thank God from your heart that He has heard you, you can be sure that your faith is sufficiently perfect for Him to work. Then you can say, "Lord, I believe Thee and praise Thee."

His Word says, "By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God." Thus pray until you can believe and thank Him for the answer and He will begin to work.

It is always an aid to us to have some specific case that will exemplify the principles that we are presenting and often we can learn more from example than from ordinary directions that are given.

A certain church got into financial difficulties and it looked to the young pastor as though he would have to resign. There was a large indebtedness; he endeavored in every way to have the need in money provided but all in vain. He made the matter a subject of prayer, but seemed to get no answer. Then God spoke to Him and said, "Commit this to Me and trust Me and I will work." As he bowed in prayer, God spoke an appropriate promise, Phil. 4:19, "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." With a definite act of faith, he committed the church and all its affairs to God and claimed the promise, the supply of all the needs and said, "Lord, I thank Thee and praise Thee." He retired but could not sleep-the crisis seemed to be so great in the church and also in his own life. After tossing on his bed for an hour or two, the suggestion came to him to get down and pray again and ask God to provide this need. He saw that it was from the enemy, but as he could not sleep he arose to kneel by his bedside and said, "Lord, when I retired I committed this matter to Thee, and I told Thee that I believe that Thou would'st work; Lord, I still believe Thee and I praise Thee." He again retired but not to sleep. After an hour or two of wakefulness the suggestion was repeated to get up and pray and ask God to provide this great need. He arose and felt sure that the enemy was fooled, as he was evidently trying to get him to pray himself out of faith, but he still said, "Lord, when I retired I believed Thee and I still believe Thee and I praise Thee." Again he retired but not to sleep; another hour or two were spent in the same kind of restlessness and pressure. The same suggestion was repeated, "You had better rise and pray." He arose and prayed after the same manner, "Lord I still believe Thee and Praise Thee. " Then he fell into a quiet sleep; and when he awakened there was real peace. Needless to say, God abundantly provided and answered that prayer and taught him the wonderful lesson of "Commit, trust, and God worketh."

We have known a number of cases of healing that have been accomplished by the same kind of committal and faith. There is one we recall of a young woman who was suffering from dropsy, swollen to twice her natural size. After using all rational means and the help of kind physicians, she seemed to get worse rather than better. She saw that there was nothing else for her to do but commit herself and her case to God and to trust Him to work. By a definite act of faith, she committed herself and her disease to God, and claimed His promise, Psa. 37:5, that if she committed her case to Him, He would work. Some improvement was noticed at once, but the disease still lingered and day after day she would look up to God and say, "Lord, I will believe Thee and praise Thee." It was not long until she was entirely restored. She recovered her former health and strength, and beside, she had gained a blessed nearness and fellowship with her God.

Another case that illustrates in a wonderful manner God's method of working in answer to the prayer of committal and definite faith and trust was that of a woman who was under much pressure because of having so many things working against her. It seemed that on every line she was attacked. She became at first discouraged and then melancholy and was on the point of being driven to commit suicide.

She had been a believer but her faith seemed to have been shipwrecked. She was approached by a Christian worker and asked if she was a Christian. She said, "I used to be, but I am not now." After a few sympathetic words from the worker, she told of some of her troubles and the worker tried to comfort her; but there seemed to be such a deep sense of her utter inability and helplessness and such a spirit of discouragement and darkness that all ordinary methods failed.

The worker, knowing the secret of the power of committal offered in faith and continued by praise, asked her if she would not commit herself and all her troubles to the Lord by a definite act of faith. She kneeled in prayer but said she could not pray. Then the worker helped her to voice a prayer to God in a few words. She said, "Lord, I commit all my troubles and myself to Thee, and I believe Thy promise that if we commit and trust Thee, Thou wilt work. Lord, I believe Thee and praise Thee."

The worker told her that God said in His word to commit to Him and trust Him and He would work, and that the only kind of prayer she would have to offer after she made such a committal would be, "Lord, I believe Thee and I praise Thee."

It was several months before the worker saw her again and when she did her whole countenance and life were transformed. Her life was filled with praise and God had not only answered prayer, but had transformed her life into one that was radiant with God and which would be helpful to many who were on the verge of melancholia.

Praise God that we have a God that is able to save and help the broken-hearted and discouraged.

Many Christians have been praying for the salvation of their loved ones and do not understand this prayer of committal.

A mother had a son who was leading a sinful life. Her neighbor quoted to her the texts, "The promise is unto you, and to your children" (Acts 2:39) and "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house," (Acts 16:31), and told her to commit her son to the Lord and believe these promises, then to tell the Lord that she believed Him, and to praise Him. The mother said, "This came as a revelation to me. I never saw it that way before." She got down and committed her son to God, and he was wonderfully saved shortly afterwards, and now he and she are both rejoicing in the Lord.

Perhaps one of the most remarkable cases of this kind was that of a woman who gave a testimony in a church in a large city. She said, "I have a son who lived a life of sin. I brought him up in the right way but he, at a certain stage of His life, rejected all that I had taught Him of God and started on the downward path. I did everything that it was possible for a mother to do; I pleaded with him, prayed for him, but nothing seemed to avail. After years of anguish and trial a whisper came to me, 'Why do you not commit him to me? You cannot do anything with him.' By an act of faith I committed him to God, according to His promise to me and my children, and I told the Lord that I believed that He took him, and I thanked Him. I expected that there might be improvement; but he seemed to become only worse. When I would get down to pray, the only kind of prayer I could pray was, 'Lord, I believe Thee and I praise Thee.' I would sit up for him at nights; he would come home late, sometimes intoxicated; it would have broken my heart if I had not believed God, and I would quietly say, 'Lord, I believe Thee and I praise Thee.'

"One night it seemed as though he was not coming home, but later there was a knock at the door. I looked out and saw that they were bringing my boy home on a stretcher. He had cut his own throat and was unconscious. No one can describe the feelings that came to my heart. I felt that I must pray for him, for there were still some signs of life. I knelt down but the only prayer I could offer was, 'Lord, I still believe Thee and praise Thee.' While thus kneeling, the tears coursing down my cheeks, he opened his eyes and said, 'Mother, pray for me.' The surgeon came and, finding the jugular vein had not been severed, sewed up the wound and my son recovered."

His life was changed, he gave himself to God. "That was just a few years ago," she said as she addressed the church. "I have just received a telegram from him saying, 'Mother, I have entered the ministry, and today I preached my first sermon.' "

This is a wonderful way of faith. To commit everything to God and bow before Him in prayer till we believe Him; and then stand upon our standing of faith, praising Him. Every moment of faith is a moment of God's working, whether we see it or not; His Word is true; God answers prayer, and there is no kind of prayer that is more effective than the prayer of committal.

There are many today who desire a real Pentecostal fullness of the Holy Spirit. Any blessing that God has for us is to be received by faith. It is God's will that we should have His Holy Spirit; He has promised that we should have "power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon us." He is more ready to give us the Holy Spirit than earthly parents are to give good gifts unto their children. We ought to bow before Him and claim the Pentecostal fullness and baptism of the Holy Spirit. Many stop here and get only very little of God's blessing and power. Beside receiving the Holy Spirit by faith, (Galatians 3:14), God bids us tarry until the Holy Spirit manifests Himself by taking full control and we are endued with power from on high.

This prayer of committal gives us the secret. After we believe Him we can quietly say, "Lord, I believe Thee and praise Thee," then keeping in that attitude before Him, some blessed day the heavens will open and God will baptize "with the Holy Ghost and with fire." We can see no reason in Scripture why we should not receive just as they did in the Acts of the Apostles. There need be no wild fire. So many have just received by faith and have not praised their way through for the larger manifestation God has. It takes real faith to persevere in faith when we see no special change, and yet we can keep looking up to Him and saying, "Lord, I still believe Thee and praise Thee." Thus attitude ought to be maintained until the Holy Spirit manifests His presence within you. You should not be satisfied until there is a definite manifestation and assurance of the supernatural anointing of His power and Spirit. Then the promise will be fulfilled, "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you."

Many of God's children need a fresh anointing of His Holy Spirit. Wait before Him, claiming what you need, and then keep on believing and praising, no matter how long you may have to wait. Every moment of this waiting is a moment of His working. This may involve deeper heart searchings and deeper applications by faith of the precious blood of Jesus. This may take time, but keep on believing and praising. Believe against and over every barrier and difficulty. Believe and praise no matter how deep the rut your mind and spirit are in and despite the listlessness and lethargy of your own self, even if Satan whispers to you that it is an untruth and hypocrisy that you are practicing because you do not feel anything. Believe and praise all the more heroically, for even though you do not feel it, you mean it.

Do not keep on repeating that you take the answer to your prayer, but continue to say I took and have it because God declares: "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Mark II: 24.

Begin to pay the debt of praise and adoration that you owe to your God. Do not hinder God's working, but let your prayer of committal merge into faith and your faith into praise, and thus enable God to defeat the devil on your behalf, and pour out such a blessing that there will not be room to receive it. (Revised edition).

Since publishing the first edition of this booklet literally hundreds of cases have been reported to the publisher from many countries of rich blessing received.

A Canadian business man wrote that through adopting the method of prayer recommended in this tract for his brother over 90 years of age, and for 40 years a rabid blasphemer of God, calling Him a monster, and who had for years been estranged from his family, was in a short time changed into a hymn-singing and Bible loving Christian and was restored to his family. An amazing miracle to all who knew him.

Another gentlemen, a university professor in Toronto, was inspired by this tract to pray for his unsaved brother 73 years of age, resulting in his being gloriously saved.

The professor of music in a United States university writes: "During the past year or so I have seen about 200 people healed of all kinds of diseases, and have had very blessed times. It will be an encouragement to you to know that it was largely through the inspiration I received from the tract ‘The Prayer of Committal’ that I was led into preaching these truths. May God bless you in your noble work. Your tracts are stirring the country. Three Methodist ministers whom I know have also been led to preach this ‘Ask-take-and thank’ method of prayer; as the result of reading this tract. Keep up the good work, Brother, it has proven of inestimable value to me and to many others."

If we are to grow in our prayer life there are five things which are necessary.

The first of these is TIME. Like everything else, prayer requires time: daily time, like the other essentials, eating and sleeping. It needs to be time enough to forget how much time it is, even though duties call you away. So it must be planned for, sometimes well ahead, so no duty is slighted. One must TAKE time. No one worthwhile has time for all that comes crowding to his door. Something must be left out, so time must be taken from something else, possibly something else important, yet less important. Prayer does need time.

The second thing prayer needs is a PLACE. You can pray anywhere-on a train, walking down the street, measuring gingham, chopping a typewriter, cutting out a dress, in kitchen or parlor or shop. But you're not likely to, UNLESS YOU’VE BEEN OFF IN SOME QUIET PLACE WITH THE DOOR SHUT. Christ said, "Enter into thine inner chamber and shut the door"-the world shut out-but you are shut in with some ONE unseen. It does not matter where the place is. The corner of the kitchen is as good as the cloistered corner of a cathedral. Indeed some kitchens I have known are better than some cathedrals. It is the recognized presence of our blessed Lord that makes holy ground whether kitchen or cathedral. And the real rare blessing of the daily quiet place is not only that you actually pray, though you will, not only that you read the Book, though you will. It is this: There is some ONE else there. And to sit quiet in His presence, thank Him that He is there, and that He died for you in the love of His heart; maybe to sing Him a soft hymn of praise; this is the real blessedness of that bit of quiet time in the shut-away corner. Prayer needs a place, and prayer hallows the place - any place.

Third - prayer needs a book, the BOOK. The Book is the basis of prayer. Bible reading is the listening side of prayer. In the Book God speaks to us. In prayer we speak to God. What He says to us radically affects what we say to Him. Prayer needs three organs of the head - an ear, a tongue, an eye. The ear to hear what God says, the tongue to repeat His promises as to our petitions, and the eye to look out expectantly until the results comes. Thoughtful Bible reading is giving God our ears. What goes in at the ear, warmed up as it goes through the heart, comes out at the tongue, in simple expectant, warm prayer, communion and petition and intercession.

Yes, give this Book its place in your prayers. What God says here. will change what you will say, and so wholly change the results. The Book will shape and mold your praying. Let it!

The fourth is particularly important -LET THE TEACHER TEACH YOU. There is One who is peculiarly the prayer teacher -the Holy Spirit. It is He who puts the desire to pray in our hearts. He will direct all our praying, as a wise father directs his son.

Where is the Holy Spirit? He is in every one whose heart has opened to the Lord Jesus - not because we are good, or deserving, or saintly, but because He is faithful.

Yes, let the Holy Spirit teach you. He is eager to. When you go into the quiet school room, with the school book open, ask this Teacher to teach you, and He will. You may be a bit slow and stupid-most of us are. But He is very gentle and patient.

You will likely find your praying changed some. It will become simpler - more confident, and personal, and practical. Some things you will quit asking for - they will slip out of your thoughts in that Presence. Other things will come in - certain things you will pray for more boldly and confidently and expectantly.

The fifth need is to CULTIVATE AN OPENNESS OF SPIRIT - I mean that habitual openness of mind that opens up more and more as clearer light comes in. It begins with that first surrender to Christ as Master, but must continue to be habitual surrender in the actual practice of daily life. As clearer light comes in on this habit, that line of conduct, that problem, you yield and actually live the surrender you made in the initial act.

Stubbornness, sifted down, is simply refusing to yield to the new bit of light that comes. Openness to light is the one doorway to growth. Yes, we will welcome the light by obedience, we will pore thoughtfully over the Book, to get its meaning clear. We will cultivate the thoughtful, sane, brooding, meditating to get things clearer and clearer.

Here they are - a PRAYER TIME, a PRAYER PLACE, the PRAYER BOOK, the BIBLE, the prayer TEACHER - the Holy Spirit- the habitual openness to more light. Let us all start into school afresh.

Because you prayed-

God touched our weary bodies with His power

And gave us strength for many an hour

In which we might have faltered,

Had not you,

Our intercessors, faithful been

And true.

Because you prayed-

God touched our eager fingers with His skin,

Enabling us to do His blessed will

With scalpel, suture, bandage;

Better still,

He healed the sick, the wounded,

Cured the ill.

Because you prayed-

The "dwellers in the dark" have found the Light,

The glad good news has banished heathen night,

The message of the Cross

So long delayed,

Has brought them life at last,

Because you prayed.

All praise to Him who built the hills;

All praise to Him the streams who fills;

All praise to Him who lights each star

That sparkles in the blue afar.

All praise to Him who makes the morn,

And bids it glow with beams new-born;

Who draws the shadows of the night,

Like curtains, o'er our wearied sight.

All praise to Him whose love hath given

In Christ His Son, the Life of heaven:

Who gives us for our darkness light,

And turns to day our deepest night.

All praise to Him in love who came,

To bear our woe, and sin, and shame;

Who lived to die, who died to rise,

The all-prevailing Sacrifice.

When clouds seem thick around you and troubles seem to drown you;

Praise the Lord.

When you suffer grief or pain and you've prayed in Jesus' Name, beloved,

Praise the Lord.

When your prayer brings no relief from your agony and grief;

Praise the Lord.

When someone says things that offend, remember this, my friend;

Praise the Lord.

When troubles come in like a flood, remember you are under the blood;

Praise the Lord.

When it rains or when it shines, when folks are mean or when they're kind,

Praise the Lord.

When life goes into reverse and things get worse and worse;

Praise the Lord.

When you feel so blue you don't know what to do,

Praise the Lord.

Beloved, don't give way to tears, anxieties and fear;

Praise the Lord.

Look up in Jesus' face. He will give more grace;

Praise the Lord.

When it seems you cannot stand, just hold on to Jesus' hand, and Praise the Lord.

Praise Him all the while and do it with a smile;

Praise the Lord.

Life will be sweet if you kneel at Jesus' feet,

and Praise the Lord.

When tribulations come, do not try to win,

just Praise the Lord.

You will be so content with whatever He has sent,

if you Praise the Lord.

You will be happily surprised how far away Satan flies,

when you Praise the Lord.

He won't hang around, for he doesn't like the sound,

when you Praise the Lord.

It is an expression of love to our Lord above,

when we Praise the Lord.

Mr. and Mrs. Rees Howells had been accepted by the South Africa General Mission as missionaries. About a week before they sailed, they received money from the mission to pay their expenses to London, but they needed some things to complete their outfit, and once again the rule was applied - - first need, first claim. "There is always a tendency to keep money, so as to get out of God's testings," said Mr. Howells, "and we tried our best to do it this time! Anyway, we had to spend the money, and all the people of the place thought we were well supplied. So we were, up to that week, and we thought money would be sure to come the day before we were to leave for London; but the last post came and no money, and our train was leaving before the post next morning. We thought it would be very hard to say goodbye to my uncle and aunt and little Samuel, but the burden for the train money made the parting a little easier! That is often the way with the Lord; when we have a very hard thing to do, He will burden us in another way to make the former one easier.

"Next morning, it was not so hard to part with our parents, because we had to walk to the station without the money! We felt sure that it would come on the station platform, but no, the time came for the train to leave. What were we to do? There was only one thing possible. We still had ten shillings, and we must go as far as we could with it, then our extremity would be God's opportunity. We had to change trains at Llanelly station, about twenty miles from our home, and wait there a couple of hours; so without letting anyone know, we only booked as far as that. There were many people at our home station wishing us all the good things, but what we needed was money to go to London! Many also came as far as Llanelly, singing all the way. The thought that came to me was, 'I'd sing better if I had the money!'

"We went out to breakfast with some friends at Llanelly, and then walked back to the station still not delivered; and now the time for the train had come. The Spirit then spoke to me and said, 'If you had money what would you do?' 'Take my place in the queue at the booking office,' I said. 'Well, are you not preaching that My promises are equal to current coin? You had better take your place in the queue.' So there was nothing I could do except obey. There were about a dozen people before me. There they were passing by the booking office one by one. The devil kept on telling me, 'Now you have only a few people in front of you, and when your turn comes you will have to walk through. You have preached much about Moses with the Red Sea in front and the Egyptians behind; but now you are the one who is shut in.' 'Yes, shut in,' I answered, 'but, like Moses, I'll be gloriously led out!'

When there were only two before me, a man stepped out of the crowd and said, 'I'm sorry I can't wait any longer, but I must open my shop.' He said good-bye and put thirty shillings in my hand! It was most glorious, and only a foretaste of what the Lord would do in Africa, if we would obey. After I had the tickets, the people who came with us to the train began to give gifts to us, but the Lord had held them back until we had been tested. We were singing all the way to London!"

On arrival, Mr. Head asked them to breakfast the next morning. He then told them that he had 50 pounds for them, but didn't post it. "Thank God, you didn't" said Mr. Howells, adding to himself, "I wouldn't have been without the test in the queue for anything."

CHRISTIAN LITERATURE CRUSADE Fort Washington, PA.

MISSIONARY CRUSADER

PO Box 94790

Lubbock, TX 79493-4790