“The just shall live by his faith” Habakkuk 2:4.

“We are delivered from the law, that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter” Romans 7:6.

“I live; and yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” Galatians 2:20.

The word from Habakkuk is quoted three times in the New Testament as the divine representation of salvation in Christ by faith alone.1 But that word is very often misunderstood–as if it ran, Man will be justified by faith on his conversion. The word includes this, but signifies much more. It says that the just will live by faith–the whole life of the righteous, from moment to moment, will be by faith.2

As presented in God’s Word, we all know how sharp the opposition is between the grace that comes by faith and the law that demands our works. This is generally noted with reference to justification. But that distinction holds just as much for the whole life of sanctification. The just will live by faith alone. That is, they will have power to live according to the will of God. At his conversion, the sinner found it necessary to understand that there was nothing good in him–that he must receive grace as one who was powerless and godless. As a believer, he must understand just as clearly that in him there is nothing good–that every moment he must receive his power for good from above.3 And his work must therefore be to look up and believe and receive his power from above–from his Lord in heaven–every morning and every hour. I am not to do what I can, and hope in the Lord to supply strength. No, as one who has been dead–literally able for nothing in himself, and whose life is in his Lord above–I am to lean by faith on Him who will work mightily in me.4

Happy is the Christian who understands that his greatest danger is to fall under the law–to be eager to serve God in the flesh with his own strength. Happy is he when he realises that he is not under the law–which demands and yet is powerless through the flesh–but is under grace where he simply has to receive what has been given. Happy is he when he fully accepts for himself the promise of the Spirit who transfers all that is in Christ to him. Yes, happy is he when he understands what it is to live by faith–to serve, not in the oldness of the letter, but in the newness of the Spirit.5

Let us make the words of Paul our own. They present the true life of faith to us, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live” (Galatians 2:20). Not only my sin, but my flesh, all that is of myself–my own living and willing, my own power and working–I have given up to death. I no longer live of myself. I cannot. I will not live or do anything.6 Christ lives in me. He Himself–by His Spirit–is my power, and teaches and strengthens me to live as I ought to. And that life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in Him. It is my responsibility to believe in Him to work the willing as well as the accomplishment.

Young Christian, let this life of faith be your faith.

Lord Jesus, You are my life. Yes, my life. You live in me, and are willing to take my whole life into Your own hands. And my whole life may be a joyful trust and experience that You are working all in me daily.

Precious Lord, to that life of faith I will surrender myself. Yes, to You I surrender myself, to teach me and to reveal Yourself fully in me. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38

2) Rom. 5:17,21; 6:1l; 8:2; Gal. 2:20; 1 John 5:11,12

3) Rom. 7:18; 8:2,13; Heb. 11:33

4) Rom. 4:17; 2 Cor. 1:9; Col. 1:29; 2:3

5) Rom. 7:4,6; 12:5,6; Gal. 5:18; Phil 3:3

6) John 15:4,5; 1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 12:9,10

Notes

1. Do you understand the error in saying–if the Lord helps me? The Lord must help me. In natural things we speak like this because we have a certain measure of power, and the Lord will increase it. But the New Testament never uses the word “help” of the grace of God in the soul. We have absolutely no power–God is not to help us, because we are weak. No, He is to give His life and His power in us because we are entirely powerless. He who discerns this correctly will learn to live by faith alone.

2. “Without faith it is impossible to please God; Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). Such words of the Spirit of God teach us how every deed and disposition of our life is to be full of faith.

3. Hence, our first work every day is to exercise faith in Jesus as our life, to believe that He dwells in us, and will do all for us and in us. This faith must be the mood of our soul the whole day. This faith cannot be maintained except in the fellowship and nearness of Jesus Himself.

4. This faith has its power in the mutual surrender of Jesus and the believer to each other. Jesus first gives Himself wholly for us. Then, the believer gives himself wholly in order to be taken into possession and to be guided by Jesus. Then the soul cannot even doubt if He will do all for it.

“Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he might sift you as wheat: but I prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not” Luke 22:31,32.

Nothing makes an enemy more dangerous than the fact that he remains hidden or forgotten. Of the three great enemies of the Christian–the world, the flesh, and the devil–the last is the most dangerous. Not only because it is he who lends the others what power they have, but also because he is not seen and, therefore, little known or feared. The devil has the power of darkness. He darkens the eyes, so that men do not know him. He surrounds himself with darkness, so that he is not observed. Yes, he even has the power to appear as an angel of light.1 It is by the faith that recognises things unseen that the Christian is to endeavour to know Satan–even as the Scriptures have revealed him.

When the Lord Jesus was living on earth, His great work was to overcome Satan. When He was filled with the Spirit at His baptism, the Spirit brought Him into contact with Satan as head of the world of evil spirits, and He was to combat and overcome him.2 After that time, the eyes of the Lord were always open to the power and working of Satan. In all sin and misery He saw the revelation of the mighty kingdom of the evil one. He saw the enemy of God and man, not only in the demoniacs, but also in the sick.3 Jesus saw the work of Satan in Peter’s advice to avoid the cross, and in his denial of the Lord. Yet, we would have considered those events to be the natural revelation of Peter’s character.4 In His own suffering–where we rather speak of the sin of man and the permission of God–Jesus perceives the power of darkness. His whole work in living and in dying was to destroy the works of Satan. As likewise, He will utterly destroy Satan himself at His second coming.5

His word to Peter, compared with the personal experience of the Lord, gives us a fearful insight into the work of the enemy. “Satan hath desired to have you,” says Jesus. “As a roaring lion, he walketh about, seeking whom he may devour,” says Peter himself later on (1 Peter 5:8).6 He does not have unlimited power, but he is always eager to make use of every weak or unguarded moment. “That he might sift you as wheat.” What a picture! This world, even the Church of Christ, is the threshing floor of Satan. The corn belongs to God–the chaff is Satan’s own. He sifts and sifts continually, and all that falls through with the chaff, he tries to take for himself. And many a Christian falls through in a terrible fashion and, were it not for the intercession of his Lord, would perish forever.7

Satan has more than one sieve. The first is generally worldly-mindedness–the love of the world. Many are spiritual in time of poverty, but when they become rich, they again eagerly strive to win the world. Or in the time of conversion and awakening they appear very zealous, but through the cares of the world, they are led astray.8

A second sieve is self-love and self-seeking. Whenever anyone does not give himself undividedly to serve his Lord and his neighbour—to love his neighbour in the Lord–it soon appears that he lacks the principal characteristic of a disciple. It will be made clear that many who profess devotion to the service of God utterly fail on this point and must be regarded with the chaff. Lovelessness is the sure sign of the power of Satan.9

Still another sieve, a very dangerous one, is self-confidence. Under the name of following the Spirit, one may listen to the thoughts of his own heart. He is zealous for the Lord, but with a carnal zeal, in which the gentleness of the Lamb of God is not seen. Without being observed, the movements of the flesh mingle with the workings of the Spirit. While he boasts that he is overcoming Satan, he is being secretly ensnared by him. 10

What a serious life here on earth, where God gives Satan permission to set his threshing floor even in the Church. Happy are they who, with deep humility, fear, and trembling, distrust themselves. Our only security is in the intercession and guidance of Him who overcame Satan.11 Far be it from us to think that we know all the depths of Satan and are a match for all his cunning strategies. As well as in the visible, he works and has power in the region of the spirit–the invisible. Let us fear that while we have known and overcome him in the visible, he might prevail over us in the spiritual. May our only security be the conviction of our frailty and weakness, and our confidence in Him who certainly keeps the humble heart.

Lord Jesus, open our eyes to know our enemy and his wiles. Cause us to see him and his realm, that we may dread all that is of him. And open our eyes to see how You have overcome him, and how in You we are invincible. Teach us what it is to be in You, to mortify all that is of the mere ego and the will of the flesh, and to be strong in weakness and lowliness. And teach us to bring into prayer the conflict of faith against every stronghold of Satan, because we know that You will destroy him under our feet. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Matt. 4:6; 2 Cor. 4:4; 11:14

2) Matt. 4:1,10

3) Matt. 12:28; Mark 4:15; Luke 13:16; Acts 10:38

4) Matt. 16:23; Luke 22:31,32

5) Luke 10:18; 22:3,53; John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Rom. 16:20;

Col. 2:15; 2 Thess. 2:8,9; 1 John 3:8

6) 1 Cor. 7:5; 2 Cor. 2:10,11

7) 1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Tim. 1:20

8) Matt. 4:9; 13:22; 1 Tim. 6:9,10; 2 Tim. 4:10

9) John 8:44; 1 John 3:10,15; 4:20

10) Gal. 3:3; 5:13

11) Eph. 6:10,12,16

Notes

1. What comfort does the knowledge of the existence of Satan give us? We know that sin is derived from a foreign power which has thrust itself into our nature and does not naturally belong to us. We know, besides, that he has been entirely vanquished by the Lord Jesus, and thus has no power over us so long as we abide trustfully in Christ.

2. The whole of this world, with all that is in it, is under the domination of Satan. Therefore, there is nothing, even what appears to be good and fair, that may not be dangerous for us. In all things, even in what is lawful and right, we must be led and sanctified by the Spirit if we want to continue to be liberated from the power of Satan.

3. Satan is an evil spirit. Only by the good Spirit, the Spirit of God, can we offer resistance to him. He works in the invisible. In order to combat him, we have to enter into the invisible by prayer. He is a mighty prince. Only in the name of One who is mightier, and in fellowship with Him, can we overcome.

4. What a glorious work is labour for souls, for the lost, for drunkards, for heathen–a battle to rescue them from the might of Satan (Acts 26:18).

5. In the book of Revelation, the victory over Satan is ascribed to the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 12:11). Christians have also testified that there is no power in temptation, because Satan readily retreats when one appeals to the blood. It is by the blood that sin has been entirely expiated, and we are thus also wholly freed from his power.

“Strive to enter in by the narrow door” Luke 13:24.

“Fight the good fight of faith” 1 Timothy 6:12.

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” 2 Timothy 4:7.

These texts speak of a twofold conflict. The first is addressed to the unconverted– “Strive to enter in by the narrow door.” Entrance by a door is the work of a moment. The sinner is not to strive to enter during his whole lifetime. He is to strive and do it immediately. He is not to allow anything to hold him back–he must enter in.1

Then comes the second, the lifelong conflict–by the narrow door I come upon the new way. On the new way there will always be enemies. Of this lifelong conflict Paul says, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” With respect to the continuous conflict, he gives the charge, “Fight the good fight of faith.”

There is much misunderstanding about this twofold conflict. Many strive all their life against the Lord and His summons. Because they are not at rest, but feel an inner conflict, they think that this is the conflict of a Christian. Assuredly, it is not. This is one–not willing to abandon everything and surrender himself to the Lord–who struggles against God.2 This is not the conflict that the Lord would have. What He says is that the conflict is concerned with entering in–but not a conflict for long years. No, He desires that you should break through the enemies who hold you back, and immediately enter in.

Then follows the second conflict, which endures for life. Twice Paul calls this the fight of faith. The chief characteristic of it is faith. He who well understands that the principal element in the battle is to believe, and who acts accordingly, will certainly succeed. In another passage Paul says to the Christian combatant, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the firey darts of the wicked one.”3

And what then does it mean, this “fight of faith”? That, while I strive, I must believe that the Lord will help me? No, it is not so, although it is often misunderstood as such.

In a conflict, it is of supreme importance that I be in a stronghold or fortress which cannot be taken. With such a stronghold, a weak garrison can offer resistance to a powerful enemy. Our conflict as Christians is now no longer concerned with going into the fortress. No, we have gone in, are now in, and so long as we remain in it, we are invincible. The stronghold, this stable fort, is Christ.4 By faith we are in Him. By faith we know that the enemy can make no progress against our fortress. All of Satan’s wiles go forth on the line of enticing us out of our fortress–engaging us in conflict with him on the open plain. There he always overcomes. But if, in faith, we strive and abide in Christ, then we overcome Satan, because he has to deal with Him who fights and overcomes.5 “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4). Our first and greatest work is thus to believe. As Paul said before he mentions the warlike equipment of the Christian, “My brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).

The reason why the victory is only by faith, and why the fight of faith is the good fight, is this–it is the Lord Jesus who purchased the victory, and who alone gives power and dominion over the enemy. If we abide in Him, surrender ourselves to live in Him, and by faith appropriate what He is, then the victory is in itself our own. Then we understand– “The battle is not yours, but God’s. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace” (2 Chronicles 20:15; Exodus 14:14). Except that we be in Christ, pleasing Him, opposition to Satan can achieve nothing good. In ourselves we achieve nothing, but 77in Christ we are more than conquerors. By faith we stand in Him, righteous before God, and likewise so in Him, we are strong against our enemies.6

In this light we can read and understand all the noble passages in the Old Testament–especially in the Psalms–where the glorious conflict of God in behalf of his people is spoken of. Fear or spiritlessness or uncertainty weakens and cannot overcome. Faith in the living God is equal to everything.7 In Christ this truth is now still more real. God has come near. His power works in us who believe–it is really He who fights for us.

Lord Jesus, who is the Prince of the army of the Lord, the Hero, the Victor, teach me to be strong in You, my stronghold, and in the power of Your might. Teach me to understand what the good fight of faith is. Teach me that the one thing I need is to always look to You, the supreme Guide of faith. And consequently, in me, too, let this be the victory that overcomes the world, namely, my faith. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Gen. 19:22; John 10:9; 2 Cor. 6:2; Heb. 4:6,7

2) Acts 5:39; 1 Cor. 10:22

3) Eph. 6:16; 1 John 5:4,5

4) Ps. 18:2,3; 46:1,2; 62:2,3,6-8; 144:2

5) Josh. 5:14; John 16:33; Rom. 8:37; 2 Cor. 2:14

6) Ps. 44:4-8; Isa. 45:24

7) Deut. 20:3,8; Josh. 6:20; Judg. 7:3; Ps. 18:32-40; Heb. 11:23

Notes

1. The conflict of faith is no civil war, in which one half of the kingdom is divided against the other. This would be insurrection. This is the one conflict that many Christians know–the unrest of the conscience, and the powerless wrestling of a will which consents to that which is good, but does not perform it. The Christian does not have to overcome himself. This his Lord does when he surrenders himself. Then he is free and strong to combat and overcome the enemies of his Lord and of the Kingdom. No sooner, however, are we willing that the Lord should have His way with us than we are found striving against God. This also is truly conflict, but it is not the good fight of faith.

2. In Galatians 5, reference is made to the inner conflict because the Galatians had not yet entirely surrendered themselves to the Spirit–to walk after the Spirit. The believer must not strive against the flesh to overcome it. This he cannot do. What he is to do is to choose to whom he will subject himself. By the surrender of faith in Christ, to strive in Him through the Spirit, he has a divine power for overcoming.

3. Hence, as we have seen in connection with the beginning of the new life, our one work every day and the whole day is to believe. Out of faith come all blessings and powers, and also the victory for overcoming.

“Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee; and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee; and thou shalt be a blessing” Genesis 12:1,2.

In these first words that God spoke to Abraham, we have the short summary of all that God has to say to him and to us as His children. We see the goal to which God calls us, the power that carries us to that goal, and the place where that power is found.

Be a blessing–that is the goal for which God separates Abraham and every believing child of His.

God would have him and us understand that, when He blesses us, it is not to simply make us happy, but so that we would still further communicate His blessing.1 God Himself is love, and therefore He blesses. Love does not seek itself. When the love of God comes to us, it will seek others through us.2 From the beginning, the young Christian must understand that he has received grace with the definite aim of becoming a blessing to others. Please, do not keep for yourself what the Lord gives to you for others. Offer yourself expressly and completely to the Lord–to be used by Him for others. That is the way to be blessed overflowingly yourself.3

The power for this work will be given. “Be a blessing,” “I will bless thee,” says the Lord. You are to be personally blessed and sanctified. You are to be filled with the Spirit, peace, and power of the Lord. Then you have power to bless.4 In Christ, God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3. Let Jesus fill you with these blessings, and you will certainly be a blessing. You do not need to doubt or fear. The blessing of God includes in it the power of life for multiplication, for expansion, for communication. See in the Scriptures how blessing and multiplication go together.5 Blessing always includes the power to bless others. Only give the word of the Almighty God, “I will bless thee,” time to sink into your spirit. Wait upon God, so that He Himself may say to you, “I will bless thee.” Let your faith cleave firmly to this. God will make it truth to you, above all asking and thinking.6

But for this reason you must also take yourself to the place of blessing–the land of promise, and the simple life of faith in those promises. “Get thee out of thy country and thy father’s house,” says the Lord. God would have departure and separation from the life of nature and the flesh, in which we are born of Adam. The offering up of what is most precious to man is the way to the blessing of God.7 “Get thee to a land that I will show thee,” says the Lord, “out of the old life into a new life, where I alone am your guide.” That is, a life where God can have me wholly for Himself alone, and where I walk only on the promises of God–a life of faith.

Christian, God will in a divine fashion fulfil to you His promise, “I will bless thee.” Leave your homeland, your father’s house, and your life and involvement with the world and the ways of the flesh. Enter into the new life–the life of the Spirit, the life in fellowship with God–to which He will lead you. There you become receptive to His blessing. There your heart becomes open to full faith in His word, “I will bless thee. “There He can fulfill that word to you, and make you full of His blessing and power to be a blessing to others. Live with God, separated from the world. Then you will hear the voice of God speak with power: “I will bless thee”; “Be thou a blessing.”

Father, show me the way to that promised land where You bring Your people to have them wholly for Yourself. I will abandon everything to follow You, to hold converse with You alone, in order that You may fill me with Your blessing. Lord, let Your word, “I will bless thee,” live in my heart as a Word of God. Then will I give myself wholly to live for others and to be a blessing. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Matt. 5:44,45; 10:8; 18:33

2) Isa. 58:10,11; 1 Cor. 13:5; 1 John 4:11

3) Ps. 112:5,9; Prov. 11:24,25; Matt. 25:40; 1 Cor. 15:58; 2 Cor. 9:6; Heb. 6:10

4) Luke 24:49; John 7:38; 14:12

5) Gen. 1:22,28; 9:1; 22:17; 26:24

6) 2 Cor. 9:8,11; Heb. 6:14

7) Luke 18:29,30; John 12:24,25; 2 Cor. 6:17,18

Notes

1. God is the great, the only Fountain of blessing. As much of God as I have in me, so much blessing can I bring. I can work much for others without blessing. To actually be a blessing, I must begin with that word, “I will bless thee,” then the other, “Be a blessing,” becomes easy.

2. In order to become a blessing, begin on a small scale. Yield yourself up for others. Live to make others happy. Believe that the love of God lives in you by the Spirit, and give yourself wholly to be a blessing and a joy to those who are around you. Pray God to shed abroad His love in you still further by the Spirit. And believe very firmly that God can make you a greater blessing than you can think if you surrender yourself to Him for this purpose.

3. But this surrender must have time in solitary prayer so that God may obtain possession of your spirit. This is for you the departure from your Father’s house. Separate yourself from men so that God may speak with you.

4. What do you think? Was Abraham ever filled with regret that he placed himself so entirely under he leading of God? Then do the same.

5. Do you now know the two words which are the source of all promises and all commands to the children of believing Abraham? The promise is: “I will bless thee.” The command is: “Be a blessing.” Please take them both firmly for yourself.

6. And do you now understand where these two words to Abraham are fulfilled? In separation from his father’s house–in the walk in fellowship with God.

“Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation: and uphold me with Thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto Thee” Psalm 51:12,13.

“I believe, therefore have I spoken” Psalm 116:10.

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you” Acts 1:8.

Every redeemed man is called to be a witness for his Lord. Not only by a godly walk, but by personal effort I should serve and make my Lord known. My tongue–my speech–is one of the principal means of communicating with and influencing others. When I do not offer up my lips to speak for the Lord, I am serving Him with only a partial dedication.1

There is an inconceivably great need for this work. There are thousands of Christians who continually enjoy the preaching of the Word, and yet they do not understand the way of salvation. The Lord Jesus not only preached to the multitudes, but He also spoke o individuals according to their needs.2 Scripture is full of examples of those who told others what the Lord had done for them, and who then became a blessing themselves.3 The teacher alone cannot do his work of personal speaking. Every redeemed soul must cooperate with him. He is in the world as a witness for his Lord. His own life cannot come to its full healthy increase, if he does not confess his Lord and work for Him.

That witness for the Lord must be a personal witness. We must have the courage to say, “He has redeemed me; He will also redeem you. Will you not accept this redemption? Come, let me show you the way.”4 There are hundreds who would be glad if the personal question were put to them, “Are you redeemed? What keeps you back? Can I help you go to the Lord?” Parents should personally speak with their children, and ask them the question, “My child, have you already received the Lord Jesus?” When teaching the Word of God, Sunday school teachers and day school teachers should ask the children if they have really received salvation. They should also seek the opportunity to individually ask each child this personal question. Friends must speak with their friends. Yes, this work should be done before all else.

Such work must be the work of love. Let others feel that you love them tenderly. Let the humility and gentleness of love, as was seen in Jesus, be also seen in you. At every turn, surrender yourself to Jesus so that you will be filled with His love. Not by feeling, but by faith in this love, can you do your work. “Beloved, keep yourselves in the love of God. And on some have compassion, and others save, pulling them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear” (Jude 21-23). The flesh often thinks that strength and force do more than love and patience. But that is not so. Love achieves everything–it has overcome on the cross.5

Such work must be the work of faith–faith working by love. Faith that the Lord desires to use you and will use you. Do not be afraid on account of your weakness. Learn in the Scriptures what glorious promises God gave to those who had to speak for Him.6 Surrender yourself continually to God to be used for the rescue of souls. Take your stand on the fact that He, who has redeemed you for this end, will for this end also bless you. Although your work is in weakness and fear, and although no blessing appears to come, be of good courage-at His time, we will reap.7 Be filled with faith in the power of Cod, in His blessing upon you, and in the certainty that He hears prayer. “If any man see his brother sinning a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and God shall give him life” (1 John 5:16). Whether he that does not know sin is the most miserable and neglected, or whether he is decent but indifferent, take courage–the Lord is mighty to bless. He hears prayer.

But above all–for this is the principal point-carry out this work in fellowship with Jesus. Live closely with Him–live entirely for Him. Let Jesus be all in your own life, and He will speak and work in you.8 Be full of the blessing of the Lord, full of His Spirit and His love, and it can be no other way than that you will be a blessing. You will be able to share what He continually is for you. You will have the love and the courage–with all humility–to ask souls the question, “Is it well with you? Have you indeed received the Lord Jesus as your Saviour?” And the Lord will have you experience the rich blessing which is promised to those who live to bless others.

Young Christian, be a witness for Jesus. Live as one who is wholly given to Him, to watch and to work for His honour.

Blessed Lord, who has redeemed me to serve the Father in the proclamation of His love, I will, with a free spirit, offer myself to You far this end. Fill my heart with love for Him, for You, and for souls. Cause me to see what an honour it is to do the work of redeeming love, even as You did it. Strengthen my confidence that You are working with Your power in my weakness. And let my joy be to help souls to find You. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Ps. 40:10,11; 66:16; 71:8,15,24; Heb. 13:15

2) Luke 7:40; John 3:3; 4:7

3) Ex. 18:8,11; 2 Chron. 5:13

4) John 1:41,42,46; 4:28,29,39; Acts 11:19

5) Heb. 3:13; 10:24

6) Ex. 4:11,12; Josh. 1:9; Isa. 50:4,11; Jer. 1:6,7; Matt. 10:19,20

7) 2 Chron. 15:7; Ps. 126:6; Hag. 2:5; Gal. 6:9

8) Acts 4:13; 2 Cor. 3:5; 13:3

Notes

1. The question is often asked, “What can I do to work for the Lord?” Can you not teach a class in the Sunday school? Perhaps you live in the country where there are children who have no hour of the Lord’s day devoted to them. Perhaps there are heathen children, or even grown-up people of the farms, who do not go to church. See whether you cannot gather them together in the name of Jesus. Make it a matter of prayer and faith. Although you do this work with trembling, you may be sure that to begin to work will make you strong. Or, can you do nothing for the circulation of books and tracts? When you have a book that has been useful to you, order six or twelve copies of it. Speak of it, and offer it to others. You can do great service by this means. So also with tracts. If you are too poor to give them for nothing, have them to sell. You may procure blessing by this method. It will especially help you to speak to others if you begin with telling them what is in a book.

2. But the main thing is personal speaking. Do not hold back because you feel no freedom. The Lord will give you freedom in His own time. It is incredible how many are lost through ignorance. No one has ever personally made it clear to them how they can be saved. The thought that a change must first be sought and felt is so deeply rooted that the most faithful preaching is often of no avail against it. By their erroneous ideas, people misunderstand everything. Begin then to speak and to help souls to understand that they are to receive Jesus just as they are, that they can certainly know that He receives them, and that this is the power of a new and holy life.

“And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following” Mark 16:15,20.

Every friend of Jesus is a friend of missions. Where there is a healthy spiritual life, there is a love for the missionary cause. When you consider the reasons for this, you obtain an insight into the glory of missions and into your calling to embrace this cause as a part of your soul’s life. Come and hear how much there is to make missionary work glorious and precious.

1. It is the cause for which Jesus left the throne of heaven. The heathen are His inheritance, given to Him by His Father. The power of Satan has been established in heathendom. Jesus must have Himself vindicated as the Conqueror. His glory, the coming and manifestation of His Kingdom, depend on missions.1

2. Missionary work is the principal aim of the Church on earth. All the last words of the Lord Jesus teach us this.2 The Lord is the head, and He has made himself dependent upon His body, His members–by whom alone He can do His work.3 As a member of Christ, as a member of the Church, will I not give myself to take part in the work, so that this goal may be reached?

3. It is the work for which the Holy Spirit was given. See this in the promise of the Spirit–in the leading of the Spirit–graciously given to Peter and Barnabas and Saul.4 In the history of the Church, we find that times of revival go hand in hand with a new zeal for the missionary cause. The Holy Spirit is always a holy enthusiasm for the extension of the Kingdom.

4. Missionary work brings blessing on the Church. It enthuses heroic deeds of faith and self-denial. It has furnished the most glorious instances of the wondrous power of the Lord. It gives heavenly joy over the conversion of sinners to those who watch for it with love and prayer. It cleanses the heart to understand God’s great plans, and to await the fulfilment of them in supplication. Missionary work is an example of life in a church, and brings more life.5

5. What a blessing it is for the world. What would we have been if missionaries had not come to our heathen forefathers in Europe? What a glorious blessing missionary work has already won in some lands. What help is there for the hundred millions of heathen, if not in missions?6 Heaven and hell look on missions as being the battlefield where the powers of Jesus Christ and Satan encounter one another. Alas! that the conflict should be carried on so feebly.

6. There will be a blessing for your own soul in love for missionary work.7

You will have the opportunity to exercise your faith. Missionary work is a cause for faith, where everything goes on slowly, and not according to the inclinations of men. You will learn to cling to God and His Word.

Love will be awakened. You will learn to go out of yourselves and your little circle with an open eye and a large heart–to live in the interests of your Lord and King. You will realise how little true love you have, and you will receive more of that love.

You will be drawn into prayer. Your calling and power as an intercessor will become clearer to you, and you will receive the blessedness of working for the Kingdom. You will discover that the highest conformity to Him, who came to seek the lost, is the surrender of your own ease and rest to the loving fight of prayer–in behalf of the heathen–against Satan.

Young Christian, missionary work is more glorious and holy than you suppose. There is more blessing in it than you are aware of. The new life in you depends on it more than you can yet understand. Yield yourself again in obedience to the Word to give missions a large place in your heart–yes, in your heart. The Lord Himself will further teach and bless you.

And if you want to know how to increase your love for missions as the work of your Lord, devote yourself to the following guidelines. Become acquainted with the missionary cause. Read writings and books to know the condition and needs of the heathen, to know what, by the blessing of the Lord, has already been done for them, and what work is now being done. Speak with others about this cause. Perhaps a little missionary society could be instituted in your neighbourhood. Perhaps one of your prayer meetings, say, once a month, could be set apart for prayer in behalf of the missionary cause. Also pray for this in private. Let the coming of the Kingdom have a definite place in your personal prayers. Strive to follow the material for prayer that is provided in the promises of God’s Word–in the whole of Scripture and especially in the prophet Isaiah–in regards to the heathen.8 Give also for missions. Not only when you are asked–not merely when you can spare without feeling it–but set apart a portion of what you possess or earn for this cause. Let the Lord see that you are earnest about His work. If there is missionary work that is being done in your neighbourhood, be a friend to it. Although there may be much imperfection in that work–and where is there work of man that is perfect?–do not complain of the imperfection.

Son of God, when You did breathe Your Spirit upon Your disciples, saying, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost, ” You added, “As the Father bath sent Me, even so send I you. “Lord, here I am–send me also. Breathe Your Spirit into me also, so that I may live for Your Kingdom. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Ps. 2:3; Matt. 24:14; 28:18,19,20; Mark 13:10; Luke 21:24; Rom. 11:25

2) Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47; John 17:18; Acts 1:8

3) 1 Cor. 12:21

4) Acts 1:8; 11:12,23,24; 13:2,4; 22:21

5) Acts 14:27; 15:4,5; Rom. 11:25,33; 15:10; Eph. 3:5,8,10

6) Isa. 49:6,12,18,22; 54: 1,2

7) Prov. 11:24,25; Isa. 58:7,8

8) Isa. 49:6,18,21,22; 54:1,3; 60:1,3,11,16; 62:2

Notes

1. “Unknown makes unbeloved” is a saying that is especially true of missionary work. He who is acquainted with the wonders that God has worked in some lands will praise and thank God for what the missionary enterprise has achieved and will be strengthened in his faith that missionary work is really God’s own cause. Among the books that help to awaken interest in missions are biographies of missionaries. Books on missions are generally found in church libraries (or Christian bookstores).

2. We should never forget that the missionary cause is an enterprise of faith. It requires faith in the promises of God, in the power of God. It has need of love-love to Jesus, by which the heart is filled with desire for His honour, and love to souls, with a heart that longs for their safety. It is a work of the Spirit of God, “whom the world cannot receive” (John 14:17). Therefore, the world can approve of missions only when they go forward with the highest prosperity.

3. Let no friend of missions become discouraged when the work proceeds slowly. Although all baptised men in the heathen nations are not truly converted, although even among the converts there is still much distortion, although some fall back after a fair profession, everything is by no means perfect among the civilised either. Among our forefathers in Europe, a whole century was required for the introduction of Christianity. Sometimes a nation received Christianity only to cast it off again after thirty or forty years. It required a thousand years to bring them up to the height at which we now stand. Let us not expect too much from the heathen at once but with love and patience and firm faith, pray and work and expect the blessing of God.

“Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance. In Thy name shall they rejoice all the day” Psalm 89:15,16.

“Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart” Psalm 97:11.

“I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” John 8:12.

“I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you” John 16:22.

“As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” 2 Corinthians 6:10.

A father will always be eager to see his children joyful. He does all that he can to make them happy. Likewise, God also desires that His children should walk before Him with a joyful heart. He has promised them joy–He will give it.1 He has commanded it–we must take it and walk in it at all times.2

The reason for this is not difficult to find. Joy is always the evidence that something really satisfies me and has great value for me. Joy, more than anything else, recommends its cause to others. And joy in God is the strongest proof that I have in God what satisfies and satiates me. It shows that I do not serve Him with dread, or remain faithful only because He is my salvation. Joy is the mark of the truth, the worth of obedience, and shows whether I have pleasure in the will of God.3 It is for this reason that joy in God is so acceptable to Him, so strengthening to believers themselves and to all who are exposed to the most eloquent testimony of what we think of God.4

In the Scriptures, light and joy are frequently connected with each other.5 It is so in nature. The joyful light of the morning awakens the birds to their song and gladdens the watchers who, in the darkness, have longed for the day. It is the light of God’s countenance that gives the Christian his joy. In fellowship with his Lord, he can, and always will, be happy. The love of the Father shines like the sun on His children.6 When darkness comes over the soul, it is always through one of two things–through sin or through unbelief. Sin is darkness and makes life dark. Unbelief also makes life dark, for it turns us from Him, who alone is the light.

The question is sometimes asked, “Can the Christian always walk in the light?” The answer of our Lord is clear, “He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness.” It is sin, the turning from Jesus to our own way, that makes darkness. But at the moment we confess sin, and have it cleansed in the blood, we are again in the light.

Other times it is unbelief that causes darkness. When we look to ourselves and our strength, when we seek comfort in our own feelings, or our own works, then all becomes dark. As soon as we look to Jesus, to the fullness–the perfect provision for our needs that is in Him–all is light. He says, “I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” So long as I believe, I have light and joy.8

Christians, who want to walk according to the will of the Lord, hear what His Word says, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord always: again, I will say, Rejoice.”9 In the Lord Jesus there is unspeakable joy–full of glory. Believing in Him, rejoice in this. Live the life of faith. That life is salvation and glorious joy. A heart that gives itself undividedly to follow Jesus, that lives by faith in Him and His love, will have light and joy. Therefore, soul, only believe. Do not seek joy–in that case you will not find it, because you are seeking feeling. But seek Jesus, follow Jesus, believe in Jesus, and joy will be given to you. “Ye see him not, yet believing, rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (I Peter 1:8).

Lord Jesus, You are the Light of the world, the radiance of the unapproachable light, in whom we see the light of God. From Your countenance radiates upon us the illumination of the knowledge of the love and glory of God. And You are ours, our light and our salvation. Teach us to believe more firmly that with You we can never walk in the darkness. Let joy in You be the proof that You are all to us and our strength to do all that You would have us do. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Ps. 89:16,17; Isa. 29:19; John 16:22; I Pet. 1:8

2) Ps. 32:11; Isa. 12:5,6; 1 Thess. 5:16; Phil. 4:4

3) Deut. 28:47; Ps. 11:9; 119:1l

4) Neh. 8:11; Ps. 68:4; Prov. 4:18

5) Esth. 8:16; Prov. 13:9; 15:30; Isa. 60:20

6) Ex. 10:23; 2 Sam. 23:4; Ps. 36:10; Isa. 60:1,20; 1 John 1:5; 4:16

7) Josh 7:13; Isa. 58:10; 59:1,2,9; Matt. 15:14,16; 2 Cor. 6:14; Eph. 5:8,14; I Thess. 5:5; 1 John 2:10

8) John 12:36; 11:40; Rom. 15:13; 1 Pet. 1:3

9) Phil. 3:1; 4:4

Notes

1. The joy that I have in anything is the measure of its worth in my eyes–the joy in a person is the measure of my pleasure in him; the joy in a work is the measure of my pleasure in it. Joy in God and His service is one of the surest signs of a healthy spiritual life.

2. Joy is hindered by ignorance, when we do not understand God and His love and the blessedness of His service. Joy is hindered by unbelief, when we still seek something in our own strength or feeling. Joy is also hindered by double-heartedness, when we are not willing to give up and lay aside everything for Jesus.

3. Understand this saying, “He that seeks gladness shall not find it; he that seeks the Lord and His will, shall find gladness unsought.” Think this over. He who seeks joy as a thing of feeling, seeks himself. He who wants happiness will not find it. He who forgets himself to live in the Lord and His will, will be taught of himself to rejoice in the Lord. It is God, God Himself, who is the God of the joy of our gladness. Seek God and you will have joy. You have then simply to take and enjoy it by faith.

4. To thank God much for what He is and does, to believe much in what God says and will do, is the way to continual joy.

5. “The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart” (Prove 15:30). God has not intended that His children should walk in the darkness. Satan is the prince of the darkness. God is light. Christ is the light of the world. We are children of the light, so let us walk in the light. Let us believe in the promise, “The Lord shall be to thee an everlasting light. Thy sun shall no more go down; for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended” (Isa. 60:19,20).

“Blessed is the man whom Thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest out of Thy law; that Thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity” Psalm 94:12,13.

“Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now have I kept Thy word …. It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Thy statutes” Psalm 119:67,71.

“He chastens us for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness” Hebrews 12:10.

“Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” James 1:2,3.

Every child of God must at one time or another enter the school of trial. What the Scriptures teach us is confirmed by experience. And the Scriptures teach us further, that we are to count it a joy when God takes us into this school. It is a part of our heavenly blessedness to be educated and sanctified by the Father through chastisement.

Not that trial in itself brings a blessing.1 Just as there is no profit in watering or plowing seedless ground, so there are children of God who enter into trial and have little blessing from it. The heart is softened for a time, but they do not know how to obtain an abiding blessing from it. They do not know what the Father has in mind for them in the school of trial.

In a good school four things are necessary–a definite aim, a good textbook, a capable teacher, and a willing pupil.

1. Let the aim of any trial be clear to you. Holiness is the highest glory of the Father and also of the child. He “chastens us for our profit that we may be partakers of His holiness.”2 In trial, the Christian often wants to have only comfort. Or he seeks to be quiet and contented under the special chastisement. This is indeed the beginning–but the Father desires something else, something higher. He wants to make him holy–holy for his whole life. When Job said, “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21), this was still just the beginning of his school time. The Lord still had more to teach him. God desires to unite our will with His holy will, not only on the one point in which He is trying us, but in everything. God wants to fill us with His Holy Spirit–with His holiness. This is the aim of God. This must also be your aim in the school of trial.

2. Especially during this time of trial, let the Word of God be your reading book. Notice how God desires to teach us His Word in our trials and afflictions. The Word will reveal to you why the Father chastens you, how deeply He loves you in the midst of it, and how rich His promises of consolation are. Trial will give new glory to the promises of the Father. In chastisement, return to the Word for counsel.3

3. Let Jesus be your teacher. He Himself was sanctified by suffering. It was in suffering that He learned full obedience. He has a wonderfully sympathetic heart. Have much communion with Him. Do not seek your comfort from the words spoken to or with other men. Give Jesus the opportunity of teaching you. Speak and meditate often with Him in solitude.4 The Father has given you the Word, the Spirit, and the Lord Jesus as your sanctification, so that you may be set apart for Him. Affliction and chastisement are meant to bring you to the Word–to Jesus Himself–so that He may make you a partaker of His holiness. It is in fellowship with Jesus that consolation comes of itself.5

4. Be a willing pupil. Acknowledge your ignorance. Do not think that you understand the will of God. Ask and expect that the Lord will teach you the lesson that you are to learn in affliction. To the meek there is the promise of teaching and wisdom. Seek to have the ear open, the heart very quiet and turned toward God. Know that it is the Father who has placed you in the school of trial. Yield yourself with all willingness to hear what He says, and to learn what He would teach you. He will bless you greatly in this.

“Blessed is the man whom Thou chastenest, and teachest out of Thy law” (Psalm 94:12). “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations. . . . that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:2,4). Regard the time of trial as a time of blessing, as a time of close communication with the Father, of being made a partaker of His holiness, and you will also rejoicingly say, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted” (Psalm 119:71).

Father, what thanks I will express to You for the glorious light that Your Word casts upon the dark trials of this life. You will teach me by this means and make me a partaker of Your holiness. You have not considered the suffering and the death of Your beloved Son too much to bring holiness near to me. And I will be willing to endure Your chastisement to become a partaker of that holiness. Father, thanks be to You for Your precious work. Only fulfil Your counsel in me. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Isa. 5:3; Hos. 7:14,15; 2 Cor. 7:l0

2) 1sa. 27:8,9; 1 Cor. 11:32; Heb. 2:10; 12:11

3) Ps. 119:49,50,92,143; Isa. 40:1; 43:2; Heb. 12:10-13

4) Isa. 26:16; 61:1-2; Heb. 2:10,17,18; 5:9

5) 2 Cor. 1:3,4; Heb.13:5,6

6) Ps. 25:9; 39:2,10; Isa. 50:4,5

Notes

1. In chastisement it is first of all necessary that we should be possessed by the thought–this is the will of God. Although the trial comes through our own folly or the perversity of men, we must acknowledge that it is the will of God that we should be in that suffering by means of that folly or perversity. We see this clearly in Joseph and the Lord Jesus. Nothing will give us rest but the willing acknowledgement–this is the will of God.

2. The second thought is–God wills not only the trial, but also the consolation, the power, and the blessing in it. He who acknowledges the will of God in the chastisement itself is on the way to see and experience the accompaniments also as the will of God.

3. The will of God is as perfect as He Himself. Let us not be afraid to surrender ourselves to it. No one suffers loss by deeming the will of God unconditionally good.

4. This is holiness–to know and to adore the will of God, to unite one’s self wholly with it.

5. Do not seek comfort in trial in connection with men. Do not mingle too much with them. Rather, see to it that you deal with God and His Word. The object of trial is just to draw you away from what is earthly so that you may turn to God and give Him time to unite your will with His perfect will.

“Thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” Matthew 6:6.

The spiritual life with its growth depends a great deal on prayer. My life will flourish or decay according to how much or how little I pray, if I pray with pleasure or from duty, and if I pray according to the Word or according to my own inclination. In the word of Jesus quoted above, we have the principal ideas of true prayer.

Alone with God–that is the first thought. The door must be shut, with the world and man outside, because I am to hold communion with God undisturbed. When God met with His servants in the olden time, He took them alone.1 Let the first thought in your prayer be–God and I are here in the chamber with each other. The power of your prayer will be in accordance with your conviction of the nearness of God.

In the presence of your Father–this is the second thought. You come to the inner chamber, because your Father with His love awaits you there. Although you are cold, dark, sinful–although it is doubtful whether you can pray at all-come because the Father is there, and He looks upon you. Set yourself beneath the light of His eye. Believe in His tender, fatherly love, and out of this faith prayer will be born.2

Count certainly upon an answer–that is the third point in the word of Jesus. “Your Father will reward you openly.” There is nothing which the Lord Jesus has spoken so positively about as the certainty of an answer to prayer. Review the promises.3 Observe how constantly in the Psalms–that prayerbook of God’s saints–God is called the God who hears prayer and gives answers.4

It may be that there is much in you that prevents the answer. Delay in the answer is a very blessed discipline. It leads to self-searching as to whether we are praying improperly, and whether our life is truly in harmony with our prayer. It leads to a purer exercise of faith.5 It draws us into a closer and more persistent relationship with God. The sure confidence of an answer is the secret of powerful praying. Let us always keep this as the chief thing in prayer. When you pray, stop in the midst of your prayer to ask, “Do I believe that I am receiving what I pray for?” Let your faith receive and hold firm the answer as given. It will turn out according to your faith.6

Beloved young Christians, if there is one thing about which you must be conscientious, it is this–secret conversation with God. Your life is hidden with Christ in God. Everyday you must, in prayer, ask from above and by faith receive what you need for that day. Every day personal communion with the Father and the Lord Jesus must be renewed and strengthened. God is our salvation and our strength. Christ is our life and our holiness. Only in personal fellowship with the living God is our blessedness found.

Christian, pray much, pray continually, pray without ceasing. When you have no desire to pray, go just then to the inner chamber. Go as one who has nothing to bring to the Father, to set yourself before Him in faith in His love. Coming in that manner to the Father, and abiding before Him, is already a prayer which He understands. Be assured that to appear before God, however passively, always brings a blessing. The Father not only hears–He sees in secret, and He will reward openly.

My Father, You have so certainly promised in Your Word to hear the prayer of faith–give me the Spirit of prayer so that I may know how to offer that

prayer. Graciously reveal to me Your wonderful, fatherly love. Make me aware of the complete blotting out of my sins in Christ, by which every hindrance in this direction is taken away. And reveal to me the intercession of the Spirit in me, by which my ignorance or weakness cannot deprive me of the blessing. Teach me with faith in You, the Trinity, to pray in fellowship with You. And confirm in me the strong, living certainty that I receive what I believingly ask. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Gen. 18:22,23; 22:5; 32:24; Ex. 33:11

2) Matt. 6:7,8; 7:11

3) Matt. 6:7,8; Mark 11:24; Luke 18:8; John 14:13,14; 15:7,16; 16:23,24

4) Ps. 3:4; 4:3; 6:9; 10:17; 17:6; 20:2,7; 34:5,7,17,18; 38:15; 40:1,2; 65:2; 66:19

5) Josh. 7:12; I Sam. 8:18; 14:37,38; 28:6,15; Prov. 21:13; Isa. 1:15; Mic.3:4; Hag. 1:9; Jas. 1:6; 4:3; 5:16

6) Ps. 145:9; Isa. 30:19; Jer. 33:3; Mal. 3:10; Matt. 9:29; 15:28; 1 John 3:22; 5:14,15

Notes

1. The principal thing in prayer is faith. The whole of salvation, the whole of the new life is by faith, therefore also by prayer. There is all too much prayer that brings nothing, because there is little faith in it. Before I pray, and while I pray, and after I have prayed, I must ask, “Do I pray in faith?” I must say, “I believe with my whole heart.”

2. To arrive at this faith we must take time in prayer. We must take the time to set ourselves silently and trustfully before God, and to become awake to His presence. We must take time to have our soul sanctified in fellowship with God. We must take time for the Holy Spirit to teach us to hold firm and to trustfully use the Word of promise. No earthly knowledge, no earthly possessions, no earthly food, no conversations with friends can we have without time–sufficient time. Let us not think to learn how to pray, how to enjoy the power and the blessedness of prayer, if we do not take time with God.

3. And then there must be not only time every day, but perseverance from day to day. Time is required to grow in the certainty that we are acceptable to the

Father, and that our prayer has power, in the loving confidence which knows that our prayer is according to His will and is heard. We must not suppose that we know how to pray well enough, and can but ask and it is over. No, prayer is conversation and fellowship with God, in which God has time and opportunity to work in us, in which our souls die to their own will and power and become bound up and united with God.

4. For encouragement in persistent prayer, the following instance may be of service. In an address delivered at Calcutta, George Muller said that in 1844 five persons were laid upon his heart, and that he began to pray for their conversion. Eighteen months passed by before the first was converted. He prayed five more years and the second was converted. After twelve and a half years, yet another was converted. At the time the address was given he had already prayed forty years for the other two, without letting a day go by, and they still were not converted. He was, nevertheless, full of courage in the sure confidence that these two would also be given him in answer to his prayer.

5. I have endeavoured in thirty-one meditations to explain the principal points of the life of prayer in the book, With Christ in the School of Prayer.

“Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree an earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” Matthew 18:19,20.

The Lord Jesus has told us to go into the inner chamber and hold our personal conversation with God by praying privately–not to be seen by men. The very same voice tells us that we are also to pray in fellowship with one another.1 And when He went to heaven, the birth of the Christian Church took place in a prayer meeting which one hundred and twenty men and women held for ten days.2 The Day of Pentecost was the fruit of unanimous, persevering prayer.

Everyone desiring to please the Lord Jesus, longing for the gift of the Spirit–with power for their congregation or church–and wanting the blessing of fellowship with other children of God, should attach themselves to a prayer meeting and prove that the Lord will make good His Word, bestowing a special blessing upon it.3 And let them take part in it, so that the prayer meeting may be such as the Lord presented it to us.

For a blessed prayer meeting, there must be, first of all, agreement concerning that which we desire. There must be something that we really desire to have from God. We are to be in harmony concerning this. There must be inner love and unity among the petitioners–all that is strife, envy, wrath, lovelessness, makes prayer powerless4 –and then agreement on the definite object that is desired.5 To achieve this, it is entirely proper that what people are to pray for should be stated in the prayer meeting. Whether one of the members wants to have his particular needs brought forward, or whether others would bring more general needs to the Lord–such as the conversion of the unconverted, the revival of God’s children, the anointing of the teacher, the extension of the Kingdom–let the objects be announced beforehand. And let no one think that there is complete agreement whenever one is content to pray for these objects. No, we are all to take them into our heart and life, and to bring them continually before the Lord. We are to be inwardly eager that the Lord should give them. Then, we are on the way to the prayer which has power.

The second feature that characterises a proper prayer meeting is the coming together in the name of Jesus with awareness of His presence. The Scripture says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10). The name is the expression of the person. When they come together, believers are to enter into the name of Jesus, and to find within this name their fortress and abode. In this name, they mingle with one another before the Father, and out of this name they pray. This name also makes them truly one with each other. And when they are thus in this name, the living Lord Himself is in their midst. He says that this is the reason why the Father certainly hears them.6 They are in Him, and He is in them. Out of Him they pray, and their prayer comes before the Father in His power. Let the name of Jesus truly be the point of union–the meeting-place–in our prayer meetings. Then we will be conscious that He is in our midst.

Then there is the third feature of united prayer of which the Lord has told us–our request will certainly be done by the Heavenly Father. The prayer will certainly be answered. We may well cry out in these days, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” (2 Kings 2:14), for He was a God that answered. “The God that answereth by fire, let Him be God,” said Elijah to the people (1 Kings 18:24). And he said to God, “Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that Thou art the Lord God” (1 Kings 18:37). When we are content with much praying, with continuous praying, without answer, then little answer will be given. But when we understand that the answer is the principal thing–the token of God’s pleasure in our prayer–and are not willing to be content without it, we will discover what our prayer lacks and begin to pray that an answer may come. And we may firmly believe this–the Lord takes delight in answering. It is a joy to Him when His people so enter into the name of Jesus, and pray out of it, that He can give them what they desire.8

Children of God, however young and weak you may still be, here is one of the institutions prepared for you by the Lord Jesus Himself to supply you with help in prayer. Let everyone make use of the prayer meeting. Let everyone go in a praying and believing frame of mind, seeking the name and the presence of the Lord. Let everyone seek to live and pray with his brothers and sisters. And let everyone expect to surely see glorious answers to prayer.

Blessed Lord Jesus, who has given us a commandment to pray–in the solitary inner chamber as well as in public fellowship with one another–let the one habit always make the other more precious as a complement and confirmation. Let the inner chamber prepare us and awaken the need for union with Your people in prayer. Let Your presence there be our blessedness. And let fellowship with Your people strengthen us to expect and receive answers. Amen.

Footnotes

1) Matt. 6:6; Luke 9:18,28

2) Acts 1:14

3) 2 Chron. 20:4,17,18; Neh. 9:2,3; Joel 2:16,17; Acts 12:5

4) Ps. 133:1,3; Jer. 50:4,5; Matt. 5:23,24; 18:19,20; Mark 11:25

5) Jer. 32:39; Acts 4:24

6) John 14:13,14; 15:7,16; 16:23,24

7) Jas. 5:16 8) Acts 12:5; 2 Cor. 1:11; Jas. 4:3; 5:16,17

Notes

1. There are many places in our country where prayer meetings might be a great blessing. A Christian man or woman, who once a week, or on Sunday, gathers together the inhabitants on a farm, or the neighbours of two or three homes that are not far from one another, might be able to attain great blessing. Let every believing reader of this portion inquire if there is not already some such need in his neighbourhood. Let him make a beginning in the name of the Lord. Let me therefore earnestly put the question to every reader–is there a prayer meeting

in your district? Do you faithfully take part in it? Do you know what it is to come together with the children of God in the name of Jesus, to experience His presence and His hearing of prayer?

2. You could obtain a book on prayer with suitable passages to be read aloud in such gatherings. Or read this book, The New Life, which will certainly give material for prayer.

3. Will the prayer meeting do harm to the inner chamber? is a question sometimes asked. My experience is just the opposite of this result. The prayer meeting is a school of prayer. The weak learn from more advanced petitioners. Material for prayer is given, as is the opportunity for self-searching and encouragement to more prayer.

4. If only it were more common in prayer meetings for people to speak of definite objects for which to pray–things in which one can definitely and trustfully look out for an answer, and concerning which one can know when an answer comes. Such announcements would greatly further agreement and believing expectation.