by Tim Cameron | Dec 18, 2015 | Daily Provoking Thought
FIVE LESSONS ON THE FELLOWSHIP OF PRAYER
5. MY PERSONAL TESTIMONY
BY T. M. ANDERSON
I was teaching in the department of religious studies in Asbury College when I entered into the covenant of prayer with Christ. It had been my purpose for several months to prepare some written messages on the Epistle of Hebrews. In order to have time to devote to this work it was necessary for me to arise early in the morning and do the writing before the hour I was scheduled to meet my classes. I began this work during the first week of 1950.
I was suddenly awakened about midnight on January sixth. Knowing that I had a full day of work before me, I felt it necessary to sleep a few hours lest I be too weary in mind and body to do the writing and teaching. At that moment the Savior spoke to me. He asked me if I were willing to sacrifice some sleep in order to give Him an opportunity to speak with me in the quiet hours of the morning. He told me that it was necessary to deny myself of sleep in order to prevail in prayer. I realized for the first time that denying myself of sleep was a form of fasting. For five hours I waited before the Lord in sacred worship and Holy Communion. My soul was greatly revived, and I felt refreshed in mind and rested in body.
After this remarkable manifestation of the savior I was constrained to examine my prayer life. I was impressed to consider the time spent in prayer during the average day. I was humbled before the Lord when I discovered how little time had been given to Him in prayer and meditation. It had been my daily practice from the day I was saved to spend some time in prayer morning and evening. I had established the family altar in my home. I had spent time in secret prayer during the years of my ministry. I had never knowingly overlooked the importance of prayer. I am now aware that I had never discovered the possibilities in prayer like they were revealed to me when I waited five delightful hours before the Savior that memorable morning.
by Tim Cameron | Dec 16, 2015 | Daily Provoking Thought
3. The Cost of Prayer
BY T. M. ANDERSON
When I entered into the fellowship of prayer with Christ, I solemnly promised Him that I would not allow my plans and pursuits of daily life to infringe on my time to pray. I vowed to take sufficient time to commune with Him in prayer no matter what duties of the day demanded my attention. I placed my ministry, my teaching, my writings, my vocation, my travel, and my home in heap before the Lord. I separated myself from them in death. I deliberately put these earthly concerns in a place of secondary importance in my life. I counted all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of the fellowship with Christ in prayer.
I was reminded of how much I had lost through the years because I had not known the value of fellowship with Christ in prayer. But, the Lord is a redeemer. He restores all things in His time.
by Tim Cameron | Dec 15, 2015 | Daily Provoking Thought, Uncategorized
2. GOD’S PEACE OBTAINED IN ANSWER TO PRAYER
“….Let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:7
When we make our requests know unto God by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving we are assured of receiving His peace through Christ Jesus. The house of prayer is the sanctuary of peace.
It is not necessary for the children of God to enter heaven in order to enjoy the priceless possession of peace.
There will be times when our feelings will contradict our faith. Sickness can depress our emotions to such an extent that we are disposed to doubt even our relationship with Christ. There will be times when we stand on the brink of an impassible gulf, which the human understanding cannot cross. But, the Savior has paid a great price to redeem all. He will not withhold His saving grace and mercy from any seeking soul longing with all the heart to please Him in all things. The peace of God will prevent us from becoming the hapless prey of distraught minds if we will pray without ceasing, and continue to believe on the name of Jesus. If we continue to make our requests known unto God by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, He will not suffer us to be moved by the forces of evil in this earth.
T.M. Anderson
by Tim Cameron | Dec 14, 2015 | Daily Provoking Thought, Uncategorized
FIVE LESSONS ON THE FELLOWSHIP OF PRAYER
1. PRAY ABOUT ALL THE THINGS
BY T. M. ANDERSON
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know unto God.” Phil. 4:6
God’s people should consult with Him in every matter pertaining to life. Unless they see the imperative necessity of prayer, and give it an important place in daily life, they cannot expect to be maintained by the ample resources of a generous Savior. It is apparent that we cannot obtain the things essential to life unless we make everything pertaining to life a matter of earnest prayer. It is impossible to live a consistent Christian life in the sight of God by praying occasionally.
Praying spasmodically, we are like men that gorge themselves with food and drink on special occasions and starve themselves between feasts. We enjoy an unbroken fellowship with Christ when we make our requests known unto Him in daily prayer. Nothing pertaining to our life in this world is unimportant in the sight of God. He is interested in everything that concerns us in life.
Tony Marshall Anderson was born in 1888. He was an evangelist and a college professor, and was associated with the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Church of the Nazarene. He was convinced that the people of God have not explored the boundless possibilities of prayer. He died in 1979.
He wrote one of the seminal works on prayer, Prayer Availeth Much. Out of print, but available on Amazon and selected book outlets online.
by Tim Cameron | Dec 11, 2015 | Daily Provoking Thought, Uncategorized
Prevailing Prayer
We lean to our own understanding, or we bank on service and do away with prayer, and consequently by succeeding in the external we fail in the eternal, because in the eternal we succeed only by prevailing prayer.
Oswald Chambers
by Tim Cameron | Dec 10, 2015 | Daily Provoking Thought
Prevailing Prayer
I have never known a person to sweat blood; but I have known a person to pray till the blood started from his nose. And I have known persons to pray till they were all wet with perspiration, in the coldest weather in winter. I have known persons to pray for hours, till their strength was all exhausted with the agony of their minds. Such prayers prevailed with God.
Charles Finley
by Tim Cameron | Dec 7, 2015 | Daily Provoking Thought
Lack of prayer
The true man of God is heartsick, grieved at the worldliness of Christians…grieved at the toleration of sin in Christians, grieved at the prayerlessness in Christians. He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of Christians no longer pulls down the strongholds of the enemy.
Leonard Ravenhill
by Tim Cameron | Dec 3, 2015 | Daily Provoking Thought
The Lost Standard
Prayer is the link that connects us to God. It is the bridge that spans every gulf and bears us over every abyss of danger or of need.
Do we know the power of our supernatural weapon? Holy Spirit empowered prayer.
Do we dare to use it with the authority of faith that commands as well as asks? May God baptize us with the Holy Spirit and audacity and divine confidence. He does not want great men and women, but He is wanting men and women who will dare to prove the greatness of their God
There is a lost standard in the church today. The church has lost possession of its secret—the awareness that it is only by living in the power of the Holy Spirit that the gospel can be preached in power. Because of this there is a lot of preaching and working with few spiritual results. There is little prayer that brings down the power of God.
A.B. Simpson
by Tim Cameron | Nov 30, 2015 | Daily Provoking Thought
Provoking Thoughts on Prayer
A Praying Church
“I knew a minister who had a revival fourteen winters in a row. I did not know how to account for it, till I saw one of his members get up in a prayer meeting and make a confession. “Brethren’, said he, ‘I have been long in the habit of praying every Saturday night until after midnight, for the descent of the Holy Spirit upon us. And now, brethren,’ and he began to weep, ‘I confess that I have neglected it for two or three weeks.’ The secret was out. That minister had a praying church.”
Charles G. Finney
by Tim Cameron | Nov 27, 2015 | Daily Provoking Thought, prayer
Winning Spiritual Battles
You and I are just about as effective as a crew of workers attempting to tear down a building with loud mouths, sticks, and stones when we try to break down our strongholds with carnal weapons like pure determination, secular psychology, and denial. God has handed up two sticks of dynamite with which to demolish our strongholds: His Word and prayer. What makes prayer so powerful? Prayer keeps us in constant communion with God, which is the goal of our entire believing lives. Without a doubt, prayerless lives are powerless lives, and prayerful lives are powerful lives; but, believe it or not, the ultimate goal of God has for us in not power but personal intimacy with Him. We will never win any spiritual battles without prayer.
Beth Moore, Praying God’s Word
