Thursdays With Oswald—Prayer Works

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

Oswald Chambers

Prayer Works 

     The prayer of the feeblest saint on earth who lives in the Spirit and keeps right with God is a terror to satan. The very powers of darkness are paralyzed by prayer; no spiritualistic seance can succeed in the presence of a humble praying saint. No wonder satan tries to keep our minds fussy in active work till we cannot think in prayer. It is a vital necessity for Christians to think along the lines on which they pray. The philosophy of prayer is that prayer is the work. 

From Christian Disciplines

Pray is not getting ready to work; prayer is the work.

We don’t make time to pray; but by prayer our effective time is multiplied.

Christians need to stop seeing prayer as something to do before work, or something to do instead of work, or something that is done after our work doesn’t seem to work. Prayer is the work because prayer works!

Thursdays With Oswald—The Purpose In Prayer

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

Oswald Chambers

The Purpose In Prayer

     The battle in prayer is against two things in the earthlies: wandering thoughts, and lack of intimacy with God’s character in His Word.

     …The effect of prayer on ourselves is the building up of our character in the understanding of the character of God, that is why we need patience in prayer. 

From Christian Disciplines

God hears all of our prayers. Every single one. Yet sometimes we think He doesn’t hear or doesn’t love us because He doesn’t answer in the way or the timing we expected.

We must remember that prayer changes us. Prayer is drawing us into greater intimacy with our Father’s heart, just as Jesus prayed that we would be one with God as He is one with Him. Prayer is fashioning us into the people who can bring God glory on earth. Prayer is shaping our character.

Hang in there! Keep on praying, knowing that God does hear and He is doing something amazing through your prayer times.

Thanksgiving Prayer

This is part of George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1789—

George Washington at prayer“…May we also unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him—

To pardon our national and other transgressions,

To enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually,

To render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed,

To protect and guide all nations and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord,

To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science,

And generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.”

Amen!

Thursdays With Oswald—Stir Me, Oh Lord

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

Oswald Chambers

Stir me, Oh Lord!

Stir me, oh! stir me, Lord, I care not how, 
   But stir my heart in passion for the world! 
Stir me to give, to go—but most to pray;
   Stir, till the blood-red banner is unfurled 
O’er lands that still in heathen darkness lie, 
O’er deserts where no Cross is lifted high. 
 
Stir me, oh! stir me, Lord, till prayer is pain—
   Till prayer is joy—till prayer turns into praise! 
Stir me, till heart and will and mind—yea, all
   Is wholly Thine to use through all the day. 
Stir, till I learn to pray “exceedingly:” 
Stir, till I learn to wait expectantly.

From Christian Disciplines

Yes, Lord, yes! Stir me!

12 Quotes From “10 People Every Christian Should Know”

10 People Every Christian Should KnowWarren Wiersbe’s book 10 People Every Christian Should Know was filled with lots of quotes by and about the notable historical figures he covered in his book. You can read my book review by clicking here, but these are some of the quotes I highlighted while I was reading.

“You have been asked to take notice of the sayings of dying men—this is mine: that a life spent in the service of God and communion with Him is the most pleasant life that anyone can live in this world.” —Matthew Henry, on his deathbed 

“I am greatly persuaded that the generality of preachers talk of an unknown, unfelt Christ. And the reason why congregations have been so dead is because dead men preach to them.” —George Whitefield

“To quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open up the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.” —William Temple, giving his definition of worship

“There are men called by God to preach on the issues of the hour, and we need their ministry. But for permanent strengthening of the church, we also need preachers who will dig again the old wells and lead us intelligently down the old paths and who, renouncing cheap pulpit rhetoric, will focus the white light of revelation on the human heart and examine us in that light.” —Warren Wiersbe

“Want of trust is at the root of almost all our sins and all our weaknesses, and how shall we escape it but by looking to Him and observing His faithfulness. The man who holds God’s faithfulness will not be foolhardy or reckless, but he will be ready for every emergency.” —J. Hudson Taylor

“I’d rather be able to pray than to be a great preacher. Jesus Christ never taught His disciples how to preach, but only how to pray.” —D.L. Moody

“The work will never go deeper than we have gone ourselves” —Amy Carmichael

“My Vow: Whatsoever Thou sayest unto me, by Thy grace I will do it.
My Constraint: Thy love, O Christ, my Lord.
My Confidence: Thou art able to keep that which I have committed unto thee.
My Joy: To do Thy will, O God.
My Discipline: That which I would not choose, but which Thy love appoints.
My Prayer: Conform my will to Thine.
My Motto: Love to live—live to love.
My Portion: The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance.” —Amy Carmichael

“You can be much more for Him than ever you know by just being yourself and relying on Him…. Keep praying and playing and being yourself.” —Oswald Chambers 

“You can never give another person that which you have found, but you can make him homesick for what you have.” —Oswald Chambers

“Stop having a measuring rod for other people. There is always one fact more in every man’s case about which we know nothing.” —Oswald Chambers

“The best book is not one that informs merely, but one that stirs the reader up to inform himself.” —A.W. Tozer

Thursdays With Oswald—Symphonizing In Prayer

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

Oswald Chambers

Symphonizing In Prayer 

     Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. (Matthew 18:19) 

     We need to know this simple, direct truth about praying in public. It is perilously easy to make public prayer the mere fringe of devotion to what we are pleased to think of as the real center of the meeting. Agreement in purpose on earth must not be taken to mean a predetermination to agree together to storm God’s fort doggedly till He yields. It is far from right to agree beforehand over what we want, and then go to God and wait, not until He gives us His mind about the matter, but until we extort from Him permission to do what we had made up our minds to do before we prayed; we should rather agree to ask God to convey His mind and meaning to us in regard to the matter. 

     Agreement in purpose on earth is not a public presentation of persistent begging which knows no limit, but a prayer which is conscious that it is limited through the moral nature of the Holy Spirit. It is really “symphonizing” on earth with our Father Who is in Heaven.

From Christian Disciplines

When Jesus taught us to pray He said we should say, “Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” God has a perfect plan in mind, and He wants us to be a part of that plan. So before we make up our mind to pray a certain way, and rally others around us to “agree in prayer” with us, we need to find out what God’s mind is on the matter. Our agreement needs to be with God, not with others.

Thursdays With Oswald—Our Broken Treasures

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

Oswald Chambers

Our Broken Treasures 

     It is a revelation of pure joyousness in which the child of God pours into the Father’s bosom the cares which give pain and anxiety that He may solve the difficulties. Too often we imagine that God lives in a place where He only repairs our broken treasures, but Jesus reveals that it is quite otherwise; He discerns all our difficulties and solves them before us. 

     We are not beggars on the one hand or spiritual customers on the other; we are God’s children, and we just stay before Him with our broken treasures or our pain and watch Him mend or heal in such a way that we understand Him better. 

From Christian Disciplines 

I think we sometimes forget the infinite capacity of our Heavenly Father. He is All-Loving: no one has ever—or can ever—love more completely and deeply than He does. He is also All-Powerful: there isn’t anything that limits His potency. What an amazing combination! If God were only loving but not powerful, we couldn’t be sure He was able to answer our prayer. If God were only powerful but not loving, we wouldn’t be comfortable about bringing our concerns to Him.

But He is Both! And as such, we should have such rock-solid confidence that He not only can answer prayer, but that He wants to answer prayer. He answers, as Oswald Chambers says, in ways that reveal more of His nature to us, so that we can understand Him better and better through each answered prayer.

“Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”

Thursdays With Oswald—Strength For Others

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

Oswald Chambers

Strength For Others 

     The real reason for prayer is intimacy of relationship with our Father. 

We kneel, how weak, we rise full of power.
Why therefore should we do ourselves this wrong
For others that we are not always strong,
That we are ever overcome with care
That we should ever weak or heartless be
Anxious or troubled, when with us is Prayer
And joy and strength and courage are with Thee?

From Christian Disciplines 

It’s a pretty simple principle: I cannot give to others what I do not possess.

Jesus rose early in the morning to find a place of private prayer (see Mark 1:35) so that He would be filled with His Father’s presence and able to meet the pressing needs of people that day. Why, oh why, don’t I follow my Lord’s example more?

People all around me need encouragement, light, hope, love. I cannot give what I do not possess. But I can possess these things in abundance if I will make use of prayer to tap into that intimate relationship with my Heavenly Father.

Prayer provides the strength I need for the day, so that I can provide the strength that others need for the day. Without prayer, I not only rob myself of God’s help, I rob others as well.

Lord, Save Me

He shall save His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)

C.H. SpurgeonLord, save me from my sins. By the name of Jesus I am encouraged thus to pray. 

Save me from my past sins, that the habit of them may not hold me captive. 

Save me from my constitutional sins, that I may not be the slave of my own weaknesses. 

Save me from the sins which are continually under my eye that I may not lose my horror of them. 

Save me from secret sins; sins unperceived by me from my want of light. 

Save me from sudden and surprising sins: let me not be carried off my feet by a rush of temptation. 

Save me, Lord, from every sin. Let not any iniquity have dominion over me. —Charles Spurgeon

A Pastoral Prayer

Daniel Payne

Daniel Payne

I love this prayer that Bishop Daniel Payne (1811-1853) prayed for himself. Pastor, do you think you could pray this? Could you pray to become invisible so that only Jesus Christ is seen and heard?

“Lord, Thou knowest my weakness—be Thou my strength. Thou knowest my ignorance—be Thou my wisdom. Teach me, that I may not be a blind leader of the blind, but a scribe well instructed unto the Kingdom of Heaven. O, let not the people see me; let them see You in Your vesture dipped in blood. Let them not hear me; let them hear You in Your voice of saving truth!

Lord, may I be able to live this out in my pastoral ministry!