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Prayer That Moves Mountains

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  • l-v\ir'J.3^Vstls,tdt

  • NECESSARY STEPS TO SALVATION1. ACKNOIILEDCE: "For alt havc sinncd aql com short of

    the glory of God" (Rom.rns 3:21) (n)( l bc mcrci fur l ro mc asinner" (Luke l8:13). You nrust rc ln(tr ! ld l lc nr rhc I ighl ofGod's Word thl t you are a sinncr.

    2. RI:PENT "Exccpt yc rcpcnr. yc shr l t r , , l i tc\v ise per;sh' .(Luke l3:3). Rcpcnt ye th,r l lore. rnd bc convc\ rcd. lhat yoursins mry be blot led ouf ' ( l 's 3:19). Y(N musr s.e the awful-ness of s in and rhcn rcpenr oi i l .

    3. CONF 55: l f we confcss our sins, hc is fai{hfut lnd just roforgivc us our sins, and to clcanse us fron) all unri8hlcousness"( I John l:9). "Wilh the mouth confession is made unto satvarion"(Romrns l0:10). Confess not 1() men bur to Cod.

    4. IORSAKE, 'Ler the wickcd forsrkc his way. .rnd rhe utr-nghteous man his thoughrs: and ler him rcrurn unto rhc Lord . _ .for hc wi l l aburd.rnt iy pardon" ( lsaiah 55:7). Sorrow for sin isnot enough in itsclf. We musr want ro be done wirh ir once andfor all.

    5. IJELIEVE: For cod so loved rhe wortd, rhrr hc Save hisoDly bcgouen Son, rhat whosocver betivclh in him shoutd norperish, but havc cvcr lasr ing l i fc" (John 3:16). . I f thou shattconfess with thy mouth rhe Lo.d Jesus, and shak betieve io thineheart that Cod hath raised Hin from rhe dead. thou sbatt besaved" (Romans l0:9). Believe in the finishcd work of Christon tnc cross.

    6. RECEM: "He am unro his own, and his own receivedhim nol. But as many as rceivcd him, to rhem grve hc powerto bccome the sons of Cod, cvcn ro rhcm lhar bclicve on hisname" (John l : l l . l2). Clr is l musr be reccivcd pcrsona y inrothe hcart by fairh, if the expcriencc of rhc Ncw Birlh is to beyours. (FGBMFI)

    If yoo wish ro acccpr Jcsus Chrkr inro your solt rnrt tit., it wil hlp you to

    D.rr H,v.oly Frth.r.I lh.rl you lndr you lov. mc.I as\ your sn ,cs!s Chri to com.

    I tnow I hnv. si-red and comnirreddeds unpl.asi.A ro you.

    I ast you now lo forSivc mc of rh6c$ns and to ct.an* ny tife.H.lp me ro follow You and your

    P.ot.cr 6e f;m Saran nnd Gvil.T.!ch mc to pur You frrn In c my

    lhouahlj nnd !cIons

    H.lp me ro lovc my fcltow man $ yo!,{nd, Farh.r, show nE slcp by st.p (h.

    plan you ntde for ny life.I Bive you myscla rnlt my lirc.I worship ud prdse to!, my Cr.aro.

    I v i l l conr inur l l y th rnk You fo rslcrificin8 Your Son on lhe ooss tharI nishl hrv. terral lifc wilh You.

    Hlp mc to win orhers io Christ_I lwair lh. r.nrrn of christ to lat. mc

    Cohc smn. l-ord J6us. Amcn.

    CHAPTER I

    inayrn ,rnet: MovES MouNTATNST EsUS in \rJrr . 2r:3t- ! ! r t i id, Ver ' ly I \ay unlo you. i I yc

    J l rrve fui t I rrrd dnuhr nol. ye shal l not only do this whichis done to thc ffg tree, but also if ye say unto this moun-trin, Be thou removed, and bc thou cast into the sea; itshall be done. And all things whatsocver yc shall ask inprayer, believing, ye shall rcceive.

    Power to move mountainsl That is what Jesus said. Hisp.omise includes that and more; it nrcludcs ":rll things."

    ."And all things whatsocvcr ye ask in prayer, belicving, yeshall receive." It sounds too good to bc truc, but jt js true.

    Perhaps fricnd, at this motnent you are weightcd downwith a heavy burdcn. It may be that a serious illness hasg)mc to you or a rnember of your family. Or it may bcthdt you nre qrcstling with cmbxirassing ffmncial prob-lems. Whatevcr your need might bc, at tour ffngertips isthc means by which yorr crn solve cvcry problcm. You whoarc sick, iD your very roon there is a power waiting to bercleased that crn set you free from every illness and dis-

    Powcr to Dovc mountanrs! Yes! But you nust ]arn thcsecrct by which you Inay relcAsc this power. Just widring forthings to get bcttcr won't bring the result. You have probably found this out already; yet, the right kind of prayer,thc kind that Jcsus spoke .rl,out when IIe said,

    'If ye askanything iD rny nane, I will do it," will bring thc answerwithout fai l . (Jn. 14: 14)

    I'e.haps onc of dre most .r,mmon wry.\ in which peoplewerkcn thcir frith is thc issumption that nany of tlreirprnycrs arc Dot lnswercd bccause it is not the will of Godto rDswcr thc"r. While it is true that pcople so,nctimes askfor things thrt rrc not IIis will to givc, thc fact rcmairs

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    that many things they ask for are in hamony with the re-vealed will of Cod. It is the will of cod that the sick behaled. It is the will of God that we have good halth.It is tle lvill of Cod that we have victory over oppressionand fear. It is the will of Cod that our dailv needs be suo-plied. It is the will of Cod that we have rhe joy of tbeLord in our heart. It is the will of Cod tlat we prosper andbe in health even as our soul prospers. (III Jn, 2)

    Let us get this straigbt. Cod doesn't want His pople torecuncile theoselves to defeat and failure in their oraverlile. He wants them to have tangible results from theii pray-ing iust as people did in Bible days. P.ayer isn't a last re-sot.to turD to in an emergenry. Prayer is an essential partot our &y by day life. When we lam tne scrt of praying,our whole Me will become a succession of miracles.

    Look at the mighq affwers to prayer the men of theBible experienced. Whn Abraham at advanced age desiredGod to give him a cbild of his wife, Sarah, cod rnirac,loudy stiengthened Sarah's wornb so that sh coutd bearhim a son,

    Ja!.ob, the gmndson of Abraharn, once a common adven-turr, but later to become a prince with God, wrestld withCod in a night of prayer, while his b.other Esau rode to-ward him with an army seeking vengence. H prevailedwith Cod and God prevailed with Esau. (cen. 32,33 )

    Jerusalem was invsted by a superior force of Assyriansthat had been invariably successful in all previous cam-paigns. The rcsourcs of Hezekiah were no match forthir great anny. But Hezekiah prayed and that nigbt aplague of death struck the invading host, and by moming185,000 men lay dead. (II Ki. 19:1585)

    Shody after this, Hezekiah was sick unto death, so thatin tlre natural order of things there was no hope for hisrcovery. But Hezeldah tumed his face to the wall andplead with Cod. The result was thnt Gfteen more yarswre addd to his life. III Ki.20)

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    Eliiah prayd for the widow's son who had died. Neverbefore had Me retumed to inv Derson after death hadcome. There was no precedent ioi raising th dead in allhistory. Yq the prayer of Elitah reversed time and causedthe dead boy to open his eyes and rehrm to tlris wo d.(I Ki. 17:20-23)

    Daniel prayed for the restoration of Jerusalem, whichhad beer lying iD ashes since tle days of NebuchadnezzartinsioD. The faitiful prophet lived to see King Clrus makea decr perrnitting all Jews who would, to retum and rc-build thir city, ( Danil 9)

    Peter was cast into p son, and orders had been givenfor his execution. But the church prayed without ceasingfor his release, and Io, an angel of the Lord visited the p!i-son and led Peter to safety.

    And thus we see again and again how God answeredpayer for every concivable need of His people and underevery inaginable circumstance. Wlether it was deliver-anc from sickness, or fcir a rniracle of supply, for prcserva-tion from dan8er, for divine guidance, for saving one fromdyibg of thirst, or for needed wisdom in ruling a kingdon,no matter wbat the need was, God supplied it in answerto believing prayer. The law of receiving is positive andcertain. Jesus said,

    'nsk and ye shall receive, seek and yeshall ffnd, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For hetlat asketh receiveth and he that seekth Andeth, and hthat knocketh. to him it shall be ooened." What does thisrnean? It means that there is atr In;isible Power about.us,that is abl to work out every problem, that will antici-pate every need, and supply whatever may be rcquired, apowI so great that it can move the very mountains ifneed be. Dos. this souDd too eood to be true? As Cod istrue, so the promise is true. Suah answe$ to prayer can beyours too if you will take time to leam the secret.

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    I to by dowh some of the great principles tbat governedthe successful opemtion of preyer. Jerus was interested onlyin prayer that was successfu! prayer that brought the

    """*"t, pt"y"t that would, if need b, move the very

    ClIaPTrR Il

    THE SECRXT OF THE PRXSENCE OF GOD

    N THE 6rst rorded semroD of Ch st, He took occssior

    sFagopes snil in ihe comer! of the !rtk, rh6t rheymay be seen of men. Verily I say uro you, They h.v;their reward. Sut thou, dhen rlou pniye

  • sea; cven there sball thy hnnd lcrd m.. md d,y righthdnd shnll hold ne.

    GOO IS EVERYWHERE _HE DOESN'T COM: ANO HE DOESN'T GO

    God is cverywhrc. H is ai ornniprcicnt as th air webreath. He doesn't come and He docs t go. I{c is the greatI AMI Jesus showed that worship of Cod is not to b conffned to a ccrtain place, or a crtain time. Thc woman ofSamaria wantd to know wbether Jcn,srlem or a mountainnarby was the proper place to worsbip. This qlcstion wasth subject of bifter controvrsy in thnt day and it occurred to the woman that this was a golden opport'rDity toget a prophett answer. Jesus replied to her question in away she hardly expected. IIe said,

    ''woman, believe mc, the hourcomcth, when yc slallnejthcr in this mooDlrin .or yet .t Jcrusalem, worsl'ipth. Flther . . . But th(f }our coftetl). rnd now is. wh(nthc tn,c worshjppers shall worship lhc Fither in St,iritdnd in tnrth: for the Frther seketh str.h to worslipHi f t . " (Jn.4:21 93)

    IIow di0crcnt men's lives would bc if thcy rctngnizedthat another wo d was watching thonl That rngck arenear. (Psa. 34,7) But more than angeh, thc Prvtcc ofCod sees all, obscrues all and records all. Thc('is nothingwe can hide from Him.

    ''But withotrt faith it is impossibh to please hinr. lfor

    hc that dheih to Cod must bl i .v . lhr t hc h, n,n l l l , r thc is r rcs. rder of lhem that d i l igcnt ly n l l LnD. '(Heb. l l :6)

    WE MUST RECOGNIZE THE PRESENCE OF GOD

    It is tle recognition of the Presencc of Cod thrtt m,rkes iteasy to pray, casy to havo fnith. Though (;(xl is not presentin virible fonn, He is prescnt just thc srmc. It is in recog-nizing this actual prescnce of Cod tl,rt wc fi.d that Pray-

    er no longer is a chore, but a supreme delight. ThatChrist's presence is always with His people the Lod madeplain in John 14,23.

    "te$N aDswqcd dnd said unto him, If a man lovemc, he will }ecp my words: and ny Fathcr will lovehnn, nnd w. will mme unto hin, and nak. our ibode

    Moses becarne the great intercessor of the Okl Testament.When the children of Isnel sinned so tlat the Lord re-fused to mntinu with them on their ioume), to Canaan,but ofiered to send His angel instead, Moses would havenone of it. He said, "If thy pre$nce go not with me,carry us not up hencc." (Exod. 33:15) And he prsuadedthe Lord to grant his rcquest. God reassured him, saying:

    "My prescncc shr l lgo wrth thee. and I wi l l s iv rheerest. And th. LorJ spakF to Mn\es face to fne, as amon spealeth unto his fr iend." (Exod. 33:14,11)

    The day came that Jesus was to teave His disciples. Howthey longed thar IIe migbr tarry with them longr! ButJesus cxplained why He nust leave, saying, "If I go notaway th Comfortor will not come." If Jesus wcnt away, theComfort$ which is thc Holy Spirit would bc sent by thcFather inro the world. Through thc Holy Spirit, Jesus thencould bc prasent, not with a few, but with bclievers everv-where. He could thcn fulfill His promise that "Where twoor three are gathred togetl,r. in my name, there am I inthe midst of lhem. (Mrtt . ld: !0)

    Wtutt is the flst secrct of proycr? What is thc sccrct ol,iooing mountai e b! th.e prager ol tdth? The frct thing isto rccognize the ftresen c of Him uho ,eated ,nountoins.Recognil,e thnt Cbist is rDith lou eaery flnncnt ii llout.lailg lile. Then it &ill be easy to rccognize the prcs.rve olChrist uhen gou p g. Start today rccolnizing aul ptuctic-ing thr prcsence ol Chtist in lon life.

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    CgAPTBR III

    THE SECRXT OF PRAISE

    VOU WISH to learn tbe secret of prJ)er d,ut wi l l moveI mounrains? Praye! that will change things? Prayer

    that will tap the innnite resources of Alpighty Cod? Thatwill mak the invisible to become visible? That will rcleasth power of heaven for the benefft of huDranity? Well, youcan leam tlat secret, but he who would lcarn it, must bewiling to follow the rules.

    THE DISCIPI,ES SAID, "I.ORD, TEACI{ US TO PRAY"In tbe Luke account of the Lordt prayer (read Luke

    11;14) the disciples had said to Jesus, "Lord terch us topray." There why tbey asked this question.The disciples had witnessed His ^mazing and unntue nin'istry. They had watched Jesus as He healed the sick. Theyhad seen Him with the touch of His h^nd clernse theleper. They had witnessed His healing power go out to tLeblind and the deaf. They had observed that even th ele-ments responded to His command. That at His word the$.inds werc stilled, that as He spoke thc waves of theangry sea were calmed. How was He able to do thesethings? Wbat was thc secret of such mighty power? At6rst it all smed a mystry, but gradually the discipleslearned tbe secret. Jesus had this power becausc He knewhow to prayl And as thy continued day l,y dry with tlLord, a longing came into their hearts to also lcirrn how toplay. One day they ventured to ask Jesus i{ Hc worrld teach

    l'he Lord did not hesitate to g.nnt their request. H neverwas one to keep His secrets to Himseu. Men have oftensought to noDopolize power-but not Christ. IIc cam intothe world to teach others to do what He did. Ilc was will-ing that His disciples should Ieam to do even gratr

    wo*s. (Jn. 1a:1,) Yes, He would teach them to pray. AndHe began by telling them that they were to pra', aftr thismannff, 'Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be t\name." And as He ended His rpodel prayer, He concludedwitl thse words, "For tline is th kingdom, and the power,and the glory {orever. Amen." In these sentences Christrevealed a second great secret of prayer. Prayr tbatreaches God, begins and ends with worshipl

    PRAYEI BEGINS WITH WORsHIP

    Our Cod is a great Cod, a good God. All that we are orwill be, is entirely due to Him, the "Civer oI every good andperfect gift," Therefore, as a creatur to his Creator, weowe God our sincere worship dnd pnise. Worship, there-fore, b the Snt element in prayer.

    Right ther is where some make their mistake. Prayer isregarded by them mostly as a means by which they canreceive help in time of emergency. True, that is a purposeof prayer, but certainly such is far from the whole purpose.God will rnove mountaiDs, He will stop the sun and themoon in iheir courses, if necessary, but He wants some-thing out of prayer also. What could God possibly want?He that is etemal, the A['su6cient One-what have w togive Him who rules the rriverse? h

    But there is indeed on thing that we can give cod,something tlat He seeks and longs for-our devoted wor-ship. Since ttre creature owes everything to Cod, it is rightand p.oper that the creature should worship Him. Menshould praise tbe Lord all the days of their life. tu th lastverse of the I'salms declares, 'Let everytiing tlat hathbreatl' praise the Lord." (Psa. 150:6)

    We mentiond in the ffrst chapter the account of thewornnD at J.rcob s well. She had brought up th question asta wbere was tlre best place to worship. To ths poor unen-Iightened soul, Christ gave one of HL greatest revelations.He said, .But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true

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    worshippeB shall worchip tlte Fathr in spirit and in truth:for ttrc Falhe? seeke,h 6tch to './.j,orship hin: (1'r.4t2,3)

    Cbrirt thus revealed thet Cod seek! one thinq from thhurnan race, the one thing that they can give if ihey will-worship in spirit and in truth.

    When Jesus was on earth, religious people of that &y, toa great extent, had made prayer a form. One sect claimedthat men should worship Cod only in Jerusalem. Anotlersaid that the proper place to wo$hip was irl Mount Ceri-zim in Samaria. But Jesus levesled that neitler Jeruialemnor a particular mountain had an,'thing to do with wheremen should pray. Cod is a spirit. He is everywhere. There-fore, He \rants all men, wherever thy are to worship Him.Cod seeks Juch worlhip.

    Satan also comDetes for the worshio of men. When tbedevil tmpted Cfirist, he pronised H-in the kingdoms otthis world and the glory of them if only He would fall downatld worship him. (Matt. a:9) Jesus spumed the ofier ofSatan and lold him that worship was rcsened for God only.

    Notice how Christ in His praying, gave tianlsgiving andpraise to God. His frst recoided prayer was, 'I thank thee,O Father. Lord of hesven and earth. because thou hast hidthese things frotn the wis and the prudent, and hast rc-vealed them unto babes." (Matt. 11:25) Before Chistuised Lazarus from the tomb, He thanked God that He hadalready heard Him. When little children prajied the Lordas He made His triumphal ntry into Jerusalem, instead ofrebuking them as He was urged, He said, "Yeaj have yenevr rad, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thouhast perfected praise?" ( Matt. 2l: 16)

    Impodaht h the an ol proget Ij the seuet of pnise atd,tha*sgit lng, Enter lrto Co.l's preserce uith praitc. Bnnglow reqtests to Cod l./,ith tha*sgioing. Pruise Him lor$hat he has alreod! done. The potterc ol hzaoen and ean\the ln&,er to tnooe fiottta .s, is at the biddin\ of thoseulw haoe lzaast thc secret ol yaisc. BeEi^ todog thdhabit of giolng Hhn the sa.rVice ol pfli'e contin'au.Heb. 13:15 10

    expression to comc upon peoplc. Surely, they say the word''mountains-

    muit be Gsurative. Tbe l-ord did not meanthat a ral mountain coJld be moved by p."y"'.

    It is true that tbe term "mountain" i; oid used Geure-tively in the Scripture-though lhis dos Dot lessen the iorceof the promise. "Mountain" is olten used ai symbolic of akingdom. Christ's Kingdon ir spoken of in Daniel 2:SE,44-45, as a 'great mountain" that "flled tle earth." In theabove verses which speak of the "mountain o{ the Lordthouse," Isaiah refers to the Kinqdom of Cod tlat is to beestablished upon th earth-a kingdom that wil result inuniversal pace, with the nations beating "their swords intoplowshares and their spears into pruninghooks.'

    Bul let us ask this question. How is tbis great 'mounlainof tbe Lord's house", the Kinqdom of cod to be esrab-lished on the earth? The starttins answer j! that it will comeas the result of the prayen of fu's peopte! That is whatJsur indialred in the praye' He taught His disciptes whenHe said, "Pray . . . thy kingdom mme, tby will bi done on

    CHAPT8R IV

    THE SECRIT OF THE WORID VISION"Pmy

    . . . thy lingdom come, Thy witl be done inerrth is it is in heaven. lMatt. 6:9-10t

    ''And it shall cornc to pN in rhe last days, thar themounlain of the tord's house rhall be $rablished inthe top of lhe mountains, lnd shall be xaltd above thehilsi and all nations shall flow unto it. And he sha judgeamory l]le nalions, and shall rebuke many popli andthey shall bal th.h swords into plowshares, and thenspea into pruninghooks: nation shall nol lift up swordagaiNt nalion, neither shall they leam w& dy more."( le . 2:2,4 jHEN ONE rcfcrs to the promise of Jesus rhat pmyerhas power lo move mountains, it often causes a Duzzled

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  • i errth as it is in heaven." Christ would Dot ask rF to pray for

    somethinq that would conrc to pass whether we praved ornot. He nevcr tdd us to pray for the sun to rise whn itwould rise anyway. But ilc (lkl tcll us to Pray for theKingdom to con - a kingdom tl' lrPcrcede the kingdomsof this world. (Rev. 1l :15 and 16:20)

    fHE I{NGDOIi MUST COME FIR TINIO HEARTS OF MEN

    Are we then to pray until the (ingdo'n drops down out ofhcaven? No, lesus made ' t pluin lhrt i t would nol cometl ,at wav. He said. The Kinqdorn ' r f Cod c,rmah not hyobscwaiion; Nithd shqll tht say, Lo there! Lo hercl forbehold the Kingdom of Cod is within you" (Luke 17:20-2l) Christ musi rule in th hca.ts of men before He willrcisn ovcr them. The supreme work, therfore, of the fol-towen of Christ is to preach the Kingdom of Cod' that itmisht enter into th he;rts of mcn This was the great tasktha-t was begun by tle apostles and today is still unnnishedChiist has expressly stated that, 'This gosPcl of the king-dom shall be Dreached in all thc world for a witnes untooll nations; and then shall thil end comc." (Matt. %:14)

    Cod, fron His great positiorr on the throne, looks overthc arth with all its sonow and woe caused by sin and thebroken law, and He yearns for its redemPtion He so lovcdthc world that Hc gave bis only bcgotten Son. Yct He stillawaits the evangcliation of vnst population! wtro havenever heard the namc of Jesu$. Whnt is the Churcb doingabout this? What are wc doing about it?

    The truth is that the Church'.s prayers arc vcak becarseof the nanowness of its vision. A vrst number of CMstiansDrav onlv for their personal iDtcrests Of how nanyir'*"t'."'"rn it bc said that thcy hrve r real jnterest inworld cvanselization? How nHny havc ar interest in Codswork outside of thcir own dox)miDrthn? Surcly we mustbro^den our vision b widcr horiTons. World evangelization

    . . .n o, , l ) .1" l l l l ly l , ru l l (hr a l ,out by tha u, i ! t \ t qn o l thptr t t , l , l t ,u l t t , / / ( 4 , i r i . Onlv th.n wi r t , , . rvor td Let ievet h r t C h r h t i \ t h S n n o f C o d :

    '''llrt t|.y rll div be ooei rs thou. t..rrh.., are nr' x , . ' , , t I n , r l . t . { h x h e r J h o m . , ) l x . , r ! . r , , h . r , , z rut

    . r ,n t , t n i t t hrh. t . t t ta t th tu fun y, , t n , . . . tJ t t .l ; : : I )._Y'l " I , r irnc for.rhc Chrrt h ro prrv x\ Jr.$s trughr.I ny a rngdom comc th ) v r h . , t o r r . n , . . , r t L , , s i t i s i nh. iven . Lct rhc Cl) r , rch l ) r rv t t , r t i r \ mi ,mtr rs tx1omc onelh. , t lhc wor ld may L. t in tp t l , r r l ,s , r , Cl , r is t n i ,n t , ! , . t JcDrol th ' . F l thcr . They wh,r \ , I , r . r ) th is r r rs , . l : t r pr , rver fuav. l so p r . r y . "C ivc us th i \ , t . , y n , , r , l , i Jv t , - , , , t . , , n1 t r ' t , . y * t i tnot wait long for thc answcr.

    Shortly afklr our conversion, Coct qavc us lr vision ofworld reviv. , l . Tl ,c, . , t t 4f th, so\p.t : rhs.,h1t our whoteleing 1,, l l r , r ' \ t .1,r th.r t . , l l , , rL.r .rml, i r iot ls rrr t i fe taded.We fouml.drat $f \oukt rrthcr prcnch the gospcl thananything clsc in th. lvorld.

    Much.of our cvangclistic worl was during the depressionyears. Tlxrsc-lrre tbc davs lvhen o,. c'r.l,i prove ;h6rhe had a crll from Cod or not. ofren aD ovingciist nightf fnJ_ lhrt his lDvc df lc ' inA ar thc cn, l , , t r t r . r \ .1.r amountcdro l rum thn? to f f rc dolhrs. Bur wh,,r" !n, the f fnjrncialr . rn 'mfl , , t ior. w. , : ,n Inrr t , tu y si) r t , . , r r^v. , , t id w. hiverh. \ t r(ht , . \ t t , mpt:rr io,r to lcavc thc Ir in i \ rD.

    Nevorl lch$ fn,n rhc bcginning. in i ,n, , r l , ing w. !vcr.gr.rr ly, ln\ . , r i . f int . ThF rcsut is w.r. Dor i ! p,nt. , r l l ,n ro rh.overwhrlnnrg nced. The church was winnlng-th.j Iost, oncby one, bur all thi w:rs not a .trop i th( tn,(k.r !s frr asworld evangelization wu" .on""-"a. It was planr from rheScriptu.es rhar Cod nncnded that rhjs Cost,i.t ot thc ling-dom sl)ould bc prcached as a lvihress unr,, r11 Dltrn,N. I;deed He sajd, 'Preach t|e qoqrt to clrry cre,,tuk,. Butat the ratc thc jol, wns b.ilrg donc, it rvoul(t r(,v(,r bc ac.complishcd.

    . ,co, ' s] i ,y,1l ro , ,s d,, , 'Ds rhos. (h|s. as r ! ! r i ,s ro rnany

    others, t |al rr rcvival rvas comjng th:r t w,rr , l

  • masses. How wc prayed and lookcd forward for its comingA revival th^t would rach thc whole rvorld! one that wouldrcach audiDccs of teos of thbusaDds!

    Tl,en God scnt the rcvivall By n scries of strangc provi'dences, we were brougbt into the ccnter of it lt wrs ourpnvilege to share in the organizaiion of the 6rst union melings of this present visitation. As timc went on, it-was ourjoy to see many of our colleagues Participating in great cam'paigns in {oreign lands-revivals that were rerching terls,even hundreds of thousands. Mrole nrtions wcre beingstirrd. wler missionaries had laborcd arduously for yearswith meager rcsults, the mightiest visitations crrne. The re'vival soon proved to be of a scoP.i nevcr bcfrxt: knorvn inhistory.

    We thank God for those to whom He ht$ givcn thisworld vision. In praying'"Thy kingdon conic, thy will bedone on ea' lh as i ' done in hc.rv, n. th.y ,r . t ((" iv ing arich reward in pcrsonal happincss. l]tlt all this is but a tokenof what is yet to come. Before the Church are bturder vis-ions of accomplishmnt. W mtrst enter a praycr crusadefor revivat tlat has never been known before. Cod give us.rll a vision of world revival, a rcvivat that goes beyond or-ginization or dcnomination, otxr th^t will take in the rvhole-hurch. As rvc pray "Thy kingdom come," wc will 6nd thatotrr pcrson.l trmd$ will be trkcn cnre of That as Cod poursout His blessiog L'pon the wholc world, we, ourselvcs, shallrcceive abundnntly, cvcn nbovc our crPacity to rcftive.

    ll ue aoulrl leam the scctct of no\ine norntains bgpflt\pt. th?n ur mus! a..cpt tlw u rrLl t;tion W' nt.J? pttylotlh? wond lla.trst. \v.

    "rtst tt y lot thc ,a nn{lizotiotu

    of a thousand tttillioa souls oithout Chrkt. W. tnust fa!thrt Cod's kingdom rjill come and His n'iII bc (Ioie on eatth-anrl he @|to ptutJs this yauct nnselfishq uill see nuun-toiB noae(t atuI his o@n Meds .|.]ill ffit go u'vtnsuercil

    II

    CHAPTER v

    THE SECRET OF PRAYING INTHE WTLL OF GOD

    ' 'T l , ! \ i l l be dooe n c$ t l ) , rs i t h h Lenv . , , ( \ l i t t .6 : rO)

    ''An(l llNgh r hiv. rll faith, so thrt I coulcl r.m,vcmotrr trnrs, and hrv. ' rJt chari ty, (Divn'c love) I rnrnolInrs. ( l Cor. r3:2)

    f ' t Ol) l l . \s f rorni \"J ' !s l )ow.r lo rnovc moDntain\. l r r tt fwn mrnt l* rure thnt wc move lhe mountains t lc wrnl \moved. Cod nevr puts His powcr on display, nor docs IIcgive spccixl dcmonstrations for the entertainment of thevulgar. T}c n'oving of a mountrin is of no benefit unless itaccomplishcs a purposc in thc will of Cod. and unless thract is motivated by a love for humanjty. As l,aul says, if wchave faith to move mountains and have not love we annothing.

    In this we see thc all impo.t.rnt factor of the will of cod.It is necessary that when we pray, 'Thy will be done inearth, as it is in heaven," that we seck thc will of Cod ti,be donc in our life. As I John 5:14 says,

    'And this is th,confidencc that wc bavc in him, that if wc ask anything r(

    . cording to His wi l l He lrcrrcth us. '

    MAN 15 GOD'S MASTERPIECE

    Man is the crowning glory of the cro.rtnn, of Co(|. IIcwar made in the image and likene$ of Cod an(l givc', dominion ovcr thc earth. (Gor. 1:26) I I is homc rvas in thcCardcn of Edcn, and in this Pnradis(i tlrcrc wrs no sin, nosickness, no pain, no $,ll(ring Dor dcath. In,forc r,.rn choseto disobcy Cod, all thiDgs nr)v{\l in thc orl)it of cod's per-fect will.

    II

    t4 l 5

  • Ir l

    iil Man in t}le Carden made an evil choice and thus movedout of the will of Cod. Cod countermoved to save him bysending Christ into the world to redeem birn, so tbat in tleend he should have all that Adam originally possessed andmore too. Through Christ all was to be his for the ashne.As Jesus said:

    "Ask. ud shail be given your seek and ye shaffndr knocl,,nd ir shallb; openld unto you. noi evew-oDe that asketh reeivethj a;d he thar ;eketh findetirjand to hin that knocketh it shalt be opened.,, (Luke

    . I 1 : 9 _ t 0 )Why tu it tben that so many of Cod's children seem un-

    able to appropriate the promise? wlry is ir rhar they fail sool(en in getting beir prayers answered? Why do so tewmiracles happen in their lives? Wly is it that no moun_tains are moved? Could ir be that 6ere is somethins miss.in&-something lacking in tleir livcs rhar deprives tl,em ofthe benefft of the Dromise?

    THE MYSTERY OF UNA SWERED PRAYETHere ]ies the answe! ro the mystery of much unanswered

    Fayer.. Cod has{ pattem {or the lifi of every person bominto this world- For

    very creatue made in ihe- irnage andlike-ness ol Cod there is-i special purpose. The grearit mo_metrl m any Uhrisrian s experience i\ when he discovcrsthat purpose for his being on earth.

    Wher a man finds the;i)t ot Cod tor his life. rhen rhepow9r!.9r

    -heaveo and earth work for his good. As ir js $yir_teD, 'AlF thiDgs work rogether for good to rhem that loveCod. to tlem who are the calted according to his puypose."(norn.8:28) When a rnan becomes absoluielv cornmitied totbe will of cod. he will djsmver to his dclisht thar the mosrvexing,problems

    -of life have a mysrerious way of workingtnemselver out. How does this happen? Thc Cod Who mad;the planets, the sun, the moon, and srars and Who causesthem to follow in their appointd parhs by His turesistible

    I 6l 7

    will is now causing all things in that porsou's life to alsofollow in their proper orbits.

    HOW GOD SHOWED US HIs WILL IN BUII,DINGCHRIST FOR THE NATIONS PI.ANI

    The importance of the will of God in accomplishing any-thing worth while became very clear in our work with THEVOICE OF HEALINC. In the year 1951, we contemplatedbuilding ofrces in Dallas. At that time we had no money topay for the project.

    We knew that this move must be absolutelv in Divinewill if it wele to succced. Daily we took the matter to theLord in prayer. Once we were ready to move, but Codchecked us. Those who wait on the Lord will not makeharte. We continued to pray. Day by day we laid the maFter before Cod. Finally the hour came when God said, "Nowis the time. Risc and build. We were certain that we weremoving in the will of Cod.

    But we were to 6nd that evry step needed to be care-fully prayed through. First we had to make a choice of abuildine site. W werc about to make a deal for a lot whichlater we would ffnd was not at all adequat for our futuregrcwth. We did not then fully realize what Cod had in storefor us. But God knew. He kept us from making a mistake.Thrcugh an unexpected legal technicality, we were held

    , from going {orward until we had a chance to locate a pieceof Foperty that would meet our requirements. Thq CityPlanning Commission had intended on zoning this arca forresidences. but through a clerks error we were given I'eFmission to build. Then when the mistak was discovcred,the Commission decided to let us go ahead. We havc alwaysfelt that tlis location is ideal and that Cod save it to us.

    But now we came to the crilical moment. lf Co(l war indur move, He must supply us wjth $m,000 in a short time.Did God neet us? He didl The miracle took place, and in afew months' time we had a line commodior$ buildine

  • erccted. But it was only a slnall part of whrt we were go-ing to need i'r the next few ycars.

    SooD th.' urlrrging nnri$trios of CllRtS,t t.Oll TIIDNATIONS deuranded that wc cxpand. Fro,,r rvl,crc was thmoney thrt would be need.d to conre? Crxl gavc us thcnnswer in irn une\pected \eny. llc blt.sscd rrs in the min_istr!, of the writtcn Nord, whioh Dot (nrt).. rbled us tosupport our family but the proccccls cnrbli{ l$ k) contiDucour progra r of expansion. This, with t|c rdd nn of somelibcrnl gifts pcrmittcd tlt to rnovc forwi[d witl grearrapidity. Silco then we hxve built .d(l(ionrl ,)(ices for amissionary (lcpartmeDt. \\/c hlv. erc(lltl n 0ublicationbuilding rtrd installed printing eq[Dment ro rtr lrteratuccrusade. So rt the present ti,no frorr alnrost rnnt)jng .l {cwyelus ago, $e no| lrrvc a lrrge rvellrrlrril,u d cstabtish_m . n t . T l , I s . r r r . v c g | , r r e d t ^ r t l x . , \ r , r \ i \ , . r , h \ r , i i . . r yprogran in which now wc.uc deepty conl l i cd.

    As wc Iook forward, wc can scc grertcr (,spoDsibilitiesahead. But wc have tearncd that wh;n ..ctr sr,,t, i. prayedthrough and is clearly in the rvill of Cod, rhc ,xirrcic ihatis needcd will always takc place.

    THE PII.I,AR OF CLOUD

    _Gods?lan for guidancc of His redccmed pcoptc is beau-tifully illustrated in rhe story of how cod ldt ric childrenoJ IsraI. Tl'cy knew tlat they were ro mrtc rll(, i{x,rney tothe Promjscd LaDd, but they wcre not left to llx.ir own rc-sources and wisdom even in thc making of thxt rtrort jour-ney. They wcrc to be lcd by thc prcscncc of ttr Lord thatdwelt in thc Cloud of the Txbcrnacle. \M)sn rhar Cloudmoved forward they went forward, aDd vhcn it lnrried, theytarried:

    ''And when the cloud wrs rakcn froDr th. r,be.

    nacle, t}e cl)ildren of tsrict wcnt onNr(l ir) nI rheiriomrcys:.But if the ci{nd wns .ot raker up, ltreD theyjoumeycd nol till the dry rh.r wrs r.tcr-up. r|or th;

    l 8 l 9

    clot r ( l o I t l ,c Lrd $as upon thr t rbrn, r . l ( l ) r ,h \ , r r t r lr l . , l . ' , $ r , , r , , t I , w n i 8 l , r . i , , r l , , . , [ l , r . , 1 . ' l l r ] r 1 n . , .o f I$ ' i !1 , thnrugl ,out r l l thcn j ,nD, . !s . (Er l0 : r l ( i3 8 )

    I t is n s , ) l {1nn th ing to notc th. t whdr ls . r {1 f t f , ,s .d tofollolv thc (ll,ntrl, that particulxr generrtioD $i,! 'ra,(,. pcrDi t t .d l , ) , ' r t , , r lhr Promiscd LrDd.

    The lcsson is c lear . Thcsc th ings r ry . $r i l l , . r l ( . r ourrdmoDitn, r . ( l Cor- l0 : l l ) WhcD we sc. r r ! r1r D(nrt ragedy ot ( j l r r is t ians who arc no longer goi rg l r t rwi rd intheir ChristiNn cxperiencc, wc know thrt in !)rrn lvrv th.vhave c i thcr r ( j { rc ted or ignorcd Div ine gunh' r t i r t ln i ,l iv .s . Thos, \ ! I t r ) wish to have thei r pray$s rn(v i ia l

    " , ' , \ tbe wi l l ing r t i l l costs to fo l low the leading of ( ih . i \ t i i l l ! . i rdaily livcs.

    S.rd is t l ! s t ( ry of those who dry af tcr dry phin l i ! ( lvcry for tLis (, thrt pcrson to pr|y for themi who corl.ss llulCod docs nol .Dsvcr their pruyors. That though thc)' phv.seemingly linl)ing happens rnd their problerns bccom.grerter rnd q( at, r. Wh:rt is wrong? Why arc thcsc Frphso beatcn? (in,l(l it be that thcir life in somc way is outof thc rcvonl(rl will of Cod? Thc rcNn,n for thcir coDsistcnlfaihrrc is rs,,,'lly right therc. Jc$s said to pr.ry, 'Thy willbc done in o,"1h, rs it is in horven." And hc who prtyrthat pr.ryer nnrst includc it to mean, "Lord let thy

    ",ill lx.

    done in my l i f t . For thc wi l l o f Cod can only bc ( lonc i , lcarth as it is d(,rc in the livcs of men-

    Yt cvcn vhilc IIis soul was tortured in the trrril)k.stirg-gle, He wrs rl,lc to pray, "O my Father, if it bc possil)I..let this c'rp pass from me, nevertheless not as 1 will, l)rt rsthou wi l t . ( lv la t t . :39) Chr is t rcs igncd Hi ,ns( l f ( , ' t l )owill of Co(l though it meant His drinking thc c,'p t,' thcbi t ter . l regs.

    If wc in going to sec mountains movd rs (;hri\t sawthem movcd, then wc Iike H must pray, Not ,rs I rvill, butas thou wilt." If we are going to receive.nswcrs h) prayeras FIe receivcd answers, then wc must commit orrrrclves, as

  • He did, to tbe will of Cod. This means deatb to th self-life.It means crucifixion. But wilh dealb. therc also comes ascompensationa rhe resuncction lifc. rn(l with it joy andpeace in the Holy Chost. Tho'igh Christ endured sufieringin thc closing hours of His life, Cod also gave Him suchjoy that He could say, 'These things have I spoken untoyou, that my joy mi8ht remain in you, and that your joymight be ful l . " (Jn. 15: l t )

    Nou ue haae leamed another impodant secret ol prayet.We trust like Chist proy,'Not m! l.],ill hut thine be do@;'Eaery step u,'e Utke must be commifled to God. Not thotGod, shotld, bless ou plans, btt that @c sl'did seek Cods&ill and. ask Him to bless us hr doing it. Cod. ,a.ill giE uspouer to moDe mouilai'rt il it ac.o'nplish.s a f'rpos? intle uil of Cod. "ry ye abide in me, and |n! uords obiAe inyou, ye shnll ask uhat le uill, and it sha be done untottou." (|n. 15:7)

    I

    20

    CHAPTER VI

    THE SECRET OF THE DAILY CONTACT"Giv( rs dry by day our ( ldly bread." (Luke rr ,3)

    IN I l lEst \vOl lDS there isa clue to nnothcr vi t . ' l s{crr tl i r r th aa of UJf ing to change things. Thi\ is t l ( l , r 'n irplc of daily cotrct with the living Cod. Jcsus taught mr,to pray sayiDg, 'Cive us day by day our daily brea

  • ture.' 'As the Fathcr hath ni)t Dc s,) scDd I you." TheChurch c,rn undertale this rDo,,rcntous task bccaosc allpowcr hrs becn 'na(lc rlrilablc but it is avrilable onty tothose who day by drv keep coirtrct vith thcir Cod.

    .cnc us day by,hy oL,r di i ly brer( l ." Josus did not ask

    us to prrv for a ycar's supply, or r rnondis. r,r cven a rveek'ssupply ot bread. Cod wants us daily b b. i,, urtcr dcpcn-dencc of IIim. Hc wants us n, daily fccl th( nced of thestrength of Hjs prcscnce, oI l.lis sushiDhg power.

    IHE DAII.Y MANNAThis great lesson of daily dcpcndcncc ,tr) Cod $as tt'ught

    in the giving of nrDna to the children of Isfrtcl. Thcy wcreto rcccivo only enough for a d[y's ngny. No 'nxn (n,tdgathclr nrpply for reveral days .nd l)o rd it for fuh,rcuse. Thosc who did, foLrird that it bred rvorms and rvas unfit for humln consumption.

    Thcrc is a comnDn mistake that is nadc by many Chrisrians. They would have haling that thcy can't lose ', rath-er than thc hcalth that comes from a daily dependence onthe.tuic*cning powcr of thc Spirit of Cod. Thcy wouldrather hrve fnllncial securjty that docs not compcl thcmdaily to go to the secret chanber and ask God to meet theirneeds. Thoy woultl havc a Bnptism of thc Hoty Chost thatdoes not rc.q,,i.e.r (l.rily waiting on Cod f('r l fre-d, anointing. Brt such dcsircs .rre not i'l .rccord itl, Cod's purpose.

    God s plan involvcs a daily dcpendenc. on IIi'n. WithoutHin we can do nothing. And if wc are t0 successfully ac-cgmplish His will ir our lives wc must not .rllow a singleday to p.rss without that vital cominunion with cod. "Manshal not live by brcrd alonc, btt by evc.y word that pro-ceedeth from thc mouth of Cod." Men rrc careful to par,take regularly of thc natural food, but thoy r'.e not so care-ful abort the iDner man which aho nceds a drily replenish-ing. Just .rs the body feels tbc eficct of doing withour food,so the spirit sufiers when it fails to be fcd on the Breadof Iife.

    22

    Danicl is n splendi( l i l lustrr tnn' ot on. r ' ln tcarrul rksecret of l rx srrcccss. f l is l i fe splDDr( l r (r , l t I r \ ' . drrr iDgwhich t i 'D, ( l \ .nst ics rose and f t ' l l . I t wrs,tr ! , r l th. ,Dosthrr lnr lcnt, , rxs in t le history of t l ) . : world. '1 i , , ! ind l ! { l | iDI)anicls l iJI wxs iD gr ive teoprKlv. on( h rvrs corrdcmncd lo |r ' r ish with al l the wise men i , l lhbvl(n. At, r n ' l l x r l i ! , x l i s . r \ t l , r i ^ v ' r , l i v . i n h ' a d F r , , 1 r i , , , { r s l i , ' n s(h caclr rr ! ,Lsnrr his l i fc was r i rrculousl l p(,s(n1al. I l isi r) tcgr i t | ' r ( l wisdorD c Uscd hi trr to r ise in favor ryi l l r erchsucceediDg rcgirn.. l l ( (ause the Spir i t of God drr l t in l ' i ' !hc v{s r(L,rir(rl t',r(l ft sl,ccted by kings and {lu(nx. (l),rn.5: l I ) Whcr).vcr rD ( lDergcnc) arosc. tbey tur! ' (d b hnnfor beb. Ii,r rll( hctn r prrt of n ccntury his lite in{tucrrccdnat ions. I I is lcrr lcss .ortragc.tDd fai th movcd kings t{)acknou4crlgc tl,c tr,., (;od.

    What wrs rl,c n!r.t of Danicl! powcr? Thc rnswcr isthat pray(r wl ls l InrsiDcss with l i rn. He did Dor go rt lhningro ( l ,nl j , , \ r \ ] " ' , s. , , , r , r is is . ,ppi ,rred. Criscs wcrc crtrn-nn,n in his lilc l,rt !!lxD thcv clrne he always knew whatto do. Thrco tiDes u drl hc mct with Cod and gave thanks.This was ll tlaily lrrl'it with him that nothing was allowcd

    THE LESSON OF TIIE BREACHED WALLS

    -

    T] 'e imp,,r t . , ' ( , , ,1 dJi ly pi ,ycr. J dai ly rnechng w huod. and not j6r .' c.'sunl saying of phyers is forcefull;i l lusharc( l i r , lh, rr , ' r ) , ' l a Chrtsi tan i rmenian merchrnrwho was c.rrying nrcrchandisc by caravan across rhe de,s-rt to a town in Turkish Armenia. Ilaving been brought ut)by Christirn parcnts hc had formed a life habit oi.da ycommitting himsclf into the hands of God.

    At thc tirne of this incident, thc country was infcsrctlwith Kur(ls," that is bandits who lived by robbing ct'ft'-varx. Unknown to the merchant, a band of thert: )righ-waymcn had been follcwing the caravan, intcndjrg i,) rol)it at thc ffrst carnping plac on the plains.

    At thc chosen hour, under covcr of darkness, thcy drew

  • near. All lvas straDgcly quiet. Thcrc.scemed to be no8ua'ds. no w,tch.rs l ,ut . rs rh.) presseJ , ,p. to rheirastonishmcnr. r t ,ev fo, ,n( l high wr \ wh"!e wr[{ had never

    Thcy contiDued to follow bllt, th,l ncxt night, thcy foundth. \ im. i 'npasahl( .w., s. Thc r l , iut ni ! .hr r t ,e wJtt sroodhrrt lh.re $cic hft .aches rn th, .m rtrrouqh which rhey

    Th() captain of the robben, rerritic(l b! thc lnysrery,awakened the mrcbnnt.

    .What does this mcan? said ho. ..raver sinc{j yo,r lfrEzcrum. wc,havc fo owed. inrcndins ro rob v,r , . ihe 6L. lnr(rrr . r ,d r . s.ci , ' r t i fht w. fo,r ,r l 1, ,8h w:, \ , rroundthe c.rr ivan bul. t , ,nigl ' r we cntpre, l r l , , , , ,Ah t{ , ,k,1r pt ,ces.I t yo,r $i i l t ( l l Is rhc secr. t ot . , thir . I vr n, , t , , ,oh+

    . .T i T : 'd"" j . r ' lT ' , l rF . wJs r " rpn$, r . ,n , r r , ,7 / r , , r -Myl f lcn(tr . hp sid " t Iuve done rnt l , i rg r , , h,r" , . rvr l israrsc( l , ' l )o!r us..Al i I do is pray c!r .D .vcnn,g. (omm -f ing myselt and thosc with me ro C,{t I ful ty trr{r i , r Himto k,nn.me frorn a cvi t i bur ronight. Leing very t i r ," t andslccty. I rn.de a rr thcr IHIf-herrtc(t t i f p,d).r . 'Tt , , , r muslbe wl'y )ou $erc nltowed to bre.rl rlnrrghi. .

    l .hc "Kurds"I ncn rnd thFre, they gave the,ru.lv.\ to lc,u\ Clrrisr, andwerc saved. From caravan robbcrs, tt,cv became Co(t-fcar-i .C.,- ," , Th Ann,rr i ' r . .howev.r. r [v, . , t , t rE,,r rrr . , t l t rcnch'n rne wnl l or prry ' , r ,

    And thA we learn mottrcr secrt\ ol nighty ttayet. Hewho wws mounlains.must tkl.kt r'.ryft i tiic tu,"tn. ne,t,tK. L,aneL must ttEurottlj ne(t uittt k Cod. pfttlcr nu,slbecone os tutturcl as breothing. With tuch p tga\'rrun dc_Jeat s?ititual- torces aftayed aluin$t tham th;t no hunanm?ans courL! oDcrcortr- By tuch rc inuou, prtlJct thccn(tn! is k"pt at bay and. a hedEc ol prot?.1ion is nuin_tahwl about us thnulh whXh et)il cannot touch us.

    24

    CH,|PTER VII

    THE SECRET OF PRAYERTHAT ANTICIPATES EVIL

    ''And the devil, trking him up n,to r high mountiin,shelvcd untd hin all the knrgdoms o( die world in amomcnt of time. And thc devil s.kl untd him, All thispowcr will I give thcc, r,d the glory of thom: for ihxtis dclivcred urto ftei rnd b whonso.v.r I lvjll I gjvcit. lf thou thereforc wilt worshiP mc, all shall bcthnrc. (Lnke 4:57)

    "r\nd lerd us not ndo temprrlnnr, htrt dclive.usfrom.vil: l'o. thine is thc knrqdo;. aid lhr poscr, ddd theglory, forever . Amen. (Ntat t . 6 :13)

    TFI IEI tE ls ruch , , t l , ing.b p,Jycr t l ' . , t ,noves mn,rnt . r jns.I B" t hc wl ,o wor l l pr ly r l ! ,s ) ) r . ,y , r must J lso h. wi l l i "g

    to meet rnd overcome thc tcmptations involved in movingmountains. In the abovc prssage, wc.rrc told that Christwas transportcd to a high mountain, where He receiveda dazzllng ofier from thc prince of tbis world. Fmm thevantage poiDt of thc mountain, the devil in a moment oftine, showed Jcsus th{, kingdoms of this world and theglorl,of thcm. He then proposed to give all to Jesus ifH world but fall down and worship him. Christ spurncdthe dcvilt ofier declaring that worship was for Cod only.

    Mor'rtrins havc oftcn been the trysting pl.rcc bf th.testing of the saints. It was at a mountain that thc chil(lr.nof Isracl witnBsed thc thunderings lnd lightnings indshaking of Sinai. lt was this awe-inspiring scehc tb:rt c.usedthm to draw back tlnd say to N{oscs, "Spc:tk tho', lvithus, and we will bean but let not Co(l spcak with ,,s. lcstwe d ic . " (Exod. 20,19) B t Mo(s rcp)n '< l , "Fcar rot : forCod is comc down to provc you, rDd thit his fcrr maybe beforc your f!c.s. thit ve sin not (Verse 20)

    It lvas on \{t. Nloria[ that Al]r.h.rn mct tlrc supreme

  • lcst ol his ljii, $4rcn I). lvas rskc(l (o gi\.. ,rp tsaac, hisonly s,)r . " l lv lx i th ?r l , rah:rDr, lvtr( | 1r.wrs tr icd, ofcrcdup Is:urcr . . . l .couDtjng r lnr ( ix l wirs i r t ) t . to r l ise himqr, rw.rr nrr r t l t r dcrd. (rr( ,1, . l r ,17 19) AbrnhaDrsstcrdlnst l ( ss i l rcct iDg thc rcsr ( . lusrr l Li I r to be cr lkx]' ' f r t lx r , ,1 t l r . f i lhfr l . "

    I t .wls (rr . \ l t . ( j t lnI .r l r t rr t l l l i j r t r (hir tk jrged thc Brf l l

    l , l , l ! ts, r l , l cI l l r ( l lsrncl bick tr) ( i r t \ ! i th rhe wor. ls,'II{^v l{tr'g hnlt )t l}ervecn r$r) opi,rii)rrr? iI thc Loftl Lcco(1, t0l l (^! Linr: btr t i f But, r tx]n f0l t rnv hi |n. (r Ki .l8:2I) 11n11., hcfo? t tre peoplc. l )c j [st j In{t ] ) is fai th inn supcrnrtrrnr l Cod when in rnswcr l , ) his prarer, f i re(r 'nc dowr , t rr t of h.ravcD and colsrrrrrr t r t r f sr(r i f icc.

    Thoso wlx, woukl nrov. nxnrnt i s l l rsr l )c q, i ing tontqj t tho ( , l rx lkDl{c of t |e nrountr i rs. rcy rrrst hc rbt( ,r ^ s , . , 1 ( t l r , r r l , , i q l , r : , r r t 1 . , t , , r h , L , , , . , , . , r ; , . \ r , l : , t ! \ : , r \ .l h l , i r l n r , ' r r q l : r r r l n r h . g , , . i , l , r L i . t , r , , l , r . , t n , n . r ; i t lh ,

    . \ r t l x r , ' 1 , h r v r l l r r r , . r t l x . t , , r , l , r , . r t . ! " . t o J . , e r \( lhr i r- t t rxrt hi i ,SooDcr or lnk r l). \,ill f:rcc thc (k\ it s Dn,sr sulntc teDrp,

    ' f tnrr - th t jDvdlviDg }r ' lnan pr i(k, rDd t l ,nrLrD a rbi t ion.

    Sl l rr) lDo\ lnrg that ( t ln isr l )ad srrcccssful ty ovcrcone al tot} .r t . l r ln l tk)Is. gave I l im \1,t rhis o|c nx)rc thoprornis. ( | , r l x l l thc ki ' rgdoms ot thc woJd woukl hcHis, i f lL w,r, l ( l bur givc hnn lvor$hi l ) .

    THE SECRET OF VICTORY OVER TEMPIATION

    AII nxr ' r6t nr(r ' t t ( r , rptr t i , , l . iUsr r t Clrr ist had tonrcet i t . I } , t \ 'c &. Dot to ruD iDto i t . Ihcro is no advan_tigc in pr'ltnrg (nrrsclves ir thc $,u\ of h,,npration. Thatis !v l)y Chri : i t lxught mcn to prry thc.uu. i l , , . . r ,ead usnot jr)to tclDplafioD. but dcliver rrs f \n ayit." IIerc is theDiDinc anti.4x ioit ol. tid th.t dctiD&ok:c t n eail, belorc

    A r&thcr, wlur wrs a young Christian, tcarned the sccretof Cods prokcti g pn,vjdencc. lrrycr had becorne a very

    irnportnnt ptt b hcr lif. rnd slrt l'(.{antc scnsitive tothe Spirit s l adings. ThL drily living in thc spirit rcsultcdi" h{Y Il iDg rble to pray in tnnc to rvcrt r tragedy in thclifr: of lrr child. This is hcr testimony:

    "o'r' (hy in the fall, just bcfore time for school to beoot, r grcat fcar suddcnly gripped my heart. Somethingt.agic was about to happcn. I knew that one of my childrenwas in danger. This was a ncw cxperience for me, as Ihad knom only happiness sinc I had been saved. Ircalized this was a waming from God, so I began to pray.Relief camc. A great calm camc over mc. I rose up. thank-ing thc Lord.

    "When I saw ny children running down the road, Istcppcd out of the gate and went to met them. As they

    of the girls reported that our nei8bbor'slittle boy had been stn,ck by a car.

    "Johnny, my little boy, crm up with a puzzled expressionon his tace. He said, Mother, that car would have goftenmc, too, for wc wcrc crossing the road togctber, but itwas going ro falt that the wind trom the car iust Pickedmo up and st me out ()f th road.'I told bim it was theharrd of Cod that movctl Liru frorr the path of danger."

    SOME PRAYERS ANE PRAYED TOO IAIE

    Some prayers are praycd too late. Some peopl seek Godcarnestly after they get into troublc, not realizing that hadthey praycd sooner, thy might have avoidd dle PidallTherc is such a thing as foreseeing evil and avoiding it"A prrrdent man foreseth thc evil, and hidedr himsclfrbut the sinple pass on, and arc Punished " .( Prov 27il9)How can a man hop to sc.rPc the traPs that devils con'tinually devisc against him? Thc answer is, not in h',n,xtrforesight or wisdom, for the srmc writr adds, 'Tnrsl inthe l,ord with all thine herrti .rnd lcan not unto thinc ownundcrstanding. ' (Prov. 3:5)

    Thcrc is a place of safety that is hid frorn th. cye of

    26 2',7

  • the ordinary passerby, that is reservd for hin who "over-turns mountains." Job alludes to this:

    "Therc is a prth which no folvl looweth, rdd whichthe vlltures etc hrth not seen: the lions whelPs havenot troddcn it, nor the fferc. li{t, prssed by it. He PUrteth fo.th his hand upon the rocki hc otttlrrneth thenountoin bq the rools. (lob 98:7-9)

    This placc of saiety and protection from cvil is phinlyrevealed in the glst Psalm:

    "Hc that dwellcth in the secret Ph.c of the .nnHigh sh.U abide under the sh.dow of tht Almightv . . .suely hc shall dcfiver the. trcn rlrc sor. ol the fo@lct,and from the noi$me pestiletrce. He shall cover th(with lris feddrcrs, a'd uDder his whgs sbalt thou

    Here is pro,nised deliveranc from Satan's trapsl Thecxpression 'tnare of the fowler" is r clcar allusion to thcwork of Setan who is busy setting snares for Codls people.Many indecd get caught in their grip and Cod in Bis mercysomehow ext.icates thern. But how much better to be fore-warned and be able to avoid thc snares, lt is onc thingto fall into a pit and.be rscue(I. lt is another thing to seethe dangcr, and avoid it.

    Jesus taught men to pray to bc delivered from temPtrtionrather than to be rescued fro it after it engDlfs them

    The terson of anticipatnrg tcmptation before it over-whelms us is clearly portraycd in thc drrrna of Gth6emane.Thre, that fateful night Js[s mct the greatst cnsis ofHis life. The powcrs of darkness concentrrtcd their fo.csin a despffate efiort to foil thc pt'rpose of Cod in one over-whelrning attack upon Christ. As Jcsus Prayed that awfulnight, His soul was d.awn o'rt 'n aSony. Sweat a. it were,{re3t drops of bloo(l fFll fro'n His Ltow to rhe groundir" ** ' r l* l on in 'norral comhat whi le rhe disciplescngaged in stumber, in apparent ignorance of the dramathat was engaging the ahention of tbe univcrse. But Jesuspraycd on, until rt lcngth. victory crownd His efiorts

    ' 'And thcr, rplFJr"d .n angcl unto r , t rom heJven\trcngt l 'cning Him." ( Lukc ! ! :43)

    But all rvru not so well rvirh the disciptes. They toowere about to mcct rhc gre.test crisis of rlien Iives. soonthe b.tr:rycr wodld npfcar and thoy woukl lre thrown intopanic and confusbn. Yet durirq this Drccnn,s time whenthe) nrigi)t have fortified thc;rtves' aguinst rhe stormthat woukl bust upon tbenr, they onrinued to slep.Christ intcrr',ptcd His own pr.ycr in t'n cfiort to rou;ethcm to th(jir pcril. ''Rjsc and prav," He srnt. Iest ye cnterinto teDrlnirtion. ' But it was to o avail.

    The discides slept on till th( hour stn,ck. Thc armcdsoldiers cirnre and they awoke to ftlll ink, a grcat conf[sion.Pctcr, h panic, spolc bcforc hc thoughr, oDly to discoverin shocllxl reatjzation thit }c h,r(t deDi{,(t his i,ord. Littcrt),he \rept oler his act of covrr(licc. \1,hrr $ould he nothave givor if he qrrld have h,rn.(t tnn. bnck just a tewhours. His great mistake r,.rs that he clkl r(tr pray wnentemptation thrcatened. IIc did Dot hccd rl)c lvords of )esusrvhen Hc wdned hin to 'ltisc .nd prry." But hc slepton while his lvorld wns hlliDg at his f;et.

    A WARNING FOR OUR TIME

    .

    This wnning b lvntch ind prav was uor a warn,ngthrt Jcs,a Inr.n, lc i l lor rhe , l i r ( , t l .s r lonc. The w.rminAir r l )pl ical ' lc to ( : l r r i { t rrns . f . r l l . rges. rnd i t is csp.cia ;timelv for llf ttres(nt hour. \\,1e; l*us (are H* grextdiscourse on e!enrs wl,ich w,n'ld precede His gccon(lComing, H warned that the "cares oI lifc" would cxuscthat day to come upon many 'irnawarcs." "For as a snun:shall it conrc on all therr that dwcll on the face ot rhceh(ic earth." (LDkc 2r:35) Hc gave a \pocjat winr i , ,gto t losc who shoukl l ive in that day:

    .

    \ \ . , r (1 , vn r ln j , . lnn . in ' l l , ' : , v r lw iv \ . r l , , t v , . , , , . , rr r ' . ' , , , , , r

    "

    r i i t \ ' d , \ ro .s , , r tn . . l l r l cw. t l ,n .E \ r l , . , r\ l i . i ' l , . { ' r ' ' r i i t r , s . . , r r l t , , \ t r r n l L . t , { , . r t I S , r , , , 1r r . , , r r r . , , t , . : l : r ] { i )

    29I 'ubl | \h(r l l ly

    ( r l R l \ l l ( ) R l l l l l N A l l ( ) \ sl ) r l l i r \ , l . r s

    \ l l l i , r rht \ I ( r \ f r \cr l

    28


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