Prayer will do more to bring a deep and lasting and sweeping revival, a revival that is real and lasting and altogether of the right sort, than all the organizations that were ever devised by man. If you will study the history of the living church, you will find it has been very largely a history of revivals. Humanly speaking the church of Jesus Christ owes its very existence today to revivals. Time and time again the church has seemed to be on the verge of utter shipwre

The main part of praying in the Spirit must lie not merely in the Spirit’s power, or in the Spirit’s teaching us the matter, but in the Spirit’s assisting us in the manner. There is but one manner of praying which the Lord accepts. You know what it is; I will briefly describe its attributes. He that cometh to God must remember that He is “a Spirit, and that they who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him” (John 4

The one who believes God is his God, and that all providences work for his good, patiently yields himself to the will of God. Thus faith is a living principle. The life of a saint is nothing else but a life of faith. His prayer is the breathing of faith (Jas. 5:15). His obedience is the result of faith (Rom. 16:26). A godly man lives in Christ by faith, as the beam lives in the sun: “...I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me...” (Gal. 2:20). Set Against Sin Th

"They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever" (Dan. 12:3). That is the testimony of an old man, and one who had the richest and deepest experience of any man living on the face of the earth at the time. He was taken down to Babylon when a young man; some Bible students think he was not more than twenty years of age. If anyone had said, when this young Hebrew was carried away int

I read recently of a speaker who preached on the mercy of God “until it seemed there was nothing in God but mercy.” But I fear he misrepresented God. Such misrepresentation is easy, and to people who do not think deeply, and who do not want to take life seriously, it is pleasant, but it is unspeakably dangerous. If we are to win souls and save our own, we must not distort the picture of God’s character which we hold up to view. It is life eternal to know God and Jesus

In my inner life, I desire to be kept absolutely pure and lovely. O Holy and Spotless One, be in me the Crystal Fountain of Purity! O Lamb of God, be in me the Source of absolute meekness and humility! O Lover of men, be in me a Fire of unwaning, all-subduing Tenderness! Make me instantly sensitive to the least taint of impurity and uncharity. Before ever the suggestion has assumed a tangible shape, may I detect it and shelter in Thee. In my home life, may I be made

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall recompense thee” (Matt. 6:6). To the man who withdraws himself from all that is of world and man, and prepares to wait upon God alone, the Father will reveal Himself. As he forsakes and gives up and shuts out the world, and the life of the world, and surrenders himself to be led of Christ into the s

"...Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). Let me try to draw a picture of Biblical holiness, that we may see it clearly before the eyes of our minds. Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture. It is the habit of agreeing in God’s judgment, hating what He hates, loving what He loves, and measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word. He who most entirely a

“...Christ is all, and in all” (Col. 3:11). Christ is all – in regard of divine assistance. A Christian’s strength lies in Christ, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13). How is a Christian able to do duty, to resist temptation – but through Christ’s strengthening? How is it that a spark of grace lives in a sea of corruption, the storms of persecution blowing – but that Christ holds this spark in the hollow of His hand? How is it that

What kind of impression does your home-life give to your children? You cannot teach them what you do not know! You cannot give them what you do not possess! If you have an empty cupboard, you cannot provide food for your child. If you, yourself, are not right with God, you cannot influence your child Godward. It is home instruction that determines what your boys and girls will be. The devil will try to get at your child soon enough. Guard him as long as you possibl

Now were the privilege of repeating my early career allotted me, I will tell you what I should do, could I go back once more to the beginning of my career and be assured that a long spell of vigorous life was before me. I should offer my life up, without a moment’s hesitation, on the altar of redeeming love. I should place myself – spirit, soul, and body – at the feet of Jesus Christ, ready and willing literally to live, suffer and die for Him. But did I not do this ma

What is faith? In the simplest manner in which I am able to express it, I answer: Faith is the assurance that the thing which God has said in His Word is true, and that God will act according to what He has said in His Word. This assurance, this reliance on God’s Word, this confidence – is faith. No impressions are to be taken in connection with faith. Impressions have neither one thing nor the other to do with faith. Faith has to do with the Word of God. It is no

“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye” (Col. 3:13). Note in our text what an honor this Scripture puts upon our Lord Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 4:32 a similar precept is placed in a rather different form, for it runs thus – “Even as God, for Christ’s sake, hath forgiven you.” None can forgive sins but God. He alone forgives against whom the sin is committed. Sin, therefo

[The following article offers several hints to help you read the Bible faithfully and effectively.] 1. For one thing, begin reading your Bible this very day. The way to do a thing is to do it; and the way to read the Bible is actually to read it! It is not merely meaning, or wishing, or resolving, or intending, or thinking about it which will advance you one step. You must positively read. There is no royal road in this matter, any more than in the matter of prayer.

The whole of Christian living, in my opinion, hinges on the way in which Christian people read the Bible for themselves. All sermons and addresses, Sunday School classes, all Bible readings, Christian magazines and books, can never take the place of our own quiet study of God’s precious Word. We may measure our growth in grace by the growth of our love for private Bible study. And we may be sure that there is something seriously wrong when we lose our appetite for the

"And He said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not...I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth" (Lu

D. L. Moody said, “The world has yet to see what God can do through one man wholly surrendered to Him.” Moody was anointed, but it was his surrendered life that made him the power he was – in other words, his daily contact with God, when he received a fresh anointing for each new service. For instance, here is a fire and here is a piece of iron. Now if I want to get the iron hot I will have to place it near the fire. And if I want to give it an unusual experience the

John Bunyan (1628 – 1688), author of The Pilgrim’s Progress, offered these insights regarding prayer: • In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. • Pray often, for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan. • Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer. • In all your prayers forget not to thank the Lord for His mercies. • The spirit of prayer is more precious

True religion needs the soul to be always at a fervent heat. None climb the hill whereon the New Jerusalem is built except such as go on hands and knees and, laying aside every weight, give themselves wholly to the divine ascent. The pilgrim who hopes to reach the better land and makes a pleasure trip of it is under a mistake – it is hard traveling and requires ardor and perseverance. It is so in every good word and work. A lazy prayer requests a denial and shall have it.

The Significance of the Incarnation “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth’” (Psalm 46:10). Today, ask God for a fresh revelation of the significance of the incarnation. Commit to Him in prayer, your desire to be still this Advent season and know that He is God: Thank You Father that Jesus became flesh and lived among us, and that His glory was revealed! Father, thank You for sending Jesus, Your own Son

Originally published as a blog post by Harvest Prayer Ministries A PSALM OF THANKSGIVING Here are some creative prayer ideas to do individually, as a couple, a family, small group or Sunday School class, etc. You can tweak it to fit your needs in many ways, as you will soon see! Here are several ways to utilize this as a means of expressing thankfulness/gratefulness to God using The Living Bible translation (feel free to use whatever translation you wish…or even multiple tr

We live in a time of spiritual intensity. There is a very clear battle going on for the souls of men and women. It is not a time for drawing back or shirking our responsibilities. For Christians especially, every word and action counts for something. It is a time of choices, where those choices may mean life or death. Though this battle is being fought on many fronts, I want to focus today on the words that come out of our mouths. Words are powerful weapons in this war. They

I was six months pregnant and my winter jacket no longer fit. As my husband Danny and I walked through Sears and Roebuck, we noticed what seemed to be the perfect coat. It was $69 and with tax it would cost $75. It might as well have cost $1,000. Danny was in seminary and we barely had enough money to pay our monthly bills. We left the store empty-handed. In the car driving home, we lifted up the situation to the Lord. On the way back to our apartment, we stopped to check our

“Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us” (Luke 11:4). Scripture is very clear that sin is a hindrance to answered prayer. Isaiah 59:2 states, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” In Psalm 66:18 we read, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” One of the most pervasive, tenacious sins in the Christian culture today is unforgiveness