‘AGONIZING’ PRAYER – VITAL KEY TO REVIVAL

I have been concerned lately that despite all our discussion on 

this site about the key features of Revival, I have still not 
really put enough emphasis on one of the most vital keys of all - 
'AGONIZING' PRAYER. We have spoken about many aspects of true 
Revival - REPENTANCE, HOLINESS, 'DARING' FAITH, the 'NEW WINESKIN' 
movement with it's NEW LEADERS that God will raise up to house His 
new move, etc. But Revival history shows again and again that if 
there are two key elements to obtaining true Revival, they would 
have to be DEEP REPENTANCE and 'AGONIZING' PRAYER. Frank Bartleman 
(a leader in the famous Azusa Street Revival) wrote:  "I received  
from God early in 1905 the following keynote to revival: `THE DEPTH 
OF REVIVAL WILL BE DETERMINED EXACTLY BY THE DEPTH OF THE SPIRIT OF  
REPENTANCE'. And this will obtain for all people, at all times."  
So we must certainly remember that deep repentance lies at the heart 
of true Revival. But the other thing that Bartleman emphasised in his
book was the hours of agonizing travail and intercession they went
through before Revival hit.

Anyone who has studied past Revivals will tell you that above all 
else, it is the key elements of repentance and also heart-rending,
Spirit-fired prayer that first lead to Revival, and then keep the 
flame burning on.  As Matthew Henry stated, "When God intends great 
mercy for His people, the first thing He does is set them a-praying." 
And Leonard Ravenhill wrote that "the man who can get believers to 
praying would, under God, usher in the greatest revival that the world 
has ever known." What an amazing statement. Yet, all Revival history
confirms the truth of it. Truly, if we could get God's people to 
AGONIZE IN PRAYER for Revival, as did believers of ages past, then 
the glory of God would surely come down. But there are all too
few 'agonizers' today.

Of course, it is always far more powerful if such intercessors can 
GATHER DAILY to interceed together for a great outpouring, just 
as did the disciples before Pentecost. As A.T. Pierson wrote, "From 
the day of Pentecost, there has been NOT ONE great spiritual 
awakening in any land which has not begun in a UNION OF PRAYER, 
though only among two or three;  no such outward, upward 
movement has continued after such prayer meetings declined."

Charles Finney is often regarded as possibly the greatest Revival
preacher in the history of the church - a mighty preacher of conviction 
and repentance. But Finney had some very interesting views (-almost 
'scientific' in a spiritual sense) on how and why Revival came. He was 
convinced, through many years of Revival ministry, that God intended 
the church to live continually in a Revival state - that this was the 
"normal" state of the church. And he was also convinced that if the 
church would just meet the basic conditions for Revival - deep repent- 
ance and heartfelt, 'agonizing' prayer for the outpouring of God's 
Spirit, then Revival would ALWAYS result. He likened it to a field of 
wheat. If a farmer tills the soil (-deep heart-searching repentance) 
and provides the right seed and conditions, then a great crop will 
always result. This is normal and expected. Finney said: "Revival is no 
more a miracle than a crop of wheat. Revival comes from heaven when 
heroic souls enter the conflict determined to win or die - or if need 
be, to win and die! 'The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the
VIOLENT take it by force.'"  John Wesley was of a similar mind: 
"Have you  any days of fasting and prayer? Storm the throne of grace 
and persevere therein, and mercy will come down."

Interestingly, when Finney's "Revival Lectures" were published and
Finney's "methods" and teachings were put into practice, there were
outbreaks of true Revival all over the world. Deep repentance and
agonizing prayer - the simple keys to true Revival. Some years
later, a missionary to China named Jonothan Goforth, desperate to
see God move amongst the seemingly-hardened locals, discovered
Finney's writings. Before long he was 'revived' himself, and went on
to see mighty outbreaks of Revival wherever he preached in China.
Jonothan Goforth became one of this century's great Revival 
preachers, all through following the simple "methods" of Finney in
seeing the convicting power of God unleashed.

When we speak about 'Revival' here, we are not speaking about
some mere evangelistic crusade or passing excitement. We certainly
are not speaking about the kinds of movements that are sweeping
through the church today under the labels of 'revival' or 'blessing'.
We are talking about mighty moves of God, where conviction of
sin and deep repentance often spread out of the churches and
into the communities round about, utterly transforming thousands
for Christ. One writer described this latter stage of Revival as 
being "a community saturated with God". Jonathan Edwards said of 
the 1735 New England Revival, "The town seemed to be full of the 
presence of God. It was never so full of love, or so full of joy; 
and yet, so full of distress as it was then."

When Revival spreads out into the community in this way (as
happened with the 1904 Welsh Revival, and many others), it is not
uncommon for bars to be transformed into prayer meetings, for large
numbers of notorious criminals to be converted, and for judges to
even be left without cases to put to trial! Such is the impact 
of a mighty general outpouring of the Spirit of God. In the Welsh
Revival of 1904 under Evan Roberts, the entire nation was literally 
transformed, with HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS converted in a matter of 
a few months in this tiny nation. And it was all through prayer 
and repentance.

One eyewitness said of this famous Revival in Wales that it was not
the eloquence of Evan Roberts that broke men down, but his tears.
"He would break down, crying bitterly for God to bend them, in an
agony of prayer, the tears coursing down his cheeks, with his whole
frame writhing. Strong men would break down and cry like children...
a sound of weeping and wailing would fill the air."

The following is a typical excerpt from Evan Roberts' preaching: 
"First, is there any sin in your past with which you have not honestly
dealt,-  not confessed to God? On your knees at once. Your past must
be put away and cleansed. Second, is there anything in  your life that
is doubtful - anything you cannot decide whether it is good or evil?
Away with it. There must not be a trace of a cloud between you and
God. Have you forgiven everybody - EVERYBODY? If not, don't 
expect forgiveness for your sins..."

This, then, is the kind of Revival that we are talking about. A 
mighty outpouring, a deluge of the Spirit of God - a 'Pentecost'
of God's convicting glory, where His presence floods down amongst
men once more. And such outpourings always start with God's 
people, before they spread out into the community at large. In fact, 
right at the beginning, Revivals almost always begin with a small 
'prayer core' - the believers who are wrestling in prayer - begging
God in an agony of Spirit-led travail, to outpour His Spirit upon 
them, upon their fellow believers and upon their city or nation.

What exactly is 'AGONIZING' PRAYER? Well, it is not too easy
to describe. But I know it when it happens. When I was 17 years
old, and I was first filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in 
tongues, I had access to many old Revival books which I devoured
with a Spirit-driven hunger. It did not take long for me to notice
that the keys to these past Revivals seemed to be deep repentance
and this kind of 'wrestling, agonizing' prayer for the outpouring of 
God's Spirit. I simply decided that I was going to 'agonize' in 
prayer for Revival! And I did. Every day would find me on my knees 
for a period of time, with liquid fire on my lips, begging God to 
fill me more and more with His Spirit, to glorify Himself in the 
earth and to bring mighty Revival to our nation. Before long I 
noticed that there was often an awesome sense of being in the 
very throneroom of God when I was praying. I could really tell 
that my prayers were being heard and that they were making an 
impact. Glory to God! And they were making an impact on me as
well. When I look back now, I can see that basically every break-
through in God that I have experienced has been because of this
early, ongoing 'agonizing' prayer. It's been so crucial.

Of course I do not ALWAYS pray this way. I think praying 
quietly in tongues is very important and effective also (-and you 
can pray in tongues driving your car or whatever - it is REALLY
important). And simply worshipping God and enjoying His presence 
is also a vital part of communing with God. But I believe that in 
connection with REVIVAL, this kind of 'wrestling, agonizing' prayer 
is essential. However, in order to pray this way, we must have the 
Holy Spirit empowering and leading our prayers. This is why Finney 
and others would talk about the 'spirit of prayer' coming upon them:-
"... unless I had the spirit of prayer I could do nothing. If I lost 
the spirit of grace and  supplication even for a day or an hour I 
found myself unable to preach with power and efficiency, or to win 
souls by personal conversation."

I remember a very significant moment in the book 'Anointed for 
Burial', which is Todd and DeAnn Burke's account of the mighty 
Revival in Cambodia in the 1970's. It occurred when God had
already been moving powerfully for some time. Todd wrote: "I 
briefly shared with them some of the things God had been showing 
me through my Bible readings. Referring to Genesis 32, I told them
how Jacob wrestled with the Lord until He blessed him. 'If we
expect power and blessing from the Lord, we are going to have to
be willing to wrestle with Him in prayer and fasting, in self-denial,
in taking up our cross,' I said. 'Then I shared with them from a 
devotional book by Hudson Taylor, "An easy-going, non-self-
denying life will never be one of power."  With that, everyone began 
to wrestle in prayer, and before long, the blessing came.'  (Pg 216).
Several powerful outpourings of the Holy Spirit were the result.

What a difference such concerted, 'agonizing' prayer could make in 
every city and nation today. God has promised Revival, but I believe 
that He is waiting for a people who will take hold of His promise and 
begin to make a stand together in prayer for it's fulfillment. Friends, 
could we agree together to lay hold of God in this way? Believe me, 
it could make all the difference in the world.

The key with such prayer is to firstly see the desperate need for true
Revival, both in the church and the world, and then to ask God to send
His Spirit to help us pray. 'Agonizing' prayer pleads with God that 
He might glorify Himself and that His Spirit might be poured out. 
It is for HIS GLORY that we pray in this way. 

Another key is truly having "clean hands and a pure heart" before God.
No secret sin. No unforgiveness. Only those with clean hands and a
pure heart can ascend to the holy place of God in prayer.

My great hope is that God would inspire as many as possible to join 
in prayer to see His mighty purpose fulfilled in the earth. The fact 
that GOD IS NOT GLORIFIED in our world is the tragedy of this late 
hour. Friends, it is high time for this to change. And be assured that 
we can truly make a difference. The time has surely come to join
together in 'agonizing' prayer for a mighty deluge of His grace
and mercy in our day. If everyone reading this would simply begin to
pray in this way, what glorious outpourings could result!

by Andrew Strom.

http://crash.ihug.co.nz/~revival/agoniz.html

Bringing Home the Prodigals

One of the best Podcasts that makes me rethink myattitude towards people every single time I listen to it.

Murder and the Spirit of sodomy. Jesus saves the chief of sinners.

There is something to be said about the spirit of Sodomy; it is deeply tied into the spirit of lawlessness; It is when the demonic promote PERMISSIVENESS as Righteousness, and judicialize it by common majority. The ancient title given to this unclean act, was of course taken from the city, of the four wicked plain cities in modern day Israel, Sodom. The people of that city evidently chose,in majority, to rape to death certain unaware strangers as random acts of entertainment. “ALL THE PEOPLE FROM EVERY QUARTER…..’ But before they [ THE ANGELS OF THE LORD..] lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: 5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.” The whole city came out to be entertained…… Thus, the grossest and most vile and cruel demons were released upon the world as the norm; as a completely natural and democratic right. Paul describes this state of mind as reprobate; which simply means the conscience is seared as with a hot iron. In effect; people that have no conscience. ANYTHING GOES! This is the level of sin that is now being released upon the world, and legislated upon the Citizens of the USA by executive order from an anti-Christian President. We have not yet seen the full fruit of this plague. There has been a series of cannibalistic and Zombie-like murders recently; odd things that were once confined to horror movies. Concerning the homosexual himself, he or she is as we, lost and needful of a Savior, and are welcomed by a loving God to be covered by the blood, washed and clean; accepted into the beloved. Paul said; “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, … nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: ” but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” If so, they are mine, as you are anyone other on Earth are who have been born from above, and walk in holiness. The key is Repenting, and rejecting sin, while clinging to mercy in Jesus. If this does not happen, they are none of His. [ I have preached in the Castro, of San Francisco, the most infested castle of Sodomy on earth, and have seen some delivered, thank God.] We must stand where Jesus stands on this issue, and against the spirit of Sodomy, but not against the individual that may desire God to cleanse him.

 

Brothertom

http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=45330&forum=48

Good Attitude

 

In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl wrote these amazing words:

“We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last pieces of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: The last of his freedoms is to choose his own attitude in any given set of circumstances—to choose one’s own way.”¹

I could not be in greater agreement. We make a choice every waking moment of our lives. When we awaken in the morning, we choose the attitude that will ultimately guide our thoughts and actions through the day. I’m convinced our best attitudes emerge out of a clear understanding of our own identity, a clear sense of our divine mission, and a deep sense of God’s purpose for our lives. That sort of God-honoring attitude encourages us to press on, to focus on the goal, to respond in remarkable ways to life’s most extreme circumstances.
 
It was that kind of remarkable attitude Paul and Barnabas consistently maintained throughout their missionary journey. The two Antioch-sent servants faced and overcame countless and extreme obstacles with a relentless determination to stay focused on the goal.
 
We all need a reliable game plan for facing extreme circumstances. The situation that now looms in front of you may be fixable, or it may seem impossible to overcome in your own strength. It might be the result of your own actions, or you may be an innocent victim, caught in the backlash of someone else’s consequences. Whatever the case, we can easily become intimidated, even fearful, and eventually immobile when facing such obstacles. The only way to move beyond that sort of paralyzing stalemate is to learn to accept and trust God’s plan. You release the controls and wait for Him to move. And while you wait, maintain a good attitude.

by Charles R. Swindoll

Read Acts 14:1–20 

Accepting God’s Plan (by Charles Swindoll)

David, in Psalm 139, makes the appropriate comment, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it” (v. 6). If David lived today, he would write, “This blows my mind.” The vastness of God’s inscrutability has a way of doing that to us—and so it should.

If nothing else, the study of Job reveals that we don’t fully understand God’s ways. We cannot explain the inexplicable. We cannot fathom the unfathomable. So let’s not try to unscrew the inscrutable.

If only the men who considered themselves Job’s friends had acknowledged that. It would have been so much more comforting to Job, sitting in such enormous misery, longing for an arm around his shoulder and someone honest enough to say, “We’re here, but we don’t understand why this is happening any more than you do. God knows, but we’re here to be with you through it. God is doing something deep and mysterious, but it is so beyond us we cannot understand it either.”

May I go one step further? God doesn’t have a “wonderful plan” for everybody’s life. Not here on earth, for sure. For some lives His plan is Lou Gehrig’s disease. For some lives (like Job’s) His plan is a life of pain. For others, heartbreak and brokenness, blindness or paralysis, or congenital complications. For many, His plan is to answer no to their requests for healing. But we don’t like that. Some won’t accept it. In fact, they go so far as to say, “If you believe that, you lack faith.” On the contrary, I say if you believe that, you believe the Bible!

The Bible describes the lives of people who don’t get well, who don’t quickly get over their problems, who don’t easily overcome accidents or illnesses. God’s Word pictures its heroes, warts and all. They hurt. They fall. They fail, and on occasion, by His grace, they succeed.

How well do you accept the unfolding plan of God for your life?

Dr. Paul said abortion is

Jeremiah 1:5
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…
(NIV)

the most important issue of our age. I also believe it is the most important issue, more than the economy, foreign policy, monetary policy, or any other issue. If we, as a country allow the murder of unborn babies, then how can we expect our leaders to be moral enough to bring our country back on the right path of liberty and a constitutional republic? God will not allow this to happen as long as we continue to have legalized abortion. We need a good, moral leaders, such as Dr. Paul, to understand this and turn our country around. A bill he introduced last spring, HR 958, aka “We The People Act”, will repeal Roe v. Wade overnight with a simple majority vote and signature of the President. Once this bill passes the pro life community can appeal to state legislatures to pass pro life laws.
Even Norma McCorvy, (Roe – who was coerced into the lawsuit, and subsequently became pro life and converted to Christianity) supported Dr. Paul for president in 2008, knowing his staunch pro life position.
Once we overturn Roe v. Wade the economy and all other problems will be fixed with God’s help. Our problem is that we have rejected God and His teachings and until we change and turn to Him for guidance we will have more of the same.

So..would it be best for the baby that she terminate the pregnancy – or would it be best for the baby that she have it – behind a dumpster and with no means to care for it – and subsequently leave it IN the dumpster and walk away…hoping that when the baby is found…DEAD… the cops don’t trace it back to her…

Apparently you didnt read the facts of the article. 86% of abortions are done out of convenience. You also are severely closed minded as you never consider adoption for those who are unable to raise a child. Furthermore, if a woman and their male companion can not handle the responsibility of the consequences of sex then how about abstinence.

I agree that the blood of each innocent victim whether in the womb or out on the street cries out to GOD for judgment. What the fools who reject GOD and His Holy Bible don’t realize is that when you remove yourself by willful rebellion from GOD’s Grace through the cross of Christ, you put yourself under the Law (of Moses): eye for an eye; blood for blood…

1. The Constitutiion says that our Rights are granted by God–not the government
2. The right to life is the foremost of all of God’s gifts to us.

Nobody is being fooled on this thread so take it somewhere else to the sheeple who don’t think. We know the formation of planned parenthood and the abortion movement was part of the American Eugenics agenda and deeply tied to controlling blacks and poor whites from reproducing. One stat Michael missed was the burgeoning % of planned parenthood centers are located in black, hispanic and poorer neighborhoods–the purpose of the infanticide movement is in plain sight for all to see……

Prevention is not custody. To tell someone you cannot murder an innocent being is not to take control of that being.

At what point is fetus a human? Do you know? If you kill a pregnant woman and her unborn fetus is also killed you are charged with TWO counts of homicide….

The baby in the womb is entitled to the SAME Constitutional protections as the mother. That baby you would kill, is a LIFE and is entitled to EVERY protection and RIGHT that the mother enjoys.

So your argument about the 4th amendment is Totally FALSE. Put that in your bong and smoke it.

The thing is, Tim, people are shown fact after fact, of how “it” is actually a living, breathing, child in the womb. What was once safe for a child many decades ago is not because of their death being “legal”. They turn away from the pictures of these aborted babies because the reality of what they condone is better off just being ignored, to make themselves feel better about their right for “choice”. This is why we CANNOT be silent. #19 is horrible, that is just ONE procedure out of many. I want to see one day, soon, that babies are once again safe in the womb from man and his evil instruments of death!

The 4th amendment has absolutely nothing to do with abortion. The foundation of the bill of rights, however, does. It says that we have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These are also noted to be FROM OUR CREATOR not something ‘gifted’ to us by some government of men. How can someone have a right to live if their brains are sucked out before they can even be naturally born? Is that what you would call freedom? Obviously – yes. Well, you’re flat wrong.

“you know what, despite the fact that you are a rude boor, I’m still glad your mother didn’t believe in abortion, so you could be alive. Why won’t you give the children of today the same benefit of life?”

There is no hope for America as long as this mass slaughter of innocent children continues to go on all across the United States.

Please share this list of facts about abortion in America with as many people as you can.  We need to wake the American people up.  Most Americans spend their days in an entertainment-induced haze and take very little time to think about the issues that really matter.

Yes, this article is going to make a lot of people uncomfortable, but it is the truth.

Isn’t it time that someone started telling the truth in America?

defending life should always trump questions about defending ones right to make a choice. I may wish to run through crowded streets with a running chain saw but my right to make such a choice would rightfully be trumped by the fact that doing so would put other people’s lives in jeopardy.

I am thoroughly confused when the same people who are pro-choice go to great lengths to protect sea turtle eggs, whales, etc., demand that they have “rights” under the Constitution, but when it comes to a human embryo(baby), only the mother has rights. If you strictly argue the right a woman has to her body, what about all the female embryos that have been aborted? Who protected their right to their body?

The innocent life must be spoken for because it cannot speak for itself.

Discovery Channel’s “Life Before Birth ”

http://www.180movie.com/

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/19-facts-about-abortion-in-america-that-should-make-you-very-sick

Summer camp with your small group.

Where did I buy that National Geographic magazine? Oh yes, I think I remember now, it was the Wholefoods store in Amherst, back when I had lots of “money.” I bought it because of it’s name – America’s National Parks. It has ten best National Parks in the U.S., and that is just what I needed. I always wanted to figure out the best camping spot for myself, my family, and our youth group. That same week I found out that Katie goes to Acadia with her family every year, at least before they stopped going many years ago. Acadia was one of the best parks in my magazine! I was really excited because I really liked the pictures of Acadia, and I also really liked Katie. What got me even more excited is that this park was affordable, with $15/night for a camping site that includes 6 people. The only set back was that it was 6 hours away from us, but I still decided give it a shot, especially after me and

It’s more than a job

http://casaraelgibson.squarespace.com/storage/hate_my_job1.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1281232786594

 

I just can’t help but post another wicked chill devotion from my “Day by Day,” book by Charles Swindoll. Hope it changes your attitude towards your job:

A young fella rushed into a service station and asked the manager if he had a pay phone. The manager nodded, “Sure, over there.” The boy pushed in some change, dialed, and waited for an answer. Finally, someone came on the line. “Uh, sir,” he said in a deep voice, “could you use an honest, hardworking young man to work for you?” The station manager couldn’t help overhearing the question. After a moment or two the boy said, “Oh, you already have an honest, hardworking young man? Well, okay. Thanks just the same.” With a broad smile stretched across his face, he hung up the phone and started back to his car, humming and obviously elated. “Hey, just a minute!” the station manager called after him. “I couldn’t help but hear your conversation. Why are you so happy? I thought the guy said he already had somebody and didn’t need you?” The young man smiled. “Well, you see, I am the honest, hardworking young man. I was just checking up on my job!”

Honest, hardworking employees are tough to find, and when you toss in competence, a positive attitude, teachability, punctuality, proper attire, a team spirit, loyalty, confidentiality, honesty, and an ability to get along well with others, wow! No wonder every boss I talk to answers my question “What is the key ingredient of your organization?” the same way: PERSONNEL.

What kind of employee are you? Do a little one-to-ten appraisal (ten being the best) on the following characteristics from the Book of Proverbs: diligent, thoughtful, skillful, loyal, teachable, humble, thorough, fair, cooperative, honest, positive.

Contrary to popular opinion, work is not the result of the curse. Adam was given the task of cultivating and keeping the Garden before sin ever entered (Gen. 2:15).

Then what was the curse? It was the addition of “thorns and thistles” that turned work into a “toil” and made the whole thing a sweaty hassle. But work itself is a privilege, a high calling, a God-appointed assignment to be carried out for His greater glory.

Today, it isn’t literal briars and stinging nettles that give us fits; it’s thorny people whose thistlelike attitudes add just enough irritation to make the job . . . well, just a job.

The difference is people. No, let’s get specific. The difference is you.

The place you work will never be better than you make it.

Give your boss an imaginary phone call,
and listen to His response with an open mind.

We are never more like God than when we give.

Here’s a another sweet story from my “Day by Day” devotional by Chuck Swindoll:

Shortly after World War II, the saddest sight for American soldiers who were picking up the pieces in ravaged Europe, was that of little orphaned children starving in the streets of those war-torn cities.

One soldier driving along in his jeep spotted a little lad with his nose pressed to the window of a pastry shop. Inside the cook was kneading dough for a fresh batch of doughnuts. The hungry boy stared in silence, watching every move. The soldier pulled his jeep to the curb and got out to slip over to the boy’s side. Through the steamed-up window he could see the mouth-watering morsels as they were being pulled from the oven, piping hot. The boy salivated and released a slight groan.

The soldier’s heart went out to the orphan. “Son . . . would you like some of those?”

The boy was startled. “Oh, yes, would I!”

The American stepped into the shop, bought a dozen, put them in a bag and walked back to where the lad was standing in the foggy cold of the London morning. He smiled, held out the bag, and said simply: “Here you are.”

As he turned to walk away, he felt a tug on his coat. The soldier looked back and heard the child ask quietly:

“Mister . . . are you God?”

About Chuck: Chuck has written many great books and had a radio show. You can subscribe to his free podcast on Itunes by searching “Insight for Living.” Check out many of his books on Amazon! He is one of my favorite characters that keeps shaping my life!

Have a Holy Urgency

Reading my little “How to Pray,” book by John Wesley, I really likd this one page titled “Have a Holy Urgency,” and wanted to share with everyone. Here it is:

“Strive to enter the narrow door.

Strive, as  in an agony of holy fear.  A promise has been made of your entering into His rest (see Hebrews 4:9-11).  Strive, lest you come short of it.

Strive, in all the fervor of desire, with groans that words cannot express.

Strive by prayer without ceasing.  At all times, in all places, lift up your heart to God.  Give Him no rest till you, like the Psalmist, ‘awake with God’s likeness’ and are satisfied with it.

To conclude:  strive to enter in at the narrow gate.  Strive, not only by this agony of soul, of conviction, of sorrow, of shame, of desire, of fear, of unceasing prayer.  Strive, likewise, by putting in order all of your conversation, your whole life, by walking with all your strength in all the ways of God–the way of innocence, of piety, and of mercy.  Shun all appearance of evil.  Do all possible good to all people.  Deny your own will in all things, and take up your cross daily.

Be ready to cut off everything that would hinder, and to cast it from you.  Be ready and willing to suffer the loss of possessions, friends, of health–of all things on earth–so you may enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

(From How to Pray:  The Best of John Wesley on Prayer, p. 17)