Not a Mere Conviction

Faith is very far from being a mere conviction of the truth of God's Word or a conclusion drawn from certain premises. It is the ear, which has heard God say what He will do and the eye, which has seen Him doing it. Therefore, where there is true faith, it is impossible for the answer not to come.
-- Andrew Murray

Wrestling in Prayer

Wrestling in prayer enlists all the powers of your soul. You reach beyond the visible to the very throne of God. With all your strength and tenacity, you lay hold of God's grace and power.
-- Wesley L. Duewel

The Great People of Earth

The great people of earth are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer; nor those who say they believe in prayer; nor yet those who can explain about prayer; but I mean those people who take time to pray.
-- S.D. Gordon

Our Highest Glory

We have far too little conception of the place that intercession, as distinguished from prayer for ourselves, ought to have in the Church and the Christian life. In intercession our King upon the throne finds His highest glory. In it we shall find our highest glory too. Through it He continues His saving work and can do nothing without it. Through it alone we can do our work, and nothing avails without it.
-- Andrew Murray

Before a Great Throne

Do not bring before God small petitions and narrow desires and say, "Lord, do according to these." Ask for great things, for you are before a great throne.

-- Charles Spurgeon

The Voice of Praise

Solomon prevailed much with God in prayer at the dedication of the temple, but it was the voice of praise which brought down the glory that filled the house.

-- Dwight L. Moody

The Highway to Backsliding

To be too busy with God's work to commune with God, to be busy with doing church work without taking time to talk to God about His work, is the highway to backsliding.
-- E.M. Bounds

To Pray in Faith

If you would pray in faith, be sure to walk every day with God. If you do, He will tell you what to pray for. Be filled with His spirit and He will give you objects enough to pray for. He will give you as much of the spirit of prayer as you have strength of body to bear.
--Charles G. Finney

A Continual Conversation

There's no greater lifestyle and no greater happiness than that of having a continual conversation with God.

I do know this—God looks after me. My tranquility is so great that I fear nothing. What could I fear when I am with him? I cling to God with all my strength.

A brief lifting up of the heart is enough. Do this even when you're on the run because brief reflections on God, inner acts of adoration—short though these prayers may be—please God.
-- Brother Lawrence

Has God Changed?

When people hear about what God used to do, one of the things they say is: "Oh, that was a very long while ago."

Has God changed? Is He not an immutable God -- the same yesterday, today and forever? Does not that furnish an argument to prove that what God has done at one time He can do at another?

I think I may push it a little furether and say: What He has done once is a prophecy of what He intends to do again. Whatever God has done is to be looked upon as a precedent.

[Let us] with earnestness seek that God would restore to us the faith of the men of old, that we may richly enjoy His grace as in the days of old.
-- Charles Spurgeon, 1859

The Simple Principle of Faith

Christ is the root and source of our faith. When He is in what we believe for, it will come to pass. No wavering. This is the principle: He who believes is definite. A definite faith brings a definite experience and a definite utterance. As our prayers rest upon the simple principle of faith, nothing shall be impossible to us.
--Smith Wigglesworth

Nothing Out of the Ordinary

I have read the 1000-page complete works of John G. Lake, the greatest healing evangelist of all time. One of my all-time favorite quotations is from his diary entry on Dec. 7, 1910:

"At the tabernacle service Thursday night, it was a very sweet service with nothing out of the ordinary. Mrs. Arlow of Whurter, instantly healed of violent internal inflammation."

An instantaneous healing was considered "nothing out of the ordinary." God, give us such faith and such a manifestation of the Holy Spirit in our midst that we will be able to call a miraculous healing "noting out of the ordinary."

Living in the Upper Realm

If you are a child, then you are an heir of God -- a joint heir with Christ -- you have a Right to the use of the Name of Jesus, and if you have this Right, it is because of your place in the family.
I believe the hour will come when large companies of believers will live this simple life of Faith; live it unconsciously, live it daily -- they will live in this upper realm where they will see in the Name of Jesus the fullness of the authority and power that was in Christ when He walked on the earth.
-- E. W. Kenyon, The Wonderful Name of Jesus

Expect Sickness???

I'm not interested in writing blogs. I'd rather share power-packed quotes from authors who say things better than I can. But when I read the headlines in Saturday's Norwalk Reflector, I knew that I had to write about this. Did anyone else notice this headline and react to it? "EXPECT SICKNESS" It was referring to warnings from government agencies about the upcoming flu season.

The devil wants us to expect sickness. He wants us to think that he is all-powerful and that there is nothing that we can do to avoid the nasty things that he has created to mess with God's perfect creation. The devil knows that if we let down our guard by believing these lies and giving in to fear spread by ungodly people, that he will be able to attack us easily.

I received an email two winters ago from a relative. He said that by February he will have a bad cold, and by March he will have the flu. "It happens every year." Then he predicted how many times his wife will have been sick by the end of March. That's just the place where the devil wants us to be . . . the place where we literally invite him to come in and destroy our health, our lives, and our peace of mind. We actually believe that his power to create sickness is something that we cannot avoid. We won't admit it, but we sometimes believe in a "great big devil" and a "little tiny God".

If you've been reading my quotations for very long, you should know that God has given us the authority to be as Christ on the earth, to heal the sick (Mark 16:17) and to take authority to "speak to the mountain" and command sickness away from ourselves and our loved ones.

I advocate getting flu shots because few of us have perfect faith. But I am convinced that most of us could have better health if we would verbally bind Satan from attacking us and refusing disease at the first symptom . . . or even before the first symptom appears.

As we go into fall and winter, into the so-called "flu season", and as our kids are back in school and in contact with communicable diseases, refuse to believe that you/they will contract everything that comes along. "EXPECT HEALTH".

Gifts

Beloved, we have seen that the Holy Ghost came into the Church at Pentecost and that those gifts are there also, but through lack of faith we do not see them exercised.
-- John G. Lake, 1910

Christ in You

Suppose I could get inside of Mrs. Lake. Can you imagine such a thing? She would be 190 pounds heavier than she is now. She would have a voice like a pirate, and all the other characteristics of me. She would be me. Do you see it?



Oh, listen. There is a divine secret in Christ's salvation. It is Christ in fact in you by the Holy Ghost, dwelling in you, speaking in you, living in you, blazing in you, flashing from you.
-- John G. Lake

"The far greater power of praise"

from Come Away My Beloved, by Frances J. Roberts, a book of devotionals written as messages from Lord:

Man has contemplated the power of faith and of prayer, but only rarely have I revealed to men this far greater power of praise. For by prayer and faith doors are opened, but by praise and worship, great dynamos of power are set in motion, as when a switch is thrown and an electric power plant such as Niagara is thrown into operation. Praying for specifics is like requesting light for individual houses in various scattered places, while worshipping and praise flood the whole area with available current.

I do not discount prayer (petitions). I only show you a more marvelous way -- a faster means of bringing more help to more people with less elapse of time. So many need Me. So little time is available. Turn loose thy praises, and in proportion to thy liberality, ye shall see My generosity expressed, and in infinite magnitude.

Come Up Into God

Friends, we need a coming up into God. This church, and the church around, needs to come up into God. We have been traveling around in a circle, digging our noses in the ground, and we have had our eyes on the ground, instead of in the clouds, instead of up at the throne. Look up to the glorified One! I want to see His bleeding hands. Look to heaven where He is to see them. Do not go back to Calvary to see Him. He is the risen, regnant, glorified Son of God; risen with all power and all authority, with the keys of hell and of death! He is the divine authority, the eternal overcoming, the divine manifestation of God. And you and the regnant, glorified Christ as one, are the divine manifestation of God. Come up to the throne, dear ones. Let the throne life, and the throne love and the throne power and the throne spirit and the Holy Ghost in heaven possess you, and you will be a new man in Christ Jesus! And your tread will be the church of the conquereor and your song the song of victory and your crown the crown of glory and your power the power of God.
-- John G. Lake

The Spirit of Power

The Spirit of God, the divine master, the eternal power of God, the combined life and presence by the Spirit, of the Father and the Son, is given to you -- not to leave you a weakling and subject to all kinds of powers of darkness, but to make you a master, to give you dominion in God over every devilish force that ever was.

God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)

The Spirit of Power is the Holy Ghost, . . . and not only of power, but of love and of a sound mind -- not craziness and insanity, but a sound mind by which you can look in the face of the devil and laugh.

-- John G. Lake, 1924

Baptized in the Holy Ghost?

If you were looking to know whether a man was baptized in the Holy Ghost or not, what would you look for? You would look for God in him. You would look for a revelation of the personality of God. God moving in him, God speaking in him, God speaking through him, God using his hands, God using his feet -- a mind in harmony with God, a soul in touch with heaven, a spirit united and unified with and in Jesus Christ.
-- John G. Lake, 1921

Indwelt by God

A new Christian is not a reformed man. A Christian is a man renewed, remade by the Spirit of God. A Christian is a man indwelt by God -- the house of God, the tabernacle of the Most High! Man, indwelt by God, becomes the hands and the heart and the feet and the mind of Jesus Christ. God descends into man; man ascends into God! That is the purpose and power of the baptism in the Holy Ghost. A soul is saved. How does Jesus reach them? Through your hands, through your heart, through your faith. When God baptized you in the Holy Ghost, He gave you the biggest gift that heaven or earth ever possessed. He gave you Himself! He joins you by the one Spirit to Himself forever.
-- John G. Lake, 1921

Ask Great Things

We need confidence to ask great things of God, and we shall get great things. Ask little things, and we shall get little things. But ask mighty showers of grace, and they will be poured out like a flood upon us.

-- Talbot W. Chambers, The New York City Noon Prayer Meeting, quoting an impromptu testimony, 1858

You Are Necessary to God

The purpose of the Lord and Savior was not only to redeem us out of filth and sin, but that we should grow up into manhood and womanhood in God and take a place in the world and accomplish the thing that God intended us to accomplish and fellowship with Him on His plane of understanding.

You are just as necessary to God in His plan for the salvation of mankind as God is necessary to you. That is a tremendous statement. I want to repeat it. Christians are just as necessary to Almighty God in order to accomplish His purpose in the world as God is necessary to the Christian. Without God we would not be saved. Without God we could not live. Without God we would never reach a maturity in God. Without man, God would have no medium through which He could express Himself to the world, by which he could minister the Spirit of the living God to the world.

-- John G. Lake, 1920

Stand Firm

George Muller operated a chain of orphanages ministering to several thousand children in England in the early 1800's. He operated them entirely by faith, never asking anyone for donations or letting anyone know the needs. He depended completely on God to lay the need for funds on the right people's hearts at exactly the right time.



"I thank God for the faith He has given me, and I ask Him to uphold and increase it. Do not let Satan deceive you into thinking that you could not have the same faith. When I lose something like a key, I ask the Lord to direct me to it; and I look for an answer to my prayer. (several other examples) . . .

You may do the same, dear believing reader! Do not think that I am extraordinary or that I have privileges above God's other dear children. I encourage you to try it! Stand firm in the hour of trial, and you will see the help of God, if you trust in Him."

-- The Autobiography of George Muller

Authority and Power are Yours

And the Church will never be a real Church, in the real power of the living God again, until she comes back again to the original standard, where Jesus was.

Jesus said, "Behold, I give you authority." What authority? "Against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease" (Matthew 10:1). Jesus has vested that authority in you. You say, "Well, Lord, we understand the authority that is in your Word, but we haven't the power." But Jesus said, "Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you" (Acts 1:8).
-- John G. Lake

Strengthen Your Faith

The last important point for the strengthening of our faith is that we let God work for us and do not work a deliverance of our own. When a trial of faith comes, we are naturally inclined to distrust God and to trust in ourselves, in our friends, or in circumstances. We would rather work a deliverance of our own than simply look to God and wait for His help. But if we do not patiently wait for God's help or if we work a deliverance of our own, then at the next trial of our faith we will have the same problem. We will again be inclined to try and deliver ourselves. With every fresh trial, our faith will DECREASE. On the contrary, if we stand firm in order to see the salvation of God, trusting in Him alone, our faith will be INCREASED. Every time we see tht hand of God stretched out on our behalf in the hour of trial, our faith would be increased even more. God will prove His willingness to help and deliver at the perfect time. -- George Muller, 1843

The Eternal Healer

To my heart Jesus Christ is the Eternal Healer. He was the Healer in the beginning. He was the Healer before there was any flood. He was the Healer after the flood. He was the Healer during His earth life. He is the Healer in this dispensation. He is the Healer forever! Bless God. So long as need of healing exists, Jesus is the Healer. Blessed be His name.

So I have become an enthusiast for the Son of God. His salvation to me is the mightiest conception that ever dawned in the nature of man or God. And I long and pray and rejoice in the expectation of a day to come when the universal race of man and the angels in heaven and creatures of earth will join in one glad song of holy power and glory to the Son of God, saying as the Scriptures indicate, "Honor and might and glory and blessing be unto Him who liveth forever and ever. Amen" (Rev. 5:12-14 -- John G. Lake, 1917

Just focus on praise!

There are times when it seems to me it is not fitting even to pray. There is a life of praise. Once while in conversation with Dr. Myland, the pastor of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church at Columbus, Ohio, I happened to mention the fact that I had not prayed concerning a certain personal matter. Turning to me he said, "I have not prayed for myself for four years."

That sounded very strange to me at that time. I did not understand. He said, "No, I passed beyond the place of praying, brother, into the place where I was ready to accept what the Lord Jesus Christ has wrought and to receive the power of His Spirit in my life so that the thing that he has wrought for me should become evident through me." And that man had walked for four years in that conscious victory. -- John G. Lake, 1916

As a spiritual exercise for a few days, try praising God that He is already giving the answers to the things you are concerned, about instead of continually asking. You will begin to explode in a sense of victory. -- Lep

For effective prayer ... PRAISE!

"The secret of success in overcoming Satan . . . is a massive program of effective prayer. The secret of effective prayer is a massive program of praise." -- Paul E. Billheimer

"I have access..."

"In my name ye shall cast out demons."
"Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world."
These are facts. We know them. We are not afraid to face life with the consciousness of victors.
In the morning you take stock. You say, "He and I are going together. I have access to His ability, His wisdom, His love, His grace, His strength to meet every issue that confronts me. I shall have physical strength for every need today. I shall have wisdom to meet every issue. I shall have love no matter what the provocation may be."
You see, when you walk like this, your prayer life becomes a realistic thing...

Why, prayer just becomes a means of communication between He and I. It is not a slavish duty. It is not a difficult task. It is not hard work.
He and I are working together.
-- E.W. Kenyon

If God Lays Hold of You...

The reason the world today is not seeing Jesus is because believers are not filled with the Spirit of Christ. They are satisfied with going to church, occasionally reading the Bible, and sometimes praying. Beloved, if God lays hold of you by the Spirit, you will find that there is an end to everything of the old life. -- Smith Wigglesworth

Don't Settle for the Ordinary

God has privileged us in Christ Jesus to live above the ordinary human plane of life. Those who want to be ordinary and live on a lower plane can do so; but as for me, I will not." --Smith Wigglesworth

The Power of God

The Church in general is very clear in her faith on the subject of salvation through the sacrifice of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Christian world in general, regardless of their personal state of salvation, have a general faith and belief of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world. But they are ever in doubt and very inexperienced in the power of God. -- John G. Lake

My Grace is Sufficient

Suddenly as a lightning flash, that text came to me: "My grace is sufficient for thee." (2 Cor. 12:9)
. . .
and I said, "I should think it is, Lord, " and burst out laughing. . . . It was as if some little fish, being very thirsty, was troubled about drinking the river dry, and Father Thames [the river]said, "drink away, little fish, my stream is sufficient for thee."

Or it seemed like a little mouse in the granaries of Egypt, after the seven years of plenty, fearing it might die of famine. Joseph might say, "Cheer up, little mouse, my granaries are sufficient for thee." Again I imagined a man away up yonder, in a lofty mountain, saying to himself, "I breathe so many cubic feet of air every year, I fear I shall exhaust the oxygen in the atmosphere." But the earth might say, "Breathe away, O man, and fill the lungs ever, my atmosphere is sufficient for thee." Oh, brethren, be great believers! Little faith will bring heaven to your souls.

-- John G. Lake, quoting Charles Spurgeon