Faith is the Substance

Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Someone said to me one day, "I would not believe in anything I could not handle and see." Everything you can handle and see is temporary and will perish with the using. But the things not seen are eternal and will not fade away. Are you dealing with tangible things or with the things which are eternal, the things that are facts, that are made real to faith? Thank God that through the knowledge of the truth of the Son of God I have within me a greater power, a mightier working, an inward impact of life, of power, of vision and of truth more real than anyone can know who lives in the realm of the tangible. God manifests Himself to the person who dares to believe.


-- Smith Wigglesworth, 1924

One Hundred Preachers

Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth.        -- John Wesley

Inward Darkness

His invariable will is our sanctification, attended with peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. He never desires to withdraw His gifts from us (see Romans 11:29); He never deserts us, as some speak. It is we who desert Him.


The most usual cause of inward darkness is sin of some kind, either of commission or omission. This may be observed to darken the soul in a moment, especially if it is a known, a willful, or presumptuous sin. But light is more frequently lost by giving way to sins of omission. This does not immediately quench the Spirit, but gradually and slowly.

The neglect of private prayer, or the hurrying over it, is perhaps the most frequent sin of omission. This lack cannot be supplied by any other means whatever; the life of God in the soul will surely decay and gradually die away.

-- John Wesley

Worship God in Truth

To worship GOD in truth is to acknowledge Him to be what He is, and ourselves as what in very fact we are. To worship Him in truth is to acknowledge with heart-felt sincerity what GOD in truth is, -- that is to say, infinitely perfect, worthy of infinite adoration, infinitely removed from sin, and so of all the Divine attributes. That man is little guided by reason, who does not employ all his powers to render to this great GOD the worship that is His due.


-- Brother Lawrence

The Practice of the Presence of God

This quote is from a 17th Century French monk, Brother Lawrence. His tiny book, The Practice of the Presence of God, with Spiritual Maxims, is considered a devotional classic. Brother Lawrence's greatest contribution to Christianity was an idea that was somewhat radical for his time . . . the thought that we can live moment by moment in the presence of God, as much while at work as while at prayer. In fact, he considered appointed times of prayer to be interruptions to the communion he had with God while working in the kitchen of the monastery.




Pray remember what I have recommended to you, which is, to think often on God, by day, by night, in your business, and even in your diversions. He is always near you and with you; leave Him not alone. You would think it rude to leave a friend alone who came to visit you; why, then, must God be neglected? Do not, then forget Him, but think on Him often, adore Him continually, live and die with Him; this is the glorious employment of a Christian. In a word, this is our profession; if we do not know it, we must learn it. I will endeavor to help you with my prayers.

-- Nicholas Herman, aka Brother Lawrence