Tuesday, May 24, 2022

R A Torrey on Prayer

Prayer for Power from God Part 2

It's all too easy to give up on hoping for a strengthening of the churches at this time. the signs are strong that we're right at the door of the very Last Days, and it's certainly true that it could be here any minute and there isn't even time to pray for revival. Well, if it comes it comes and I hope we're all ready, but that shouldn't be a reason not to do all we can possibly do to resist the evil we see lgrowing all around us and pray for the Church to be made a powerful spiritual force against it.

Isn't that why we're still here anyway? To be salt and light against the deterioration of this world into such evil? Unresisted thqat's always what is going to happen in this fallen world and the only power against it is God working through His people. If we are weak and scattered as we certainly are these days we aren't able to accomplish much against it. That's sad knowing that we have the power of God at our disposal if we woulde only seek HIm for it.

I hear lots of nice sermons by contemporary preachers but I have the strong sense that they are all in the flesh and what we need is messageds in the SPirit. The SPirit will convey our messages to the hearers in convicting and converting power. that's what revival is. I hear a lot of pop style "Christian "music on the radio and just find it hard to listen to. But even the old hyms are done pop style on the radio. It's all done in the flesh. The flesh avails nothing as scripture tells us.

Even if I don't know exactly what being in the SPIrit is or how to get to it it at least seems certain that we should be praying our hearts out that God would intervene to empower the churches and defeat the Great Reset and all the other evils that have bbeen overwhelming the US and the world.

Maybe more later.

The Power We Need from God Comes Through Prayer

All my recent reading -- actually listening -- has led me back to a great desire to see revival in the churches. Although I still think there may be conditions that aren't being met, I'm not as sure of that as I was before si because I'm more aware of just how little prayer is done by us Christiansx and how important prayer is to seeking antything from God. Prayer was Ravenhill's focus in his many exhorations to seek revival and since revival had not come as a result I began to think in terms of unmet conditions.

After learing the first part of a book by R. A Torrey I see how lacking in prayer we all are. I guess I can't say all beause I don't know, I can hope there are some out there who pray as fervently and at great length. I do doubt it though, it seems to be a mentality of an earlier era that we have lost.

Torrey's book "Power in Prayer and Prayer in Power" is a very long book and I've only heard an hour or so of the seven hours it takes to finish it. Many other writers I've been reading emphasize the weakness of our churches these days and offer many analyses and remedies but nobody emphasizes prayere as Torrewy does, and he's very confincting. He gives many very inspiring examples.

Prayer is difficult, very difficult. When I hear the accounts of the great prayer warriors I am astonished at their perseverence. Even if I do manage a long period of prayer I find that th4e next time I try to prayer it won't come as that one did. Distractions are a typical part of the problem but even if you have the concentration and the fervor it is hard to keep it up for the long periods usually aswsociated with effective prayer, especially prayer for revival.

We must pray "in the spirit" and nobody ever quite defines how we bring that about. We have the Holy Spirit if we are born-again Christians but actually being "in the Spirit" ISW NOT A GUARANTEE. If we are told to "walk in the Spirit" oit is clear that it is possible to NOT walk in the SPireit. If we are told to prayer "in the Spirit" that makes it clear it is possible not to prayey in the SPirit. Although the Corinthians were Christians who had the indwelling SPirit of God {ai; mevertje;ess ta;ls tp tje, as
carma;
[ep[;e/ Ot os [pssob;e tp jave tje Jp;u S[orot amd uet act om tje f;esj/ Amd jpw tp get frp, tje pme tp tje ptjer os mpt at a;; c;ear/ We jear tjat Kpjm as
om tje S[orot
pm tje os;e pf {at,pst wjem je wrpte tje Bppl pf Reve;atopm sp we lmpw tjatjere os sicj a state as beomg om tje S[orot. bit O fomd ot ,ustofuomg jpw tp bromg ot abpit/ >br? >br? {erja[s O ;; cpmtomie tjos ;ater/