Prayer Power continued Part 3

The garbled part of the first post on this subject, if I recall correctly, was about how fleshly or carnal so many elements in our churches are today. I was thinking of how much of the Christian music we hear these days is popular in style and how it is sung with a sort of worldly emotionality. In short it isn't spiritual, it's fleshly. The same tone is often heard in many contemporary sermons. The message is very good in many cases, but the tone is fleshly. The same message could be given in the Spirit and would have real power if it were. When we speak or sing or write in the Spirit God can work through us and touch the spirits of others for conviction or conversion or whatever He intends.

Paul called the Corinthians "carnal" althgouh he also clearly regarded them as true Christians. Some deny that a Christian can be carnal but surely it is clear that we can be. We are exhorted in scripture to "walk in the SPirit" and to "pray in the SPirit" and just the fact that we are commanded to do this means that it is possible not to although we are Christians. A Christian has the Holy Spirit indwelling but even so it is possible not to walk in the Spirit but in the flesh.

"The flesh profits nothing," if we are not doing all our Christian work in the spirit we are accomplishing nothing. Sermons can be preached in the flesh and accomplish nothing or very little while the same sermon could treansform lives if it were given in the Spirit. I have the strong impression that Charles Spurgeon's sermons wree delivered in the Spirit. He spent whole days in prayer over his sermons, trying out topic after topic until he was sure he had a topic that had come from Gode rather than from himself.
I'm praying for a great revival, but really for a great rising of the general level of our Christian life to reflect the power of God that is at our disposal if only we met the conditions to receive it. A lot more prayer, prayer by pastors for their sermons and for their hearers, prayer by congregations for their pastors and fellow Christians, protracted fervent prayerer is needed. torrey lays all this out very specifically. He has a theology that is not acceptable to many I most appreciate but still he does an excellent job of conveying just how we fail at prayer and what conditions we need to meet to succeed at it.

Perhaps yet more to come on this subject