![]() Yet he says that he's very conscious that when he's weak, he is strong. The apostle Paul overwhelms me with his spirituality, his pedigree, his colossal intellect. Over and over again David, the King of Israel, says, "Incline Thine ear,0 Lord, and answer me for I am afflicted and needy." (Psalm 86:1) And do you remember that one of the greatest psalms he wrote says, "This poor man cried and the Lord heard him." (Psalm 34:6) Paul says in I Corinthians 1:28 that God takes the things that are not to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh should glory in His presence. What does the Scripture say? It says that God takes the lowly, the things that are not. The less self-confidence you have, the more you have to pray. He answers desperate prayer! Your prayer life denotes how much you depend on your own ability, and how much you really believe in your heart when you sing, "Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling." The more self-confidence you have, the less you pray. Now I say very often - and people don't like it - that God doesn't answer prayer. "And it came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son and she named him Samuel, saying, 'Because I have asked him of the Lord.'" In verse 20 it says that she reaped her reward. But the key to the whole situation is that she was a praying woman. Now that's a pretty good list of afflictions - sorrow, hardship, and everything else that came upon this woman. Her heart was grieving she was bitter of soul, provoked, and of a sorrowful spirit. More than this, she wept until she was sore. ![]() This passage of Scripture gives quite a descriptive account of her time in prayer concerning the barrenness of her womb. During this time, Hannah had been distressed that she was not able to bear a son for her husband. I Samuel 1:1-15 gives an account of the yearly trip Elkanah and his wife, Hannah, made to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord. You can impress others, but you can't impress God. 6.6) You can't show off when the door's shut and nobody's there. "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door." (Matt. Do you know what the secret of praying is? Praying in secret. ![]() God makes all His best people in loneliness. When he was 27, they built him a tabernacle seating 6,000 which he packed twice on Sundays - that's 12,000- and once on Thursday nights. Spurgeon was converted at the age of 16 and began preaching in London at the age of 19. The greatest saints were once toddlers in the things of the Spirit.Ĭ. In a rather patronizing way, one of the visitors asked, "Were any great men born in this village?" Without looking up the old man replied, "No, only babies." The greatest men were once babies. The story goes that a group of tourists visiting a picturesque village saw an old man sitting by a fence. If Jesus needed all that time in prayer don't you and I need time in prayer? If Jesus needed it in every crisis, don't you and I need it in every crisis? Now Jesus was the Son of God - He was definitely anointed for His ministry. The Scriptures say that the disciples went to bed, but Jesus went to pray - as was His custom. There's nothing more transfiguring than prayer. The other evangelists say Jesus went on a mount and He was transfigured - Luke says it was while He was praying that He was transfigured. The other evangelists say that Jesus died on a cross - Luke says that even when He was dying Jesus was praying for those who persecuted Him. The other evangelists say that Jesus chose 12 disciples - Luke says it was after He spent a night in prayer that He chose 12 disciples. The other evangelists say that Jesus was in the Jordan and the Spirit descended on Him as a dove - Luke says it was while He was praying that the Spirit descended on Him. You could change the title of the Gospel according to St. ![]() People often ask, "Why do you insist on prayer so much?" The answer is very simple - because Jesus did. Prayer by Leonard Ravenhill There's nothing more transfiguring than prayer. ![]()
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