Christ taught his disciples that men ought always to pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1). The hypocrite is revealed here. He will meddle with this duty now and then, but grows weary of the work if he is made to wait a long time for an answer. Saul prayed to God, and because he did not hear from him, he went at last to seek the devil. Observe the effect that God's silence or seeming denial produces in your heart. Does it wear off the edge of your prayers, or sharpen them? Does it move you away from God's door or make you fall on it with more courage and rekindle your affection more firmly? If you find your effort increased, you may conclude that Christ and His graces will come to you. It is a great folly to lose heart in prayer. If mercy does not come in all haste, will you run from it by ceasing to pray?...God for reasons best known to himself stays a while before He comes to His tempted, distressed servants for their deliverance, but leaves orders for them to apply themselves to this duty of prayer until He comes. He assures us that He will come soon enough to save us. We must be at it until He comes, though it is no easy matter."
~William Gurnall
The Christian in Complete Armour
as quoted in Voices From the Past
Making Your Home an Oasis
3 years ago
reveals our heart - Yes, so true! Waiting is an exercise in trust, a good opportunity to practice trust, "practice" implying our failures of trusting Him is often revealed.
ReplyDeleteLove to you this Lord's Day,
Jojo
BTW - Love the book list and THE HEADER is A-dorable =o]
We all dislike waiting but when we look back and see WHY we had to wait, it makes us so much more grateful. Great post!
ReplyDeleteExcellent quote from Gurnall. Thank God for His grace that keeps us from giving up.
ReplyDelete(Are you going to read the whole "Complete Armour"?)
What a wonderful word of encouragement. Just what I needed to hear today! BTW, how do you add the "You might also like" feature at the end of every post? I've read so many of your older posts that way (I could spend DAYS reading through your blog) and I'd like to do the same with my blog but can't figure it out.
ReplyDeleteI love Gurnall Trisha. These words make me consider the possibility that those things which remain heavy on our hearts to keep praying for year in and year out, may be those very things God has ordained to come to pass at some point.
ReplyDeletePerhaps that is why He has given us the vigor to continue with some and not with others? Just a thought as I've been studying the Sovereignty of God as it relates to prayer.
Wonderful post.
Yes, Diane! My thoughts exactly. This is what I've experienced much this year.
ReplyDeleteJoJo,
Thank you, my friend. My trust has been stretched much this year, and I thank God for that! He is faithful and I love Him all the more.
Walking on Sunshine,
ReplyDeleteThank you! Yes, and even when we never know the why, we always know we're being conformed more and more into the image of Christ.
Persis,
I had that book on my list for last year and never got to it. I must. I must. I must. :)
Charlene,
Glad the link helped and glad this was encouraging to you. :)
Who couldn't love Gurnall? Wonderful quote, I shall add it to my collection. :)
ReplyDeleteAin't that the truth!
ReplyDelete