Power Through Prayer

1. God's Method: Men of Prayer, Not Mere Methods

Man is God’s method. The church is looking for better methods ; God is looking for better men.

Divine Strategy. God's primary strategy for advancing His cause is not through elaborate machinery, new organizations, or novel methods, but through consecrated individuals. Just as John the Baptist heralded Christ, and Paul rooted the Gospel, the effectiveness of God's work hinges on the character of the men and women who proclaim it. The Lord seeks hearts "perfect toward Him" to manifest His strength.

Preacher's Essence. The preacher is more than the sermon; he makes the sermon. His life, character, and spiritual depth infuse every word he speaks. Preaching is not merely an hour-long performance but the outflow of a life, taking years to cultivate the man behind the message. A sermon's power, holiness, and divine unction are direct reflections of the preacher's own spiritual force.

Spiritual Foundation. The Church today needs men whom the Holy Ghost can use— men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost flows through individuals, not through methods or machinery. Therefore, the focus must shift from seeking better techniques to cultivating better, more prayerful men, whose lives embody the Gospel they preach.

2. Prayer: The Source of Life-Giving Preaching

The true ministry is God-touched. God-enabled, and God-made.

Spiritual Vitality. Preaching, when properly executed, brings spiritual life, but when wrongly executed, it can be deadly. The true, life-giving ministry is entirely dependent on God's Spirit, vitalizing both the preacher and the Word. This kind of preaching gives life, like the spring, resurrection, summer, and autumn, bringing forth ardent and fruitful spiritual existence.

Prayerless Death. Conversely, non-spiritual, prayerless preaching kills. It may be orthodox, scholarly, eloquent, or earnest, but without the Spirit's anointing, it remains "the letter which killeth." Such preaching, though full of truth, lacks life-giving energy, leaving congregations unedified, unsanctified, and spiritually dead. The core issue lies not in the sermon's content or delivery, but in the preacher's inner man.

Crucified Life. Life-giving preaching demands a high cost from the preacher: death to self, crucifixion to the world, and the travail of his own soul. It flows from a heart that has broken down and surrendered to God, crying out in self-despair until filled, purified, and empowered by God's fire. Only a crucified man can deliver crucified preaching that truly imparts life.

3. Holiness and Devotion: Essential for the Preacher

If he does not excel in grace, he does not excel at all.

Divine Standard. The Christian ministry must uphold a standard of holiness even higher than the Jewish priesthood. A preacher's usefulness hinges entirely on his universal holiness of life, as his life preaches all week long, far beyond the pulpit. Any compromise with covetousness, love of praise, or pleasure can ruin a ministry.

Unwavering Commitment. True devotion means being surrendered to God in the holiest sense, recognizing ministry not as a profession but as a divine institution. The preacher's aspirations and ambitions must be solely for God's glory, with no inspiration but Jesus Christ and no toil but for Him. This deep devotion makes prayer as essential as food is to life.

Beyond Appearances. A light piety, though perhaps accompanied by gifted eloquence, will result in preaching that is fleeting and without weight. Devotion to a church, opinions, or orthodoxy is paltry if it replaces God as the mainspring of the preacher's effort. God's cause needs men and women aflame with love, faith, prayer, zeal, and consecration— an incarnation of God-inflamed devotedness.

4. The Preacher's Closet: Where True Sermons and Men Are Made

The real sermon is made in the closet. The man— God’s man— is made in the closet.

Foundation of Power. The preacher's study should be a sacred "closet"— a Bethel, an altar, a place of vision and ascent. Every thought, every part of the sermon, must first ascend heavenward and be scented by the air of heaven before it goes manward. Just as an engine needs fire to move, preaching, with all its perfection, remains spiritually inert until prayer ignites the divine steam.

God in the Message. Through prayer, the preacher puts God into the sermon and moves God toward the people before he can move the people to God. An open way to God for the preacher is the surest pledge of an open way to the people. This is not about routine or professional praying, but true praying born of vital oneness with Christ, the Holy Ghost, and a consuming zeal for God's glory.

Eternal Seeds. Preaching that truly achieves God's purpose must be born of prayer from its very inception, delivered with the energy of prayer, and sustained by the preacher's prayers long after the sermon is delivered. The spiritual poverty of much preaching stems from a lack of urgent prayer for the Holy Spirit's powerful presence.

5. Time in Prayer: The Secret to Knowing God and Gaining Influence

Much time spent with God is the secret of all successful praying.

Depth Over Brevity. While short prayers have their place, their efficacy often stems from longer, more sustained periods of communion with God. Prevailing prayer is not a casual act but the product of mighty, continuous wrestling with God. Acquaintance with God, and influence with Him, are not gained hurriedly; they require significant time alone with Him, demonstrating persistent faith and appreciation for His gifts.

Biblical Examples. Christ Himself, our ultimate example, spent many whole nights in prayer, making it His custom and habitual practice. Paul prayed "day and night exceedingly." Daniel prayed three times a day, and David's prayers were often protracted. These biblical saints dedicated substantial time to prayer, indicating that long seasons of communion were integral to their spiritual power.

Historical Witnesses. Throughout history, those who most powerfully affected the world for Christ were known for spending extensive time with God.

• Charles Simeon: Four hours daily (4-8 AM).
• John Wesley: Two hours daily, starting at 4 AM.
• John Fletcher: Often prayed all night, stained his walls with prayer.
• Martin Luther: Three hours daily, stating, "He that has prayed well has studied well."
• David Brainerd: Many hours daily, often in agony for souls.
  These examples underscore that great and enduring work for God requires much time devoted to prayer.

6. Early Morning Prayer: A Mark of Ardent Desire for God

If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day.

Prioritizing God. The most impactful servants of God have consistently been early on their knees. The early morning hours, with their freshness and opportunity, are crucial for seeking God. If God is not prioritized at the day's outset, He risks being relegated to the last place throughout the day.

Ardent Pursuit. Early rising for prayer is a clear indicator of an ardent desire for God, a heart that hungers and thirsts for Him. A desire for God that cannot break the chains of sleep is weak and will yield little spiritual fruit. David sought God "early, before daylight," and Christ, "rising up a great while before day," went to a solitary place to pray.

Spiritual Momentum. This discipline of early prayer not only gives vent to spiritual desire but also strengthens it, leading to a deeper grasp of God and a fuller revelation of His presence. Such devotion transforms individuals into eminent saints, whose spiritual conquests benefit generations. Our "laziness after God" is a significant sin, contrasting sharply with the diligence of those who truly seek Him.

7. Divine Unction: The Indispensable Power in Preaching

Unction is simply putting God in His own Word and on His own preacher.

The Art of Preaching. Unction is an indefinable, indescribable divine anointing of the Holy Ghost that separates true Gospel preaching from all other forms of communication. It is the unique enablement by which the preacher achieves the peculiar and saving ends of preaching. Without this unction, preaching lacks spiritual results, rising no higher than unsanctified speech.

Life-Giving Force. This unction vitalizes God's revealed truth, making it living and life-giving. It imbues the Word with power, drawing, attracting, edifying, convicting, and saving souls. While earnestness, eloquence, or intellectual brilliance may impress, they cannot break the chains of sin or win estranged hearts to God without this divine anointing.

Prayer's Distillation. Unction is not a product of human genius, learning, or industry; it is a direct gift from God, a "heaven's distillation in answer to prayer." It comes to the preacher not in the study but in the closet, through "tearful, wrestling prayer." This anointing is conditional, perpetuated and increased by unceasing, impassioned prayer, making all else seem feeble and vain without it.

8. Heart Over Head: The True Fountain of Preaching Power

The heart is the saviour of the world. Heads do not save.

Heart's Supremacy. The heart, not the head, is the true source of God's great preachers and the ultimate "saviour of the world." Genius, brains, and natural gifts do not save; the Gospel flows through hearts. All mighty spiritual forces and lovely graces originate from the heart, making great characters and divine characters. God is love, and heaven is love, underscoring the heart's paramount importance in religion.

Prepared Heart. A significant error in modern pulpits is prioritizing thought over prayer, and head over heart. A prepared heart is far superior to a prepared sermon, as a prepared heart will naturally produce a prepared sermon. While intellect and study are valuable, the greatest lack is in heart culture, not head culture— a deficiency in holiness, meditation, watching, fasting, and prayer.

Spiritual Integrity. Ambition, pride, selfishness, or covetousness in the preacher's heart act as non-conductors, causing divine truth to fall flat and powerless. God's revelation demands the simplicity, docility, humility, and faith of a child's heart, not the adornment of human genius or culture. The preacher who struggles with and conquers his own heart, cultivating humility, faith, love, and courage, will be the most successful in the Lord's esteem.

9. Apostolic Example: Prioritizing Personal and Corporate Prayer

We will give ourselves continually to prayer is the consensus of apostolic devotement.

Prayer as Primary. The apostles understood prayer as an absolute necessity for their ministry, even more urgent than their high commission to preach. They deliberately appointed laymen to handle practical duties so they could "give themselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word," placing prayer first. Their fervent, persistent, and time-consuming prayers were as taxing and imperative as their preaching.

Intercessory Power. Apostolic leaders laid themselves out in prayer for their people, not just for salvation, but for them to be "mightily saved" and "filled with all the fulness of God." Paul, despite his unparalleled gifts, constantly pleaded for the prayers of the saints, recognizing that the aggregation of faith and desire created an overwhelming, irresistible spiritual force.

Church's Condition. The condition of the Church is largely shaped by its leaders. Spiritual leaders, men of mighty prayer, are tokens of God's favor, while feeble or worldly leaders lead to disaster. If Church leaders today would emulate the apostles' fervent intercession, the Church would experience renewed purity, power, and accelerated advance, potentially ushering in millennial glory.

10. The Peril of Short, Hurried Devotions

Short devotions are the bane of deep piety.

Spiritual Depletion. Our devotions are not measured by the clock, but time is essential for deep communion with God. Hurry is damaging in the great business of prayer, leading to short devotions that deplete spiritual vigor, arrest progress, sap foundations, and blight spiritual life. Such hurried praying is a prolific source of backsliding and a sure sign of superficial piety.

False Security. We can become accustomed to meager praying, allowing it to serve as a "make-believe" or a "salve for the conscience," which is the deadliest of opiates. Curtailing prayer risks eroding our spiritual foundations without us realizing the peril. Hurried devotions foster weak faith, feeble convictions, and questionable piety, ultimately leading to a life that is "little for God."

The Cost of Depth. True praying requires a significant outlay of serious attention and time, which human nature often resists. It takes ample time in secret places to receive the full revelation of God and for His full flow into the spirit. To learn the "wondrous art" of prayer, we must "demand and hold with iron grasp the best hours of the day for God and prayer," or our praying will be unworthy of the name.