I have always enjoyed reading Biographies of great heroes of the faith. I especially enjoyed reading about those heroes in the post-reformation era and the early American time.
One of the first biographies I read was George Muller. He was an evangelist and leader of a Christian orphanage in the middle 1800s in England. He cared for 10,024 orphans during his lifetime and provided educational opportunities for the orphans to the point that he was even accused by some of raising the poor above their natural station in British life. He established 117 schools which offered Christian education to more than 120,000.
How did he do this amazing feat? If you know anything about caring for children, it takes a lot of love and care but it also takes a lot of money. One of the most interesting things about George and his ministry is that he never ask anyone for money to support his ministry. He was a great man of faith and of prayer and when he had a need, he prayed and ask God. It was so exciting to read his biography and read time after time how God supplied ever need he had. I can tell of others like Billy Sunday, R.A Torrey, and DL Moody. All of these men had profound effects in their time preaching the gospel here in America and they all attributed their success to a vibrant prayer life. They would spend great amounts of time early in the mornings praying for God to work in their life and ministry.
Recently I just finished reading the biography of Charles Stanley of First Baptist Church in Atlanta. He also stated that it was the power of prayer that enabled him to be used by God. What impressed me most was his statement that you fight all of your battles on your knees and not with other people. Our real battle is not with flesh and blood but with powers and principalities and we can not fight those with human words. The battle that we are in is a spiritual battle and yet so often I find my self in conflict with another person. So how do we handle that conflict? I am tempted to hit back, be mean, judgemental or say something bad and nasty about the person who has hurt me. Victory can only come when we let the Lord fight our battles for us and we surrender ourselves to God completely.
I pray that as you pray and fast you are taking your battles to the Lord and allowing Him to work his will in your life. I hope that you growing in your prayer life and see God doing more amazing things every day. This is what Paul told the Philippians. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
-Norm Bell, Outreach and Missions Pastor