Lost men do not seek Christ by mere chance; He
draws them unto Himself through the convicting and convincing power of the Holy
Ghost. The Spirit performs His office work in the world through Christ's
witnesses. Jesus said,
"...The Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify
of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the
beginning." -- John 15:26, 27
It is obvious that the Spirit enables the Christians to attract lost men by
faithfully witnessing to the Saviour. Our Lord has not commissioned all of His
people to preach, but He called all of them to
pray.
The great revivals born in the hours of agonizing
prayer attracted the attention of the civilized world. People came for the
express purpose of obtaining spiritual help through the preaching and praying
of God's servants. The great revival that began at Asbury College in 1950 was
born in seasons of importunate praying. Some of the students prayed all night
for a great spiritual awakening. Many of the teachers prayed earnestly for a
gracious visitation of God. My own soul was in great agony of prayer. The
burden was so great that I confessed the sins of the world to God. In some
peculiar manner I had been made aware of the condemnation that rested on the
souls of lost men.
During the Chapel service I exhorted the students
to seek the Lord. I realized that it was God's appointed hour to answer
prayer. At that moment the Holy Ghost moved mightily on the entire student
body. Wave after wave of deep conviction swept over the audience. Many were
moved to seek the Lord with diligence. It was an hour of triumph for the
faithful few who had tarried through long seasons of intercessory prayer before
the Lord during the quiet hours of the morning. The news of this marvelous
visitation of God spread all over the nation. It was broadcast by radio to
several foreign countries. People came hundreds of miles to receive spiritual
help. Perhaps more than five thousand people were directly influence by this
glorious spiritual awakening born in the hours of intercessory prayer.
I am thoroughly convinced that a great spiritual
awakening will come to this benighted world if the people of God will deny
themselves of sleep and seek God in the peaceful hours of the morning. It is
my firm conviction that the great Asbury revival set the pattern to be followed
in order to have a great revival in this day and age of the world. God will
hear His people when they see the importance of praying for others. Our Lord
revealed this fact when He said, "Because of his importunity he will rise and
give him as many as he needeth." The man's plea for bread was so insistent that
he did not heed the protest of his sleepy friend. The need of the traveler who
had come to him out of the night was more important than the rest needed by his
friend's entire family.
Is it possible that we are too indolent and
indifferent to pray? Is there no passion for souls? Is there no sincere concern
for the lost? Can it be that we are too sleepy to watch with Christ in the
Gethsemane of prevailing prayer? Are our physical comforts more important than
our praying for others?
Perhaps our Lord will draw some weary wayfarers
to our door asking for help through our intercessory prayers. If He is pleased
to trust us with such a responsibility, let us not fail to feed the famishing
soul.
The man made an amazing confession when he said
to his friend, "...I have nothing to set before him." It is evident that Jesus
is not calling attention to the man's embarrassing poverty. He is showing us
that our sufficiency is not of ourselves. Paul stated this fact when he said.
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves;
but our sufficiency is of God." -- 2 Cor. 3:5.
We are woefully wanting in natural ability to
help others spiritually; we have nothing to set before them. Unless we avail
ourselves of the abundant resources of Christ through prayer, we will never
have anything of spiritual worth to set before a starving world.
It is not difficult to imagine that the man had
an easy chair and a comfortable bed to offer the tired traveler. But furniture
is not a substitute for food. The welcome at the door, the furnishing of the
house, and the entertaining conversation, cannot satisfy the hunger of the
human heart. It requires the bread of life obtained from God to save a
famishing soul from death.
Jesus encouraged us to avail ourselves of His
resources when He said, "...He will rise and give him as many as he needeth."
We have nothing of ourselves to save a lost soul, but we have a faithful
Friend, who will give us as much as we request in intercessory prayer.
Jesus would have us understand that our
importunate praying can overcome our discouragement's and difficulties. He
disclosed this fact when He said, "...He from within shall answer and say,
Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I
cannot rise and give thee." He is not saying that our heavenly Father is
unwilling to grant our requests for others. The Master is teaching us not to
cease praying when we encounter some opposing forces in life. There are times
when it seems that our earnest requests have been denied. Let us keep in mind
that our heavenly Father is willing to give the bread of life in answer to our
intercessory petitions for others.