Gypsy Smith was born on the outskirts of London in 1860. He never received a formal education, yet he lectured at Harvard. Despite his humble origins, two sitting United States presidents invited him to the White House. Gypsy crisscrossed the Atlantic Ocean 45 times, preaching the gospel to millions of people. Everywhere he went, it seemed like revival was right on his heels. But it wasn't his preaching that brought revival. It never is. Preaching may move the hearts of men, but praying moves the heart of God. And that's where revival comes from.
Gypsy revealed his secret to a delegation of revival seekers who sought an audience with him. They wanted to know how they could make a difference with their lives the way he had with his. His answer was simple yet profound — as timely and timeless now as it was a hundred years ago. He gave them this advice: “Go home. Lock yourself in your room. Kneel down in the middle of the floor, and with a piece of chalk draw a circle around yourself. There, on your knees, pray fervently and brokenly that God would start a revival within that chalk circle.”
It does not take a majority vote to start a revival. All it takes is one. There is the words to the old hymn: “It only takes a spark to get a fire going. “ Biblically and historically speaking, God often ushers in a new season of revival by raising up a remnant. That remnant sets a new prayer standard. That remnant introduces a new normal for the church-at-large.
Too often we pray for something once and then completely forget about it. So when God answers, we fail to give Him the glory because we forgot what we asked for. This is one reason why you need to journal. Document your prayers and God's answers. Next to my Bible, nothing is more sacred than my prayer journal.
In the kingdom of God, humility equals authority. Call it bold humility or humble boldness. That is our lever. God honors bold prayers because bold prayers honor God. If we try to exalt ourselves, God will find a way to humble us. But if we humble ourselves, God will find a way to exalt us.
There is no leverage like kneeling in prayer. If we hit our knees in humble prayer, God will extend His mighty hand on our behalf. He will leverage us in ways that are humanly impossible.
If we pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on us, revival is just around the corner.
Prayer abounds in the Bible All the way from Genesis 4:26 when Seth began to call on the name of the Lord to the end of history recorded in Revelation, the people of God pray. The Bible contains nearly 50 lengthy prayers recorded and several hundred shorter prayers recorded or references to praying. In all the visuals in the Bible we see that prayers are relational, we see prayer as conversational . It comes from a position of trust and devotion like between friends. Prayer provides us comfort, support, strategies, challenges and service of others.
The main focus in the Bible for prayer is conversation with God.
Prayer is affected by the fact that human beings look on the outward appearance but the Lord looks on the heart. There is a connection between our praying and our living. Moses and Samuel are singled out as ones who prayed effectively. That is what we need to do - to pray effectively. Jesus gave us the example as He prayed in Gethsemane. He prayed : “May Your will be done.” We must come to the Lord in humility and trust.
The prayer life seen in the Bible does not involve technical achievements to a few who have learned a certain system of symbols and incantations but it is open to all because of God’s relationship with His chosen people.
DEUT 4:7 7 “For what great nation is there that has God[a] so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?
God is near to us in every moment of our life. So that means that all areas of our lives are open to prayer. Prayers are prompted by problems we are going through, through sickness, for guidance, for repentance. We must remember that when we do not understand God’s ways we feel distant from Him. He told us that He would never leave us or forsake us. Do you believe it?
If you have ever had the chance to read through the Book of Psalms which is made up of 150 Psalms, they reflect entirely the range of emotion people experience throughout their lifetimes. This is where we have an intimacy with God and prayer is an avenue of service not as a means of personal power but as a way of drawing closer to God. Even though there are times when we feel that prayer is of little consequence, Jesus reminds us that prayer can do remarkable things.
Jesus prayers are remarkable for their direct address of God as Abba Father. Abba Father means Daddy. We challenge you to take a few moments to pray today. Turn to your Abba Father, HE is waiting to hear from you!
Gypsy revealed his secret to a delegation of revival seekers who sought an audience with him. They wanted to know how they could make a difference with their lives the way he had with his. His answer was simple yet profound — as timely and timeless now as it was a hundred years ago. He gave them this advice: “Go home. Lock yourself in your room. Kneel down in the middle of the floor, and with a piece of chalk draw a circle around yourself. There, on your knees, pray fervently and brokenly that God would start a revival within that chalk circle.”
It does not take a majority vote to start a revival. All it takes is one. There is the words to the old hymn: “It only takes a spark to get a fire going. “ Biblically and historically speaking, God often ushers in a new season of revival by raising up a remnant. That remnant sets a new prayer standard. That remnant introduces a new normal for the church-at-large.
Too often we pray for something once and then completely forget about it. So when God answers, we fail to give Him the glory because we forgot what we asked for. This is one reason why you need to journal. Document your prayers and God's answers. Next to my Bible, nothing is more sacred than my prayer journal.
In the kingdom of God, humility equals authority. Call it bold humility or humble boldness. That is our lever. God honors bold prayers because bold prayers honor God. If we try to exalt ourselves, God will find a way to humble us. But if we humble ourselves, God will find a way to exalt us.
There is no leverage like kneeling in prayer. If we hit our knees in humble prayer, God will extend His mighty hand on our behalf. He will leverage us in ways that are humanly impossible.
If we pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on us, revival is just around the corner.
Prayer abounds in the Bible All the way from Genesis 4:26 when Seth began to call on the name of the Lord to the end of history recorded in Revelation, the people of God pray. The Bible contains nearly 50 lengthy prayers recorded and several hundred shorter prayers recorded or references to praying. In all the visuals in the Bible we see that prayers are relational, we see prayer as conversational . It comes from a position of trust and devotion like between friends. Prayer provides us comfort, support, strategies, challenges and service of others.
The main focus in the Bible for prayer is conversation with God.
Prayer is affected by the fact that human beings look on the outward appearance but the Lord looks on the heart. There is a connection between our praying and our living. Moses and Samuel are singled out as ones who prayed effectively. That is what we need to do - to pray effectively. Jesus gave us the example as He prayed in Gethsemane. He prayed : “May Your will be done.” We must come to the Lord in humility and trust.
The prayer life seen in the Bible does not involve technical achievements to a few who have learned a certain system of symbols and incantations but it is open to all because of God’s relationship with His chosen people.
DEUT 4:7 7 “For what great nation is there that has God[a] so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?
God is near to us in every moment of our life. So that means that all areas of our lives are open to prayer. Prayers are prompted by problems we are going through, through sickness, for guidance, for repentance. We must remember that when we do not understand God’s ways we feel distant from Him. He told us that He would never leave us or forsake us. Do you believe it?
If you have ever had the chance to read through the Book of Psalms which is made up of 150 Psalms, they reflect entirely the range of emotion people experience throughout their lifetimes. This is where we have an intimacy with God and prayer is an avenue of service not as a means of personal power but as a way of drawing closer to God. Even though there are times when we feel that prayer is of little consequence, Jesus reminds us that prayer can do remarkable things.
Jesus prayers are remarkable for their direct address of God as Abba Father. Abba Father means Daddy. We challenge you to take a few moments to pray today. Turn to your Abba Father, HE is waiting to hear from you!
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