Passing on the Glory

“We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done…That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.” Psalm 78

Oh, the Glory!  Can any of you out there remember what it was like to feel the outpouring of the Holy Ghost filling up services with His Shekinah Glory?  Do you remember when God came down, and hearts were overwhelmed, and praises poured out from hearts that were open?  When souls were filled to overflowing and the Spirit of God flowed like anointing oil through our streets?  Souls were saved, people were healed, and multitudes were drawn to the fountain of life pouring out from the Throne.

Those who remember, they know what I’m talking about.

Where has it gone?  What happened to the great moves of God in our churches?  Those who should have passed on the glory have instead given us over to man-made doctrines, to secular preaching, and to churches that have lost their vibrancy.  Depths in God have been turned over to educated preachers who know so much theology about God that they no longer know what it’s like to be led of the Spirit. If that is not so, then where is the manifestation of the Power of God?

The Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.  But our churches have turned the Gospel of Jesus Christ into just another religion.  Lost souls that are desperate for God have looked upon us as another philosophy; another dead religion with no power, no Spirit, and no glory.

Their cry is “Sir, we would see Jesus!”  Give us the demonstration of the Spirit and power.  Let Holy Ghost conviction open our hearts to return to that place in God that we once had.  Church “as usual” is death.  We need Life!  And that can only come from men of God who are not afraid to take a stand for righteousness and for the fear of God. Men that are willing to walk the walk of the lowly Nazarene and allow their lives to be filled with the power of God instead of theology.

The indictment stands against those who remember, and who did not pass it on.

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The Theology of Prayer

“When we become too glib in prayer we are most surely talking to ourselves.” – A. W. Tozer

Passionless prayer is not what Paul referred to when he wrote about striving in prayer. The word he used was “agonizomai“, which means to struggle in a wrestling match, not to just finish, but to win against all odds.

Is your prayer hour like that, or is it just “a little talk with Jesus”? Is your prayer time described as contending with God like Jacob or Elijah, or is it your “quiet time with Jesus”?

A.W. Tozer knew what he was saying would ruffle some feathers because people without passion will almost always choose comfort over contending. But he said it anyway because it is true.

There is no substitute for contending prayer. I was taught early on that when you have a problem, to take it to the prayer room and seek the face of God. Keep praying until you get an answer – fast if you have to — but get your answers from God. If you don’t understand something, give it to God, and when you are ready to receive the answer, He will give it to you.

But this generation has instead made a habit of seeking to Christian self-help books for answers to their spiritual problems. They read book after book seeking answers, and then they will check with the Bible to see if it lines up with what they have chosen to believe. They are substituting reading books for prayer.

I can hear all the voices rising up to tell me about all the wonderful things they’ve learned from books. I would answer that, besides missing a personal experience from your Father, the real problem is that you don’t know if they are right or wrong. Maybe they’re mostly right … like 99% right. And we all know that that 1% is the pebble in the stream that nudges your direction just a little bit off the true course, setting you up for the next pebble, and the next, until the stream ends up in a very different destination.

Am I too old-fashioned? Maybe. But I’d rather get my answers from God because He is always right.

“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

 

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