Author Archives: Drew Haninger

Obedience in the Christian Life

It is nothing less than the surrender to such a life of simple and entire obedience that is implied in becoming a Christian. There are, alas! too many Christians who, from the want either of proper instruction, or of proper attention to the teaching of God’s word, have never realized the place of supreme importance that obedience takes in the Christian life. They know not that Christ, and redemption, and faith all lead to it, because through it alone is the way to the fellowship of the Love, and the Likeness, and the Glory of God. We have all, possibly, suffered from it ourselves: in our prayers and efforts after the perfect peace and the rest of faith, after the abiding joy and the increasing power of the Christian life, there has been a secret something hindering the blessing, or causing the speedy loss of what had been apprehended. A wrong impression as to the absolute necessity of obedience was probably the cause. It cannot too earnestly be insisted on that the freeness and mighty power of grace has this for its object from our conversion onwards, the restoring us to the active obedience and harmony with God’s will from which we had fallen through the first sin in Paradise. Obedience leads to God and His Holiness. It is in obedience that the will is moulded, and the character fashioned, and an inner man built up which God can clothe and adorn with the beauty of holiness.

Such obedience is the pathway of holiness. Its every act is a link to the living God, a surrender of the being for God’s will, for God Himself to take possession. In the process of assimilation, slow but sure, by which the will of God, as the meat of our souls, is taken up into our inmost being, our spiritual nature is strengthened, is spiritualized, growing up into an holy temple in which God can reveal Himself and take up His abode.

1. ‘He became obedient unto death.’ ‘Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.’ ‘I come to do Thy will.’ ‘In which will we are sanctified.’ Christ’s example teaches us that obedience is the only path to the Holiness or the glory of God. Be this your consecration: a surrender in everything to seek and do the will of God.

from Holy in Christ by Andrew Murray

The Assembly for Prayer

A lack of interest exists in many places, so that the assembly for prayer is despised, and put down as a second-rate affair: ‘only a prayer meeting.’ Is this a right view of the throne of grace? Will this bring blessing? In certain churches; there is no union, and consequently no agreement in prayer: ‘their heart is divided; now shall they be found wanting;’ and wanting they are in their assemblies for prayer. In such a case, a feeble prayer meeting is an effect as well as a cause of disunion; and till this is altered, we may expect to see more and more of ‘the divisions of Reuben.’ Prayer is a grand cement; and lack of prayer is like withdrawing the force of gravitation from a mass of matter, and scattering it into so many separate atoms. Some churches are feeble all round; the members are a race of invalids, a body of infirm pensioners who can hardly hobble about in the ways of godliness. They have no life, no energy, or enterprise for Christ; and do you wonder at it when their meetings for prayer are so scantily attended?

from Only A Prayer-meeting by Charles Spurgeon

Faith Welcomes God into our Life

Faith is that meekness of soul which waits in stillness to hear, to understand, to accept what God says; to receive, to retain, to possess what God gives or works. By faith we allow, we welcome God Himself, the Living Person, to enter in to make His abode with us, to become our very life. However well we think we know it, we always have to learn the truth afresh, for a deeper and fuller application of it, that in the Christian life faith is the first thing, the one thing that pleases God, and brings blessing to us. And because Holiness is God’s highest glory, and the highest blessing He has for us, it is especially in the life of holiness that we need to live by faith alone.

from Holy in Christ by Andrew Murray

 

Called according to His Purpose

THE call of God is the manifestation in time of the purpose of eternity; ‘Whom He predestined, them He also called.’ Believers are ‘the called according to His purpose.’ In His call He reveals to us what His thoughts and His will concerning us are, and what the life to which He invites us. In His call He makes clear to us what the hope of our calling is; as we spiritually apprehend and enter into this, our life on earth will be the reflection of His purpose in eternity.

1. Let me press it upon every reader of this little book, that if it is to help him in the pursuit of Holiness, he must begin with God Himself. You must go to Him who calls you. It is only in the personal revelation of God to you, as He speaks, I am holy, that the command, Be ye holy, can have life or power.

from Holy in Christ by Andrew Murray

The Morning Time is Crucial

The Morning time with God in the Word and prayer is crucial to our spiritual life.  Just like breakfast giving us the energy start for the day, our time in the morning in prayer is very important.   We have examples from Moses, David, Daniel, Jesus and others where the early morning prayer was practiced much.

Consider all these verses:

Exodus 34:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, … 2 And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.

Psalms 5:3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct [my prayer] unto thee, and will look up.

Psalms 55:17 7 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

Psalms 88:13 3 But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.

Mark 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

Psalms 88:13 But to You I have cried out, O LORD, And in the morning my prayer comes before You.

The Spirit is Our Personal Prayer Helper

Look at Romans 8:27 And He who searches the hearts knows the Spirit’s mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

The Spirit is our prayer helper, sometime we just need to pray, but what are the words, what is the burden.  Well the Spirit knows.  This is of great encouragement for us mortal fallen human beings.

God’s Word and Prayer

God’s Word is a Treasure to be Pursued and essential for Prayer

In Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;   18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints —

Wow, note the connection between the Word of God and prayer.  So the Word of God is really import to our prayer life.  More about that later.

The Bible is the Word of God.  Few things can change your life for the better than the time you spend studying God’s Word.  Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, said this of God’s wisdom, “13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. 14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. 16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.” Again in Proverbs 8:10-11 where wisdom personified is speaking, “Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold; For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.” Read those verses again!  God’s wisdom is a treasure.  Who doesn’t love the thought of going on a treasure hunt?  If we knew the location of some buried treasure, we would spare no effort to find it. If we had to miss a meal or two while we dig for treasure—no problem! Job felt that way, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12b).  Job didn’t just say God’s Word was more important to him than food but more important than his necessary food. Think about it! The importance of God’s Word wasn’t lost on Jeremiah either, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart” (Jeremiah 15:16).

Pray when the Spirit is Praying

Its great to get prayer encouragement from others who have gone before, especially in the matter of prayer.

“Oh, will you pray? Stop now and pray, lest desire turn to feeling and feeling evaporate.” from Amy Carmichael.

Great quote, so what happens when we don’t pray, its seems the burden seems to disappear.  Sometimes it comes back, sometime it does not.  So we must pray when the Spirit gives us that little push from inside.