UNBLOCKING THE WELL OF THE LIVING WORD

Each daily devotional below begins with an excerpt from a transcript of Duncan Campbell telling the story of how the 1949 Hebridean revival began. (1)

Duncan Campbell said:-

“The praying and meetings continued for several months.”

Charles Finney in his Revival lectures was clear as to how to prepare fallow ground for times of refreshing from heaven: ‘There are two kinds of means (required) to promote a revival, the one to influence man, the other to influence God. The truth is employed to influence men, and prayer to move God. Prayer is the essential link in the chain of causes that leads to a revival as much so as truth. The overlooked fact is that truth by itself will never produce the effect without the Spirit of God and that the Spirit is given in answer to prayer.’(2)

Charles Finney said that, “A spirit of importunity sometimes came upon me, so that I would say to God that He had made a promise to answer prayer, and I could not, and would not, be denied… I cannot tell how absurd unbelief looked to me, and how certain it was in my mind that God would answer prayer… those prayers that from day to day and from hour to hour, I found myself offering in such agony in faith.’(3) Jesus refers to this type of importunate prayer in the Gospels. In Luke 11:8 Jesus says, ‘I tell you he will not get up and give him bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.’ Luke 11:8 is sandwiched between the Lord’s prayer and the ask–seek–knock teaching, and is an illustration of the sort of prayer the Lord is looking for. The Greek word used here is an idea that means utter shamelessness: it includes the concept of great boldness, an urgency of pressing the request claim or demand to the real limits, and it includes a determination to assist in the boldness until it receives the answer through importunity.

Wesley Duewel says: ‘How long must you persevere? … How long were the disciples to tarry in Jerusalem? “Until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). How long did Moses keep his hands raised to God in prayer? Until Amalek was totally defeated (Exodus 17:13). How long did Joshua hold out his javelin toward Ai while the army attacked? Until Jericho was destroyed (Joshua 8:26). How long did Elijah stay on his knees in prevailing prayer after the three years’ drought? Until rain clouds formed in the sky (1 Kings 18:44). How long did Jesus pray in Gethsemane? Until Satan was defeated. How long did the disciples continue in prayer in the upper room? Until the Holy Spirit came upon them.

No matter (the) request, if God has led us to pray for a need that we believe is the will of God, how long should we pray? Until the answer comes!’ Many other men of God attest to the necessity of importunate prayer. Andrew Murray says that importunate prayer begins with a refusal to except denial.(4) It grows to the determination to persevere, to spare no time or trouble, until an answer comes.(5) It rises to the intensity in which the whole being is given to God in supplication, and the boldness comes to lay hold of God’s strength. Richard Stibbes writes, ‘It is atheism to pray and not to wait in hope. A sincere Christian will pray, wait, strengthen his heart with promises, and never leaves praying and looking up until God gives him a gracious answer.’(6) Bengel, the Lutheran theologian who greatly influenced John Wesley, suggested that ‘we do not have God’s permission to quit praying until He gives us some answer.’(7) EM Bounds says ‘He prays not at all who does not press his plea. Cold prayers have no claim on heaven, and no hearing in the courts above. Fire is the life of prayer, and heaven is reached by flaming importunity rising in an ascending scale.’(8)

Lord we call out to you today … Give us that burden and tenacity, that importunity, to press our claim with You…we will not give up…. we press our plea….we will not quit….we refuse to accept denial…we wait in hope…we shamelessly, boldly, urgently implore You….. Lord, rend the heavens and come down…TODAY.

References

(1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXIZOSWvXaE

(2)Finney, C. Lectures on Revival. CreateSpace (2015): p28.

(3)Finney, C. Lectures on Revival. CreateSpace (2015): pp28–38.

(4) Wallis, A. Rain From Heaven. Hodder and Stoughton (1979): p80.

(5)Duewel, W. Mighty Prevailing Prayer. Zondervan (2013): p157.

(6)Wallis, A. Rain From Heaven: p80.

(7)Wallis, A. Rain From Heaven: p81.

(8)Wallis, A. Rain From Heaven: p81