,note3 ,images of the original pages are available through ,internet ,archive4 ,see https3_/_/archive4org_/details_/preacher pray#jj;boun ,transcriber's note3 ,italicized text is surrounded by underscores3 italics4 ,,preacher ,,and ,,prayer ,e4 ,m4 ,,bounds ,washington1 ,ga4 ,three things make a divine--prayer1 meditation1 temptation4--,luther4 ,if you do not pray1 ,god will probably lay you aside from your ministry as he did me1 to teach you to pray4 ,remember ,luther's maxim1 8,to have prayed well is to have studied well40 ,get your text from ,god1 your thoughts1 your words4--,mc,cheyne4 ,the ,christian ,witness ,co4 ,chicago ,copyright #aijg by ,e4 ,m4 ,bounds4 ,copyright now owned by ,the ,christian ,witness ,co4 ,recreation to a minister must be as whetting is with the mower--that is1 to be used only so far as is necessary for his work4 ,may a physician in plague-time take any more relaxation or recreation than is necessary for his life1 when so many are expecting his help in a case of life and death8 ,will you stand by and see sinners gasping under the pangs of death1 and say3 8,god doth not require me to make myself a drudge to save them80 ,is this the voice of ministerial or ,christian compassion or rather of sensual laziness and diabolical cruelty8--,,richard ,,baxter4 ,misemployment of time is injurious to the mind4 ,in illness ,i have looked back with self-reproach on days spent in my study3 ,i was wading through history and poetry and monthly journals1 but ,i was in my study6 ,another man's trifling is notorious to all observers1 but what am ,i doing8 ,nothing1 perhaps1 that has a reference to the spiritual good of my congregation4 ,be much in retirement and prayer4 ,study the honor and glory of your ,master4--,,richard ,,cecil4 ,i4 ,study universal holiness of life4 ,your whole usefulness depends on this1 for your sermons last but an hour or two2 your life preaches all the week4 ,if ,satan can only make a covetous minister a lover of praise1 of pleasure1 of good eating1 he has ruined your ministry4 ,give yourself to prayer1 and get your texts1 your thoughts1 your words from ,god4 ,luther spent his best three hours in prayer4--,,robert ,,murray ,,mccheyne4 ,we are constantly on a stretch1 if not on a strain1 to devise new methods1 new plans1 new organizations to advance the ,church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel4 ,this trend of the day has a tendency to lose sight of the man or sink the man in the plan or organization4 ,god's plan is to make much of the man1 far more of him than of anything else4 ,men are ,god's method4 ,the ,church is looking for better methods2 ,god is looking for better men4 8,there was a man sent from ,god whose name was ,john40 ,the dispensation that heralded and prepared the way for ,christ was bound up in that man ,john4 8,unto us a child is born1 unto us a son is given40 ,the world's salvation comes out of that cradled ,son4 ,when ,paul appeals to the personal character of the men who rooted the gospel in the world1 he solves the mystery of their success4 ,the glory and efficiency of the gospel is staked on the men who proclaim it4 ,when ,god declares that 8the eyes of the ,lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth1 to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him10 he declares the necessity of men and his dependence on them as a channel through which to exert his power upon the world4 ,this vital1 urgent truth is one that this age of machinery is apt to forget4 ,the forgetting of it is as baneful on the work of ,god as would be the striking of the sun from his sphere4 ,darkness1 confusion1 and death would ensue4 ,what the ,church needs to-day is not more machinery or better1 not new organizations or more and novel methods1 but men whom the ,holy ,ghost can use--men of prayer1 men mighty in prayer4 ,the ,holy ,ghost does not flow through methods1 but through men4 ,he does not come on machinery1 but on men4 ,he does not anoint plans1 but men--men of prayer4 ,an eminent historian has said that the accidents of personal character have more to do with the revolutions of nations than either philosophic historians or democratic politicians will allow4 ,this truth has its application in full to the gospel of ,christ1 the character and conduct of the followers of ,christ--,christianize the world1 transfigure nations and individuals4 ,of the preachers of the gospel it is eminently true4 ,the character as well as the fortunes of the gospel is committed to the preacher4 ,he makes or mars the message from ,god to man4 ,the preacher is the golden pipe through which the divine oil flows4 ,the pipe must not only be golden1 but open and flawless1 that the oil may have a full1 unhindered1 unwasted flow4 ,the man makes the preacher4 ,god must make the man4 ,the messenger is1 if possible1 more than the message4 ,the preacher is more than the sermon4 ,the preacher makes the sermon4 ,as the life-giving milk from the mother's bosom is but the mother's life1 so all the preacher says is tinctured1 impregnated by what the preacher is4 ,the treasure is in earthen vessels1 and the taste of the vessel impregnates and may discolor4 ,the man1 the whole man1 lies behind the sermon4 ,preaching is not the performance of an hour4 ,it is the outflow of a life4 ,it takes twenty years to make a sermon1 because it takes twenty years to make the man4 ,the true sermon is a thing of life4 ,the sermon grows because the man grows4 ,the sermon is forceful because the man is forceful4 ,the sermon is holy because the man is holy4 ,the sermon is full of the divine unction because the man is full of the divine unction4 ,paul termed it 8,my gospel20 not that he had degraded it by his personal eccentricities or diverted it by selfish appropriation1 but the gospel was put into the heart and lifeblood of the man ,paul1 as a personal trust to be executed by his ,pauline traits1 to be set aflame and empowered by the fiery energy of his fiery soul4 ,paul's sermons--what were they8 ,where are they8 ,skeletons1 scattered fragments1 afloat on the sea of inspiration6 ,but the man ,paul1 greater than his sermons1 lives forever1 in full form1 feature1 and stature1 with his molding hand on the ,church4 ,the preaching is but a voice4 ,the voice in silence dies1 the text is forgotten1 the sermon fades from memory2 the preacher lives4 ,the sermon cannot rise in its life-giving forces above the man4 ,dead men give out dead sermons1 and dead sermons kill4 ,everything depends on the spiritual character of the preacher4 ,under the ,jewish dispensation the high priest had inscribed in jeweled letters on a golden frontlet3 8,holiness to the ,lord40 ,so every preacher in ,christ's ministry must be molded into and mastered by this same holy motto4 ,it is a crying shame for the ,christian ministry to fall lower in holiness of character and holiness of aim than the ,jewish priesthood4 ,jonathan ,edwards said3 8,i went on with my eager pursuit after more holiness and conformity to ,christ4 ,the heaven ,i desired was a heaven of holiness40 ,the gospel of ,christ does not move by popular waves4 ,it has no self-propagating power4 ,it moves as the men who have charge of it move4 ,the preacher must impersonate the gospel4 ,its divine1 most distinctive features must be embodied in him4 ,the constraining power of love must be in the preacher as a projecting1 eccentric1 an all-commanding1 self-oblivious force4 ,the energy of self-denial must be his being1 his heart and blood and bones4 ,he must go forth as a man among men1 clothed with humility1 abiding in meekness1 wise as a serpent1 harmless as a dove2 the bonds of a servant with the spirit of a king1 a king in high1 royal1 independent bearing1 with the simplicity and sweetness of a child4 ,the preacher must throw himself1 with all the abandon of a perfect1 self-emptying faith and a self-consuming zeal1 into his work for the salvation of men4 ,hearty1 heroic1 compassionate1 fearless martyrs must the men be who take hold of and shape a generation for ,god4 ,if they be timid timeservers1 place seekers1 if they be men pleasers or men fearers1 if their faith has a weak hold on ,god or his ,word1 if their denial be broken by any phase of self or the world1 they cannot take hold of the ,church nor the world for ,god4 ,the preacher's sharpest and strongest preaching should be to himself4 ,his most difficult1 delicate1 laborious1 and thorough work must be with himself4 ,the training of the twelve was the great1 difficult1 and enduring work of ,christ4 ,preachers are not sermon makers1 but men makers and saint makers1 and he only is well-trained for this business who has made himself a man and a saint4 ,it is not great talents nor great learning nor great preachers that ,god needs1 but men great in holiness1 great in faith1 great in love1 great in fidelity1 great for ,god--men always preaching by holy sermons in the pulpit1 by holy lives out of it4 ,these can mold a generation for ,god4 ,after this order1 the early ,christians were formed4 ,men they were of solid mold1 preachers after the heavenly type--heroic1 stalwart1 soldierly1 saintly4 ,preaching with them meant self-denying1 self-crucifying1 serious1 toilsome1 martyr business4 ,they applied themselves to it in a way that told on their generation1 and formed in its womb a generation yet unborn for ,god4 ,the preaching man is to be the praying man4 ,prayer is the preacher's mightiest weapon4 ,an almighty force in itself1 it gives life and force to all4 ,the real sermon is made in the closet4 ,the man--,god's man--is made in the closet4 ,his life and his profoundest convictions were born in his secret communion with ,god4 ,the burdened and tearful agony of his spirit1 his weightiest and sweetest messages were got when alone with ,god4 ,prayer makes the man2 prayer makes the preacher2 prayer makes the pastor4 ,the pulpit of this day is weak in praying4 ,the pride of learning is against the dependent humility of prayer4 ,prayer is with the pulpit too often only official--a performance for the routine of service4 ,prayer is not to the modern pulpit the mighty force it was in ,paul's life or ,paul's ministry4 ,every preacher who does not make prayer a mighty factor in his own life and ministry is weak as a factor in ,god's work and is powerless to project ,god's cause in this world4 ,,ii4 ,but above all he excelled in prayer4 ,the inwardness and weight of his spirit1 the reverence and solemnity of his address and behavior1 and the fewness and fullness of his words have often struck even strangers with admiration as they used to reach others with consolation4 ,the most awful1 living1 reverend frame ,i ever felt or beheld1 ,i must say1 was his prayer4 ,and truly it was a testimony4 ,he knew and lived nearer to the ,lord than other men1 for they that know him most will see most reason to approach him with reverence and fear4--,,william ,,penn ,,of ,,george ,,fox4 ,the sweetest graces by a slight perversion may bear the bitterest fruit4 ,the sun gives life1 but sunstrokes are death4 ,preaching is to give life2 it may kill4 ,the preacher holds the keys2 he may lock as well as unlock4 ,preaching is ,god's great institution for the planting and maturing of spiritual life4 ,when properly executed1 its benefits are untold2 when wrongly executed1 no evil can exceed its damaging results4 ,it is an easy matter to destroy the flock if the shepherd be unwary or the pasture be destroyed1 easy to capture the citadel if the watchmen be asleep or the food and water be poisoned4 ,invested with such gracious prerogatives1 exposed to so great evils1 involving so many grave responsibilities1 it would be a parody on the shrewdness of the devil and a libel on his character and reputation if he did not bring his master influences to adulterate the preacher and the preaching4 ,in face of all this1 the exclamatory interrogatory of ,paul1 8,who is sufficient for these things80 is never out of order4 ,paul says3 8,our sufficiency is of ,god1 who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament2 not of the letter1 but of the spirit3 for the letter killeth1 but the spirit giveth life40 ,the true ministry is ,god-touched1 ,god-enabled1 and ,god-made4 ,the ,spirit of ,god is on the preacher in anointing power1 the fruit of the ,spirit is in his heart1 the ,spirit of ,god has vitalized the man and the word2 his preaching gives life1 gives life as the spring gives life2 gives life as the resurrection gives life2 gives ardent life as the summer gives ardent life2 gives fruitful life as the autumn gives fruitful life4 ,the life-giving preacher is a man of ,god1 whose heart is ever athirst for ,god1 whose soul is ever following hard after ,god1 whose eye is single to ,god1 and in whom by the power of ,god's ,spirit the flesh and the world have been crucified and his ministry is like the generous flood of a life-giving river4 ,the preaching that kills is nonspiritual preaching4 ,the ability of the preaching is not from ,god4 ,lower sources than ,god have given to it energy and stimulant4 ,the ,spirit is not evident in the preacher nor his preaching4 ,many kinds of forces may be projected and stimulated by preaching that kills1 but they are not spiritual forces4 ,they may resemble spiritual forces1 but are only the shadow1 the counterfeit2 life they may seem to have1 but the life is magnetized4 ,the preaching that kills is the letter2 shapely and orderly it may be1 but it is the letter still1 the dry1 husky letter1 the empty1 bald shell4 ,the letter may have the germ of life in it1 but it has no breath of spring to evoke it2 winter seeds they are1 as hard as the winter's soil1 as icy as the winter's air1 no thawing nor germinating by them4 ,this letter-preaching has the truth4 ,but even divine truth has no life-giving energy alone2 it must be energized by the ,spirit1 with all ,god's forces at its back4 ,truth unquickened by ,god's ,spirit deadens as much as1 or more than1 error4 ,it may be the truth without admixture2 but without the ,spirit its shade and touch are deadly1 its truth error1 its light darkness4 ,the letter-preaching is unctionless1 neither mellowed nor oiled by the ,spirit4 ,there may be tears1 but tears cannot run ,god's machinery2 tears may be but summer's breath on a snow-covered iceberg1 nothing but surface slush4 ,feelings and earnestness there may be1 but it is the emotion of the actor and the earnestness of the attorney4 ,the preacher may feel from the kindling of his own sparks1 be eloquent over his own exegesis1 earnest in delivering the product of his own brain2 the professor may usurp the place and imitate the fire of the apostle2 brains and nerves may serve the place and feign the work of ,god's ,spirit1 and by these forces the letter may glow and sparkle like an illumined text1 but the glow and sparkle will be as barren of life as the field sown with pearls4 ,the death-dealing element lies back of the words1 back of the sermon1 back of the occasion1 back of the manner1 back of the action4 ,the great hindrance is in the preacher himself4 ,he has not in himself the mighty life-creating forces4 ,there may be no discount on his orthodoxy1 honesty1 cleanness1 or earnestness2 but somehow the man1 the inner man1 in its secret places has never broken down and surrendered to ,god1 his inner life is not a great highway for the transmission of ,god's message1 ,god's power4 ,somehow self and not ,god rules in the holy of holies4 ,somewhere1 all unconscious to himself1 some spiritual nonconductor has touched his inner being1 and the divine current has been arrested4 ,his inner being has never felt its thorough spiritual bankruptcy1 its utter powerlessness2 he has never learned to cry out with an ineffable cry of self-despair and self-helplessness till ,god's power and ,god's fire comes in and fills1 purifies1 empowers4 ,self-esteem1 self-ability in some pernicious shape has defamed and violated the temple which should be held sacred for ,god4 ,life-giving preaching costs the preacher much--death to self1 crucifixion to the world1 the travail of his own soul4 ,crucified preaching only can give life4 ,crucified preaching can come only from a crucified man4 ,,iii4 ,during this affliction ,i was brought to examine my life in relation to eternity closer than ,i had done when in the enjoyment of health4 ,in this examination relative to the discharge of my duties toward my fellow-creatures as a man1 a ,christian minister1 and an officer of the ,church1 ,i stood approved by my own conscience2 but in relation to my ,redeemer and ,saviour the result was different4 ,my returns of gratitude and loving obedience bear no proportion to my obligations for redeeming1 preserving1 and supporting me through the vicissitudes of life from infancy to old age4 ,the coldness of my love to ,him who first loved me and has done so much for me overwhelmed and confused me2 and to complete my unworthy character1 ,i had not only neglected to improve the grace given to the extent of my duty and privilege1 but for want of that improvement had1 while abounding in perplexing care and labor1 declined from first zeal and love4 ,i was confounded1 humbled myself1 implored mercy1 and renewed my covenant to strive and devote myself unreservedly to the ,lord4--,,bishop ,,mckendree4 ,the preaching that kills may be1 and often is1 orthodox--dogmatically1 inviolably orthodox4 ,we love orthodoxy4 ,it is good4 ,it is the best4 ,it is the clean1 clear-cut teaching of ,god's ,word1 the trophies won by truth in its conflict with error1 the levees which faith has raised against the desolating floods of honest or reckless misbelief or unbelief2 but orthodoxy1 clear and hard as crystal1 suspicious and militant1 may be but the letter well-shaped1 well-named1 and well-learned1 the letter which kills4 ,nothing is so dead as a dead orthodoxy1 too dead to speculate1 too dead to think1 to study1 or to pray4 ,the preaching that kills may have insight and grasp of principles1 may be scholarly and critical in taste1 may have every minuti of the derivation and grammar of the letter1 may be able to trim the letter into its perfect pattern1 and illume it as ,plato and ,cicero may be illumined1 may study it as a lawyer studies his text-books to form his brief or to defend his case1 and yet be like a frost1 a killing frost4 ,letter-preaching may be eloquent1 enameled with poetry and rhetoric1 sprinkled with prayer1 spiced with sensation1 illumined by genius1 and yet these be but the massive or chaste1 costly mountings1 the rare and beautiful flowers which coffin the corpse4 ,the preaching which kills may be without scholarship1 unmarked by any freshness of thought or feeling1 clothed in tasteless generalities or vapid specialties1 with style irregular1 slovenly1 savoring neither of closet nor of study1 graced neither by thought1 expression1 or prayer4 ,under such preaching how wide and utter the desolation6 how profound the spiritual death6 ,this letter-preaching deals with the surface and shadow of things1 and not the things themselves4 ,it does not penetrate the inner part4 ,it has no deep insight into1 no strong grasp of1 the hidden life of ,god's ,word4 ,it is true to the outside1 but the outside is the hull which must be broken and penetrated for the kernel4 ,the letter may be dressed so as to attract and be fashionable1 but the attraction is not toward ,god nor is the fashion for heaven4 ,the failure is in the preacher4 ,god has not made him4 ,he has never been in the hands of ,god like clay in the hands of the potter4 ,he has been busy about the sermon1 its thought and finish1 its drawing and impressive forces2 but the deep things of ,god have never been sought1 studied1 fathomed1 experienced by him4 ,he has never stood before 8the throne high and lifted up10 never heard the seraphim song1 never seen the vision nor felt the rush of that awful holiness1 and cried out in utter abandon and despair under the sense of weakness and guilt1 and had his life renewed1 his heart touched1 purged1 inflamed by the live coal from ,god's altar4 ,his ministry may draw people to him1 to the ,church1 to the form and ceremony2 but no true drawings to ,god1 no sweet1 holy1 divine communion induced4 ,the ,church has been frescoed but not edified1 pleased but not sanctified4 ,life is suppressed2 a chill is on the summer air2 the soil is baked4 ,the city of our ,god becomes the city of the dead2 the ,church a graveyard1 not an embattled army4 ,praise and prayer are stifled2 worship is dead4 ,the preacher and the preaching have helped sin1 not holiness2 peopled hell1 not heaven4 ,preaching which kills is prayerless preaching4 ,without prayer the preacher creates death1 and not life4 ,the preacher who is feeble in prayer is feeble in life-giving forces4 ,the preacher who has retired prayer as a conspicuous and largely prevailing element in his own character has shorn his preaching of its distinctive life-giving power4 ,professional praying there is and will be1 but professional praying helps the preaching to its deadly work4 ,professional praying chills and kills both preaching and praying4 ,much of the lax devotion and lazy1 irreverent attitudes in congregational praying are attributable to professional praying in the pulpit4 ,long1 discursive1 dry1 and inane are the prayers in many pulpits4 ,without unction or heart1 they fall like a killing frost on all the graces of worship4 ,death-dealing prayers they are4 ,every vestige of devotion has perished under their breath4 ,the deader they are the longer they grow4 ,a plea for short praying1 live praying1 real heart praying1 praying by the ,holy ,spirit--direct1 specific1 ardent1 simple1 unctuous in the pulpit--is in order4 ,a school to teach preachers how to pray1 as ,god counts praying1 would be more beneficial to true piety1 true worship1 and true preaching than all theological schools4 ,stop6 ,pause6 ,consider6 ,where are we8 ,what are we doing8 ,preaching to kill8 ,praying to kill8 ,praying to ,god6 the great ,god1 the ,maker of all worlds1 the ,judge of all men6 ,what reverence6 what simplicity6 what sincerity6 what truth in the inward parts is demanded6 ,how real we must be6 ,how hearty6 ,prayer to ,god the noblest exercise1 the loftiest effort of man1 the most real thing6 ,shall we not discard forever accursed preaching that kills and prayer that kills1 and do the real thing1 the mightiest thing--prayerful praying1 life-creating preaching1 bring the mightiest force to bear on heaven and earth and draw on ,god's exhaustless and open treasure for the need and beggary of man8 ,,iv4 ,let us often look at ,brainerd in the woods of ,america pouring out his very soul before ,god for the perishing heathen without whose salvation nothing could make him happy4 ,prayer--secret1 fervent1 believing prayer--lies at the root of all personal godliness4 ,a competent knowledge of the language where a missionary lives1 a mild and winning temper1 a heart given up to ,god in closet religion--these1 these are the attainments which1 more than all knowledge1 or all other gifts1 will fit us to become the instruments of ,god in the great work of human redemption4--,,carey',s ,,brotherhood1 ,,serampore4 ,there are two extreme tendencies in the ministry4 ,the one is to shut itself out from intercourse with the people4 ,the monk1 the hermit were illustrations of this2 they shut themselves out from men to be more with ,god4 ,they failed1 of course4 ,our being with ,god is of use only as we expend its priceless benefits on men4 ,this age1 neither with preacher nor with people1 is much intent on ,god4 ,our hankering is not that way4 ,we shut ourselves to our study1 we become students1 bookworms1 ,bible worms1 sermon makers1 noted for literature1 thought1 and sermons2 but the people and ,god1 where are they8 ,out of heart1 out of mind4 ,preachers who are great thinkers1 great students must be the greatest of prayers1 or else they will be the greatest of backsliders1 heartless professionals1 rationalistic1 less than the least of preachers in ,god's estimate4 ,the other tendency is to thoroughly popularize the ministry4 ,he is no longer ,god's man1 but a man of affairs1 of the people4 ,he prays not1 because his mission is to the people4 ,if he can move the people1 create an interest1 a sensation in favor of religion1 an interest in ,church work--he is satisfied4 ,his personal relation to ,god is no factor in his work4 ,prayer has little or no place in his plans4 ,the disaster and ruin of such a ministry cannot be computed by earthly arithmetic4 ,what the preacher is in prayer to ,god1 for himself1 for his people1 so is his power for real good to men1 so is his true fruitfulness1 his true fidelity to ,god1 to man1 for time1 for eternity4 ,it is impossible for the preacher to keep his spirit in harmony with the divine nature of his high calling without much prayer4 ,that the preacher by dint of duty and laborious fidelity to the work and routine of the ministry can keep himself in trim and fitness is a serious mistake4 ,even sermon-making1 incessant and taxing as an art1 as a duty1 as a work1 or as a pleasure1 will engross and harden1 will estrange the heart1 by neglect of prayer1 from ,god4 ,the scientist loses ,god in nature4 ,the preacher may lose ,god in his sermon4 ,prayer freshens the heart of the preacher1 keeps it in tune with ,god and in sympathy with the people1 lifts his ministry out of the chilly air of a profession1 fructifies routine and moves every wheel with the facility and power of a divine unction4 ,mr4 ,spurgeon says3 8,of course the preacher is above all others distinguished as a man of prayer4 ,he prays as an ordinary ,christian1 else he were a hypocrite4 ,he prays more than ordinary ,christians1 else he were disqualified for the office he has undertaken4 ,if you as ministers are not very prayerful1 you are to be pitied4 ,if you become lax in sacred devotion1 not only will you need to be pitied but your people also1 and the day cometh in which you shall be ashamed and confounded4 ,all our libraries and studies are mere emptiness compared with our closets4 ,our seasons of fasting and prayer at the ,tabernacle have been high days indeed2 never has heaven's gate stood wider2 never have our hearts been nearer the central ,glory40 ,the praying which makes a prayerful ministry is not a little praying put in as we put flavor to give it a pleasant smack1 but the praying must be in the body1 and form the blood and bones4 ,prayer is no petty duty1 put into a corner2 no piecemeal performance made out of the fragments of time which have been snatched from business and other engagements of life2 but it means that the best of our time1 the heart of our time and strength must be given4 ,it does not mean the closet absorbed in the study or swallowed up in the activities of ministerial duties2 but it means the closet first1 the study and activities second1 both study and activities freshened and made efficient by the closet4 ,prayer that affects one's ministry must give tone to one's life4 ,the praying which gives color and bent to character is no pleasant1 hurried pastime4 ,it must enter as strongly into the heart and life as ,christ's 8strong crying and tears0 did2 must draw out the soul into an agony of desire as ,paul's did2 must be an inwrought fire and force like the 8effectual1 fervent prayer0 of ,james2 must be of that quality which1 when put into the golden censer and incensed before ,god1 works mighty spiritual throes and revolutions4 ,prayer is not a little habit pinned on to us while we were tied to our mother's apron strings2 neither is it a little decent quarter of a minute's grace said over an hour's dinner1 but it is a most serious work of our most serious years4 ,it engages more of time and appetite than our longest dinings or richest feasts4 ,the prayer that makes much of our preaching must be made much of4 ,the character of our praying will determine the character of our preaching4 ,light praying will make light preaching4 ,prayer makes preaching strong1 gives it unction1 and makes it stick4 ,in every ministry weighty for good1 prayer has always been a serious business4 ,the preacher must be preminently a man of prayer4 ,his heart must graduate in the school of prayer4 ,in the school of prayer only can the heart learn to preach4 ,no learning can make up for the failure to pray4 ,no earnestness1 no diligence1 no study1 no gifts will supply its lack4 ,talking to men for ,god is a great thing1 but talking to ,god for men is greater still4 ,he will never talk well and with real success to men for ,god who has not learned well how to talk to ,god for men4 ,more than this1 prayerless words in the pulpit and out of it are deadening words4 ,v4 ,you know the value of prayer3 it is precious beyond all price4 ,never1 never neglect it4--,,sir ,,thomas ,,buxton4 ,prayer is the first thing1 the second thing1 the third thing necessary to a minister4 ,pray1 then1 my dear brother2 pray1 pray1 pray4--,,edward ,,payson4 ,prayer1 in the preacher's life1 in the preacher's study1 in the preacher's pulpit1 must be a conspicuous and an all-impregnating force and an all-coloring ingredient4 ,it must play no secondary part1 be no mere coating4 ,to him it is given to be with his ,lord 8all night in prayer40 ,the preacher1 to train himself in self-denying prayer1 is charged to look to his ,master1 who1 8rising up a great while before day1 went out1 and departed into a solitary place1 and there prayed40 ,the preacher's study ought to be a closet1 a ,bethel1 an altar1 a vision1 and a ladder1 that every thought might ascend heavenward ere it went manward2 that every part of the sermon might be scented by the air of heaven and made serious1 because ,god was in the study4 ,as the engine never moves until the fire is kindled1 so preaching1 with all its machinery1 perfection1 and polish1 is at a dead standstill1 as far as spiritual results are concerned1 till prayer has kindled and created the steam4 ,the texture1 fineness1 and strength of the sermon is as so much rubbish unless the mighty impulse of prayer is in it1 through it1 and behind it4 ,the preacher must1 by prayer1 put ,god in the sermon4 ,the preacher must1 by prayer1 move ,god toward the people before he can move the people to ,god by his words4 ,the preacher must have had audience and ready access to ,god before he can have access to the people4 ,an open way to ,god for the preacher is the surest pledge of an open way to the people4 ,it is necessary to iterate and reiterate that prayer1 as a mere habit1 as a performance gone through by routine or in a professional way1 is a dead and rotten thing4 ,such praying has no connection with the praying for which we plead4 ,we are stressing true praying1 which engages and sets on fire every high element of the preacher's being--prayer which is born of vital oneness with ,christ and the fullness of the ,holy ,ghost1 which springs from the deep1 overflowing fountains of tender compassion1 deathless solicitude for man's eternal good2 a consuming zeal for the glory of ,god2 a thorough conviction of the preacher's difficult and delicate work and of the imperative need of ,god's mightiest help4 ,praying grounded on these solemn and profound convictions is the only true praying4 ,preaching backed by such praying is the only preaching which sows the seeds of eternal life in human hearts and builds men up for heaven4 ,it is true that there may be popular preaching1 pleasant preaching1 taking preaching1 preaching of much intellectual1 literary1 and brainy force1 with its measure and form of good1 with little or no praying2 but the preaching which secures ,god's end in preaching must be born of prayer from text to exordium1 delivered with the energy and spirit of prayer1 followed and made to germinate1 and kept in vital force in the hearts of the hearers by the preacher's prayers1 long after the occasion has past4 ,we may excuse the spiritual poverty of our preaching in many ways1 but the true secret will be found in the lack of urgent prayer for ,god's presence in the power of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,there are preachers innumerable who can deliver masterful sermons after their order2 but the effects are short-lived and do not enter as a factor at all into the regions of the spirit where the fearful war between ,god and ,satan1 heaven and hell1 is being waged because they are not made powerfully militant and spiritually victorious by prayer4 ,the preachers who gain mighty results for ,god are the men who have prevailed in their pleadings with ,god ere venturing to plead with men4 ,the preachers who are the mightiest in their closets with ,god are the mightiest in their pulpits with men4 ,preachers are human folks1 and are exposed to and often caught by the strong driftings of human currents4 ,praying is spiritual work2 and human nature does not like taxing1 spiritual work4 ,human nature wants to sail to heaven under a favoring breeze1 a full1 smooth sea4 ,prayer is humbling work4 ,it abases intellect and pride1 crucifies vainglory1 and signs our spiritual bankruptcy1 and all these are hard for flesh and blood to bear4 ,it is easier not to pray than to bear them4 ,so we come to one of the crying evils of these times1 maybe of all times--little or no praying4 ,of these two evils1 perhaps little praying is worse than no praying4 ,little praying is a kind of make-believe1 a salvo for the conscience1 a farce and a delusion4 ,the little estimate we put on prayer is evident from the little time we give to it4 ,the time given to prayer by the average preacher scarcely counts in the sum of the daily aggregate4 ,not infrequently the preacher's only praying is by his bedside in his nightdress1 ready for bed and soon in it1 with1 perchance1 the addition of a few hasty snatches of prayer ere he is dressed in the morning4 ,how feeble1 vain1 and little is such praying compared with the time and energy devoted to praying by holy men in and out of the ,bible6 ,how poor and mean our petty1 childish praying is beside the habits of the true men of ,god in all ages6 ,to men who think praying their main business and devote time to it according to this high estimate of its importance does ,god commit the keys of his kingdom1 and by them does he work his spiritual wonders in this world4 ,great praying is the sign and seal of ,god's great leaders and the earnest of the conquering forces with which ,god will crown their labors4 ,the preacher is commissioned to pray as well as to preach4 ,his mission is incomplete if he does not do both well4 ,the preacher may speak with all the eloquence of men and of angels2 but unless he can pray with a faith which draws all heaven to his aid1 his preaching will be 8as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal0 for permanent ,god-honoring1 soul-saving uses4 ,,vi4 ,the principal cause of my leanness and unfruitfulness is owing to an unaccountable backwardness to pray4 ,i can write or read or converse or hear with a ready heart2 but prayer is more spiritual and inward than any of these1 and the more spiritual any duty is the more my carnal heart is apt to start from it4 ,prayer and patience and faith are never disappointed4 ,i have long since learned that if ever ,i was to be a minister faith and prayer must make me one4 ,when ,i can find my heart in frame and liberty for prayer1 everything else is comparatively easy4--,,richard ,,newton4 ,it may be put down as a spiritual axiom that in every truly successful ministry prayer is an evident and controlling force--evident and controlling in the life of the preacher1 evident and controlling in the deep spirituality of his work4 ,a ministry may be a very thoughtful ministry without prayer2 the preacher may secure fame and popularity without prayer2 the whole machinery of the preacher's life and work may be run without the oil of prayer or with scarcely enough to grease one cog2 but no ministry can be a spiritual one1 securing holiness in the preacher and in his people1 without prayer being made an evident and controlling force4 ,the preacher that prays indeed puts ,god into the work4 ,god does not come into the preacher's work as a matter of course or on general principles1 but he comes by prayer and special urgency4 ,that ,god will be found of us in the day that we seek him with the whole heart is as true of the preacher as of the penitent4 ,a prayerful ministry is the only ministry that brings the preacher into sympathy with the people4 ,prayer as essentially unites to the human as it does to the divine4 ,a prayerful ministry is the only ministry qualified for the high offices and responsibilities of the preacher4 ,colleges1 learning1 books1 theology1 preaching cannot make a preacher1 but praying does4 ,the apostles' commission to preach was a blank till filled up by the ,pentecost which praying brought4 ,a prayerful minister has passed beyond the regions of the popular1 beyond the man of mere affairs1 of secularities1 of pulpit attractiveness2 passed beyond the ecclesiastical organizer or general into a sublimer and mightier region1 the region of the spiritual4 ,holiness is the product of his work2 transfigured hearts and lives emblazon the reality of his work1 its trueness and substantial nature4 ,god is with him4 ,his ministry is not projected on worldly or surface principles4 ,he is deeply stored with and deeply schooled in the things of ,god4 ,his long1 deep communings with ,god about his people and the agony of his wrestling spirit have crowned him as a prince in the things of ,god4 ,the iciness of the mere professional has long since melted under the intensity of his praying4 ,the superficial results of many a ministry1 the deadness of others1 are to be found in the lack of praying4 ,no ministry can succeed without much praying1 and this praying must be fundamental1 ever-abiding1 ever-increasing4 ,the text1 the sermon1 should be the result of prayer4 ,the study should be bathed in prayer1 all its duties impregnated with prayer1 its whole spirit the spirit of prayer4 8,i am sorry that ,i have prayed so little10 was the deathbed regret of one of ,god's chosen ones1 a sad and remorseful regret for a preacher4 8,i want a life of greater1 deeper1 truer prayer10 said the late ,archbishop ,tait4 ,so may we all say1 and this may we all secure4 ,god's true preachers have been distinguished by one great feature3 they were men of prayer4 ,differing often in many things1 they have always had a common center4 ,they may have started from different points1 and traveled by different roads1 but they converged to one point3 they were one in prayer4 ,god to them was the center of attraction1 and prayer was the path that led to ,god4 ,these men prayed not occasionally1 not a little at regular or at odd times2 but they so prayed that their prayers entered into and shaped their characters2 they so prayed as to affect their own lives and the lives of others2 they so prayed as to make the history of the ,church and influence the current of the times4 ,they spent much time in prayer1 not because they marked the shadow on the dial or the hands on the clock1 but because it was to them so momentous and engaging a business that they could scarcely give over4 ,prayer was to them what it was to ,paul1 a striving with earnest effort of soul2 what it was to ,jacob1 a wrestling and prevailing2 what it was to ,christ1 8strong crying and tears40 ,they 8prayed always with all prayer and supplication in the ,spirit1 and watching thereunto with all perseverance40 8,the effectual1 fervent prayer0 has been the mightiest weapon of ,god's mightiest soldiers4 ,the statement in regard to ,elijah--that he 8was a man subject to like passions as we are1 and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain3 and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months4 ,and he prayed again1 and the heaven gave rain1 and the earth brought forth her fruit0--comprehends all prophets and preachers who have moved their generation for ,god1 and shows the instrument by which they worked their wonders4 ,,vii4 ,the great masters and teachers in ,christian doctrine have always found in prayer their highest source of illumination4 ,not to go beyond the limits of the ,english ,church1 it is recorded of ,bishop ,andrewes that he spent five hours daily on his knees4 ,the greatest practical resolves that have enriched and beautified human life in ,christian times have been arrived at in prayer4--,,canon ,,liddon4 ,while many private prayers1 in the nature of things1 must be short2 while public prayers1 as a rule1 ought to be short and condensed2 while there is ample room for and value put on ejaculatory prayer--yet in our private communions with ,god time is a feature essential to its value4 ,much time spent with ,god is the secret of all successful praying4 ,prayer which is felt as a mighty force is the mediate or immediate product of much time spent with ,god4 ,our short prayers owe their point and efficiency to the long ones that have preceded them4 ,the short prevailing prayer cannot be prayed by one who has not prevailed with ,god in a mightier struggle of long continuance4 ,jacob's victory of faith could not have been gained without that all-night wrestling4 ,god's acquaintance is not made by pop calls4 ,god does not bestow his gifts on the casual or hasty comers and goers4 ,much with ,god alone is the secret of knowing him and of influence with him4 ,he yields to the persistency of a faith that knows him4 ,he bestows his richest gifts upon those who declare their desire for and appreciation of those gifts by the constancy as well as earnestness of their importunity4 ,christ1 who in this as well as other things is our ,example1 spent many whole nights in prayer4 ,his custom was to pray much4 ,he had his habitual place to pray4 ,many long seasons of praying make up his history and character4 ,paul prayed day and night4 ,it took time from very important interests for ,daniel to pray three times a day4 ,david's morning1 noon1 and night praying were doubtless on many occasions very protracted4 ,while we have no specific account of the time these ,bible saints spent in prayer1 yet the indications are that they consumed much time in prayer1 and on some occasions long seasons of praying was their custom4 ,we would not have any think that the value of their prayers is to be measured by the clock1 but our purpose is to impress on our minds the necessity of being much alone with ,god2 and that if this feature has not been produced by our faith1 then our faith is of a feeble and surface type4 ,the men who have most fully illustrated ,christ in their character1 and have most powerfully affected the world for him1 have been men who spent so much time with ,god as to make it a notable feature of their lives4 ,charles ,simeon devoted the hours from four till eight in the morning to ,god4 ,mr4 ,wesley spent two hours daily in prayer4 ,he began at four in the morning4 ,of him1 one who knew him well wrote3 8,he thought prayer to be more his business than anything else1 and ,i have seen him come out of his closet with a serenity of face next to shining40 ,john ,fletcher stained the walls of his room by the breath of his prayers4 ,sometimes he would pray all night2 always1 frequently1 and with great earnestness4 ,his whole life was a life of prayer4 8,i would not rise from my seat10 he said1 8without lifting my heart to ,god40 ,his greeting to a friend was always3 8,do ,i meet you praying80 ,luther said3 8,if ,i fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning1 the devil gets the victory through the day4 ,i have so much business ,i cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer40 ,he had a motto3 8,he that has prayed well has studied well40 ,archbishop ,leighton was so much alone with ,god that he seemed to be in a perpetual meditation4 8,prayer and praise were his business and his pleasure10 says his biographer4 ,bishop ,ken was so much with ,god that his soul was said to be ,god-enamored4 ,he was with ,god before the clock struck three every morning4 ,bishop ,asbury said3 8,i propose to rise at four o'clock as often as ,i can and spend two hours in prayer and meditation40 ,samuel ,rutherford1 the fragrance of whose piety is still rich1 rose at three in the morning to meet ,god in prayer4 ,joseph ,alleine arose at four o'clock for his business of praying till eight4 ,if he heard other tradesmen plying their business before he was up1 he would exclaim3 8,o how this shames me6 ,doth not my ,master deserve more than theirs80 ,he who has learned this trade well draws at will1 on sight1 and with acceptance of heaven's unfailing bank4 ,one of the holiest and among the most gifted of ,scotch preachers says3 8,i ought to spend the best hours in communion with ,god4 ,it is my noblest and most fruitful employment1 and is not to be thrust into a corner4 ,the morning hours1 from six to eight1 are the most uninterrupted and should be thus employed4 ,after tea is my best hour1 and that should be solemnly dedicated to ,god4 ,i ought not to give up the good old habit of prayer before going to bed2 but guard must be kept against sleep4 ,when ,i awake in the night1 ,i ought to rise and pray4 ,a little time after breakfast might be given to intercession40 ,this was the praying plan of ,robert ,mc,cheyne4 ,the memorable ,methodist band in their praying shame us4 8,from four to five in the morning1 private prayer2 from five to six in the evening1 private prayer40 ,john ,welch1 the holy and wonderful ,scotch preacher1 thought the day ill spent if he did not spend eight or ten hours in prayer4 ,he kept a plaid that he might wrap himself when he arose to pray at night4 ,his wife would complain when she found him lying on the ground weeping4 ,he would reply3 8,o woman1 ,i have the souls of three thousand to answer for1 and ,i know not how it is with many of them60 ,,viii4 ,the act of praying is the very highest energy of which the human mind is capable2 praying1 that is1 with the total concentration of the faculties4 ,the great mass of worldly men and of learned men are absolutely incapable of prayer4--,,coleridge4 ,bishop ,wilson says3 8,in ,h4 ,martyn's journal the spirit of prayer1 the time he devoted to the duty1 and his fervor in it are the first things which strike me40 ,payson wore the hard-wood boards into grooves where his knees pressed so often and so long4 ,his biographer says3 8,his continuing instant in prayer1 be his circumstances what they might1 is the most noticeable fact in his history1 and points out the duty of all who would rival his eminency4 ,to his ardent and persevering prayers must no doubt be ascribed in a great measure his distinguished and almost uninterrupted success40 ,the ,marquis ,de,renty1 to whom ,christ was most precious1 ordered his servant to call him from his devotions at the end of half an hour4 ,the servant at the time saw his face through an aperture4 ,it was marked with such holiness that he hated to arouse him4 ,his lips were moving1 but he was perfectly silent4 ,he waited until three half hours had passed2 then he called to him1 when he arose from his knees1 saying that the half hour was so short when he was communing with ,christ4 ,brainerd said3 8,i love to be alone in my cottage1 where ,i can spend much time in prayer40 ,william ,bramwell is famous in ,methodist annals for personal holiness and for his wonderful success in preaching and for the marvelous answers to his prayers4 ,for hours at a time he would pray4 ,he almost lived on his knees4 ,he went over his circuits like a flame of fire4 ,the fire was kindled by the time he spent in prayer4 ,he often spent as much as four hours in a single season of prayer in retirement4 ,bishop ,andrewes spent the greatest part of five hours every day in prayer and devotion4 ,sir ,henry ,havelock always spent the first two hours of each day alone with ,god4 ,if the encampment was struck at #f ,a4,m41 he would rise at four4 ,earl ,cairns rose daily at six o'clock to secure an hour and a half for the study of the ,bible and for prayer1 before conducting family worship at a quarter to eight4 ,dr4 ,judson's success in prayer is attributable to the fact that he gave much time to prayer4 ,he says on this point3 8,arrange thy affairs1 if possible1 so that thou canst leisurely devote two or three hours every day not merely to devotional exercises but to the very act of secret prayer and communion with ,god4 ,endeavor seven times a day to withdraw from business and company and lift up thy soul to ,god in private retirement4 ,begin the day by rising after midnight and devoting some time amid the silence and darkness of the night to this sacred work4 ,let the hour of opening dawn find thee at the same work4 ,let the hours of nine1 twelve1 three1 six1 and nine at night witness the same4 ,be resolute in his cause4 ,make all practicable sacrifices to maintain it4 ,consider that thy time is short1 and that business and company must not be allowed to rob thee of thy ,god40 ,impossible1 say we1 fanatical directions6 ,dr4 ,judson impressed an empire for ,christ and laid the foundations of ,god's kingdom with imperishable granite in the heart of ,burmah4 ,he was successful1 one of the few men who mightily impressed the world for ,christ4 ,many men of greater gifts and genius and learning than he have made no such impression2 their religious work is like footsteps in the sands1 but he has engraven his work on the adamant4 ,the secret of its profundity and endurance is found in the fact that he gave time to prayer4 ,he kept the iron red-hot with prayer1 and ,god's skill fashioned it with enduring power4 ,no man can do a great and enduring work for ,god who is not a man of prayer1 and no man can be a man of prayer who does not give much time to praying4 ,is it true that prayer is simply the compliance with habit1 dull and mechanical8 ,a petty performance into which we are trained till tameness1 shortness1 superficiality are its chief elements8 8,is it true that prayer is1 as is assumed1 little else than the half-passive play of sentiment which flows languidly on through the minutes or hours of easy reverie80 ,canon ,liddon continues3 8,let those who have really prayed give the answer4 ,they sometimes describe prayer with the patriarch ,jacob as a wrestling together with an ,unseen ,power which may last1 not unfrequently in an earnest life1 late into the night hours1 or even to the break of day4 ,sometimes they refer to common intercession with ,st4 ,paul as a concerted struggle4 ,they have1 when praying1 their eyes fixed on the ,great ,intercessor in ,gethsemane1 upon the drops of blood which fall to the ground in that agony of resignation and sacrifice4 ,importunity is of the essence of successful prayer4 ,importunity means not dreaminess but sustained work4 ,it is through prayer especially that the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force4 ,it was a saying of the late ,bishop ,hamilton that #8,no man is likely to do much good in prayer who does not begin by looking upon it in the light of a work to be prepared for and persevered in with all the earnestness which we bring to bear upon subjects which are in our opinion at once most interesting and most necessary4'0 ,,ix4 ,i ought to pray before seeing any one4 ,often when ,i sleep long1 or meet with others early1 it is eleven or twelve o'clock before ,i begin secret prayer4 ,this is a wretched system4 ,it is unscriptural4 ,christ arose before day and went into a solitary place4 ,david says3 8,early will ,i seek thee20 8,thou shalt early hear my voice40 ,family prayer loses much of its power and sweetness1 and ,i can do no good to those who come to seek from me4 ,the conscience feels guilty1 the soul unfed1 the lamp not trimmed4 ,then when in secret prayer the soul is often out of tune4 ,i feel it is far better to begin with ,god--to see his face first1 to get my soul near him before it is near another4--,,robert ,,murray ,,mccheyne4 ,the men who have done the most for ,god in this world have been early on their knees4 ,he who fritters away the early morning1 its opportunity and freshness1 in other pursuits than seeking ,god will make poor headway seeking him the rest of the day4 ,if ,god is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning1 he will be in the last place the remainder of the day4 ,behind this early rising and early praying is the ardent desire which presses us into this pursuit after ,god4 ,morning listlessness is the index to a listless heart4 ,the heart which is behindhand in seeking ,god in the morning has lost its relish for ,god4 ,david's heart was ardent after ,god4 ,he hungered and thirsted after ,god1 and so he sought ,god early1 before daylight4 ,the bed and sleep could not chain his soul in its eagerness after ,god4 ,christ longed for communion with ,god2 and so1 rising a great while before day1 he would go out into the mountain to pray4 ,the disciples1 when fully awake and ashamed of their indulgence1 would know where to find him4 ,we might go through the list of men who have mightily impressed the world for ,god1 and we would find them early after ,god4 ,a desire for ,god which cannot break the chains of sleep is a weak thing and will do but little good for ,god after it has indulged itself fully4 ,the desire for ,god that keeps so far behind the devil and the world at the beginning of the day will never catch up4 ,it is not simply the getting up that puts men to the front and makes them captain generals in ,god's hosts1 but it is the ardent desire which stirs and breaks all self-indulgent chains4 ,but the getting up gives vent1 increase1 and strength to the desire4 ,if they had lain in bed and indulged themselves1 the desire would have been quenched4 ,the desire aroused them and put them on the stretch for ,god1 and this heeding and acting on the call gave their faith its grasp on ,god and gave to their hearts the sweetest and fullest revelation of ,god1 and this strength of faith and fullness of revelation made them saints by eminence1 and the halo of their sainthood has come down to us1 and we have entered on the enjoyment of their conquests4 ,but we take our fill in enjoyment1 and not in productions4 ,we build their tombs and write their epitaphs1 but are careful not to follow their examples4 ,we need a generation of preachers who seek ,god and seek him early1 who give the freshness and dew of effort to ,god1 and secure in return the freshness and fullness of his power that he may be as the dew to them1 full of gladness and strength1 through all the heat and labor of the day4 ,our laziness after ,god is our crying sin4 ,the children of this world are far wiser than we4 ,they are at it early and late4 ,we do not seek ,god with ardor and diligence4 ,no man gets ,god who does not follow hard after him1 and no soul follows hard after ,god who is not after him in early morn4 ,x4 ,there is a manifest want of spiritual influence on the ministry of the present day4 ,i feel it in my own case and ,i see it in that of others4 ,i am afraid there is too much of a low1 managing1 contriving1 maneuvering temper of mind among us4 ,we are laying ourselves out more than is expedient to meet one man's taste and another man's prejudices4 ,the ministry is a grand and holy affair1 and it should find in us a simple habit of spirit and a holy but humble indifference to all consequences4 ,the leading defect in ,christian ministers is want of a devotional habit4--,,richard ,,cecil4 ,never was there greater need for saintly men and women2 more imperative still is the call for saintly1 ,god-devoted preachers4 ,the world moves with gigantic strides4 ,satan has his hold and rule on the world1 and labors to make all its movements subserve his ends4 ,religion must do its best work1 present its most attractive and perfect models4 ,by every means1 modern sainthood must be inspired by the loftiest ideals and by the largest possibilities through the ,spirit4 ,paul lived on his knees1 that the ,ephesian ,church might measure the heights1 breadths1 and depths of an unmeasurable saintliness1 and 8be filled with all the fullness of ,god40 ,epaphras laid himself out with the exhaustive toil and strenuous conflict of fervent prayer1 that the ,colossian ,church might 8stand perfect and complete in all the will of ,god40 ,everywhere1 everything in apostolic times was on the stretch that the people of ,god might each and 8all come in the unity of the faith1 and of the knowledge of the ,son of ,god1 unto a perfect man1 unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of ,christ40 ,no premium was given to dwarfs2 no encouragement to an old babyhood4 ,the babies were to grow2 the old1 instead of feebleness and infirmities1 were to bear fruit in old age1 and be fat and flourishing4 ,the divinest thing in religion is holy men and holy women4 ,no amount of money1 genius1 or culture can move things for ,god4 ,holiness energizing the soul1 the whole man aflame with love1 with desire for more faith1 more prayer1 more zeal1 more consecration--this is the secret of power4 ,these we need and must have1 and men must be the incarnation of this ,god-inflamed devotedness4 ,god's advance has been stayed1 his cause crippled1 his name dishonored for their lack4 ,genius 7though the loftiest and most gifted71 education 7though the most learned and refined71 position1 dignity1 place1 honored names1 high ecclesiastics cannot move this chariot of our ,god4 ,it is a fiery one1 and fiery forces only can move it4 ,the genius of a ,milton fails4 ,the imperial strength of a ,leo fails4 ,brainerd's spirit can move it4 ,brainerd's spirit was on fire for ,god1 on fire for souls4 ,nothing earthly1 worldly1 selfish came in to abate in the least the intensity of this all-impelling and all-consuming force and flame4 ,prayer is the creator as well as the channel of devotion4 ,the spirit of devotion is the spirit of prayer4 ,prayer and devotion are united as soul and body are united1 as life and the heart are united4 ,there is no real prayer without devotion1 no devotion without prayer4 ,the preacher must be surrendered to ,god in the holiest devotion4 ,he is not a professional man1 his ministry is not a profession2 it is a divine institution1 a divine devotion4 ,he is devoted to ,god4 ,his aim1 aspirations1 ambition are for ,god and to ,god1 and to such prayer is as essential as food is to life4 ,the preacher1 above everything else1 must be devoted to ,god4 ,the preacher's relations to ,god are the insignia and credentials of his ministry4 ,these must be clear1 conclusive1 unmistakable4 ,no common1 surface type of piety must be his4 ,if he does not excel in grace1 he does not excel at all4 ,if he does not preach by life1 character1 conduct1 he does not preach at all4 ,if his piety be light1 his preaching may be as soft and as sweet as music1 as gifted as ,apollo1 yet its weight will be a feather's weight1 visionary1 fleeting as the morning cloud or the early dew4 ,devotion to ,god--there is no substitute for this in the preacher's character and conduct4 ,devotion to a ,church1 to opinions1 to an organization1 to orthodoxy--these are paltry1 misleading1 and vain when they become the source of inspiration1 the animus of a call4 ,god must be the mainspring of the preacher's effort1 the fountain and crown of all his toil4 ,the name and honor of ,jesus ,christ1 the advance of his cause1 must be all in all4 ,the preacher must have no inspiration but the name of ,jesus ,christ1 no ambition but to have him glorified1 no toil but for him4 ,then prayer will be a source of his illuminations1 the means of perpetual advance1 the gauge of his success4 ,the perpetual aim1 the only ambition1 the preacher can cherish is to have ,god with him4 ,never did the cause of ,god need perfect illustrations of the possibilities of prayer more than in this age4 ,no age1 no person1 will be ensamples of the gospel power except the ages or persons of deep and earnest prayer4 ,a prayerless age will have but scant models of divine power4 ,prayerless hearts will never rise to these ,alpine heights4 ,the age may be a better age than the past1 but there is an infinite distance between the betterment of an age by the force of an advancing civilization and its betterment by the increase of holiness and ,christlikeness by the energy of prayer4 ,the ,jews were much better when ,christ came than in the ages before4 ,it was the golden age of their ,pharisaic religion4 ,their golden religious age crucified ,christ4 ,never more praying1 never less praying2 never more sacrifices1 never less sacrifice2 never less idolatry1 never more idolatry2 never more of temple worship1 never less of ,god worship2 never more of lip service1 never less of heart service 7,god worshiped by lips whose hearts and hands crucified ,god's ,son672 never more of church-goers1 never less of saints4 ,it is prayer-force which makes saints4 ,holy characters are formed by the power of real praying4 ,the more of true saints1 the more of praying2 the more of praying1 the more of true saints4 ,,xi4 ,i urge upon you communion with ,christ1 a growing communion4 ,there are curtains to be drawn aside in ,christ that we never saw1 and new foldings of love in him4 ,i despair that ,i shall ever win to the far end of that love1 there are so many plies in it4 ,therefore dig deep1 and sweat and labor and take pains for him1 and set by as much time in the day for him as you can4 ,he will be won in the labor4--,,rutherford4 ,god has now1 and has had1 many of these devoted1 prayerful preachers--men in whose lives prayer has been a mighty1 controlling1 conspicuous force4 ,the world has felt their power1 ,god has felt and honored their power1 ,god's cause has moved mightily and swiftly by their prayers1 holiness has shone out in their characters with a divine effulgence4 ,god found one of the men he was looking for in ,david ,brainerd1 whose work and name have gone into history4 ,he was no ordinary man1 but was capable of shining in any company1 the peer of the wise and gifted ones1 eminently suited to fill the most attractive pulpits and to labor among the most refined and the cultured1 who were so anxious to secure him for their pastor4 ,president ,edwards bears testimony that he was 8a young man of distinguished talents1 had extraordinary knowledge of men and things1 had rare conversational powers1 excelled in his knowledge of theology1 and was truly1 for one so young1 an extraordinary divine1 and especially in all matters relating to experimental religion4 ,i never knew his equal of his age and standing for clear and accurate notions of the nature and essence of true religion4 ,his manner in prayer was almost inimitable1 such as ,i have very rarely known equaled4 ,his learning was very considerable1 and he had extraordinary gifts for the pulpit40 ,no sublimer story has been recorded in earthly annals than that of ,david ,brainerd2 no miracle attests with diviner force the truth of ,christianity than the life and work of such a man4 ,alone in the savage wilds of ,america1 struggling day and night with a mortal disease1 unschooled in the care of souls1 having access to the ,indians for a large portion of time only through the bungling medium of a pagan interpreter1 with the ,word of ,god in his heart and in his hand1 his soul fired with the divine flame1 a place and time to pour out his soul to ,god in prayer1 he fully established the worship of ,god and secured all its gracious results4 ,the ,indians were changed with a great change from the lowest besotments of an ignorant and debased heathenism to pure1 devout1 intelligent ,christians2 all vice reformed1 the external duties of ,christianity at once embraced and acted on2 family prayer set up2 the ,sabbath instituted and religiously observed2 the internal graces of religion exhibited with growing sweetness and strength4 ,the solution of these results is found in ,david ,brainerd himself1 not in the conditions or accidents but in the man ,brainerd4 ,he was ,god's man1 for ,god first and last and all the time4 ,god could flow unhindered through him4 ,the omnipotence of grace was neither arrested nor straightened by the conditions of his heart2 the whole channel was broadened and cleaned out for ,god's fullest and most powerful passage1 so that ,god with all his mighty forces could come down on the hopeless1 savage wilderness1 and transform it into his blooming and fruitful garden2 for nothing is too hard for ,god to do if he can get the right kind of a man to do it with4 ,brainerd lived the life of holiness and prayer4 ,his diary is full and monotonous with the record of his seasons of fasting1 meditation1 and retirement4 ,the time he spent in private prayer amounted to many hours daily4 8,when ,i return home10 he said1 8and give myself to meditation1 prayer1 and fasting1 my soul longs for mortification1 self-denial1 humility1 and divorcement from all things of the world40 8,i have nothing to do10 he said1 8with earth1 but only to labor in it honestly for ,god4 ,i do not desire to live one minute for anything which earth can afford40 ,after this high order did he pray3 8,feeling somewhat of the sweetness of communion with ,god and the constraining force of his love1 and how admirably it captivates the soul and makes all the desires and affections to center in ,god1 ,i set apart this day for secret fasting and prayer1 to entreat ,god to direct and bless me with regard to the great work which ,i have in view of preaching the gospel1 and that the ,lord would return to me and show me the light of his countenance4 ,i had little life and power in the forenoon4 ,near the middle of the afternoon ,god enabled me to wrestle ardently in intercession for my absent friends1 but just at night the ,lord visited me marvelously in prayer4 ,i think my soul was never in such agony before4 ,i felt no restraint1 for the treasures of divine grace were opened to me4 ,i wrestled for absent friends1 for the ingathering of souls1 for multitudes of poor souls1 and for many that ,i thought were the children of ,god1 personally1 in many distant places4 ,i was in such agony from sun half an hour high till near dark that ,i was all over wet with sweat1 but yet it seemed to me ,i had done nothing4 ,o1 my dear ,saviour did sweat blood for poor souls6 ,i longed for more compassion toward them4 ,i felt still in a sweet frame1 under a sense of divine love and grace1 and went to bed in such a frame1 with my heart set on ,god40 ,it was prayer which gave to his life and ministry their marvelous power4 ,the men of mighty prayer are men of spiritual might4 ,prayers never die4 ,brainerd's whole life was a life of prayer4 ,by day and by night he prayed4 ,before preaching and after preaching he prayed4 ,riding through the interminable solitudes of the forests he prayed4 ,on his bed of straw he prayed4 ,retiring to the dense and lonely forests1 he prayed4 ,hour by hour1 day after day1 early morn and late at night1 he was praying and fasting1 pouring out his soul1 interceding1 communing with ,god4 ,he was with ,god mightily in prayer1 and ,god was with him mightily1 and by it he being dead yet speaketh and worketh1 and will speak and work till the end comes1 and among the glorious ones of that glorious day he will be with the first4 ,jonathan ,edwards says of him3 8,his life shows the right way to success in the works of the ministry4 ,he sought it as the soldier seeks victory in a siege or battle2 or as a man that runs a race for a great prize4 ,animated with love to ,christ and souls1 how did he labor8 ,always fervently4 ,not only in word and doctrine1 in public and in private1 but in prayers by day and night1 wrestling with ,god in secret and travailing in birth with unutterable groans and agonies1 until ,christ was formed in the hearts of the people to whom he was sent4 ,like a true son of ,jacob1 he persevered in wrestling through all the darkness of the night1 until the breaking of the day60 ,,xii4 ,for nothing reaches the heart but what is from the heart1 or pierces the conscience but what comes from a living conscience4--,,william ,,penn4 ,in the morning was more engaged in preparing the head than the heart4 ,this has been frequently my error1 and ,i have always felt the evil of it1 especially in prayer4 ,reform it1 then1 ,o ,lord6 ,enlarge my hearty and ,i shall preach4--,,robert ,,murray ,,mccheyne4 ,a sermon that has more head infused into it than heart will not come home with efficacy to the hearers4--,,richard ,,cecil4 ,prayer1 with its manifold and many-sided forces1 helps the mouth to utter the truth in its fullness and freedom4 ,the preacher is to be prayed for1 the preacher is made by prayer4 ,the preacher's mouth is to be prayed for2 his mouth is to be opened and filled by prayer4 ,a holy mouth is made by praying1 by much praying2 a brave mouth is made by praying1 by much praying4 ,the ,church and the world1 ,god and heaven1 owe much to ,paul's mouth2 ,paul's mouth owed its power to prayer4 ,how manifold1 illimitable1 valuable1 and helpful prayer is to the preacher in so many ways1 at so many points1 in every way6 ,one great value is1 it helps his heart4 ,praying makes the preacher a heart preacher4 ,prayer puts the preacher's heart into the preacher's sermon2 prayer puts the preacher's sermon into the preacher's heart4 ,the heart makes the preacher4 ,men of great hearts are great preachers4 ,men of bad hearts may do a measure of good1 but this is rare4 ,the hireling and the stranger may help the sheep at some points1 but it is the good shepherd with the good shepherd's heart who will bless the sheep and answer the full measure of the shepherd's place4 ,we have emphasized sermon-preparation until we have lost sight of the important thing to be prepared--the heart4 ,a prepared heart is much better than a prepared sermon4 ,a prepared heart will make a prepared sermon4 ,volumes have been written laying down the mechanics and taste of sermon-making1 until we have become possessed with the idea that this scaffolding is the building4 ,the young preacher has been taught to lay out all his strength on the form1 taste1 and beauty of his sermon as a mechanical and intellectual product4 ,we have thereby cultivated a vicious taste among the people and raised the clamor for talent instead of grace1 eloquence instead of piety1 rhetoric instead of revelation1 reputation and brilliancy instead of holiness4 ,by it we have lost the true idea of preaching1 lost preaching power1 lost pungent conviction for sin1 lost the rich experience and elevated ,christian character1 lost the authority over consciences and lives which always results from genuine preaching4 ,it would not do to say that preachers study too much4 ,some of them do not study at all2 others do not study enough4 ,numbers do not study the right way to show themselves workmen approved of ,god4 ,but our great lack is not in head culture1 but in heart culture2 not lack of knowledge but lack of holiness is our sad and telling defect--not that we know too much1 but that we do not meditate on ,god and his word and watch and fast and pray enough4 ,the heart is the great hindrance to our preaching4 ,words pregnant with divine truth find in our hearts nonconductors2 arrested1 they fall shorn and powerless4 ,can ambition1 that lusts after praise and place1 preach the gospel of ,him who made himself of no reputation and took on ,him the form of a servant8 ,can the proud1 the vain1 the egotistical preach the gospel of him who was meek and lowly8 ,can the bad-tempered1 passionate1 selfish1 hard1 worldly man preach the system which teems with long-suffering1 self-denial1 tenderness1 which imperatively demands separation from enmity and crucifixion to the world8 ,can the hireling official1 heartless1 perfunctory1 preach the gospel which demands the shepherd to give his life for the sheep8 ,can the covetous man1 who counts salary and money1 preach the gospel till he has gleaned his heart and can say in the spirit of ,christ and ,paul in the words of ,wesley3 8,i count it dung and dross2 ,i trample it under my feet2 ,i 7yet not ,i1 but the grace of ,god in me7 esteem it just as the mire of the streets1 ,i desire it not1 ,i seek it not80 ,god's revelation does not need the light of human genius1 the polish and strength of human culture1 the brilliancy of human thought1 the force of human brains to adorn or enforce it2 but it does demand the simplicity1 the docility1 humility1 and faith of a child's heart4 ,it was this surrender and subordination of intellect and genius to the divine and spiritual forces which made ,paul peerless among the apostles4 ,it was this which gave ,wesley his power and radicated his labors in the history of humanity4 ,this gave to ,loyola the strength to arrest the retreating forces of ,catholicism4 ,our great need is heart-preparation4 ,luther held it as an axiom3 8,he who has prayed well has studied well40 ,we do not say that men are not to think and use their intellects2 but he will use his intellect best who cultivates his heart most4 ,we do not say that preachers should not be students2 but we do say that their great study should be the ,bible1 and he studies the ,bible best who has kept his heart with diligence4 ,we do not say that the preacher should not know men1 but he will be the greater adept in human nature who has fathomed the depths and intricacies of his own heart4 ,we do say that while the channel of preaching is the mind1 its fountain is the heart2 you may broaden and deepen the channel1 but if you do not look well to the purity and depth of the fountain1 you will have a dry or polluted channel4 ,we do say that almost any man of common intelligence has sense enough to preach the gospel1 but very few have grace enough to do so4 ,we do say that he who has struggled with his own heart and conquered it2 who has taught it humility1 faith1 love1 truth1 mercy1 sympathy1 courage2 who can pour the rich treasures of the heart thus trained1 through a manly intellect1 all surcharged with the power of the gospel on the consciences of his hearers--such a one will be the truest1 most successful preacher in the esteem of his ,lord4 ,,xiii4 ,study not to be a fine preacher4 ,jerichos are blown down with rams' horns4 ,look simply unto ,jesus for preaching food2 and what is wanted will be given1 and what is given will be blessed1 whether it be a barley grain or a wheaten loaf1 a crust or a crumb4 ,your mouth will be a flowing stream or a fountain sealed1 according as your heart is4 ,avoid all controversy in preaching1 talking1 or writing2 preach nothing down but the devil1 and nothing up but ,jesus ,christ4--,,berridge4 ,the heart is the saviour of the world4 ,heads do not save4 ,genius1 brains1 brilliancy1 strength1 natural gifts do not save4 ,the gospel flows through hearts4 ,all the mightiest forces are heart forces4 ,all the sweetest and loveliest graces are heart graces4 ,great hearts make great characters2 great hearts make divine characters4 ,god is love4 ,there is nothing greater than love1 nothing greater than ,god4 ,hearts make heaven2 heaven is love4 ,there is nothing higher1 nothing sweeter1 than heaven4 ,it is the heart and not the head which makes ,god's great preachers4 ,the heart counts much every way in religion4 ,the heart must speak from the pulpit4 ,the heart must hear in the pew4 ,in fact1 we serve ,god with our hearts4 ,head homage does not pass current in heaven4 ,we believe that one of the serious and most popular errors of the modern pulpit is the putting of more thought than prayer1 of more head than of heart in its sermons4 ,big hearts make big preachers2 good hearts make good preachers4 ,a theological school to enlarge and cultivate the heart is the golden desideratum of the gospel4 ,the pastor binds his people to him and rules his people by his heart4 ,they may admire his gifts1 they may be proud of his ability1 they may be affected for the time by his sermons2 but the stronghold of his power is his heart4 ,his scepter is love4 ,the throne of his power is his heart4 ,the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep4 ,heads never make martyrs4 ,it is the heart which surrenders the life to love and fidelity4 ,it takes great courage to be a faithful pastor1 but the heart alone can supply this courage4 ,gifts and genius may be brave1 but it is the gifts and genius of the heart and not of the head4 ,it is easier to fill the head than it is to prepare the heart4 ,it is easier to make a brain sermon than a heart sermon4 ,it was heart that drew the ,son of ,god from heaven4 ,it is heart that will draw men to heaven4 ,men of heart is what the world needs to sympathize with its woe1 to kiss away its sorrows1 to compassionate its misery1 and to alleviate its pain4 ,christ was eminently the man of sorrows1 because he was preminently the man of heart4 8,give me thy heart10 is ,god's requisition of men4 8,give me thy heart60 is man's demand of man4 ,a professional ministry is a heartless ministry4 ,when salary plays a great part in the ministry1 the heart plays little part4 ,we may make preaching our business1 and not put our hearts in the business4 ,he who puts self to the front in his preaching puts heart to the rear4 ,he who does not sow with his heart in his study will never reap a harvest for ,god4 ,the closet is the heart's study4 ,we will learn more about how to preach and what to preach there than we can learn in our libraries4 8,jesus wept0 is the shortest and biggest verse in the ,bible4 ,it is he who goes forth weeping 7not preaching great sermons71 bearing precious seed1 who shall come again rejoicing1 bringing his sheaves with him4 ,praying gives sense1 brings wisdom1 broadens and strengthens the mind4 ,the closet is a perfect school-teacher and school-house for the preacher4 ,thought is not only brightened and clarified in prayer1 but thought is born in prayer4 ,we can learn more in an hour praying1 when praying indeed1 than from many hours in the study4 ,books are in the closet which can be found and read nowhere else4 ,revelations are made in the closet which are made nowhere else4 ,,xiv4 ,one bright benison which private prayer brings down upon the ministry is an indescribable and inimitable something--an unction from the ,holy ,one4444 ,if the anointing which we bear come not from the ,lord of hosts1 we are deceivers1 since only in prayer can we obtain it4 ,let us continue instant1 constant1 fervent in supplication4 ,let your fleece lie on the thrashing floor of supplication till it is wet with the dew of heaven4--,,spurgeon4 ,alexander ,knox1 a ,christian philosopher of the days of ,wesley1 not an adherent but a strong personal friend of ,wesley1 and with much spiritual sympathy with the ,wesleyan movement1 writes3 8,it is strange and lamentable1 but ,i verily believe the fact to be that except among ,methodists and ,methodistical clergyman1 there is not much interesting preaching in ,england4 ,the clergy1 too generally1 have absolutely lost the art4 ,there is1 ,i conceive1 in the great laws of the moral world a kind of secret understanding like the affinities in chemistry1 between rightly promulgated religious truth and the deepest feelings of the human mind4 ,where the one is duly exhibited1 the other will respond4 ,did not our hearts burn within us8--but to this devout feeling is indispensable in the speaker4 ,now1 ,i am obliged to state from my own observation that this onction1 as the ,french not unfitly term it1 is beyond all comparison more likely to be found in ,england in a ,methodist conventicle than in a parish ,church4 ,this1 and this alone1 seems really to be that which fills the ,methodist houses and thins the ,churches4 ,i am1 ,i verily think1 no enthusiast2 ,i am a most sincere and cordial churchman1 a humble disciple of the ,school of ,hale and ,boyle1 of ,burnet and ,leighton4 ,now ,i must aver that when ,i was in this country1 two years ago1 ,i did not hear a single preacher who taught me like my own great masters but such as are deemed ,methodistical4 ,and ,i now despair of getting an atom of heart-instruction from any other quarter4 ,the ,methodist preachers 7however ,i may not always approve of all their expressions7 do most assuredly diffuse this true religion and undefiled4 ,i felt real pleasure last ,sunday4 ,i can bear witness that the preacher did at once speak the words of truth and soberness4 ,there was no eloquence--the honest man never dreamed of such a thing--but there was far better3 a cordial communication of vitalized truth4 ,i say vitalized because what he declared to others it was impossible not to feel he lived on himself40 ,this unction is the art of preaching4 ,the preacher who never had this unction never had the art of preaching4 ,the preacher who has lost this unction has lost the art of preaching4 ,whatever other arts he may have and retain--the art of sermon-making1 the art of eloquence1 the art of great1 clear thinking1 the art of pleasing an audience--he has lost the divine art of preaching4 ,this unction makes ,god's truth powerful and interesting1 draws and attracts1 edifies1 convicts1 saves4 ,this unction vitalizes ,god's revealed truth1 makes it living and life-giving4 ,even ,god's truth spoken without this unction is light1 dead1 and deadening4 ,though abounding in truth1 though weighty with thought1 though sparkling with rhetoric1 though pointed by logic1 though powerful by earnestness1 without this divine unction it issues in death and not in life4 ,mr4 ,spurgeon says3 8,i wonder how long we might beat our brains before we could plainly put into word what is meant by preaching with unction4 ,yet he who preaches knows its presence1 and he who hears soon detects its absence4 ,samaria1 in famine1 typifies a discourse without it4 ,jerusalem1 with her feast of fat things1 full of marrow1 may represent a sermon enriched with it4 ,every one knows what the freshness of the morning is when orient pearls abound on every blade of grass1 but who can describe it1 much less produce it of itself8 ,such is the mystery of spiritual anointing4 ,we know1 but we cannot tell to others what it is4 ,it is as easy as it is foolish1 to counterfeit it4 ,unction is a thing which you cannot manufacture1 and its counterfeits are worse than worthless4 ,yet it is1 in itself1 priceless1 and beyond measure needful if you would edify believers and bring sinners to ,christ40 ,,xv4 ,speak for eternity4 ,above all things1 cultivate your own spirit4 ,a word spoken by you when your conscience is clear and your heart full of ,god's ,spirit is worth ten thousand words spoken in unbelief and sin4 ,remember that ,god1 and not man1 must have the glory4 ,if the veil of the world's machinery were lifted off1 how much we would find is done in answer to the prayers of ,god's children4--,,robert ,,murray ,,mccheyne4 ,unction is that indefinable1 indescribable something which an old1 renowned ,scotch preacher describes thus3 8,there is sometimes somewhat in preaching that cannot be ascribed either to matter or expression1 and cannot be described what it is1 or from whence it cometh1 but with a sweet violence it pierceth into the heart and affections and comes immediately from the ,lord2 but if there be any way to obtain such a thing1 it is by the heavenly disposition of the speaker40 ,we call it unction4 ,it is this unction which makes the word of ,god 8quick and powerful1 and sharper than any two-edged sword1 piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit1 and of the joints and marrow1 and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart40 ,it is this unction which gives the words of the preacher such point1 sharpness1 and power1 and which creates such friction and stir in many a dead congregation4 ,the same truths have been told in the strictness of the letter1 smooth as human oil could make them2 but no signs of life1 not a pulse throb2 all as peaceful as the grave and as dead4 ,the same preacher in the meanwhile receives a baptism of this unction1 the divine inflatus is on him1 the letter of the ,word has been embellished and fired by this mysterious power1 and the throbbings of life begin--life which receives or life which resists4 ,the unction pervades and convicts the conscience and breaks the heart4 ,this divine unction is the feature which separates and distinguishes true gospel preaching from all other methods of presenting the truth1 and which creates a wide spiritual chasm between the preacher who has it and the one who has it not4 ,it backs and impregns revealed truth with all the energy of ,god4 ,unction is simply putting ,god in his own word and on his own preacher4 ,by mighty and great prayerfulness and by continual prayerfulness1 it is all potential and personal to the preacher2 it inspires and clarifies his intellect1 gives insight and grasp and projecting power2 it gives to the preacher heart power1 which is greater than head power2 and tenderness1 purity1 force flow from the heart by it4 ,enlargement1 freedom1 fullness of thought1 directness and simplicity of utterance are the fruits of this unction4 ,often earnestness is mistaken for this unction4 ,he who has the divine unction will be earnest in the very spiritual nature of things1 but there may be a vast deal of earnestness without the least mixture of unction4 ,earnestness and unction look alike from some points of view4 ,earnestness may be readily and without detection substituted or mistaken for unction4 ,it requires a spiritual eye and a spiritual taste to discriminate4 ,earnestness may be sincere1 serious1 ardent1 and persevering4 ,it goes at a thing with good will1 pursues it with perseverance1 and urges it with ardor2 puts force in it4 ,but all these forces do not rise higher than the mere human4 ,the man is in it--the whole man1 with all that he has of will and heart1 of brain and genius1 of planning and working and talking4 ,he has set himself to some purpose which has mastered him1 and he pursues to master it4 ,there may be none of ,god in it4 ,there may be little of ,god in it1 because there is so much of the man in it4 ,he may present pleas in advocacy of his earnest purpose which please or touch and move or overwhelm with conviction of their importance2 and in all this earnestness may move along earthly ways1 being propelled by human forces only1 its altar made by earthly hands and its fire kindled by earthly flames4 ,it is said of a rather famous preacher of gifts1 whose construction of ,scripture was to his fancy or purpose1 that he 8grew very eloquent over his own exegesis40 ,so men grow exceeding earnest over their own plans or movements4 ,earnestness may be selfishness simulated4 ,what of unction8 ,it is the indefinable in preaching which makes it preaching4 ,it is that which distinguishes and separates preaching from all mere human addresses4 ,it is the divine in preaching4 ,it makes the preaching sharp to those who need sharpness4 ,it distills as the dew to those who need to be refreshed4 ,it is well described as3 8a two-edged sword ,of heavenly temper keen1 ,and double were the wounds it made ,where'er it glanced between4 ',twas death to sin2 'twas life ,to all who mourned for sin4 ,it kindled and it silenced strife1 ,made war and peace within40 ,this unction comes to the preacher not in the study but in the closet4 ,it is heaven's distillation in answer to prayer4 ,it is the sweetest exhalation of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,it impregnates1 suffuses1 softens1 percolates1 cuts1 and soothes4 ,it carries the ,word like dynamite1 like salt1 like sugar2 makes the ,word a soother1 an arraigner1 a revealer1 a searcher2 makes the hearer a culprit or a saint1 makes him weep like a child and live like a giant2 opens his heart and his purse as gently1 yet as strongly as the spring opens the leaves4 ,this unction is not the gift of genius4 ,it is not found in the halls of learning4 ,no eloquence can woo it4 ,no industry can win it4 ,no prelatical hands can confer it4 ,it is the gift of ,god--the signet set to his own messengers4 ,it is heaven's knighthood given to the chosen true and brave ones who have sought this anointed honor through many an hour of tearful1 wrestling prayer4 ,earnestness is good and impressive2 genius is gifted and great4 ,thought kindles and inspires1 but it takes a diviner endowment1 a more powerful energy than earnestness or genius or thought to break the chains of sin1 to win estranged and depraved hearts to ,god1 to repair the breaches and restore the ,church to her old ways of purity and power4 ,nothing but this holy unction can do this4 ,,xvi4 ,all the minister's efforts will be vanity or worse than vanity if he have not unction4 ,unction must come down from heaven and spread a savor and feeling and relish over his ministry2 and among the other means of qualifying himself for his office1 the ,bible must hold the first place1 and the last also must be given to the ,word of ,god and prayer4--,,richard ,,cecil4 ,in the ,christian system unction is the anointing of the ,holy ,ghost1 separating unto ,god's work and qualifying for it4 ,this unction is the one divine enablement by which the preacher accomplishes the peculiar and saving ends of preaching4 ,without this unction there are no true spiritual results accomplished2 the results and forces in preaching do not rise above the results of unsanctified speech4 ,without unction the former is as potent as the pulpit4 ,this divine unction on the preacher generates through the ,word of ,god the spiritual results that flow from the gospel2 and without this unction1 these results are not secured4 ,many pleasant impressions may be made1 but these all fall far below the ends of gospel preaching4 ,this unction may be simulated4 ,there are many things that look like it1 there are many results that resemble its effects2 but they are foreign to its results and to its nature4 ,the fervor or softness excited by a pathetic or emotional sermon may look like the movements of the divine unction1 but they have no pungent1 penetrating1 heart-breaking force4 ,no heart-healing balm is there in these surface1 sympathetic1 emotional movements2 they are not radical1 neither sin-searching nor sin-curing4 ,this divine unction is the one distinguishing feature that separates true gospel preaching from all other methods of presenting truth4 ,it backs and interpenetrates the revealed truth with all the force of ,god4 ,it illumines the ,word and broadens and enrichens the intellect and empowers it to grasp and apprehend the ,word4 ,it qualifies the preacher's heart1 and brings it to that condition of tenderness1 of purity1 of force and light that are necessary to secure the highest results4 ,this unction gives to the preacher liberty and enlargement of thought and soul--a freedom1 fullness1 and directness of utterance that can be secured by no other process4 ,without this unction on the preacher the gospel has no more power to propagate itself than any other system of truth4 ,this is the seal of its divinity4 ,unction in the preacher puts ,god in the gospel4 ,without the unction1 ,god is absent1 and the gospel is left to the low and unsatisfactory forces that the ingenuity1 interest1 or talents of men can devise to enforce and project its doctrines4 ,it is in this element that the pulpit oftener fails than in any other element4 ,just at this all-important point it lapses4 ,learning it may have1 brilliancy and eloquence may delight and charm1 sensation or less offensive methods may bring the populace in crowds1 mental power may impress and enforce truth with all its resources2 but without this unction1 each and all these will be but as the fretful assault of the waters on a ,gibraltar4 ,spray and foam may cover and spangle2 but the rocks are there still1 unimpressed and unimpressible4 ,the human heart can no more be swept of its hardness and sin by these human forces than these rocks can be swept away by the ocean's ceaseless flow4 ,this unction is the consecration force1 and its presence the continuous test of that consecration4 ,it is this divine anointing on the preacher that secures his consecration to ,god and his work4 ,other forces and motives may call him to the work1 but this only is consecration4 ,a separation to ,god's work by the power of the ,holy ,spirit is the only consecration recognized by ,god as legitimate4 ,the unction1 the divine unction1 this heavenly anointing1 is what the pulpit needs and must have4 ,this divine and heavenly oil put on it by the imposition of ,god's hand must soften and lubricate the whole man--heart1 head1 spirit--until it separates him with a mighty separation from all earthly1 secular1 worldly1 selfish motives and aims1 separating him to everything that is pure and ,godlike4 ,it is the presence of this unction on the preacher that creates the stir and friction in many a congregation4 ,the same truths have been told in the strictness of the letter1 but no ruffle has been seen1 no pain or pulsation felt4 ,all is quiet as a graveyard4 ,another preacher comes1 and this mysterious influence is on him2 the letter of the ,word has been fired by the ,spirit1 the throes of a mighty movement are felt1 it is the unction that pervades and stirs the conscience and breaks the heart4 ,unctionless preaching makes everything hard1 dry1 acrid1 dead4 ,this unction is not a memory or an era of the past only2 it is a present1 realized1 conscious fact4 ,it belongs to the experience of the man as well as to his preaching4 ,it is that which transforms him into the image of his divine ,master1 as well as that by which he declares the truths of ,christ with power4 ,it is so much the power in the ministry as to make all else seem feeble and vain without it1 and by its presence to atone for the absence of all other and feebler forces4 ,this unction is not an inalienable gift4 ,it is a conditional gift1 and its presence is perpetuated and increased by the same process by which it was at first secured2 by unceasing prayer to ,god1 by impassioned desires after ,god1 by estimating it1 by seeking it with tireless ardor1 by deeming all else loss and failure without it4 ,how and whence comes this unction8 ,direct from ,god in answer to prayer4 ,praying hearts only are the hearts filled with this holy oil2 praying lips only are anointed with this divine unction4 ,prayer1 much prayer1 is the price of preaching unction2 prayer1 much prayer1 is the one1 sole condition of keeping this unction4 ,without unceasing prayer the unction never comes to the preacher4 ,without perseverance in prayer1 the unction1 like the manna overkept1 breeds worms4 ,,xvii4 ,give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but ,god1 and ,i care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen2 such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth4 ,god does nothing but in answer to prayer4--,,john ,,wesley4 ,the apostles knew the necessity and worth of prayer to their ministry4 ,they knew that their high commission as apostles1 instead of relieving them from the necessity of prayer1 committed them to it by a more urgent need2 so that they were exceedingly jealous else some other important work should exhaust their time and prevent their praying as they ought2 so they appointed laymen to look after the delicate and engrossing duties of ministering to the poor1 that they 7the apostles7 might1 unhindered1 8give themselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word40 ,prayer is put first1 and their relation to prayer is put most strongly--8give themselves to it10 making a business of it1 surrendering themselves to praying1 putting fervor1 urgency1 perseverance1 and time in it4 ,how holy1 apostolic men devoted themselves to this divine work of prayer6 8,night and day praying exceedingly10 says ,paul4 8,we will give ourselves continually to prayer0 is the consensus of apostolic devotement4 ,how these ,new ,testament preachers laid themselves out in prayer for ,god's people6 ,how they put ,god in full force into their ,churches by their praying6 ,these holy apostles did not vainly fancy that they had met their high and solemn duties by delivering faithfully ,god's word1 but their preaching was made to stick and tell by the ardor and insistence of their praying4 ,apostolic praying was as taxing1 toilsome1 and imperative as apostolic preaching4 ,they prayed mightily day and night to bring their people to the highest regions of faith and holiness4 ,they prayed mightier still to hold them to this high spiritual altitude4 ,the preacher who has never learned in the school of ,christ the high and divine art of intercession for his people will never learn the art of preaching1 though homiletics be poured into him by the ton1 and though he be the most gifted genius in sermon-making and sermon-delivery4 ,the prayers of apostolic1 saintly leaders do much in making saints of those who are not apostles4 ,if the ,church leaders in after years had been as particular and fervent in praying for their people as the apostles were1 the sad1 dark times of worldliness and apostasy had not marred the history and eclipsed the glory and arrested the advance of the ,church4 ,apostolic praying makes apostolic saints and keeps apostolic times of purity and power in the ,church4 ,what loftiness of soul1 what purity and elevation of motive1 what unselfishness1 what self-sacrifice1 what exhaustive toil1 what ardor of spirit1 what divine tact are requisite to be an intercessor for men6 ,the preacher is to lay himself out in prayer for his people2 not that they might be saved1 simply1 but that they be mightily saved4 ,the apostles laid themselves out in prayer that their saints might be perfect2 not that they should have a little relish for the things of ,god1 but that they 8might be filled with all the fullness of ,god40 ,paul did not rely on his apostolic preaching to secure this end1 but 8for this cause he bowed his knees to the ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ40 ,paul's praying carried ,paul's converts farther along the highway of sainthood than ,paul's preaching did4 ,epaphras did as much or more by prayer for the ,colossian saints than by his preaching4 ,he labored fervently always in prayer for them that 8they might stand perfect and complete in all the will of ,god40 ,preachers are preminently ,god's leaders4 ,they are primarily responsible for the condition of the ,church4 ,they shape its character1 give tone and direction to its life4 ,much every way depends on these leaders4 ,they shape the times and the institutions4 ,the ,church is divine1 the treasure it incases is heavenly1 but it bears the imprint of the human4 ,the treasure is in earthen vessels1 and it smacks of the vessel4 ,the ,church of ,god makes1 or is made by1 its leaders4 ,whether it makes them or is made by them1 it will be what its leaders are2 spiritual if they are so1 secular if they are1 conglomerate if its leaders are4 ,israel's kings gave character to ,israel's piety4 ,a ,church rarely revolts against or rises above the religion of its leaders4 ,strongly spiritual leaders2 men of holy might1 at the lead1 are tokens of ,god's favor2 disaster and weakness follow the wake of feeble or worldly leaders4 ,israel had fallen low when ,god gave children to be their princes and babes to rule over them4 ,no happy state is predicted by the prophets when children oppress ,god's ,israel and women rule over them4 ,times of spiritual leadership are times of great spiritual prosperity to the ,church4 ,prayer is one of the eminent characteristics of strong spiritual leadership4 ,men of mighty prayer are men of might and mold things4 ,their power with ,god has the conquering tread4 ,how can a man preach who does not get his message fresh from ,god in the closet8 ,how can he preach without having his faith quickened1 his vision cleared1 and his heart warmed by his closeting with ,god8 ,alas1 for the pulpit lips which are untouched by this closet flame4 ,dry and unctionless they will ever be1 and truths divine will never come with power from such lips4 ,as far as the real interests of religion are concerned1 a pulpit without a closet will always be a barren thing4 ,a preacher may preach in an official1 entertaining1 or learned way without prayer1 but between this kind of preaching and sowing ,god's precious seed with holy hands and prayerful1 weeping hearts there is an immeasurable distance4 ,a prayerless ministry is the undertaker for all ,god's truth and for ,god's ,church4 ,he may have the most costly casket and the most beautiful flowers1 but it is a funeral1 notwithstanding the charmful array4 ,a prayerless ,christian will never learn ,god's truth2 a prayerless ministry will never be able to teach ,god's truth4 ,ages of millennial glory have been lost by a prayerless ,church4 ,the coming of our ,lord has been postponed indefinitely by a prayerless ,church4 ,hell has enlarged herself and filled her dire caves in the presence of the dead service of a prayerless ,church4 ,the best1 the greatest offering is an offering of prayer4 ,if the preachers of the twentieth century will learn well the lesson of prayer1 and use fully the power of prayer1 the millennium will come to its noon ere the century closes4 8,pray without ceasing0 is the trumpet call to the preachers of the twentieth century4 ,if the twentieth century will get their texts1 their thoughts1 their words1 their sermons in their closets1 the next century will find a new heaven and a new earth4 ,the old sin-stained and sin-eclipsed heaven and earth will pass away under the power of a praying ministry4 ,,xviii4 ,if some ,christians that have been complaining of their ministers had said and acted less before men and had applied themselves with all their might to cry to ,god for their ministers--had1 as it were1 risen and stormed heaven with their humble1 fervent1 and incessant prayers for them--they would have been much more in the way of success4--,,jonathan ,,edwards4 ,somehow the practice of praying in particular for the preacher has fallen into disuse or become discounted4 ,occasionally have we heard the practice arraigned as a disparagement of the ministry1 being a public declaration by those who do it of the inefficiency of the ministry4 ,it offends the pride of learning and self-sufficiency1 perhaps1 and these ought to be offended and rebuked in a ministry that is so derelict as to allow them to exist4 ,prayer1 to the preacher1 is not simply the duty of his profession1 a privilege1 but it is a necessity4 ,air is not more necessary to the lungs than prayer is to the preacher4 ,it is absolutely necessary for the preacher to pray4 ,it is an absolute necessity that the preacher be prayed for4 ,these two propositions are wedded into a union which ought never to know any divorce3 the preacher must pray2 the preacher must be prayed for4 ,it will take all the praying he can do1 and all the praying he can get done1 to meet the fearful responsibilities and gain the largest1 truest success in his great work4 ,the true preacher1 next to the cultivation of the spirit and fact of prayer in himself1 in their intensest form1 covets with a great covetousness the prayers of ,god's people4 ,the holier a man is1 the more does he estimate prayer2 the clearer does he see that ,god gives himself to the praying ones1 and that the measure of ,god's revelation to the soul is the measure of the soul's longing1 importunate prayer for ,god4 ,salvation never finds its way to a prayerless heart4 ,the ,holy ,spirit never abides in a prayerless spirit4 ,preaching never edifies a prayerless soul4 ,christ knows nothing of prayerless ,christians4 ,the gospel cannot be projected by a prayerless preacher4 ,gifts1 talents1 education1 eloquence1 ,god's call1 cannot abate the demand of prayer1 but only intensify the necessity for the preacher to pray and to be prayed for4 ,the more the preacher's eyes are opened to the nature1 responsibility1 and difficulties in his work1 the more will he see1 and if he be a true preacher the more will he feel1 the necessity of prayer2 not only the increasing demand to pray himself1 but to call on others to help him by their prayers4 ,paul is an illustration of this4 ,if any man could project the gospel by dint of personal force1 by brain power1 by culture1 by personal grace1 by ,god's apostolic commission1 ,god's extraordinary call1 that man was ,paul4 ,that the preacher must be a man given to prayer1 ,paul is an eminent example4 ,that the true apostolic preacher must have the prayers of other good people to give to his ministry its full quota of success1 ,paul is a preminent example4 ,he asks1 he covets1 he pleads in an impassioned way for the help of all ,god's saints4 ,he knew that in the spiritual realm1 as elsewhere1 in union there is strength2 that the concentration and aggregation of faith1 desire1 and prayer increased the volume of spiritual force until it became overwhelming and irresistible in its power4 ,units of prayer combined1 like drops of water1 make an ocean which defies resistance4 ,so ,paul1 with his clear and full apprehension of spiritual dynamics1 determined to make his ministry as impressive1 as eternal1 as irresistible as the ocean1 by gathering all the scattered units of prayer and precipitating them on his ministry4 ,may not the solution of ,paul's preminence in labors and results1 and impress on the ,church and the world1 be found in this fact that he was able to center on himself and his ministry more of prayer than others8 ,to his brethren at ,rome he wrote3 8,now ,i beseech you1 brethren1 for the ,lord ,jesus ,christ's sake1 and for the love of the ,spirit1 that ye strive together with me in prayers to ,god for me40 ,to the ,ephesians he says3 8,praying always with all prayer and supplication in the ,spirit1 and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints2 and for me1 that utterance may be given unto me1 that ,i may open my mouth boldly1 to make known the mystery of the gospel40 ,to the ,colossians he emphasizes3 8,withal praying also for us1 that ,god would open unto us a door of utterance1 to speak the mystery of ,christ1 for which ,i am also in bonds3 that ,i may make it manifest as ,i ought to speak40 ,to the ,thessalonians he says sharply1 strongly3 8,brethren1 pray for us40 ,paul calls on the ,corinthian ,church to help him3 8,ye also helping together by prayer for us40 ,this was to be part of their work4 ,they were to lay to the helping hand of prayer4 ,he in an additional and closing charge to the ,thessalonian ,church about the importance and necessity of their prayers says3 8,finally1 brethren1 pray for us1 that the word of the ,lord may have free course1 and be glorified1 even as it is with you3 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men40 ,he impresses the ,philippians that all his trials and opposition can be made subservient to the spread of the gospel by the efficiency of their prayers for him4 ,philemon was to prepare a lodging for him1 for through ,philemon's prayer ,paul was to be his guest4 ,paul's attitude on this question illustrates his humility and his deep insight into the spiritual forces which project the gospel4 ,more than this1 it teaches a lesson for all times1 that if ,paul was so dependent on the prayers of ,god's saints to give his ministry success1 how much greater the necessity that the prayers of ,god's saints be centered on the ministry of to-day6 ,paul did not feel that this urgent plea for prayer was to lower his dignity1 lessen his influence1 or depreciate his piety4 ,what if it did8 ,let dignity go1 let influence be destroyed1 let his reputation be marred--he must have their prayers4 ,called1 commissioned1 chief of the ,apostles as he was1 all his equipment was imperfect without the prayers of his people4 ,he wrote letters everywhere1 urging them to pray for him4 ,do you pray for your preacher8 ,do you pray for him in secret8 ,public prayers are of little worth unless they are founded on or followed up by private praying4 ,the praying ones are to the preacher as ,aaron and ,hur were to ,moses4 ,they hold up his hands and decide the issue that is so fiercely raging around them4 ,the plea and purpose of the apostles were to put the ,church to praying4 ,they did not ignore the grace of cheerful giving4 ,they were not ignorant of the place which religious activity and work occupied in the spiritual life2 but not one nor all of these1 in apostolic estimate or urgency1 could at all compare in necessity and importance with prayer4 ,the most sacred and urgent pleas were used1 the most fervid exhortations1 the most comprehensive and arousing words were uttered to enforce the all-important obligation and necessity of prayer4 8,put the saints everywhere to praying0 is the burden of the apostolic effort and the keynote of apostolic success4 ,jesus ,christ had striven to do this in the days of his personal ministry4 ,as he was moved by infinite compassion at the ripened fields of earth perishing for lack of laborers--and pausing in his own praying--he tries to awaken the stupid sensibilities of his disciples to the duty of prayer as he charges them1 8,pray ye the ,lord of the harvest that he will send forth laborers into his harvest40 8,and he spake a parable unto them to this end1 that men ought always to pray and not to faint40 ,,xix4 ,this perpetual hurry of business and company ruins me in soul if not in body4 ,more solitude and earlier hours6 ,i suspect ,i have been allotting habitually too little time to religious exercises1 as private devotion and religious meditation1 ,scripture-reading1 etc4 ,hence ,i am lean and cold and hard4 ,i had better allot two hours or an hour and a half daily4 ,i have been keeping too late hours1 and hence have had but a hurried half hour in a morning to myself4 ,surely the experience of all good men confirms the proposition that without a due measure of private devotions the soul will grow lean4 ,but all may be done through prayer--almighty prayer1 ,i am ready to say--and why not8 ,for that it is almighty is only through the gracious ordination of the ,god of love and truth4 ,o then1 pray1 pray1 pray6--,,william ,,wilberforce4 ,our devotions are not measured by the clock1 but time is of their essence4 ,the ability to wait and stay and press belongs essentially to our intercourse with ,god4 ,hurry1 everywhere unseeming and damaging1 is so to an alarming extent in the great business of communion with ,god4 ,short devotions are the bane of deep piety4 ,calmness1 grasp1 strength1 are never the companions of hurry4 ,short devotions deplete spiritual vigor1 arrest spiritual progress1 sap spiritual foundations1 blight the root and bloom of spiritual life4 ,they are the prolific source of backsliding1 the sure indication of a superficial piety2 they deceive1 blight1 rot the seed1 and impoverish the soil4 ,it is true that ,bible prayers in word and print are short1 but the praying men of the ,bible were with ,god through many a sweet and holy wrestling hour4 ,they won by few words but long waiting4 ,the prayers ,moses records may be short1 but ,moses prayed to ,god with fastings and mighty cryings forty days and nights4 ,the statement of ,elijah's praying may be condensed to a few brief paragraphs1 but doubtless ,elijah1 who when 8praying he prayed10 spent many hours of fiery struggle and lofty intercourse with ,god before he could1 with assured boldness1 say to ,ahab1 8,there shall not be dew nor rain these years1 but according to my word40 ,the verbal brief of ,paul's prayers is short1 but ,paul 8prayed night and day exceedingly40 ,the 8,lord's ,prayer0 is a divine epitome for infant lips1 but the man ,christ ,jesus prayed many an all-night ere his work was done2 and his all-night and long-sustained devotions gave to his work its finish and perfection1 and to his character the fullness and glory of its divinity4 ,spiritual work is taxing work1 and men are loath to do it4 ,praying1 true praying1 costs an outlay of serious attention and of time1 which flesh and blood do not relish4 ,few persons are made of such strong fiber that they will make a costly outlay when surface work will pass as well in the market4 ,we can habituate ourselves to our beggarly praying until it looks well to us1 at least it keeps up a decent form and quiets conscience--the deadliest of opiates6 ,we can slight our praying1 and not realize the peril till the foundations are gone4 ,hurried devotions make weak faith1 feeble convictions1 questionable piety4 ,to be little with ,god is to be little for ,god4 ,to cut short the praying makes the whole religious character short1 scrimp1 niggardly1 and slovenly4 ,it takes good time for the full flow of ,god into the spirit4 ,short devotions cut the pipe of ,god's full flow4 ,it takes time in the secret places to get the full revelation of ,god4 ,little time and hurry mar the picture4 ,henry ,martyn laments that 8want of private devotional reading and shortness of prayer through incessant sermon-making had produced much strangeness between ,god and his soul40 ,he judged that he had dedicated too much time to public ministrations and too little to private communion with ,god4 ,he was much impressed to set apart times for fasting and to devote times for solemn prayer4 ,resulting from this he records3 8,was assisted this morning to pray for two hours40 ,said ,william ,wilberforce1 the peer of kings3 8,i must secure more time for private devotions4 ,i have been living far too public for me4 ,the shortening of private devotions starves the soul2 it grows lean and faint4 ,i have been keeping too late hours40 ,of a failure in ,parliament he says3 8,let me record my grief and shame1 and all1 probably1 from private devotions having been contracted1 and so ,god let me stumble40 ,more solitude and earlier hours was his remedy4 ,more time and early hours for prayer would act like magic to revive and invigorate many a decayed spiritual life4 ,more time and early hours for prayer would be manifest in holy living4 ,a holy life would not be so rare or so difficult a thing if our devotions were not so short and hurried4 ,a ,christly temper in its sweet and passionless fragrance would not be so alien and hopeless a heritage if our closet stay were lengthened and intensified4 ,we live shabbily because we pray meanly4 ,plenty of time to feast in our closets will bring marrow and fatness to our lives4 ,our ability to stay with ,god in our closet measures our ability to stay with ,god out of the closet4 ,hasty closet visits are deceptive1 defaulting4 ,we are not only deluded by them1 but we are losers by them in many ways and in many rich legacies4 ,tarrying in the closet instructs and wins4 ,we are taught by it1 and the greatest victories are often the results of great waiting--waiting till words and plans are exhausted1 and silent and patient waiting gains the crown4 ,jesus ,christ asks with an affronted emphasis1 8,shall not ,god avenge his own elect which cry day and night unto him80 ,to pray is the greatest thing we can do3 and to do it well there must be calmness1 time1 and deliberation2 otherwise it is degraded into the littlest and meanest of things4 ,true praying has the largest results for good2 and poor praying1 the least4 ,we cannot do too much of real praying2 we cannot do too little of the sham4 ,we must learn anew the worth of prayer1 enter anew the school of prayer4 ,there is nothing which it takes more time to learn4 ,and if we would learn the wondrous art1 we must not give a fragment here and there--8,a little talk with ,jesus10 as the tiny saintlets sing--but we must demand and hold with iron grasp the best hours of the day for ,god and prayer1 or there will be no praying worth the name4 ,this1 however1 is not a day of prayer4 ,few men there are who pray4 ,prayer is defamed by preacher and priest4 ,in these days of hurry and bustle1 of electricity and steam1 men will not take time to pray4 ,preachers there are who 8say prayers0 as a part of their programme1 on regular or state occasions2 but who 8stirs himself up to take hold upon ,god80 ,who prays as ,jacob prayed--till he is crowned as a prevailing1 princely intercessor8 ,who prays as ,elijah prayed--till all the locked-up forces of nature were unsealed and a famine-stricken land bloomed as the garden of ,god8 ,who prayed as ,jesus ,christ prayed as out upon the mountain he 8continued all night in prayer to ,god80 ,the apostles 8gave themselves to prayer0--the most difficult thing to get men or even the preachers to do4 ,laymen there are who will give their money--some of them in rich abundance--but they will not 8give themselves0 to prayer1 without which their money is but a curse4 ,there are plenty of preachers who will preach and deliver great and eloquent addresses on the need of revival and the spread of the kingdom of ,god1 but not many there are who will do that without which all preaching and organizing are worse than vain--pray4 ,it is out of date1 almost a lost art1 and the greatest benefactor this age could have is the man who will bring the preachers and the ,church back to prayer4 ,,xx4 ,i judge that my prayer is more than the devil himself2 if it were otherwise1 ,luther would have fared differently long before this4 ,yet men will not see and acknowledge the great wonders or miracles ,god works in my behalf4 ,if ,i should neglect prayer but a single day1 ,i should lose a great deal of the fire of faith4--,,martin ,,luther4 ,only glimpses of the great importance of prayer could the apostles get before ,pentecost4 ,but the ,spirit coming and filling on ,pentecost elevated prayer to its vital and all-commanding position in the gospel of ,christ4 ,the call now of prayer to every saint is the ,spirit's loudest and most exigent call4 ,sainthood's piety is made1 refined1 perfected1 by prayer4 ,the gospel moves with slow and timid pace when the saints are not at their prayers early and late and long4 ,where are the ,christly leaders who can teach the modern saints how to pray and put them at it8 ,do we know we are raising up a prayerless set of saints8 ,where are the apostolic leaders who can put ,god's people to praying8 ,let them come to the front and do the work1 and it will be the greatest work which can be done4 ,an increase of educational facilities and a great increase of money force will be the direst curse to religion if they are not sanctified by more and better praying than we are doing4 ,more praying will not come as a matter of course4 ,the campaign for the twentieth or thirtieth century fund will not help our praying but hinder if we are not careful4 ,nothing but a specific effort from a praying leadership will avail4 ,the chief ones must lead in the apostolic effort to radicate the vital importance and fact of prayer in the heart and life of the ,church4 ,none but praying leaders can have praying followers4 ,praying apostles will beget praying saints4 ,a praying pulpit will beget praying pews4 ,we do greatly need somebody who can set the saints to this business of praying4 ,we are not a generation of praying saints4 ,nonpraying saints are a beggarly gang of saints who have neither the ardor nor the beauty nor the power of saints4 ,who will restore this breach8 ,the greatest will he be of reformers and apostles1 who can set the ,church to praying4 ,we put it as our most sober judgment that the great need of the ,church in this and all ages is men of such commanding faith1 of such unsullied holiness1 of such marked spiritual vigor and consuming zeal1 that their prayers1 faith1 lives1 and ministry will be of such a radical and aggressive form as to work spiritual revolutions which will form eras in individual and ,church life4 ,we do not mean men who get up sensational stirs by novel devices1 nor those who attract by a pleasing entertainment2 but men who can stir things1 and work revolutions by the preaching of ,god's ,word and by the power of the ,holy ,ghost1 revolutions which change the whole current of things4 ,natural ability and educational advantages do not figure as factors in this matter2 but capacity for faith1 the ability to pray1 the power of thorough consecration1 the ability of self-littleness1 an absolute losing of one's self in ,god's glory1 and an ever-present and insatiable yearning and seeking after all the fullness of ,god--men who can set the ,church ablaze for ,god2 not in a noisy1 showy way1 but with an intense and quiet heat that melts and moves everything for ,god4 ,god can work wonders if he can get a suitable man4 ,men can work wonders if they can get ,god to lead them4 ,the full endowment of the spirit that turned the world upside down would be eminently useful in these latter days4 ,men who can stir things mightily for ,god1 whose spiritual revolutions change the whole aspect of things1 are the universal need of the ,church4 ,the ,church has never been without these men2 they adorn its history2 they are the standing miracles of the divinity of the ,church2 their example and history are an unfailing inspiration and blessing4 ,an increase in their number and power should be our prayer4 ,that which has been done in spiritual matters can be done again1 and be better done4 ,this was ,christ's view4 ,he said3 8,verily1 verily1 ,i say unto you1 ,he that believeth on me1 the works that ,i do shall he do also2 and greater works than these shall he do2 because ,i go unto my ,father40 ,the past has not exhausted the possibilities nor the demands for doing great things for ,god4 ,the ,church that is dependent on its past history for its miracles of power and grace is a fallen ,church4 ,god wants elect men--men out of whom self and the world have gone by a severe crucifixion1 by a bankruptcy which has so totally ruined self and the world that there is neither hope nor desire of recovery2 men who by this insolvency and crucifixion have turned toward ,god perfect hearts4 ,let us pray ardently that ,god's promise to prayer may be more than realized4 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's note3 ,obvious typographical errors have been corrected4