Prevailing Prayer: What Hinders It?Moody, Dwight Lyman
Religion
Prevailing Prayer: What Hinders It?
Moody, Dwight Lyman
Christian life; Prayer -- Christianity
The next thing we need to have, if we would get our prayers answered,
is--UNITY. If we do not love one another we certainly shall not have
much power with God in Prayer. One of the saddest things in the present
day is the division in God’s Church. You notice that when the power
of God came upon the early church, it was when they were all of one
accord. I believe the blessing of Pentecost never would have been given
but for that spirit of unity. If they had been divided and quarreling
among themselves, do you think the Holy Ghost would have come, and
those thousands been converted? I have noticed in our work, that if we
have gone to a town where three churches were united in it, we have had
greater blessing than if only one church was in sympathy. And if there
have been twelve churches united, the blessing has multiplied fourfold;
it has always been in proportion to the spirit of unity that has been
manifested. Where there are bickerings and divisions, and where the
spirit of unity is absent, there is very little blessing and praise.
Dr. Guthrie thus illustrates this fact; he says: “Separate the atoms
which make the hammer, and each would fall on the stone as a snowflake;
but welded into one, and wielded by the firm arm of the quarry man,
it will break the massive rocks asunder. Divide the waters of Niagara
into distinct and individual drops, and they would be no more than the
falling rain, but in their united body they would quench the fires of
Vesuvius, and have some to spare for the volcanoes of other mountains.”
History tells us that it was agreed upon by both armies of the Romans
and the Albans to put the trial of all to the issue of a battle betwixt
six brethren--three on the one side, the sons of Curatius, and three
on the other, the sons of Horatius. While the Curatii were united,
though all three sorely wounded, they killed two of the Heratii. The
third began to take to his heels, though not hurt at all; and when he
saw them follow slowly, one after another, because of wounds and heavy
armor, he fell upon them singly, and slew all three. It is the cunning
sleight of the devil to divide us that he may destroy us.
We ought to endure much and sacrifice much, rather than permit discord
and division to prevail in our hearts. Martin Luther says: “When two
goats meet upon a narrow bridge over deep water, how do they behave?
Neither of them can turn back again, neither can pass the other,
because the bridge is too narrow; if they should thrust one another
they might both fall into the water and be drowned. Nature, then, has
taught them that if the one lays himself down and permits the other to
go over him, both remain unhurt. Even so people should rather endure to
be trod upon than to fall into debate and discord one with another.”
Cawdray says: “As in music, if the harmony of tones be not complete
they are offensive to the cultivated ear; so if Christians disagree
among themselves they are unacceptable to God.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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