There are certain things on the part of the servant of God which, we may say, God requires of him who would be used in His service, and of these we place first, faith.
Again and again, as the disciples beheld the Lord’s works, He enjoined on them faith. Our faith is a condition that God lays down as a necessity, if His power is to be manifested through us. We do not speak of the great works that God has wrought by His power through the agency of His servants, or of marked periods in the history of the church, but of such works as every true-hearted worker feels would surely accompany his feeble efforts for his Lord, were there not some lack in him, or some hindrance through him. If, then, in the most humble service of the Lord, there is barrenness, we must inquire how it stands with our souls and with God, and ask, Have we faith?
Faith is not barren. Where there is genuine faith there are patience and courage. Faith is not mere enthusiasm, but it is the very nerve and fiber of spiritual work. It cannot be explained or measured, but it is that link with God, that keeping touch with Him about the business in hand, which makes that special business conducted in the power of God.
All this is known experimentally by every true worker for the Lord, who has felt these things again and again, but who, none the less, may have worked on at times for months together and yet have failed in faith!
Prayer should be our next exhortation to ourselves. “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:2929And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. (Mark 9:29)), said the Lord to His disciples, when they were astonished both at their own inability and at His might. We may certainly say, the greater the faith the more the prayer. There may be much praying, at least at public meetings, and remarkably little prayer. There may be the sound of prayer, but no praying.
The Lord associates fasting with prayer, therefore self-denial and dependence are necessities if we would be vessels fit for the Master’s use. We cannot live in self-seeking and be used of God, neither can we work in our own strength and be used of God. True prayer comes from a true heart. We need to look into our hearts and see if there be any evil thing harbored there, which hinders our simplicity of trust, and which mars in us the spirit of prayer. We refer especially to private prayer, for if right there, we shall not be far astray in the season of public prayer.
Where there is faith and prayer communion flows out as a consequence. The servant whose heart is, as we have said, in touch with God will be in communion with God. Unless there be communion with God how can the heart receive His communications? There may be great zeal and much labor, yet both may be misdirected. We cannot expect to fulfill our Master’s will unless we first obtain our Master’s bidding. We must not expect to have the power of God the Spirit with us in service, if we are running our own errands. “Who will go for us?” precedes, “Here am I: send me.” Very frequently the true use of a servant is lost because he is working in a wrong place, or in a wrong way. When we speak of faith we do not mean faith in the prosecution of our own ends, but faith in God to carry out His will, and all the prayer possible will not avail if “we ask amiss.”
Now God has given His Spirit to be in and with His people; the power from on high is here! Let us see to it that we are not hinderers of His working in us to the blessing of others, and to the glory of His Son, in these days when power is so deeply needed.