July, 1869.
Dearest A—,
When I took up my pen to address you, in the month of April last, I had no idea that I should have occasion to extend the series to a fourth letter. However, the subject is one of intense interest to me; and there are just two of three points further on which I desire very briefly to touch in this my closing letter.
And, in the first place, I deeply feel our lack of a prayerful spirit in carrying on the work of evangelization. I have referred to the subject of the Spirit’s work; and also to the place which God’s word ought ever to get; but it strikes me we are very deficient in reference to the matter of earnest, persevering, believing prayer. This is the true secret of power. “We,” says the apostle, “will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
Here is the order: “Prayer and the ministry of the word.” Prayer brings in the power of God, and this is what we want. It is not the power of eloquence, but the power of God, and this can only be had by waiting upon Him. “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.” Isa. 40:29-3129He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:29‑31).
It seems to me, dearest Α., that we are far too mechanical, if I may so express myself, in the work. There is too much of what I may call going through a service. I greatly fear that some of us are more on our legs than on our knees: more in the railway carriage than hi the closet; more on the road than in the sanctuary; more before men than before God. This will never do. It is impossible that our preaching can be marked by power and crowned with results, if we fail in waiting upon God. Look at the blessed Master Himself—that great Workman. See how often He was found in prayer. At His baptism; at His transfiguration; previous to the appointment and mission of the twelve. In short, again and again, we find that blessed One in the attitude of prayer. At one time, He rises up a great while before day, in order to give Himself to prayer. At another time He spends the entire night hi prayer, because the day was given up to work.
What an example for us! May we follow it! May we know a little better what it is to agonize in prayer. How little we know of this! I speak for myself. It sometimes appears to me as if we were so much taken up with preaching engagements that we have no time for prayer—no time for closet work—no time to be alone with God. We get into a sort of whirl of public work, we rush from place to place, from meeting to meeting, in a prayerless, barren condition of soul. Need we wonder at the little result? How could it be otherwise when we so fail in waiting upon God? We cannot convert souls. God alone can do this; and if we go on without waiting on Him, if we allow public preaching to displace private prayer, we may rest assured our preaching will prove barren and worthless. We really must “give ourselves to prayer” if we would succeed in the “ministry of the word.”
Nor is this all. It is not merely that we are lacking in the holy and blessed practice of private prayer. This is alas! too true, as I have said. But there is more than this. We fail hi our public meetings for prayer. The great work of evangelization is not sufficiently remembered at our prayer meetings. It is not definitely, earnestly, and constantly kept before God in our public reunions. It may occasionally be introduced in a cursory, formal manner, and then dismissed. Indeed I feel there is a great lack of earnestness and perseverance in our prayer meetings generally, not merely as to the work of the gospel, hut as to other things as well. There is frequently great formality and feebleness. We do not seem like men in earnest. We lack the spirit of the widow in Luke 18, who overcame the unjust judge by the hare force of her importunity. We seem to forget that God will be inquired of; and that he is a re warder of them that diligently seek Him.
It is of no use for anyone to say, “God can work without our earnest pleading; He will accomplish His purposes; He will gather out His own.” We know all this; but we know also that He who has appointed the end has appointed the means; and if we fail in waiting on Him, He will get others to do His work. The work will be done, no doubt, but we shall lose the dignity, the privilege, and the reward of working. Is tins nothing? Is it nothing to be deprived of the sweet privilege of being co-workers with God, of having fellowship with Him in the blessed work which He is carrying on? Alas! alas! that we prize it so little. Still we do prize it; and perhaps there are few things in which we can more fully taste this privilege than in united earnest prayer. Here every saint can join. Here all can add their cordial Amen. All may not be preachers; but all can pray—all join in prayer—all can have fellowship.
And do you not find, beloved brother, that there is always a stream of deep and real blessing where the assembly is drawn out in earnest prayer for the gospel, and for the salvation of souls? I have invariably seen it, and hence it is always a source of unspeakable comfort, joy, and encouragement to my heart when I see the assembly stirred up to pray, for then I am sure God is going to give copious showers of blessing.
Moreover, when this is the case—when this most excellent spirit pervades the whole assembly, you may be sure there will be no trouble as to what is called “ The responsibility of the preaching.” It will be all the same who does the work, provided it is done as well as it can be. If the assembly is waiting upon God, in earnest intercession, for the progress of the work, it will not be a question as to the one who is to take the preaching, provided Christ is preached and souls are blessed.
Then, dearest Α., there is another thing which has, of late, occupied my mind a good deal, and that is our method of dealing with young converts. Most surely there is immense need of care and caution, lest we be found accrediting what is not the genuine work of God’s Spirit at all. There is very great danger here. The enemy is ever seeking to introduce spurious materials into the assembly, in order that he may mar the testimony and bring discredit upon the truth of God.
All this is most true, and demands our serious consideration. But does it not seem to you, beloved, that we often err on the other side? Do we not often, by a stiff and peculiar style, cast a chill upon young converts? Is there not frequently something repulsive in our spirit and deportment? We expect young Christians to come up to a standard of intelligence which has taken us years to attain. Nor this only. We sometimes put them through a process of examination which only tends to harass and perplex.
Now, assuredly, this is not right. The Spirit of God would never puzzle, perplex, or repulse a dear anxious enquirer—never—no never. It could never be according to the mind or heart of Christ to chill the spirit of the very feeblest lamb in all His blood-bought flock. He would have us seeking to lead them on gently and tenderly—to soothe, nourish, and cherish them, according to all the deep love of His heart. It is a great thing to lay ourselves out, and hold ourselves open to discern and appreciate the work of God in souls, and not to mar it by placing our own miserable crotchets as stumbling-blocks in their pathway. We need divine guidance and help in this as much as in any other department of our work. But, blessed be God, He is sufficient for this as for all beside. Let us only wait on Him—let us cling to Him, and draw upon His exhaustless treasury for each case as it arises—for exigence of every hour. He will never fail a trusting, expectant, dependent heart.
I must now close this series of letters. I think I have touched most, if not all, of the points which I had in my mind. You will, I trust, bear in mind, beloved hi the Lord, that I have, in all these letters, simply jotted down my thoughts in the utmost possible freedom, and hi all the intimacy of true brotherly friendship. I have not been writing a formal treatise, but pouring out my heart to a beloved friend and yoke-fellow. This must be borne in mind by all who may read these letters.
May God bless you and keep you, dearest A.! May He crown your labors with His richest and best blessings! May He keep you from every evil work, and preserve you unto His own everlasting kingdom!
Ever, believe me,
My dearest A.,
Your deeply affectionate
“Quick and powerful is the word,
‘Sharper than a two-edged sword;’
Wielded by the Spirit’s hand,
Nothing can its force withstand.
How its power was felt of old,
They who felt its power have told;
Many were the wonders wrought,
Multitudes to Jesus brought.
Mighty God! whose word it is
Hear our prayer and grant us this—
What thy power has done before,
By thy Spirit do once more.”