The greatest preacher alive during the 19th century, perhaps of all-time, was a man named Charles Spurgeon. He pastored a church in London, England called the Metropolitan Tabernacle. His sermons held thousands of people spellbound, and brought many to faith in Jesus Christ.
There were five young men who wanted to hear the famed Spurgeon preach, so they travelled to London. They arrived early for a Sunday morning service but found the doors locked. While waiting for the place to open, they were greeted by a man who asked, “Gentlemen, is this your first time hear?” They told him it was. “Well, let me show you around.” The man then brought them inside the church. He then asked, “Would you like to see how we heat the church?”
They weren’t really interested because it was a hot day in July, but they didn’t want to offend the stranger, so they consented.
The young men were taken down a stairway, a door was quietly opened, and their guide whispered, “This is how we heat the church.” Surprised, the young men saw 700 people throughout the room kneeling in prayer. They could hear people calling on the Lord and asking for His blessing on the service that was about to begin in the auditorium above. Softly closing the door, the man put out his hand then introduced himself. It was none other than Charles Spurgeon.
“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (Jer 33:3)
Prayer is the most valuable, most powerful, and most far-reaching thing we can do. God’s child can conquer anything by prayer. Oswald Chambers said:
“The prayer of the feeblest saint who lives in the Spirit and keeps right with God is a terror to Satan. The very powers of darkness are paralyzed by prayer; no spiritualistic séance can succeed in the presence of a humble praying saint. No wonder Satan tries to keep our minds fussy in active work till we cannot think in prayer.” (My Utmost for His Highest)
The Welsh revival, which saw more than one hundred thousand people come to Christ, was greatly due to a man named Evan Roberts who had been praying for eleven years. The Azusa Street revivals, which resulted in one of the greatest outpourings of the Holy Spirit in recent history, began in a house prayer meeting.
Is it any wonder that Satan does his best to take this weapon from the Christian, or to hinder him from using it?
The Bible teaches that we are always either drawing nearer to God or falling away. There is no holding pattern. The presence of prayer signals revival. The lack of prayer signals backsliding. The prophet Isaiah sadly observed,
“There is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You.” (Isa 64:7)
Sitting safely in the shelter of Bible discussions among ourselves, or complaining to one another about the horrible state of today’s society or the church, does nothing to unleash the power of God.
The first century church, and all other overcoming believers throughout the ages, had one instinct: pray. When in trouble, pray. When intimidated, pray. When uncertain, pray. When persecuted, pray.
“Revive us, and we will call upon Your name. (Ps 80:18)
As we open up our lives and gatherings to God’s power, things will not always follow a predetermined schedule or order. Who can outline what God might have in mind? However, one thing’s for sure, God has not changed. He is still superior to anything the enemy can throw against us.
No situation is too hopeless for the all-sufficient power of the Holy Spirit. God will be no more eager to act tomorrow than he is right now. He is waiting for us to take his promises seriously and go boldly to the throne of grace.
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