Joining the Battle of the Ages Through Prayer
“We are, as it were, God’s agents—used by Him to do His work, not ours. We do our part, and then can only look to Him, with others, for His blessing. If this is so, then Christians at home can do as much for foreign missions as those actually on the field. I believe it will only be known on the Last Day how much has been accomplished in missionary work by the prayers of earnest believers at home.”
One of my favorite biographies is that of J.O. Fraser. As a single missionary serving in very hard places, he pioneered Gospel efforts among the animistic Lisu tribal people of Southwestern China. His life is an inspiring tribute to God’s grace in both his life and in those who came to Jesus through his ministry.
The book that I refer to here is Geraldine Taylor’s biography him, Behind the Ranges: the Life-Changing Story of J. O. Fraser. There is another biography of him that is also well-read, Mountain Rain.
Fraser is best known for his strong emphasis on intercessory prayer. Intercessory prayer is pleading with Christ on behalf of another. Fraser was very serious about people back home praying for his missionary ministry. I would like to share several of these quotes on prayer to encourage you in the ministry of intercessory prayer.
The vital union must be maintained.
“Now the first thing was to strengthen the spiritual base of the work. Called to a forward movement, Fraser realized not only his dependence upon the Divine Leader but also upon the support of fellow believers, one with him in Christ. He might be the hand reaching out into the darkness, but not a hand cut off and thrown ahead of the body. The vital union must be maintained. He was about to start on an exploratory journey to the Lisu of the Upper Salween, a district then wholly untouched by missionary effort, but before doing so he felt he must give expression to a desire which had long been growing.
I know you will never fail me in the matter of intercession [he wrote to his mother in January] but will you think and pray about getting a group of like-minded friends, whether few or many, whether in one place or scattered, to join in the same petitions? If you could form a small prayer circle, I would write regularly to the members.”
Lasting missionary work is done on our knees.
“I am feeling more and more that it is, after all, just the prayers of God’s people that call down blessing upon the work, whether they are directly engaged in it or not. Paul may plant and Apollos water, but it is God who gives the increase; and this increase can be brought down from heaven by believing prayer, whether offered in China or in England.”
-
Waiting in Our Trials
Written by Michael S. Beates |
Thursday, April 11, 2024
The faithfulness of God to the saints needs to be a guide for our lives as we wait on God in our suffering and through our trials. Yes, sometimes the saints received deliverance and victory. Yet many times they also died in faith, not receiving such earthly deliverance, but most certainly (with the anchor of hope) they received the salvation of their souls (see Heb. 10–11).We know about storms in Florida. Our family home sat in the path of the eye of Hurricane Charlie almost twenty years ago. When the roof peeled off from part of the house, we were left with damage that took many months (and some tens of thousands of dollars) to repair. Most of our home required new walls, ceilings, and floors (and an entirely new kitchen that we affectionately call “Charlie’s Kitchen”). It was a long journey back to normal.
In 2023, Hurricane Idalia whipped through Florida, coming ashore in the Big Bend region. Many of the small towns there were devastated.
Such storms remind me of Mark Heard’s song “Eye of the Storm” (1983), wherein he sings of the safety that God’s people enjoy even in the midst of storms. In God’s providence, Heard weathered his own storm, suffering a heart attack at forty years old and then dying six weeks later from cardiac arrest.
We don’t need to be reminded that we live in a fallen and broken world. Our lives too often are filled with tragedy, injustice, heart-rending unmet expectations, and dashed hopes. Storms of the soul don’t come with damaging wind, but it certainly can seem as though our souls are tearing apart from forces rising against us. People and powers in authority over us too often lie and pervert justice; vocational callings can seem to dry up and disappear; family struggles destroy relationships and create seemingly unbridgeable chasms. Cancer, loss, life-altering disabilities—the list goes on and on. And as we wait for deliverance, we cry out, “How long, O Lord?”Jerry Bridges (perhaps most well known for his book The Pursuit of Holiness) knew these things too. I was blessed to work closely with Jerry at Ligonier Ministries (in 1989), writing a study guide for Dr. Sproul’s lecture series The Providence of God. Jerry had recently lost his wife, who suffered from and died as a result of a brain tumor. Through the darkness of this journey, he wrote Trusting God Even When Life Hurts, one of the best books on God’s sovereignty, suffering, and waiting. He told me privately that when his dear wife finally passed into glory, he needed to go back and read his book again. He needed to be reminded again of the goodness and trustworthiness of God.
Another account is Joni Eareckson Tada’s book A Place of Healing. She speaks from experience with great candor and grace after more than fifty years as a quadriplegic, waiting on God’s deliverance.
The psalmists knew these things (and it is interesting how, despite all the massive changes from the ancient world to our day, the human condition and suffering remain timeless). Three times across Psalms 42–43, the psalmists admit that their souls are downcast. The metaphors are rich and varied. The psalmists speak of being parched and desperate (42:1–3); they are being swept away by waves (42:7); they feel forgotten and wounded (42:7, 9).Read More
Related Posts: -
“Fact-Checking” the Resurrection
The resurrection of Christ Jesus was not a fantasy or a vast conspiracy. There were too many witnesses and too much written testimony to easily dismiss it. Today, skeptics should be encouraged to examine the historical evidence and then consider the evidence of Christ’s church.
Is Christianity private or public? Does the truth about Christ Jesus, who is the object of my faith, depend on my own private beliefs, or is there something verifiable that can be “fact-checked”? The reason I pose these questions is because we are living in a time when the determination of truth and untruth have turned inward, making one’s own personal beliefs the measure of what is true or not.
While examining and verifying evidence and testimony may be found in courts of law, in the press and many political and personal interactions it is common to observe persons passing off as truth what are merely their own feelings, opinions, and beliefs, often without evidence or verifiable testimony.
The resurrection of Jesus was a very public miracle.
Not so with the resurrection of Christ Jesus. The resurrection of Jesus was a very public miracle witnessed by many and supported by evidence at the time it occurred and afterward. The evidence is recorded in Scripture. There are about 5,250 ancient Greek manuscripts of books and parts of the New Testament that record Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The earliest is dated to about 90 years after his death (Rylands Library Papyrus 52).
Read More
Related Posts: -
Chasing the Rabbit
There is only one rabbit worth chasing: God himself. He is the only rabbit who can be caught and, at the same time, remain elusive. In Christ, you can catch God.[i] And yet, because he is infinite, you will never really catch him. Once you’ve tasted the true presence of God, you should know that nothing else will ever satisfy the way he can.
Bob Buford tells a story about dog races in his book Finishing Well that rattled my heart when I first read it and continues to shake me:
“One of my favorite stories is about the dog races in Florida. They train these dogs to chase an electric rabbit, and one night the rabbit broke down, and the dogs caught it. But they didn’t know what to do with it. They were just leaping around, yelping and biting one another, totally confused about what was happening. I think that’s a picture of what happens to all sorts of people who catch the rabbit in their life. Whether its wealth or fame or beauty or a bigger house or whatever, the prize isn’t what they thought it would be. And when they finally get it, they don’t know what to do with their lives.”
What rabbits have you caught in your life? I’ve caught a lot of rabbits in my life. And, like the dogs, they usually hang lifeless in my jaws once caught.
Read More
Related Posts:
