5. From 201-250
"Do we give sufficient attention to the theme of gaining Christ? It is our joy and privilege to know Him as God’s unspeakable gift, but none knew this more fully than the apostle Paul. But was he satisfied with this knowledge? Or was Paul’s soul-consuming desire, at all possible cost, to gain Christ; and thus to know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings? Oh that Christ may be so known by us as a ‘living, bright reality’ that our one desire-our one absorbing heart-passion may be that we personally gain Christ-that we personally know Him as the apostle longed to do." - Hudson Taylor
The essence of prayer does not consist in asking God for something but in opening our hearts to God, in speaking with Him, and living with Him in perpetual communion. Prayer is continual abandonment to God. Prayer does not mean asking God for all kinds of things we want; it is rather the desire for God Himself, the only Giver of Life, Prayer is not asking, but union with God. Prayer is not a painful effort to gain from God help in the varying needs of our lives. Prayer is the desire to possess God Himself, the Source of all life. The true spirit of prayer does not consist in asking for blessings, but in receiving Him who is the giver of all blessings, and in living a life of fellowship with Him." - Sadhu Sundar Singh
The Word of God represents all the possibilities of God as at the disposal of true prayer." -A. T. Pierson
"What a man is on his knees before God in secret, that will he be before men: that much and no more." -Fred Mitchell
"Whether we like it or not, asking is the rule of the Kingdom. If you may have everything by asking in His Name, and nothing without asking, I beg you to see how absolutely vital prayer is." -C. H. Spurgeon
"Prayer - secret, fervent, believing prayer - lies at the root of all personal godliness." -William Carey
"Job’s friends chose the right time to visit him, but took not the right course of improving their visit; had they spent the time in praying for him which they did in hot disputes with him, they would have profited him, and pleased God more." -William Gurnall
"The energies of the universe, nay, of God Himself, are at the disposal of those who pray - to the man who stirreth up himself to take hold of God." – Samuel Zwemer
"There is absolutely no substitute for this secret communion with God. The public Church services, or even the family altar, cannot take the place of the ’closet’ prayer. We must deliberately seek to meet with God absolutely alone, and to secure such aloneness with God we are bidden to ’enter into thy closet.’ God absolutely insists on this ’closet’-communion with Himself. One reason, no doubt, that He demands it, is to test our sincerity. There is no test for the soul like solitude. Do you shrink from solitude? Perhaps the cause for your neglect of the ’closet’ is a guilty conscience? You are afraid to enter into the solitude. You know that however cheerful you appear to be you are not really happy. You surround yourself with company lest, being alone, truth should invade your delusion…" – Gordon Cove
"Revival, as contrasted with a Holy Ghost atmosphere is a clean-cut breakthrough of the Spirit, a sweep of Holy Ghost power, bending the hearts of hardened sinners as the wheat before the wind, breaking up the fountains of the great deep, sweeping the whole range of the emotions, as the master hand moves across the harp strings, from the tears and cries of the penitent to the holy laughter and triumphant joy of the cleansed. They are fools who belittle such holy experiences and warn against ‘excessive emotionalism.’ Such do not even understand the make-up of ‘Mansoul,’ still less the ways of the Eternal Lover with His beloved." – Norman Grubb
"Prayer meetings are dead affairs when they are merely asking sessions; there is adventure, hope and life when they are believing sessions, and the faith is corporately, practically and deliberately affirmed." – Norman Grubb
"I want deliberately to encourage this mighty longing after God. The lack of it has brought us to our present low estate. The stiff and wooden quality about our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire. Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people. He waits to be wanted. Too bad that with many of us He waits so long, so very long, in vain." – A. W. Tozer
"Important as it is that we recognize God working in us, I would yet warn against an over preoccupation with the thought. It is a sure road to sterile passivity. God will not hold us responsible to understand the mysteries of election, predestination and the divine sovereignty. The best and safest way to deal with these truths is to raise our eyes to God and in deepest reverence say, ‘Oh Lord Thou knowest.’ Those things belong to the deep and mysterious Profound of God’s omniscience. Prying into them may make theologians, but it will never make saints." – A. W. Tozer
"Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified. The body becomes stronger as its members become healthier. The whole church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and a higher life." – A. W. Tozer
"It is morally impossible to exercise trust in God while there is failure to wait upon Him for guidance and direction. The man who does not learn to wait upon the Lord and have his thoughts molded by Him will never possess that steady purpose and calm trust, which is essential to the exercise of wise influence upon others, in times of crisis and difficulty." - D. E. Hoste
"I find it a good thing to fast. I do not lay down rules for anyone in this matter, but I know it has been a good thing for me to go without meals to get time for prayer. So many say they have not sufficient time to pray. We think nothing of spending an hour or two in taking our meals." - D. E. Hoste
"Should it not be recognized that the practice of prayer and intercession needs to be taught to young believers, or rather developed in young believers, quite as much, if not more so than other branches of the curriculum? Unless, however, we ourselves are, through constant persevering practice, truly alive unto God in this holy warfare, we shall be ineffective in influencing others. I am quite sure the rule holds that the more we pray the more we want to pray; the converse also being true." - D. E. Hoste
"When young people first come out, how this one or that one makes an impression by ability, zeal or personality. It is easy to imagine such and such a one is going to make a great success. But it is wiser to wait and see. Often the unnoticed and less gifted ones by sheer diligence and devotion become the successes." - D. E. Hoste
"I should like to allude to a few points in the character of Mr. Hudson Taylor which impressed me personally, and which I think had something to do with the blessing that God granted to his efforts on behalf of this country (China). First his prayerfulness; he was of necessity a busy man, but he always regarded prayer itself as in reality the most needful and important part of the work. He practically recognized that much time must be spent in seeking God’s guidance, if a right understanding was to be obtained of the problems and difficulties that confronted him, in carrying on the work of the Mission. He knew that in no other way was the power of the Holy Spirit to be obtained for himself and his brethren, as they sought to develop the work. I venture on this occasion, not only to impress upon myself, but upon you as well, the importance of our copying him in this respect." - D. E. Hoste
"Out of a very intimate acquaintance with D. L. Moody, I wish to testify that he was a far greater pray-er than he was preacher. Time and time again, he was confronted by obstacles that seemed insurmountable, but he always knew the way to overcome all difficulties. He knew the way to bring to pass anything that needed to be brought to pass. He knew and believed in the deepest depths of his soul that nothing was too hard for the Lord, and that prayer could do anything that God could do. " – R. A. Torrey
"All great soul-winners have been men of much and mighty prayer, and all great revivals have been preceded and carried out by persevering, prevailing knee-work in the closet." – Samuel Logan Brengle
"God has created both the mother’s milk and the child’s desire to drink it. But the milk does not flow of itself into the child’s mouth. No, the child must lie in its mother bosom and suck the milk diligently. God has created the spiritual food which we need. He has filled the soul of man with desire for this food, with an impulse to cry out for it and to drink it in. The spiritual milk, the nourishment of our souls, we receive through prayer. By means of fervent prayer we must receive it into our souls. As we do this we become stronger day by day, just like the infant at the breast." - Sadhu Sundar Singh
"We have found no means so much blessed to keep religion alive as FASTING and PRAYER." - Edward Payson
"It is not enough for the believer to begin to pray, nor to pray correctly; nor is it enough to continue for a time to pray. We must patiently, believingly continue in prayer until we obtain an answer. Further, we have not only to continue in prayer until the end, but we have also to believe that God does hear us and will answer our prayers. Most frequently we fail in not continuing in prayer until the blessing is obtained, and in not expecting the blessing. Those who are disciples of the Lord Jesus should labor with all their might in the work of God as if everything depended upon their own endeavors. Yet, having done so, they should not in the least trust in their labor and efforts, nor in the means that they use for the spread of the truth, but in God alone; and they should with all earnestness seek the blessing of God in persevering, patient, and believing prayer. Here is the great secret of success, my Christian reader. Work with all your might, but never trust in your work. Pray with all your might for the blessing in God, but work at the same time with all diligence, with all patience, with all perseverance. Pray, then, and work. Work and pray. And still again pray, and then work. And so on, all the days of your life. The result will surely be abundant blessing. Whether you see much fruit or little fruit, such kind of service will be blessed." – George Muller
"To every toiling, heavy-laden sinner, Jesus says, ‘Come to me and rest’. But there are many toiling, heavy-laden believers, too. For them this same invitation is meant. Note well the words of Jesus, if you are heavy-laden with your service, and do not mistake it. It is not, ‘Go, labor on,’ as perhaps you imagine. On the contrary, it is stop, turn back, ‘Come to me and rest.’ Never, never did Christ send a heavy laden one to work; never, never did He send a hungry one, a weary one, a sick or sorrowing one, away on any service. For such the Bible only says, ‘Come, come, come.’ – Hudson Taylor
"The neglect of prayer is a grand hindrance to holiness." - John Wesley
"God will not let me get the blessing without asking. Today I am setting my face to fast and pray for enlightenment and refreshing. Until I can get up to the measure of at least two hours in pure prayer every day, I shall not be contented. Meditation and reading besides." - Andrew Bonar
"One of the special marks of the Holy Ghost in the Apostolic Church was the spirit of boldness. One of the most essential qualities of faith that is to attempt great things for God and expect great things from God, is holy audacity. Where we are dealing with a supernatural Being, and taking from Him things that are humanly impossible, it is easier to take much than little; it is easier to stand in a place of audacious trust than in a place of cautious, timid clinging to the shore. Likewise, seamen in the life of faith, let us launch out into the deep, and find that all things are possible with God, and all things are possible unto him that believeth." - A. B. Simpson
"Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things, ‘above all that we ask or think’. Each time, before you Intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things!" - Andrew Murray
"When we find anything promised in the Word of God, we are not to neglect to seek it because it is promised: but we are to pray for it on that very account. ‘Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock" (Ezekiel 36:37). The promise is absolute; but the time of its fulfillment depends upon the prayers of His people." - B. T. Roberts
"The reason why we obtain no more in prayer is because we expect no more. God usually answers us according to our own hearts." - Richard Allelne
"Some years ago in China, at a meeting of missionaries and Chinese pastors, one of the Chinese pastors made a striking address. He said that he and his brethren were more than grateful to those who brought them the word of life and the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, but yet, he said, there was one thing more which missionaries should teach their spiritual children. This new thing was to pray with authority, so that they might know how to take their stand in faith before the throne and rebuke the forces of evil, holding steady and firm, and gain the victory over them. That same need is tremendously evident today in the experiences of all that are seeking to walk closely with the Lord, and to stand for Him in the face of increasing opposition. Some have spoken of this as ‘throne prayer’- praying with one’s hand touching the throne of God." - T. Stanley Soltau
"It is very much easier to work than to pray. Most of the missionaries are earnest workers. But are we all that we should be in the matter of prayer? Let us not suppose that just any sort of praying will do for China. We must all wrestle with God. ‘I will not let Thee go unless Thou bless China.’ It must come to this if the conversion of the Chinese is ever to be an accomplished fact. Such is my conviction. Let me remind you that the greatest importunity is not incompatible with the profoundest submission to the Divine will." - Griffith John
"It must be remembered that there is spiritual wickedness at the back of all confusion and discord in the work of God. The servant of Christ must, therefore, practically recognize that his warfare is with these satanic beings and must be waged on his knees." - D. E. Hoste
"He who has no vision of ETERNITY will never get a true hold of TIME." - T. Carlyle
"Live near to God, and so all things will appear to you little in comparison with eternal realities." - Robert Murray M’Cheyne
"The neglected heart will soon be a heart overrun with worldly thoughts; the neglected life will soon become a moral chaos; the church that is not jealously protected by mighty intercession and sacrificial labors will before long become the abode of every evil bird and the hiding place for unsuspected corruption. The creeping wilderness will soon take over that church that trusts in its own strength and forgets to watch and pray." - A. W. Tozer
"We have not been men of prayer. The spirit of prayer has slumbered among us. The closet has been too little frequented and delighted in. We have allowed business, study or active labor to interfere with our closet-hours. And the feverish atmosphere in which both the church and the nation are enveloped has found its way into our prayer closets…" - Andrew Bonar
"Why is there so little forethought in the laying out of time and employment, so as secure a large portion of each day for prayer? Why is there so much speaking, yet so little prayer? Why Is there so much running to and fro to meetings, conventions, fellowship gatherings and yet so little time for prayer’? Brethren, why so many meetings with our fellow men and so few meetings with God?" - Andrew Bonar
"A godly man is a praying man. As soon as grace is poured in, prayer is poured out. Prayer is the soul’s traffic with Heaven; God comes down to us by His Spirit, and we go up to Him by prayer." - Thomas Watson
"If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me." - Robert Murray M’Cheyne
"Men of prayer are men of faith; closet supplicants make faith’s heroes." – The War Cry (1895)
"If I am concerned that my flock be men and women of prayer, then, as their pastor, I must lead the way; apathy in me will produce apathy in them. The church prayer meeting ought to be the best attended in the week, and if it is, success will follow the ministry of the Word at the weekends. I would rather a thousand times set men and women to pray than teach them to preach." " - J. D. Drysdale
"I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach." - J. H. Jowett
"Oh, how few find time for prayer! There is time for everything else, time to sleep and time to eat, time to read the newspaper and the novel, time to visit friends, time for everything else under the sun, but-no time for prayer, the most important of all things, the one great essential!" -Oswald Smith
"On the mountains, torrents flow right along, cutting their own courses. But on the plains canals have to be dug out painfully by men so that the water might flow. So among those who live on the heights with God, the Holy Spirit makes its way through of its own accord, whereas those who devote little time to prayer and communion with God have to organize painfully." -Sadhu Sunder Singh
"Groanings which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused." - C. H. Spurgeon
"God’s greatest gifts to man come through travail. Whether we look into the spiritual or temporal sphere, can we discover anything, any great reform, any beneficial discovery, any soul-awakening revival, which did not come through the tolls and tears, the vigils and blood-shedding of men and woman whose sufferings were the pangs of Its birth?" - F. B. Meyer
"Some people become tired at the end of ten minutes or half an hour of prayer. What will they do when they have to spend Eternity in the presence of God? We must begin the habit here and become used to being with God." - Sadhu Sundar Singh
"Prayer is reaching out after the unseen; fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal. Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God." - Andrew Murray