An Article of Faith

The secret of the incredible results of George Mueller’s life (who prayed in over $40 million to take care of orphans while never mentioning any need to anyone except God) was not simply that he knew God could do things, but that he prayed and trusted without wavering until God did do things. He depended on God alone but also expected God’s intervention and answers to his prayers. And in the process, he showed the world that God was a prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God.
In an interview a year before his death, Mueller was asked if he spent much time on his knees. He replied, “Hours, every day. But I live in the spirit of prayer, I pray as I walk, when I lie down and when I rise. And the answers are always coming. Tens of thousands of times have my prayers been answered. When once I am persuaded a thing is right, I go on praying for it until the end comes. I never give up!”
And he continued: “The great point is to never give up until the answer comes. I have been praying for 52 years, every day for two men, sons of a friend of my youth. They are not converted yet, but they will be! How can it be otherwise? There is the unchanging promise of Jehovah, and on that, I rest. The great fault of the children of God is, they do not continue in prayer; they do not go on praying; they do not persevere. If they desire anything for God’s glory, they should pray until they get it.” (One of those men was saved at Mueller’s funeral, the other not many months after his death.)
The psalmist in Psalm 85 expected God to work in such a way that “gory may dwell in our land.” This is one of the best definitions of awakening. It is God’s glory invading the earth. God’s glory is His nature, His character, His life. The heavens are constantly declaring this magnificence that changes everything (see Psalm 19; Romans 1:20). The psalmist cries out, not for a temporary fix, but that God’s glory would “dwell,” that is, that His glory would settle down and be at home – “on earth as it is in heaven.”
And he was expecting that visitation for his own land. His own nation.
The results of God’s glory invading a nation are breathtaking and unique. The church is revived with incredible passion, the lost are awakened with staggering rapidity, the culture is changed in ways that could never be accomplished otherwise, and the mission is rapidly advanced. The kingdom spreads.
Taken and adapted from: OneCry: A Nationwide Call for Spiritual Awakening. Visit www.onecry.com.)
“Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10 NASB95.)
“If My people,” declares the LORD, “who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV.)

Jessie J. Charpentier Sr. is pastor of Jenkins Memorial Baptist Church in St. Martinville.