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    The Prayer Life: Persevering in Prayer
    The Prayer Life: Persevering in Prayer
    The Prayer Life: Persevering in Prayer
    Ebook147 pages2 hours

    The Prayer Life: Persevering in Prayer

    By Andrew Murray

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    About this ebook

    Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching in this with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. – Ephesians 6:18

    The sin of prayerlessness as one of the deepest roots of the evil. Few can plead themselves free from this. Nothing so reveals the defective spiritual life in a pastor and the congregation as the lack of believing and unceasing prayer. Prayer is indeed the very pulse of the spiritual life. It is the great means of bringing to a pastor and the people the blessing and power of heaven. Persevering and believing prayer means a strong and abundant spiritual life.

    Chapters included in this book...
    The Sin of Prayerlessness
    How to Be Delivered from Prayerlessness
    The Blessing of Victory
    The Example of Our Lord
    The Holy Spirit and Prayer
    The Holiness of God
    Obedience and the Victorious Life
    Time in Inner Chamber
    Taking Up the Cross
    The Holy Spirit and the Cross

    About the Author
    Andrew Murray (1828-1917) was a well-known South African writer, teacher, and pastor. More than two million copies of his books have been sold, and his name is mentioned among other great leaders of the past, such as Charles Spurgeon, T. Austin-Sparks, George Muller, D. L. Moody, and more.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAneko Press
    Release dateNov 1, 2018
    ISBN9781622455935
    The Prayer Life: Persevering in Prayer
    Author

    Andrew Murray

    ANDREW MURRAY (1828-1917) was a church leader, evangelist, and missionary statesman. As a young man, Murray wanted to be a minister, but it was a career choice rather than an act of faith. Not until he had finished his general studies and begun his theological training in the Netherlands, did he experience a conversion of heart. Sixty years of ministry in the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa, more than 200 books and tracts on Christian spirituality and ministry, extensive social work, and the founding of educational institutions were some of the outward signs of the inward grace that Murray experienced by continually casting himself on Christ. A few of his books include The True Vine, Absolute Surrender, The School of Obedience, Waiting on God, and The Prayer Life.

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      Book preview

      The Prayer Life - Andrew Murray

      The_Prayer_Life_-_Front_Web.jpg

      The

      Prayer

      Life

      Persevering in Prayer

      Andrew Murray

      Contents

      Foreword

      Ch. 1: The Sin of Prayerlessness

      Ch. 2: The Fight against Prayerlessness

      Ch. 3: How to Be Delivered from Prayerlessness

      Ch. 4: The Blessing of Victory

      Ch. 5: The Example of Our Lord

      Ch. 6: The Holy Spirit and Prayer

      Ch. 7: The Holiness of God

      Ch. 8: Obedience and the Victorious Life

      Ch. 9: Time in Inner Chamber

      Ch. 10: The Example of Paul

      Ch. 11: Wholeheartedness in Preaching and Prayer

      Ch. 12: Persevere in Prayer

      Ch. 13: George Müller and Hudson Taylor

      Ch. 14: The Spirit of the Cross

      Ch. 15: Taking Up the Cross

      Ch. 16: The Holy Spirit and the Cross

      Epilogue

      Andrew Murray – A Brief Biography

      Foreword

      A few words with regard to the origin of this book and why it was written will help you understand its teaching. It was the outcome of a conference of ministers at Stellenbosch, South Africa, April 11-14, 1912. The occasion of the conference was as follows: Professor de Vos, of our theological seminary, had written a long letter to the ministers of our church (Dutch Reformed Church) concerning the low state of spiritual life that marked the church (universal) generally, which he said ought to lead us to inquire as to how far that statement included our church, too.

      What had been said in the letter, titled The State of the Church, called for deep searching of heart. Professor de Vos thought there could be no doubt about the truth of the statement in regard to the lack of spiritual power. He asked if it was time for us to come together and in God’s presence to find out what might be the cause of the evil. He wrote, If only we study the conditions in all sincerity, we will have to acknowledge that our unbelief and sin are the cause of the lack of spiritual power; that this condition is one of sin and guilt before God, and is nothing less than a direct grieving of God’s Holy Spirit.

      His invitation met with a heart-felt response. Our four theological professors, along with more than two hundred ministers, missionaries, and theological students, came together with the above words as the keynote of our meeting. From the very first speech, there was the tone of confession as the only way to repentance and restoration. At a subsequent meeting, the opportunity was given for testimony as to what the sins might be that made the life of the church so feeble. Some began to mention failings that they had seen in other ministers, either in conduct, doctrine, or service. It was soon felt that this was not the right way; each person must acknowledge the sins of which he himself is guilty.

      The Lord graciously so directed it that we were gradually led to the sin of prayerlessness as one of the deepest roots of the evil. No one could plead himself free from this. Nothing so reveals the defective spiritual life in a pastor and the congregation as the lack of believing and unceasing prayer. Prayer is indeed the very pulse of the spiritual life. It is the great means of bringing to a pastor and the people the blessing and power of heaven. Persevering and believing prayer means a strong and abundant spiritual life.

      When the spirit of confession began to prevail, the question arose as to if it would be indeed possible to expect to gain the victory over all that had hindered our prayer lives in the past. In smaller conferences held previously, it had been found that many were most anxious to make a new beginning, and yet did not have the courage to expect that they would be able to maintain that prayer life that they saw to be in accordance with the Word of God. They had often tried, but had failed. They did not dare to make any promise to the Lord to live and pray as He wanted them to; they felt that it was impossible.

      Such confessions gradually led to the great truth that the only power for a new prayer life is to be found in an entirely new relationship with our blessed Savior. It is as we see in Him the Lord who saves us from sin – including the sin of prayerlessness – and our faith yields itself to a life of closer communion with Him, that a life in His love and fellowship will make prayer to Him the natural expression of our soul’s life.

      Before we parted, many were able to testify that they were returning home with new light and new hope to find in Jesus Christ strength for a new prayer life. Many felt that this was only a beginning. Satan, who had so long prevailed against the inner chamber (also known as the prayer closet – the place where we spend time alone in communion with God), would do his utmost with his temptations to make us yield once again to the power of the flesh and the world. Nothing but the teaching and the fellowship of Christ Himself could ever give the power to remain faithful.

      The need was felt for some statement of the truths that had been dealt with at the conference, to remind those who had been present of what they had learned and of what would help them in their new pursuit of that prayer life that is so essential to a pastor’s success. It was also needed for those who had not been able to attend, and also for the elders in our churches, who in many cases were deeply interested in hearing what the meetings that their ministers had attended were about. So, a book was put together.

      Early copies of the book were sent out with the thought that if the leaders of the church, the ministers and elders, begin to see that in spiritual work everything depends upon prayer and that God Himself is the helper of those who wait on Him, it would indeed be a day of hope for our church as a whole. At the same time, it was meant for all believers who long for a life of entire separation to the Lord. For all who desired to pray more and pray better, it sought to point them to the glory of God in the inner chamber, and the way in which that glory can rest upon the soul.

      When first asked to have the book translated into English, I felt as if it had been put together too quickly, and its language was too informal to make this book desirable. My own limited strength made it impossible for me to think of rewriting it. When, however, my friend Reverend W. M. Douglas asked permission to translate it, I gave my consent. If God has a message through the book to any of His servants, I would count it a privilege to tell what He has done here in our church, as a suggestion of what He may do in other churches.

      I close with my greetings to all the ministers of the gospel and to the Christians who may read these pages. I pray fervently that the grace of God that very clearly brought conviction of sin among us and confession of our deep need and helplessness, resulting in the vision and faith of what Jesus Christ can do for those who trust Him, may give to those who read this book the courage to take counsel with his fellow Christians and to seek for and obtain that full fellowship with God in prayer that is the very essence of the Christian life.

      It has been said that it is only the prayerless who are too proud to admit their prayerlessness. Let us believe that there are many hearts waiting for the call inviting them to united and wholehearted confession of shortcomings, as this is the only certain way of a return and restoration to God’s favor and the experience of what He will do in answer to prayer.

      I want to add one word more, in regard to the Pentecostal prayer meetings held throughout our church. These have had a very interesting and important place in our work. At the time of the great revival in America and Ireland in 1858 and the following years, some of our elder ministers issued a letter urging the churches to pray that God might visit us, too. In 1860, the revival broke out in various parishes. In April 1861, there was very deep interest shown in the Paarl, South Africa, in one of our oldest congregations. During the week preceding Pentecost Sunday, the minister, who ordinarily preached only once on a Sunday, announced that in the afternoon there would be a public prayer meeting in the church. The occasion was one of extraordinary interest, and many hearts were deeply touched. As one result, the minister suggested that in the future, the ten days between Ascension Day and Pentecost Sunday should be observed by daily prayer meetings. This took place the following year.

      The blessing then received was such that all the neighboring congregations took up the suggestion, and now for fifty years, the ten days of prayer have been observed throughout the whole church. Each year, notes were issued as subjects of addresses and prayer, and the result has been that throughout our whole church, Christians have been educated in the knowledge of what God’s Word teaches regarding the Holy Spirit, and they have been stirred to seek Him and to yield themselves to His blessed leading. These ten days have often proved the occasion for special effort with the unconverted, and of partial revival. They have been the means of untold blessing in leading ministers and people to recognize the place that the Holy Spirit ought to have as the executive of the Godhead in the heart of the believer, in dealing with souls, and in consecration to the service of the kingdom.

      There is still very much indeed lacking of the full knowledge and power of the Holy Spirit, but we feel that we cannot be sufficiently grateful to God for what He has done in leading us to dedicate these days to special prayer for the moving of His Holy Spirit.

      I have written this with the thought that there may be some who will be glad to know of it, and in their sphere to join with us in seeking God in prayer.

      Andrew Murray

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      Chapter 1

      The Sin of Prayerlessness

      If conscience is to do its work and the remorseful heart is to feel its misery, it is necessary that each individual should mention his sin by name. The confession must be extremely personal. In a meeting of pastors, there is

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