Thoughts on Prayer from Martyn Lloyd Jones

These are some of Martyn Lloyd-Jones' thoughts on how we should pray in public prayer meetings.  These things are taken from the book "Memories of Sansfield" by his wife Bethan Lloyd-Jones.


We should not be too personal, but remember that whoever is praying is leading all of the congregation to the Throne of Grace.

'It would be better in the public prayer meeting not to make mysterious references and ask God to "bless that person I spoke to yesterday, who was in such trouble." and so on, It isn't necessary and it breaks people's concentration on their prayers, while their minds go wandering off, wondering who that person was!'

Don't make long prayers.  Many people want to pray and we must not be selfish with the time.

There's Light Even in Darkness

    God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.  Genesis 1:16

    Often when referring to the spiritual state of a person we relate it to walking in darkness (night) or walking in the light (day).  This is a good picture of where we stand because God is light (1 John 1:5) and because through Christ we have a new life we want to walk in the light with Him (Ephesians 5:8).  However the wicked practice their evil deeds in darkness because they hate the light(John 3:19).  They know that what they are doing is wrong and do  not want to be exposed (John 3:20). 

     My question then is this, why do the wicked hide from the light if they are in darkness and don't know truth?  Why do they continue to say that there is no God when they would say murder is a crime?  It's because even though they are in darkness there is still light there also.  God made the night also and He made a "lesser light to govern [it]; He made the stars also."  Every Sinner has some sense of Truth that God has given him.  He has a conscience and therefore knows that some things are inherently wrong.  God has also placed us, Christians, in the lives of the lost to be twinkling stars to them so they can see even a fragment of light.  The sinner is without excuse; God has been merciful to him and yet he still practices wickedness thinking there is no one to see (Psalm 64:5)!  Even what the lost person practices in the darkness is seen by God(Psalm 33:13).

    With this in mind may we be the brightest stars in the sky so that men might see there sin and turn to the Lord!

My Gift

I was not granted the ability to write great songs or poems that man may admire.
I was not given great intellect that people should learn amazing things from me.

I was not blessed with a beautiful voice that many long to hear.

I cannot play instruments in such a way that would move someone’s soul or write a masterpiece that will be played for years to come.

Regardless of my inabilities, the Lord has blessed me with one great gift.  This gift is life and with every ounce of this gift I will glorify Him!

In my life Lord Be glorified, be glorified In my life, Lord Be glorified today.

Take My Life

     Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

~Romans 12:1

    I went for a little visit of five days (to Areley House). There were ten persons in the house, some unconverted and long prayed for, some converted, but not rejoicing Christians. He gave me the prayer, “Lord, give me all in this house!” And He just did. Before I left the house everyone had got a blessing. The last night of my visit after I had retired, the governess asked me to go to the two daughters. They were crying, then and there both of them trusted and rejoiced; it was nearly midnight. I was too happy to sleep, and passed most of the night in praise and renewal of my own consecration; and these little couplets formed themselves, and chimed in my heart one after another till they finished with “Ever, Only, ALL for Thee!”

Havergal Manuscripts

Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.


Source:   http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/m/tmlalib.htm

Walking with Integrity of Heart

I was reading in Psalm 101 and verse 2 stuck out to me.  It says, “I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.”  What an amazing thing! This means walking with the Lord and being righteous even when you are alone.  It is easy when you are around people to look or act like the type of Christian you know you ought to be; but when you are in the comforts of your own home you let yourself go.  It is easy to let your mind wander to unprofitable things.  It is easy to let down your guard and watch, read, or even do things you would never do around other people. 

The next verse, verse 3, says “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes.” This could mean any number of things.  It could mean books, movies, TV shows, things on the internet; whatever it may be it must NOT have leeway in your life.  When you allow something worthless to set before your eyes you are allowing your brain to take that thing in. Your brain wonders “how would that feel,” “What would that be like,”  “what does that taste like?” or any number of other things.  When something is set before your eyes your heart is being fed from it; whether, it is good and profitable or junk and worthless.  Therefore, when worthless things are set before you, your heart is turned towards those things. It is harder to walk in integrity of heart anywhere, especially in your home. 

With this in mind let us strive to walk in integrity of heart in our homes.  To do this we must nurture our relationship with God and take care of it.  We must cast out anything that will be a stumbling block,  no matter how drastic we have to be we MUST get rid of it! Christ says “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; it is better for you to lose on part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.” (Matt 5:29-30)  May we see sin as we ought and have the desire and will power, through Christ,  to get rid of it.

Lift up your eyes and look

"Then I lifted up my eyes and looked..." ~Zechariah 1:18
Notice that in this book Zechariah had to lift his eyes to behold the things God wanted to show him.  How true this is of us as well in our day to day walk.  We must repeatedly lift up our eyes just as Zechariah did to behold the things of God (1:18; 2:1).  When a vision was given the prophets did not look down at their feet or around at their surroundings but they looked up!  We must always be looking up and to the Lord or we will not see what He has to show us.
"These are the horns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts his head." ~Zechariah 1:21
We must beware of getting into positions where we can not lift our heads.  This can happen when we become distracted by earthly things. We start looking at things we need and things we want and stop looking up and at God.  He takes care of us (Matt. 6:25-36)  all we need to do is look to Him.
We can also fall into this pit by doubting God and becoming discouraged in prayer.  The Devil will use these things to us from lifting up our heads and seeing the truth.  Satan will slander God to us saying "God doesn't really care about something as minuscule as that," or "why would a big and mighty God answer something as small and insignificant as you?" or even still, "if He hasn't answered by now what makes you think that praying more will help, He's probably tired of hearing you anyways." All of these things will cause our eyes to be cast down and our heads to be bowed in defeat, be we must remember the promises of God has given and hold fast to them (John 16:22).  We must be bold and lift our eyes to the heavens so that we can see God as He truly is.
You can only see where you are going if you keep your head up and your eyes on your destination.  When you look down or take your eyes off your destination you will end up losing your way.
Lift up your eyes and look to God!

No good thing will God withhold

"He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children. Praise the Lord."  ~Psalm 113:9
The reason this verse stood out to me was because it says that this woman was "barren."  This barrenness was caused by sin.  Think about it, the whole reason why there is sickness, death, and other sorrows is because of the fall of man.  Had it not been for man sinning against God we would not know these heartaches.
This woman very much desired to have children but God withholds this thing from her, not because He is a dream killer and He doesn't want her to be happy, but because He loves her and knows that it isn't in her best interest to have children.
"He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children."  Though, she is not able to have children, God still gives her joy.  God will not forbid that which your heart most desires and give you something that will give you less joy.  He will give you something that will give you just as much joy if not more than you ever hoped to have.
God does not withhold good things from His children if He does not intend to give them something greater.
You see here that the work of God benefited both the children and the woman and so it will be with the gifts God gives us.  The gift will benefit not only us but everyone involved or around us.
God has planned the beginning, the end, and the means by which we will get to the end.  "Praise the LORD!"

"Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men." Psalm 107:8

Last night a young man died from drowning in a pond with a campus crusade group.  My heart aches from this tragedy.  A life without God dying an abrupt death.  I keep thinking "Why did God allow this to happen, why didn't he spare his life and save him? Why did God allow this guy to die?".  These questions only show my small understanding of God.  When I was thinking about all of these "why didn't God do this or that" questions God asked me "Am I not just, do I not know what is best for the lives I have created?" How absurd it is of me to think that God should have done anything differently than what he did.  It is only by His wonderful mercy that I am here even now! There are many many times where all odds were against me and I should have died, but God in His lovingkindness spared me! God must execute justice or His mercies toward us would mean nothing.  God's ways are perfect.  We must believe this.  If we don't believe it, then all hope is lost and we have belittled God. "Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan His works in vain.  God is His own interpreter and He will make it plain" (God Moves in a Mysterious Way).  Though I don't know why God allow this young man to die, I know that God's reasons were just and holy.  One day I will know the reason, whether here on Earth or when I get to Heaven, but until then I need to trust that the Lord knows best!
"Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men." Psalm 107:8

For those of you who read this post I'm very sorry if it's a little scattered but I hope that God can use it to encourage you.

Psalm 105:19

"Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him."  Isn't that amazing!?!  The Lord tested Joseph before He fulfilled His promise.  So many times it looked as if the promise of the Lord would never come to pass.  Then things would look up for Joseph, for example, When he was in Potipher's house.  It looks like everything is going to turn out for good, then he gets thrown in jail for something he didn't do.  After being there for a while things begin to seem to be turning towards the fulfillment of God's promise again.  The cup bearer is going to tell Pharaoh about Joseph! He's going to get out for sure! How excited Joseph must have been with these thoughts.  But wait, this is not God's plan. God says, "No, not yet.  It is not time for Joseph to be exalted just yet.  I want him to trust me and not a man putting in a good word for him"  And so the cup bearer forgets.  He is enjoying being free and having his old job back.  He's enjoying being free so much that he forgets all about the promise that he made to Joseph.  How typical this is of men.  They will make promises and then they forget.  But this is not so with God! God never forgot Joseph or the promise He made to Joseph.  He was simply teaching and testing him.  Finally when the time came, God once again brought Joseph into the mind of the cup bearer.  Joseph came in at the perfect time and God helped him save the lives of an entire nation. 
God does not forget what He has promised.

What is the Worth of a Life that isn't Lived for Christ?

    What is the worth of a life that is not lived for God? The obvious answer to this question is nothing.  A life without God is worth absolutely Nothing! But why is your life worthless without God?  It's worthless because that's the whole reason why you were made.  You were made to live your life for Him.  You were made to glorify Him.  When you don't follow Him and glorify Him in your life then  you aren't doing the very thing that you were created to do. 
      If this is what I was created for then why do I so often, even as a Christian, live for myself.  When will I learn "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." Galatians 2:20

Life

As I was sitting in the cemetery  I thought about the brevity of life. As I walked around looking at the tombstones   it occurred to me that these were people just like me. They had a life, a family, friends, things that they enjoyed doing, and things that they despised.  They laughed and they cried.  They loved people and, at times, were hurt by those very same people. They each had their own story; their own quirks.  They lived a life that was unique, but now they are gone.  There is nothing left to show that they were here, except for a cold lifeless stone stating the facts: name, birth, death.  Even those things may not be seen on the tombstones.  Some of the names are hard to read because they have been worn away with the years and changing of the season. Some of the tombstones have fallen or can not be found because they are buried under the dirt now. Some of these graves, I am sad to say, have had moles and other creatures digging through them, but this is reality! We are born, we live, we die.  This is all there is to this, right? Wrong!  That can not be it, that can't be the only reason we live.  If all there is to this world is to live and die, to be forgotten then what is the point of living in the first place?  Though these people are dead in physically their soul is still alive.  I sat looking at the tombstones and I wondered how many knew their Father in life and therefore are with Him now.  I wonder how many had a stiff neck and refused to come to Christ in life and as a consequence are paying for their own sins in eternal destruction.  Who were the religious ones, who put faith in their own works? Who were the ones who did not seek but were found? Who were the ones that walked many years with God or the ones who found Him as the thief on the cross did, in the last moments? Are they among the forgotten? Their Father has not forgotten them even if man has.  God had a purpose for them and knew what their life and death would bring in the end.  Praise Him! Though I may be forgotten by man, my accomplishments along with my failures, God won't forget me.  He will remember the things I have accomplished through Christ in this life and because of Christ my failures (sins) have been paid for already.  I stand before God clothed in the righteousness of Christ in life as well as death!

Thoughts on Luke 5:4-6

"...He [Jesus] said to Simon,'Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.' Simon answered and said,'Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as you say and let down the nets.' When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break."
Jesus told Simon to cast out again knowing that they had fished all night. After fishing for so long surely Simon was tired. He probably wanted to just give up, go home, and go to sleep. Not only had he fished all night, but he had not caught a single fish. Simon had nothing to show for all of his hard work. Despite being tired and discouraged he did as the Lord had commanded him and cast out yet again. Surely he thought that nothing would come of it this time. Surely he had his doubts and was only doing it because he knew it was right to obey. What a surprise Simon had then when he cast out his net again and "when they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish"! Surely Simon and all the men were amazed and filled with joy! Having followed the Lord they received more than they had ever thought possible.
When Simon and the men used their own knowledge of fishing they did not catch anything, but when they listened to Christ they got more than they had expected.
No matter how much we think we know God always knows what is best for us, even in the little things.