The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.
– William Booth –
November 20, 2012
The potency of prayer has subdued the strength of fire; it has bridled the rage of lions, hushed anarchy to rest, extinguished wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of death, expanded the gates of heaven, assuaged diseases, repelled frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. Prayer is an all-efficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a mine that is never exhausted, a sky unobscured by clouds, a heaven unruffled by the storm. It is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings.
– St. Chrysostom –
from EM Bounds’ book Purpose in Prayer
June 15, 2012
We have to learn to rely on the Holy Spirit because He alone gives the Word of God life. All our efforts to pump up faith in the Word of God is without quickening, without illumination. You reason to yourself and say, “Now God says this and I am going to believe it,” and you believe it, and re-believe it, and re-re-believe it, and nothing happens, simply because the vital power that makes the words living is not there.
– Oswald Chambers –
from Biblical Ethics