As
I sorted books the other day (We sort a lot of books here, seems we swim in
books sometimes. My husband gave away thirteen boxes of books when he moved his
office and we still have a storage room full of book boxes.), I came upon a
copy of With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray. I’d been asking
the Lord what I might do during Lent to draw me closer to Him, and this
thirty-one day devotional guide seemed to be a part of His answer.
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An
eighteenth century South African pastor, Murray was instrumental in revival
movements of his day, and his writings have been influential in the lives of many over the past one
hundred and fifty years.
In
his preface, he writes, “If there is one thing I think the Church needs to
learn it is that God means prayer to have an answer, and that it hath not
entered into the heart of man to conceive what God will do for his child who
gives himself to believe that his prayer will be heard. God hears prayer; that
is a truth universally admitted, but of which very few understand the meaning,
or experience the power.”
This
preface written over a hundred years ago also bears a present day reality. Today,
we still talk about how God hears prayer. But many of my prayers are faithless
and halfhearted. I want that to change.
So
beginning tomorrow, through the heart of Lent from March 1 to 31, I’ll be
reading Andrew Murray’s devotionals on prayer. And I’ll be praying.
If
you’d like to join me on this journey, the book is in public domain, so I here
are a couple of places where you can read it online for free or download to your reader. Click
here or here.
I’d
love to hear what God is speaking to your heart.
"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you..." (James 4:8)