I’ve been reminded this morning that the first century church was a praying church. “…constantly in prayer…” What might happen if we took on that same habit? “…constantly in prayer…” I believe we would become ”Acts” type Christians. Seeing many saved. Constantly growing in grace and love. Healings among us. Spiritual power.

Father, take away my dependence on other things. Make me totally dependent upon you. Make me a man of prayer. Allow me to see the things that can only be brought about by prayer. Amen

By almost every standard known to modern missionary boards, David Brainerd would have been rejected as a missionary candidate. He was tubercular — died of that disease at twenty-nine — and from his youth was frail and sickly. He never finished college, being expelled from Yale for criticizing a professor and for his interest and attendance in meetings of the “New Lights,” a religious organization. He was prone to be melancholy and despondent.

Yet this young man, who would have been considered a real risk by any present-day mission board, became a missionary to the American Indians and, in the most real sense, “the pioneer of modern missionary work.” Brainerd began his ministry with the Indians in April, 1743, at Kannameek, New York, then ministered in Crossweeksung and Cranberry (near Newark), New Jersey. These were the areas of his greatest successes.

Brainerd’s first journey to the Forks of the Delaware to reach that ferocious tribe resulted in a miracle of God that preserved his life and revered him among the Indians as a “Prophet of God.” Encamped at the outskirts of the Indian settlement, Brainerd planned to enter the Indian community the next morning to preach to them the Gospel of Christ. Unknown to him, his every move was being watched by warriors who had been sent out to kill him. F.W. Boreham recorded the incident:

But when the braves drew closer to Brainerd’s tent, they saw the paleface on his knees. And as he prayed, suddenly a rattlesnake slipped to his side, lifted up its ugly head to strike, flicked its forked tongue almost in his face, and then without any apparent reason, glided swiftly away into the brushwood. “The Great Spirit is with the paleface!” the Indians said; and thus they accorded him a prophet’s welcome.

That incident in Brainerd’s ministry illustrates more than the many Divine interventions of God in his life — it also illustrates the importance and intensity of prayer in Brainerd’s life. Believe it — Brainerd prayed! Read the Life and Diary of David Brainerd. On page after page one reads such sentences as:

Wednesday, April 21 …and God again enabled me to wrestle for numbers of souls, and had much fervency in the sweet duty of intercession…

Lord’s Day, April 25. This morning I spent about two hours in secret duties and was enabled more than ordinarily to agonize for immortal souls. Though it was early in the morning and the sun scarcely shined at all, yet my body was quite wet with sweat…

Saturday, December 15. Spent much time in prayer in the woods and seemed raised above the things of this world…

Monday, March 14 …in the morning was almost continually engaged in ejaculatory prayer…

Thursday, August 4. Was enabled to pray much, through the whole day…

Thursday, November 3. Spent this day in secret fasting, and prayer, from morning till night…

Suffice it to say, it is not surprising to read then of the miraculous interventions of God on Brainerd’s behalf, and of the mighty ministry and the unbelievable revivals he experienced among the iniquitous, idolatrous Indians in those short years. A volume such as this prohibits more than only mere mention of some of those supernal, supernatural scenes: “I have now baptized, in all, forty-seven persons of the Indians. Twenty-three adults and twenty-four children…Through rich grace, none of them as yet have been left to disgrace their profession of Christianity by any scandalous or unbelieving behavior” (Nov.. 20, 1743). What pastor or evangelist reading this can say the same?

Lord’s Day, December 29 …After public worship was over, I went to my house, proposing to preach again after a short season of intermission. But they soon came in one after another; with tears in their eyes, to know, “what they should do to be saved…” It was an amazing season of power among them, and seemed as if God had “bowed the heavens and come down…” and that God was about to convert the whole world.

His Diary and Journal are a brim with ministries and miracles that were akin to the acts of the Apostles. The Life and Diary of David Brainerd ought to be read — and read often — by God’s people. It will do something for you spiritually. You will be convicted, challenged, changed, charged. It has had life-transforming effect upon many, motivating them to become missionaries, evangelists, preachers, people of prayer and power with God.

Brainerd died in 1747 in the home of Jonathan Edwards. His ministry to the Indians was contemporary with Wesley, Whitefield and Edwards as they ministered to the English-speaking people during the period called in English and American history, the “Great Awakening.” Brainerd’s centuries-spanning influence for revival is positive proof God can and will use any vessel, no matter how fragile and frail, if it is only sold out to souls and the Saviour!

7 Realities of Experiencing God

1. God is always at work around you.

2. God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.

3. God invites you to become involved with Him in His work.

4. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.

5. God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.

6. You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.

7. You come to know god by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.

I rejoice in the reality of God within me. The Holy Spirit moving into my heart is the source of regeneration and sanctification. The Holy Spirit within is my guide through life. The Holy Spirit within is the source of revealed truth. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts and comforts. I celebrate the Holy Spirit making the person of Jesus Christ a reality to me and within me.

Recently I’ve been concerned with some of the things I read. Many very popular authors and pastors seem to be teaching that following Jesus Christ is simply a matter of a adopting a certain philosophy of life. It appears almost as a pop-theology that might be labeled neo-WWJD. There is no mention of the transforming power of Jesus Christ. Regeneration is never taught. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is avoided. The problem is mankind still struggles with the age old enemy, namely sin and selfishness. The sin and selfishness problem cannot be dealt with by adopting a philosophy of life. I must become a “new creature in Christ”. My hope is all “the fullness of God”. This seems to me to be the chief concern of men.

The good news is victory over sin and selfishness. Jesus can become Lord of my life. The Holy Spirit has been poured out on all mankind. I’m rejoicing today not in my love for Jesus but in His love for me. He has made a way of salvation. I want His way!

I’ve been thinking this morning about the place of full consecration. There is a wonderful place of rest and joy discovered in full commitment to Christ. Knowing that everything belongs to Jesus Christ changes the dynamic of our relationship with Christ, with others and with the world. Full consecration is the key to discovering God’s will for our lives according to Romans 12:1-2. Full consecration opens the door to realizing the potential of grace in our lives. In total commitment to Christ we are set free to love. I’m amazed when I consider the potential of surrendering all to Christ.

The cross represents that place of full surrender. We often make the mistake of thinking of the cross in objective terms. The cross becomes external not internal. The cross becomes institutional not experiential. The cross cannot really be understood until it is personally embraced. There is a cross for everyone. There is a cross for me. By the power of the Holy Spirit I come to a place of death. I die out to myself. My desires, my dreams, my survival are nailed to a personal cross in full surrender to Jesus Christ. His purpose and plan become my reason for living. In the moment of full surrender we identify fully with the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The cross is a moment in time. Full surrender is entered into in a moment of decision. That decision is lived out over a lifetime but the decision must first be made. The crucified life must have a point of entry. No one grows into full surrender. In a crisis moment of decision they yield everything to the Lord Jesus Christ. In my prayers this morning I asked the Lord to help me check out my consecration. What a beautiful moment when His Spirit bears witness with your spirit … the cross is still in its place … Jesus is Lord!

Praise is the voice of heaven. Praising Jesus is the activity of heaven. A heavenly choir larger than any earthly stadium could contain is revealed to John. That heavenly choir is captivated in one activity, praising Jesus. The heavenly choir song revolves around one reality, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain”. Heaven will never finish praising Jesus Christ. Praise is the business of heaven.

Today in my prayer time the Lord seemed to lead me to praise Him. No intercession, no petition of needs, no personal concerns, just time spent praising Jesus. The Lord has led me in this way in the past. These times of praise always seem to be a portal of blessing. The longer I praise Him the more focused I become on His glory, majesty, righteousness and purity. Ultimately my heart falls on this simple scriptural truth of praise, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain”. As I praise Him I remember that He in His greatness was sacrificed for my redemption. I remember that I have been purchased for God by the blood of the Lamb. My attention is drawn to the precious blood of Jesus. One drop of that blood would have been enough to redeem the entire human race. Thank you Lord for allowing me to praise You today!

Real relationships are based on real communication. Someone said to me once, “You have to remember your words have meaning.” I hope that is the case. Ancient Jewish culture believed that a word spoken took on a life of its own. So a false word, a word spoken with a hidden agenda is an extremely dangerous thing. Our words should be true. What we say is what we should mean. Meaningful relationships depend upon the integrity of the words we speak.

Some folks seem to think it is acceptable to feign kindness while being filled with bitterness. Unlike the words of Christ their “Yes” does not mean “Yes”. Their “so glad to see you” means “I hate your guts”. These folks have mastered pretending to be your friend “How is your family” while meaning “turn around so I can find a place for my knife in your back” & “after I slaughter you I’ll start on your kids”. These pretenders have never known the joy of being real. They’ve never found the peace that comes from letting others know “that hurts” “I’m upset” “I’m discouraged” “I’m confused”. These folks become masters at pretending to be kind while allowing bitterness to fill their heart.

The deeper problem with pretending is that pretense becomes my reality. When I start presenting myself differently than I really am I’m forced to manage that image. I start developing an image world. My focus becomes image management. Focus on the externals begins to consume my life. When one’s world is built on pretense nothing is real and no real communication takes place. I can hate my brother, come to church, look good, manage my image and as long as the image is intact my “Christianity” is intact. Pretense and image management is the great demonic enemy of the church. I must be real and others must encounter reality when they encounter Christ – followers.

So here’s what I’m doing today. I’m focusing on real genuine communication. Maybe the Biblical cliché applies “speaking the truth in love.” I’m asking the Lord to point out the pretense in me. In my conversations and relationships the walls and defenses are coming down. Today my words will communicate the fullness of my heart. Today my “Yes” will mean “Yes” and my “No” will mean “No”.

Enoch was a message to his generation. To some he was an inspiration. To others he was a rebuke. He walked with God. While others followed whatever was popular in their day Enoch walked with God. No doubt his walk inspired others to walk with God. Also, his walk became a contrast for those who were not walking with God. Either way he was God’s messenger for the day in which he lived.

Every generation has an Enoch. Each of us knows one of these unique individuals that walks with God. The Enoch life is characterized by fellowship with the living God. Theirs is a friendship with God. They share their lives with Him. They hear His voice. Obedience is natural because they trust the counsel of their very best Friend. Like Enoch they have a way of disappearing and revealing the Lord. Hopefully, each of us wants to be an Enoch for or generation.

“Enoch walked with God” here’s the problem as I experience it and as simply as I can state it. Most of us don’t spend enough time praying, meditating, reading scripture, fasting … contemplating the Lord Jesus Christ to say “I am walking with God”. This is not meant to be harsh or legalistic or judgmental. I’m not saying, “Hey the Bible requires “x” number of hours or you’re not walking with God.” I am saying to walk with God I need to spend enough in the things of God to spend time with God. This is what God desires from us … our fellowship. He longs for us to walk with Him until we know Him, trust Him, hear from Him, obey Him, naturally. He longs for us to walk with Him until we disappear and He is revealed.