Seeking the Face of God
By Dr. John Goetsch
“If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
J. N. Darby once said, “To be hungry is not enough. We must be starving to know God.” When the Prodigal Son was hungry, he ate the husks with the pigs; but when he was starving, he turned his face back to his father.
Without question, there is some appetite for the things of God among Christians today. We have tasted the good Word of God and enough of His blessings in our lives to be hungry. But are we starving? Where is the Psalmist of the twenty-first century who will say: “As the heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God.”
Our generation gets instant coffee made in a microwave from a drive-thru window and pays for it with instant cash from an ATM. We are not programmed to wait for anything.
In contradiction to our society, the Bible tells us that seeking and waiting are brothers. Lamentations 3:25 states, “The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.” We love the instant results of Pentecost in Acts two–3,000 salvations! But have we ignored the requirement in Acts 1:4, “And being assembled together with them, commanded that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father.”
We ask, where have the revivals gone? May I say that the dinosaur bones of the great revivals are buried beside the fossils of the prayer closet! Beginning at four in the morning, John Wesley spent two hours daily in prayer. John Fletcher stained the walls of his room with the breath of his prayers. Sometimes he would pray all night–always, frequently, and with great earnestness. Martin Luther said, “If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get done without spending three hours daily in prayer.” Bishop Ken was with God before the clock struck three every morning. Bishop Asbury said, “I propose to rise at four o’clock as often as I can and spend two hours in prayer and meditation.” Joseph Alleine arose at four o’clock for the business of praying until eight in the morning. If he heard other tradesmen plying for their business before he was up, he would exclaim: “Oh, how this shames me! Doth not my Master deserve more than theirs?” John Welch, the holy Scottish preacher, thought the day ill spent if he did not spend eight to ten hours in prayer. Edward Payson ore the hardwood boards into grooves where his knees pressed so often and for son long.
We have no right to call these post-revival days until we have proven that true on our knees before God. Adoniram Judson stated, “Arrange thy affairs, if possible, so that thou canst leisurely devote two or three hours every day not merely to devotional exercises but to the very act of secret prayer and communion with God. Endeavor seven times a day to withdraw from business and company and lift thy soul to God in private retirement. Begin the day by rising after midnight and devoting some time amid the silence of the darkness of the night to this sacred work. Let the hour of opening dawn find thee at the same work. Let the hours of nine, twelve, three, six, and nine at night witness the same. Be resolute in His cause. Make all practicable sacrifices to maintain it. Consider that thy time is short and that business and company must not be allowed to rob thee of thy God.”
To the above account, E. M. Bounds adds, “Impossible, we say, fanatical directions!” Dr. Judson impressed an empire for Christ and laid the foundation of God’s kingdom with imperishable granite in the heart of Burma. He was successful–one of the few men who mightily impressed the world for Christ. Many men have greater gifts, genius, and learning and have made no such impression; their religious work is like footsteps in the sands, but he has engraven his work on the adamant.”
Do you want to see revival? I think that we would be hard pressed to find a Christian who doesn’t; but by the same token, I think we would be equally hard pressed to find those same Christians willing to humble themselves, pray, and truly seek the face of God!
Please be in prayer for the 2006 Winter Revival, featuring Dr. John Goetsch, at Lancaster Baptist Church, January 22-25. Check service times and watch all revival services live on the Internet at http://www.lancasterbaptist.org/
“If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
J. N. Darby once said, “To be hungry is not enough. We must be starving to know God.” When the Prodigal Son was hungry, he ate the husks with the pigs; but when he was starving, he turned his face back to his father.
Without question, there is some appetite for the things of God among Christians today. We have tasted the good Word of God and enough of His blessings in our lives to be hungry. But are we starving? Where is the Psalmist of the twenty-first century who will say: “As the heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God.”
Our generation gets instant coffee made in a microwave from a drive-thru window and pays for it with instant cash from an ATM. We are not programmed to wait for anything.
In contradiction to our society, the Bible tells us that seeking and waiting are brothers. Lamentations 3:25 states, “The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.” We love the instant results of Pentecost in Acts two–3,000 salvations! But have we ignored the requirement in Acts 1:4, “And being assembled together with them, commanded that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father.”
We ask, where have the revivals gone? May I say that the dinosaur bones of the great revivals are buried beside the fossils of the prayer closet! Beginning at four in the morning, John Wesley spent two hours daily in prayer. John Fletcher stained the walls of his room with the breath of his prayers. Sometimes he would pray all night–always, frequently, and with great earnestness. Martin Luther said, “If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get done without spending three hours daily in prayer.” Bishop Ken was with God before the clock struck three every morning. Bishop Asbury said, “I propose to rise at four o’clock as often as I can and spend two hours in prayer and meditation.” Joseph Alleine arose at four o’clock for the business of praying until eight in the morning. If he heard other tradesmen plying for their business before he was up, he would exclaim: “Oh, how this shames me! Doth not my Master deserve more than theirs?” John Welch, the holy Scottish preacher, thought the day ill spent if he did not spend eight to ten hours in prayer. Edward Payson ore the hardwood boards into grooves where his knees pressed so often and for son long.
We have no right to call these post-revival days until we have proven that true on our knees before God. Adoniram Judson stated, “Arrange thy affairs, if possible, so that thou canst leisurely devote two or three hours every day not merely to devotional exercises but to the very act of secret prayer and communion with God. Endeavor seven times a day to withdraw from business and company and lift thy soul to God in private retirement. Begin the day by rising after midnight and devoting some time amid the silence of the darkness of the night to this sacred work. Let the hour of opening dawn find thee at the same work. Let the hours of nine, twelve, three, six, and nine at night witness the same. Be resolute in His cause. Make all practicable sacrifices to maintain it. Consider that thy time is short and that business and company must not be allowed to rob thee of thy God.”
To the above account, E. M. Bounds adds, “Impossible, we say, fanatical directions!” Dr. Judson impressed an empire for Christ and laid the foundation of God’s kingdom with imperishable granite in the heart of Burma. He was successful–one of the few men who mightily impressed the world for Christ. Many men have greater gifts, genius, and learning and have made no such impression; their religious work is like footsteps in the sands, but he has engraven his work on the adamant.”
Do you want to see revival? I think that we would be hard pressed to find a Christian who doesn’t; but by the same token, I think we would be equally hard pressed to find those same Christians willing to humble themselves, pray, and truly seek the face of God!
Please be in prayer for the 2006 Winter Revival, featuring Dr. John Goetsch, at Lancaster Baptist Church, January 22-25. Check service times and watch all revival services live on the Internet at http://www.lancasterbaptist.org/
posted by mS eLoVe | 8:04 PM
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