The Church Prayer Meeting, Its Decline and Revival, Part 1

These are notes of G. Chewter of an address at a meeting for ministers and printed in the splendid Gospel Tidings edited by P.M. Rowell, Chapel House, Forest Fold, Crowborough, UK.

1. PRAYER MEETINGS CAN EASILY DEGENERATE.

Some of the reasons for this are:

1. Wrong attitude - Many may be happy to come and join in regular worship services but in regard to meeting for prayer the thought may be, 'It's only a prayer meeting'. In many churches the prayer meeting is left to the 'faithful few'. Bill Hughes, one time pastor in Glasgow had a rule that if a member did not attend the prayer meeting they were not permitted to come to the business meeting of the church. If they were not prepared to pray with the church why should they have the privilege of participating in its decisions? When things are at a low ebb in a church the prayer meeting is often first to be dropped. The story is told of a certain chapel where many years ago the people, having lost heart in public prayer meetings, decided to give them up. But one old lady strongly disagreed. So on the usual prayer meeting night, dressed in her weatherproofs, she braved the storm, unlocked the chapel and taking her usual place, sat down to pray. On the way home she decided to call at one of the members' homes. 'Where have you been on a night like this?' was the inquiry. 'I've been to the prayer meeting.' 'O, I thought they had been discontinued; were any others there?' 'Yes,' said the faithful old lady, 'there were four of us - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and me, and it was a special time.' Through the old sister's perseverance the church was shamed into gathering again at the time of prayer.

2. Excessive length of each prayer - This is an old, old problem. The spirit may be willing but the flesh is weak. Long prayers often become a weariness to the flesh, making it hard for those listening to spiritually participate and keep up concentration, especially if it is an evening meeting. This problem often has to be addressed and pastors down the years have had their own ways of dealing with persistent 'offenders'. It is reported of the late Henry Popham of Eastbourne that he would sometimes say before calling any of the brethren to the front, 'If you're too long in prayer, I will pull your coat tails!' Alternatively, he would deliberately drop a hymnbook!
Short prayers help to retain freshness. Besides, most prayers in the Scriptures are brief and to the point. 'Some pray me into the spirit and others pray me out of it by undue length,' Spurgeon complained. It has been said: 'Short prayers sink deep'. 'It is strength, not length,' said Spurgeon. 'The worth of a prayer is not gauged by its dimensions,' - M'Cheyne. Thomas Boston said: 'Lay no weight on the quantity of your prayers; that is to say, how long or how many they are. These things avail nothing with God, by whom prayers are not measured, but weighed.' To quote Spurgeon again: 'It is necessary to draw near unto God, but it is not required of you to prolong your speech till everyone is longing to hear the word "Amen"'. The only exception I believe is if a spirit of prayer and supplication is poured out upon one member in a special way. They will know, and every spiritually-minded person will know, and will lose sight of the time. J. C. Philpot's advice was that on such occasions we should make the most of it and spread the sails, as it were, to catch those heavenly breezes.

3. Formality - We are creatures of habit and routine. We all tend to have our own phrases and manner of approach to the Lord. It is therefore easy for prayer to become so predictable. Interestingly, John Newton used this observation as an argument in favour of the use of written prayers in public worship. In most extemporaneous prayers, he maintained, you recognised the beginning, could discern the middle and you knew when it was coming to an end, so why not use written ones, was his conclusion. The problem of excessive length and formality was dealt with very succinctly by D. L. Moody when he said: 'Some people's prayers need to be cut off at both ends and set on fire in the middle.'

4. Vagueness or being unspecific - Although prayer involves communion with the Lord and a worshipping frame of mind yet we are to make requests. The story is told of a prayer meeting where one brother seemed to be preaching rather than praying. One sister felt especially troubled by this, so she interrupted by calling out: 'Ask for something!'

5. Prayers that are unduly personal - very little prayer or desire may be expressed for the conversion of sinners and the furtherance of the gospel: instead, the time is spent in an introspective rehearsing of numerous personal doubts and fears. One preacher described it as 'hanging out the dirty washing for all to see'.

6. Pride - a desire to be seen and heard. The heart being uplifted at the thought of an opportunity to show others one's 'gift in prayer'. This was the downfall of the Pharisees: they wished to be seen of men. To quote the theologian, Robert Reymond: 'When you pray, remember whose attention you wish to gain.'
In these and other ways prayer meetings can easily degenerate.

So what can be done?

To be continued in Part 2, "Improving the Prayer Meeting".

The Conversion of Ann "Nancy" Hasseltine

To her father she was a joy. She was described as cheerful and lively, seemed to have no fear and was a good student and an avid reader. She was given to the entertainment of the day. "I soon began to attend balls and parties of pleasure and found my mind completely occupied with what I daily heard were ‘innocent amusements'...I was surrounded with associates, wild and volatile like myself, and often thought myself one of the happiest creatures on earth." Of course, she had been carefully taught by her mother to pray, not to lie, not to steal, not to disobey her parents. If she met these requirements, she believed she, "should at death, escape that dreadful hell, the thought of which filled me with alarm and terror." So, like the good girl she was, she always said her prayers night and morning and left off playing on Sunday, "not doubting but what such a course of conduct would ensure my salvation." In her teens, however, she began to backslide. She stopped saying her prayers and reading her Bible when she returned at night from a party. At times her conscience disturbed her, but she consoled herself "by thinking, that as I was old enough to attend balls, I was surely too old to say prayers."

But her conscience insisted on asserting itself. The more feverish her activity, and the more successful she was in denying it during the day, the more it filled her with anxiety and foreboding during the quiet moments of the night.

She felt torn apart by her inner conflict. She did not see how she could be a Christian "in the midst of my gay companions," but she did not want to give them up. Her behavior was as contradictory as her feelings. At the (revival) meetings she would sit in the most remote corner of the room so that no one could see her tears. Yet afterwards she would pretend a lightness of heart she did not feel.

Such a masquerade could not be kept up forever. In a little while she had "lost all relish for amusements." She could not evade facing the fact, as it appeared to her, that she "must obtain a new heart, or perish forever."

On a Sunday morning when she was dressing for church, on her dresser lay a copy of Hannah More's popular book Strictures on Female Education. As she idly opened the book one italicized sentence caught her eye: "She that liveth in pleasure, is dead while she liveth." The line jumped out at her so startling that she felt as if an invisible power had brought it to her attention. Though the effect of the warning wore off after a while, she did not forget it. A few months later, reading Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress she was struck by the final impression it left, "that Christian, because he adhered to the narrow path, was carried safely through all his trials, and at last admitted into heaven."

This time Nancy promptly went to her room and prayed for help in leading a religious life. But after the prayer she had no more idea than before what to do to be saved. She finally decided that the correct conduct was to stay away from parties "and be reserved and serious in the presence of other scholars."

But lighthearted Nancy was incapable of keeping any such resolution. The very next day she went to a party. "My religious plans were forgotten; I joined with the rest - was one of the gayest of the gay - and thought no more of the new life I had just begun."

When she returned home her conscience began to reproach her and she knew she would break her resolutions again and since she could not reform, she might as well try to suppress her conscience. "I scarcely spent a rational hour. My studies were sightly attended to, and my time was mostly occupied by preparing my dress, and in contriving amusements for the evening, which portion of my time was wholly spent in vanity and trifling."

On one visit with a professor of the Bradford Academy, who often visited the Hasseltine home, the discussion turned to the manner in which the Holy Spirit works on the hearts of sinners. This was a subject Nancy had never thought about. One thing Satan does, the preceptor remarked, "Is tempt us to conceal our feelings from others, lest our conviction should increase."

All at once Nancy saw how this statement applied to her. Quietly she left the room and went into the garden, where she began to weep uncontrollably. She felt that she was a captive of Satan, who was leading her wherever he wanted.

Later, in reading to an aunt who "was reputed to be strongly religious" she broke down and burst into tears and could no longer hide what was in her mind. She confessed her agony to her aunt and her aunt told her that "if she trifled with impressions which were evidently made by the Holy Spirit she should be left to hardness of heart and blindness of mind."

Having made her confession at last, Nancy's spirits began to rise, "I felt resolved to give up every thing, and seek to be reconciled to God. That fear, which I had ever felt, that others would know I was serious, now vanished away, and I was willing that the whole universe should know that I felt myself to be a lost and perishing sinner."

For the next two or three weeks she secluded herself in her room reading and crying for mercy." To her surprise and resentment she felt worse at the end than when she began. She began to blame God for not giving her peace of mind, and, now that she thought of it, found some additional things to blame Him for, "I could not endure the thought that he was a sovereign God and had a right to call one and leave another to perish."

After a few days in this hostile frame of mind, however, her feelings began to alter as she considered the character of Jesus. She began to think that "God could be just, in saving sinners through him."

She realized that she was beginning to have feelings and desires which were new to her and gradually had a hope that she "had passed from death unto life."

In a short time she had changed completely, "I earnestly strove to avoid sinning, not merely because I was afraid of hell, but because I feared to displease God, and grieve His Holy Spirit. I attended to my studies in school, with far different feelings and different motives, from what I had ever done before. I felt my obligations to improve all I had to the glory of God; and since He in His providence had favored me with advantages for improving my mind, I felt that I should be like the slothful servant if I neglected them. I, therefore, diligently employed all my hours in school in acquiring useful knowledge, and spent my evening and part of the night in spiritual enjoyment." With her conversion, Nancy quickly put on maturity.

Later, when formally requested by Adoniram Judson to "commence an acquaintianship" which meant he formally declared his intentions as a suitor, she wrote in her journal whether she would be able to commit herself "entirely to God, to be disposed of, according to His pleasure," and decided, "Yes, I feel willing to be placed in this situation, in which I can do most good, though it were to carry the Gospel to the distant, benighted heathen."

Excerpted from the book, To the Golden Shore, The Life of Adoniram Judson, by Courtney Anderson, Zondervan 1972, Chapter IX.

Compassion For Souls

Pastor Erik Raymond had an interesting post regarding his (and often our) frequent "ups and downs" when it comes to evangelizing. I was convicted by his quotation from Alex Montoya's book, Preaching with Passion. Montoya is a professor at The Master's Seminary in Sun Valley, CA.

Montoya writing in the context of losing compassion for people:

"That is when I retreat to a small taco stand in the barrio of East Los Angeles, to a place where real people live. I order a cup of coffee and sit with my back against the wall. Then I watch, I observe, I read, and I listen intently for the heart cry. A group of gang-bangers come in for a snack—one in four will die before the age of eighteen; two of the others will end up in prison. All are doomed to a hard life. A young mother comes in with her brood of youngsters. It is obvious they are poor. They share drinks. They live in poverty; some will never see a forest or snow. An old drunk staggers in, begging for a meal. He is quickly thrown out. That was somebody's baby boy. A mother at one time cradled that man and nursed him….I look, I listen until I hear their cries, until their souls cry out to me, "Please help, I'm perishing!" until the tears pour forth from my melted heart! I am in love with humanity once again."

I encourage you to read his entire post at www.irishcalvinist.com

The Wages of Sin

I'm writing this as my family gets ready to bury my dad. He passed away last week in the hospital trying to overcome several complications such as pneumonia, old age, etc. The pastor faithfully visited him as time permitted and dad appreciated his visits. I saw him almost every day the past two weeks of his life and was with him only a couple of hours before his death.

He was one of two boys in his family born during the depression; in our part of the country it seems that during those early years of the past century the depression had no beginning or end. His grandfather, my great-grandfather, was an immigrant from Switzerland arriving in the U.S.A. in the 1880's and purchased homesteading acreage and moved into our area about 1892. The land consisted of swamp and stumps although the land sales brochure showed rich farmland with mature trees ready to be harvested (not unlike today's land sellers eh?). My grandfather and my father were born into the hardships of trying to grub a farm out of those 160 acres. My grandfather was successful in farming the original homestead plus another 160 acres and handmilked over 30 cows. The work ethic of my great-grandfather, grandfather, and father have been passed down to me and I observe it in my children. Back then they called them hard working men. Today they call us "workaholics". We're only trying to provide for our families and do the best job possible as did he.

When dad died the hospital staff allowed his body to remain in the room for any of the family to view prior to its removal to the funeral home. As I sat in the room with his body in the bed the text from Romans 6:23 repeated itself in my mind, "The wages of sin is death.....". Not only that doctrinal truth dealing with spiritual death but the death of the body.

I recall reading an article by a medical doctor (it may have been Dr. Lloyd-Jones) who commented that on every death certificate is an area that the medical staff complete indicating the cause of death of the deceased. The doctor stated that every death certificate should indicate the three letters S. I. N. - for the wages of sin is death. If it wasn't for sin we would not only not die physically but would have remained perfectly suited to commune and walk with God as Adam did. But for reasons I don't comprehend (but I know is for the ultimate Glory of God) Adam did sin and we reap the tragedy of his disobedience - death. Yes, the wages of sin is death....but finish the Word from God, the text says "BUT the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord". There is hope IN HIM.

My dad wasn't a great talker. He loved creation; the woods, deer, bear, etc. Later on in life he missed his walks in the woods. The majority of his life was spent in the outdoors. He had habits and vices that by the Grace of God and His Divine Intervention was stripped from me. I don't know his eternal state. But for all that I loved him for who he was - my father and one of the last patriarch's of the area. I appreciate how God used him to enrich my life and give me the work ethic that God uses for the building up of His Church.

I'm already missing him.

The Gospel-Less Evangelist

The following are excerpts from an article titled "Signs of the Times" by Arthur W. Pink from his magazine "Studies in the Scriptures", written in December 1937. Fifty years ago! and yet, what a warning to this generation of "evangelists", so called, and those who promote their 'gospel-less' ministries. You can read the entire article at: pbministries.

"It is generally recognized that spirituality is at a low ebb in Christendom, and not a few perceive that sound doctrine is rapidly on the wane, yet many of the Lord's people take comfort from supposing that the Gospel is still being widely preached and that large numbers are being saved thereby. Alas, their optimistic supposition is ill-founded and grounded in sand. If the "message" now being delivered in Mission Halls be examined, if the "tracts" which are scattered among the unchurched masses be scrutinized, if the "open air" speakers be carefully listened to, if the "sermons" or "addresses" of a "Soul-winning campaign" be analyzed; in short, if modern "Evangelism" be weighed in the balances of Holy Writ, it will be found wanting—lacking that which is vital to a genuine conversion, lacking what is essential if sinners are to be shown their need of a Saviour, lacking that which will produce the transfigured lives of new creatures in Christ Jesus.

But serious indeed as is the above indictment, it is only half of it—the negative side, that which is lacking. Worse still is that which is being retailed by the cheap-jerk evangelists of the day. The positive content of their message is nothing but a throwing of dust in the eyes of the sinner. His soul is put to sleep by the Devil's opiate, ministered in a most unsuspecting form. Those who really receive the "message" which is now being given out from most of the "orthodox" pulpits and platforms today are being fatally deceived. It is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but unless God sovereignly intervenes by a miracle of grace, all who follow it will surely find that the ends thereof are the ways of death. Tens of thousands who confidently imagine they are bound for Heaven will get a terrible disillusionment when they awake in Hell.

What is the Gospel? Is it a message of glad tidings from Heaven to make God-defying rebels at ease in their wickedness? Is it given for the purpose of assuring the pleasure-crazy young people that, providing they only "believe" there is nothing for them to fear in the future? One would certainly think so from the way in which the Gospel is presented—or rather perverted—by most of the "evangelists," and the more so when we look at the lives of their "converts." Surely those with any degree of spiritual discernment must perceive that to assure such that God loves them and His Son died for them, and that a full pardon for all their sins (past, present, and future) can be obtained by simply "accepting Christ as their personal Saviour," is but a casting of pearls before swine.

The nature of Christ's salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day "evangelist." He announces a Saviour from Hell, rather than a Saviour from sin. And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of Fire who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness. The very first thing said of Him in the New Testament is, "thou shalt call his name JESUS: for He shall save His people (not "from the wrath to come," but) from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). Christ is a Saviour for those realizing something of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, who felt the awful burden of it on their conscience, so loathe themselves for it, who long to be freed from its terrible dominion; and a Saviour for no others. Were He to "save from Hell" those who were still in love with sin, He would be the Minister of sin, condoning their wickedness and siding with them against God. What an unspeakably horrible and blasphemous thing with which to charge the Holy One!

The way of salvation is falsely defined. In most instances the modern "evangelist" assures his congregation that all any sinner has to do in order to escape Hell and make sure of Heaven is to "receive Christ as his personal Saviour." But such teaching is utterly misleading. No one can receive Christ as Saviour while he rejects Him as Lord. It is true the preacher adds that the one who accepts Christ should also surrender to Him as Lord, but he at once spoils it by asserting that though the convert fails to do so, nevertheless Heaven is sure to him. That is one of the Devil's lies. Only those who are spiritually blind would declare that Christ will save any who despise His authority and refuse His yoke: why, my reader, that would not be grace but a disgrace—charging Christ with placing a premium on lawlessness.

Alas, alas, God's "way of salvation" is almost entirely unknown today. The nature of Christ's salvation is almost universally misunderstood, and the terms of His salvation misrepresented on every hand. The "Gospel" which is now being proclaimed is, in nine cases out of every ten, but a perversion of the Truth, and tens of thousands, assured they are bound for Heaven, are now hastening to Hell, as fast as time can take them. Things are far, far worse in Christendom than even the "pessimist" and the "alarmist" suppose. We are not a prophet, nor shall we indulge in any speculation of what Biblical prophecy forecasts—wiser men than the writer have often made fools of themselves by so doing. We are frank to say that we know not what God is about to do. Religious conditions were much worse, even in England, one hundred and fifty years ago. But this we greatly fear; unless God is pleased to grant a real revival, it will not be long ere "the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people" (Isa. 60:2), for the light of the true Gospel is rapidly disappearing. Modern "Evangelism" constitutes, in our judgment, the most solemn of all the "signs of the times."

God's Wisdom in His Purpose

Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Our belief in God's wisdom supposes and necessitates that He has a settled purpose and plan in the work of salvation. What would creation have been without His design? Is there a fish in the sea or a bird in the air that was formed by chance? No; in every bone, joint, and muscle, sinew, gland, and blood-vessel, you see the presence of a God working everything according to the design of infinite wisdom. And will God be present in creation, ruling over all, but not in grace? Shall the new creation have the fickle genius of free will to preside over it when divine counsel rules the old creation? Look at providence! We know that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without our Father. Even the hairs of your head are all numbered. God weighs the mountains of our grief in scales, and the hills of our tribulation in balances. And shall there be a God in providence and not in grace? Shall the shell be ordained by wisdom and the kernel left to blind chance? No; He knows the end from the beginning. He sees in its appointed place not merely the cornerstone that He has laid in fair colors, in the blood of His dear Son, but He sees each of the chosen stones taken out of the quarry of nature, placed in their ordained position, and polished by His grace. He sees the whole from corner to cornice, from base to roof, from foundation to pinnacle. In His mind he has a clear knowledge of every stone that will be put in its prepared space, and how vast the structure will be when the capstone is set in place with shouts of "Grace! Grace!" In the end it will be clearly seen that in every child of God, Jehovah did as He planned with His own; and in every part of the work of grace He accomplished His purpose and glorified His own name.

Charles H. Spurgeon

Special Events

The Sovereign Grace Baptist Church in Ladysmith will be hosting two special speakers.

On August 24th, Pastor Tom Henry, Associate Pastor of Bible Baptist Church, St.Louis, Missouri, will be preaching at both the Sunday morning and evening services. Pastor Henry is also the past Chairman of the Sovereign Grace Baptist Fellowship and involved in teaching at the Sovereign Grace Baptist Seminary, the alma mater of Pastor Mantl. Pastor Henry will be a featured speaker at the upcoming Northwoods Baptist Church family camp and conference held at Camp Nicolet north of Eagle River, Wisconsin.

The following week, on August 31st, Pastor Conrad Murrell of Grace Church of Bentley, Louisiana, an Evangelist, Author, and Director of Grace and Truth Bible Camps will begin a four day speaking engagement at the church. Pastor Murrell has also been a contributor to the Sovereign Grace Messenger, a publication of the Sovereign Grace Baptist Fellowship, and a conference and small church speaker. He will speak at both services on Sunday followed by evening services on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Sunday Bible study is at 10:00 a.m. followed by the Worship Service at 11:00 a.m. Evening services begin at 7:00 p.m.

Everyone is invited to receive a blessing from both these gifted preachers. If you have any questions please contact Pastor Mantl at our website, www.sovereigngracebaptistchurch.net