HARVEY Christian Publishers

Kneeling We Triumph Volume One: Prayer brings God out of His secret place

Posted on February 10, 2015June 7, 2018 by

“The great battles,” says Samuel L. Brengle, “the battles that decide our destiny and the destiny of generations yet unborn, are not fought on public platforms, but in the lonely hours of the night and in moments of agony.”

God sets more value on prayer and communion than labor. The heavenly bridegroom is wooing a wife, not hiring a servant. Prayer brings God out of His secret place to work wonders in the earth . . . to pour Himself through the believer into a world of lost souls.
—A. W. Roffe.

A burning Niagara of words does not mean that God is either impressed or moved. Hannah, the mother of Samuel, one of the most profound of intercessors, had no language. “Her lips moved, but her voice was not heard.” There are groanings that cannot be uttered. In the mountain-moving place of travailing prayer, linguists are not needed.—L. Ravenhill.

“Groanings which cannot be uttered” are often prayers which cannot be refused.
—C. H. Spurgeon.

Mental prayer is not unheard—“Hannah spake in her heart.” When the heart is so full of grief that it can only groan in prayer, yet God writes that down: “My groaning is not hid from Thee.”—Watson.

Though smooth be the heartless prayer,
No ear in Heaven will mind it,
And the finest phrase falls dead,
If there is no feeling behind it.

So it is not the speech which tells,
But the impulse which goes with the saying,
And it is not the words of the prayer,
But the yearning back of the praying.
—E. W. Wilcox.

The above quotations are taken from Kneeling We Triumph Volume One, compiled by Edwin and Lillian Harvey and published by Harvey Christian Publishers. This book and its companion, Kneeling We Triumph Volume Two, are available in their Online Christian Bookstore.

Kneeling We Triumph Volume One: Getting used to God’s Presence

Posted on February 10, 2015June 7, 2018 by

We must remember that it was not by interceding for the world in Glory that Jesus saved it. He gave Himself. Our prayers for the evangelization of the world are but a bitter irony so long as we give only of our superfluity, and draw back before the sacrifice of ourselves.
—M. Francois Collard.

Last night I had a unique experience. I awoke intensely oppressed and as I lay under the dead weight of it, it dawned on me that it meant I was to pray, so I got to work to pray for the men who have just gone off to the fighting line, and in a marvelous way the oppression left and peace ineffable came, and the words emerged, “A house of prayer for all nations.” It is a good thing to stake your confidence on the ground of the perfected Redemption and pray from that basis.
—Oswald Chambers.

Unwearied may I this pursue,
Dauntless to the high prize aspire,
Hourly within my soul renew
This holy flame, this heavenly fire,
And day and night be all my care
To guard the sacred treasure there.
—Paul Gerhardt.

Scientists often spend years, sometimes a whole lifetime, in making important scientific discovery. Then how can we expect to discover spiritual beauties by spending only five minutes every day in quiet and prayer? Some people become tired at the end of ten minutes or half an hour of prayer. What would they do when they have to spend Eternity in the presence of God? We must begin the habit here and become used to being with God.—Sadhu Sundar Singh.

Kneeling We Triumph Volume One: The Beauty of Delayed Answers

Posted on February 3, 2015June 7, 2018 by

In the book, Kneeling We Triumph Volume One compiled by Edwin and Lillian Harvey, there is a reading entitled “The beauty of delayed answers.” In this reading, the authors have included a moving prayer uttered by the blind poet and hymn-writer, George Matheson and author of that well-known hymn, “O love that will not let me go”:
“My Father, help me to learn that I am heir to possessions which exceed my present holding! They exceed my present power to hold—they are waiting for my summer. Do I ever thank Thee for the blessings which Thou postponest? I am afraid not. I am like the prodigal: I want to get all at once the portion that falleth to me; and, where it is not given, I deem it is refused. Teach me, O Lord, the beauty of Thy delayed answers.”

In the moment of its crying
Came no answer to my heart,
But, long-deferred, it came with blessing
In a quiet place apart.
Seldom in the midst of toiling
Do we reap our recompense.
It may come when hands are folded
In a sunset hour long hence.
Not in thunderous crash of earthquake,
Not in whirlwind or in fire,
Not in voice of sounding trumpet
Does God speak our deep desire.
But with strife and fretting over—
Waiting—all serene and still,
We may hear the whispered message
Teaching us His perfect will.
When we school our hearts to patience
God reveals His better way.
Proving oft that His tomorrow
Is far better than today.
—Kathryn Blackburn Peck.

The above quotations are taken from Kneeling We Triumph Volume One, published by Harvey Christian Publishers and available in their Online Christian Bookstore.

Kneeling We Triumph Volume One: Bitterness hinders prayer

Posted on February 3, 2015June 7, 2018 by

In the book Kneeling We Triumph Volume One, compiled by Edwin and Lillian Harvey, there is a reading entitled “Bitterness hinders prayer.” I think most of us are aware of this fact as it is reiterated in Scripture as A. B. Simpson points out:
“Job had to pray for his very enemies before God could turn his captivity, and had to banish from his heart every particle of bitter feeling towards the men who had tormented him through months of sickness, with their ignorance, misconstruction, and offensive interference. And when he did, God turned his captivity and restored him to more than his former blessings (Job. 42:10).

“One reason why the disciples could not claim the casting out of the demon from the suffering child was that they had disputed by the way which should be the greatest. The spirit of cherished animosity, lurking prejudice, sullen vindictiveness, or cold disdain, will as effectually obstruct our intercourse and intimacy with Heaven as a speck upon the crystalline lens of the eye will obstruct our vision, or the crossing of wires of the electric machinery will leave us in darkness.
“There are a great many crossed wires in the Church of Christ and the consequence is dark hearts and mournful cries: “Hath God forgotten to be gracious?” (Psalm 77:9). “How long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?” (Psalm 80:4). Just this long, brother—“If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift” (Matt. 5:23, 24).”

I heard a knock I knew. I said,
“Lord Jesus, do come in. Come in.”
He said, “The door is locked.”
It was. . . . I turned the key.
I heard Him touch the handle
and a crack of light appeared.
“Come in, Lord Jesus. Please come in.”
“Something is against the door,” He said,
“It will not move!”
I looked. I saw a dark, crude bundle
I had not known was there—an ugly bundle,
hateful to the touch.
I glanced inside and saw the rancid unforgiveness
of a wrong.
I pushed it back, flung wide the door, and light
poured in as
Jesus stepped inside my house and greeted me.
—Jane Emerson.

The above quotations are taken from Kneeling We Triumph, Volume One, which is published by Harvey Christian Publishers and is available on their Online Christian Bookstore.

Kneeling We Triumph Volume One: Hold God’s s Character True

Posted on February 3, 2015June 7, 2018 by

We, as Christians, often hold a distorted conception of faith which is far from the Biblical original. In Kneeling We Triumph Volume One, Edwin and Lillian Harvey have brought many aspects of prayer to our attention. One of these is the necessity of a total faith in God and in His promises to us which is a prerequisite to effectual prayer. The following quotations, taken from the writings or sermons of God’s saints, emphasize this truth:

“To aim aright at the liberty of the children of God requires a continual acting of faith—of a naked faith in a naked promise or declaration. By a naked faith in a naked promise I do not mean a bare assent that God is faithful, and that such a promise in the Book of God may be fulfilled in me, but rather a bold, hearty, steady, venturing of my soul, body, and spirit upon the truth of the promise with an appropriating ACT!”
—John Fletcher.

“Our limitless trust in God seems to satisfy Him as nothing else can do, because it corresponds with His eternal faithfulness, it honors His veracity, and is a constant silent worship of all His perfections. God forever honors those who believe Him. He has organized us on a pattern of trust, and not to trust ourselves in God is to derange the very plan of our creation. Faith in God is at once the sweetest necessity, the sublimest duty, and the greatest privilege of a creature toward his Creator.”
—G. D. Watson.

“The first requirement of prayer is to believe.
Believe that God is and that “he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.”
Believe that God is alive and therefore has power—not only for
Peter’s deliverance, but for ours.
Believe that God is love and that He cares for His own.
Believe that God is power and therefore no power can stand
against Him.
Believe that God is truth and therefore cannot lie.
Believe that God is king and that He will never abdicate His
throne or fail in His promise.”
—Leonard Ravenhill.

Kneeling We Triumph Volumes One and Two are published by Harvey Christian Publishers and are available in their Online Christian Bookstore.

Kneeling We Triumph Volume One: A sigh of a true Christian is prayer!

Posted on February 3, 2015June 7, 2018 by

We sometimes limit prayer to words we mouth to God through our lips. “The prayers of upright Christians are without ceasing,” Martin Luther tells us, “though they pray not always with their mouth, yet their hearts do pray continually; for the sigh of a true Christian is prayer.”

O instruct us how to pray!
Pour out the supplicating grace,
And stir us up to seek Thy face.
We cannot think a gracious thought,
We cannot feel a good desire,
Till Thou, Who calledst a world from nought,
The power into our hearts inspire.
The promised Intercessor give,
And let us now Thyself receive.
—Charles Wesley.
“The great battles,” says Samuel L. Brengle, “the battles that decide our destiny and the destiny of generations yet unborn, are not fought on public platforms, but in the lonely hours of the night and in moments of agony.”

Ministers who are orthodox, devoted, and busy, need to lay aside many “things” and rekindle the holy glow within their own souls. Do not be so busy running a program that you have no time to wait upon Christ.
—Oliver G. Wilson.

Kneeling We Triumph Volume One: Be Still and Know…..

Posted on February 3, 2015June 7, 2018 by

“The world is enough to busy us, not to fill us,” says Thomas Watson. If this is true, then why are we Christians often so busy and so empty? Why do we prefer the hubbub of activity to silence? Or to put it more forcibly: why are we so fearful of silence? Are we afraid of God’s voice which we can sometimes only hear when other voices are hushed? Or are we unwilling to confront our own thoughts which take control when we are quiet? Or do we wish to drown out our accusing conscience which takes advantage of the quiet? Whatever the reasons, over-busyness often prevents us communing with the Almighty, and is therefore an enemy to the healing power that silent meditation and prayer inevitably works in our hectic lives.

In Kneeling We Triumph, Volume One by Edwin and Lillian Harvey, there are several readings on this subject. Oliver G. Wilson, editor of Wesleyan Methodist for many years, relates an interesting experience in his own life:
“For some time, things had not been going satisfactorily according to my poor limited vision. World situations were distressing and far beyond any solution that I had to offer. Business was not going as in my judgment it should go. I felt keenly that I had been taken advantage of, and spent much of the night turning restlessly in bed. Tensions, frustrations, impossible situations, disagreement among trusted friends, all plagued me. At the close of the second day, when night had settled and nature was putting itself to bed, there came from memory this portion of the Psalm learned long years ago, ‘Be still, and know that I am God.’
“It came with such force, with emphasis upon each word such as no man could give it; my heart melted. A song, seasoned with happy tears, was sung within my soul: ‘Be still, and know that I am God.’ Very much of our trouble and anxiety arises from our useless chatter, from our ceaseless activity, from our reliance upon our own wisdom. We have a guilty feeling if religion is not doing something. We want progress, but back of progress must be peace. One does not need a brass band to appreciate God. His mercy, His grace, His presence, when realized, overwhelm us.”

Be still sometimes—so still that God may speak,
And make His voice heard in thy waiting heart.
Sometimes the hush of His calm presence seek;
From all the world’s confusion come apart,
And silence even praise, and breathe no prayer,
But only wait for Him to meet thee there.
Be still sometimes! Be still enough to hear
The faintest whisper of His voice, and feel
The touch of His dear hand, when He draws near,
Himself unto thy spirit to reveal.
God will His deepest truths to thee make known,
Only when thou art silent and alone.
—Edith Hickman Divall.
The above quotations are taken from Kneeling We Triumph Volume One, compiled by Edwin and Lillian Harvey and published by Harvey Christian Publishers. This book and its companion, Kneeling We Triumph Volume Two, are available in their Online Christian Bookstore.

Kneeling We Triumph Volume One: Man’s Strange Reluctance to Commune

Posted on January 21, 2015June 7, 2018 by

At Harvey Christian Publishers’ Online Bookstore you will find some inspiring, in-depth books on prayer. The first of these to be published was Kneeling We Triumph Volumes One and Two. These are compilations—60 short and to the point readings in each volume, which may be treated as daily devotionals. They have been used in seminars and by church prayer-groups and are challenging as well as inspirational.
In a reading in Kneeling We Triumph Volume One entitled “Man’s strange reluctance to commune,” the authors, Edwin and Lillian Harvey include a quotation from F. J. Huegel, a chaplain in World War I. He later served as a missionary in Mexico City.

Through hard lessons learned by life experience, he shares the following truths with us:
“True prayer can only be inaugurated on the basis of ‘co-crucifixion.’ This is the prime condition: ‘If ye abide in Me and I in you, ye shall ask whatsoever ye will and it shall be done unto you.’ We must be ‘in Christ.’ But we cannot be in Christ in the fullest sense, without that we commit to death, in the power of the Savior’s death, the ‘old-life.’
“It is when we realize our oneness with Christ in death and in resurrection, that prayer becomes the marvelous force that we find it was in the life of the Savior, the invincible dynamic that it reveals itself to be in the book of Acts, and the ineffable experience of the great saints of the ages. It is then that our spirits, liberated by the power of the Cross from the fleshly and the soulish entanglements, ‘mount up on wings as eagles.’ It is then that communion with the infinitely adorable One Who inhabiteth Eternity comes spontaneously and naturally to its fullest expression. It is then that the injunction, ‘Pray without ceasing,’ ceases to be an unintelligible command; for the spirit released from the thralldom of the ‘flesh-life,’ and freed from all Satanic oppression by an appropriation of the full benefits of the Calvary victory, rises to take its place with Christ in the Heavenlies where prayer is the continuous in-breathing of the life of God. It is then that prayer, energized by the Spirit of the living God, which it cannot be until it is freed from all selfish ingredients, becomes at times a groaning which is unutterable, and which does not fail to move mountains, and achieve the impossible. It is then that prayer becomes a working out of the will of God, and therefore, must prevail, be the difficulties what they may, however staggering the problem, however great the need. It is then that the great disparity between what the Master said that prayer would accomplish, and the miserable caricature that it is in the actual practice of millions is removed, and prayer blossoms out in all the glory of its true nature.”

They Knew Their God Volume 3: The Prophet of the Long Road

Posted on January 12, 2015June 7, 2018 by

“Someone has said that Methodism really had its birth in Susannah Wesley, the mother of John and Charles. And it might also be said that Elizabeth Asbury, in giving her only son to the ministry, was the mother of American Methodism.” So wrote Edwin and Lillian Harvey in their sketch of Francis Asbury in Volume Three of the series They Knew Their God.
“I well remember my mother strongly urged my father to family reading,” Asbury tells us, “and prayer; the singing of Psalms was much practiced by them both. . . . As a mother above all the women in the world would I claim her for my own, ardently affectionate; as a “mother in Israel” few of her sex have done more by a holy walk to live and by personal labor to support the Gospel, and to wash the saints’ feet. As a friend, she was generous, true, and constant.”

The sketch of Bishop Asbury in They Knew Their God Volume 3 is fairly short but concise. Like the other saints mentioned in this book, Asbury cultivated a close relationship with the Lord. The road was often long and hard both metaphorically and literally but he was faithful, and American Methodism owes much to this “prophet of the long road.”
Edwin and Lillian close their chapter on Asbury with the following paragraph:
“Much more could be said about such an extraordinary servant of the Lord but we close with the words of Henry Boehm, who knew him intimately, having traveled more than forty thousand miles with him: ‘Bishop Asbury possessed more deadness to the world, more of a self-sacrificing spirit, more of the spirit of prayer, of Christian enterprise, of labor, and of benevolence, than any other man I ever knew; he was the most unselfish being I was every acquainted with. Beyond any other person he embodied the genius and spirit of early Methodism.’”
The entire six-volume series of They Knew Their God is published by Harvey Christian Publishers and is available on their Online Christian Bookstore.

They Knew Their God Volume 3: She Chose the Good Part

Posted on January 12, 2015June 7, 2018 by

They Knew Their God Volume Three by Edwin and Lillian Harvey, like the other five books in the They Knew Their God series, contains sketches of men and women who served God in their day and generation and whose goal was to know Him intimately. Mary Mozely is one such servant of the Lord. The authors have opened her sketch with the following paragraph:
“Mary Mozley stood on board the Llandovery Castle, waving good bye to friends and relatives. She was about to begin that long voyage which would take her to her chosen mission field. The future was mercifully veiled from the young voyager as she watched the receding shores of her native land.

Little did she realize that she would be given only nine brief years to serve her Savior among the natives of the Congo before being called Home, for she was still in her twenties and life seemed to stretch out ahead. But brief though her life was to be, it would be one filled to the full with learning those lessons which would fit her for her everlasting reign with Christ. When the final call was to come, Mary Mozely would be ready!”
Then that final call came on the 4th of December, early in the morning, Mary, at the early age of thirty 36, was called into the Presence of the One she had served and loved so faithfully. The closing paragraph of the sketch puts it like this:
“She would not be greeting a stranger for she had often met Him and thus come to know Him through the medium of His Word and prayer. He whose spirit beats a path of prayer daily to the Throne of Grace is not in danger of losing his way in the emergencies of life. The sustaining grace of her Lord Jesus Christ had nurtured Mary through varied circumstances, and now was at her side when she passed beyond the vale of time into the presence of the King.”
The entire six-volume series of They Knew Their God is published by Harvey Christian Publishers and is available on their Online Christian Bookstore.

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