How They Prayed, Vol. Three: “See What I can do in answer to a praying people!”

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The book by Edwin and Lillian Harvey entitled How They Prayed Volume 3, reveals the part prayer prayed in revivals, widespread and local, and the emphasis those men used of God in these revivals placed on private and public prayer. Henry Breeden was once such man:
“I came to a affixed resolve,” Breeden wrote, “that whatever else I was or was not, and whatever else I did or did not, I would by the grace of God become a man decidedly given up to prayer. And that resolve, I am thankful to be able to say, I have to a great extent been able to carry out.

However other things have been attended to, the work of calling on the Lord has been my great and chief personal business. During the early part of life, however, though thoroughly given to this exercise, I had no settled arrangement with regard to the number of times for this duty to be attended to each day. But, a good number of years ago, I fixed it as a rule, that I would never pray less than a set number of times, chiefly in private, every day, God being my helper as long as I lived. And though since that resolution was formed, many years of hard labor have passed away, yet this duty has ever been attended to most carefully. But oh, how much to God I owe for His gracious help therein! And, thanks be to Him, I can look back on this with a happy degree of humble gratitude. Of a truth, I can say, I would far rather have it said that Henry Breeden was a man given much to mighty prayer, than that it should be gazetted that he was worth his unnumbered thousands of this world’s wealth.”

The Welsh Revival was a revival, among other things, of prayer. Evan Roberts was mightily used of God in this revival and his biographer says of him: “Now, as the message gripped his soul, he gave himself to prayer as never before; and with the Holy Spirit’s guidance day by day his faith was strengthened. As he worked he prayed, and God came and filled his life. He was very practical, and soon got the secret of ‘praying without ceasing.’ He learned the sweetness of the abiding Christ through prayer, and prayer became a habit in his busy life.”
Many contemporaries of Evan Roberts attempted to discover the reason for the power and effect of that revival and had to attribute it to prayer. Campbell Morgan writes thus:
“In the name of God let us cease trying to find it! At least let us cease trying to trace it to any one man or convention. You cannot trace it. And yet I will trace it tonight. Whence has it come? All over Wales―I am giving you roughly the result of the questioning of fifty or more persons at random in the week―a praying remnant has been agonizing before God about the state of this beloved land, and it is through prayer the answer of fire has come.
“You tell me that the revival originates with Evan Roberts. I tell you that Roberts is a product of the revival. You tell me that it began in an Endeavor meeting where a young girl bore testimony. I tell you that was the result of a revival breaking out everywhere. . . . It is a Divine visitation in which God―let me say this reverently―in which God is saying to us: ‘See what I can do without the things you are depending on; see what I can do in answer to a praying people; see what I can do through the simplest, who are ready to fall in line, and depend wholly and absolutely upon Me.’

These quotations have been taken from How They Prayed Volume Three which is published by Harvey Christian Publishers and is available in their Online Christian Bookstore.

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How They Prayed Volume 3: “Make me an intercessor!”

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In the book, How They Prayed, Volume Three,” the authors, Edwin and Lillian Harvey, have given us insight into the heart-breathings of many of God’s children who were called to minister for Him at home or abroad. One such servant–author and missionary–Isobel Kuhn, shares some of her longings with us:
““Lord, I bring Thee my myrrh.’ That was the silent heart-cry that had taken the hurt and fear out of my missionary journey to Lisu-land. I had seldom before been able to offer Him that gift, and I have never forgotten the joy of it.


“There are those who think they are willing to suffer and die ‘for Christ’s sake,’ but who are unwilling to spend half an hour daily in prayer for His work and workers. It is ‘myrrh’ when we say quietly to friends: ‘No, I cannot accept your invitations. I have something I must do,’ and then to spend that time in intercession for His work and workers or in some other self-effacing work or drudgery that makes possible the giving of the Gospel to every creature.”

Make me an Intercessor,
Willing for deeper death,
Emptied, broken, then made anew,
And filled with Living Breath.

Make me an Intercessor,
Hidden―unknown―set apart,
Thought little of by those around,
But satisfying Thine heart.

“The need of all is prayer; the second need is prayer; the third need is prayer,” writes missionary to Japan, Paget Wilkes.

Within the veil, there is a secret place
Where Christ hath gone to evermore abide,
And there to plead before His Father’s face,
The wound-prints of His hands and feet and side.

It is not strange, though ’tis a grace indeed,
That He should ever live to save His own
Unto the uttermost, and intercede
For all the blood-bought jewels of His crown.

But ’tis amazing grace that He should bid
Me enter there, and suffer me to dwell,
Before His Father’s presence unafraid
And with Him intercede within the veil.
–Paget Wilkes

How They Prayed, Volume Three, is published by Harvey Christian Publishers and is available in their Online Christian Bookstore.

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How They Prayed Volume 3: Prayer—the work of the future!

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Words spoken by saints about to depart for their heavenly Home often affect us deeply. John Sung, who did so much to establish God’s work in China, had a dying message for the Church today. “The work of the future is to be the work of prayer,” he gasped.

“There is no way that Christians, in a private capacity, can do so much to promote the work of God and advance the Kingdom of Christ as by prayer,” said Jonathan Edwards.

“Prayer, unceasing and earnest,” comments William Burns, another laboror for God in China, “is that wherein the great strength of a revival of religion lieth. Who among us has the spirit of prayer?” he continues. “They are mighty who have this spirit, and weak who have it not . . . . The great fundamental error as far as I can see, in the economy of the Christian life, which many, and alas! I for one commit, is that of having too few and too short periods of solemn retirement with our gracious Father and His adorable Son, Jesus Christ.”

“Brother, if you would enter that Province, you must go forward on your knees,” wrote Hudson Taylor to a fellow-missionary who had asked his advice regarding pioneering in China.
“God Himself is the great source of power,” Mr. Taylor continues. “Power belongeth unto God. . . . Further, God’s power is available power. We are supernatural people, born again by a supernatural birth, kept by a supernatural power, sustained on supernatural food, taught by a supernatural Teacher from a supernatural Book. We are led by a supernatural Captain in right paths to assured victories.”

And still another missionary concludes: “The invisible results are, I verily believe, far greater and far more important than the visible. The growth of our work is similar to that of a plant. The root of a plant takes a longer time to grow than the stem; but maturation takes more time than either. The giant oak is wrapped up in that tiny acorn; but to develop it, the acorn must have time to strike its roots, and the sapling must be exposed to the necessary influences. Summer and winter, spring and autumn, the stormy winds and soft breezes have all had a share in, and were all necessary to, the development of the baby-oak into the fair tree you see today. So it is with our work. All great work requires time.”
– Griffith John

All the above quotations are taken from How They Prayed Volume 3, written and compiled by Edwin and Lillian Harvey, and published by Harvey Christian Publishers. This book is available in their Online Christian Bookstore.

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These quotations have been taken from How They Prayed Volume Three which is published by Harvey Christian Publishers and is available in their Online Christian Bookstore.

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How They Prayed, Vol. Three: “Pray-er Preachers!”

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D. L. Moody said: “Next to the wonder of seeing my Savior will be, I think, the wonder that I have made so little of the power of prayer.” This statement was uttered by D. L. Moody and quoted in the book by Edwin and Lillian Harvey entitled How They Prayed Volume 3. A further quotation by R. A. Torrey reveals the fact that Mr. Moody was a man of prayer in the deepest and most meaningful sense:


“D. L. Moody certainly was a wonderful preacher; taking it all in all. . . . But out of a very intimate acquaintance with him I wish to testify that he was a far great pray-er than he was preacher. Time and time again, he was confronted by obstacles that seemed insurmountable, but he always knew the way to overcome all difficulties. He knew the way to bring to pass anything that needed to be brought to pass. He knew and believed in the deepest depths of his soul that ‘nothing was too hard for the Lord’ and that prayer could do anything that God could do.”
“In regard to my own experience,” said the revivalist, “I will say that unless I had the spirit of prayer I could do nothing. If even for a day or an hour I lost the spirit of grace and supplication, I found myself unable to preach with power and efficiency, or to win souls by personal conversation.”

Mr. Finney was also a praying man. A student of Oberlin College, forty-five years later, has this to say about his professor: “The class in Theology in 1838, met to hear one of the last lectures of the course. Our teacher, as usual, knelt with us in offering the opening prayer. But the burden on his soul for us, for Zion, for a lost world, could not be thrown off in a few petitions. He ‘stood in the gap’ and wrestled for the blessing. For a whole hour he led us up to God. We then arose and went in profound silence to our rooms. There was no lecture on that day. That prayer, never can we forget it!”

These quotations have been taken from How They Prayed Volume Three which is published by Harvey Christian Publishers and is available in their Online Christian Bookstore.

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How They Prayed, Vol. Two: “Oh, for five hundred Elijahs!”

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“Oh, for five hundred Elijahs,” exclaimed Charles Spurgeon, “each one upon his Carmel, crying unto God, and we should soon have the clouds bursting into showers! Oh, for more prayer, more constant, incessant prayer! Then the blessing would rain upon us.”
These words of Spurgeon’s are quoted on page sixty-one of the book, How They Prayed Vol. Two, written and compiled by Edwin and Lillian Harvey.

This volume, the second in the How They Prayed series, focuses on the prayers of preachers and ministers of the Gospel and shows how prayer was vital to the ministry of many of God’s servants. The following quotation from the same book tells of an incident in the life of Rev. Griffith of Caernarvon, Wales, who was asked to preach one night in a farmhouse:
“Some hours before the service was to begin, he asked for a retired spot in which to prepare for the evening service. The congregation had already assembled, but there was no sign of the minister. A servant in the family was sent to his room to request him to come as the people had been waiting for some time.
“On approaching the door of his room, she heard what she supposed to be a dialogue carried on in a subdued tone of voice. Listening before knocking, she heard one say to the other, ‘I will not go unless Thou come with me.’
The girl returned to the master of the house and told him that Rev. Griffiths had someone in the room with him, and that he would not come unless the other accompany him. ‘I did not hear the other reply, so I conclude he will not come from there tonight.’
“‘Yes, I am sure he will come,’ replied the master of the house, ‘and the Other will come with him. We shall begin the service by singing and reading till the two come.’
“At last the minister made his appearance, and it was evident that Someone else came with him for it was no ordinary service they had that night. It was but the beginning of a powerful revival in the neighborhood where many were born of God.” p. 65
How They Prayed Volume 2 is available on Harvey Christian Publishers’ Online Christian Bookstore.

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Apart! Apart! Every minister―of all men―apart!

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How They Prayed Vol. 2, written and compiled by Edwin and Lillian Harvey, is written to show how ministers of God’s word have discovered prayer to be the foundation of a work which endures and bears lasting fruit. “Get your sermon preparation well done before the Sabbath,” urges Samuel Chadwick. “Turn into bed in good time on Saturday night, and out of it early on Sunday morning. Get three hours with God before you go to the pulpit; get at Him by reading, believing, and praying over His Book. Talk with Him till He talks with you and says, “Go in this thy strength.”
S. Chadwick, p. 34

Alexander Whyte has further advice for every minister of the Gospel:
“Pray after the sermon. Prayer for ourselves and the people after preaching is much neglected. Do not neglect either.”
“With his closet, and with the key of his closet continually in his hand, no minister need despair, even though he is not a great orator with a great gift of public prayer.”
“Apart! Apart! Every minister―of all men―apart!”
“Our friends! How bad we all are to our friends! How short-sighted, how cruel, how thoughtless, how inconsiderate! We send them gifts. Our children cover their Christmas tree with Christmas presents to our friends. Our friends cost us a great deal of thought and trouble and money, from time to time. We send them sheaves of cards with all manner of affectionate devices and verses. We take time and we write our old friends, at home and abroad, letters full of news and of affection on Christmas Day and on New Year’s Day. But we never pray for them! Or, at best, we pray for them in a great hurry.
“Why do we do everything for our friends, but the best thing? How few of us shut our door during all the leisure of the last two weeks, and deliberately, and particularly, and with discrimination, and with importunity prayed for our dearest and best friends! We discriminate in our purchases for our friends, lest we should slight or offend our friends; but not in our prayers.”

Why should we wonder at the flight
Of any streaking satellite,
When every worshipping heart can share
A gold immensity of prayer
That circles earth and reaches far
Beyond the mightiest gleaming star―
More bright than any galaxy,
More wide than all infinity!
―Grace V. Watkins.
(Used by Permission of Herald of Holiness).

How They Prayed Vol. 2 is published by Harvey Christian Publishers and is available in their Online Christian Bookstore.

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How They Prayed, Vol. Two: Rise Early!

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When the glory of the Father
Is the goal of every prayer―
When before the Throne in Heaven
Our High Priest presents it there―
When the Spirit prompts the asking,
When the waiting heart believes―
Then we know of each petition
Everyone who asks receives.

This poem is on the back cover of the book, How They Prayed Vol. 2, written and compiled by Edwin and Lillian Harvey. This volume particularly emphasizes the need for ministers of the Gospel to be steeped in prayer and quotes from various preachers and pastors of past generations to show how they have stressed and practiced the importance of prayer in their ministry.
The opening chapters stress the importance of early rising as can be seen by the following excerpts:

On the lone mountain side,
Before the morning’s light,
The Man of sorrows wept and cried
And rose refreshed with might:
O hear us, then, for we
Are very weak and frail;
We make the Savior’s name our plea,
And surely must prevail.
―Charles Spurgeon. p. 8

This (early rising) used to be easier than it is now. The whole habit of life of the modern world has been changed, and for the worse spiritually, by two inventions, rapid locomotion and brilliant artificial lights. By the latter, night can be turned into day; the world sits up late and cannot rise early. The evident rule of the Creator for His creatures is disregarded by man, and one inevitable result is that while birds and beasts go on without nervous disorders, the human race gets more and more neurotic and undependable.―From An Ordered Life, by G. H. Lang, by permission of Paternoster Press, Exeter. Quoted in Royal Insignia, p. 14

If you receive what I call ‘the full composure’ in the morning, the mind stayed upon God, the solid rest, this will carry you into all your little concerns with the utmost patience, and the daily cross will be the blessed means of increasing your heaven. And this is a constant heaven; this is your place―to have God your all. William Bramwell. p. 22

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How They Prayed, Vol. Two: “Getting Windward of the Almighty!”

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“A plain man once said in the presence of the writer, ‘You must get up soon of a morning if you intend to get to windward of the Almighty.’ He spoke the truth.”―Thomas Champness, How They Prayed Vol. 2, p. 33
This is the main thrust of the first two chapters of How They Prayed Vol. 2, written and compiled by Edwin and Lillian Harvey, a book which focuses on the importance of prayer in the lives of all who would serve God and minister to others. Gerhardt Tersteegen echoes the same thought:

“O brothers; in these silent hours
God’s miracles are wrought;
He giveth His beloved in sleep
A treasure all unsought.

“I sit an infant at His feet,
Where moments teach me more
Than all the toil and all the books
Of all the ages hoar.”
―Tersteegen. p. 23

“Though I am apt to be unsettled and quickly set off the hinges,” writes Joseph Alleine, “yet methinks I am like a bird out of the nest; I am never quiet till I am in my old way of communion with God, like the needle in the compass that is restless till it be turned toward the pole. I can say, through grace, with the Church, ‘with my soul have I desired thee in the night, and with my spirit within me have I sought thee early.’ My heart is early and late with God; ’tis the business of my life and the delight of my life to seek Him.” p. 25

Yet never sleep the sun up; prayer should
Dawn with the day: these are set awful hours
’Twixt Heaven and us: the manna was not good
After sun-rising; for day sullies flowers:
Rise to prevent the sun; sleep doth sins glut,
And Heaven’s gates open when the world’s is shut.
―J Henry Vaughan p. 23

How They Prayed Vol. Two is published by Harvey Christian Publishers and is available in their Online Christian Bookstore.

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A Common Fault—Justifying Oneself

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Who among us relishes being told his or her faults? Self-justification is generally our spontaneous reaction. Yet Pascal advises otherwise: “When people detect in us what are actually imperfections and faults, it is clear that they do us no wrong, since it is not they who caused them; and it is clear, too, that they do us a service, inasmuch as they help us to free ourselves from an evil, namely, the ignorance of these defects. We should not be angry because they know them and despise us; for it is right that they should know us for what we are, and that they should despise us if we are despicable.”
Pascal. p. 179


The above quotation was taken from the book, Royal Insignia, compiled by Edwin and Lillian Harvey on the subject of humility. A further quotation from Coleridge echoes Pascal’s sentiment:
“If a foe hath kenn’d,
Or worse than foe, an alienated friend,
A rib of dry rot in thy ship’s stout side,
Think it God’s message, and in humble pride
With heart of oak replace it: thine the gains!
Give him the rotten timber for his pains!”
—Coleridge.
“Ambition is a gilded misery,” states Bernard of Clairvaux, “a secret poison, a hidden plague, the engineer of deceit, the mother of hypocrisy, the parent of envy, the original of vices, the moth of holiness, the blinder of hearts, turning medicines into maladies and remedies into diseases.”
—St. Bernard. Royal Insignia, p. 182

“Ah, Lord, since in Thy hands the most feeble things gain power and strength, and a reed placed within them becomes a scepter, take Thou my heart; it is but a reed, flexible and versatile, turning with every wind; a hollow reed, empty of charity, of devotion, empty of all good. But from the moment it is placed in Thy hands, it will be filled with the strength of Thy divine Spirit, and will become a generous heart, a firm heart, an ardent and fervent heart, ready to surmount all difficulties, and to make all obstacles give way before its indefatigable perseverance.” Ibid, p. 188

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Hallowed Work

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I asked of God that He should give success
To the high task I sought for Him to do;
I asked that every hindrance might grow less
And that my hours of weakness might be few;
I asked that far and lofty heights be scaled;
And now I humbly thank Him that I failed.
For with the pain and sorrow came to me
A dower of tenderness in act and thought;
And with the failure came a sympathy,
An insight which success had never brought.
Father, I had been foolish and unblest
If Thou hadst granted me my blind request.
—J. Stuart Holden. P. 146


This poem should be of great encouragement to many of us who feel we have been hindered in life from being a true success. In God’s economy, He turns seeming failures into the greatest of our achievements although we usually cannot view them as such at the time. This poem is taken from in the book, Royal Insignia, a compilation on humility written and compiled by Edwina and Lillian Harvey.
Frances Ridley Havergal tells us that “weakness will be power,” when we realize our need of total reliance on the Lord:

“I could not do without Thee!
I cannot stand alone:
I have no strength or goodness,
No wisdom of my own.
But Thou, beloved Savior,
Art all in all to me;
And weakness will be power,
If leaning hard on Thee.”
—Frances Ridley Havergal, Royal Insignia, p. 178

Without humility religious progress is impossible. The true growth of the soul is not to be measured by our attempting many extraordinary duties but by our power of doing simple duties well. And humility, when it reigns in the soul, carries this principle into practice. It bids us hallow our work, especially whatever may be to us hard or distasteful work.—H. P. Liddon, Ibid, p. 146
Royal Insignia is published by Harvey Christian Publishers and is available in their Online Christian Bookstore.

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