continued from ... How To Experience Revival (Finney)

Prayer does not consist of words.  It does not matter what the words 
are if the heart is not led by the Spirit of God. If the desire is not 
directed, and the whole current of feeling produced and led by the Spirit 
of God, it is not prayer. Set forms keep an individual from praying as 
he could.

Nothing will produce more excitement and opposition than the spirit of
prayer.

There are two goals necessary for a revival; one to influence men, the 
other to influence God. The truth is employed to influence men, and 
prayer to move God.

Prayer produces such a change.

To pray effectively, you must pray with submission to the will of God.
Do not confuse submission with indifference.

Christians often amaze themselves when they look back on their ardent, 
bold prayers spoken in a moment of intense emotion.  Yet,these prayers
have prevailed and obtained the blessing.  And many of these people 
are among the holiest people I know in the world.

Prayer for the unsaved must be based on more than sympathy. Missionaries 
and others often make the mistake of praying only about those going to
hell, forgetting prayer about how the unsaved also dishonor God.  Most 
Christians work up to prevailing prayer through a prolonged process.  
Their minds gradually become filled with anxiety about something until
they even go about their business sighing out their desires to God.

The spirit of those who have been in distress for the souls of others
is similar to that of the apostle, Paul, who worked for souls and was 
ready to wish himself cut off from christ for the sake of others.

If you plan to pray effectively, you must pray a lot.

When you pray in the name of Christ, you can prevail just as well as 
He and receive just as much as God's beloved Son would if He were to 
pray for the same things.  You must pray in faith.

Person without such a loving character is a superficial believer.

When Christians are driven to the extreme, they make a desperate effort
and roll the burden on the Lord Jesus Christ.  They exercise a childlike 
confidence in Him.  Then they feel relieved, as if assured that the soul 
they were praying for will be saved.  The burden is gone, and God seems 
to kindly soothe the mind with a sweet assurance that the blessing 
will be granted.

This travailing in prayer for souls also creates a remarkable bond 
between warmhearted Christians and the young converts.  Those who are 
converted are very dear to those who have had this spirit of prayer 
for them.

If the church received the blessing without this deep humility of soul, 
it would have grown puffed up with pride. Whenever you are in circumstances 
to which the promises or principles apply, you are to use them. Then 
sit down on the promise and say, "God has pledged Himself to put an 
end to the captivity in seventy years, and the time has expired, and 
there is no need to do anything"?  Oh, no He said, "And I set my face 
unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplication with fasting, 
and sackcloth, and ashes" Do not think as some seem to, that because 
something is foretold in prophecy it is not necessary to pray for it,
or that it will come whether Christians pray for it or not. When the 
Spirit of God is upon you, and excites strong desires for any blessing, 
you are bound to pray for it in faith. Our faith rests on evidence 
that it is the will of God to grant that thing.  The Scripture is not
evidence that something else will be granted, but that this particular
thing will be. People often receive more than they pray for. Whenever 
you find a promise you can use, plant it in your mind before you go 
on. You must persevere.  You are not to pray for a thing once, then 
cease, and call that the prayer of faith. God will grant answers to 
prayer when prayer is persistent. 

There is reason to believe that millions are in hell because Christians 
have not offered the prayer of faith on their behalf. What is our Bible 
good for if we do not take hold of its precious promises and use them 
as the ground of our faith when we pray for the blessing of God.  You 
better send your Bibles to the nonChristians where they will do some 
good if you are not gong to believe and use them. Nothing is more 
calculated to inspire a spirit of prayer than to unite in social 
prayer with one who has the Spirit himself, unless this one is so far 
ahead that his prayer will repel the rest. One individual who obtains 
the spirit of prayer will often arouse a whole church, so that a 
general revival follows. Those who desire to pray, let them pray. Not 
to interrupt the flow of feeling, chill the meeting, or turn the 
thoughts of the people from the proper subject. Very often, those who 
pray long prayers in a meeting do so because they do not have the 
spirit of prayer. Everyone should keep to the point and pray for what 
they came to pray for, not follow the flights of their imagination. When 
there is an unhappy lack of confidence in the leader, there is no hope
of any good. If there is little confidence regarding his piety, his 
ability, his judgment, or anything connected with the meeting, 
everything hesays or does will fail. Latecomers to the meeting will 
disrupt the atmosphere. A great deal of singing often inures a prayer 
meeting. Knowing what it is to travail in birth for souls, a Christian
would never feel less like singing than when he had the spirit of 
prayer for sinners.

Prayer meetings are often too long. People in attendance should always 
be dismissed while there is still feeling. Meetings should not drag 
out until all feeling is exhausted and the spirit of prayer is gone.
Every minister should know that if prayer meetings are neglected, all 
his work is in vain.  Unless he can convince Christians to attend the 
prayer meetings, nothing else he can do will improve the state of 
faith. Prayer meetings are the most difficult meetings, to sustain.  
They are so spiritual that unless the leader is especially prepared, 
both in heart and mind, they will dwindle. The great object of all 
the means of grace is to aim directly at the conversion of sinners. 
Do not pray that they will merely be awakened and convicted, but pray 
that they may be converted on the spot.  No one should pray or make 
any remarks as if he expected a single sinner would go away without 
giving his heart to God.

When Christians become proud of their great revival, it will stop. When 
that part of the Church that does the work of the devil, by attempting
to gain new converts.  By doing this he stirs up bitterness, raises a 
selfish strife, grieves away the Spirit, and drives Christians into 
factions.  No more revival there. The Spirit may be grieved by a 
spirit of boasting about the revival.  Sometimes, as soon as a revival
starts, you will see it advertized in the newspapers.  Usually this 
will kill the revival. Some, under pretense of publishing thing to the 
praise and glory of God, have in fact published things that seemed to 
exalt themselves more. Have so often seen mischief done by premature 
publications that I thought it would be best to say nothing about it.
A revival is likely to stop when Christians lose the spirit of 
brotherly love. As soon as the spirit of love begins to cease, the 
Spirit of God becomes so grieved that He leaves. Christians of all 
denominations should forget their prejudice.

Ordinarily, a lengthy meeting should be conducted throughout by the 
same minister if possible. Suppose a person who is sick would call a 
different physician everyday. A long meeting carried on by a 
succession of ministers could be harmful.  None of the ministers would 
get into the spirit of it, and, generally, they would do more harm 
than good. It is evident we must have more arousing preaching to meet 
our needs today. Even a preacher without a liberal education will draw
a congregation around him because he has an earnest style and pours 
out fire on his hearers when he preaches.

Revival will cease when Christians become mechanical in their attempts 
to promote it. When their faith is strong, their hearts are warm and 
mellow, their prayers full of holy emotion, and their words full of 
power, the work goes on. The revival will stop when the church grows 
exhausted through its labor.  Multitudes of Christians make a great 
mistake here in time of revival.  They are so thoughtless and have so
little judgment that they will break up all their habits of living, 
neglect to eat and sleep at the proper hours, and let the excitement 
run away with them.  Wy doing this they overwork their bodies and soon
become exhausted.  It then becomes impossible for them to continue in 
the work.  Revivals often cease because of negligence and imprudence 
in this area on the part of those in charge of the revival.

When Christians do not feel their dependence on the Spirit they become
proud of their success, take the credit themselves. The utmost 
watchfulness on the part of ministers and churches is required  so that 
conceited men do not grieve the Spirit. A revival will decline and 
cease unless Christians are frequently revived.  By this, I mean that 
Christians, in order to keep in the spirit of revival, need to be 
frequently convicted and humbled before God. The fact is that in a 
revival, the Christian's heart is liable to get crusted over and lose
its exquisite desire for divine things. His unction and prevalence in
prayer abate, and he must be renewed over again. It is impossible to 
keep a Christian in such a holy state unless he passes through such a 
process every few days. There must be a process of repentance every 
two or three weeks. If those who do nothing to promote revival 
continue their opposition, and if those who are working to promote it 
allow themselves to grow impatient, and develop a bad spirit, the 
revival will cease.  Let them keep to their work and neither talk 
about the opposition, nor preach on it. None of the slander will stop 
the revival while those who are engaged in it mind their own business 
and keep to their work.

Another thing that hinders revival is neglecting the claims of missions.  
If Christians confine their attention to their own church, do not even
read their missionary magazine, do not inform themselves about missions, 
and do not do what God calls them to do, the Spirit of God will depart
from them.

Timing is important.  You must select a proper time to try to make a 
serious impression on the mind of a careless sinner when he is away 
from other activities; when he is not excited about any other subject;
Completely sober when he is in a good temper; when they are alone.

In visiting families, instead of calling the entire family together at 
the same time, it is better to see each member, one at a time. By 
taking one alone and treating him respectfully and kindly, each one 
had no motive for resistance as often arises when in the presence of 
others.

Be serious. Avoid all lightness of manner.  You are engaged in very 
serious work which is going to affect the character of your friend or 
neighbor and probably determine his destiny for eternity.

Be respectful.  Some think it is necessary to be abrupt, rude, and 
coarse in their discussions with the careless and impenitent.

Bring the great and fundamental truths to bear on the person's mind. 
Tell him the purpose is to save his soul and not settle controversial 
questions in theology.

Bring up the individual's particular sins.  Talking in general terms 
against sin will produce no results.  You must make a man feel that 
you mean him.  A minister who cannot make his hearers feel that he 
means them cannot expect to accomplish much. Kindly but plainly, not 
being offensive, awaken his conscience and give full force to the truth.

Best to be short and not long winded about what we have to say.  If 
possible, get the individual to repent and give themselves to Christ 
at the time.

Be persistent to your attempts to persuade the individual to accept 
Jesus as their Savior. Many think they can be Christians, yet dream 
through life using all their time and property for themselves. 

The best educated ministers are those who win the most souls. Learning
is important and always useful, but after all, a minister knows how to
win souls to Christ without a formal education. It is true that God 
converts sinners.  But there is a sense, too, in which ministers 
convert them.

Seize the earliest opportunity to talk with those around you who are
careless.  You must seek an opportunity, and, if your cannot find one, 
make one. When you approach a careless individual, be sure to treat 
him kindly.  Let him see that you are  talking with him, not because 
you seek a quarrel with him, but because you love his soul and desire 
his best good in time and eternity. Be very plain  Keep back none of 
the truth, but let it come out plainly before him. Be very patient. 
Guard your own spirit. If a man entrench himself against God, be careful 
not to take his part in anything. If you agree with him, he feels that
he has you on his side.  Show him that it is a wicked and critical 
spirit that prompts him to make these remarks, not concern for the 
honor or religion or the laws of Jesus Christ. Sinners may have 
entrenched themselves somewhere and fortified their minds in regard 
to some particular point which they are determined not to yield. Make 
it an object of constant study, daily reflection, and prayer to learn h
ow to deal with sinners and to promote their conversion. Now, if you 
are neglecting the main business of life, what are you living for. If 
Christians feel that sinners are unable to repent and believe the 
gospel, it is hard to see the sinner as a rebel against God who 
deserves to be sent to hell. If they do not take God's part against 
the sinner, they cannot expect God to hear their prayers, because they 
do not pray with right motives.  No doubt one great reason so many 
prayers are not answered is that those who pray take the sinner's part
against God. If there are rebellious and impenitent members in the 
church, they should be removed.  If they remain, they are a reproach 
to religion and will hinder revival.  Sometimes the offenders are 
influential people, or they have family friends who will take their 
side, create a bad spirit, and prevent revival. Whenever wrong has 
been done to anyone, there should be a full confession.  It should be
a hearty confession going the full length of the wrong, and showing 
that it comes out of a broken heart. A great obstruction to revival is
often found where active, leading individuals harbor a revengeful and 
unforgiving spirit toward those who have injured them. No directions 
should be given that don't include a change of heart, a right heart, 
or vigorous obedience to Christ.  In other words, nothing is proper 
which does not imply actually becoming a Christian. The sinner should 
be told plainly, at once, what he must do if he would not be lost. It 
is surprising that a sinner could think he was doing God a service 
just by reading the Bible or attending Church. Sinners while they 
remain in penitence, are insulting God whether they read His Word and 
pray or let it alone. It is generally safe to tell a sinner to repent. 
The apostles usually exhorted them to "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ."
Many oppose that remorse or a sense of guilt is repentance.  Then hell 
is full of repentance because it is full of unutterable and eternal 
remorse.  Others feel regret that they have sinned, and they call that
repenting.  but they only regret their sin because of the consequence.
Repentance is change of mind toward god and sin.  It is not only a 
change of views, but a change of the ultimate preference or choice of 
the soul and of action.  It is a voluntary change and, consequently, 
involves a change of feeling and action toward God and sin. This is 
the same type of mind change as when one changes interests. Impenitent
sinners see religion this way: that if they become Christian they 
would have to stay away from pornography, drunkenness, gambling, or 
other things they now enjoy.  they think they could never enjoy 
themselves if they stopped dong all those things.

Christianity does not make the believer unhappy by keeping him away 
from the sinful things he loved because the believer has changed his 
opinion of those things  the person who has repented has no desire for
these things.  He has given them up and turned his mind away from them.

Another must for sinners is to confess and forsake their sins, forsake 
them all.  A man has not forsaken his sins until he has made as much 
reparation for them as is in his power.  He must make restitution to 
the extend of his power. Sometimes sinners imagine they must wait for 
different feelings before they submit to God.  They need to be told 
that God requires them to will right.  If they obey and submit with 
the will, the feelings will adjust themselves in due time.  It is not
a question of feeling, but of willing and acting. Correct feelings 
only follow correction in the will. It is sometimes impossible to deal
effectively with anxious young people in the presence of their parents
because the parents have so much more compassion for their children 
than regard for the honor of God. No sinner ever believes his sins are
greater than they really are. No sinner ever has an adequate idea of 
how great a sinner he is. God has in his mercy, spared all His creatures 
that worst of sights, a naked human heart.  If he should see his sins 
as they are, he probably would not live one moment.  Telling the most 
moral and naturally amiable person in the world that he is good enough,
that he is not as bad as he thinks, is not giving him rational comfort, 
but deceiving him and ruining his soul. The sinner is on the very 
verge of hell.  He is in rebellion against God, and his danger is 
infinitely greater than he imagines. 

One of the first things young converts should be taught is to 
distinguish between emotion and principle in Christianity.  Fix these 
words in your mind.  Distinguish between emotion and principle. Emotion 
is that state of mind of which we are conscious and which we call 
feeling.  Principle is the voluntary decision of the mind, the firm 
determination to fulfill duty and to obey the will of God, by which a 
Christian should always be governed. When a man decides to obey God, 
because it is right that is principle.  Whether he feels any lively 
religious emotions at the time or not. Many young converts have 
mistaken view on this subject.  They let their feelings completely 
determine whether or not they will become involved in a christian 
activity.  Many are influenced almost entirely by their emotions. They
give way to their feelings as if they felt they were under no 
obligation to duty unless urged on by some strong emotion.  They are 
religious only when they are impelled by a gush of feeling.  This is 
not true religion. Young converts should be carefully taught that when
a task needs to be done, they are to do it.  However, dull your feelings 
may be, if duty calls do it.  Do not wait for feeling, just do it.  
Most likely the very emotions you are waiting for will surface when 
you begin to do your duty.  Do not wait for emotions before you pray.
Young converts should not be influenced to be sectarian in their 
outlook. Young converts obsessed with such sectarian questions soon 
find their zeal sours.  Young converts need to be taught that they are
neither owner of their possessions nor of themselves.  Christians have 
no hour as if their time were their own.  They really have no right to
go anywhere or do anything for themselves. Young converts should be 
taught to always pray, no matter what may take place.  Young will fall 
into sin and then feel as if he cannot pray. Instead of overcoming 
this, he becomes so distressed that he waits for the pain of his 
distress to pass.   Instead of going directly to Jesus Christ in the 
middle of his agony, confessing his sin out of the fullness of his 
heart, getting a renewed pardon and his peace restored, he wats until 
all of his affliction has subsided. When your conscience presses you, 
go to Christ, confess your sinfully,  and our out your heart to God.
Sometimes people will neglect to pray because they are in the dark and 
feel no desire to pray.  But that is the very time when they need prayer. 
They should always look at Christ as their model rather then at other 
Christians.  They should aim to be holy. Converts must learn to say 
"no". If you do not wish to expose the cause of christ to scorn and 
contempt, learn to resist the beginnings of temptations.

It is very important that young converts are taught to be strictly 
honest. Desires that do not result in choice and action ar not virtuous. 
An action or desire, to be virtuous in the sight of god must be an act
of the will. Whatever desires a person may have, if they are not 
carried out through actual choice and action, they are to virtuous.  
And no degree of desire is good within itself.  Nothing which is 
selfish is Christian.  If the reason behind them is selfish, there is 
nothing faithful in them.  A man may just as much commit sin in praying, 
reading the Bible, or going to a religious service as in anything else,
if his motive is selfish. Suppose a man prays with a view to simply 
promote his own happiness. Is that God fearing?  It is no more than 
attempting to make God his Almighty Servant.  It is nothing but an 
attempt to put the universe and God in a position to make the self 
happy. Nothing is acceptable to god, including religion, unless it is 
performed heartily to please God.  No outward action ha anything good 
unless it is performed with right motives and from the heart. Christianity 
consists of voluntary action.  Young converts must be taught that the 
duty of selfdenial is one of the leading features of the gospel.  Are 
no more faithful than they are willing to take up their cross daily 
and deny themselves for Christ. In pleading for benevolent reasons, 
how often will you find that ministers and agents do not ever ask 
Christians to deny themselves for the sake of promoting their petition.  
They only ask them to give what they can spare.  In other words to 
offer the Lord that which costs them nothing.  What an abomination.  
Preachers only ask for the surplus, for what is not wanted, for what 
can as easily be given as not.

Young converts should be taught to understand what perseverance is the
true idea is that if a man is truly converted he will, as a rule, 
continue to obey god despite difficulty and risk. If a man habitually 
disobeys God, in any particular way, his state of mind renders obedience 
regarding anything else impossible. 

Young converts are easily taught to be temperate in all things (lCor 9:25) 
Yet, this subject is greatly neglected when teaching young converts.
Here is an individual who pretends he has given himself up to serve 
Jesus Christ, yet he refuses to deny himself any darling lust. then 
he will go and pray: Lord, save the world; Lord, Thy Kingdom come.  
This is hypocrisy.  Unless christians are willing to deny themselves, 
their prayers are not worth a penny. What right do you have to use 
Christ's money for your lusts?  Are you a good steward?  Be careful 
that you do not find out too late that you have preferred self 
gratification to obedience. The time to teach these things effectively
is when converts are young.  If converts are to properly taught in the
beginning, they will start a wrong habit.  The church can never rise 
out of sloth until young converts are faithfully taught, at the outset
of their new life, to be temperate in all things. New Christians 
should be taught that they must be just as holy as they think ministers 
should be. It is strange that people would assume that ministers are 
bound to be more holy than other people. Every young convert should be
taught that if his purpose is not to live without sin, he has not yet 
begun to be righteous.  What is religion but a supreme love for God 
and a supreme disposition to obey God? It should be their constant
purpose to live wholly for God and obey all His commandments.  they 
should live so that if they were in sin, it would be inconsistency, 
an exception. This is just what the devil wants young converts to hear 
from older Christians.  " Your feelings will not last, but, by and by,
you will be as cold as we are."  The church is preparing the young 
convert to expect himself to backslide as a matter of course, so that 
when be begins to decline he will not be alarmed. Faith will consist 
of going in it.  They should be taught to go forward all the time and "
grow in grace" continually.

New Christians should be brought to such a state of mind that the 
first indications of decay in spirituality or zeal will alarm them and 
spur them up to duty. The very idea of being a Christian is to 
renounce self and has no more right to withhold anything from God 
than he has to rob or steal. Christians often fail here because they 
want things their own way, or they prefer to do something else. Never 
make a compromise with duty or think of saying: " I will do this to 
offset neglecting that."  Never attempt to pick and choose among the 
commandments of God. Teach young Christians that Christianity does not
consist of raptures or ecstasies or high flights of feeling.  It should 
be understood that these are all involuntary emotions and can exist 
in full power where there is no religion. Christianity is obedience to
God, the voluntary submission of the soul to His will. It may be that 
you live a hypocritical life.  Others are so frivolous.  others are so
proud.  Some are so worldly minded. How can He dwell with them when 
all their thoughts are on things of the world. Others are neglecting 
some known duty, and that is why they do not have the Spirit. If you 
have neglected any known duty and lost the spirit of prayer, you must 
yield first.  If you wish to have the spirit of God dwell with you, 
you must lead a different life.  You must give up the world. you must 
make sacrifices.  You must beat off from your worldly associates and 
confess your sins.  so, on the whole, you do not really want to have 
the spirit come, unless He will consent to let you live as you please.
A man is responsible for all the good he can do. There is such a thing
as being so deeply imbued with the Spirit of God that you must and 
will act strange and eccentric to those who cannot understand the 
reasons behind your conduct.  Paul saw the subject so clearly that he 
threw his whole soul into it. You must make up your mind to throw 
yourself to Jesus.  And the more you do this, the ore you will live 
out of the world, walking closer to God. When a minister has gone with
a church as far s his experience in spiritual exercise goes, he stops. 
Until he has a renewed experience, until his heart has been broken up 
afresh and starts again in the divine life and Christian experience, 
he will not help his congregation further.  He may preach sound 
doctrine, yet so can an unconverted minister. If you have the spirit 
of God, you must make up your mind to accept experiencing opposition, 
both in the church and the world.  Very likely the leading men in the
church will oppose you. Satan has very little trouble with Christians 
who are not spiritual, but lukewarm, slothful, and worldly minded. But
spiritual Christians, whom Satan understands very wellp, are really 
injuring him, therefore he sets himself against them. Such Christians
often have terrible conflicts.  

continued ...







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