In the summer of 1876 the grasshoppers did great damage to the crops of the state of Minnesota. The spring of the next year gave every indication that it would again be a bad year for the crops in this state.
So Gov. John S. Pillsbury proclaimed April 26, 1877 to be a day of prayer and fasting in the state of Minnesota.
Everyone prayed!!! Every man and every woman and every child prayed that day.
All the schools were closed. All the shops, stores and offices were closed that day as a holy hush and reverence settled over the state of Minnesota.
The next day the temperature soared to a mid summer heat. Not normal for April and not normal for that part of the country. The larva began to wiggle into life and they thought OH NO it’s going to happen again.
The unusual heat persisted for 3 days and by that time all the larva had hatched. But on the 4th day the temperature suddenly dropped drastically and frost covered the ground that night. Because of the frost and cold temperature all the grass-hoppers were killed. Just as if they had been sprayed with poison they all died.
The farmers of Minnesota never forgot April 26th 1877. It went down in the history of Minnesota as “The day that God answered prayer for the people”.
If my people will … Then I will…
The BIG IF!!
We in Pentecost have a tremendous heritage in prayer.
Heritage – is something handed down from past generations, a legacy, a property that is inherited.
To some it means:
ÿ Washington D.C. – monuments ect…
ÿ Family owned business
ÿ Money placed in a trust
ÿ House or property
But to us as Pentecostals, to us as Apostolics, our legacy is PRAYER. Our heritage is men and women who prayed around the clock for Apostolic Revival!!
Of course, we can’t spend all of our time looking at the past. Too many great things are happening today and will happen in the future.
If a driver spends all his time looking in
the rearview mirror, He is bound to run into something in front of him. But an occasional look is healthy. And so today I want us to realize our heritage.
Each generation must look back to it’s beginning and express it’s gratitude for those who gave meaning to the present. We are the fulfillment of the dreams and the prayers of our early elders and saints.
The mighty Yosemite Falls must reach to it’s highest source, the ice-capped glacier and the tiny streams that flow into it and say, “Without you there could be no rushing, beautiful falls of water to greet observers or furnish a powerful source of energy.
We must earnestly contend for the faith that was given to us. We must never let the things that were handed down to us fall by the way. But each succeeding generation must learn how to Pray.
We should remember the past, and in our remembrance, we must also, for ourselves, learn to serve God in prayer as our forefathers did.
Let me read to you about some of the heritage that we have…
Brother Frank Ewart described a typical prayer meeting in a home: “They found such a wonderful spirit of prayer in the home that they began to humble them-selves before the Lord. Everyone who entered the home would be impressed with the need of seeking the face of God in earnest prayer. . . . Those were Holy Ghost meetings led of the Lord, and all went down in humility together at His feet.”
Frank Bartleman, an eyewitness, described the spirit of prayer during this time; “There was a feeling that God was about to do something extraordinary. The spirit of prayer came more and more heavily upon us. I would lie on my bed in the daytime and roll and groan under the burden. At night I could scarcely sleep for the spirit of prayer. I fasted much, not caring for food while burdened. At one time I was in soul travail for nearly twenty-four hours without intermission. It nearly used me up. Prayer literally consumed me. I would groan all night in my sleep. . .
“I was carrying this burden (of prayer) now in ever-increasing volume, night and day. The ministry was intense. It was the ‘fellowship of His sufferings’ of ‘travail’ of soul, with groanings that could not be uttered. Most believers find it easier to criticize than to pray. My life be this time was literally swallowed up in prayer. I was praying day and night. . . . It seemed a great privilege to spend a whole night with the Lord. . . .
“Brother Pednleton and myself could generally be found lying full length on the low platform on our faces, in prayer, during these services. It was almost impossible to stay off our faces in those days. The presence of the Lord was so real.”
Brother S.C. McClain wrote, “Everywhere people were praying and seeking God for a closer walk in the Spirit – in their homes, in the fields, in the groves, in barns; everywhere someone was praying through and being baptized with the Holy Spirit. There were many wonderful healings.”
Andrew Bar-David Urshan wrote, “When the seekers were tarrying, the power of God fell upon us in great measure, and one brother and sister were prostrated under the power. . . . A little later the Spirit indicated that we were to hold a third convention for prayer and intercession on behalf of the whole world. For forty-five days, we held two meetings daily of prayer and intercession.
“When we arrived in Shelby, the first thing we did was to pray.” After one particular discouraging night, he related, “We went home that night and spent most of the night in prayer, and also the following day.”
Bro. Urshan also mentioned the Lord prompting him to call a convention at his church in Chicago and described it as follows: “We gave ourselves earnestly to two things, namely, confession of our need of God, and intercessory prayer for all God’s people everywhere.”
Gladys Plank wrote of Brother Harry Branding, “Brother Branding was a man of great faith. He fasted and prayed a lot and depended on God. As Brother Brand-ing would enter the pulpit to open the service, we would hear these words: ‘Children, have you prayed today? Did you get on your knees?”
Harvey Howe wrote, “Prevailing prayer was the atmosphere at home. Mom and Dad not only taught us to pray, but showed us how important prayer is. I awoke often to the sound of Dad’s praying and felt compelled to get up to pray before breakfast.”
Brother David Abbott writes, “Some of the fondest memories of my childhood were the mornings at Grandma’s house. At holiday times all of us cousins could wake there to the smell of frying eggs and hot biscuits. But there is another memory from that little rock house in Roswell, New Mexico, that I shall never forget: a familiar yet strange and sometimes frightening sound in the night. It was the sound of my grandfather, Mack D. Abbott, ‘laying hold on God.’
“My Dad, Chester Abbott, had a special way of calling family prayer. He did it by praying! Sometimes he would get frustrated with our carelessness or our resistance, and he would just slip away to pray. This usually happened in the evening after supper. For us, it was time to relax, clean up the dishes, or bring out a game to play, but Dad had a way of changing our plans. We just could not ignore the sound of his earnest prayer coming from the family room. One be one, we would drop what we were doing and slip in to join him. The strength of our family came from that family altar. Today all of his children are actively involved in ministering in the church.”
Sister Virginia Wesson recalls the prayer life of her father, Guy R. Homes, Sr.: “He was a quiet man but very firm in Bible truths and faith. He was used very much in praying for the sick, and many were healed through his prayers. Someone could always find him behind a pew before church service, praying and interceding for the service, which was always rewarded by the manifestation of God’s Spirit.”
Brother Nickerson, a retired minister who has preached for fifty-six years, told me that when he was a young man in Maine it was his job to come to church early to light the wood stove. He would come four or five hours early, and after lighting the stove he would pull a chair over by it and pray till church time. He said, “By the time church time rolled around, I was primed and ready to go.”
Brother James Kilgore told how his mother would kneel down between the rows of seats while his father was preaching and intercede in prayer. The power of God would fall, and things would happen as his mother sought God in prayer.
That was just a very few of the many stories about the great prayer warriors of the Oneness Pentecostal Movement.
Clearly prayer is one of the primary reasons why we exist today. It’s one of the biggest reasons for revival, and if we want to see a great revival in Manchester, we must not leave our heritage of prayer.
I too, personally, have a tremendous heritage in prayer
Grandpa D – before work, prayed in attic and after work immediately to attic to pray hours and hours
Grandma H – was a tremendous
prayer warrior. Around the alter, she’d pray with someone until they were done. - last to leave the alter.
Grandpa H – As he went to sleep was always praying - prayed for hours.
That was passed down to my Mom & Dad, my pastor. If they pass away before the Lord comes, they won’t be able to leave me anything of monitary value. But what they will leave me is the greatest thing in all of the world – The memory of a praying Dad and a praying Mom.
Forever etched in my memory are the many nights when I would be awakened by the sounds of my father praying for his:
ÿ children
ÿ church
ÿ city.
Forever in my memory will be that I had a praying mother – Every morning she is up praying and reading the Bible. When I drifted away from God, she prayed in my room - her prayer book - my name on every page.
Mom and Dad would stay up until I got home to pray with me.
Thank you, Mom & Dad!
And so I stand before you today with one hand stretched toward the past and one hand stretched toward the future now that I have children of my own.
On one hand are the voices and prayers of days gone by, people of a previous generation many still alive today. And on the other hand are my children. I must pass on to them a legacy of prayer!
Hezekiah was a righteous man for most of his life. But somehow, the love he had for God was not transmitted to his son, Manasseh. Manasseh surely had a head knowledge of Jehovah but it was never passed into his heart. And Manasseh did evil in the sight of God and was a very wicked king.
I would be a fool if I didn’t pass on to my son and daughter the heritage of prayer that I received from my father and moter. I pray with my son every night before he goes to bed. Sometimes he is awake and
Sometimes sleeping. Driving down the road praying, Blake asks, “Why are you praying?”
“Hannah had a problem of long standing. It colored her outlook on life and affected everything she did. Her very countenance reflected this problem. Some modern-day women would be quick to tell her that her problem was really a blessing, but to Hannah it was a bitter curse. Her husband tried to encourage her, reassuring her of his love for her and his deep understanding. He was quick to pass it off as something that did not concern him. But she knew it really did matter.
“Hannah was barren. Barrenness carried with it a great social stigma. Society looked upon her as less than a person. Much ridicule was heaped upon her by society and family members, and she saw the way that her husband responded to his children by his other wife.
“Nothing else mattered to Hannah but children. This great longing of her soul found wings – the wings of prayer. Her intensity in the matter drove her to the house of God to petition Him. And God heard her prayer. Strong intense intercessory prayer gave birth to the great Samuel, whose name meant, ‘heard of God.’
“No great revival, no great church growth ever comes about while the womb of the church is barren, It is a great law of life that ‘they that sow in tears shall reap in joy’ (Psalm 126:5). Every great revival of the past and present can be directly attributed to prayer.
What are we praying for? For revival. We are praying like Hannah not to be
barren.
Why are we praying? II Chronicles 7:14
IF MY PEOPLE WILL . . . . THEN I WILL . . . .
When we will . . . . .We know He will! ! ! ! !
Why are we praying - Because men and women all across this world are enslaved to sin. Drugs, worldly pleasures, and materialism have them locked firmly in their grasp. We can hear the rattle of their chains as they look to us for freedom. ONLY THE POWER OF GOD CAN LOOSEN THEIR BONDS AND CHAINS.
IF MY PEOPLE WILL . . . .THEN I WILL . . . .
Isaiah prophesied: The spirit of the LORD God is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the
Brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.
IF MY PEOPLE WILL . . . . THEN I WILL . . . .
ÿ Immorality and ungodliness is more brazen and bold.
ÿ Homosexuals are more vocal as they come out of the closet and unashamedly talk of their perverted lifestyle.
ÿ Sin is displayed before the public more than ever before through every magazine, every TV show, the news media, the print media.
ÿ Men and women live without shame in their sinful lives of adultery and fornication.
ÿ Gutter language has become common place, even among our children.
Where is the answer to the problems of the world? How will we reach this world?
We will reach it not be might, nor by power but by my spirit saith the LORD of Host.
We will reach our city IF MY PEOPLE WILL . . . . PRAY.
When we pray, He will:
Hear us
Forgive our sins
Heal our lands
His eyes will be open
His ears will be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
V.16
THE BIG IF!
IF WE WILL . . . .HE WILL!!!
