If you debate for a second when God has spoken, it is all up. Never begin to say,“Well, I wonder if he did speak?” Be reckless immediately, fling it all out on him. You do not know when his voice will come but whenever the realization of God comes in the faintest way imaginable, recklessly abandon.1
Those words from Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest changed the direction of early WMPL director Paul Lindell’s life2. A dean at Paul’s seminary encouraged him to pray when he was struggling to understand God’s will for his life. Paul went “all in” sensing this was from the Lord, and his life became a testimony of the power of prayer, seeking God’s will, and acting upon what he believed.
Perhaps most readers of Together In Prayer believe in the power and primacy of prayer, yet some might not know the many stories of WMPL workers praying and boldly acting on what they hear God saying or watching as they see God orchestrating events.
The book Food from Ravens provides stories of God’s power and provision through prayer. The collection of inspiring and miraculous stories written by former and current WMPL workers, is organized by God’s deliverance, direction, financial supply, healing, protection, and provision and is replete with testimonies of the faithfulness of a trustworthy God who knows our needs before we ask yet moves in response to our prayers.
We are familiar with the Apostle Paul’s admonition:
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 ESV
This is impossible without the finished work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit residing in us. We are to rejoice with God as we pray and live our lives in communion with him, listening for what he is saying through his Word, moving with his Spirit and not against it, testing everything we see and hear, discerning what he’s saying even through our circumstances while praying to God without ceasing. We all aim for this and, in our weakness, his strength is made evident.
Joy Dawson, former YWAM missionary and author of Intercession, Thrilling and Fulfilling, writes, “I trust you’ll be forever ruined for the ordinary as you discover or rediscover the wonders of cooperating with God in shaping the course of history through intercession.”3 I highly recommend the book and her teachings; some are available on YouTube.
The World Mission Prayer League is privileged to mobilize its workers, members, and global Christians in prayer for the nations. We’ve seen God lead those who first pray and then begin work, leading them to spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional wholeness. The book The Spirit of God Was Moving can be written in the present. The Spirit is moving. We are seeing it in action. Here is just one example:
A few weeks ago, WMPL leaders met to determine how to enable workers Tom and Eunice Olson to return to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Due to their remote location, one of their needs is a vehicle for ministry and security. We made this need known among our workers and in Olson’s newsletter. The miraculous way all is coming together, with many gladly joining in the effort, can be attributed to a faithful God who knows our every need and believers who pray, listen, and respond to God’s call to action. We don’t have all the details arranged but are proceeding in faith as the Lord confirms the plans.
I shared the above quote from Oswald Chambers with Tom when he called to finalize plans for the car purchase. He laughed out loud in praise because he was witnessing the results of “reckless abandon” when we hear God speak and we act in faith.
In Ephesians 6:18, Paul encourages us to be “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” (ESV) Let’s do so to reach the unreached, being led by the Holy Spirit in what may very well be a revival of revivals, considering the signs of the times. Let’s join together and spur each other on in reckless abandon and obedience to the Lord’s leading through his grace and strength as we begin another year.