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E.M.Bounds
"The possibilities of prayer run paralleled with the promises of God."
"Prayer: Don't give God instructions, just report for duty!"
C.H.Spurgeon
"When you are on your knees, the fact of your being set apart as god's own peculiar treasure, should give you courage and inspire you with fervency and faith."
Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisers.
J. Sidlow Baxter.
"People say that God does not speak to men as He did long ago. The truer statement is, that men do not listen as they did of old."
Two young boys were spending the night at their grandparents. At bedtime, the two boys knelt beside their beds to say their prayers when the youngest one began praying at the top of his lungs, "I PRAY FOR A NEW BICYCLE. I PRAY FOR A NEW NINTENDO. I PRAY FOR A NEW VCR...". His older brother leaned over and nudged the younger brother and said, "Why are you shouting your prayers? God isn't deaf." To which the little brother replied, "No, but Gramma is!"
Illustrations
There is a chapel in West Minster Abby called the whispering chapel and you can hear someone whispering from one side to the other. A poor man once whispered to his girl friend that he couldn't marry he because he had no shoes and no money. A man of great wealth and means was standing over 150ft away but heard every word, and so bought him the shoes and gave him money. They got married. God hears our small whispers and answers over and above what we ask for.
Anon
"There is too much organising and too little agonising in the church today
Too much working before men and too little waiting before God."
Dr. Ron Dunn
"Thou art coming before the King,
Large petitions with thee bring,
For His grace and power is such,
You can never ask too much."
-- Author Unknown
NOT HOME YET
An old missionary couple had been working in Africa for years and were returning to New York to retire. They had no pension; their health was broken; they were defeated, discouraged, and afraid. They discovered they were booked on the same ship as President Teddy Roosevelt, who was returning from one of his big-game hunting expeditions. No one paid any attention to them. They watched the fanfare that accompanied the President's entourage, with passengers trying to catch a glimpse of the great man.
As the ship moved across the ocean, the old missionary said to his wife, "Something is wrong."
"Why should we have given our lives in faithful service for God in Africa all these many years and have no one care a thing about us? Here this man comes back from a hunting trip and everybody makes much over him, but nobody gives two hoots about us."
"Dear, you shouldn't feel that way", his wife said.
He replied "I can't help it; it doesn't seem right."
When the ship docked in New York, a band was waiting to greet the President. The mayor and other dignitaries were there. The papers were full of the President's arrival. No one noticed this missionary couple. They slipped off the ship and found a cheap flat on the East Side, hoping the next day to see what they could do to make a living in the city.
That night the man's spirit broke.
He said to his wife, "I can't take this; God is not treating us fairly".
His wife replied, "Why don't you go in the bedroom and tell that to the Lord?"
A short time later he came out from the bedroom, but now his face was completely different. His wife asked, "Dear, what happened?"
"The Lord settled it with me", he said.
"I told him how bitter I was that the President should receive this tremendous home-coming, when no one met us as we returned home. And when I finished, it seemed as though the Lord put his hand on my shoulder and simply said,
'But you're not home yet'!
Carolyn Zing from Clean Illustration.
Last week I took my children to a restaurant. My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good. God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And Liberty and justice for all! Amen!"
Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby I heard a woman remark, "That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how to pray. Asking God for ice-cream! Why, I never!"
Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?"
As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table. He winked at my son and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer."
"Really?" my son asked.
"Cross my heart." Then in a theatrical whisper he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."
Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared at his for a moment and then did something I will remember the rest of my life. He picked up his sundae and without a word walked over and placed it in front of the woman.
With a big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes, and my soul is good already."
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