Monday, January 23, 2012

More Quotes on Prayer




"A sinning man stops praying, a praying man stops sinning." Leonard Ravenhill

"None can believe how powerful prayer is, and what it is able to effect, but those who have learned it by experience. It is a great matter when in extreme need to take hold on prayer. I know, whenever I have prayed earnestly, that I have been amply heard, and have obtained more than I prayed for. God indeed sometimes delayed, but at last He came." Martin Luther

"True prayer is a lonely business." Samuel Chadwick

"When I am praying the most eloquently, I am getting the least accomplished in my prayer life. But when I stop getting eloquent and give God less theology and shut up and just gaze upward and wait for God to speak to my heart He speaks with such power that I have to grab a pencil and a notebook and take notes on what God is saying to my heart."  A. W. Tozer

"He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day."  John Bunyan

"If your faith does not make you pray, have nothing to do with it: get rid of it, and God help thee to begin again." ~ C. H. Spurgeon

"I live in the spirit of prayer; I pray as I walk, when I lie down and when I rise, and the answers are always coming." ~ George Mueller 

"Notice, we never pray for folks we gossip about, and we never gossip about the folk for whom we pray! For prayer is a great deterrent." ~ Leonard Ravenhill

"See that you do not use the trick of prayer to cover up what you know you ought to do." ~ Oswald Chambers

"You can do more than pray after you've prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed." ~ John Bunyan

"The more helpless you are, the better you are fitted to pray, and the more answers to prayer you will experience." ~ O. Hallesby

"Nothing tends more to cement the hearts of Christians than praying together. Never do they love one another so well as when they witness the outpouring of each other's hearts in prayer." ~ Charles Finney

"And there you have the reason why many people pray for the power of the Holy Ghost, and they get something, but oh, so little! because they prayed for power for work, and power for blessing, but they have not prayed for power for full deliverance from self." ~ Andrew Murray

”Worship and intercession must go together, the one is impossible without the other. Intercession means that we rouse ourselves up to get the mind of Christ about the one for whom we pray.” ~ Oswald Chambers

”History is silent about revivals that did not begin with prayer.” ~ Edwin Orr

”There is nothing that makes us love a man so much as praying for him.” ~ William Law

”The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men…Men of prayer." ~ E. M. Bounds

”Pray, and let God worry.” ~ Martin Luther

”Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?” ~ Corrie Ten Boom

”I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had absolutely no other place to go.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

”Faith in a prayer-hearing God will make a prayer-loving Christian.” ~ Andrew Murray

”Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers, pray for powers equal to your task.” ~ Phillips Brooks

”Rich is the person who has a praying friend.” ~ Janice Hughes

"I would rather train twenty men to pray, than a thousand to preach; A minister's highest mission ought to be to teach his people to pray." ~ H. MacGregor

“The trouble with nearly everybody who prays is that he says ‘Amen’ and runs away before God has a chance to reply. Listening to God is far more important than giving Him our ideas.” ~ Frank Laubach

"Time spent in prayer will yield more than that given to work. Prayer alone gives work its worth and its success. Prayer opens the way for God Himself to do His work in us and through us. Let our chief work as God's messengers be intercession; in it we secure the presence and power of God to go with us." ~ Andrew Murray

"Prayer is the real work, Evangelism is just the mopping up."

“The great people of the earth today are the people who pray! I do not mean those who talk about prayer; nor those who say they believe in prayer; nor those who explain prayer; but I mean those who actually take the time to pray. They have not time. It must be taken from something else. That something else is important, very important and pressing, but still, less important and pressing than prayer. There are people who put prayer first, and group the other items in life's schedule around and after prayer. These are the people today who are doing the most for God in winning souls, in solving problems, in awakening churches, in supplying both men and money for mission posts, in keeping fresh and strong their lives far off in sacrificial service on the foreign field, where the thickest fighting is going on, and in keeping the old earth sweet a little while longer.” ~ S. D. Gordon

"Since the days of Pentecost, has the whole church ever put aside every other work and waited upon Him for ten days, that the Spirit’s power might be manifested? We give too much attention to method and machinery and resources, and too little to the source of power." ~ Hudson Taylor

"Prayer is not learned in a classroom but in the closet." ~ E. M. Bounds

"Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still." ~ E. M. Bounds

"The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day." ~ E. M. Bounds

“Those persons who know the deep peace of God, the unfathomable peace that passeth all understanding, are always men and women of much prayer.” ~ R. A. Torrey

"The essence of prayer does not consist in asking God for something but in opening our hearts to God, in speaking with Him, and living with Him in perpetual communion. Prayer is continual abandonment to God. Prayer does not mean asking God for all kinds of things we want; it is rather the desire for God Himself, the only Giver of Life, Prayer is not asking, but union with God. Prayer is not a painful effort to gain from God help in the varying needs of our lives. Prayer is the desire to possess God Himself, the Source of all life. The true spirit of prayer does not consist in asking for blessings, but in receiving Him who is the giver of all blessings, and in living a life of fellowship with Him." ~ Sadhu Sundar Singh

“Closet communion needs time for the revelation of God’s presence. It is vain to say, ‘I have too much work to do to find time.’ You must find time or forfeit blessing. God knows how to save for you the time you sacredly keep for communion with Him.” ~ A. T. Pierson

“I have seen many men work without praying, though I have never seen any good come out of it; but I have never seen a man pray without working.” ~ James Hudson Taylor

"Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. Expect unexpected things 'above all that we ask or think.'" ~ Andrew Murray

”Worshipping God is the great essential of fitness.  If you have not been worshipping…when you get to work you will not only be useless yourself, but a tremendous hindrance to those who are associated with you.” ~ Oswald Chambers

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

I Will Still Follow...

It is Old Year's Eve. One of my favorite time of the year. A new year ahead. Time for new beginnings. I sit in my chair waiting. Excitement builds up as I am waiting for my favorite Romanian Adventist tradition: sharing promises for the following year. I send up a prayer, as I always do: "Lord, talk to me and give me the message that I need for the following year." The deacons are going around. I reach out and pick a bookmark.

I eagerly open my Bible to Matthew 19,29 and I start reading: "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake..." I stop right there. My excitement is gone. Frustration and rebellion are taking its place. "Lord, what do you mean? I left all my family and friends behind for five years. Even now I am working a lot alone. Don't You think that I had enough of it? Don't You think it is time you give me someone to work with? You asked me several times to give up my plans to meet my ARME family and I did it. You asked me again to give up my plans to go to ARME UK and I did it. Don't You think that it will be better for me to have a support group? You said that two are better than one. And You sent the disciples two by two. You are asking me again to leave everything behind. Why? You know very well that I don't like working alone. "


I went on reasoning with God and telling Him all my frustration. He just listened. When I was done, He just asked me:


"Have I ever failed you?"

"No. You have not."

He did not have to say anything else. It was enough to remember the pace and happiness that flooded my soul when I chose to obey. And it was enough to remember His promises: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28) "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)


I am in His hands and He will never harm me. He will never allow anything that is not for my best. It is all I needed to remember. Peace flooded my soul again.


Than I went on reading the rest of the promise: "...shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life." (Matthew 19:29) How have I missed that?


I know. I have failed again. I have proved again that I don't trust Him right away. But He lifted me up as He did countless times. He put again my feet on solid rock.


Thou none go with me, I will still follow...

Monday, December 19, 2011

Disturb Us, Oh, Lord!


I have just translated a program with Dr. Berry Black, chaplain of the US Senate. He wrote this prayer and I thought it is really appropriate for the end of the year.



Disturb us, oh, Lord, 
when we are too well pleased with ourselves;
when our dreams come true 
because we have dreamed too little;
when we arrived safely simply
because we have sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us when with the abundance of the things we posses,
we lose our thirst for the waters of life
and having fallen in love with life,
we cease to dream of eternity
and in our effort to build a new earth,
we permit our vision of a New Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, today, more boldly,
to venture on wider seas 
where storms will show Your mastery;
when losing sight of land, 
we will find Your stars.


Friday, November 18, 2011

GreaThings: Answered Prayers


If I should start and talk about answered prayers, than I will have to write tens and hundreds of pages. In fact, you can just go back and read my blog to be able to read some of God's answers to my prayers.

For now, I will just share something that He has done for me this week. Last week I decided that I need to put aside some special time for God and fast and pray for 21 days (even though the fast might not mean to go completely without food). The Lord kept showing me, among many other things, how important fasting is. So, I decided to start on Monday. There are many things I was praying for, but one of them that needed immediate answer was about going to Pine Springs Ranch ARME Bible Camp in January. I did not dare to put my hopes up, but I was somehow excited about seeing my ARME family and also meeting Melody, one of my best friends and prayer partners.

First day of fasting. No answer. I could not say that I was troubled, but I also was not totally at peace about going.

Second day of fasting. I did what I usually do. Spend time in prayer. Though I did not have any answer, I was at peace. Than spend time in His Word and praying again. Go confirmed me though His Word that I needed to fast and pray when I read Matthew 17:14-21. Right as I was ending my time with God, I told Him: "Lord, from what I understand, the only reason why You would not have me go to the US is that You want me somewhere else. So, please, send me an invitation today to go somewhere else when I am supposed to go to the ARME Bible Camp." 

I should tell you that after I prayed, before I opened the Word and prayed again, I checked my email. 0 new messages. After I prayed the above prayer, I went to my email again. 1 new messages. The subject of the email: Invitation! 

Need I say more? I won't. I will tell you later on where I am going after God arranges all the details. I just want you to know that, when you surrender a dream to God, He gives you something much better. I am really excited!!! And if you knew the doors that God is opening for me, you will be, too. :)

Sunday, November 13, 2011

GreaThings 2011: R is for the Capacity to Reflect and to Remember




Today, I am thankful in a special way that God gave us the capacity to reflect and remember. Life is not always a bed of roses and it does not seem to give us the best. But, as we go also through the valley of shadows, reflecting on what He did for us and remembering how He led us in the past gives us the power to hang in there and wait on Him. And it also give us the assurance that He will come through for us.

Someone once said: "We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history."

So I praise the Lord that I can reflect on His mercy and goodness and love toward me, and this gives me great joy and hope for the future. And I also thank Him that I can remember the countless times He parted the Red Sea for me. I know that He will do it again in His own time!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

EUD Annual Council



Euro-Africa Division Annual Council is over and all I can say is: Praise God for our leaders who understand the need of prayer and united prayer. We were able to lead the EUD council in united prayer all the mornings except for one.

I know that those of you who read my blog are wondering why I am talking about EUD Annual Council? I should be talking about GYC Indonesia. Yes, it is true that I was supposed to go there, it is true that I have bought my ticket. But a few weeks after I bought my ticket I have received an invitation to go to EUD Annual Council and lead united prayer there. I have prayed about it and after wrestling with the Lord for a day and a half, I finally gave in and accepted to cancel my ticket. It was not easy to give up to my dream to go back to SE Asia, to the jungle, to the tropics, but I know that God knows very well why He asked me to give up on my dream. And I gladly accepted His plan knowing that He knows the end from the beginning and that He wants what is best for me. 

I found it very interesing that EUD talked at this annual council about Adventist Mission. Elder Maurer, the Executive Secretary of the EUD, told us that it is for the first time in 17 years since he started to take part in these annual councils when they talk extensively about mission work. Elder Gary Krause was one of the three invitees from GC and he talked about the Global Mission. In fact, they dedicated 2 days to the Global Mission.


On Sabbath, the delegations from two unions came to the prayer room. The first one was the Romanian Union (yes, I am proud of them!!!) and the second was the Bulgarian Union. Though there were no more organized groups, we had many other individuals who came to pray with us. Most of the leader from EUD came and spent time in the prayer room. EUD President and Treasurer came and pray once or twice. Elder Maurer came almost every day and spent some time in the prayer room. Another leader who came a few times to pray with us is Paolo Benini, the Sabbath School and Ministerial Association Director from EUD. He even asked if we would be available to go to Italy for a Women Ministry retreat and to another Italian SDA church from Switzerland.




The EUD Annual Council also opened doors here in Romania. The President of the Adventist Theological Institute asked me if we can meet to talk about united prayer and see what can they do in their university. Another Conference President asked me if I can train young people to lead united prayer in the churches from his conference. 

We were able to give away a lot of United Prayer Handbooks. Elder Barna Magyarosi, EUD Education Director, told me that many union presidents told him that they are determined to take united prayer back to their countries.

As we were there, we managed to meet some people we had previously met at GYC France. It was a blessing to be able to reconnect and pray with them. I had especially prayed that I would meet a girl I met a certain girl. She gave me her email address and phone no, but I somehow lost them. She was living in Collognes, but she never stopped by to say hi. I prayed that God will bring her again my way so we could pray more together, but it seemed that the days were passing by and I still did not meet her. On Friday night I saw her in the back of the meeting hall, but she left before I could tell her hi. Sunday morning, as I was going to eat with a girl who is a missionary in Congo (we had also met at GYC France), I finally met her. She was going home from a Bible study. So, I praise God for being able to reconnect with her. It was a miracle that we met. 

I was so happy when I found out that two of the translator we had at ASI Spain and another girl who had been in the prayer room hosted at AMiCUS Congress in Paris hosted a prayer room at a Youth Meeting in a Spanish church from Madrid. It is so interesting that, one of our translators from ASI Spain told my friend who organized the schedule of the translators that she does not want to spend too much time in the prayer room because she paid and she wants to be able to listen to the workshops and sermons. But she ended up loving the prayer room and spending more time than she said she would. Now, she was one of the united prayer facilitators. Another girl who facilitated united prayer has been in the prayer room but did not pray. She only listened. Now, she was a prayer facilitator, as well.

So, praise God for all the divine appointments! It is no greater joy than to see Him at work and to see Him changing lives!

GreaThings 2011: Gratitude is...


I have accepted the challenge to write for a few days about things I am grateful for. (For more information click on the picture above)

Gratitude is a heavenly attitude. It is the music of the soul that sings when the sun shines and also in the darkness.

It is the ingredient that makes life so much sweeter.

Gratitude means to be to be humble and to give some one else the credit for your happiness and welfare.

Gratitude is a heavenly language that we need to learn here on earth in order to be able to sing it up there.