George Muller: a mighty prayer hero of the faith. If you have never read about his life, READ! His prayer journals included over 50,000 specific answers to prayer and his diligence in praying for the lost yielded incredible results. His prayer life is a powerful example for us all.
Remarkable true story about forgiveness and the power of prayer. I was very impacted by her testimony about praying for her husband (who strongly opposed Christianity and was a heavy drinker and smoker). She persisted in prayer relentlessly and ultimately he had such a complete change of heart, he ended up becoming a minister.
Fascinating biographical account includes many unforgettable segments regarding the power of prayer, (his mother’s ongoing prayer for his life and career), his prayer to be delivered from a violent temper when in high school (which God answered quickly and dramatically), and others, including prayers for help DURING surgery. (During a never before attempted brain surgery he ran into a serious snag and didn’t know what to do. He asked God to show him what to do “RIGHT THEN” or the man on the table would die. He almostimmediately “KNEW” how to proceed; the man’s life was saved.
This man went from skeptic to prayer warrior: Great book for true stories about effectiveness of prayer, especially power of forgiveness as it relates to physical well being. Amazing first-hand accounts of illnesses being reversed when patients were willing to forgive.
Very enlightening book; This below excerpt was particularly notable in its strategic, scripture-driven approach to praying for the lost. It provides practical, biblical instruction for effective prayer and encouragement for persistence in prayer.
Letters by a Modern Mystic is a collection of diary entries by an early 20th century missionary to the Philippines—Frank Laubach. So what? What’s so special about him and his story? Simply this: He changed one simple thing in his life, and that simple thing changed everything else. Because of it’s daily entry format, reading through each one in succession gives you a clear and tangible picture of how this one change impacted him and the world around him.
Frank Laubach decided to “seek first the kingdom of God” by cultivating intimacy with Him as his biggest priority. All you have to do is look at the fruit from his life’s work to see that this decision paid off HUGE. Though he started with apparently very limited and humble beginnings, what he ultimately accomplished was extraordinary. Because he had a special passion for illiterate people living in extreme poverty or facing injustice, he was known as “The Apostle to the Illiterates.” He developed a literacy program that ultimately helped over 60 million people learn to read in their own language. He did many other remarkable things as well. How? His deep intimate relationship with God made it possible for God to guide Him and work powerfully through Him. Most of us know this is important. We may know that we need to hear from God, to receive His guidance and live our lives in close communion with Him. However, actually learning to be still before Him, becoming increasingly sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit often seems out of reach. We may not think we are really hearing from Him or we may not believe we can really benefit that much from “practicing the presence of God.” Frank Laubach, however, knew this intentional moment-by-moment surrender to God was the key to everything else; Instead of over complicating or overthinking this life mission, he boiled it down to something practical— something anyone could try to implement.
He decided to make an attempt to think about God for one second of every minute of every day.
Very simple, right? But not so easy. And he failed plenty. He had no problem admitting this either, but because he kept at it, he made continuous progress, and light began to shine on his life in fascinating ways. Read for yourself. His life is proof of what can happen when we decide to keep returning our focus to God again and again until it becomes a habit—a way of life. A few reasons I love this book:
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The main idea is simple enough that any person (whether new to the faith or very mature) can easily grasp and try to implement, potentially bringing radical transformation in intimacy with God and mind renewal.
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Short diary entries make it very digestible (whether you leave it in the bathroom or go through most of it in a few sittings). It’s approachable enough for any pace.
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It’s a completely unique picture of a man who knew God at one level, but through one simple discipline grew EXPONENTIALLY in closeness with the Father.
That growth is mapped out in black and white through day-by-day accounts.
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He is very transparent in showing how he struggled and often failed but through repeated efforts made substantial, FRUIT-BEARING progress.
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It’s relatable to anyone with a busy lifestyle. For example he poses the question, “Can a mom of small children” or any busy person “still manage to keep God in their thoughts and STILL be guided throughout the day?” Is it a pipe dream or doable? He makes it his life goal to answer the question. YOU THEN READ ABOUT HIM ACTING THIS OUT, and the results are truly astonishing.
Bringing the mind again and again back to God to seek His guidance and becoming increasingly aware of His presence in us accomplishes a lot of things at once. By doing this, you are immediately pivoting away from your troubles and opening yourself to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. God wants to help us; we don’t realize how we are blocking Him. This practice of turning to Him again and again is a type of surrender; when we are not longer blocking God’s work, incredible transformation will occur in us and through us.
Entries like the this one (a favorite of mine) are particularly inspiring.
Frank Laubach’s little diary demonstrates that walking in the middle of God’s will is POSSIBLE, if you will DISCIPLINE yourself to set your MIND deliberately on things above. Even if very challenging at first, this practice can get easier and easier and bring wonderful blessings. Once you have a genuine experience of this beautiful connection with God, you won’t ever want to go back to a life without it. When you truly “taste and see that the Lord is good” you will know that nothing else comes close.
I pray this book will inspire you to seek intimacy with God as a first priority, and by doing so, be increasingly filled with His wonderful love, life, peace and light.
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