Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life-gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life.
Oswald ChambersRead
Too often we treat prayer as the preparation for the work of the church. Do you not see? Prayer IS the work of the church.
Interpretation
Prayer is not just a preparatory step but a fundamental part of the church's mission.
In this quote, Oswald Chambers emphasizes the importance of prayer within the church, arguing that it should not be seen merely as a preliminary act or preparation for other activities. Instead, he insists that prayer itself constitutes the central and most vital work of the church, serving as a means of connection, strength, and guidance in fulfilling its mission.
In practice
During a sermon on community engagement, this quote can be highlighted to stress the importance of prayer in church activities.
Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life-gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life.
Never make the blunder of trying to forecast the way God is going to answer your prayer.
Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God.
When we preach the love of God there is a danger of forgetting that the Bible reveals not first the love of God but the intense, blazing holiness of God, with His love at the center of that holiness.
It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we mistake panic for inspiration.
Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion.
[Our] first and foremost duty [is] to seek the Lord until we open the path of communication from God to our own soul.
Increased spiritual strength is a gift from God which He can give when we push in His service to our limits. Through the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, our natures can be changed. Then our power to carry burdens can be increased more than enough to compensate for the increased service we will be asked to give.
Prayer is surrender--surr ender to the will of God and cooperation with that will. If I throw out a boathook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God.
Oh! yes, (the prayer meeting) is the place to meet with the Holy Ghost, and this is the way to get His mighty power. If we would have Him, we must meet in greater numbers; we must pray with greater fervency, we must watch with greater earnestness, and believe with firmer steadfastness. The prayer meeting...is the appointed place for the reception of power.
Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance. It is laying hold of His willingness.
We cannot live, we cannot look at the truth about ourselves without letting ourselves be looked at and generated by Christ in daily Eucharistic Adoration.
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