The greatest challenge before the Christian today is that which is held out by the promises of God. It should cheer his heart immensely to realize that “all the promises of God in him [Christ] are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” The true intercessor should reason thus: The end is drawing on, my loved ones are unsaved and God, through His pledged Word, has eagerness, to “show great and might things” to those who will call upon Him in truth.
When the preciousness of souls, the length of Eternity and the truth of the promises becomes luminous to his soul, the true Christian beseeches God, if needs be, to take away money, position, health, prospects and all else if only He will enable him to pray in the Holy Ghost. When the necessity and majesty of intercessory prayer fills the soul, this world with its comforts and rewards becomes as a shadow. Things which hitherto appeared important will shrink down into the merest trifles and the true standard of life will not be ease, comfort, prosperity or even merely human happiness but will rather be access to the Mercy Seat. The God that remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the overthrow still hears and answers prayer.
As the purple shadows of approaching night fall across our Dispensation, we are reminded that ere long we must give account of our prayer stewardship. God has providentially allowed our time to fall in a season of great challenge. Will we, by His grace, accept this challenge, search out and successfully plead His promises for the salvation of immortal souls or will we become so busy with earthly things that night will overtake us with our task woefully unfinished? This question should cause us to go down before God until He comes and breathes in our hearts those “groaning which cannot be uttered.” When our prayers, framed according to the promise and inbreathed by the Holy Ghost are presented through the infinite merits of the interceding Christ to the Father Almighty, hell itself must give way. Thus and only thus can we face the issues of our lives in the unparalleled day.
--R. A. Kerby (1959)
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