K Neill Foster

Welcome to Classic Christianity

First published by Christian Publications, Inc., 3825 Hartzdale Drive,Camp Hill, Pennsylvania 17011 Republished by www.kneillfoster.com in 2005. K. Neill Foster, Publisher. Paul L. King, Editor. A.W. Tozer, 1897-1963, Editorial Voice.


#13 CLASSIC-CHRISTIANITY/THE E-ZINE


CLASSIC-CHRISTIANITY/THE INDEX

"INTERCESSORY PRAYER WARFARE"


1) THE PUBLISHER ON "ARMIN GESSWEIN IS WITH THE LORD"

2) THE EDITOR ON "EFFECTIVE INTERCESSORY WARFARE"

3) A.W. TOZER ON "BATTLES ARE WON OR LOST BEFORE THEY ARE FOUGHT"

4) CHARLES SPURGEON ON "SHAKING SOCIETY THROUGH INTERCESSION"

5) E.M. BOUNDS ON "PRAYER OF COMMANDING FAITH"

6) RECOMMENDED READING

7) A.B. SIMPSON ON "VICTORIES WITHIN THE SILENT WALLS OF YOUR ROOM"

8) JESSIE PENN-LEWIS ON "BINDING THE STRONG MAN"

9) JOHN A. MACMILLAN ON "PRAYING GEOGRAPHICALLY"

10) WATCHMAN NEE ON "BINDING AND LOOSING"

11) NORMAN GRUBB ON "THE IMPACT OF REES HOWELLS' INTERCESSION ON WORLD WAR II"

12) RECOMMENDED READING

13) LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

14) INVITATION TO SUBSCRIBE


1) THE PUBLISHER ON "ARMIN GESSWEIN IS WITH THE LORD"

The last time I saw Armin Gesswein was in a hotel lobby in Tampa, Florida. As a 90-year-old man, he was on his way to be the honored guest at a gathering of Campus Crusade leaders, nearly a thousand strong. He was not going as "senior decor." He was going to speak. Saturday, March 10, his earthly remains were laid to rest.

On the phone, he always pressed me to get to the prayer summits and the College of Prayer that now meet regularly. And he would always tell me to "shake the love around." His calls were always a delight to receive. And a treasure to remember.

Armin's last letter was "something else," as we say. And I quote: "I spent a lot of time with Tozer. Whenever possible, we got together. I also drove him around a lot. What times we had together--both in his South Chicago home, and in prayer together under some tree in a C&MA Camp Meeting!"

"As I recall it, Tozer spent five hours in prayer, `entering in' to the Holy Spirit's fullness, and settled it all. [Then there was] one bold follow- through time of prayer. I believe it was his mother-in-law who sparked his inner plug on this. . . . To my knowledge none of this appears in any of the biographies of his life."

Those stories may not get written. Tozer is gone and now Armin, the man whose doctrine was prayer, has left us. But his advice certainly remains, and emphatically would be, "The Holy Spirit hasn't gone anywhere." Amen and glory to God!


2) THE EDITOR ON "EFFECTIVE INTERCESSORY WARFARE"

The last issue focused on intercession generally; this issue focuses on intercession as spiritual warfare. Before we can do intercessory warfare, we must be prepared by close communion with God.  Intercession must flow out of fellowship. If we try to enter into warfare without having spent time with the Commander-in-Chief we will find ourselves unequipped to do battle, unaware of the Commander's battle instructions and undiscerning of the Enemy's deceptive strategies. We will come under spiritual attack, oppression, deception and defeat.

Effective intercessory prayer is often expressed in terms of struggle. "We struggle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers  . . ." (Ephesians 6:12). In order for intercessory warfare to be effective, we must wrestle, agonize and be fervent. Paul said that Epaphras was "always laboring earnestly" (Greek, "agonizo"--agonizing) in prayer. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemene (Luke 22:44) and the Church (Acts 12:5) are said to be "fervent" (Greek, "ektenos"--extended, stretched out) in prayer. It is the effective (Greek, "energia"--energetic) prayer of a righteous man that avails much (James 5:16). We can learn from these classic intercessors how to be effective in our prayers against the Enemy.


3) A.W. TOZER (1897-1963) ON "BATTLES ARE WON OR LOST BEFORE THEY ARE FOUGHT"

The whole Bible and all past history unite to teach that battles are always won before the armies take the field. The critical moment for any army is not the day it engages the foe in actual combat; it is the day before or the month before or the year before. . . . The pugilist must win his fight weeks before he steps into the ring or he will lose it. . . . The rule is, prepare or fail. It is an old saying that the wars of England were won on the playing fields of Eton. . . . Again that rule holds for all of us everywhere, even up on the high levels of spiritual warfare. . . .

Christ could endure the anguish of the cross because He had suffered the pains of Gethsemane the night before; there was a direct relationship between the two experiences. One served as a preparation for the other.

The converse of this is true also. Battles are never lost the day they are fought. They are lost the day or the year before; the results merely become manifest when the armies meet. . . . Preparation is vital. Let this be noted by everyone. We can seek God today and get prepared to meet temptation tomorrow; but if we meet the enemy without first having met God, the outcome is not conjectural; the issue is already decided. We can only lose.

A.W. Tozer, THE NEXT CHAPTER AFTER THE LAST (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1987), 78.


4) CHARLES SPURGEON (1834-1892) ON "SHAKING SOCIETY THROUGH INTERCESSION"

When the censer of God's church is well filled with prayer [Revelation 8:6] and presented to the Lord, He will begin to work. And the censer that has been a weapon before God to prevail with Him shall then become against men a weapon to prevail with them. . . . Then will come voices--preachers here and there rise, voices denouncing oppression, voices crying against false religion, voices preaching truth, voices declaring Christ. Then will come thunderings, for with the Gospel will go the voice of God, which thunders louder than the voice of man. Then will flash forth lightnings, for the light of God's power and truth will come forth with majesty, and men's hearts shall be smitten with it and be made obedient to it. And then shall earthquakes shake society, till the thrones of despots reel, till ancient customs are dashed in pieces, till the land that could not be plowed with the Gospel shall be broken up with secret heavings from the Eternal God.

We have only to pray. . . . You have the key in the door of heaven--keep it there and turn it till the gate shall open. Pray, for prayer holds the chain that binds the old dragon. Prayer can hold fast and restrain even Satan himself.

Charles Spurgeon, THE POWER OF PRAYER IN A BELIEVER'S LIFE (Lynnwood, WA: Emerald Books, 1993), 192.


5) E.M. BOUNDS (1835-1913) ON "PRAYER OF COMMANDING FAITH"

Prayer issues from a character which is made up of the elements of a vigorous and commanding faith. . . . Prayer brings God into the situation with commanding force. "Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons," says God, "and concerning the work of My hand command ye Me" (Isaiah 45:11, KJV). (1)

The church seems almost wholly unaware of the power God puts into her hand; this spiritual carte blanche on the infinite resources of God's wisdom and power is rarely, if ever, used. . . . Prayer is our most formidable weapon, but the one in which we are the least skilled. . . . The angel takes the fire kindled by prayer and casts it earthward, "and there were voices, and thundering, and lightning, and an earthquake" (Revelation 8:6, KJV). Prayer is the force that creates all these alarms, stirs, and throes. (2)

(1) E.M. Bounds, WINNING THE INVISIBLE WAR (Springdale, PA: Whitaker House, 1984), 151.

(2) E.M. Bounds, PURPOSE IN PRAYER (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, n.d.), 38, 82.


6) RECOMMENDED READING

Order from Christian Publications by calling 1-800-233-4443 (in North America) or fax 1-717-761-7273 or web: www.christianpublications.com.


7) A.B. SIMPSON (1843-1919) ON "VICTORIES WITHIN THE SILENT WALLS OF YOUR ROOM"

The best way to keep the devil off our territory is to keep him busy on his own, defending his kingdom from our bold attacks. . . . Many of our battles are fought in view of heaven alone. Have you not felt, in some quiet hour of fellowship with God, that you were going through a decisive battle that no mortal saw? Within the silent walls of your room, an issue was being decided that would affect all eternity. . . . Do you know that Christ's greatest victories were accomplished alone with God and the devil? No human eye saw that victory in the wilderness, but God saw it and was glorified. . . .

God wants men and women today on whom He can depend to stand as bulwarks and battlements against the shocks of hell's artillery. He wants men and women of whom He can say, "On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it" (Matthew 16:18). Will we then not only be conquerors but trusted soldiers whom God can use as His weapons of war? Will we be His mighty battleships to carry the fight to the vessels of the enemy, not fearing their hardest blows but hurling against them the thunderbolts of His victorious power?

A.B. Simpson, A LARGER CHRISTIAN LIFE, (Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1988), 94.


8) JESSIE PENN-LEWIS (1861-1927) ON "BINDING THE STRONG MAN"

Once in northern England on a great market square, crowds of people were listening to the communists and atheists speaking. Some of their best speakers were trying to stir up the people, and attacking the Christian workers of the town and their work. A minister who knew something of this prayer warfare called his Christian people together, and showed them from the Scriptures how Satan was at the back of this attack, and that the thing to do was to "bind" the adversary. The Spirit of God made it so clear that about one hundred Christians took Christ at His word, and with united hearts and voices they declared aloud, "In the name of Jesus Christ we bind the strong man from stirring up these people and from attacking God's work."  They sang a hymn of victory and committed themselves in faith to a position of absolute reliance upon God to fulfill His Word. The next day a division arose among the atheists; their leader disappeared from the town, and a week later he was arraigned before the court and sentenced for other matters in his life. Then the authorities intervened, and stopped the whole campaign on the market square, and the devil's attack was defeated.

Jessie Penn-Lewis, "How to Pray for Missionaries," THE ALLIANCE WEEKLY, June 12, 1937, 373-374.


9) JOHN A. MACMILLAN (1873-1956) ON "PRAYING GEOGRAPHICALLY"

There is among the saints of the Most High a chosen group--perhaps larger than we think--whose divinely appointed ministry is that of the prayer closet. There, on their knees with a world map before them, its members individually and methodically pray out the problems of the advance of the kingdom. They precede missionaries into areas where Christ has not been named; they observe them as they attack firmly-placed barriers, breaking down by the high explosive of authoritative prayer the satanic opposition that continues to impede the forward progress of the gospel. Because the working of the Spirit of God is everywhere, working through some mysterious law, dependent on intercession, these unseen workers are the real pioneers of Christian missions. Unknown to themselves their word in the heavenlies is mighty through God to the overthrowing of principalities and powers. National boundaries are melting down before the faith and fervor of their supplications. . . . True geographic prayer ministry needs close abiding in God. . . . They are trained in spiritual observation and can discern constant shifting of the lines of combat, which is not obvious to others.

John A. MacMillan, "Praying Geographically," THE ALLIANCE WEEKLY, September 14, 1946, 579.


10) WATCHMAN NEE (1903-1972) ON "BINDING AND LOOSING"

This prayer [Matthew 18:18-19] is action, not petition. It is a binding, not an asking God to bind. This commanding prayer has two aspects:

(1) Bind--bind all the inordinate activities of the brothers and sisters in the meeting; bind all the disturbances to the work that come from people of the world; bind all the evil spirits and demons; and bind Satan and all his activities. We may rule as king over all things. Whenever a thing happens in the world or among the brethren, that is the moment for us to rule as kings.

(2) Loose--we may also loose people. Loose all the timid brethren; loose all who ought to come out and work for the Lord; loose money in the grip of people that it might be given for God's use; and loose the truths of God.

We are ambassadors of God, and therefore we enjoy extraterritoriality on earth. We may call in heaven to rule over the earth.

Watchman Nee, GOD'S PLAN AND THE OVERCOMERS (New York, NY: Christian Fellowship Publishers, 1977), 76-77.


11) NORMAN GRUBB ON "THE IMPACT OF REES HOWELLS' INTERCESSION ON WORLD WAR II"

In the battle for Italy, the danger spot was Salerno, where our troops landed in September 1943, to capture strategic heights and open the way for the invading forces from the south. . . . The day of the landing at Salerno and its sequel will always be outstanding in my memory. . . . We had the first evening prayer meeting, . . . and gathered again at 9:45 p.m.

. . . It had a solemn tone at the outset, Rees Howells' voice trembling with his message: "The Lord has burdened me . . . with the invasion at Salerno. I believe our men are in great difficulties, and the Lord has told me that unless we can pray through, they are in danger of losing their hold." The awe of God settled down upon us, . . . We went on our knees, crying to God to intervene. The Spirit of God took hold of us, and suddenly broke through, and we found ourselves praising and rejoicing, believing that God had heard and answered. . . . It was on the stroke of 11 p.m. . . .

The next morning, the daily newspaper displayed a front-page headline in large print, "THE MIRACLE OF SALERNO." It was reported: "The enemy artillery was advancing rapidly with ceaseless firing. The noise was terrible and it was obvious that unless a miracle happened, our troops could never hold up. . . . Suddenly, for no accountable reason, the firing ceased and the Nazi artillery stopped its advance. . . . I looked at my watch--it was 11 p.m."

Norman Grubb, REES HOWELLS INTERCESSOR (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1952), 270-272.


12) RECOMMENDED READING

Order from Christian Publications by calling 1-800-233-4443 (in North America) or fax 1-717-761-7273 or web: www.christianpublications.com.


13) LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Thank you for the tremendous blessing of sending these articles. They are helpful for inspiration and guidance.

--John Paslay

I have translated these quotes and sent them to our missionaries and workers in Colombia.

--Rev. Bob Searing, retired missionary to Colombia

Thank you for these quotes from various authors [on intercession]. . . . I sent it via e-mail to all the ladies in my Bible study here at my workplace (a law firm). We are studying prayer using the book BECOMING A WOMAN OF PRAYER by Cynthia Heald. What a great supplement and a confirmation to all I have been teaching to theses ladies, some of whom are "babes in Christ." They come from all different denominations and all kinds of "interesting doctrine." We have spent the last year studying basic doctrine like salvation (one lady accepted Christ). . . . Thank you.

--Dale Anne Scaglione, Grace Bible Alliance Church, Lexington, South Carolina

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14) INVITATION TO SUBSCRIBE

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VOL. III, ISSUE 2, April 1, 2001. Published every other month 2/1; 4/1; 6/1; 8/1; 10/1; 12/1. Archives on www.kneillfoster.com.

Republished by www.kneillfoster.com 2005.