If the prophecies concerning the increase of Christ’s kingdom be true, and if what has been advanced, concerning the commission given by him to his disciples being obligatory on us, be just, it must be inferred that all Christians ought heartily to concur with God in promoting his glorious designs, for he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit.
One of the first, and most important of those duties which are incumbent upon us, is fervent and united prayer. However the influence of the Holy Spirit may be set at nought, and run down by many, it will be found upon trial, that all means which we can use, without it, will be ineffectual. If a temple is raised for God in the heathen world, it will not be by might, nor by power, nor by the authority of the magistrate, or the eloquence of the orator; “but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.” We must therefore be in real earnest in supplicating His blessing upon our labors.
[He employs an obscure passage relating to Jewish repentance after Christ’s return to show the effects of prayer]
The most glorious works of grace that have ever took place, have been in answer to prayer; and it is in this way, we have the greatest reason to suppose, that the glorious outpouring of the Spirit, which we expect at last, will be bestowed.
[He gives examples of the power of prayer]
OTD in 1843 William Carey died at age 72. He had been a missionary to India. His essay, “An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens”, led to the founding of the Baptist Missionary Society in England. pic.twitter.com/8xjg8Tq0GZ
— SBC History (@SBCHistory) June 9, 2019