OUR
By
F. J. PERRYMAN
[* These extracts are taken from Mr. Perryman's He
Must Reign Till - a strong tonic word on prayer in the present
crisis.]
The
things which stagger and baffle, depress and challenge most people are the persistent
alternating and overlapping manifestations of evil in political, social and
economic upheavals. Hatred, revenge,
wars, revolutions, strikes, persecutions and all the subtle and terrifying
technique of Godless policies follow hard on the heels of each other, and it is
not surprising that without God and the Lamp of His Word, people grope in
darkness - even gross darkness, with a corresponding apprehension and dread of
what will come next.
But
the believer is made so one with Christ by consenting to be immersed into Him and [inspired by] Him that he is in
a position to wrestle against,
not in order to get victory, but in order to register
against these fallen world rulers the Victory of Christ over
them. So that the Cross and all that
Christ meant when He cried, It is finished, is
behind the believer and with him and in him. Christ in you.
Ye in Me, and I in you.
Jesus had said a day would come when
that would be known. Here it is. The believer, the Church in Christ and with Christ,
far above all principalities and powers, and every
name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
You
see how sweeping it is - how full - how complete! Far above all
- a superlative term used only three times in scripture: once of the cherubim of glory shadowing the Mercy Seat (Heb. 9: 5); once of Christ having ascended up far above all heavens that He might fill all
things (Eph. 4: 10); and in 1: 21 of Christ having been raised to God's own
right hand in the heavenly places, with all under His
feet, as Head of the Church united to Him in that position. We, far above all, in Him and with Him. I do not know that any summary of this
stupendous thing can do justice to it.
The
significant thing is that the Bible word for witness is
martus, from which we get our word
martyr. This martyr spirit is not
confined to witnessing - speaking and outwardly displaying the Spirit of
Christ, but it is the warp and woof of the prayer life and the work of faith. There is a sense in which you bleed your
way through to the throne, and there is a sense in which in
prayer you lay down your life for the brethren. You are born into the martyr class.
So
prayer must be difficult. The phrases
used, such as labouring fervently, persevering, contending, supplicating,
beseeching, crying, seeking, knocking, day and night, with fervency and
understanding, all point to a life of vigour and labour which will put high
pressure test upon every power conferred upon you. It is intended to be so because in its
essential essence and nature it is a fellowship with
Christ. You are in and with Him
in this matter. I hope you will get that
clear, because prayer, and warfare in prayer, is by no means something in which
you go to God in Christ's Name and stand alone. We are there together, and we are workers
together with Him. What an unspeakable
comfort!
Prayer thrusts. It is a channel for God's driving, creative energy. It must be readily admitted that, under
certain circumstances, we may be very much on our knees while we are on our
feet. I remember Dr. F. B. Meyer, when
giving a series of talks on Romans 8, saying
how much he had dreaded dealing with verses 26 and
27, because he felt he knew so little about
the subject. He said he had never been
able to agonize or spend long nights in prayer; he always had so much else to
do, and excused himself on that account.
But, he added, I do not
want to take refuge in that. I feel that
there is a great deal about prayer which we ought to know and do not. For my own part I try to keep up a running
conversation in the presence of the Lord, asking Him to undertake this and that
and the other thing, and telling Him how much I hate the devil. A thing will come back to my mind again and
again pressing its claims on my attention, and when it does I turn to the Lord
in the way I said, until I get the assurance that He really has
undertaken it. The burden
of it then passes, and I leave it. I
trust Him. Now I feel we can all do
that, whatever the demands of other duties upon us. Cultivate this practice of the Presence of the
Lord and speak to Him.
Some
years ago I met a lady missionary who had spent most of her life in
So
she handed herself over to Him to fashion her according to His will. But do what she would she made no conscious
advance. Rather to the contrary, she seemed to be going back, and the time
came when in broken health she was obliged to leave
The
phrase, Back to Pentecost - I must get back to
Pentecost, got hold of her and haunted her, and, bless her, she did get
back to Pentecost, but with no visible
results. Her spirit still lived in a prison, and prayer as she had known it ceased. With her soul in iron she, night and day,
sought release, but the heavens were as brass, and she was truly perplexed. As for her body, well you can guess that it
would be a miracle if that was not falling to pieces. She had a racking cough and had pretty well
settled down to the last lap down here.
I
met her at Keswick and she told me her story, saying over and over again, I need to get back to Pentecost. Never!
I exclaimed. And she started up. But this, and but
that, she went on. Makes no difference, friend, I replied.
Pentecost is behind - still there, in the background - foundationally, just as
the Cross is foundational, historical, life-giving, immovable.
But what you need is to claim that in
the impetus of the Cross and of Pentecost you move on and up unto the
reign of Christ. Say it until it grips you - that in all things He might have the pre-eminence -
until you grip Him and enthrone Him."
The
rest of the story is simple. The Holy
Spirit there and then witnessed to Truth, and quicker than I can tell you she
was a freed soul. Her cough disappeared,
her health recovered. She was soon back
in
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