Principles for Leading Others to Pray

Let me give you some of the principles behind all of this. The first principle is that you will never lead men to pray unless you are a man of prayer. You cannot share what you have not experienced. Unless you have a time with God that is consistent and regular, and unless that time is a passion in your life, you will not be able to lead people to such passion. You have to be a man of prayer. This has to be deep in your soul.

A second principle is the importance of a place of prayer. It is significant that Jesus teaches, "And when you pray go into your closet, or into your room, and shut the door." (See Matt. 6:6). You need to have a secret place of prayer. I travel a great deal so I understand that sometimes there are circumstances and situations that make it difficult to have a certain place for prayer. When I am at home, however, I have a routine. In the morning after I get cleaned up and have my breakfast, I make my way to a clump of trees near where I live to be alone with God. I sit on a big old rock there, open my Bible and read the Word of God, and then I walk around in that clump of trees and pour my heart out to God. My wife can sit in our house in her rocking chair and open her Bible. That’s just not me. I need to be outside. It is important to have a time and a place where you can go to get away from everybody and everything and just meet with God.

It is very easy for this time to be rushed, and people often ask me how much time does one need to spend alone with God. For every person it is different, but you need to spend enough time that you know you’ve been with God and He’s been with you. John, one of the original twenty men, would get up at 4:30 to be able to have his time alone with God before he went to work. During his quiet time, God burdened him for his boss, so we started praying for him. One Sunday evening after our service, his boss, a colonel, introduced himself to me and said, "I’m fifty years old and I don’t have any purpose in life." We talked and he gave his heart to Jesus. John taught him how to have a quiet time with God, and he started meeting with God. He became a general, and after he retired from the military, he went to seminary and today is a pastor.

God Is Able to Meet All Our Needs

Dear friend, our God is a Provider! He cares about you, He knows your needs even before you ask Him, and He is able to meet all of your needs, no matter how difficult or impossible your situation seems. Of course, God is not at our disposal to give us whatever we want, but He is our loving Heavenly Father who meets the needs of all who look to Him.

Keep ever in mind that in giving up His one and only Son as the provision for our salvation, God has already clearly demonstrated how far He will go to meet our needs. As the Apostle Paul reminds us, "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?" (Rom. 8:32).

About this issue…

So as I finish this article, and anticipate the Lord’s provision of funds for printing and mailing, my heart overflows with thanksgiving for all of the ways the Lord provides for Herald of His Coming. He is gracious to give dear friends who intercede for this ministry, and who provide much encouragement and support. He also provides physical and spiritual protection, and provides a very efficient building for the office. We thank Him also for His anointing and His gracious provision of messages for this ministry to share, including His provision of messages in this issue. The messages by T.T. Shields and Sammy Tippit are powerful calls to prayer. The message by Nancy Leigh DeMoss is an important reminder of the need to stay humble in our spirit toward the Lord and others. The message by George Müller is a great faith-builder. The prayer calendar provides the opportunity for concentrated and united prayer. The excerpts from letters on the back page are wonderful testimonies of God’s grace and anointing. May He work through this issue to encourage, challenge and strengthen you in your walk with Him and the ministry you do in His name!

Second Coming of Christ - Signs for Keeping Watch

We could just shrug our shoulders and casually wait for the Second Coming of Christ. However, Jesus wants us to "keep watch." A great way to keep watch is to know what the Bible reveals about upcoming events and compare those to what we see happening today. There are nearly 100 biblical passages discussing the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The key events can be summarized with the acrostic: S - E - C - O - N - D.

S…Sudden.
As we saw above, no one but the Father knows when. However, we do know it will take place "as lightning." Matthew 24:27 says, "For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man."
E…Essential.
One of the foundations of the Christian faith is Jesus' second coming. It is spoken of by Jesus and many others in the Bible. Jesus will physically come again for all His believers and for His final judgment. Unfortunately, some Christian cults teach that Christ "secretly" returned already. As you read what the Bible says about the Second Coming of Jesus, it will be obvious that it hasn't happened yet.
C…Christ's Final Judgment.
The Bible declares that Jesus will be the final judge of the world (John 5:22, Acts 10:42 and 2Timothy 4:1). Some of the additional verses describing the second coming, resurrection of the dead, millennium, and final judgment are located in Acts 17:31, 1Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 and Hebrews 10:27.
O…Obvious.
There are over 6 billion people on the planet. God only knows what percentage are truly Christians, but let's use a conservative number like 10%. If this is true, over 600,000,000 people will vanish from the earth simultaneously according to Matthew 24:40. There will be no mistaking when Christ comes back for His Church! N…No One Knows When. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus said only God the Father knows when. God is outside time. God already knows every prediction regarding Jesus' return that has ever been or will ever be made. Since Jesus said that no one knows about that day but the Father, NO ONE KNOWS!
Second Coming of Christ -
The "D" is for "Doubters"
As we get closer and closer to the Second Coming of Christ, there will be increasing and widespread doubt about whether Jesus even existed. People will also start wondering if God really exists and believers will leave the Christian faith (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, 1 Timothy 4:1-2, and 2 Peter 2:1-3). Do you think we're already seeing these signs?

Watch And Pray
By Sarah Foulkes Moore

The words "Watch" and "Pray" are constantly on the lips of our Lord when warning of His sudden thief-like returning. All teaching, all preaching, all activity which annuls the Lord’s solemn warning to His own to take heed to themselves and watch and pray always makes for dangerous failure to be alert. This is the reason why many Christians today are walking carelessly, as though going to a picnic, when as a matter of fact, we are near the hour of Christ’s coming and judgment has already begun at His sanctuary. The rapture itself is a token of that judgment on those who are left. Hence the whole strategy of Satan is to prevent the vigilance and alertness the Lord has so solemnly counseled.

"So shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field: the one shall be taken, and the other left…. Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come" (Matt. 24:39-42).

It has been said the only difference between the one the Lord takes in translation and the one left to earth’s last judgments is the difference of watchful readiness. In His last discourses our Lord sought to rouse with exhortations to watchfulness the unwatchful disciple, the robbed goodman of the house, and the unfaithful steward (Matt. 24 and 25).

"Watch therefore; for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh" (Matt. 25:13). Christ made ever pressing the necessity of being ever ready. "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord…. Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching" (Luke 12:35-37).

We stand on the threshold of Christ’s returning. Every tick of the clock draws us nearer. The darkness of earth’s midnight is overspreading. The coming of the Bridegroom is near at hand. Hence His Bride is making herself ready. The spirit of the antichrist is abroad in the world. The great tribulation is casting its shadows before. Christians, look up! Be instantly ready, vigilant, watchful!

"Now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand" (Rom. 13:11-12).

Some Things Alert Christians Should Do

"Stand fast" (2 Thes. 2:15). So believe the Word of God that we cannot be shaken.

"Comfort your hearts" (2 Thes. 2:17). Be concerned but not alarmed at world conditions.

"Be not weary in well doing" (2 Thes. 3:13). Be faithful in worship and in work for God. Do not let up though Christ’s coming delays. Stand strong in spite of opposition from Satan. The return of Christ is certain!