By Prayer Alone - The Lesson Hudson Taylor Determined to Learn

The commission Hudson had received was, "go to China,"  and he was sure it had come straight from the Lord. He knew that in China there were thousands of souls who would die never having heard of the gift of God - unless someone would go to tell them. Hudson Taylor knew no one in China so if he obeyed this call he could look for help only in God Himself. If he ran out of money there he would not have anyone to borrow it from, if he lost his way he would not be able to ask for directions... He could think of all sorts of possible needs and problems but the solution for them all would have to be the same - go to God. If that was how he was going to live he figured he should start practicing right away. He needed to learn to "move men, through God, by prayer alone."

Going to work for Dr. Hardey would be the perfect opportunity to begin. The Doctor was a busy and rather forgetful man. 

"Be sure to remind me when your salary comes due, Taylor." He said. His young assistant smiled but said nothing. I will do nothing except pray. God will have to remind the Doctor. It would be the very lesson in prayer and faith that Hudson had been hoping for! The day he was to be paid came and went and then a week passed without the Doctor having remembered that he owed him. Though he only had a single half -crown left the young man refused to waver. He said nothing except to God. 

Often on Sunday evenings Hudson would preach to the poor. This week, when he finished his message a man came up to him and asked if he would be willing to come to his house and pray for his wife who was dying. Hudson said he would and the two set out together. The man looked tired and anxious,

"The priest asked eighteen pence to come and I haven't enough to even feed my children!" Hudson did not doubt the truth of the words for he could see the man's thin face and threadbare clothes. When he entered the single room that was the family's home, Hudson found their situation to be far worse than he was expecting. The man's wife lay in bed; the three day old baby beside her was crying. Five other children starred at Hudson and he could see that all of them were starving. Suddenly the half - crown in his pocket did not seem so small. If it were only two shillings and sixpence instead of this half-crown. He thought of how gladly he would have given them part, but as it were he had only two meals left for himself.  In His quiet but persistent way the Lord continued to urge Hudson to give them the coin; Hudson's excuses were of little help to him so he tried to put it out of his mind. Taking the lady's hand he began to tell the family of a loving heavenly Father who would care for them, but he could not say very much. The words seemed empty and he felt as if he would choke on them.  He knelt to pray, but how could he pray when he was not willing to obey God and help these people who so badly needed it? The father put his hand on Hudson's shoulder, 

"If you can help us, for God's sake do!" In Hudson's thoughts a verse followed the father's plea. Give to him that asketh thee. Without further argument he took the single coin from his pocket and pressed it into the man's hand. Once it was done the sacrifice no longer seemed so hard to make. A second verse followed. Give, and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. Hudson could not contain a smile as he left the house. The money had been lent to God and he was quite sure it would have a good return. The next morning there was a letter in the mail; the envelope had not been marked with any return address. Hudson opened it and dumped the contents onto his table. A pair of leather gloves and a half sovereign. There was no note of explanation. Hudson didn't need one. God had paid him back with good interest! The coin was worth five times that which he had given away the night before!

That money was able to carry Hudson Taylor through the next two weeks. When Saturday came around again, he recalled that his room rent would be due that night. He knew how dearly his landlady needed the money but his mind was made up. I will not say anything about it to the Doctor. I can't! He knelt down and prayed again. Surely God would answer the need. Hudson waited with expectation all morning. The Doctor must say something about it today. His faith was tested with each passing minute of the afternoon but he did not turn from his purpose. Late in the day, Doctor Hardey finally mentioned the subject.

"Is your salary not due yet, Taylor?" Hudson tried to repress a triumphant smile.

"It is overdue some little time, Sir." 

"You should have reminded me!" The doctor said. "You know how busy I am. If I had thought of it a little sooner, I would not  have sent all the money to the bank this afternoon. I would pay you now if I had the cash." Hudson gave no reply. He had so hoped that he would have the money by tonight! This is surely the hardest test of all! Hudson continued his work in silence until he found a moment to spare. Slipping away to a quiet place he fell on his knees and cried out to God. He rose with an assurance that the Lord would work it out.

Hudson was just closing the books for the day. The sun was setting and his coat lay over the back of the chair ready to be put on, when the Doctor hurried into the room. He was laughing.

"Can you believe that one of my wealthiest patients has just come, at this late hour, to pay his doctor bill! Look up the account, Taylor, and see what he owes. Do you not find it funny that he should come at this hour when he could write me a check any day?" Hudson laughed too but it was in joy more than amusement. The doctor returned with the money in hand and gave it to his assistant. Thus Husdon Taylor's needs were supplied and more importantly his landlady could be paid! Both Doctor Hardey and his wealthy patient had been "moved, through God, by prayer alone." 

This was the first of the many lessons Hudson would learn in relying on God. He was going to a place where he would have no choice but to look to God and he wanted to learn to be dependant upon His faithfulness before he did. David said:

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills - From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth." (Psalm cxxi. 1-2)

Can we join the Psalmist in saying this is where our help comes from? That our eyes turn to God in times of trouble? When many of us turn to God our dependence is only a partial one. We are living with a constant supply of insurance policies backing up our faith. Like Hudson Taylor's half-crown there is often something else we are looking to. Therefore God is not our only source of help. He becomes just one of many solutions and the accessibility of the other options can cause us to depend on them instead of Him. 

"But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." (James i. 6-8)

Without even realizing it, many of us have gotten into the habit of either looking for other answers first or retaining them as a back up - just in case God doesn't come through. We doubt God and turn to other answers in addition to Him. North American Christians don't feel in need of a God who answers prayer because we have other sources of help available to us. Leonard Ravenhill was quoted to say, "The only reason we don't have revival is because we are willing to live without it." I would contend that the same could be said of prayer.  We can only learn to pray by praying and our faith will only grow as it is exercised, tested, and proven. So if we want to see the power of God in this generation we need to be willing to expectantly rely on His help alone. Walking in faith carries with it a risk. Hudson Taylor was not going to be able to pay his rent and he was out of grocery money, so what if God hadn't come through? This is where the challenge lies, but is it really a challenge? Peter was at risk of sinking and drowning as he walked on the water toward Jesus. Yet it was only when he doubted that He began to sink. "Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him and said to him,“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”" (Mathew xiv. 31)  Faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something. 

"If anyone asks me what it means to trust another to do a piece of work for me, I can only answer that it means letting that other one do it and feeling it perfectly unnecessary for me to do it myself. Everyone of us has trusted very important pieces of work to others in this way and felt perfect rest in thus trusting, because of the confidence we have had in those who have undertaken to do it. How constantly do mothers trust their most precious infants to the care of nurses, and feel no shadow of anxiety? How continually we are all of us trusting our health and our lives, without thought or fear, to cooks and coachmen, engine - drivers, railway conductors, and all sorts of paid servants, who have us completely at their mercy, and could plunge us into misery or death in a moment if they chose to do so, or even if they failed in the necessary carefulness? All this we do and make no fuss about it....and we never feel as if we are doing anything in the least remarkable." - Hannah Whitall Smith, The Christian's Secret to a Happy Life (page lxxix.)

We are asked to place our confidence in God Himself and we are given His very character as our guarantee. So why do we feel the need to have a back-up plan? Or someone else to trust in? As Hudson Taylor showed us, being fully reliant upon God is a choice. Any need can become an opportunity to go to our King for help; a chance to see Him proven faithful! 

"Perhaps God brings us to the end of our resources so we can discover the vastness of His." Neil T. Anderson

In Christ

quiana

Do Not Despise These Small Beginnings - Why Hans Scholl Chose Humble Actions

The train had stopped but no one got out of their seats. Hans stared out the window. 

Amidst the dirt and rocks, a few spring flowers were sparsely scattered. Not ten yards from the train a group of prisoners were working on a new set of tracks. 

It was hard, heavy work and sweat ran down their faces as they swung pickaxes into the rocky ground. He frowned.Women shouldn’t be doing such work! They were prisoners yes, but the bands on their arms told him that their only crime was that of being Jewish. 

One girl in particular attracted his attention. Her brown hair was hanging loose and she paused to brush it off of her face. She reminded him of the wildflowers that were growing near her; terribly thin and delicate yet carrying herself with beauty and pride. A sudden feeling of pity washed over him as he watched her from the train. His brow furrowed. She doesn’t need you to feel sorry for her, Hans, she needs you to do something! But what could he do? 

He recalled the chocolate bar in his pocket.

Shoving the window open, he slipped first one leg out and then the other. Before any of the train’s other occupants had noticed what he was doing, Hans had jumped out and crossed the little distance that separated the two tracks. 

He walked up to her, holding the chocolate bar at arms length. It seemed like a trivial action in the face of such woe. 

She paused her work, laid aside the pick, and took the package from his hand. She starred down at it, looking somewhat confused as she read the label. Suddenly, the bewilderment on her face was replaced with anger. Without a word she threw the candy back at him. 

It was not quite the reaction he had been expecting. A guy tries to be kind and that’s how she responds! I’ll bet she won’t be so proud when she’s gone hungry for a while! 

Hans quickly checked his thoughts. What am I saying! The Germans had made themselves her enemies and to her he was just another German. He shook his head, my pride is rather quick to discard pity. How could he make her understand that the present wasn’t meant to taunt her? 

Glancing around, he noticed again the flowers that were growing nearby. He quickly procured one and then bent down to pick up the chocolate bar that was still laying where she had thrown it. On it he laid the little, white rose. 

Again he held it out to her. “I just wanted to do something to please you.” 

She had not taken her eyes off of him the entire time. Now she looked even more astonished than she had at first. 

The train was starting to move again so Hans quickly pressed the gift into her hands and then dashed off to catch it. He caught hold of the metal rail and, with a leap, pulled himself up onto the platform. He caught one last glimpse of the girl before she was out of sight - the flower was in her hair.

Doing the Simple Things

It seemed like a trivial action and Hans could have neglected to do it. Yet he choose to take advantage of even this little opportunity when it presented itself. This was a decision that would come to characterize the life of Hans Scholl. Living in the midst of the second world war, Hans was a German who shared the cause of the Allies. He was surrounded by people who practiced lying, cruelty, and hatred so he decided that he would have to use every chance to do good. Later that same year Hans, his sister, Sophie, and three of their close friends began a resistance organization. They planned to resist the Nazi Government but they had no great strategy available to them. In fact they found that the only method they could employ was that of passive resistance. Every man, they felt, needed to battle through the avenues that were open to him. For them that avenue was the written word. They knew the truth, had words to express it in, and possessed a single typewriter and duplicating machine to help. Their idea was to create and distribute leaflets which would encourage others to also rise in passive resistance. 'They desired to cast doubt in the minds of Nazi followers, induce questions in the minds of Nazi enthusiasts, win over the hesitant, and move the uncommitted to a decision." -Inge Scholl, The White Rose 

 It was a simple plan pitted against a great enemy but the Munich students were willing to do whatever they could. Too often we refuse to take action because the results don't seem large enough to warrant the expense of our time, or our money, or our effort. Today many Christians are only motivated to act when they feel sure that it will be worth their while. 

"Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand." (Zechariah iv. 10)

It is humility that makes someone willing to do the task that seems like it will be insignificant, unprofitable, or badly received. To do the thing that the world would say is foolish. Hans' chocolate bar could do little to combat the ongoing starvation that the girl faced, yet God had given it as the provision for that situation. Many people mistakenly think that humility is seeing themselves as small. Had this been Hans Scholl's perspective he would have remained on the train overwhelmed by his inability to solve such a big problem. He would have missed the little opportunity - a chance to show God's love - if he had chosen to feel defeated because he couldn't solve the bigger problem - rescuing all the woman from the persecution they faced. Those who are truly humble acknowledge that they are insufficient but they are ready to do what they can, however little. True humility is seeing others as more important than ourselves; this was what Hans had. God does not require us to solve every problem or right every wrong, that is His job, but He does ask us to give our best. We are responsible to do all we can and to do it as well as we can. This is the lesson of the widow`s mite.

"And He (Jesus) looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.” (Luke xxi. 1-4)

We should not be trying to determine what work is a worthy expenditure of our time; that is pride. Humility is asking God what He considers important enough to invest in.

"I'm living my life for an audience of one. I live my life to please God." - Anne Graham Lotz

In trying to please any audience one must learn what moves them. The same is true of God. If we really are desiring to please Him we should be trying to discover what is stirring His heart and what He would do about it. God is humble and, as He showed us when He sent His Son to be born of a virgin and laid in a manger, He uses humble means. It may be that the thing you would have overlooked is what He is looking at, or that the plan that is "too simple" is actually how God intends to accomplish His purpose. 

The White Rose Society, as Hans entitled their resistance organization, distributed several thousand pamphlets throughout the major cities of Germany over the course of a few months. Their words stirred a few dozen people into action. That may seem a remarkable feat for students working with a singular typewriter and one duplication machine in a studio basement, usually in the middle of the night. Yet when matched against Hitler`s power, an apathetic nation, and unfathomable acts of cruelty it must have seemed like an insignificant and hopeless task. Still they persevered in it with humility.  

In February of 1943, Hans and Sophie Scholl were apprehended by the German authorities and sentenced to death for their crimes against the Reich. Their work cost them much and seemed to have accomplished little, yet they did not regret their actions for a moment. They had done what they could, what they knew was right and they didn't look to the results for justification. Later it was revealed that members of the highest levels of the Nazi party considered the efforts of these students to be one of the greatest threats against the Third Reich! Neither Hans nor Sophie ever knew that, yet their actions showed that they knew the humble things were important.

"How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause? Such a fine, sunny day and I have to go but what does my death matter, if through us thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?” - Sophie Scholl

In Christ

quiana

What Evan Roberts Prayed For - Are You Willing to Live Without Revival?

"Oh, Syd,” he said to his best friend, Sydney Evans, “we are going to see the mightiest revival that Wales has ever known – the Holy Spirit is coming just now.” In great anticipation, he added, “We must get ready. We must get a little band together and go all over the country preaching.” Suddenly Roberts stopped, looked at Sydney, and said, “Do you believe that God can give us a hundred thousand?” - Excerpt from an article written by Dr. Alvin L. Reid 

 The conversation between Evan Roberts and Sydney Evans took place in Wales, late in the year of 1904. During the six months that followed more than a hundred thousand souls found salvation. This was the Welsh Revival. There are many revivals recorded in the history of the church. The first taking place after Peter preached to the crowds of Jerusalem n the Day of Pentecost. Acts ii tells us that about three thousand souls were added to the church that day. The many revivals that have followed occurred in all sorts of places, were started by the words of different Christians, and resulted in widely varying numbers of converts but the core factors have always remained the same.

A revival is always a work of God; accomplishing what men can not. It is ushered in by the prayers of Christians; men and woman who were led by God to ask for revival persistently for days, or even years beforehand. Marked by the turning of sinners hearts unto the Lord and the turning of the heart of the church back unto what God had first called it to. By definition, revival is 'a return to life, consciousness, strength or condition. A renewal. A restoration to importance.' So when the church is revived it returns to Christ who is its life, it is reminded and made conscious once again of its God and the truth He has given it. The body of Christ is strengthened and brought into a condition in which it is able to walk in obedience. It is renewed. The church becomes important to people again - both the saved and the unsaved- and can change the society around it because God and His will have become important to the church once again.  

Evan Roberts' heart was burning with a desire to have revival. He wanted a revival first in his own soul and then in the church as a whole; for thirteen years he had prayed for the Spirit. When giving his testimony Roberts himself said it this way:

“I said then to myself: ‘I will have the Spirit.’ And through all weather, and in spite of all difficulties, I went to the meetings. Many times, on seeing other boys with the boats on the tide, I was tempted to turn back and join them. But, no. Then I said to myself: ‘Remember your resolve to be faithful,’ and on I went. Prayer meeting Monday evening at the chapel; prayer meeting Tuesday evening at Pisgah (Sunday School branch); Church meeting Wednesday evening; Band of Hope Thursday; class Friday evening-to these I went faithfully throughout the years. For ten or eleven years I have prayed for a revival. I could sit up all night to read or talk about revivals. It was the Spirit that moved me to think about a revival."

It was not his rigorous and uncompromising attendance at the meetings that made Evan ready for revival but the position of his heart. He was desperately in search of the Spirit of God and his faithfulness in going to the meetings was only the evidence of that desire. If understanding of His Lord might be found in a place, or Holy Spirit gained there then Evan Roberts was determined that he would be there to receive it. The Spirit of God was moving him and he chose to obey in spite of the other distractions that were clamoring for his time and attentions. He had set his heart to seek the Lord and Evan Roberts would not be moved.

"Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."(Jeremiah xxix. 12- 13) 

When God promises He can not lie and He has promised that He will be found by us if we seek for Him. He has offered us the Spirit as a gift if we will but ask Him.

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke xi. 13) 


Roberts sought God and asked for an outpouring of His Spirit undeterred for thirteen years. He prayed for revival for ten or eleven years before it came. Most of us have not even begun to ask for these things. Even fewer of the Christians today could say that they have pursued them in prayer with diligence and desperation. Leonard Ravenhill said, 

"The only reason we don't have revival is because we are willing to live without it!"

The only way Evan Roberts was different from you or I was in his unwillingness to live without revival. He sought it not only for himself but for more than a hundred thousand souls besides. Peter who led the first revival in church history was the same man who had denied his Lord and Savior only a few days before. God is the one to whom Roberts looked to move him and to provide the revival. It is to Him that we must look as well.

"I believe the world is upon the threshold of a great religious revival, and I pray that I may be allowed to help bring this about. I beseech all those who confess Christ to ask Him today, upon their knees, if He has not some work for them to do now. He will lead them all as He has led us. He will make them pillars of smoke by day and pillars of fire by night to guide all men to Him.” – Evan Roberts

In Christ

quiana

Memorial Stones - Why History is Important

"When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’" Joshua iv. 3 (ESV) 

At first, God's instructions to Joshua seemed like a rather random request. However, as we continue to read through the chapter, we find that there was a reason why the Lord told the people of Israel to gather those stones; a reason that Joshua knew was important.  Joshua said to the people of Israel, "When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.” Joshua iv. 6-7 (ESV) It was important for the people of Israel to remember what God had done. So important that He had them set up a physical memorial that would cause their children to ask them about it. 

This story wasn't just meant to entertain the children who heard it, it was supposed to teach them about the God they served - who He was and what He had done. It was meant to show them that, if they would obey the Lord, He would be faithful to make a way for them. That is why the story needed to be remembered. The question is, are there stories that we should be remembering? Events that we should retell that they might build our children's faith? Yes, there are! To begin with, the entire bible is a collection of stories that have been preserved to teach us about God and how to serve Him. As Christians, it should be our first priority to remember and learn from these stories. 

There is, however, a great deal of history that has taken place since the bible was written. In this, we find that there are even more stories that have been recorded for us. Stories of men and women, some of whom lived for God and some of whom didn't. My mom once told me that it was important to learn history because all of it is His Story. The story of God told through the lives of countless people. These historical accounts cannot hold the same authority as those contained in the canonized Word of God and yet they still hold lessons that are valuable for us. There are stories of people who stood for God at great cost, stories of God's power and of answered prayers, stories of those who refused to give their lives to God and lived for their own pleasure instead. History shows us the results of those choices and lives, whether good or bad.

Has anyone ever said to you, "Trust me, you don't want to make the same mistake that I did."? If you were wise you listened to the advice that followed this statement as well as to the story that went along with it. In the end, you may have disagreed with that person's perspective and the advice they gave you. Perhaps you decided that the benefits of the decision they were counselling you against outweighed its consequences. On the other hand, you may have decided to learn from their experience and make a different choice. Either way you got to 'stand on their shoulders' and see the situation from a vantage point that was different to your own. I would imagine that the person who was advising you wishes that they had been given such an opportunity! Now, what if I was to tell you that such an opportunity is available to you, not just once in a while, but in every situation - regardless of who you know or the nature of the choices you are having to make! You have the opportunity to stand on the shoulders of all those who have gone before you - or at least those who have been recorded in history, which is no small number- and  I can assure you that whatever situation you may be facing, there is someone who has faced it before you. 

"That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun." (Ecclesiastes i. 9) 

You have the chance to see what someone else did when they were in the situation that you now find yourself in and you are being given the opportunity to find out how those choices turned out. You have the chance to stand atop the shoulders of those who went before you and gain a better perspective. So why would you choose to stand on ground level and learn things the hard way? 

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." - George Santayana. 

We may not have memorial stones set up to help remind us, but we do have stories that have been recorded for us and the lessons they contain are important to remember. I'm excited to share this journey of learning alongside you! 

In Christ

quiana