The late Methodist pastor, Samuel Chadwick, once said this about the spirit filled soul: “Spirit filled souls are ablaze for God. They love with a love that glows. They serve with a faith that kindles. They serve with a devotion that consumes. They hate sin with fierceness that burns. They rejoice with a joy that radiates. Love is perfected in the fire of God.”1
As I was reading some of the other quotes by Chadwick I was impressed by how much emphasis he placed on the need for the spirit filled soul to spend serious time in prayer. Not only is the spirit filled soul ablaze for God as Chadwick says, but he understands that we are in a spiritual battle for the souls of individuals that sadly are held captive by Satan. And I believe Chadwick understood that our greatest weapon in defeating Satan and setting his captives free is prayer. According to Chadwick: “Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, he mocks our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.”2
In addition, Chadwick, gives us a glimpse into the power of prayer when he stated: “There is no power like that of prevailing prayer – of Abraham pleading for Sodom, Jacob wrestling in the stillness of the night, Moses standing in the breach, Hannah intoxicated with sorrow, David heartbroken with remorse and grief, Jesus in sweat and blood. Add to this list from the records of the church your personal observation and experience, and always there is cost of passion unto blood. Such prayer prevails. It turns ordinary mortals into men of power. It brings power. It brings fire. It brings rain. It brings life. It brings God.”3
There is absolutely no substitute for serious prayer in the life of the believer. The eternal destinies of souls often lie in the balance and believing, agonizing prayer for the conviction of the Holy Spirit is essential in opening the blind eyes of the unsaved.
But the reason so many people do not pray is because of its cost. First, true prayer is a lonely business. It must be spent alone in the prayer closet. Second, we often are too impatient, wanting God to answer our prayers quickly and according to our timeframe. Third, we are often more into entertainment than in seeking the Lord. And fourth, we have bought into Satan’s lies that powerful, transforming prayer was meant for biblical times and not for today.
I would like to briefly comment on these four points.
First, the idea that we must spend prayer alone in our prayer closets is a lie because we are not alone but in intimate communion with the sovereign God of the universe, and what can be more wonderful than that!
Second, we need to realize that God’s timeframe is always better than ours and He often needs to do things behind the scenes before He answers our prayers that we are not privy to.
Third, while entertainment is nice, I contend that seeking the Lord with all our hearts is so much more joyous and satisfying to the soul than some appeal to our flesh; which entertainment caters to.
And fourth, the idea that powerful prayer and transformational answers were only meant for biblical times is an affront to our holy God who promises us amazing answers to our prayers today, if we are willing to spend the time to seek Him.
My friends, one of the hallmarks of the spirit filled soul is a vibrant and serious prayer life. It allows us to enter into intimacy with God, cause Satan to tremble, and is often the only way to move the mighty hand of God in ways that bring great joy to our hearts!
1 Inspirational Quotes by Samuel Chadwick (bibleportal.com)
Prayer is an essential conduit to experience spiritual satiety.