Author: John Page 37 of 163

Psalm 33:10-12 “The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.  The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.  Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”

January 1, 1802 is the date that President Jefferson wrote his letter of response to the Danbury Baptists, creating the popularly known and misunderstood phrase “separation of church and state.”  Over time, his words have been taken far out of context, distantly deviating and drastically diverging from the constitutional direction that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”  President Jefferson and the Founding Fathers never intended for religious influence to be absent from governmental endeavors nor excluded from it.  In fact, just the opposite.

Maybe the strongest proof of Jefferson’s intent comes from what he did two days after writing that oft-twisted phrase.  He went to church … at the U.S. Capitol.  Shortly after the Capitol opened its doors in 1800, the House of Representatives Chamber was used as the venue for Christian worship services every Sunday, and Jefferson was a regular parishioner.  This Founding Father had no problem with the People’s House being used as a House of Worship.  In fact, when asked about his church attendance at the Capitol, Jefferson responded with the following:

“No nation has ever yet existed or been governed without religion – nor can be.  The Christian religion is the best religion that has been given to man and I, as Chief Magistrate of this nation, am bound to give it the sanction of my example.” 

As American Christian citizens in the New Year, may we be undeterred by our national deviation from a godly heritage.  Instead, may we give faithful church attendance the sanction of our example.  May we give godliness the sanction of our example.  May we give participation in the governmental process the sanction of our example.  May we give the spreading of the gospel of Christ the sanction of our example. 

And in this pivotal year, may we give daily prayer for our nation and our leaders the sanction of our example. 

PLEASE PRAY FAITHFULLY FOR WIDESPREAD AMERICAN REVIVAL IN 2022!

Matthew 5:13-16 “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.  Ye are the light of the world.  A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

As I close this PLUS series on Jeremiah Lanphier and the Prayer Meeting Revival of 1857, I provide the following October 1858 assessment of the meeting from Pastor Talbot Chambers who had a front-row seat to the meetings from their outset at the North Dutch Church on Fulton Street in New York City:

“It was a bold and novel undertaking to attempt to establish a Daily Meeting for Prayer at Noon in the very midst of the business portion of this great city; and doubtless under other circumstances, such an attempt would have signally failed.  But there was a preparation for it in the public mind made by the providence of God.  Instead of coming to an untimely end, as many even of the wise and good feared, it grew and flourished.  The Lord gave it favour, and ere long it became the most popular and sought after of all meetings.  Spiritual influence radiated out from it.  Souls were converted through its instrumentality.  Its example was followed in other cities and towns, until a line of Noon Meetings stretched from the sea-board to beyond the Mississippi.  The original one still holds on its quiet peaceful way, and at the end of the first year of its existence, is as well supported and as much blessed as at any former period.”

Lanphier’s meetings provided an avenue for God’s light to illuminate and brighten a dark and dreary world.  It was a powerful flame on the top of a tall candlestick that gave light to the world and glory to the Lord.  God prepared the public mind for these meetings, and gave them favor.  Spiritual influence radiated out from them, and souls were converted through their instrumentality. 

As the calendar changes to 2022, may American Christians seek to have our lives and our ministries provide an avenue for God’s light to illuminate and brighten our dark and dreary world.  May we be a powerful flame on the top of a tall candlestick that gives light to the world and glory to the Lord.  As God prepares the public mind in His own way and seeks to give favor to the faithful, may spiritual influence radiate out from our lives and may souls be converted through our human instrumentality.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE CAUSE OF CHRIST IN AMERICA IN 2022 WHILE ALLOWING SPIRITUAL INFLUENCE TO RADIATE OUT FROM OUR LIVES!

ADMIN:  The quote above comes from the Talbot Chambers book “The New York City Noon Prayer Meeting: A Simple Gathering That Changed The World”.

Psalm 118:23 “This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.”

II Corinthians 3:5 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God”

II Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

A year after the beginning of the 1857 Prayer Meeting Revival, Pastor Talbot Chambers observed the following:

“No devout or thoughtful mind can review the history which has been given, without being irresistibly led to the conclusion, expressed by the words of the Psalmist upon a different occasion: ‘THIS IS THE LORD’S DOING; IT IS MARVELLOUS IN OUR EYES.’  It is easy to trace the hand of Providence in every step of the course we have narrated.  The appointment of the Missionary [Lanphier] just at the period when it was made, the upspringing in his mind of the conception of a business men’s prayer meeting, its peculiar features, the state of the times prompting men to pray, the absence of any unusual attractions, the extraordinary rapidity with which mid-day meetings for prayer were multiplied; all these indicate the immediate agency of the Most High.  The Lord alone was exalted in that day.  There is no room for human merit to insinuate itself.”

“But it can scarcely be doubted that the main cause of the general popularity of the meeting was the gracious purpose of the Lord, making use, in His adorable sovereignty, of this means to alleviate the gloom of temporal calamities, and lead the minds of the children of men to higher ends than ‘the meat that perisheth.’  In no other way can we account for the eagerness with which multitudes of men would flock together at an unusual, and to many most inconvenient hour, for the purposes of worship, to a place where there were none of the attractions which alone, in ordinary circumstances, move men in masses to attend a religious service.  There was no eloquent orator, no noted revivalist, no display of intellectual abilities, native or acquired; nothing to gratify a refined taste, or stimulate a jaded imagination, or cater to itching ears.  It was simply a gathering of men who turned aside from secular cares to consecrate an hour of prayer or praise – an assembly in which the chief part was taken by laymen, and these, persons not distinguished for any unusual gifts or culture.”

Pastor Chambers made very clear that God deserved all the credit and the glory for the results of the revival of which they were a part.  It was the Lord’s doing, and it was marvelous in their eyes.  The hand of Providence could be traced to every success, and it was all according to God’s gracious purposes.  In no way could they account for the massive impact of the meeting; there was no room for human merit to insinuate itself.

Any good that happens in our lives, any positive impact we are able to make, or any great movement for the Lord of which we are a part, is totally and completely attributable to the hand of Providence.  In no other way should we account for any success; there is no room for human merit to insinuate itself. 

During this week of Christmas, may we reflect on God’s glorious love through His unspeakable gift.  Our Saviour Jesus Christ is good and He is perfect, and His birth is marvelous in our eyes!  May God rightfully earn all the credit, all the glory, and all the attention for the joy of this season.  The hand of Providence throughout human history led to this glorious event as a part of His gracious purposes.  In the salvation of man, there is no room for human merit to insinuate itself. 

PLEASE PRAISE GOD FOR HIS UNSPEAKABLE GIFT DURING THIS SEASON AND THROUGHOUT THE YEAR!

ADMIN:  The quotes above comes from the Talbot Chambers book “The New York City Noon Prayer Meeting: A Simple Gathering That Changed The World”.

Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

Proverbs 29:23 “A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.”

Proverbs 8:13 “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.”

Luke 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.”

One of the regular, faithful members of the prayer meetings at Fulton Street made the following observation:

“We are in danger of spiritual pride, because so many eyes are turned to the Fulton Street Prayer Meeting, and because so many requests for prayer come to us from all parts of the land.  I know that many feel troubled because they come; some, because they occupy too much of the attention of this meeting; others, because they fear that the impression will be created that this is the Prayer Meeting above all others, where God hears and answers prayers.  Now both these evils are to be guarded against.”

The success of the Fulton Street Prayer Meetings may have been in part because of their vigilant sensitivity to the trappings of pride.  While God was working in miraculous ways, this group of believers was bombarded with attention, flooded with requests, and esteemed among men.  In order to protect themselves and the Lord’s continued workings through them, they strove to avoid being elevated, insulated, or isolated. 

They knew that pride goeth before destruction.  They realized that pride could bring them low, but humility could yield honor.  They embraced the truth that the fear of the Lord is to hate evil.  They acknowledged that esteem among men can be an abomination to God. 

Believers today must be vigilantly sensitive to the trappings of pride.  Whenever God works in miraculous ways in our lives, our ministries, our families, or our communities, we must strive to avoid being elevated, insulated, or isolated. 

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO VIGILANTLY PROTECT OURSELVES AND THE LORD’S WORKING THROUGH US.  We are in persistent danger of spiritual pride; and elevation, insulation, and isolation are evils to constantly guard against.

ADMIN:  The quote above comes from the Talbot Chambers book “The New York City Noon Prayer Meeting: A Simple Gathering That Changed The World”.

Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Renowned hymn writer, Phoebe H. Brown, wrote the following hymn entitled “Jesus, This Mid-Day Hour” for the 1857 Prayer Meeting Revival:

Jesus, this midday hour of prayer
We consecrate to thee.
Forgetful of each earthly care,
We would thy glory see.

We come thy presence to implore;
O teach us how to pray!
Impart us to thy Spirit’s power,
Thy saving grace display.

Baptize with energy Divine
The contrite soul afresh;
O bow the stubborn will to thine,
And give the heart of flesh.

Unite our hearts, unite our tongues,
In lofty praise to thee,
Accept the tribute of our songs
Thou Holy One in Three.

Today in twenty-first century America, we need to embrace the truths conveyed in this simple hymn.  We need to consecrate a dedicated, daily time of prayer for revival and renewal in our land.  We need to set aside earthly cares, and seek His glory.  We need to beg for God to guide our prayers, impart His power, and display His saving grace.  We need to be baptized with energy Divine, while yielding our stubborn wills to Him.  And, we need to be unified in our lofty praise to our Lord.

PLEASE PRAY FOR GOD TO GUIDE THE PRAYERS OF AMERICAN CHRISTIANS.  “We come thy presence to implore; O teach us how to pray!  Impact us to thy Spirit’s power, Thy saving grace display.”