The Possibilities of Prayer
By E.M. Bounds
()
About this ebook
Read more from E.M. Bounds
Understanding Prayer: Its Purpose, Its Power, Its Potential Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Essentials of Prayer: How Christians Ought to Pray Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Weapon of Prayer: With linked Table of Contents Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5How to Live a Life of Prayer: Classic Christian Writers on the Divine Privilege of Prayer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Necessity of Prayer Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Necessity of Prayer: Why Christians Ought to Pray Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Complete Collection of E.M Bounds on Prayer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPower Through Prayer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Prayer and Praying Men: With linked Table of Contents Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Weapon of Prayer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Works of E. M. Bounds on Prayer: Experience the Wonders of God through Prayer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Prayer and Praying Men Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Weapon of Prayer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Reality of Prayer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPower Through Prayer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Essentials of Prayer: With linked Table of Contents Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Reality of Prayer: With linked Table of Contents Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPower Through Prayer: With linked Table of Contents Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Purpose in Prayer: With linked Table of Contents Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Purpose In Prayer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to The Possibilities of Prayer
Related ebooks
The Possibilities of Prayer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Possibilities of Prayer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Possibilities of Prayer: Annotated Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Weapon of Prayer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReality of Prayer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Necessity of Prayer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Necessity of Prayer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKeys to Unprecedented Praying Power Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Power of Prayer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPrayer: The Believer’S Master Key Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUltimate Allegiance: The Subversive Nature of the Lord's Prayer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ministry of Intercession Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMeditations On Ephesians Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Doorway of Prayer: A Practical Guide to Knowing God and His Will Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPRAYER101: the secret place Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAscension Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Essentials of Prayer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCalling on God: Inclusive Christian Prayers for Three Years of Sundays Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpiritual Water for the Soul...Sermons and Commentaries: Volume 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Method for Prayer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Promote & Conduct a Successful Revival Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTrusting the Word and Nothing Else at All: Luther's Design for Evangelical Preaching Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Little Book of Prayers: Invocations, Petitions & Benedictions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Prayer Ministry of the Church Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwelve Steps to the Throne Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Declarations Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBy The Inspiration of His Word Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeeper Revelations of the Anointing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Necessity of Prayer: With linked Table of Contents Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Christianity For You
Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading and Understanding the Entire Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: Creating a Marriage That's Both Holy and Hot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Enoch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Holy Bible (World English Bible, Easy Navigation) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don't Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table: It's Time to Win the Battle of Your Mind... Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mere Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Lead When You're Not in Charge: Leveraging Influence When You Lack Authority Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Law of Connection: Lesson 10 from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warrior of the Light: A Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I'll Start Again Monday: Break the Cycle of Unhealthy Eating Habits with Lasting Spiritual Satisfaction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Workbook: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Changes That Heal: Four Practical Steps to a Happier, Healthier You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Less Fret, More Faith: An 11-Week Action Plan to Overcome Anxiety Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries with Kids: How Healthy Choices Grow Healthy Children Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Possibilities of Prayer
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The Possibilities of Prayer - E.M. Bounds
THE POSSIBILITIES OF PRAYER
..................
E.M. Bounds
SCRIPTURA PRESS
Thank you for reading. In the event that you appreciate this book, please consider sharing the good word(s) by leaving a review, or connect with the author.
This book is a work of nonfiction and is intended to be factually accurate.
All rights reserved. Aside from brief quotations for media coverage and reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form without the author’s permission. Thank you for supporting authors and a diverse, creative culture by purchasing this book and complying with copyright laws.
Copyright © 2015 by E.M. Bounds
Interior design by Pronoun
Distribution by Pronoun
TABLE OF CONTENTS
II. PRAYER AND THE PROMISES
III. PRAYER AND THE PROMISES (Continued)
IV. PRAYER — ITS POSSIBILITIES
V. PRAYER — ITS POSSIBILITIES (Continued)
VI. PRAYER — ITS POSSIBILITIES (Continued)
VII. PRAYER — ITS WIDE RANGE
VIII. PRAYER — FACTS AND HISTORY
IX. PRAYER — FACTS AND HISTORY (Continued)
X. ANSWERED PRAYER
XI. ANSWERED PRAYER (Continued)
XII. ANSWERED PRAYER (Continued)
XIII. PRAYER MIRACLES
XIV. WONDERS OF GOD THROUGH PRAYER
XV. PRAYER AND DIVINE PROVIDENCE
XVI. PRAYER AND DIVINE PROVIDENCE (Continued)
The Possibilities of Prayer
By
E.M. Bounds
The Possibilities of Prayer
Published by Scriptura Press
New York City, NY
First published 1913
Copyright © Scriptura Press, 2015
All rights reserved
Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
About Scriptura Press
Scriptura Press is a Christian company that makes Christian works available and affordable to all. We are a non-denominational publishing group that shares the teachings of the Scripture, whether in the form of sermons or histories of the Church.
Prayer should be the breath of our breathing, the thought of our thinking, the soul of our feeling, and the life of our living, the sound of our hearing, the growth of our growing. Prayer in its magnitude is length without end, width without bounds, height without top, and depth without bottom. Illimitable in its breadth, exhaustless in height, fathomless in depths and infinite in extension.
— Homer W. Hodge
THE ministry of prayer has been the peculiar distinction of all of God’s saints. This has been the secret of their power. The energy and the soul of their work has been the closet. The need of help outside of man being so great, man’s natural inability to always judge kindly, justly, and truly, and to act the Golden Rule, so prayer is enjoined by Christ to enable man to act in all these things according to the Divine will. By prayer, the ability is secured to feel the law of love, to speak according to the law of love, and to do everything in harmony with the law of love.
God can help us. God is a Father. We need God’s good things to help us to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before God.
We need Divine aid to act brotherly, wisely, and nobly, and to judge truly, and charitably. God’s help to do all these things in God’s way is secured by prayer. Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
In the marvellous output of Christian graces and duties, the result of giving ourselves wholly to God, recorded in the twelfth chapter of Romans, we have the words, Continuing instant in prayer,
preceded by rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation,
followed by, Distributing to the necessity of the saints, given to hospitality.
Paul thus writes as if these rich and rare graces and unselfish duties, so sweet, bright, generous, and unselfish, had for their center and source the ability to pray.
This is the same word which is used of the prayer of the disciples which ushered in Pentecost with all of its rich and glorious blessings of the Holy Spirit. In Colossians, Paul presses the word into the service of prayer again, Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.
The word in its background and root means strong, the ability to stay, and persevere steadfast, to hold fast and firm, to give constant attention to.
In Acts, chapter six, it is translated, Give ourselves continually to prayer.
There is in it constancy, courage, unfainting perseverance. It means giving such marked attention to, and such deep concern to a thing, as will make it conspicuous and controlling.
This is an advance in demand on continue.
Prayer is to be incessant, without intermission, assiduously, no check in desire, in spirit or in act, the spirit and the life always in the attitude of prayer. The knees may not always be bended, the lips may not always be vocal with words of prayer, but the spirit is always in the act and intercourse of prayer.
There ought to be no adjustment of life or spirit for closet hours. The closet spirit should sweetly rule and adjust all times and occasions. Our activities and work should be performed in the same spirit which makes our devotion and which makes our closet time sacred. Without intermission, incessantly, assiduously,
describes an opulence, and energy, and unabated and ceaseless strength and fulness of effort; like the full and exhaustless and spontaneous flow of an artesian stream. Touch the man of God who thus understands prayer, at any point, at any time, and a full current of prayer is seen flowing from him.
But all these untold benefits, of which the Holy Spirit is made to us the conveyor, go back in their disposition and results to prayer. Not on a little process and a mere performance of prayer is the coming of the Holy Spirit and of His great grace conditioned, but on prayer set on fire, by an unquenchable desire, with such a sense of need as cannot be denied, with a fixed determination which will not let go, and which will never faint till it wins the greatest good and gets the best and last blessing God has in store for us.
The First Christ, Jesus, our Great High Priest, forever blessed and adored be His Name, was a gracious Comforter, a faithful Guide, a gifted Teacher, a fearless Advocate, a devoted Friend, and an all powerful Intercessor. The other, another Comforter,
the Holy Spirit, comes into all these blessed relations of fellowship, authority and aid, with all the tenderness, sweetness, fulness and efficiency of the First Christ.
Was the First Christ the Christ of prayer? Did He offer prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears unto God? Did He seek the silence, the solitude and the darkness that He might pray unheard and unwitnessed save by heaven, in His wrestling agony, for man with God? Does He ever live, enthroned above at the Father’s right hand, there to pray for us?
Then how truly does the other Christ, the other Comforter, the Holy Spirit, represent Jesus Christ as the Christ of prayer! This other Christ, the Comforter, plants Himself not in the waste of the mountain nor far into the night, but in the chill and the night of the human heart, to rouse it to the struggle, and to teach it the need and form of prayer. How the Divine Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, puts into the human heart the burden of earth’s almighty need, and makes the human lips give voice to its mute and unutterable groanings!
What a mighty Christ of prayer is the Holy Spirit! How He quenches every flame in the heart but the flame of heavenly desire! How He quiets, like a weaned child, all the self-will, until in will, in brain, and in heart, and by mouth, we pray only as He prays. Making intercession for the saints, according to the will of God.
II. PRAYER AND THE PROMISES
..................
YOU NEED NOT UTTERLY DESPAIR even of those who for the present ‘turn again and rend you.’ For if all your arguments and persuasives fail, there is yet another remedy left, and one that is frequently found effectual, when no other method avails. This is prayer. Therefore, whatsoever you desire or want, either for others or for your own soul, ‘Ask, and it shall be given you.’
— John Wesley
WITHOUT the promise prayer is eccentric and baseless. Without prayer, the promise is dim, voiceless, shadowy, and impersonal. The promise makes prayer dauntless and irresistible. The Apostle Peter declares that God has given to us exceeding great and precious promises.
Precious
and exceeding great
promises they are, and for this very cause we are to add to our faith,
and supply virtue. It is the addition which makes the promises current and beneficial to us. It is prayer which makes the promises weighty, precious and practical. The Apostle Paul did not hesitate to declare that God’s grace so richly promised was made operative and efficient by prayer. Ye also helping together by prayer for us.
The promises of God are exceeding great and precious,
words which clearly indicate their great value and their broad reach, as grounds upon which to base our expectations in praying. Howsoever exceeding great and precious they are, their realization, the possibility and condition of that realization, are based on prayer. How glorious are these promises to the believing saints and to the whole Church! How the brightness and bloom, the fruitage and cloudless midday glory of the future beam on us through the promises of God! Yet these promises never brought hope to bloom or fruit to a prayerless heart. Neither could these promises, were they a thousandfold increased in number and preciousness, bring millennium glory to a prayerless Church. Prayer makes the promise rich, fruitful and a conscious reality.
Prayer as a spiritual energy, and illustrated in its enlarged and mighty working, makes way for and brings into practical realization the promises of God.
God’s promises cover all things which pertain to life and godliness, which relate to body and soul, which have to do with time and eternity. These promises bless the