In 1938, Basil Miller wrote a book that still has great relevance in our day. Consider the following excerpts:
Concerted Prayer
“A concert of prayer—that was all. Prayer bands formed in churches—prayer meetings held in homes —prayer circles binding together churches—concerted national prayer activities—and out of such tidal streams of prayer came results of inestimable greatness.”
“It was the same concert of prayer which struck fire to the student body of Yale College under the leadership of President Timothy Dwight, wherein most of the students were converted. This same concert of prayer—organized as private prayer meetings which were held in 1795— was the instrument in the hands of the Lord to cause times of refreshing to reach 150 churches in New England.”
“A cottage prayer meeting sowed the seeds that sprouted into such missionary magnificence.”
And don’t miss the history of the Haystack Prayer Meeting.
“Out of a humble cottage prayer meeting, of all the means of grace the most lowly, came the marvelous, wide-reaching work of George Mueller. A cottage prayer meeting gave the world its greatest example of prayer. The man who prayed in more things, more money, than any other of all the centuries was reached through the instrumentality of a prayer meeting.”
Read the story of the Barnardo Homes…
“Shortly after the beginning of the work, when the house was crowded, jammed, with no room remaining, “Carrots” asked for admission, but there seemed to be no more room. He was told to come back in two weeks. A week later his little body was found frozen to death. From that time on Thomas Barnardo asked God literally to make him the father of the fatherless, and through prayer he determined never again to refuse anyone entrance. “Carrots” was the first and only child ever refused an entrance. Prayer housed, clothed, fed them all.”
And don’t miss the story of “…a prayer meeting which was attended by only one, and that one was an invalid. Few prayer meetings have brought about the salvation of so many thousands of souls.”
““The Week of Prayer” in January, 1881, gripped a little congregation in Portland, Me. This prayer week had been an annual feature for many years, spasmodically it had been remembered and fostered for almost a century. Its meaning had been lost in the fog of the passing years, and perfunctorily it was performed in most churches. It was after this annual feast of prayer, “Week of Prayer,” that Torrey was seized with his vehement passion to belt the globe with a revival, culminating after three years of prayer meetings. The same “Week of Prayer” had been remembered at the close of the century previous, just before the dawn of 1800, and the “Great Awakening” swept America.”
“Men have prayed alone, in secret, and immediately, on the other side of the globe, God has given the answer. Humble cottages have seen prayer meetings which resulted in shaking the foundations of the kingdom of evil. Some small groups have prayed, and God ordained the upraising of missionary movements.”
“The Paton home in Scotland was small and simple, yet it was marked with God’s presence. Few homes, however, have laid the scenes for mightier missionary triumphs than this one. There were only three rooms. In the first the mother held forth. This served as dining-room, kitchen, parlor, and bedroom for the family. On the other end of the building was the father’s workroom, where he carried on his trade as a stocking weaver for the village of Torthorwald. A small in-between room was the father’s secret sanctuary from which issued volumes of prayer. This was tiny, with barely space for a bed, a table, and a chair. The window in it was small. But this was destined to become an anteroom to heaven.”
If you would like to read more about these interesting stories, and more stories about answered prayer, click here…