A
Need Of Applying Faith
By
Minnie Spencer
"Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." We have heard, with the ear, what God has spoken to
us many times, but how much of it is getting into our hearts by the hearing of faith? In Romans 10:21 we read, “But
to Israel He saith, All day long have I stretched froth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.” This is
what God is doing – stretching forth His hands to the disobedient. I feel the Lord is not pleased with our progress
these days, but if we get through to what He has for us in this hour, we are going to have to contact Him for ourselves, individually.
There is a move of the Spirit, in this hour, to bring us into a greater ministry and yet we are still satisfied just to sit
and enjoy a measure (very small) of blessing. We talk of coming out of the old into the new, but how long are we going to
continue to talk about it, and still remain in the old? We cannot look at others, but each one must break through for himself,
and rise up out of the old and take our place in the new with Christ.
There
are not enough of the priests weeping between the porch and the altar, so we must take this need to ourselves, personally,
with the deep sense of our own heart's need, for there is coming a time of real breaking before God, and there is no use thinking
that we will ever come into this deeper ministry until this is accomplished in us. There is also a FAITH to be revealed in
this time, a “faith that worketh by love,” a faith that will not be daunted, will not be turned aside, will not
wince when assailed; but will confidently stand unmoved amid all reverses. This must be true, for how else will we stand unto
the end, and having done all, continue to stand. Thank God, this faith is being revealed in some, and even though darkness
is covering the earth and gross darkness the people, we can see that God is arising, and we need to pray earnestly for each
other that we shall be empty channels through which the “Living Streams” may flow.
Since
the streams have been blocked with the stones of unbelief, fear, and disobedience, and the slime of indifference and procrastination,
it is going to take a mighty breaking to open them. It will take some mighty “groans” from the depths of our beings
to break through all the clogged places and root up and throw out all the debris that has accumulated in our lives.
This
is the crisis hour and surely we must pray for each other, that God will hold us, that our faith fail not. Can we say, “I
will not fail in this hour?” We have been failures, to a degree, in the past, yet I believe there is a faith, even the
faith of the Son of God, that will so possess us that we will be able to say, “I will not fail.” "I Have Overcome For Thee"
"Deliverance is at hand." You may say, “Lord, can it be accomplished?” But “I have overcome
for thee,” “Deliverance is at hand.” Believe it for yourselves. We must lay hold of it for ourselves before
we can believe for others.
My
heart is truly encouraged these days when I think of those who are counting not their lives dear unto themselves, but are
laying aside everything for this mighty deliverance until it be accomplished in us. Let us not imagine we are going to sail
through so easily: some of us are too willing to let others bear the burden while we sit idly by. How much better, beloved,
to be in the place of power and blessing ourselves where He can put upon our hearts some of the burdens that are upon His
great heart.
I
feel our greatest difficulty lays in our unwillingness to let the Spirit of God deal with us. We do not let Him work; neither
do we obey the convictions that are brought to us by the Spirit while in the secret place, but we leave His presence and so
soon forget what He has spoken. Instead of this unwillingness, He would have us continually in the place of His dealing –
not just in prayer meetings or other times of gathering.
Lord,
help us! We are in dire need. But we have One who is sufficient to carry us through and to perfect that which concerneth us.
Hallelujah! So let us press on to certain victory!
