Faith Bible Church

As a pastor here at Faith, one of my greatest joys is standing before the congregation and preaching the word of God. I have learned in the past years that the responsibility to preach the word correctly and the accountability of the congregation have made me a better shepherd. In a recent sermon I preached on our church's priority of "Praying Without Doubt".  The first application in that sermon was to remember what God has done in the past as our foundation for effective prayer. We can be confident in His power to answer prayer as we remember His mighty and awesome ways. Since preaching this message, many friends have sent portions of their daily devotions to me, which by the way have been about praying without doubt. I would like to share this story written by Howard Hendricks, which was sent to me two days after preaching.

    Shortly after [Dallas] Seminary was founded in 1924, it almost folded. It came to the point of bankruptcy. All the creditors were ready to foreclose at twelve noon on a particular day. That morning, the founders of the school met in the president's office to pray that God would provide. In that prayer meeting was Harry Ironside. When it was his turn to pray, he said in his refreshingly candid way, "Lord we know that the cattle on a thousand hills are Thine. Please sell some of them and send us the money."    Just about that time, a tall Texan in boots and an open-collar shirt strolled into the business office. "Howdy!" he said to the secretary. "I just sold two carloads of cattle over in Fort Worth. I've been trying to make a business deal go through, but it just won't work. I feel God wants me to give this money to the seminary. I don't know if you need it or not, but here's the check," and he handed it over.    The secretary took the check and, knowing something of the critical nature of the hour, went to the door of the prayer meeting and timidly tapped. Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, the founder and president of the school, answered the door and took the check from her hand. When he looked at the amount, it was for the exact sum of the debt. Then he recognized the name on the check as that of the cattleman. Turning to Dr. Ironside, he said, "Harry, God sold the cattle."

It is in the telling of stories like this that we gain confidence that God still moves stones. Paslm 77:12 says,  "I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” As you pray today, please remember what a mighty God we serve.