Can We Have a Revival? — Oswald J. Smith

I can't tell you, my friends, how surprised I've been as I've sat here and listened to you. It seems to me as though all the preachers here are singers. I didn't say sinners, I said singers. I'm just simply amazed as I see man after man come to the pulpit here and sing and lead singing.

I don't know where in the world it comes from. We have nothing like this in Canada. It's simply marvelous to hear the way you sing. So many of you, and what a blessing you bring when you sing. What a spirit of inspiration.

I've enjoyed it so much as I've sat here listening to you. And I want to thank God for the privilege of sharing in the blessing. Now, at my age, I very, very seldom speak more than once a day. And as you know, I've already spoken once today.

I don't know whether I should have or not because it's going to wear on my voice a little bit for tonight. You'll have to be patient with me and you'll have to bear with me because I'm using my voice twice today and I generally only use it once.

Now, I've been saving one of the most helpful messages, and it's the victorious light. And I've been praying very much about it, wondering just when it should be brought. And I have it laid very definitely upon my heart that I should bring it tomorrow night.

And so tomorrow night, the Lord willing, I'm going to turn to the message, the victorious light. I preach this message all over the world. It's been a blessing to thousands of Christians. Many have been led into a victorious experience as a result.

And so I think tomorrow night, the Lord willing, we'll talk for a little while about the victorious light. And if there's anyone here who has not been living a victorious life in the Lord Jesus Christ, I trust you'll make it a point of being here tomorrow night.

Let's expect God's very richest blessing as we speak on the subject, the victorious light. And I'm sure the Lord himself will bless and bless abundantly. Now, the greatest text that I know anything about in the Bible, Henry, Bible, is the verse that is found in 2 Samuel, 2 Chronicles, the 7th chapter and the 14th verse.

You know it just as well as I do. You're familiar with it. But this to me is the greatest verse on revival in the Bible. 2 Chronicles 7, verse 14. If my people, speaking to the people of God now, if my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then, then will I hear from heaven, then will I forgive their sin, then will I heal their land.

I say again, I think that's one of the greatest verses that you'll find in the Bible on revival. Now, tonight I'm going to try to answer the question, how can we have revival today? I know that your hearts are hungry for revival.

My heart has been hungry for revival for a great many years. I've seen revival in various parts of the world. I see little or no revival in Canada. I see little or no revival in the United States. I see many evangelistic campaigns.

I see many crusades. But I see very, very little of old-time, old-fashioned revival. And tonight we're going to think about revival. And when I speak about revival, if I have time to deal with it, I deal with some of these points first of all.

I say to begin with, a revival is not an evangelistic campaign. And I take some time to show the difference between a revival and evangelistic campaign. We have many evangelistic campaigns all over the world today, but we see very, very little of revival.

Well, I haven't time tonight to deal with that phase of revival. And then sometimes I say a revival is a manifestation of God's power. A revival is a manifestation of God's power. You can hold an evangelistic campaign.

It can all be carried on in the energy of the flesh. And no power of God whatever. But when it comes to revival, there's a manifestation of God's power. I haven't time tonight to deal with that very important phase of revival.

Then I say a revival always produces deep conviction of sin. I think that's one of the differences between an evangelistic campaign and revival. You can go right through an evangelistic campaign and have little or no conviction of sin.

But when there's revival, there is always conviction of sin. Then I say a revival is not dependent on human leadership and sermon. And that's very, very important to realize that revival is not dependent on human leadership or upon sermon.

When I was over in Wales, I made it a point to go and visit Evan Roberts. Evan Roberts, you remember, was the great revivalist of Wales in the year 1904, 1905. But you know, Evan Roberts never preached.

He would simply go to the meeting where the revival was going on. He would just give a few words of testimony. He would only speak for five or six minutes, and then he'd go on to another meeting. But as a result of those few words, revival broke out on every side without a sermon of any kind whatever, without a preacher, just because God was there.

And revival swept through Wales like a prairie fire. Then I say a revival is not limited to time. I think very often we do not give God time for revival. We're in such a hurry to get to the next place that we do not give God an opportunity of breaking out revival.

Sometimes we have to stay a little longer in order to get revival. Now when I come to the next point, I'm going to pause, and this is what I want to talk about tonight. A revival is the result of a price paid.

A revival is the result of a price paid. It costs to have a revival. I've learned that from personal experiences as well as from the experiences of others. It costs something in order to have revival.

It's the result of a price paid. Otherwise, there can be no revival. Now what is the price that has to be paid? First of all, we must get right with God. That's where we've got to start. We must get right with God.

I'm talking now about the Christians who want revival. We must get right with God. Then I always point out that we must travail in prayer. There never has been revival without travail in prayer. Then I also insist that we must preach the Word, and that there be no revival unless we preach the Word.

Not what man has to say, but what God has to say. Then we must work in the anointing of the Holy Spirit. We must work in the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Now let me go back over this outline. Let me say some things about it.

Getting Right With God Through Confession and Restitution

First of all, we must get right with God. When I was converted, I was living in a country home, 100 miles from the city of Toronto, Canada. My father was a station agent, and we lived in a railway station.

Of course, we didn't know anything much about church. We hardly ever got to church. We hardly ever saw church. We hardly ever saw Sunday school. I can't remember the inside of a church more than three or four times in all the days of my boyhood as I lived in that station at Embro.

But you know, one time we started reading in the newspapers about a great evangelistic campaign that was being held in the city of Toronto, Canada, 100 miles away. And you know, the entire sermon was published every day in the newspaper.

And the hymns, even the hymns, words, and music were also published in the newspaper. In those days, the newspapers would publish reports about evangelistic meetings and campaigns. The evangelist was Dr. R .A. Torrey, the famous world evangelist, Dr. R .A. Torrey.

His song leader was Charles M. Alexander. Now, I didn't know anything about an evangelist. I had never heard anything about a song leader. I had never been in an evangelistic campaign in my life. I didn't know anything about revival, of course.

I was just 16 years of age, but I started reading Dr. Torrey's sermons in the newspaper. And I became so aroused, I became so interested, I became so convicted that I asked my mother if I could go to the city of Toronto and attend the meeting of this evangelistic campaign.

My mother very, very wisely gave me permission. And I went to the city of Toronto, 100 miles away, in order to attend the meeting and hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I had never heard the gospel before in all my life.

This was my first contact with the gospel. I was now 16 years of age. So when I got to the city of Toronto, I started attending the meetings in Massey Hall, a hall seating 3 ,400 people. And I attended night after night.

I never missed one single service from the time I got to Toronto until the campaign ended. Now, when I got there, I saw on the streets of Toronto, and on the sidewalk, and in the streetcars, and on the floor in the stores, I saw everywhere a little card about one inch wide and about six inches in length.

And on that card, I read the words in bright red colored ink. These four words, Get Right With God. And you know, those little cards have been printed by the Evangelistic Party, tens of thousands of copies of them.

And then the people just took them all over the city of Toronto, and they just threw them down on the street. They threw them down on the sidewalks. They threw them down on the floors in the stores. They threw them down in the streetcars.

They threw them down wherever they went. They just threw them away as they walked here and there through the city. Now, it didn't matter which way they fell because the same words were printed on both sides.

So no matter which way they fell, as people walked along, they couldn't help seeing those words, Get Right With God. I can't tell you what that meant to the city of Toronto. The whole city was starved.

Trains were bringing people in from 200 miles around. People in hundreds were being turned away from the meetings, unable to get seats. I was never turned away because I always got there early. I made it a point to be on time because I came to attend the meetings.

I traveled 100 miles to hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I wasn't going to miss one single service. It was at that campaign that I made my decision for Jesus Christ. It was at that campaign that I was saved.

It was the most wonderful experience in my life. I was so filled with curiosity that I couldn't do anything but just sit and listen for about eight or ten days. And then when the final campaign, the final day of the campaign came, I walked down the aisle.

I shook hands with Dr. Torrey. I went down to the basement, and there I found Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior. It only took a few moments, but it revolutionized my life, and it's going to last through all the countless ages of eternity.

It has now lasted for well over 60 years, and I say it's going to last through all eternity, for there I met God. Now that's the first condition. Get right with God. I believe there can be a revival locally anywhere in any village, in any town, in any church, anywhere in the world.

There can be a revival locally if the Christian people are willing to get right with God. But unless they're willing to get right with God, there can be no revival. So first of all, I say we must get right with God.

How do we get right with God? We get right with God by restitution and confession, by confession and restitution. In other words, everything that's wrong is confessed. Everything that's wrong is put right.

And if there's any restitution to be made, restitution is made, and we square up with men as well as with God. You know that to be wrong with man is to be wrong with God, and to be right with God is to be right with man.

You cannot be right with God and be wrong with man. If you're going to be wrong with man, you're going to be wrong with God. Therefore, sometimes restitution has to be made. Now, I've studied the history of revivals all down through the centuries.

You know that in every revival that I know anything about, there's been a great deal of confession, and there's been a great deal of restitution. Not only confession, but also restitution. In other words, if you owe anybody anything, the thing to do is to pay it.

If you're in debt, the thing to do is to get out of debt. If you have injured anyone, the thing to do is to make the wrong right. And sometimes it's necessary to apologize, and sometimes you have to write letters, and sometimes it's not easy to make things right.

But if there's going to be revival, then there must be confession, and there must be restitution. And I don't know how you can have revival without confession and restitution. Wrongs have to be made right.

And if Christian people are at enmity with each other, then they've got to become friends. And they've got to get right with each other, and they've got to get right with God. Now, there are three kinds of confession.

And when I speak about confession, I always point out these three different kinds of confession. They all start with the letter P. First of all, there is private confession. And then there is personal confession.

And then there is public confession. And you and I must keep these three forms of confession in mind. Personal confession, private confession, public confession. What do I mean by private confession? If a sin has been committed against God and against God only, then you ought to confess it to God and to God only.

You should not poison the minds and hearts of others by confessing your sins. Dear fellow man, you should confess your sins to God and to God alone, and God will forgive you if your sin has been committed against God and against God alone.

It is some secret sin. And there are so-called secret sins that nobody else knows anything about. You know about your sin, and God knows about your sin. But nobody else knows anything about it. Now, that sin ought not to be dragged out into the light in order to spoil the lives of others.

That sin should be confessed to God and to God alone. That's private confession. And when you engage in private confession, God will hear you, God will answer you, God will forgive you. He has promised to do so.

Then there's personal confession. If your sin has been committed against someone else, you will never be forgiven, you will never be happy, you will never find peace until you confess your sin, not only to God, but also to the one, to the individual against whom you have sinned.

If you've wronged someone, if you've injured someone, if you've said something about someone that you ought not to have said, if you've lied about someone, if you've gossiped about someone, if your sin has been committed against someone else, some other individual, if you owe someone something that you've never paid, you have an individual, a personal debt, my friends, you'll never get peace, you'll never know what joy is until you go to that individual and make that wrong right.

I've had to do that again and again. And in any revival I've ever had anything to do with, I've seen a great deal of personal confession. I've seen this one and that one. Go to this one and that one and make a wrong right.

That's personal confession. Now you don't have to get up and confess it to everybody else, but you do have to confess it to the person you have wronged. And if you're carrying a grudge right now against someone else and that one knows it, my friends, you ought to go to that individual and you ought to make the wrong right.

That's personal confession. Then there's public confession. If your sin is known by everybody, if it's been committed publicly, if the whole church knows about it, if you have affected other lives, then there'll have to be a public confession.

If it's a public sin, there should be a public confession. If you've done something that everybody's talking about, everybody knows about, everybody's aware of, everybody's familiar with, my friend, you'll not get very far until you get the courage to stand up before the entire congregation and make a public confession.

For if your sin has been committed publicly, it ought to be confessed publicly as well. Now these three kinds of confession we ought to pay attention to, private confession, personal confession, public confession.

I'll never forget my church in Toronto. Over 40 years ago now, I was speaking along this line and presently I saw men and women walking up the aisles to go to the inquiry room and get right with God. Presently, I saw the treasurer of our young people's society coming down the aisle.

I saw that he was greatly concerned, deeply convicted. I thought he was going to the inquiry room. He got to the edge of the platform and then he turned to me as I was standing in the pulpit and he said, may I, may I speak to the people?

And not knowing what he was going to do, I gave him permission. He turned to the entire congregation. I'll never forget it. I saw his brother just the other day when I was on my way to this meeting. His brother's a missionary, but this young man turned to the congregation and he said, my friends, you all know me.

You know that I'm the treasurer of the young people's society. But you do not know that week by week I have been taking some of the money out of the treasury of the young people's society and I've been putting it in my own pocket.

Therefore, I've been acting as a thief. Now, in view of the fact that he was a public official of the church, he felt that he had to make a public confession. And after making that public confession, he broke down and wept.

Then he went back into the inquiry room and after having gotten right with the congregation, he got right with God. When he came out, his face was shining with the glory of the Lord. He had made it right with man.

He also made it right with God. And now he was ready to serve God. A little while later, that young man was stricken with tuberculosis and he went to be with the Lord. But I want to tell you, his home going was a triumphant home going because he was not only right with man, he was also right with God.

So I say, if we're going to have revival, we'll have to pay the price of getting right with God. Now in the second place, I've never known of revival unless there has been travail in prayer. I wonder if you know what I mean when I talk about travail in prayer.

You know, sometimes Charles G. Finney, the great revivalist, tried to pray. He couldn't even utter the words. He would just groan aloud. He was travailing in prayer. The burden was so great. He knew what it was to travail before the Lord.

You know, in the days of revival in Toronto, Canada, in the early years of my ministry, we used to set aside every holiday as a day of prayer. If the government of our country proclaimed a certain day as a holiday, we always set aside that day as a day of prayer.

And we used to gather in the upper room. We had an upper room where we would go to pray. And we'd start in the morning. We would fast and we would pray all day long, one after the other, leading in prayer, and praying throughout the entire day, and traveling with God in prayer, agonizing with God in prayer, praying for this one, praying for that one, praying for another pouring of God's Spirit, praying for revival, praying for a manifestation of the power of God.

Day after day, whenever the government suggested that a certain day should become a holiday, I say again, we spent that day in prayer. We used to learn what it meant to travel in prayer. You know, the early Methodists knew what it was to travel in prayer.

They used to get up at 4 o 'clock in the morning, and they used to spend some three hours in the presence of God, traveling in prayer. I don't know how there can be a revival without travel. A child can't be born without travel.

How can we expect souls to be born without travel? Yet, so often in our evangelistic campaigns, there isn't any burden, there isn't any travel. We stand on the platform where we beg and coax and entreat people to come to the Lord, and then when someone walks down the aisle, smiling as he comes, we thank God and think something great has been accomplished.

My friends, I'd like to see revival where there's weeping, where there's travail, where there's a burden, where men and women become conscious of their sins, and only as you and I as Christians travel in prayer will men and women be convicted of sin, and will they be brought to the Lord Jesus Christ.

There must be travel in prayer, and then there must be the preaching of the Word. What does God say about His Word in connection with the revival? He says His Word is a hammer and a fire and a sword. Now what does a hammer do?

A hammer breaks. What does a fire do? A fire burns. What does a sword do? A sword cuts. That's exactly what the Word of God does. The Word of God burns. The Word of God breaks. The Word of God cuts. That's the mission of the Word of God.

Therefore, when we want revival, we're going to have to preach not our Word, but God's Word. You know there are just five subjects that are dealt with in revival. All down through the history of revival, I've discovered that there are five subjects that are dealt with when there's revival, because these are the five subjects that produce revival.

The Revival Message: Sin, Salvation, Heaven, Hell, and Eternity

First of all, sin and salvation. Those are the first two subjects that are dealt with. And you can't have a revival without preaching on sin. If you try to avoid sin, if you want to whitewash sin, if you want to look lightly upon sin, if you want to consider sin of no great importance, you're not going to have revival.

Sin is a terrible thing in the sight of God. It was sin that sent your Savior to the cross, nailed Him on Calvary's tree. And so there must be the preaching of sin, preaching against sin, the exposing of sin.

And every time there's revival, there is the preaching about sin, but also salvation, the remedy for sin. Not only the need of salvation, but the remedy for sin, which is God's salvation. And I find in every revival, there is preaching on sin, there is preaching on salvation.

Then I find that in revival, there is always preaching on heaven and hell, always on heaven and hell. Something is said about heaven, something is said about hell. And for some reason, when you and I preach on heaven and hell, the Holy Spirit uses it to bring conviction and salvation and to turn men from darkness to light.

There's a heaven to gain, there's a hell to avoid and shun, and you and I will have to speak about heaven and hell. And then last of all, a great deal has to be said about eternity. You'll find that every revivalist talks a great deal about eternity.

There is a future life, there is an eternity. You and I are heading for that future life. You and I are going into eternity. Where are we going to spend it? What kind of an eternity is going to be ours?

Is it going to be an eternity in bliss or an eternity in suffering and in pain? And so, we have to deal with heaven and hell, sin and salvation. Then we have to deal with eternity. Then, in the fourth place, if there's going to be revival, we must work in the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

The Anointing of the Holy Spirit for Ministry

You know that all down the centuries, God has anointed men with the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit has come upon men and anointed men have gone out to proclaim the message of God's salvation. There must be the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said to His disciples, Don't start your work until the Holy Spirit comes. Tarry in Jerusalem. Wait until the promise has been fulfilled. The Holy Spirit is coming. Don't attempt to do anything until He comes.

And then when He comes upon you, then you can go out in the anointing of the Holy Spirit and accomplish wonders for God. There must be the anointing of the Holy Ghost. You remember D .L. Moody, I suppose the greatest evangelist of all time?

I remember I was in Chicago working with Paul Rader, a great many years ago. I've worked a great deal with Paul Rader. I've taken over his work many a time, preached in his great tabernacle to those thousands of people that used to gather.

And Paul Rader has often come to my church in Toronto and has often preached for me. Now, of course, he's in the glory land. His work is done on earth. He has finished his course. But I was with Paul Rader in Chicago, a great many years ago now.

We were holding meetings in the Loop right in the center of Chicago. And the place was packed to capacity noon hour after noon hour. And I remember sitting on the platform there while Paul Rader was preaching to look down at the congregation.

And I used to see a little old woman sitting in the front seat, right at the front, sitting there, taking it in, drinking it in, listening to everything that we said. Her name was Ann Cooke. Ann Cooke.

Now, if you have ever read the life story of D .L. Moody, the great evangelist, you have read a great deal about Ann Cooke. One day when D .L. Moody was carrying on his work in Chicago, and he was facing great crowds day after day at one of the biggest Sunday schools in Chicago.

He had great masses of people attending his ministry, listening to his messages. One day, at the close of one of his messages, this little old lady, Ann Cooke, and her sister approached D .L. Moody, and they said, Mr. Moody, we're praying for you.

And Moody stopped and looked at them. He said, you're praying for me? Why are you praying for me? Why don't you pray for these people? These people need your prayers. No, Mr. Moody, we're praying for you.

What are you praying for me for? Well, Mr. Moody, we believe that you need our prayers. We believe that you need the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and we're praying that God will anoint you with the Holy Spirit for your ministry.

Mr. Moody didn't like it very well. He became angry for a few moments. Here were these great crowds. Here were these masses of people gathering to hear him day after day. He thought he was doing a great work, but you know, hardly anybody was getting saved.

The people were coming, the crowds were attending, but hardly anyone was being converted. Mr. Moody was laboring in the flesh. His gifts and his talents were being exercised to the limits. He was drawing the crowds.

He was preaching wonderful sermons. He was creating great interest, but he wasn't getting results. Souls were not being saved, and Ann Cook realized it, and so she said, Mr. Moody, we're praying for you.

Mr. Moody left, went away. Ann Cook and her sister went to their home. A few weeks passed by. Mr. Moody couldn't get away from it. Every now and again he thought about it. He remembered what Ann Cook had said to him.

One day he decided to visit her, and he went to her home there in Chicago. He sat down in her living room. Now he said, tell me about it. Tell me why you're praying for me. Tell me what you think I need.

And Ann Cook started to tell him about his need of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. And Mr. Moody was humble enough to sit there and listen to her. And then he got up and he left. Nothing happened for a while, but I think if you've read his life story, you know what did happen.

He was in New York City. A few weeks after that, he was walking along a street in New York City. And presently, the power of God came down upon D. L. Moody. He stepped over to a lamppost, and he says he leaned against that lamppost.

And then as the power of God in the anointing of the Holy Spirit came down upon him, he cried out, Lord, stay thy hand. I can't bear anymore. And as he stood there, the Spirit of God anointed him as he had never been anointed in all his life before.

D. L. Moody went back to Chicago. He preached the same old sermon he had preached before. But now something happened. Now there was a change. Now the entire atmosphere underwent a tremendous change. And no sooner did Mr. Moody conclude his message than the altar was filled with souls.

And from that moment, for the rest of his life, men and women got up in his meetings, came to the altar, made their decisions for Jesus Christ, went into the inquiry room until thousands upon thousands had been saved.

And Mr. Moody put one foot on Great Britain and the other foot on America. And he shook both continents as they had never been shaken before. I've often preached in Great Britain. I've often preached in Scotland.

I've often preached in Ireland and in England and in Wales. And I've often asked the people over there about the days of D. L. Moody. And you know, the leading men in spiritual work over there today are the converts of those who had been converted in the great campaigns of D. L. Moody of years past and gone.

D. L. Moody shook those countries as they had never been shaken before. And they haven't gotten over it yet. But it wasn't until he was anointed with the Spirit of God that he experienced revival in his ministry.

Now what are the conditions of the anointing of God's Spirit? It's one thing to be filled with the Spirit. It's another thing to be anointed by the Spirit. It's one thing to live a Spirit-filled life.

That ought to be continuous. It's another thing to receive special anointings from the Spirit of God. A new anointing for every new service. A new anointing for every fresh ministry. And you know that should happen again and again and again.

You and I ought to be anointed time after time as we minister for God. The trouble is some of us are depending upon an anointing that took place twenty years ago or thirty years ago or forty years ago.

And we've lost it. We lost it long ago. It's not ours anymore. I think it's a terrible thing to see a young preacher anointed with the Spirit of God, to see him on fire for God, to see him carrying on evangelistic and revival work, to see him winning souls for Jesus Christ.

And then when he gets older, then after he's been in the ministry for a number of years, to see that anointing leaving him so that he loses his fire and he loses his enthusiasm and he loses his spirituality and he loses his passion for souls.

I say that's a dreadful experience. I pray God that no matter how long I may live, I may never lose my passion for souls. I may never lose my desire to be an anointed man and to live in the anointing of the Holy Ghost.

What are the conditions for the anointing of the Spirit? Well, first of all, there must be a hunger. There must be an intense desire. There must be a great thirst. And unless there's a great thirst and a great hunger and a great desire, there never will be any anointing.

In other words, if you think you can get on without the anointing, God will let you get on without the anointing. If you think for one single moment that you don't need the anointing, you won't receive the anointing.

If you think your education can take the place of the anointing, if you think your gift and your talent can take the place of the anointing, God will let you use your gift and use your talent and use your education, but you'll not see very much fruit.

You'll not see very many results because if you're going to work in the energy of the flesh, you're not going to accomplish very much for God. It's only when you work in the anointing of the Spirit that you can see the spiritual results that you'll long to see.

Only then can you see revival. There must be a hunger. There must be a thirst. There must be an intense desire. And unless there is a thirst, unless there is a hunger, unless there is an intense desire, there's going to be no anointing of the Holy Spirit.

In the second place, there must be travail in prayer. And unless you have learned how to travel in prayer, unless you have learned how to spend the hours in prayer, unless you have learned how to wait upon God in prayer, you can never expect revival.

Revival is the outcome of prayer. And only as you and I wait in the presence of God and travel in prayer will there be revival. Only then can God work in revival power. I say there must be travel in prayer.

Travail in Prayer and the Discipline of the Morning Watch

I started years ago to observe the morning watch. And every morning of my life I wait in the presence of God. I would never dream of going to my church. I would never dream of going to my office. I would never dream of commencing visitation.

I would never dream of doing anything until first of all, I had met God. I want to meet God before I meet man. I want to solve my problems before I come to them. And therefore, every morning, after I pour over the Word of God, after I spend time on the Word of God, then I turn to prayer.

And I pour out my heart before God in prayer morning by morning. And I've done it for well over 50 years now. I would never dream of missing a morning. Let me ask you a question. Has there ever been a day since you were saved?

Has there ever been one single day since you were converted when you've neglected the book? Have you ever allowed a day to go by without turning to the Word of God and pouring over the sacred pages of God's Word?

I can only remember one day in the last 50 years. I can only remember one day when I failed to open the Word of God and pour over the sacred pages of this book. And on that day, I was very, very sick.

And I was flying across the ocean. And I did not turn to the Word of God on that day. But every other day, 365 days of the year, morning by morning, I pour over God's Word. And then I give myself to prayer.

And I pray out all my problems. I pray out all my burdens. I never think of going to my work until, first of all, I have agonized with God and I poured out my heart in prayer. And if I have a special problem, if I have a very special problem, I always take it to God at the midnight hour.

When everything is quiet, I get alone with God at the midnight hour. And I walk the floor. And I face back and forth as I pour out my heart to God at the midnight hour until at last He answers my prayer.