Free Range Preacher on Prayer

We are on the lucky October thirteenth and looking at praying with fiery passion. Realistic conversation with Almighty. J.C. Ryle tells us: "I commend to you the importance of earnestness in prayer. It is not necessary that a man should shout, or scream, or be very loud, in order to prove that he is in earnest." "It is the "effectual fervent" prayer that "availeth muc...

We ended in the eleventh, looking at our perseverance in prayer, noting here, so far, that Ryle is campaigning for our daily conversation with the Holy God. We begin today continuing on that theme, listening to Ryle as he says: “I do not maintain that prayers should always be of the same length; but I do say, let no excuse make you give up prayer.” And of course, once we get through the fits and s...

Today, we will hear just one sentence from Ryle, and then shortly why only one sentence, but first a word from our Savior: "Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart," Luke 18:1 Ryle urges us to do the same. "I commend to you the importance of perseverance in prayer. Once having begun the habit, never give it up." And O...

In examining the Duty, Glory, and Excellency of prayer, we are reminded that: I am a Sinner. Being human means being complex beyond what we can express or understand. We are lonely beings because of our sins. Added and expanded from our original episode: We are reminded of the essence of sin: "Sin always aims for the worst: each time it tempts or entices, if left unchecked, it would lead to t...

"I commend to you the importance of making prayer a regular business of life. I might say something of the value of regular times in the day for prayer. God is a God of order. The hours for morning and evening sacrifice in the Jewish temple were not fixed as they were without a meaning. Disorder is eminently one of the fruits of sin. But I would not bring any under bondage. This only I say, t...

I have been meditation on the advice from Pastor Ryle for the last couple of days on using as he said: "As to praying out of a book in our private devotions, it is a habit I cannot praise." And I am glad he prefaced the comments with this: "I desire to touch this point with caution and delicacy." Jesus told us, actually in the context of prayer,   "Keep watching and prayin...

The leading of the Holy Spirit is our goal, and J.C. Ryle schools us greatly in that imperative. To that end, he says: "We may insensibly get into the habit of using the fittest possible words, and offering the most scriptural petitions, and yet do it all by rote without feeling it, and walk daily round an old beaten path. I desire to touch this point with caution and delicacy. I know that th...

Our mentor over this last year, J.C. Ryle, and his book, "A Call to Prayer," bring us another challenge, which your host has failed many times. Rightly are we warned: "I commend to you the importance of praying spiritually. I mean by that, that we should labor always to have the direct help of the Spirit in our prayers, and beware above all things of formality. There is nothing so s...

J.C. Ryle warns us: If I do not mean what I say, I am trifling with God. The Bishop's admonishment is one of the pillars of our relationship with the Holy God. He has already reminded us we are on Holy ground, and now he warns us to mean what we say. We know with one another that we are in the most trouble when we say things we do not mean to our community. I will take out the garbage. I will...

J.C. Ryle reminds us once again: "I commend then to your attention, the importance of reverence and humility in prayer. Let us never forget what we are, and what a solemn thing it is to speak with God. Let us beware of rushing into his presence with carelessness and levity. Let us say to ourselves: "I am on holy ground. This is no other than the gate of heaven." Of course, he is cor...

Happy October Surprise! As we continue in "A Call to Prayer" by J.C. Ryle, we will hear him call us to humility when we come to God. Pastor Ryle says: "Suffer me then, as a companion in the Christian warfare, to offer you a few words of exhortation. One thing, at least, we all feel: we must pray. We cannot give it up. We must go on. I commend then to your attention, the importance o...

J.C. Ryle continues to encourage all who pray.  "There are few children of God who do not often find the season of prayer a season of conflict. The devil has special wrath against us when he sees us on our knees. Yet, I believe that prayers which cost us no trouble should be regarded with great suspicion." "I believe we are very poor judges of the goodness of our prayers, and that t...

Richard is Back! Day two of our October surprise, and back to J.C. Ryle, and the mindset of saints of old is nothing not genuine about the ups and downs of the Christian struggle, and Ryle is in that mold. He told us yesterday: "Let me speak, lastly, to those who do pray. I trust that some who read this tract know well what prayer is and have the Spirit of adoption. To all such, I offer a few...

Don't Panic; Richard will be back with us tomorrow. October 1, 2023, our October Surprise month is here! Unbelievable quick! Thank You for listening and encouraging the podcast principal, Fred, and Richard Durrington, your amiable announcer. We have some new stuff coming and some news in a day or two, I am praying, which you may find interesting, but today we commence with day one of our Octob...

The Apostle Paul was distressed, buffeted by Satan. Evidently, Paul's practice of buffeting his body was insufficient to keep him humble. Paul prayed three times for relief from the thorn in his flesh, and when the answer came back, (no) My grace is sufficient for you, Paul's response was: "And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness...

We have seen the futility of trying to manipulate God from His will through the error of Balaam. We have also seen the glory of God as He answers the particular prayer of Abraham's servant in an eerily precise way. Today, we will see God answer our prayers even as they may be vague, but He knows our hearts and grants even those imprecise prayers, even as He answers our specific prayers as He k...

God’s abundant life is learned through prayer.  In the book "Devoted to God" by Sinclair Ferguson writes of God's perfect will: "The Lord is the Master of the jigsaw puzzle of our lives. The pieces may be strangely shaped; often we cannot see how they fit together; but eventually when the big picture is complete we will see that each piece was perfectly shaped. He leads us by wa...

One correction - I mention Isaiah 66:2 in this episode. When I said it, I should have listened to myself. (Now I know what Cathy feels like.) The verse I had in mind was Isaiah 65:24 "It will also come to pass that I will answer before they call; while they are still speaking, I will hear. So think about that verse when you hear Isaiah 66:2 (which is a great verse, too.) We have also republis...

My best days are many times sleepless nights. God has often made the most resounding impact on His hard-headed slave -me- through sleepless nights wrestling with Him. This delayed episode is just one occasion of God's work on a dull hearer.  We will see how dangerous it is to believe we pray primarily to get what we want.  We follow Balak and Balaam as they persist in prayer, which is clearly...

After the visit of my son-in-law Derek and my daughter Casaundra, chop liver compared to Seven, Lincoln, French, and Freddie, my grandbabies, my heart was full, and I was convicted over how I let the myriad mercies go by almost unnoticed. After this break, we begin with a prayer based on Psalm 33. A prayer of renewal, joy, and worship of our Holy God, Savior, Comforter, refuge, and strength. Psalm...

Sound consistency changes? Pray on patient friends. Romans 12:1-2 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and accepta...

This is the first revision of our Signature Episode; it is worth a listen, even if you have heard the previous one. In examining the Duty, Glory, and Excellency of prayer, we are reminded that: I am a Sinner. Being human means being complex beyond what we can express or understand. We are lonely beings because of our sins. Added and expanded from our original episode: We are reminded of the essenc...

We are in a five-minute devotional, and we maintain converse with God; fellowship or community with God is grown and developed through reading the whole counsel of God and talking to Him. (Prayer) A soul that does not set its affections and things above disobeys the commands and loses the most gracious and delightful discoveries of the word of God." Excerpt From The Saint's Everlasting Re...

Back to our Extended Ryle, we are almost done reviewing the book. Beloved brethren, whether you are just beginning your conversation with our Savior or starting again for the third (or one hundredth) time as you get to know God through prayer, J.C. Ryle expresses like no other the encouragement we need to press on to know the Lord as Hosea exhorts us - chapter 6 verse 3. Perhaps the most poignant...

madhouseministries.org, mention Gossards in the note, please. There is momentum to every new endeavor, any new start-up effort, or adventure. The momentum starts out slowly, and as it gains speed, as it were, it becomes more prominent and different, even if only by a few degrees than had been anticipated. The Free Range Preacher on Prayer has come to that point. As in any other ministry, that mome...