The Curriculum of intercession - Chambers, Oswald

Chapter IV

I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what i shall answer when i am reproved. And the l ord answered me, and said, write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. Habakkuk 2:12

Inspired waiting

i will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower . . .

How steadily all through the old and new testament god calls us to stand on the watch and wait for his indications, and how often gods answers to our prayers have been squandered because we do not watch and wait. My brother or sister, are you thoroughly perplexed over gods way? You cannot reconcile gods clear way as revealed in his book with the way he is leading you. Take the line of this prophet during his perplexity, stand and watch to see what god will say watch at the right place. There is a difference in the prayers of the old and the new testament. In chapter 3 the prophet bases his prayer on the character of god, and appeals to gods great mercies. In the new testament, prayer is based on a relationship with god through jesus christ: when ye pray, say, our father. There is another difference the prayers in the old testament have to do with an earthly people in an earthly setting; the prayers in the new testament have to do with a heavenly state of mind in a heavenly people while on this earth. We are continually being reminded that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and the rulers of this worlds darkness. The first thing to remember is that we watch at the right place, i. E. , the place god has put us in. Watch for gods answer to your prayers, and not only watch, but wait. When god calls upon you to pray, when he gives the vision, when he gives an understanding of what he is going to do through you in your sunday-school class, in your church, or home watch. How many of us have had to learn by gods reproof, by gods chastisement, the blunder of conferring with flesh and blood. Are you discouraged where you are, worker? Then get upon this tower with god, and watch and wait. The meaning of waiting in both the old and new testament is standing under, actively enduring. It is not standing with folded arms doing nothing; it is not saying, in gods good time it will come to pass that often means in my abominably lazy time i let god work. Waiting means standing under, in active strength, enduring till the answer comes.

Never make the blunder of trying to forecast the way god is going to answer your prayer. When god made a tremendous promise to Abraham, he thought out the best way of helping god to fulfil his promise and did the wisest thing he knew according to flesh and blood common-sense reasoning. But for thirteen years god never spoke to him until every possibility of his relying on his own intelligent understanding was at an end. Then god came to him and said, i am god almightyel shaddaiwalk before me, and be thou perfect (rv). Over and over again god has to teach us how to stand and endure, watching actively and wondering. It is always a wonder when god answers prayer. We hear people say, we must not say it is wonderful that god answers prayer; but it is wonderful. It is so wonderful that a great many people believe it impossible. Listen! Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will i do. Isnt that wonderful? It is so wonderful that i do not suppose more than half of us really believe it. Every one that asketh receiveth. Isnt that wonderful? It is so wonderful that many of us have never even asked god to give us the holy spirit because we dont believe he will. If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my father which is in heaven. Isnt that wonderful? It is tremendously wonderful. The effectual fer- vent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Isnt that wonderful?

Christian worker, you have had visions of how wonderfully god can answer prayer, are you watch- ing to-day for him to answer prayer along his line? Are you on your tower, watching stedfastly every sign of gods goings? Or are you coming under the bitter blight that came on meroz? When the spirit of the lord came on deborah, the prophetess of the lord, what was her cry? Curse ye meroz, . . . Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the lord . . . Against the mighty. The first chapter of habakkuk speaks of the tremendous devastations that are to come upon Israel (see vv. 111); apply it spiritually to our own day. The majority of us as saints are sound asleep to the devastation going on, and we shall come under the bitter curse of meroz if we do not rouse ourselves up and stand

With god against the mighty spiritualism, super- naturalism, christian science, millennial dawn- ism 8 all terribly wide-spread, sweeping, devouring errors. Are we thoroughly awake and watching, or are we crying in a cowardly way, tell us the thing that leaves us as we are; tell us the things that please us, that rouse us up and kindle us on our own lines; dont tell us about the perplexities you have as a prophet or handmaid of god regarding his work? God grant that every child of his may get on the watch-tower and stand and watch. Immediately a difficulty comes on the horizon and clouds gather, where is the intense watching? We sulk and turn aside, we turn our backs on god and on his messengers, and say, thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey. God grant that in times of perplexity we may get back again to the watch-tower, back again to inspired waiting, back again to the wide-eyed wonder of a child at gods answers to our prayers.

Intelligent witnessing

and will look forth to see what he will speak with me . . . (rv)

 I do not think we have sufficiently the wondering spirit that the holy ghost gives. It is the child-spirit. A child is always wide-awake with wonder at the things it sees, and some of us as we get older are apt to forget that a childs wonder is nearer the truth than our older knowledge. When through jesus christ we are rightly related to god, we learn to watch and wait, and wait wonderingly. I wonder how god will answer this prayer. I wonder how god will answer the prayer the holy ghost is praying in me. I wonder what glory god will bring to himself out of the strange perplexities i am in. I wonder what new turn his providence will take in manifesting himself in my ways. The child-wondering mind of the holy ghost, if i may say so reverently, was exhibited in the lord jesus christ, everlasting wonder and expectancy at his fathers working. For i have not spoken of myself ; and, the father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Our lord said that when the holy ghost is come, he shall not speak of him- self; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak. The lord jesus spoke and worked from the great big child-heart of god. God almighty became incarnate as a little child, and jesus christs mes- sage is, you must become as little children. God always keeps the minds of his children open with wonder, with open-eyed expectancy for him to come in where he likes. I wonder how many of us have been getting our ideas and convictions and notions twisted. Thank god for the confusion if it is going to drive us straight to the watch-tower with god where our doctrines and creeds are going to be gods, not doctrines and creeds out of gods book twisted to suit our preconceived ideas, but the doctrines of god woven into the flesh and blood tissues of our lives by the indwelling holy ghost watching, waiting, wondering and witnessing. Take all the old testament prophets, god never spoke with them without a corresponding wonder on their part. Over and over again the prophets were staggered with wonder at the strange things god did, and if they leaned to their own intelligence without sufficiently relying on the tremendous power of god, there was instant confusion. We have to receive, recognise and rely on the holy ghost, and never get beyond that stage. God grant we may have the won- der of the child-heart which the holy ghost gives, and that he may keep our minds young and vigorous and un-stagnant, never asleep, but always awake with child-eyed wonder at the next wonderful thing god will do. The lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice! God grant we may get to the place where the only thing we take seriously is the place god has put us in, watching, waiting stedfastly for gods goings. Never take anything that is said by any man or woman, or in any book, without waiting and watching before god. Try the spirits, test them, see if they be of god. I want you to beware of a mistake i have made over and over again in days gone by, of trying to interpret gods plan for other lives along the way he has led me. Never! Keep open-eyed in wonder. My brother, my sister, can god do what he likes in your life? Can he help himself liberally to you? Can he take you up and put you down? Can he introduce his schemes through you, and never tell you the reason why? Can he make you a spectacle to men and angels, as he did job, without giving you any explanation? Can he make you a wonder to yourself and to others, while he gives you the implicit child- like understanding that somehow or other things are working out all right?

Inviolable walking

. . . Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. No longer watching and waiting, but actively set towards the divine goal to which god is calling. Have you ever noticed the wondering-ness (if i may coin a word) of the people who go on with god? They never seem to be over-anxious or overconcerned, and they always seem to be getting younger. What is the characteristic of the people of this world who have not got the child-heart? They are always sighing; they have mental and spiritual rheumatism and neuralgia, moral twists and perversities, and nothing can rouse them. Why? They want the child-spirit, the spirit that was given to the disciples after the resurrection, and in its fullness at pentecost, then nothing will turn them aside. After pentecost there was the sword and great persecution and they were all scattered abroad, but nothing could stop them preaching the word. There was a hilarious shout all through these mens lives because of the mighty baptism of the holy ghost and fire. There was running then! No power on earth or heaven above or hell beneath could stop the tremendous strength of the child-life of the holy ghost in them. Have you got the wonder in your heart to-night, my brother, or are you sighing, thank god i have managed to squeeze enough grace out of god to last through this day? Blessed be the name of god, all the unsearchable riches of christ are at your disposal!

Thank god for every life that is running in the strength of the tremendous vision. Keep your eyes on your file leader, jesus only, jesus ever, and make straight paths for your feet. Watch for his goings. When he stands and hides himself in a cloud stand, watch and wait. When the meaning is clear, then you will run. A vision puts enthusiasm into you, a thrilling understanding of gods word and you soar above in a tremendous ecstasy; then you come down and run without being weary, and then you come to the grandest days and walk without fainting. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry (habakkuk 2:3). I heard the voice of the lord, saying, whom shall i send, and who will go for us? That is a wonderful point who will go for us? Lord, there is mrs. So- and-so, she is ready, send her. Is that the answer you give o lord, i know there ought to be a movement in my church, and there is mr. So-and-so, hes just the one, send him. If you have been watching, waiting and wondering, you will say; here am i; send me. If god came to you to-night, would you say, here am i? Do you know where you are? Some men live in a fog, they dont know where they are, but if you know anything about waiting on god and walking before him, you will say, here am i, do what you like with me.

O Lord, explore down to the deepest springs of my
spirit where Thy Spirit works, and read my deep-
est prayers I cannot pray in expression. Lord, touch
my body, it is Thy temple, shine out in and through
it, O Lord.
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O Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance
upon us this day, and make us to fit in with Thy
plans with great sweetness and light and liberty,
and a lilt to Thee all day
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O God my Father, the clouds are but the dust of
Thy feet. Let me discover in every cloud of provi-
dence or nature or grace no man save Jesus only
after the fear, till there be no fear.