E.M. Bounds was a pastor back during the Civil War era. He is best know for his prolific writings on prayer. Here are a few quotes that I came across this week as I was reading some of his books:
He who is too busy to pray will be too busy to live a holy life.
The prayer habit is a good habit but prayer done only by force of habit is a very bad habit. This kind of praying is not conditioned after God’s order, nor is it generated by God’s power. It is not only a waste, a perversion, and a delusion, but it is also a prolific source of unbelief. Prayerless praying gets no results. God is not reached, self is not helped. It is better not to pray at all than to secure no results from praying – better for the one who prays, better for others.
The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning – its opportunity and freshness – in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be last during the remainder of the day.
A desire for God that cannot break the chains of sleep is a weak thing and will do little good for God. The desire for God that stays far behind the devil and the world at the beginning of the day will never catch up.
No man can do a great and enduring work for God who is not a man of prayer, and no man can be a man of prayer who does not give much time to praying.
No amount of money, genius, or culture can move things for God. Holiness energizing the soul – the whole man aflame with love, with desire for more faith, more prayer, more zeal, more consecration – this is the secret of power.
Two things: 1) Again and again I keep hearing that much time must be given to prayer. At this point I would say that, for me, more time is being given to prayer – not sure that I would go so far as to say that much time is being given to prayer. 2) The idea of prayerless praying – how much of my time and God’s time have I wasted because of prayerless praying. I sense that my prayerless praying is diminishing but still have far to go.
I’m just sayin’!