The True Secret of the Christian Life

Okay. I’m going to change so radically. I know you’re going to think that I’m not really going to do… I’m not going to keep my promise. I’ll keep my promise. I will keep my promise if you’ll work with me. First of all, how many of you would be willing to come on Tuesday morning at 6:15? And if we need to make it earlier than that, we will. How many of you would be willing to come, and how many of you would be willing to pair off with one other person and get up with that person alone, the two of you together, on Wednesday morning? Oh, let’s make it Thursday morning and Sunday morning early. Alright? Are you willing to do that? Think about it. Give it some consideration, then I’d like for you to come back next Sunday night and share what happened.

Are you ready? This is nothing. Don’t be frightened. This is nothing big, but it could be something very wonderful, very simple, just the simplest thing. So simple, you wonder how in the world we have been so stupid for the last 1800 years. Let me see your hands.  You’ll do that. Tuesday morning. Oh, get the bend out of the elbows so I can get a really good look at it. That’s not bad. I’ll tell you what, let me just see you stand up. Let’s see how many people that is. Now, I know many of you are too old, too infirmed, and that’s too early, and I know some of you have nighttime jobs, so I don’t feel badly about this at all, but I’ll tell you what I want you to do. Let’s see if we can do this.

I want all the brothers to walk right down here and fill this aisle up right here, and this is just for a practical reason. Just for something very practical. Bring your Bible with you. Would you come fill this end up over here? And would all the ladies, I call them sisters, and I mean that as a Christian sister, would you get over here and fill up this empty spot? But for all of you, we can all get together in this. Boy, are we moving fast. Oh, my land, this is wonderful. Brothers, my goodness. This many. This is wonderful.

I wish we had a week or two or a couple of months. Now look, all I can do is give you a little help. Hey, the rest of you don’t feel out of it. I’m assuming that you work from midnight to 8 a.m. Everyone else, don’t you dare sit there and feel guilty. Oh, bless your hearts. Have you got your Bible? Okay, now, this isn’t going to make any sense. From here on, you’re going to have to trust me. Just trust me. Do like Jimmy Carter said. Just trust me. Okay?

Sisters in the Lord, would you just trust me? I’m going to ask you in a moment, not now, to pick another woman here in this room to meet with you. First of all, you both be back here on Tuesday morning to meet with you tomorrow morning. You’ll come back Tuesday morning, then Thursday morning, and then Sunday morning. That’s four times this week.

I’m not going to tell you everything now. I’m going to tell you the rest on Tuesday morning. I’m going to give you something to begin with, and on Monday morning, you’re going to practice it. It’s not much, and it’s not even really helpful, but you’ve got to do this first. Oh, yes, it is very helpful. Don’t kid yourself. This is wonderful, but this is not Tuesday morning. This will be for Monday morning. Now, don’t get too tired. I want to talk to you just a moment. I’m shifting a big gear. It’s going to tax your mind to go with me.

Three hundred years ago in France, there lived a very, very godly woman whose book you may have read, titled “Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ.” Her name was Jeanne Guyon. In the second chapter of her book, she resolved one of the most difficult problems of prayer. No, she resolved several. The name of that book originally was A Short and Simple Method of Prayer. Now, to say that was an insult to the Catholic religion because the Catholics did not believe that you could enter into a wonderful relationship with God in less than 20 years of hard work. Catholics, help me; you moved from meditation to contemplation. That took at least 20 hard years of work, and only a few could arrive at it. She said, No, here’s a short and simple way to do that, and she overcame some of the most incredible difficulties of prayer. One of them is a wandering mind.

Your mind has never wandered when you prayed, has it? Pure, unadulterated boredom. This was overcome. But most of all, what in the world do you pray? You know, after God bless mother, God bless brother, God bless sister, God bless Aunt Nanny, there’s nothing left. God bless all those people down there at the church. And there were soldiers who were fighting in Korea. Oh no, it was Vietnam. No, that’s over too, and then you just don’t know what to say. She gave us, by the most simple suggestion, a way to pray that was high and glorious, and the mind didn’t wander, and you didn’t run out of anything to say, and it had to be inspired because it was a matter of simply taking Scripture and turning it into prayer. And I understand you did this a few days ago. Is that correct? Nod your head yes. Is that true? Uh huh. You did? Brother Peter said you did. Is that correct? Nod your head. Tell me you know what I’m talking about. Okay.

Jeanne Guyon suggested Psalm 23. So, you and I are going to take Psalm 23. That’s not what y’all have done. Did y’all take Psalm 23? You did not. Okay, good. I’m going to let you hear Psalm 23 turned to prayer, and tomorrow morning, I want you and your compatriot to get up in the morning before you go to work or whenever, you’re going to decide tonight, and you’re going to pray the way Guyon described. And then on Tuesday morning, I want you to come back here, and we’ll do something different, but you’ve got to do this first, okay? Are you with me? Are you with me?

Alright, here it is. Now, I’m going to ask you to be very patient with me, and I’m going to ask you to listen with reverence. This is not easy to do. Tomorrow morning, I want the oldest of you to take verse 1, and the younger of the two of you to take verse 2. If you’re identical twins, still, the oldest takes verse 1; we’ll do it that way.

Alright, this Psalm is so familiar to you, you should be able to use it quite easily. I’d like to ask you to get up in the morning. I’d like to ask you to do this. Don’t rush. Get in a comfortable place together. Sit down. Open your Bible. Get it open, and take two minutes just to be quiet, but no longer than that. And the person who starts has got to not…don’t you sit there for 10 or 15 minutes and drive the other person crazy. About two minutes. You understand? Right?

And for just a minute or two, make love to the Lord. Just make love to the Lord. Do you know how to do that? Do you know how to make love to the Lord?