Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse…and prove Me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
—Malachi 3:10
This last promise in the Old Testament tells us how abundant the blessing is to be. Pentecost was only the beginning of what God is willing to do. The promise of the Father, as Christ presented it, still waits for its perfect fulfillment. Let us try to realize the liberty that we possess to ask and expect great things.
Just as the great command to “go…and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15) was meant not only for the disciples, but also for us, so the very last command—“ Tarry…until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49); “Wait for the Promise of the Father.…Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 1:4–5)—is also for us and is the basis for the confident assurance that our prayers prayed in one accord will be heard.
Take time to think of the cry of need that can be heard throughout the whole church and throughout all our mission fields. Let us realize that the only remedy that can be found for ineffectiveness or powerlessness, to enable us to gain the victory over the powers of this world and of darkness, is in the manifested presence of our Lord in the midst of His hosts and in the power of His Spirit. Let us take time to think of the state of all the churches throughout Christendom, until we are brought deeper than ever to believe that nothing except the supernatural, almighty intervention of our Lord Himself will rouse His hosts for the great battle against evil. Can anyone imagine or suggest any other matter for prayer that can compete with this: for the power of God on the ministers of the gospel, and on all His people, to fill them “with power from on high” (Luke 24:49) that will make the gospel the power of God unto salvation?
As we connect the prayer for the whole church on earth with the prayer for the whole power of God in heaven, we will feel that the greatest truths of the heavenly world and the kingdom of God have possession of us, and that we are indeed asking what God is longing to give, as soon as He finds hearts utterly yielded to Him in faith and obedience.