Episodes

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 the most extreme sin of that type. Every impure thought or glance would become adultery if it could;...

"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, that it is essential to your soul's health to make praying a part of the business of every twenty four hou...

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 praying, that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Matthew 27:41 My call to the we...

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 there are certain great things we daily want, and that there is nothing necessarily formal in asking for t...

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 spiritual but that it may become a form, and this is specially true of private prayer." Wow, and that is true. I ...

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 run that errand. I will pray for you. It is silly to think we can hide things from God, yet we ar...

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 correct, but I had to interject just a bit. I went through the prayers of the New Testament before recording, and n...

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 of reverence and humility in prayer. Let us never forget what we are, and what a solemn thing it is to speak wit...

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 the prayer which pleases us least, often pleases God most. Suffer me then, as a companion in the Christian warfare,...

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 words of brotherly counsel and exhortation." "Brethren who pray, if I know anything of a Christian's...

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 October wrap-ups to year five and prayerfully a launch into year 6! This month, we will hear every day, a...

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." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 The...

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 knows the deepest desires of our hearts. To His glory, He knows what we need, and although He answers d...

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 ways we could not have guessed, into situations we never expected, to fulfill purposes we could never have imagined." "...

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 republished a companion Episode: "Personal/Powerful Prayer Lessons - God is the Same Yesterday, Today, and Fo...

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 against God's will. Ploy 1: Everyone thinks it's a good idea. Ploy 2: Really distinguished men think...

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 33:20 "Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart rejoices in ...

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 acceptable and perfect. To pray the will of God is every Christian's goal; we grow into that goal, as we...

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 essence of sin: "Sin always aims for the worst: each time it tempts or entic...

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 Rest Richard Baxter The Bible is a unit. We learn of God throughout the Bible, not just a part. ...

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 exhortation to prayer ever: "Wait not because you feel unworthy. Wait for nothing....

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 momentum not only increases the possibilities of that ministry but also offers an opportunity for a br...

The God of all comfort is our all in all. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. 6 But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we...

Our five-minute devotional today is longer than five minutes, but we also take care of a bit of business in this episode. I know many of you pray for the Free Range Preacher on prayer, and I do thank you. It is also one of the reasons we have confidence when the unexpected happens. For the last few weeks, I have been able to be the helper for Cathy's health bumps and not the helpie! Today we consider three passages: "Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that w...