Today is 40 years since the great Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones was promoted to glory. His impact was massive at Westminster Chapel and around the world through his outstanding logic on fire preaching. How can we honour his legacy? I believe one essential way is to pray – desperately – to be clothed with power from on high.
Preaching on Mark 9:17-18 he said:
“You must become aware of your need, of your impotence, of your helplessness. You must realise that you are confronted by something that is too deep for your methods to get rid of, or to deal with, and you need something that can go down beneath that evil power, and shatter it . . . and there is only one thing that can do that, and that is the power of God.
And we too, must become aware of that, we have got to feel it until we become desperate. We must ask ourselves how we can succeed if we do not have this authority, this commission, this might and strength and power. We must become utterly and absolutely convinced of our need. We must cease to have so much confidence in ourselves, and in all our methods and organisations, and in all our slickness. We have got to realise that we must be filled with God’s Spirit.
And we must be equally certain that God can fill us with his Spirit. We have got to realise that however great ‘this kind’ is, the power of God is infinitely greater . . . that what we need is not more knowledge . . . more understanding . . . more apologetics . . . more reconciliation of philosophy and science and religion . . . and all modern techniques – no, we need a power that can enter into the souls of men and break them and smash them and humble them and then make them anew. And that is the power of the living God.
And we must be confident that God has this power as much today as he had one hundred years ago, and two hundred years ago, and so we must begin to seek the power and to pray for it. We must begin to plead and yearn for it. ‘This kind’ needs prayer.”
Join us every Monday at 12:12pm, as we come together, outworking Romans 12:12, praying through the Psalms.
Join us every Sunday, as we pray for God’s power to come on our service, and services throughout London.
