Crying out in prayer for the Church

I do not care if it be Wesleyan, Baptist, Independent, or what it is; when the life is gone it becomes henceforth good for nothing; it is not even fit to manure the ground, as the contents of the dunghill are, but men cast it out and tread it under foot. Get conscious of that, and then let those of you who are humbled in the sight of God, meet together, and spread the case before the Lord. We ought to have great faith in the power of the twos and threes, for “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them,” saith the Lord. The long thin red line, which has often won the battle, will yet win it in England — I mean the thin line of the few that sigh and cry for the desolations of the Church.

If you, my brother, an earnest man, be the only member of the Church that does really sigh and cry before God, God intends to bless that Church yet, for he has already blessed it in sending you to it. Look out for others of a kindred sort, and without murmuring, without raising divisions, without seeking to expel the minister or make any changes in the discipline, just you set to work, and pray down, as Elias did, the fire from heaven upon the sacrifice.

From a sermon entitled "Songs For Desolate Hearts," delivered September 10, 1865. Image by Nick Russill under Creative Commons License.