Men At Home

Without the will, marriage is a mockery; without emotion, it is a drudgery. You need both." 

- Ravi Zacharias

In his beautiful, rich book, A Promise Kept, the late Robertson McQuilkin recounts a humorous but poignant story. (You can read more about Robertson McQuilkin here.)

McQuilkin was caring for his wife, Muriel in their home. He had resigned as President of Colombia Bible College in order to be her full-time caregiver, a conviction which he believed the Lord had personally placed upon his heart. 

Muriel had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's at a comparably young age and would often have accidents as her disease progressed and her memory worsened. She came to the point where she could not control her bodily functions and went to the bathroom on the floor. 

McQuilkin recalls cleaning the mess up, while at the same time trying to keep Muriel from "helping" him to clean (he was concerned that she would slip and hurt herself.) As he was cleaning, McQuilkin, who had been listening to a Charles Swindoll broadcast, suddenly heard Swindoll say "Men, are you at home? I mean, really, at home?" And McQuilkin, seeing the humor in the situation, replied, "Yeah, Chuck, really I am; do I ever wish I weren't?"

Men at home. 

And so often we hear of women at home. Women who speak glowingly of their husbands and their children. Women who value the title of wife and mother. Women who build their lives around their spiritual calling to fulfill the feminine roles that the Lord has entrusted them with. 

This is evidenced in the subject matter of many, many Christian women's blogs. Often, the focus is upon marriage, children, and other homemaking interests. Not always, but often.

It is a God-honoring focus. Women seeking to fulfill their God-given roles in the unique and personal ways that the Lord is leading them to fulfill them. 

But men... men at home? 

This is something that has been upon my heart, especially in light of the Josh Duggar scandal, as well as other recent incidences. 

Are our men really at home? 

And some of them are. Definitely are. Their hearts are "at home," serving Jesus in whatever vocation He has called them to, supporting their wives and children, loving the Lord with all their hearts and leading their families in worship and praise of Him. 

But we have to admit, if we really want to be honest before the Lord, some of them are not. 

And we love them, and we pray for them, and we want the best for them through the Lord, but their hearts, as it stands, are not "at home."

We want our men to be at home. With us. With our children. With their God. But they are not. Something else captivates them, whether it be work, a hobby, another "love." 

Something else captivates their hearts. And they are not at home. Not at rest. Not at peace with God and with their family. 

They may give lip service, but don't really care about spiritual matters. Or perhaps they have grown cold towards their First Love.

They are not at home. 

There are other men who give all the appearance of being at home. They attend church regularly. They fulfill their duties. They help around the house. They do what is required of them, and perhaps beyond what is required. 

But their hearts are not at home. Not really. Their heart is bound to their electronic device, or their social media, or their work. They are actors but not real men at home with beating hearts of love and devotion and joy and selfless sacrifice. 

They are lukewarm. 

A part that always makes me chuckle in the Disney movie The Aristocats involves the English geese and the male cat, O'Malley.  The female geese question whether or not the cat is married, and he evades the question. One of the geese looks him squarely in his shifty eyes and states--"You either are or you're not," To which he replies, "Alright, then; I'm not." 

We need men who are at home. Men who love the Lord with all their hearts and souls and minds and strength. Men who lead their families; men who take the hard, costly path of obedience; men who follow in the footsteps of our precious Savior. 

There are men at home.

I have seen them in action. I have read of them, watched them, looked up to them, appreciated their devotion, commitment and love.  

I thank God for the men who are truly at home.

What about those who are not?

The answer is not manipulation. It is not ungodly pleading. The answer is not to ignore the problem, to falsely convince oneself or others that a man is "at home" when he is not. 

The answer is prayer. It is fasting. It is pleading with God. 

The answer is surrender. Entrusting oneself and one's family over to a merciful and loving Heavenly Father. Entrusting the situation over to His love, knowing that He will work good from it. 

We all struggle with this malady. Sometimes we are not "at home." We are not in the center of God's will. We are running, either physically or mentally away from it; we are wasting the life that the Lord has given to us on things that do not matter. We are not "at home." 

May He have mercy upon us. May He work in our minds and our hearts and our homes to be faithful to Him, to love Him with our heart, soul, mind and strength. 

May He encourage men to become true men of God, leading their families in the ways of the Lord. May He strengthen women to be the discerning support of the head, praying, encouraging, strengthening.

May our families be built up in Him. 

Men at home. Women at home. Children at home. In Him. Because of Him. Only by His grace.

At home. 

You might find me on these link-ups:

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth, Inspire Me Monday, The Modest Mom, What Joy is Mine, SDG Gathering, A Mama's Story, Mom's the Word, Rich Faith Rising, Time Warp Wife, Cornerstone Confessions, Mom's Morning Coffee, Motivate and Rejuvenate Mondays, So Much at Home, Raising Homemakers, Hope in Every Season, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Ministries, Whole-Hearted Home, Testimony Tuesday, Tell His Story, A Soft Gentle Voice, My Daily Walk in His Grace, Women With Intention Wednesdays, Messy Marriage, The Charm of Home, Graced Simplicity, Theology Thursdays, Children Are A Blessing, Mittenstate Sheep and Wool, Imparting Grace, Preparedness Mama, A Look at the Book, Essential Thing Devotions, Thought Provoking Thursday, Every Day Jesus, Count My Blessings, Christian Mommy Blogger, Renewed Daily, Soul Survival, Good Morning Mondays, The Weekend Brew, Blessing Counters Link Party, The HomeAcre Hop, Mommy Moments Link Up, Grace and Truth Linkup, Faith Filled Friday, Saturday Soiree Blog Party, Tell It To Me Tuesdays, SHINE Blog Hop, Faith and  Fellowship Blog Hop, Motivate and Rejuvenate Monday Link-Up, A Little R&R Wednesdays. TGI Saturdays Blog Hop. Totally Terrific Tuesday, RaRaLinkup

Monthly Book Giveaway--The Hidden Art of Homemaking, by Edith Schaeffer

For more information about Monthly Book Giveaways, click HERE. 

This month's book giveaway is for a wonderful, practical, delightful book that has challenged me and opened my mind and heart to see homemaking in a beautiful and intriguing light--as an art and a creative channel through which to use the gifts and abilities that the Great Creator has given us for His glory, and to enrich the lives of our family, friends, and other believers. 

There is a dutiful element to homemaking; that cannot be denied. Washing dishes, folding towels, cleaning floors, changing sheets, weeding gardens. And the Lord teaches us faithfulness and perseverance through the monotony of everyday tasks. He gives us joy through them and fills us with the joy of Himself through serving others via "menial" tasks. This is one of the ways that I believe that the Lord teaches us servanthood and surrender. 

But, as Edith Schaeffer points out in this wonderful book -- Homemaking may also be seen as an art and possesses an artistic, creative element that should be explored and embraced. Arranging flowers on an otherwise bare table, sewing beautiful curtains, preparing an eye-pleasing and nourishing meal, dressing attractively . . . these are just some of the ways that we reflect the creativity of the Great Creator in our lives and homes. 

If you are not the the winner of this giveaway, I would strongly encourage you to obtain a copy of this book and read it anyway! It will open your mind and your heart to the joy of reflecting the beauty of the Creator through creative homemaking and will truly enrich your life and the lives of those around you; it is a mind- and eye-opening book. 

Description of The Hidden Art of Homemaking:  (from CBD)

Artists and homemakers, prepare to be inspired. Schaeffer transfers domestic tasks into masterpieces of creative expression-whether she's filling the house with flowers, music, and literature, building a toy rocking horse from scratch, dipping homemade candles, and more in this timeless classic.

If you are not familiar with Edith Schaeffer, she and her husband were led of the Lord to begin a place of refuge, called L'Abri, for those who were seeking answers to life's questions--you can read more about the Schaeffer's and their work HERE. 

And now, time for the Giveaway! :-)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You might find me on these link-ups:

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth, Inspire Me Monday, The Modest Mom, What Joy is Mine, SDG Gathering, A Mama's Story, Mom's the Word, Rich Faith Rising, Time Warp Wife, Cornerstone Confessions, Mom's Morning Coffee, Motivate and Rejuvenate Mondays, So Much at Home, Raising Homemakers, Hope in Every Season, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Ministries, Whole-Hearted Home, Testimony Tuesday, Tell His Story, A Soft Gentle Voice, My Daily Walk in His Grace, Women With Intention Wednesdays, Messy Marriage, The Charm of Home, Graced Simplicity, Theology Thursdays, Children Are A Blessing, Mittenstate Sheep and Wool, Imparting Grace, Preparedness Mama, A Look at the Book, Essential Thing Devotions, Thought Provoking Thursday, Every Day Jesus, Count My Blessings, Christian Mommy Blogger, Renewed Daily, Soul Survival, Good Morning Mondays, The Weekend Brew, Blessing Counters Link Party, The HomeAcre Hop, Mommy Moments Link Up, Grace and Truth Linkup, Faith Filled Friday, Saturday Soiree Blog Party, Tell It To Me Tuesdays, SHINE Blog Hop, Faith and  Fellowship Blog Hop, Motivate and Rejuvenate Monday Link-Up, A Little R&R Wednesdays. TGI Saturdays Blog Hop. Totally Terrific Tuesday, RaRaLinkup

Preserving the Precious, Protecting the Weak

Open your mouth for the speechless,
In the cause of all who are appointed to die.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And plead the cause of the poor and needy.

Proverbs 31:8-9 NKJV

I heard a true story about a prisoner, watching as a Mother Robin built her nest in a precarious place on a chain link fence outside the window of the prison. 

The prisoner watched as the Mother sat on her nest, protecting her young, even before they were born, from the elements that beat down vehemently upon her. 

Fearful for the fate of the baby birds, the prisoner watched as day by day, the Mother tried to care for her young under incredibly difficult circumstances. 

Finally, they fell from the nest, onto the rocks below. Heartbroken and helpless to do anything to help the sweet, innocent birds, the prisoner wept. 

And the prisoner watched as a guard, taking some pity on the fledgling robins, placed them on a napkin in the shade. 

To the prisoner's dismay, along came two more prison guards. Laughing, they threw the baby birds into the sewage drain, and walked away . . . 

And so weeping, the prisoner watched from behind the prison bars. 

This is the devastation of sin in the world. This is the no "happy ending." This is the tragedy and the loss and the chaos and the sorrow. 

This story made me feel sick, that deep, sorrowing sick, when we realize that the unthinkable has happened. 

And this week, I watched a woman drink wine and talk nonchalantly about selling the organs of aborted babies. 

I watched as she enjoyed life while talking about death. 

I watched as she ate and drank and celebrated the monetary benefits that an aborted babies' heart, lungs, and liver could deliver to an organization supported by taxpayer's funds. 

And I, like so many others, felt sick. 

The unthinkable . . . playing out on a camera with words and lips and wine and flippancy and the casual toss of a fork into a salad.

And she spoke of the intentional grasp of forceps that were careful not to crush the parts of a baby that would bring a profit--oh yes, discard the rest, the parts that were unwanted, unloved, and a burden to a woman and to an unfeeling society that has almost lost its conscience. 

Throw away those parts. 

Keep the ones that will rake in a profit. Heart, lungs, liver. 

His heart must be broken. 

My heart was broken . . . how much more, His?

The devastation of sin, the crushing, the destruction, the chaos. 

An innocent baby, thrown into a garbage can.

Innocent baby Robins, thrown into a sewer.

And the world turns away distracted eyes and overlooks and laughs and carries on with "life."

So I ask, how must we respond to these kinds of tragedies, these kinds of attitudes, this kind of sorrow?

With despair? Or with hope? 

He sees the falling of the sparrow. He formed the small one in the womb. He knows each tiny, infinite detail. And He weeps and loves. 

As His, we have a sacred duty. 

A duty to speak for those "appointed to die," a duty to protect the innocent, to defend the weak and the small and the powerless. 

And when we do this, there is hope. 

We make tiny ripples in the pools of complacency. 

We stoop down and we lift tiny birds dying in the scorching sun and we protect them and we nurture them and we set them free to live. 

We touch the hand, the heart of the unwed mother and we speak truth and we speak hope and we speak life and we pray that her eyes and her heart may be opened not to destroy life, but to preserve it. 

Because all life is precious. 

And when we ignore the evil around us, when we refuse to speak, when we will do nothing, are we not just as guilty as the perpetrators of evil? 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Pastor and theologian executed by hanging under Hitler's regime wrote: 

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. 

We must speak. We must act. We must love. We must not be afraid. 

In the little circumstances of life and in the great ones. May we not be silent when confronted by evil. May we not be so comfortable in this fading life that we don't long for the next. May we not overlook evil because it makes our life a little easier. For now. 

Because there is hope. Hope for individuals, hope for the crushed hurting, hope beyond the grave. 

At times we grow afraid. It appears that evil has won.

It has not. He is bringing all things, all events into the fruition of His will; He is ordering the paths of the nations; He is working in unseen ways Hope and Heaven and deliverance and peace. 

And we are sojourners here. For a short time. For a brief hour. May we not let our lives be wasted. May we speak and protect and pray and trust and live for His kingdom--waiting and watching in hope. 

You might find me on these link-ups:

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth, Inspire Me Monday, The Modest Mom, What Joy is Mine, SDG Gathering, A Mama's Story, Mom's the Word, Rich Faith Rising, Time Warp Wife, Cornerstone Confessions, Mom's Morning Coffee, Motivate and Rejuvenate Mondays, So Much at Home, Raising Homemakers, Hope in Every Season, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Ministries, Whole-Hearted Home, Testimony Tuesday, Tell His Story, A Soft Gentle Voice, My Daily Walk in His Grace, Women With Intention Wednesdays, Messy Marriage, The Charm of Home, Graced Simplicity, Theology Thursdays, Children Are A Blessing, Mittenstate Sheep and Wool, Imparting Grace, Preparedness Mama, A Look at the Book, Essential Thing Devotions, Thought Provoking Thursday, Every Day Jesus, Count My Blessings, Christian Mommy Blogger, Renewed Daily, Soul Survival, Good Morning Mondays, The Weekend Brew, Blessing Counters Link Party, The HomeAcre Hop, Mommy Moments Link Up, Grace and Truth Linkup, Faith Filled Friday, Saturday Soiree Blog Party, Tell It To Me Tuesdays, SHINE Blog Hop, Faith and  Fellowship Blog Hop, Motivate and Rejuvenate Monday Link-Up, A Little R&R Wednesdays. TGI Saturdays Blog Hop. Totally Terrific Tuesday, RaRaLinkup

The Waiting, the Wedding, and the Wonder of His Mercy--Trusting Him When Prayer Goes Unanswered

"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."
--Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV

Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh.

Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear.

To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh,

Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.

--George Croly

There are times when our prayers go unanswered.

We feel like God has put us on the back burner, on the "shelf."

All around is silence.

Like the aching stillness after a winter blizzard.

Like the quietness of summer's breeze through the stifling heat that will not break.

I was engaged for 5 years.

It was an act of the conscience and of the will -- it was an act of necessity -- my father left our family.

In a destitute and precarious position -- but only after a seeming-eternal period of wavering between coming and going. 

Unusual circumstances forced and compelled my now-husband and I to wait. 

We were engaged 5 years. 

At times I felt as though my youth was being eaten-up--

I was "losing" my years -- my years to have children, my years to keep a home, my happy, carefree years--

Instead they were etched with sorrow and poverty and continual trials.

But the Lord was, in reality, redeeming my years . . . 

I learned valuable skills during those years and in the years surrounding them--sewing, knitting, playing the piano . . . skills that have enriched and benefited me and my family, skills that I probably wouldn't have pursued as strongly if I didn't have those waiting years . . . 

I look back upon that time now -- look back --

When the desperation and the quiet silent stillness seemed unbearable --

When I felt like I just couldn't wait in uncertainty one more day. 

And five years seemed an eternity . . . 

But I look back now and see His love. 

The waiting was hard. 

But the answer was beautiful . . . in His perfect time.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. 

After five long years, the storm broke, the dust cleared. 

We were poor as poor could be, but the Lord was with us.  

We didn't have the money to get married; we weren't sure what we were going to do.  My mom was struggling to keep her home; our family lived day to day on the edge of poverty. So we prayed. 

I always dreamed of getting married at a local rustic venue called The Francis Farm. 

I had visited there once, filled out a paper saying that I was interested and then left, feeling in my heart that it could never be -- it was far too expensive -- it just would not be possible. 

Another hope that I had buried in my heart was that we would be able to invite everyone in our smallish church, as well as our close friends and relatives -- that no one would feel excluded; this was a burden on my heart. 

This story sounds incredible, but it is true. 

One day, deep into the five years of our engagement, the home phone -- where I lived with my Mom and my younger sister, rang. 

The person on the other line asked for me. It was a representative from the Francis Farm.

And what she said was all a blur. Because of the "hard" financial times that the country was going through, they wanted to give a free wedding to one person they had picked randomly from a pile of papers of people like me who had expressed a desire to have their wedding there. 

My name was chosen.

The budget that they allotted me enabled me to invite everyone that we desired to.

The Lord had worked miraculously, and I still look back on that event with wonder. 

The Lord in His mercy had answered my deepest prayer. 

I had always wanted to be married in June as well and there was a date available -- June 19th. 

The Lord is merciful. 

And had worked wonders for me, for my husband. We had waited -- only by the grace of God -- and He blessed us --

We had waited, sometimes in quiet desperation, but in faith, knowing that our Lord was good. 

He gave us the desire of our heart. 

Sometimes prayer goes unanswered because the Lord is preparing to bring great glory to Himself -- and a greater blessing than if He had answered immediately or if we had taken matters into our own hands.

In this situation, I had been convinced through prayer that it was the Lord's will for my now-husband and I to be married.

The Lord was teaching me yieldness and surrender, teaching me the lesson of believing, persevering prayer -- teaching me to wait upon Him and to trust Him where I saw no human answer. 

We were waiting for His perfect timing; waiting for a door to open -- a door that only He could open in our unusual situation. 

We dig the trenches of prayer so that He can fill them with His abundance. . . 

He gave in abundance. 

He is a merciful God. 

When prayer, in agreement and submission to His will goes unanswered, He is preparing us for a blessing, perhaps not the blessing we were expecting, but when we truly wait upon Him, His answer will be beautiful in due season.

He is gracious. 

He loves to do the unexpected.

To teach us to trust Him through the agony of unanswered prayer, to teach us the fellowship of sharing in his suffering--

That we also may share in His joy. 

The principle is this--when we wait upon God in yielded, surrendered trust (the Lord helping us in our weakness) He visits us with His faithfulness. 

The miracle came at the end of surrender . . . 

Or perhaps, maybe the miracle is the grace to surrender itself . . . 

And so we drove away on that day in June under the brilliant blue sky -- knowing that He had waited so that He could be gracious to us . . . 

"I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name."

Revelation 3:8 NKJV

You might find me on these link-ups:

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth, Inspire Me Monday, The Modest Mom, What Joy is Mine, SDG Gathering, A Mama's Story, Mom's the Word, Rich Faith Rising, Time Warp Wife, Cornerstone Confessions, Mom's Morning Coffee, Motivate and Rejuvenate Mondays, So Much at Home, Raising Homemakers, Hope in Every Season, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Ministries, Whole-Hearted Home, Testimony Tuesday, Tell His Story, A Soft Gentle Voice, My Daily Walk in His Grace, Women With Intention Wednesdays, Messy Marriage, The Charm of Home, Graced Simplicity, Children Are A Blessing, Mittenstate Sheep and Wool, Imparting Grace, Preparedness Mama, A Look at the Book, Essential Thing Devotions, Thought Provoking Thursday, Every Day Jesus, Count My Blessings, Beauty Observed, Christian Mommy Blogger, Renewed Daily, Soul Survival, Good Morning Mondays, The Weekend Brew, Blessing Counters Link Party, The HomeAcre Hop, Mommy Moments Link Up, Grace and Truth Linkup, Faith Filled Friday, Saturday Soiree Blog Party, Tell It To Me Tuesdays, SHINE Blog Hop, Faith and  Fellowship Blog Hop, Motivate and Rejuvenate Monday Link-Up, A Little R&R Wednesdays. TGI Saturdays Blog Hop. Totally Terrific Tuesday

Part 1: The Place of Prayer

To desire revival…and at the same time to neglect (personal) prayer and devotion is to wish one way and walk another. ~ A.W. Tozer

There is a place where thou canst touch the eyes

Of blinded men to instant, perfect sight;

There is a place where thou canst say, “Arise”

To dying captives, bound in chains of night;

There is a place where thou canst reach the store

Of hoarded gold and free it for the Lord;

There is a place–upon some distant shore–

Where thou canst send the worker and the Word.

Where is that secret place–dost thou ask, “Where?”

O soul, it is the secret place of prayer!
~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

The prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity…if we want to see mighty wonders of divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let us answer God’s standing challenge, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not."        
 ~ J. Hudson Taylor

Part 1: The Place of Prayer

source

Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.

Psalm 2:8

Soaring bird, high above the jagged landscape -- dipping, dipping, catching the currents of wind, light reflecting from his feathers all-beautiful, the sunset dancing on his back. 

The bird is prayer and the wind is the Spirit moving, directing that prayer, the rays of truth and light and grace reflecting on its golden feathers. 

Thinking over these past days on the place of prayer . . .  

In my own life, in the life of the Church, as the breath of the body of His fellowship. 

And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:31

So much emphasis these days upon study--studying God's Word, learning more, storing up facts--

And study of God's Word is important -- and has its place in the life of the Church--

Study has its legitimate place. 

But Jesus never said, "Study, that you do not enter into temptation . . . "

He said, Pray. 

There is power in believing, Spirit-filled prayer--

And the gates of hell cannot prevail against that all-consuming, never-tiring, eternal-reaching power. 

The power of prayer. 

Prayer -- what everything else flows from, what everything else must flow from, if there is to be any power attached to it. 

What evangelism flows from . . . 

What revival flows from . . . 

What personal holiness flows from . . . 

And study puts truth into our minds. 

But persevering, believing prayer gives that truth wings. 

Sometimes we have to ask ourselves, we have to honestly evaluate--would I rather study or pray?

Prayer is difficult. Prayer is the hard work of tilling the rugged soil and waiting for the rain of heaven to pour. 

Prayer is the Elijah-altar drenched and dripping until the fire of God falls to consume the sacrifice. 

Reading the biography of George Mueller has encouraged me and opened my eyes to the place of prayer in the believer's life. 

Mueller, a very intelligent, studied man spent hours on his knees -- and this is how he spent those hours--

With the Word of God spread open before him, praying through the Scriptures, quietly listening and meditating on the Word of God. 

Mueller believed that the Word would speak to him in any given situation -- in his sermon preparation, he would wait on his knees for the Lord to open the truth to him when he came across difficult passages. 

He was a man of prayer, a man who moved heaven through his humble obedience to the will and to the Word of God. 

And Heaven moved to hear him, a man upon his knees, a man who trusted God and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

A man knitted to the Holy will . . . on his knees -- his mouth open wide that God alone might fill it. 

A.W. Tozer, another faithful, humble servant of God--

His power in preaching and writing is attributed not to his study (although he did that much) but to his prayer life. 

He was labeled at times as a recluse because he would withdraw for so long into his prayer closet.

When he arrived at his study, he would change into his "prayer trousers," a pair of worn pants dedicated to the time that he spent upon his knees -- He didn't want to ruin the suit that he needed to preach in. 

So these trousers became the testament to the hours that he spent in communion with his Father. 

Tozer loved and held a high regard for the "Mystics" because of their prayer life -- He collected their works and revered their devotion through prayer and meditation. 

D. Martyn LLoyd-Jones recalls a conversation that he had with Tozer in Snyder's In Pursuit of God: 

'Once', Martyn Lloyd-Jones recalled, 'Dr. Tozer and I shared a conference years ago, and I appreciated his ministry and his fellowship very much. One day he said to me: 'Lloyd-Jones, you and I hold just about the same position on spiritual matters, but we have come to this position by different routes.' 'How do you mean?' I asked. 'Well,' Tozer replied, 'you came by way of the Puritans and I came by way of the mystics.' And, you know,' said Lloyd-Jones, 'he was right.'

Tozer regarded study as a high pursuit, but revered the place of prayer, in his own life and in the life of the church. 

Tozer's biographer, James Snyder, further says of him, 

"Tozer's hunger for God led him to study the Christian mystics. Their know-ledge of God and absorbing love for Him profoundly attracted Tozer. They were spirits kindred to his own. 'These people know God, and I want to know what they know.' But at the same time, the Bible remained absolutely central."

Tozer was a man filled with the Spirit, in his personal life and in his preaching and writing because he realized the place of prayer and meditation and exercised the discipline and joy of it . . . 

source

I can become so caught up at times with studying the Word of God, with filling my mind with more and more facts, that I forget the place of prayer. 

Martin Luther, the great Reformer said, "Work, work, from morning until late at night.  In fact, I have so much to do that I shall have to spend the first three hours in prayer. "

Luther recognized the place of prayer in accomplishing any true good, in sowing any lasting fruit for the Lord. Because it is the Lord who works through us, through prayer, through His Spirit groaning and praying in and through us. 

Prayer. It has its place -- a place of prominence in the believer's life. For me to neglect it is to neglect communion with the One from whom all things flow. It is to distance myself from the Fountain, the Wellspring, the River of joy and delight. 

Study makes us dry without the accompanying grace of prayer. Prayer is the fire and the water and the breath, pouring life into our relationship with Christ, fueling heart-revival and empowering the saints.  

Part 2-- next blog post: The Importance of Prayer

You might find me on these link-ups:

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth, The Modest Mom, What Joy is Mine, Yes They Are All Ours, Missional Call, A Mama's Story, Mom's the Word, Rich Faith Rising, Time Warp Wife, Cornerstone Confessions, Mom's Morning Coffee, So Much at Home, Raising Homemakers, Hope in Every Season, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Ministries, Whole-Hearted Home, A Soft Gentle Voice, My Daily Walk in His Grace, Messy Marriage, My Teacher's Name is Mama, The Charm of Home, Graced Simplicity, Children Are A Blessing, Mittenstate Sheep and Wool, Imparting Grace, Preparedness Mama, A Look at the Book, Essential Thing Devotions, Count My Blessings, Beauty Observed, Christian Mommy Blogger, Renewed Daily, Soul Survival, Good Morning Mondays, The HomeAcre Hop, Mommy Moments Link Up, Grace and Truth Linkup, Faith Filled Friday, Saturday Soiree Blog Party, Tell It To Me Tuesdays, SHINE Blog Hop, Motivate and Rejuvenate Monday Link-Up, A Little R&R Wednesdays. TGI Saturdays Blog Hop. Totally Terrific Tuesday