Charles Finney was a great revivalist in the 1800s and a leader in the Second Great Awakening. He has been called the father of modern revivalism. Most students of the Bible and church history are very familiar with Finney, but not as many are familiar with the real secret of his power and effectiveness.
Finney attributed his success in revival and the high retention rate of his converts to Rev. Daniel Nash, known as “Father Nash.”
Nash was a mighty man of prayer who became the engine behind Finney’s revivals. Part of the epitaph on his tombstone reads, “Laborer With Finney, Mighty in Prayer.” Three to four months after Nash’s death, Finney left his itinerant ministry. He knew the power to his preaching resided almost exclusively in Nash’s prayers.
How many today esteem the ministry of intercession to this degree? And how many really understand what it means to pray with the anointing and labor in travail for lost souls?
The secret to the power in Finney’s ministry was the supply of the Spirit that came from Nash’s intercession and travail for souls. But Finney and Nash also walked in great agreement in their purpose for revival and the conversion of souls. So although prayer was obviously a key, the agreement in their purpose was vitally important too.
Here’s an inspired utterance my wife and I received in prayer recently:
I have never denied a man or a woman of power in prayer who aligned themselves with My will and My Word in obedience to the purpose of Mark 16 and Matthew 28 of going into all the world. The lack of power only comes when man’s plans override Mine. There is power in agreement. Where you have seen lack of power is where there was lack of agreement. The ministry gifts must be in agreement with the Word and with the purposes of God. And the pray-ers must supply the power.
In your travels you’ve seen there are places where they agree with My Word and the leadership is obeying Me. And even when they’ve had error in some things you have seen, they’ve gone with one purpose, and the pray-ers are praying for that purpose. Therefore there’s freedom and liberty in that place in that city. That is what you see—agreement, agreement with Me.
There is power in being like-minded. There is power in being equally yoked. Agreement in the Spirit with those of like-precious faith is vital to our success in advancing the kingdom of God.
In his humility, Nash released the manifold wisdom of God (Eph. 3:10) when it was attached to one with a ministry gift who walked in agreement with God’s purposes.
I see a pen and a paper—a new document and a new order. I see names written on the paper—those of like spirit who have faith and agreement in the Spirit.
No more unequal yokes. It’s time for equal yokes. When you’re equally yoked, it’s easy.
We call forth divine connections and equally yoked hearts for the work God wants to do in this end of days. {eoa}
Bert Farias’ books are forerunners to personal holiness, the move of God and the return of the Lord. They also combat the departure from the faith and turning away from the truth we are seeing in this hour. Bert’s current passion is to promote a culture of the supernatural manifestations and ministries of the Holy Spirit in the church today and to pass it on to the next generation (Passing On The Move of God To The Next Generation). His newest release, now available on Kindle and soon on paperback, The Supernatural Church of Love And Power, is a book for the ages. Other materials/resources are available on his website, Holy Fire Ministries. You can also follow him personally on YouTube (Holy Fire Ministries), Facebook or Twitter.
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