A.W. Tozer

What is it about A.W. Tozer that intrigues both young and old alike? Seasoned Christians and new in the faith? Who was called, 'one of the greatest saints of the past century.' Wow, what a badge of honor in a sea of great men and women of faith.

But, what is it about Pastor Tozer that draws people to his writings and prayers?

I'd say, his wisdom and  his prayer life.

I'll leave you with one of his prayers:


"O God, I have tasted Thy goodness and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune god, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.

In Jesus’ name, Amen…………"

A.W. Tozer

First, a heartfelt apology,

It's been some time since my last entry, for I've been working night and day on a prayer vigil on the facebook ministry; where we are seeking God's face for the direction of our ministry, which this is an extension of. When I started, this event, I had a simple plan in mind, but when it was complete, it became far more extensive then I could have imagined. Today, the 1st was the beginning of this event, and it will last through throughout this month. Those who follow this blog are more than welcome to join us. Let me know you are interested, and I will see to it that you become a part of what God is doing through Intercessor's Heart/Facebook.

A.W. Tozer? Some would ask, 'why anybody would put Kathryn Kuhlman and A.W. Tozer in the same series?' And my answer to that is, because, both of them are extraordinary people of prayer, and have contributed much to the Body of Christ as a whole. You may or may not agree with Pastor Tozer, but one thing is for sure, he started a movement that should be explored. For the discerning, we are fully capable of separating truth from error, but, if read through each contribution, you will see that I tried to limit the errors the best I could.

A Closed Mouth and Silent Heart

My heart was hot within me; while I was musing, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue.— Psalm 39:3

'Prayer among evangelical Christians is always in danger of degenerating into a glorified gold rush. Almost every book on prayer deals with the “get” element mainly. How to get things we want from God occupies most of the space. Now, we gladly admit that we may ask for and receive specific gifts and benefits in answer to prayer, but we must never forget that the highest kind of prayer is never the making of requests. Prayer at its holiest moment is the entering into God to a place of such blessed union as makes miracles seem tame and remarkable answers to prayer appear something very far short of wonderful by comparison.' A.W. Tozer

http://www.epm.org/resources/2010/Apr/20/w-tozer-prayer/

Kathryn Kuhlman, Part 3

This is the final in this series of this extraordinary woman of faith.

We have seen what others have said about her, now, let's look at what she has said about herself.

"The world called me a fool for having given my entire life to One whom I’ve never seen. I know exactly what I’m going to say when I stand in His presence. When I look upon that wonderful face of Jesus, I’ll have just one thing to say: ‘I tried.’ I gave of myself the best I knew how. My redemption will have been perfected when I stand and see Him who made it all possible. "

Also,

"The foundation of this ministry is God's word."

"I'm yielded to Jesus to be filled with the holy Spirit."

"The same gift the Father gave to the Son the Son in turn gave to his own".

And again,

"I surrendered unto Him all there was of me; everything! Then for the first time I realized what it meant to have real power." 

Lastly,

"I have little faith in a great God.
It wasn't luck or influence. It was just hard work - and God's providence.
Nobody enjoys being a Christian more than I do. I wouldn't exchange it for anything else I know anything about.
The greatest power that God has given to any individual is the power of prayer.
Think big, talk big, act big. Because we have a big God."


Next: A.W. Tozer

The Prayer Life of Kathryn Kulman, Part 2

[Before we go into the subject at hand, I thought it important to re-address an important issue we discussed last time.  Paul said in 1 Corinthians 7, that he wished all men would be like him, (unmarried), but if they can't, marry so they don't burn with passion, (verses 7-9). It's a well known fact, that Ms. Kuhlman believed from the very beginning, she was never meant to get married, but when she fell in love and later married, brought nothing but problems into her life.]

 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."   (Phil 4:4-7)

A Life of Continual Prayer,

Best describes Kathryn Kuhlman for those who knew her best, and there have been several who boast that they were ‘called’ to emulate her because, of how she’s impacted them personally, but those who have walked in her shadows will not be mentioned, for I believe, she stands alone.

Kathryn would spend eight hours in prayer before each and every service. She would cry out to God, asking that the Holy Spirit would move and touch the lives of the people who were coming. She felt a tremendous burden for the people, and knew that she in herself could do nothing for them; hence her prayer time.

It all started one Sunday when Kathryn was fourteen; she attended church with her mother in the Methodist Church of Concordia, Missouri. As she stood singing, she began to shake all over and sob. A weight of conviction came over her, and she realized that she was a sinner in need of salvation and forgiveness. She slipped out from where she was standing, went to the corner of the front pew and sat weeping. At that moment Jesus lifted the weight from her shoulders and entered her heart. 

From that day in her church many years ago, until she passed she was a woman devoted to prayer, even though she was better known for the miracles that followed her. But if you were to ask her, her goal was the salvation of souls, and not miracles. She ultimately knew there was no power in herself to do anything, but in Christ alone, that's the reason for her extended time in prayer.

 http://maranathalife.com/teaching/pray.htm

http://www.godsgenerals.com/person_k_kuhlman.htm

Part 3: Will be a detailed account of what she said about herself

Kathryn Kuhlman Part 1

When I was a little girl, no older then ten years of age, I had stumbled across a woman unlike any I have known before. She wasn't like the ladies in the Baptist church that I was accustomed to being around; where people were quiet and conservative in their dress and speech. Now to sit in front of my t.v.set watching this lady in a flowing white dress walk as if she had authority. Her speech was bold and powerful, not timid and shy like the women I was used to seeing. I wouldn't have given her too much time, (because it was quite a weird site for someone so young),  if it wasn't for this one phrase; "Jesus is more real to me then you are!" For a little girl who was hungry to know the real Jesus, one 'with skin on it,' this sounded appealing.

This went on for many days, watching this woman of extraordinary power waltz on stage just to talk to us about Jesus, it didn't seem to effect her that there was a camera following her everywhere she went. 'That too seemed odd, I wouldn't want a camera stuck in my face, would you?'

It wasn't long before my very conservative mother walked in the room while watching Ms. Kuhlman share another intriguing story. "What are YOU DOING?" "She's a witch and I don't ever want to catch you watching her again!" "All lies!"

My mother's strong objection didn't keep me from my fascination with this evangelist with a great gift of prayer and as my relationship with the Lord grew, I couldn't help but be drawn into a powerful prayer ministry. For her prayer life seem to fill in the gap where others left off. Where some were put out to pray for just a few minutes, she would often pray until the camera were no longer running...

Though I listened to what she preached, I heard what she prayed and that changed my life. After I matured and grew I learned she was far from perfect, but inspite of her imperfections, her legacy still lives on today...

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about her:

Early Years:Kathryn Johanna Kuhlman was born in Concordia, Missouri, to German-American parents.^[1] She was born-again at the age of 14 in the Methodist Church of Concordia, and began preaching in the West at the age of sixteen in primarily Baptist Churches.

Career: Kuhlman  traveled extensively around the United States and in many other countries holding "healing crusades" between the 1940s and 1970s. She had a weekly TV program in the 1960s and 1970s called I Believe In Miracles that was aired nationally. The foundation was established in 1954, and its Canadian branch in 1970. Joan Gieson became her assistant for 8½ years.
Following a 1967 fellowship in Philadelphia, Dr. William A. Nolen conducted a case study of 23 people who claimed to have been cured during her services.^[2][3][4][5] Nolen's long term follow-ups concluded there were no cures in those cases.^[6][7] Furthermore, one woman who was said to have been cured of spinal cancer took off her brace and ran across the stage at Kuhlman's command; her spine collapsed the following day and she died four months later.^[6][8]
By 1970 she moved to Los Angeles conducting faith healing for thousands of people each day as an heir to Aimee Semple McPherson.^[9] She became well-known despite, as she told reporters, having no theological training.^[9] She married Burroughs A. Waltrip of Dallas, in which city he left his wife and two children, to marry Kuhlman in Iowa City, Iowa.^[9] She described Waltrip as "the best-looking guy there ever was".^[9] They soon divorced, as Kuhlman explained, "because he was divorced I had to choose between him and my work".^[9]

In 1975, Kuhlman was sued by Paul Bartholomew, her personal administrator, who claimed she kept $1 million in jewelry and $1 million in fine art hidden away and sued her for $430,500 for breach of contract.^[10][11] Two former associates accused her in the lawsuit of diverting funds and illegally removing records, which she denied and said the records were not private.^[12] According to Kuhlman, the lawsuit was settled prior to trial.<sup>[6]


Death and Legacy: In July 1975 her doctor diagnosed her with a minor heart flareup and she had a relapse in November while in Los Angeles.[13][dead link] As a result, she had open heart surgery in Tulsa, Oklahoma from which she died in February 1976.[1] Kathryn Kuhlman is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. A plaque in her honor is located in the main city park in Concordia, Missouri, a town located in central Missouri on Interstate Highway 70.
After she died, her will led to controversy.[14] She left $267,500, the bulk of her estate, to three family members and twenty employees.[14] Smaller bequests were given to 19 other employees.[14] According to the Independent Press-Telegram , her employees were disappointed that "she did not leave most of her estate to the foundation as she had done under a previous 1974 will."[14] The Kathryn Kuhlman Foundation has continued, but in 1982 it terminated its nationwide radio broadcasting. She influenced faith healers Benny Hinn and Billy Burke. Hinn has adopted some of her techniques and wrote a book about her.[15</sup>

Do YOU have a story about Ms.Kuhlman you'd like to share? 

For those whose gone on before us,

As I prepare for our upcoming study, I thought I'd share a poem I wrote many some time ago, on the lives of three women evangelist...

It wasn't the strength of their message, but their connection with a God that transforms. If one of these women are added to this study, it will be for their intercession and not for their gift of evangelism...

Be blessed, dear ones....
              Three Women of Valour
   

Three Women of valour Who knows your name? Three women of valour Who knows your pain? Three women of valour fleeing from worldly cares and sin's destain Three women of valour skilled for each battle with echoes of greatness but silent no more! (Dedicated to three women evangelist that has impacted our lives forever. Maria Etter Woodsworth, Aimee Semple McPherson, and Kathryn Kuhlman)By Copperpenny © 2011 Copperpenny (All rights reserved)

Those who have gone on before us,

In the coming days and weeks we will be looking at great men and women of prayer throughout history. There may be some you may agree with, some you may not, (and I'm not saying I will always agree with everything either. They are charismatic’s, conservatives, Baptist, Methodist, Assemblies of God, even non-denominational. ), but their impact upon Christianity is still being felt today; for they were the history makers that changed human events through the hand of a merciful God.  

This study is about learning from those who have gone on before us, not only the techniques and styles they used, but more importantly who they were as people and what God taught them through the ‘storms of life.’  Yes, even learning from their mistakes. You will see, they were men and women, just like us, some have made some very grievous errors in judgments, others have suffered much loss, or even delivered from a life of sin to be a vessel for the Lord. Not in themselves, but in their surrender.

Some say, “what about the simple housewives who pray silently when nobody is looking?”  She is one of the many unsung heroes of today, for it wasn’t for her, and those like her, the church would be reduced to nothing more than a side show on the weekends, at best, at worst, a very hard place to take a nap!

Yes, she is one of the countless unsung heroes of today who live a quiet life and seeks no glory, but for her risen Lord!

But, in my estimation, it’s important to learn from the past, so we can build on their successes and learn from their mistakes.

For those who don’t learn from the mistakes of the past, are destined to repeat them!