Saturday, November 23, 2019

Prayer and Healing

HALLIE HEALED IN ANSWER TO PRAYER

The month of March was an ideal month. It was one of the finest we have ever seen. It was like May. The sun was warm; flowers had begun blooming; birds were singing. Mother Earth had begun to put on a carpet of green. Nature was all smiles. We were in that beautiful little town, Bertrand, Mo. God had just given us one among the best revivals of our ministry; scores had been saved; the Holy Ghost had fallen upon the saints; altars had been crowded; God had heard the midnight cries and groans of His children. The circuit had only paid $425.00. Bertrand being one of the churches, but at the close of this revival, Bertrand being a station, it paid $950.00 and had a good parsonage.

Toward the close of this revival the good people begged us to wire wife and babies to come to us. We did so, and they were with us the last week of the meeting at Bertrand, and wife sang some of her choice solos to the delight and inspiration of the great congregation.

We went from there to Parmar, Mo., and opened up a gracious meeting. The altar was full, the house was packed, and men and women were getting under tremendous conviction; confessions were being made, and the saints were getting down to earnest, wrestling prayer. On Monday morning wife woke me up at 1:30. saying, "Papa, little Hallie is very sick indeed." We called doctor, and he said, "She has an aggravated case of pneumonia." We called in two specialists and a trained nurse from Memphis, Tenn. She grew worse until one night the doctor said to us, "Brother Harney, it looks like your baby will have to die. She is growing worse, and getting weaker." They said, "We have done everything we can do. We have exhausted medical science, but this disease is so stubborn, it will not yield to medical treatment."

We threw ourselves at His feet in much fasting and heart agony; seemingly we never before got such a hold upon Him in prayer. For hours we lingered in His presence, pleading His promises, and crying, "Heal baby Hallie." Finally the doctors came to us and said, "Brother Harney, you might as well get ready and be submissive: your baby's going to die."

They had the pastor come and talk to us; they had wife come and talk to us; but we clung to God we would not let go; we would not let up; we prayed clear through. We never had such heart agony, such soul travail, such a crushing burden as for about four days and nights, seemingly our poor heart would break. But the child grew worse. It was whispered on all sides, "The baby can't
last but a few more hours." We stayed upon our knees; we clung to the promises; we cried, "Why have you thus burdened us? Why have you thus led us to agonize and wrestle for baby's healing?"
It was about four o'clock on Sunday morning. With an open Bible we were upon our face crying in heart agony, when the Holy Ghost whispered deep in our soul, "The baby is healed." We raised up and touched our wife who was in bed, and said, "Mamma, God has just given us the witness that baby Hallie is healed." Just then the nurse knocked on our door; wife said, "Come in." She opened the door, saying, "Rejoice. The fever's broken, and Hallie is much better." We said to her, "We knew that before you came, God had whispered that blessed news into our soul." The floodtides of Heaven swept into our soul, a regular Niagara overflowed our heart, and the joy-bells were ringing. Oh, what peace, what joy, filled our soul! We shouted, we cried, we laughed, and said, "It's just like Jesus to roll the clouds away, It's just like Jesus to keep us day by day."

On Thursday we brought Hallie home, and today she's one of the brightest and sweetest baby girls to us in the whole world. She's God's: we put her on the altar then, and we never expect to take her off.
Reader, remember, always remember, and never forget this one thing, that God will always answer prayer. He is a prayer-hearing and a prayer-answerIng God. When He places a burden upon your heart, be assured of the fact that He will answer. When He leads you out in prayer, and gives you inwrought prayer, be assured of the fact that He will answer. Let us have heart agony; let us wrestle: let us have soul travail; let us place our face between our knees; let us pray clear through. Knee work will clear the clouds away. Knee work will bring sunshine into the soul. Knee work will bring joy into our heart and strength into our soul. It will increase our faith, brighten our hope, and perfect us in His great love. Midnight wrestling will pull the fire out of Heaven, crowd the altar, put a blistering, burning conviction upon the sinner.

Prayer is not an easy something; it is easy to sing, preach, or testify, but one of the hardest things a Christian has ever done, is to pray clear through. If you want perfect joy, if you are after soul rest, if you want an artesian well in your heart, pray clear through. If you want to live on the mountain-top all the time, pray clear through. If you want to be on the victory side constantly, if you want to be more than conquerors, if you want all doubts destroyed, if you would have a richer experience, pray clear through. If you want to be a soul-winner, if you want God to honor His Word through you as an instrument, pray clear through. If you want to be a success in life, an honor to God and the community in which you live, to bring your own folks to Jesus Christ, pray clear through.
It will be a blessing to you to fast, to wait upon God, to commit your way to God, to rest in the Lord, and be filled with patience. God always listens to the heart-broken prayer. The crying need of this age is more who will really have soul agony, and soul travail in prayer. We are rejoicing tonight because of the glorious fact that the Holy Ghost has led us into this blessed, enjoyable prayer life. Prayer feeds the soul; prayer strengthens faith; prayer gives us power with God and man.

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