Tag Archives: Prayer

December 27, 2024 · 9:18 pm

Praying for Revival: Early Pentecostals and New Year’s Eve Watchnight Services

This Week in AG History — December 25, 1937

By Ruthie Edgerly Oberg
Originally published on AG-News, 26 December 2024

Early Pentecostals generally viewed the observance of the “church calendar” as remnants of liturgical traditions. Apart from Easter and Christmas, there were few days that Pentecostal churches set aside for special services. One exception was New Year’s Eve, when a “Watchnight Service” would be held, typically starting around 7 p.m. and lasting until after midnight. The service featured hours of spirited singing, testimonies, and most importantly, ushering in the New Year with congregational prayer around the altar.

Pentecostal churches had historical reasons for setting aside this night as a time to seek God. On Dec. 31, 1900, a Watchnight Service in Topeka, Kansas, marked the beginning of the Pentecostal movement. Charles Parham, who organized the service at his Bethel Bible College, had a background in the Methodist Episcopal Church. It had long been a tradition in Wesleyan Methodist churches to hold annual services on Dec. 31 for reaffirming commitment to God.

John Wesley, the British founder of Methodism, had experienced conversion in a Moravian church in 1738 and attended a prayer vigil on Dec. 31. He wrote in his journal, “As we continued instant in prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried for exceeding joy, and many fell to the ground.”

Under Wesley’s leadership, many in the British Isles underwent life-changing conversions to Christianity. In the town of Kingswood, coal miners, once accustomed to spending their Saturday nights in alehouses, began holding all-night prayer meetings to avoid the temptations of drunkenness. Wesley joined them, preaching between 8 and 9 p.m., continuing the meeting until after midnight, praying and praising God. He later combined these “Watchnight” services with the Moravian tradition of New Year’s Eve prayer vigils.

The first American Methodist Watchnight service was held at St. George’s Church in Philadelphia in 1770. The 1777 Watchnight service, in particular, became famous for its prayers for the provision of funds for General George Washington’s troops at Valley Forge. Robert Morris, having left the service before daybreak, raised the necessary $50,000 to supply the troops. Watchnight services eventually became common not only among Methodists, but also in Anglican, Lutheran, Adventist, and Reformed churches in America.

Thus, it was no accident that Charles Parham called for a Watchnight Service on Dec. 31, 1900, to seek God for His power and presence in the coming year, 1901. It was during this service that Agnes Ozman spoke in tongues, marking the beginning of the Pentecostal understanding that speaking in tongues was a sign of the initial infilling, or baptism, of the Holy Spirit.

Watchnight services remained a key part of Pentecostal practice, even after Pentecostals formed their own fellowships, distinct from other denominations. In the Dec. 25, 1937, edition of Pentecostal Evangel, readers were encouraged to consider the following reasons why Watchnight, the last night of the old year, was so significant:

1. Because the need for prayer and spiritual awakening in the church has never been greater. Concern is growing among evangelical leaders, thoughtful laypeople, and far-seeing political leaders about the godless trends of the time.

2. Because infidelity, both doctrinal and practical, has infiltrated many Christian pulpits and churches.

3. Because the entire Church of Jesus Christ is in need of revival, which will come when God’s people unite in prayer for it.

4. Because every evangelical Christian bears a personal responsibility to God, their family, their church, and the world, to do everything in their power to point to “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” through prayer, life, and exhortation.

The article admonished readers, “As we wait upon the Lord in our Watchnight services, let us pray for a mighty Holy Ghost revival to sweep over the world, beginning in 1938.”

The cover of this issue of the Evangel featured a picture of General George Washington in prayer with the caption: “In 1777 – Why Not A Watch-Night in 1937?”

In a time when many churches cancel services on Christmas and New Year’s, it might be worth reflecting on the call from Pentecostal Evangel editor Stanley Frodsham to the Assemblies of God at the end of 1937: “Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober” (I Thessalonians 5:6).

Read the article, “Blessed Is He That Watcheth,” on page 2 of the Dec. 25, 1937, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “The Initial Outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the Beginning of the Church Age” by J. Narver Gortner

• “Announcing the Christ Ambassador’s Herald”

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: https://ifphc.org/

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August 8, 2024 · 3:16 pm

55 Years Ago: A Warning Against Prayerless Pentecostalism

This Week in AG History — August 10, 1969

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on AG-News, 08 August 2024

“Prayer and Pentecost are intimately related.” Robert C. Cunningham made this observation in a 1969 Pentecostal Evangel editorial column in which he encouraged readers to “keep in vital touch with God through prayer.” Cunningham explained, “Pentecostal people know something about the power of prayer. All we have received from God has come through the avenue of personal prayer.”

However, Cunningham expressed concern that Pentecostals, in some quarters, had lost their spiritual vitality. He warned against prayerless Pentecostalism, which he described as “a dried-up stream devoid of power and beauty.” Without prayer, he wrote, “our lives will be empty and our testimony a hollow echo.” He described prayerless Pentecostals as “miserable” and noted that “we can go through Pentecostal ritual, but without prayer it will be as dry as dust.”

How should Pentecostals pray? Cunningham pointed to Acts 1:14 as a scriptural model: “The disciples were worshiping God, mixing praises with their prayers. They prayed through until their souls burst forth in a torrent of praise.” When the disciples prayed in this way, they encountered God in a miraculous way. He wrote, “They magnified God; their souls became enveloped with the divine glory; the Holy Ghost took full control of their enraptured souls and it was then they began to speak in other tongues the wonderful works of God their souls had been contemplating.”

In Cunningham’s estimation, prayer was as important to the disciples as preaching.

What happened when the disciples prayed? The lost were saved, the sick were healed, those who had been arrested and persecuted by hostile authorities were delivered, and the church grew. According to Cunningham, this kind of prayer — that which is powerful and effective (James 5:16) — continues to be needed today. 

Read the entire editorial, “Prayer and Pentecost,” on page 4 of the Aug. 10, 1969, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.  

Also featured in this issue:

• “Revival News Hits the Front Pages,” by Arlo A. Johnson

• “What May We Expect of Prayer?” by John W. Everett

• “Revival Comes by Looking,” by Dale Harmon  

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: https://ifphc.org/

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March 21, 2024 · 3:59 pm

Amanda Benedict: Pioneer Pentecostal Prayer Warrior in Springfield, Missouri

This Week in AG History — March 19, 1927

By Glenn W. Gohr
Originally published on AG News, 21 March 2024

Amanda Benedict (1851-1925) is remembered as a fervent prayer warrior and one of the early participants in the Pentecostal movement in Springfield, Missouri. When she died, Assemblies of God leaders credited her prayers for the success of the local congregation and national ministries located in the city.

When Benedict moved to Springfield around 1910, she was 60 years old and had already served the Lord with distinction in a rescue home for girls in Chicago and in a faith home for children in Iowa.

Soon after moving to Springfield, while working as a door-to-door salesperson, Benedict met Lillie Corum. The two ladies got acquainted and, in conversation, Corum shared about her experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Corum had been baptized in the Spirit on June 1, 1907, under the ministry of her sister, Rachel Sizelove, who had brought the Pentecostal message from Azusa Street.

Benedict expressed interest in receiving this blessing and began seeking it. The two ladies began praying together regularly, and soon Amanda herself was filled with the Spirit. Corum, Benedict, Birdie Hoy, and a few others prayed fervently and helped with the beginnings of what became Central Assembly of God.

With a burden for lost souls, Benedict prayed and interceded for days on end, until she felt the burden lift or victory came. She often prayed all night in a grove of trees near the corner of Campbell Avenue and Calhoun Street, which later became the site of Central Assembly of God. She prayed many times for Springfield to make a spiritual impact on the world, and that God’s blessings would flow through Springfield to the ends of the earth. At one point, she felt led to fast and pray for Springfield for one entire year — living only on bread and water.

In 1915, Benedict moved to Aurora, Missouri, where she started a Pentecostal church that became affiliated with the Assemblies of God. After pastoring in Aurora for almost a decade, she died in 1925 at the age of 74. At her funeral service at Central Assembly of God in Springfield, church members, Bible school students, and others gave inspiring testimonies of her life.

Stanley Frodsham, the editor of the Pentecostal Evangel, reported that Benedict helped to launch a tent meeting in the early days of revival in Springfield and “spent whole nights praying under the canvas.” Among other things, “She prayed for a Pentecostal Assembly in Springfield.” And on the very site where she prayed, the first building for Central Assembly was erected. Frodsham and others believed that Central Assembly of God, Central Bible College, and the Assemblies of God national office, all located in Springfield, resulted largely from Benedict’s fervent, effectual prayers.

Benedict was buried without a grave marker in Eastlawn Cemetery in Springfield. In 2007, 82 years after her death, a marker was finally placed on her grave. The marker features a fitting tribute: “She prayed and fasted for the city of Springfield.” On the back is a Scripture verse: “Pray without ceasing” 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

Frodsham published a sermon by Benedict, titled, “Abundance for All,” a couple of years after her death. The sermon compared the blessings of the baptism in the Holy Spirit to a multitude of savory items held in a locked bakery. She said, “I would fail to satisfy a vigorous physical appetite to look through the windows of a locked bakery.” She continued: “Just so it is unsatisfying to a healthy spiritual appetite to see what Pentecost meant in the years that are past, and yet not partake of it now in this present day.” She felt that the baptism in the Holy Spirit was necessary to receive all the blessings of God. She said, “Pentecost means appetite and a free table loaded with solid food and with dainties hitherto unknown.”

She exhorted the reader to depend on God and ask Him for this blessing: “If you are a seeker of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, see to it that you receive with the God-appointed sign, promised by Christ himself (Mark 16:17), that the disciples received when they were first filled with the Spirit (Acts 2:4).”

Read “Abundance for All,” by Amanda Benedict on page 5 of the March 19, 1927, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Holy Ground,” by James H. McConkey

• “Judgments of God and Revival Fires in Poland,” by Gustave H. Schmidt

• “Job,” by Ernest S. Williams

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: https://ifphc.org/

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May 16, 2019 · 10:10 pm

What is the Secret to a Successful Pentecostal Church? Read this Pastor’s Answer from 1946!

PrayerRoomTW_728

This Week in AG History — May 18, 1946

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on AG-News, 16 May 2019

What is the distinctive feature in a Pentecostal worship service? The answer, according to a 1946 Pentecostal Evangel article by P. S. Jones, is “the prominence given to the prayer room.”

Early Pentecostal churches usually dedicated a room to prayer, where earnest believers would intercede during the preaching service and where prayer would continue long after the benediction had been pronounced. Jones asserted, “Pentecostal prayer rooms are truly the power-houses of the assemblies. Everything else can be counted of secondary importance in the church’s program.”

According to Jones, the success of a ministry is proportionate to the prayer life of those involved in the ministry. The “urgent necessity” of every pastor, he wrote, “is to see that the prayer life of his people is maintained at white heat.”

Jones described how an active private prayer life is essential if Christians are to effectively engage in spiritual warfare. The “treasures of heaven,” he wrote, are often only gained by spending hours in “hot, animated, boiling-over prayer.”

What happens when a church neglects prayer? Jones warned, “When the thrill and throb of the Holy Ghost are lost through prayerlessness, all kinds of substitutes will be tried,” including social functions, entertaining preaching, and other amusements. He described these as mere “camouflages” that attempt to hide “the fact that the real thing has been lost.”

According to Jones, “Pentecost can very well do without the carnal decorations and the tinsel of this pleasure-crazed world, but it can never do without its prayer room, its prayer-loving pastor, and its prayer warriors.”

Read Jones’ article, “A Unique Pentecostal Feature,” on pages 1 and 8 of the May 18, 1946, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “A Hidden Power Now Revealed: Lessons from the Discovery of the Atomic Bomb,” by Leslie Barrowcliff

• “The Pentecostal Movement,” by Howard Carter

• “A Russian Jew’s Testimony,” by Moses Prostchansky

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: www.iFPHC.org

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March 21, 2019 · 8:23 pm

“America Must Choose”: A Warning from 1968 about the Christian’s Response to Social and Political Unrest

Scott Charles P14338

Charles Scott and his wife, Gertrude

This Week in AG History — March 24, 1968

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on PE-News, 21 March 2019

1968 was a year of social and political unrest. American race riots, the war in Vietnam, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy grabbed the world’s attention. Cultural uncertainty and rumblings of revolution were on everyone’s mind.

In the midst of this cultural chaos, an article in the March 24, 1968, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel encouraged readers to remain grounded in their Christian faith.

Assemblies of God leader Charles Scott, in an article titled, “America Must Choose,” expressed concern that “we have permitted ourselves to become blind to the grave dangers that are gnawing at the very vitals of America.” Scott recalled that Marshall Henri Petain, who led France during the Nazi occupation, surmised that France’s downfall was rooted in the “immorality, alcoholism, and irreligion” of the French people. Scott suggested that these three evils were likewise threatening America. He went on to detail the moral decay in America, pointing out that violence, sexual immorality, and drug addiction were hurting children and undermining families.

At a time when many were drawn toward political solutions and extremes, Scott instead recognized that the nation’s woes, at their root, were spiritual. He recommended a spiritual solution to the problems enveloping the nation. He encouraged Christians to choose “to abandon these evils and to walk the path of righteousness.”

How should Christians work to spiritually rebuild America? According to Scott, Christians should dedicate themselves to worshiping God — corporately as families and churches, and also individually. He described the need to rebuild family, church, and private altars. This was a common theme over the years in Scott’s articles and sermons — he felt called to remind Christians about the importance of developing specific times and places to worship God corporately and individually.

“America must choose,” Scott wrote, how to respond to the dangers besetting the nation. While not rejecting political action, he believed that true, lasting change could only occur through spiritual renewal. “True patriots,” Scott suggested, are people who seek “to destroy corruption, intemperance, wickedness, and selfishness” in their own lives.
Others, seeing their example of humility and faith, would turn toward God, and America would then be strong and “a blessing in the earth.”

Read Charles Scott’s article, “America Must Choose!” on pages 2-3 of the March 24, 1968, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “A Warning on Worldliness,” by Larry Hurtado

• “How to Teach the Bible,” by James H. McConkey

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: www.iFPHC.org

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May 11, 2017 · 2:59 pm

50 Years Ago: Students at Filipino Bible College View America as a Foreign Mission Field, Commit to Pray

Filipino BBI

U.S.A. Prayer Band at Bethel Bible Institute, Manila, Philippines, 1966

This Week in AG History — May 14, 1967

By Glenn W. Gohr
Originally published on PE-News, 11 May 2017

Missionary prayer bands (groups of believers who gather regularly to pray for missions) have long been an integral part of Assemblies of God churches and Bible schools. Countless church members in America have dedicated themselves to pray for specific missionaries or countries. However, it may surprise readers that some believers outside the United States have viewed America as a mission field, forming missionary prayer bands for the specific purpose of praying for America.

In an early example of this reverse-missionary work, students from Bethel Bible Institute (BBI), an AG school in Manila, the Philippines, decided to band together in the 1960s to pray for the United States.

BBI was founded in 1941, and the school had organized missionary prayer bands since its earliest days. But the establishment of a group dedicated to praying for the United States was something new. The new group attracted the attention of American Pentecostals and was featured in the May 14, 1967, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

In 1967, the group of Filipino students who had dedicated themselves to pray for America consisted of six people. Harold Kohl, the American missionary who served as BBI’s president, asked the students, “What is the main reason for forming the USA prayer band when some of the other fields seem to be more needy?”

While the students’ responses varied, two themes were predominant: a deep appreciation for the positive influence of American Christians on the world, and a deep concern for the future of Christianity in America.

Eliza Navalta responded, “I chose the USA band because I was saved by the help of missionaries from the United States. Also without the leadership of the USA in spreading the gospel, maybe the other Christians would fall from their faith.”

Pacencia de Ocampo added, “I have a burden for the USA because I know they need our prayers at this time. I believe God will answer prayer and somehow bring Christ to unsaved Americans. I also pray that God will pour out His blessings upon the Christians because they are faithful givers to missions.”

Kohl continued his interview, and several students expressed concern that the modern American way of life had a negative effect on Christians.

Elisa Tibung observed, “Americans seem to be so busy in their daily lives that they aren’t concerned about the gospel of Christ. Americans are so busy!”

Pacencia de Ocampo agreed, noting “They are busy for their material needs but not for their spiritual needs.”

Fifty years ago, these Filipino students identified harmful trends that, today, have become much more manifest in American culture. The answer to these problems, they believed, could be found in prayer. According to Pacencia de Ocampo, “there is no distance in prayer.” They prayed that the American church would experience revival, develop a continual sense of God’s presence, and train dedicated gospel workers.

Read the article by Harold Kohl, “Filipinos Pray for the USA,” on pages 22-23 of the May 14, 1967, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Revival Center to Open in Harlem,” by Paul R. Buchwalter

• “Receive Ye the Holy Spirit,” by Marie E. Brown

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Archived editions of the Pentecostal Evangel are provided by the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: www.iFPHC.org

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August 11, 2016 · 3:30 pm

A 1969 Warning Against Prayerless Pentecostalism

P2351 prayer

Prayer service at the 1953 annual convention of the Japan Assemblies of God.


This Week in AG History — August 10, 1969

By Darrin J. Rodgers
Originally published on PE-News, 11 August 2016

“Prayer and Pentecost are intimately related.” Robert C. Cunningham made this observation in a 1969 Pentecostal Evangel editorial column in which he encouraged readers to “keep in vital touch with God through prayer.” Cunningham explained, “Pentecostal people know something about the power of prayer. All we have received from God has come through the avenue of personal prayer.”

However, Cunningham expressed concern that Pentecostals, in some quarters, had lost their spiritual vitality. He warned against prayerless Pentecostalism, which he described as “a dried-up stream devoid of power and beauty.” Without prayer, he wrote, “our lives will be empty and our testimony a hollow echo.” He described prayerless Pentecostals as “miserable” and noted that “we can go through Pentecostal ritual, but without prayer it will be as dry as dust.”

How should Pentecostals pray? Cunningham pointed to Acts 1:14 as a scriptural model: “The disciples were worshiping God, mixing praises with their prayers. They prayed through until their souls burst forth in a torrent of praise.” When the disciples prayed in this way, they encountered God in a miraculous way. He wrote, “They magnified God; their souls became enveloped with the divine glory; the Holy Ghost took full control of their enraptured souls and it was then they began to speak in other tongues the wonderful works of God their souls had been contemplating.”

In Cunningham’s estimation, prayer was as important to the disciples as preaching.

What happened when the disciples prayed? The lost were saved, the sick were healed, those who had been arrested and persecuted by hostile authorities were delivered, and the church grew. According to Cunningham, this kind of prayer — that which is powerful and effective (James 5:16) — continues to be needed today.

Read the entire editorial, “Prayer and Pentecost,” on page 4 of the August 10, 1969, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “Revival News Hits the Front Pages,” by Arlo A. Johnson

• “What May We Expect of Prayer?” by John W. Everett

• “Revival Comes by Looking,” by Dale Harmon

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org
Website: www.iFPHC.org

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May 14, 2015 · 3:37 pm

What is the Secret to a Successful Pentecostal Church? Read this Pastor’s Answer from 1946!

PrayerRoomTW_728
This Week in AG History–May 18, 1946
By Darrin Rodgers

Also published in PE News, 14 May 2015

What is the distinctive feature in a Pentecostal worship service? The answer, according to a 1946 Pentecostal Evangel article by P. S. Jones, is “the prominence given to the prayer room.”

Early Pentecostal churches usually dedicated a room to prayer, where earnest believers would intercede during the preaching service and where prayer would continue long after the benediction had been pronounced. Jones asserted, “Pentecostal prayer rooms are truly the power-houses of the assemblies. Everything else can be counted of secondary importance in the church’s program.”

According to Jones, the success of a ministry is proportionate to the prayer life of those involved in the ministry. The “urgent necessity” of every pastor, he wrote, “is to see that the prayer life of his people is maintained at white heat.”

Jones described how an active private prayer life is essential if Christians are to effectively engage in spiritual warfare. The “treasures of heaven,” he wrote, are often only gained by spending hours in “hot, animated, boiling-over prayer.”

What happens when a church neglects prayer? Jones warned, “When the thrill and throb of the Holy Ghost are lost through prayerlessness, all kinds of substitutes will be tried,” including social functions, entertaining preaching, and other amusements. He described these as mere “camouflages” that attempt to hide “the fact that the real thing has been lost.”

According to Jones, “Pentecost can very well do without the carnal decorations and the tinsel of this pleasure-crazed world, but it can never do without its prayer room, its prayer-loving pastor, and its prayer warriors.”

Read Jones’ article, “A Unique Pentecostal Feature,” in the May 18, 1946, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:
• “A Hidden Power Now Revealed: Lessons from the Discovery of the Atomic Bomb,” by Leslie Barrowcliff
• “The Pentecostal Movement,” by Howard Carter
• “A Russian Jew’s Testimony,” by Moses Prostchansky

And many more! Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

Do you have Pentecostal historical materials that should be preserved? Please consider depositing these materials at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (FPHC). The FPHC, located in the Assemblies of God national offices, is the largest Pentecostal archive in the world. We would like to preserve and make your treasures accessible to those who write the history books.

Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center
1445 North Boonville Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65802 USA
Phone: 417.862.1447 ext. 4400
Toll Free: 877.840.5200
Email: archives@ag.org

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November 12, 2009 · 5:23 pm

Review: This River Must Flow, by William I. Evans

Evans

The collection of W. I. Evans’ classic spiritual messages, This River Must Flow, is now available from Gospel Publishing House as a digital download! Click here to download the book now for $4.99.

W. I. Evans was the long-time Dean at Central Bible Institute (now Central Bible College) in Springfield, Missouri. He is remembered as a great man of prayer and a powerful Bible teacher. See his full-page obituary in the June 13, 1954 issue of the Pentecostal Evangel (page 4) by clicking here.

This River Must Flow, published by GPH shortly after Evans’ death in 1954, has long been treasured by Pentecostals for its spiritual insight. Topics in the volume include: Sanctification and the Holy Spirit, Ministry Gifts, Speaking in Tongues, Diversities of Operation, The Exercise of Spiritual Gifts, Prayer Must Have Priority, and Had I But One Hour to Live.

Gary Flokstra of 4 the World Resources Distributors, one of the largest Pentecostal used book dealers in the United States, says that he sold seven copies of This River Must Flow this year alone, for an average price of $20. He can’t keep the book in stock. “If I had another 15 copies, I’d probably sell them right away.”

After Billye Brim and Gloria Copeland recommended This River Must Flow on the Believer’s Voice of Victory television program on November 9, viewers began to inundate Gospel Publishing House and the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center (the archives of the Assemblies of God) with requests for the book.

In response to the demand for this spiritual classic, GPH re-released This River Must Flow as a digital download this morning.

Additional writings by Evans are accessible for free on the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center website: www.iFPHC.org  To view the list of articles from the Home page, under the Research Menu choose Digital Publications Search, then Index Search. Then enter William I. Evans in the Author box under the Periodical Advanced Search section and hit Search. Fifty articles by Evans are accessible. See how Evans’ anointed writings continue to challenge Christians in their spiritual life today. The sacred writings from our Pentecostal past are important because they challenge some of our present-day assumptions. The anointing survives the grave!

Posted by Darrin J. Rodgers

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