Chapters:

           21 SPIRITUAL BURDENS 
       
  
        
             Since  the declaration of my Calling in April of 1942 I  had 
        been  anticipating and longing for the Holy Ghost Revival to  the 
        World  which  would precede the return of Jesus.   The  Lord  had 
        instructed  me to wait upon Him, and in November of that year  we 
        began  prayer meetings in anticipation and preparation  for  this 
        mighty  outpouring  from God.  Nightly we waited upon  the  Lord, 
        trusting  Jesus to direct as He saw fit by the Holy  Spirit.   We 
        waited for weeks and months.
        
             Night  after  night  I was expecting God  to  pour  out  His 
        Spirit.  Out under the stars I would look up into the  night  sky 
        and  say,  "Jesus,  you are surely going to pour  out  your  Holy 
        Spirit tonight in the Great Awakening."  My soul was longing  for 
        His  presence and His power to move upon a sin-darkened and  sin-
        crippled  world.  He had begun this Revival of the Holy Ghost  in 
        my  heart  at the baptism of the Spirit, and wanted  to  send  it 
        through every heart in that community to all the world.
        
             But  the  Holy  Ghost  was held back.   In  fact,  the  Lord 
        revealed to me the person in that village who was the key to this 
        community.   Everyone  respected and loved this  individual.   In 
        depression  times he would let a dollar bill fall in front  of  a 
        man  who  had  no money so that he might get  something  to  eat.  
        Going  to  him one day I said, "My Brother, if you will  go  with 
        Jesus,  put  Christ first, do God's will, be at  Sunday  morning, 
        Sunday  evening,  and prayer meeting services, in so  many  weeks 
        there will be twenty men and
        
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        their  families in church.  The wheels of God's glorious  Kingdom 
        will begin to move through this community."
        
             He was behind the counter of his business when I shared this 
        revelation.   He  merely looked at me and answered,  "That  might 
        be."   Those  were the only words he said.  It was the  last  God 
        ever had me speak to him.
        
             Jesus  revealed  to me that he was the key, but he  did  not 
        sense  how serious it was to hold such a position.  It was not  a 
        position which he had specifically sought, nor was it an official 
        office  voted on by the people.  It was a seat of high  influence 
        which he held by nature of his innate gifts, his personality, and 
        his  esteem among those who knew him.  He may not have known  it, 
        but  he  was  the  primary leader of  the  community,  though  no 
        official title had been given him.
        
             Seldom do individuals of position or authority recognize the 
        awesome  weight  which rests upon their  actions  and  decisions.  
        They  have come to these places in the community because  of  the 
        gifts and talents which God has placed within them.  But they are 
        not  made  stewards of these gifts for self  advancement  alone-- 
        these  are  the investment of God for use in His Kingdom  at  His 
        time.   We  need  to pray for those in  positions  of  leadership 
        within  our  churches  and  communities  that  they  will  humble 
        themselves  to go with Jesus, for the cost of their  disobedience 
        and self-assertion will be great in eternity.
        
             There is no way to tell how many souls were waiting on  this 
        particular  man to give up his own desires in order to  do  God's 
        will.   If  he had humbled himself and pressed to the  cross,  it 
        probably  would have touched many lives in that community.   Then 
        those  lives would have perhaps influenced hundreds of others  to 
        be  missionaries and evangelists.  And, through the obedience  of 
        all  of these, there is no way of knowing how many  thousands  or 
        millions  of  lives all around the world would have  been  spared 
        from hell.
        
             You  see, the responsibility of each person quickly  becomes 
        greater and greater.  I tremble to think of the blood that will
        
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        drip  from  the fingers of those in eternity who  have  not  used 
        their  influence while on earth wholly for the cause  of  Christ.  
        The  Word  tells us,  "To whom much is  given, much is required."
        It is not popular to make these things known, but I must warn
        everyone how  straight and narrow this Way is.
        
             From  November, 1942 until June 7, 1943, we met almost every 
        night  to  wait  and pray for this  mighty  outpouring  of  God's 
        Spirit.  Jesus would lead and help us, talk to us of His Kingdom, 
        and  reveal  Himself to us.  Often we sang the  mighty  hymns  of 
        Zion.  One song in particular spoke to my heart during this time.  
        The stanzas read:
        
               Keep thyself pure!  Christ's soldier, hear
               Thro' life's loud strife the call rings clear.
               Thy Captain speaks:  His word obey;
               So shall thy strength be as thy day.
        
               Keep thyself pure!  Thrice blessed He
               Whose heart from taint of sin is free.
               His feet shall stand where saints have trod,
               He with rapt eyes shall see his God.
        
               Keep thyself pure!  For He who died,
               Himself for thy sake sanctified.
               Then hear Him speaking from the skies,
               And victor o'er temptation rise.
        
               Oh Holy Spirit, keep us pure,
               Grant us thy strength when sins allure.
               Our bodies are Thy temple, Lord;
               Be thou in tho't and act adored.  Amen *
                                                    
           
             The  cry of my heart was to be pure within.  My longing  was 
        to  be absolutely holy unto God; wholly cleansed  and  sanctified 
        for  His purpose.  I yearned to be fully His in every room of  my 
        soul,  every corridor of my heart, and in every fibre of my  mind 
        and body.
        
             We  have been trusting and believing for this Awakening  now 
        for  nearly  thirty  years.  By God's grace,  our  hope  has  not 
        dimmed, our confidence has not slackened.  These years of
        
        *   Words  by  Adelaide M. Plumtre, 1908,  from  "New  Songs  for 
        Service,"    The  Rodeheaver  Hall-Mack  Company,  Winona   Lake, 
        Indiana, 1963.
        
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        waiting  have  seemed  but  a little while.   My  soul  has  been 
        delighted  to continue waiting upon the Lord, learning how to  be 
        led of the Spirit and how to obey His instructions.
        
             The  Holy Spirit was teaching me about burdens  during  this 
        time,  also.   I  didn't know what a burden  was.   I  had  heard 
        persons  speak of "burdens," but I thought they meant  a  concern 
        for  someone:   a situation of trial or trouble with  which  they 
        were  acquainted.   The Holy Spirit began to teach  me,  however, 
        that  a burden was actually a message about a need  somewhere  in 
        the   earth--a   message  of  divine  origin,  not  of   my   own 
        understanding or knowledge.  It was not an easy lesson to  learn, 
        for spiritual lessons are often grasped slowly.
        
             I walked with God many years before I knew what a burden was 
        like or where it was located in the earth.  One night, as we were 
        waiting  for the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon the Church,  a 
        burden  came upon me.  I had no one to teach me about  the  inner 
        operations  of  the Holy Spirit.  I have learned this  little  by 
        little,  over many years,  as I have walked with Jesus. God
        began to teach me as I waited hours a day on my knees.  Some days
        I would wait only thirty-five minutes, other days five hours and
        longer.  I did not know what this burden was that night, but I was
        so thankful that the Lord had taught me to recognize it as a burden
        for someone.

             Many  of  the saints are burdened, have a heavy  heart,  and 
        feel pressed in their spirits.  This is a spiritual operation  of 
        the soul and the body.  This cannot be explained in words; it can 
        only  be experienced by a person who will consistently deny  Self 
        and  obey the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Often when  God  gives 
        some humble follower a burden, Satan will attack the mind or  the 
        nervous system with the accusation:  "You have failed!"
        
             But it is just the opposite:  God has probably entrusted you 
        with a burden.  The need may be anywhere in the earth.  It  might 
        be for one thousand people to be saved in the islands of the sea, 
        or for the healing of a person a block away.  The
        
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        primary burden of the saints of God today is the professed church 
        on earth.
        
             Many  times incidents will occur in your life and  you  will 
        wonder why they have happened.  Often God is seeking to  instruct 
        you  through  these  circumstances, but Satan  is  attempting  to 
        confuse and camouflage the lesson.  "See now," Satan will  buffet 
        and accuse, "you are having a hard time."  If you walk with  God, 
        Satan  will tell you that you haven't the victory, that you  have 
        committed  sin, that you are not going to make it to Heaven.   We 
        must  resist these thoughts, for he is a liar and the  father  of 
        all  lies.   Jesus  would  never tell us  such  things.   And  if 
        thoughts  are not of God, we simply must resist them,  no  matter 
        how reasonable they might appear.
        
             God  has  revealed to me that many saints of His  are  being 
        buffeted  and  don't  know  what to do.   They  need  a  shepherd 
        somewhere  to  pray with them and say, "Get hence,  Satan!   This 
        soul  belongs  to Jesus!"  God's people need  to  be  encouraged.  
        They need to be lifted up and strengthened.
        
             When a true follower of Jesus is a recipient of a burden, he 
        may  feel  heavy-hearted, somewhat nervous, or even  upset.   The 
        Holy  Spirit  is attempting to communicate to that heart  a  need 
        somewhere  on  the  earth  and  use  him  as  an  instrument   of 
        intercession  in the Kingdom of God.  But Satan is also there  to 
        buffet,  hurt,  and  accuse.   Many of  you  possibly  have  been 
        buffeted in the last few days.
        
             We can be alerted to Satan's voice by the fact that he tends 
        to  accuse  us  in the mind, bringing a  number  of  failings  or 
        shortcomings  to  our  attention  at  once,  in  order  to  cause 
        confusion.   On the other hand, Jesus speaks gently and  lovingly 
        to  the heart, focusing our thoughts on a single place  where  we 
        have failed in order that we may ask forgiveness and not do  that 
        certain thing again.

             When  this  burden  came upon me, I began to  pray  for  the 
        church, the community, the people near me, on and on.  Finally  I 
        prayed for my father's brothers and sisters.  When
        
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        I came to Peter C. Helm, the power of the Holy Spirit  witnessed.  
        I knew this was my burden.
        
             The  body  is  the temple of the Holy Spirit.   If  you  are 
        completely  yielded, the Holy Spirit possesses all of  you.   The 
        body  is like a piano or a typewriter.  God can say  many  things 
        through it if you will only be yielded to His hand.  It will take 
        many  years of waiting upon Him and walking with Him  before  you 
        will begin to learn to recognize what an "a" is like or a "b"  is 
        like.  But God desires to teach us if we are willing to wait.
        
             However, one cannot expect to read the Hebrew language in  a 
        short  while.  Each lesson must be mastered in sequence in  order 
        that   we  understand  properly.   If  we  miss  a  lesson,   our 
        comprehension  will  be lessened.  This is how we learn  to  walk 
        with God.  As we obey the Holy Spirit moment by moment, day after 
        day,  He brings us gradually into the place of understanding,  by 
        His  gifts  and  His Spirit.  (By "gifts" I  mean  the  gifts  of 
        "discernment"  and  of "helps" as discussed in First Corinthians
        12:10,28.)
        
             I  must again underscore the fact that  we do not  study 
        to learn these mysteries of God.    They are not  wrested 
        from their hiding place by intellect or by human insight.   These 
        mysteries are revealed unto babes, as Jesus tells us in Matthew
        11:25; "I thank thee Father, Lord of Heaven  and  earth, 
        because thou hast hid these things from the wise and the prudent, 
        and hast revealed them unto babes." 
        
             Spiritual secrets are given unto those who fear God--to  the 
        meek  and  lowly of heart, the child-like in  Spirit,  the  self-
        denied pilgrim.  They can only be trusted to the crucified heart, 
        for only the heart dead to the earth and its goals will give back 
        to  God all the glory.  Only the broken and contrite spirit  will 
        permit God to use these gifts and revelations as He sees fit  and 
        at His own time.
        
             I  began  to  pray  for Uncle  Peter  Helm  that  God  would 
        strengthen, encourage, and deliver him.  I was so thrilled!   You 
        see, when the power of God fell all over me, I knew for
        
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        the  first  time how to locate my burden!  God  taught  me.   Now 
        don't become discouraged if you do not understand all that God is 
        doing  with you.  I had to walk with God for years before I  knew 
        what a burden was.  Then I continued to walk with Him in order to 
        be  taught how to locate my burden.  One is taught these  lessons 
        best  as  he  obeys humbly each leading of the  Holy  Spirit  and 
        remains childlike in his heart.
        
             The  glory of God fell as soon as I came before  the  Throne 
        with  the  exact petition which God willed that I  pray.   I  was 
        delighted!  When the power of God fell all around, the dear  ones 
        with me received the blessing as well.
        
             The  following  evening we expectantly made our way  to  see 
        Uncle  Peter C. Helm.  "I want to ask you a question," I said  to 
        him.   "What  were you doing last night  around  seven-thirty  to 
        eight-thirty?"
        
             Looking  at  me,  he  answered,  "Loran  William,  after   a 
        difficult day I was sitting in this chair by the stove wondering:  
        `Lord, have You had Loran William pray for me?'"
         
             I  was rejoicing!  "Uncle Pete," I explained, "I had a  real 
        prayer meeting for you last evening.  The Holy Spirit gave me the 
        revelation of your situations.  He privileged me, through  Jesus, 
        to pray to God for you!"
        
             Uncle Pete and I were thrilled.  It was my first  experience 
        of locating a burden after walking with God for nearly ten years.  
        It took many years before I knew what God was wanting to do  with 
        me.   It's  by God's grace that I will ever know again.   It  has 
        often  been  my  experience that when I say "Amen"  as  I  finish 
        prayer,  the Lord reveals for me to pray on.  This is  when  real 
        prayer  begins,  for  the  Holy Spirit  prays  through  me  then, 
        revealing  burdens in the church, in the nations, in  bodies,  in 
        the earth.
        
             The  Lord  will  possibly burden you for some  need  in  the 
        future.   Always be thankful for it.  The more  appreciative  you 
        are,  the  more  He may lead you.  I believe that  God  leads  in 
        proportion to our delight and our trust in Him.  People become so 
        excited about new clothes, new homes, and new
        
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        cars.   But  I  am more delighted over the leading  of  the  Holy 
        Spirit and the things of God's Kingdom.  Often our lack of praise 
        prevents  us from receiving something we have long desired.   But 
        if  you  truly revel in the things of God, He will give  you  the 
        desires of your heart.
        
             Since 1941 I have not desired any earthly thing more than  I 
        have  longed to do only God's will.  Over the years He  has  been 
        merciful to instruct me concerning His revelations, and I am only 
        in  the kindergarten learning my ABC's (John 16:13). After
        these years of instruction  He is  able to tell me whether my 
        burden is for a need of the  soul, for healing in the body or the
        mind, for storms, earthquakes, or for situations and conditions
        upon the earth: peril, darkness, danger, accident, evil, iniquity,
        war, struggle between  nations, or whatever.
        
             There is no need to think this strange or unprecedented, for 
        Jesus told His disciples in John  14:26: "The Comforter, which is
        the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my  name, He shall
        teach you all things,  and bring all things to your remembrance,
        whatsoever I have said unto you." 
        
             There is a tendency for us to relate this scripture only  to 
        the  disciples who were hearing the promise from the lips of  our 
        Lord  in person.  However, God has demonstrated to  His  children 
        time  and time again that He wishes to instruct us daily  in  the 
        mysteries  of His Kingdom.  In fact, unless the  Holy  Spirit 
        Himself  instructs  us, we will not really  know  anything  about 
        God's Kingdom.  We will only be supposing and guessing. 
        
             It is only as He leads and directs us day by day that we can 
        truly be used in His Kingdom work.  All our attempts at spiritual 
        endeavors  are  still strivings in the flesh, and Paul  tells  us 
        very  clearly in Romans 8:8 that "They that are in the flesh cannot
        please God."
        
             The fact that God desires to teach us was stated by Isaiah
       (54:13) and given absolute authority when Jesus told his questioners:
       "It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God." 
       (John 6:45) It is imperative, therefore, that 
    
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        we be instructed how the Holy Spirit leads--how He checks us  and 
        how He talks to us about needs throughout the earth.
        
             Now  for  some  who have accustomed  themselves  to  analyze 
        spiritual processes and construct rational explanations for every 
        phenomenon, the fact that God would burden a saint for some  need 
        far  across  the ocean could appear strange.  I am  certain  that 
        some  would be tempted to ask also, "Why would God  have  someone 
        pray about storms or earthquakes?"
        
             I would not attempt to explain the "why" of God's  marvelous 
        love toward us.  That He sent Jesus to die for us is so immense a 
        display of self-giving that my limited mind is not able to  grasp 
        it, even forty years after my conversion.  But I do know  through 
        considerable  experience that God shares a few of  the  countless 
        needs  around  the  earth with those who are in  tune  with  Him, 
        because  He has somehow allowed us to be included in the  working 
        of His great and mighty Kingdom here on earth.
        
             There  are a number of passages in God's Word which are  not 
        immediately  obvious  in  meaning; but, at the same  time,  I  am 
        certain   that   God   has  veiled  volumes   of   insights   and 
        understandings  within  the pages of this sacred Book  which  our 
        dull hearts have been unable to perceive.  In my walk with God  I 
        have  not  insisted  on  a  specific  interpretation  of  certain 
        scriptures and then searched for facts to substantiate my belief.  
        I  have simply believed God's Word as it stands, looked to  Jesus 
        for  all things, and sought to obey Him continually.  As  I  have 
        followed,  He  has taught me a fragment of His love  and  of  His 
        wisdom.   I have been delighted to also discover along this  path 
        of  obedience, that He demonstrates within me and through me  the 
        truths of His Word in ways that surpass my thoughts about them.
        
             This  is  to be expected, of course, for  the  apostle  Paul 
        reviewed the prophet's words to the church of Corinth by  saying:  
          "But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
        neither have entered into the heart of  man the things which God
        hath prepared for them that love Him.  But God hath
        
        
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        revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all 
        things, yea, the deep things of God." 
        
             These  verses plainly indicate that what God has for  us  in 
        this life--things both spiritual and physical--is beyond anything 
        we ever imagined.  Many feel that this verse refers primarily  to 
        our heavenly reward, but Heaven is beyond "things."  "Things" are 
        of  the earth.  Paul was endeavoring to alert Christians  to  the 
        little-known  fact that all about them in the earth  are  waiting 
        marvelous  things.  We receive them one by one as we  trust  God, 
        deny  Self, surrender our own ideas of how God's  Kingdom  should 
        operate, and obey the Holy Spirit continually.  They are  already 
        prepared  for  us;  but  if we do  not  wait  on  God,  following 
        patiently  under a cross, we will pass by these hidden  treasures 
        and never know it.
        
             They  are not perceived by great talent and  ability.   They 
        are recognized only by the help of the Holy Spirit's  revelation.  
        Some  of these treasures will concern spiritual  secrets;  others 
        will  be  jewels of His family whom He will permit  you  to  meet 
        along the trail.  At other times they will be surprises of a more 
        temporal  nature,  such as clothing, furniture, a home.   One  is 
        always unworthy of even the smallest gift, but we can praise  God 
        all  the more for providing one so unworthy with that  which  was 
        needed.
        
             We  know that the "Spirit searcheth  all  things,"  for
        God knows the tiniest detail about all things which exist in, around,
        about, and through this earth, this galaxy, and the galaxies beyond.
        It is not unreasonable that His heart of love would long to share some 
        of  the  earth's sufferings with His beloved sons  and  daughters 
        that they might pray and intercede for divine intervention.   And 
        if  it still appears to be beyond the realm of reason,  by  God's 
        grace, I can tell you that it is a fact.
        
             The other morning I called one of my dearest brothers before 
        he  could  leave for work.  His precious companion  answered  the 
        phone.  "Oh, Brother Helm!  How glad I am that you called.  R. is 
        so burdened down."
        
             When R. got on the phone he was so exhausted that he
        
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        could scarcely talk.  "Brother!--" he managed to say.  "I  don't 
        know  what is the matter with me.  I came home from  church  last 
        night  and  I  could  hardly make it to  bed.   Now,  even  after 
        sleeping all night, I don't know whether I can manage to work  or 
        not."
        
             As  I began to pray, the Lord revealed to my heart  that  He 
        was  burdened  for  the  sanctification  of  many  souls  in  the 
        professed  Church of God in the earth.  The moment  we  discerned 
        the intercession which God wanted and lifted that petition to the 
        Throne, his burden lifted like a cloud.  His strength revived and 
        he felt like a different person.
        
             "Brother!  he exclaimed.  "This is the most rest I have  had 
        in  several hours.  I feel as if I have had a vacation!"  It  was 
        because  the burden had lifted.  He told me later that the  glory 
        of the Lord was all about him that day at work.
        
             While  recovering  from surgery in  Logansport  hospital  in 
        November,  1970,  the  Holy Spirit spoke to  me  very  early  one 
        morning,  revealing  that  I  was  to  call  a  young  couple  in 
        Tennessee.  By God's help, the nurses permitted me to call out of 
        that  hospital  from my bed at five-thirty in  the  morning.   J. 
        answered  the phone and said, "Well, praise the Lord!  B.  hasn't 
        been  able to sleep all night.  She has been in such turmoil  and 
        struggle."
        
             I began to pray and found thirty to forty burdens which  she 
        was  carrying  for  storms, earthquakes,  bodies  to  be  healed, 
        persons  in  mental upheaval, souls to be  convicted,  converted, 
        reclaimed,  cleansed,  and sanctified all over  the  earth.   The 
        needs were many, but the Holy Spirit led us to locate each burden 
        and  lift it in prayer.  J. and B. could discern in their  hearts 
        each burden along with me, by the witness of the Holy Spirit.  B. 
        said,  to God's glory, that after the revelation and  prayer,  it 
        seemed as if she had received a night's rest.

             Many  times in the past years the Lord has been gracious  to 
        help me pray for burdens which saints of God have been  carrying.  
        It is only by His gifts and His love that this could be done, and 
        I thank Him for every privilege He gives me.
        
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             One  morning I had only a few minutes to accomplish  several 
        matters  of business:  I wanted to get to the post office,  visit 
        the Chevrolet garage, and transact business at the bank before it 
        closed.   As I started for the bank the Holy Spirit spoke  within 
        me:   "Don't go to the bank.  Go to Sister W's."  That meant  the 
        bank would be closed before I could get there.  What was I to do?  
        There  was  only  one thing to do--go to  this  home  and  forget 
        everything  I  had  planned.  When God leads to stop  what  I  am 
        doing, the Lord helping me, I proceed no farther.
        
             This dear saint of God opened the door that day, looked into 
        my  face,  and  sighed, "Oh, Brother Loran, how did  you  know  I 
        needed  you  this morning?"  I am so pressed down  I  don't  know 
        what's the matter with me!"
        
             "Praise the Lord!" I encouraged her.  "Be glad.  You have  a 
        burden."
        
             "Is  that  what's wrong with me?" she asked.   We  began  to 
        pray,  and the Lord revealed that her burden was for  four  souls 
        living within a radius of four to five miles of Parker who needed 
        to  be saved.  We lifted her burden to the Throne of  Grace,  the 
        power  of the Spirit came, and the burden was gone.  She  was  so 
        thrilled.  She knew God had undertaken because the heaviness, the 
        weight,  lifted  as  soon as we prayed.  She  felt  pressed  down 
        because  God wanted the burden of these four lives to  rest  upon 
        her  long  enough  in order that she could lift  their  souls  to 
        Jesus.
        
             God  wants to lead all of His children.  He wishes to  teach 
        us the movings of His Spirit; to reveal the various ways He leads 
        and directs, helps and instructs.  And He can do this only as 
        we  wait  upon Him, as we deny Self second by second,
        and as we press to the cross joyfully in consistent
        obedience. 
        
             The  question  naturally  arises:  "How  do  I  recognize  a 
        burden?"
        
             First  of all, we must review that we do not seek a  burden.  
        We  do  not strive to be used by God in specific patterns  or  in 
        special ways.  Among you dear ones who believe my ex-
        
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        planation of the mystery of burdens to be true, a certain  number 
        will  immediately have a desire:  "Oh, teach me, Lord!  Lead  me.  
        Help me to know how to bear burdens!"  But our seeking to be  led 
        will be misguided by the flesh.
        
             I have never endeavored to be led.  I have merely sought  to 
        love  God and worship Him.  As I waited in His presence, He began 
        to  slay  out  of me hindrances in my nature.  These  had  to  be 
        crucified  in order that there would be no earthly  intrusion  of 
        the mortal mind to prevent God's will and His revelation.
        
             Do  not strive to be led.  Simply wait on the Lord  and  let 
        Him refine you.  If we begin to seek for something, we may get  a 
        result,  but it well might not be of God.  Our assignment  is  to 
        simply  trust God, obey continually, praise Him often,  and  love 
        Him  for  Himself  alone.   Do not  seek  any  specific  type  of 
        experience.   Strive  only  to be filled with His  love  for  all 
        persons.  He will send to you what you need at His own time.
        
             Secondly, do not try to look for burdens or situations which 
        need prayer.  We are not to look for troubles, problems,  faults, 
        or  difficulties, for we will quickly discover much more than  we 
        could possibly handle. According to the exhortation of Philippians
        4:8 we are to think only on things true, honest, just, pure,
        lovely, and of good report. Be consistent in reading the Word,
        in talking with God, in witnessing, and humbly obeying the Holy 
        Spirit.  Fill your  life with  much praise and God will reveal to
        your heart the burdens for which He wishes you to pray.
        
             If  any problems of loved ones, friends, or persons of  your 
        acquaintance  attract  your  attention, do  not  dwell  on  them.  
        Simply  lift  the  need immediately to God and  leave  it  there.  
        Neither  brood over situations nor mull them over in  your  mind.  
        Let  Jesus carry the load, for you will not be able to  bear  the 
        griefs  and  sorrows of even one little village,  let  alone  the 
        world.
        
             Thirdly, you may recognize that Jesus has entrusted you with 
        a burden when you feel pressed down for no certain
        
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        reason.   Satan may attempt to tell you that you have  sinned  or 
        backslidden; but you are to resist him.  Search your soul and ask 
        God to bring to mind any place where you might have fallen  short 
        of  His  will.  Ask Him to forgive and cleanse  from  your  heart 
        anything that might have grieved or hurt Him.
        
             If  the heaviness does not lift from your heart and the  joy 
        of  Jesus is not within your soul as you once experienced it,  it 
        could  be that the Holy Spirit has entrusted you with  a  burden.  
        This  operation  of the Spirit might be for any number  of  needs 
        around  the  earth:   for souls to be converted  in  Africa,  for 
        bodies to be healed where you work, or for a storm in Europe.  We 
        can  know what the spiritual operation means only by the  witness 
        of the Holy Spirit.
        
             Many   persons   are  striving  to  learn  the   secret   of 
        intercession  by  reading  books on prayer  or  attending  prayer 
        retreats.  These activities are fine, but the fact is that we can 
        agonize and labor in prayer for months and not once prevail  with 
        God.    The key to actual prevailing prayer  is  praying  the 
        exact petition which God desires.   And it is as we  wait 
        upon God in adoration and praise that He can more quickly lead us 
        to that petition which it is His will that we make.
        
             Because  of His gifts and the precious instruction of  Jesus 
        through  these  many years, when a burden operates within  me,  I 
        pray  over  the possibilities among the many  concerns.   When  I 
        reach the correct one, the Holy Spirit witnesses to my heart that 
        this  is the burden.  Then I lift my heart in intercession  until 
        He helps me to know the exact petition which He desires.  Often I 
        can  tell  in my heart, by the witness of the  Spirit,  when  the 
        correct petition is made.  The burden then lifts, or He tells  me 
        of another which needs further prayer.
        
        Do not become confused by trying to locate the burden 
        exactly.  After many years of humble obedience you may be 
        able  to  learn more in these sacred areas of  prayer.   In  this 
        precious beginning, however, simply present the situation to God.  
        Lift the need by saying, "Jesus, here is this burden.
        
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        You  know what it is, Lord.  I give it to you."  As you  continue 
        to  pray,  I  believe the burden will lift,  and  that  you  will 
        sometimes  know when you have reached the  appropriate  petition.  
        God will teach you little by little.
        
             Most of us are impatient.  We want to understand immediately 
        all  that  is to be known.  But God does not work that  way.   He 
        moves  very, very slowly; yet, He moves as rapidly as  our  trust 
        will  permit Him.  We learn swiftest by simply  trusting  and 
        not  seeking  answers or insights.   This is one  of  the 
        great secrets of walking with God, but few will hear it.
        
             Many think that you should be able to read a book and  learn 
        how  to walk with God.  They want the steps laid  out--one,  two, 
        three.  But God knows how little able we are to take part in such 
        a  sacred  work as His Kingdom without much dying out  to  pride, 
        Self, and love of power.  He knows how weak we are once we  learn 
        something.  Our tendency is to think that "we know it" and forget 
        that  it  was  only by God's infinite grace  and  mercy  that  He 
        stooped  to reveal such a wonderful mystery to such  an  unworthy 
        servant.

             This is the reason God's men are slow to share what God  has 
        taken  years to reveal to them over the course of a  patient  and 
        hidden  walk,  traversed in lowly submission to His will  day  by 
        day.   Unless we have been slain and crucified day after  day 
        for many years, it is unlikely that we will appreciate the  great 
        cost  and suffering which brought us to these marvelous gifts  of 
        God. 
        
             I  have  found my walk with Jesus to be  truly  filled  with 
        thrills,  romance,  and adventure.  Sometimes I ask  my  precious 
        wife,  "Honey, do you know anyone who is having a better time  in 
        this life than I am?"  She lives with me and knows me as I really 
        am.  If you could ask her this question, I believe she would tell 
        you  that  she doesn't know of anyone who is  more  delighted  in 
        walking with God than I have been.
        
             But  this  delight is because I have not sought  for  gifts, 
        insights, unusual revelations, or mighty power.  I have simply
        
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        tried moment by moment to love God with all my heart, exalt Jesus 
        in  all that I do, and humbly obey the Holy Spirit in  everything 
        that He tells me.
        
             I urge you to "seek first (which actually means continually')
        the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness (that is simply God's will,
        His way, His character), and all these things shall be added unto
        you."  God will never come short of this promise which Jesus made.
        In fact, He will far exceed your expectations.
        
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