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February 18

Dr. E. Stanley Jones, famous long time missionary of yesteryear to India, was asked how he maintained his spiritual life—what was his secret? Dr. Jones’ reply essentially came down to two things. One was by keeping up his prayer time, and the second was by taking on a task that he could not do—deliberately so—and thus having to rely on the resources of God.

The secret of a serene and successful spiritual life then is twofold. There is first a definite need for prayer.

Abraham Lincoln, one of America’s greatest Presidents, said: “I have been drawn many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day.”4

David the psalmist writes: “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them” (Psalm 145:18–19).

Remember the second phase of E. Stanley Jones’ secret for maintaining a meaningful spiritual life: try a task you know you cannot do. If you cannot do it, God can and will empower you to do it. That’s the secret, you see: dependence on God.

As Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before the cross, He said to His Heavenly Father: “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4).

And as Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

The secret of successful living is as follows: prayer and attempting tasks for God that you cannot do but God can through you.