Chapters: 1. Why Don't Men Obey God?
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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 203 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
204 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.
205 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
206 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
207 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
208 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
209 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
210 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
211 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
212 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.
213 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-
214 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
215 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.
216 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
217 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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