"And it came to pass on the third day in the morning that there were thunders and lightnings. . . . Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God. . . . And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake and God answered him by a voice." (Exod. xix. 16-19.)
What a memorable day for Moses and for Israel and for all mankind-the day on which the Law was promulgated! The day begins at the morning hour when Moses led out the people to meet with God, and spake with God, and God answered him.
The law of God must be renewed every day in our hearts. The inward law of the Spirit is a living law, and is every day renewed and kept in force from heaven. If I wish to have this experience during the day, I must begin this morning as Moses did go to meet with God, and speak with Him, and wait for His answer.
To meet with God! Prepare, my soul, to meet thy God. God had said to Moses; .. Sanctify them against the morrow, for I will come unto thee." He who would meet with God must purify and sanctify himself, lay aside all that is sinful with a humble confession of guilt; offer thyself to God a holy sacrifice. Give thyself with fear and reverence into the hands of the great and holy God, that He may be Lord over you this day. Prepare to meet Him. Be content with nothing less. Take time, be still before Him, let faith await God. He will come unto thee. And when thou hast met with Him, speak unto Him and let Him answer thee. Let His Word be through the Holy Spirit His voice in thy soul. The morning whereon thou hast met with Him will be the beginning of a blessed day.
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Andrew Murray (1828 - 1917)
Brother Andrew Murray was a well-known writer/preacher in South Africa who ministered amongst the Dutch Reformed churches. His writings now are widely accepted by modern evangelicals and he is published more than ever in his life-time.Some of his better known books titles are: "Abide In Christ", "Absolute Surrender," and "Humility." His burden for the body of Christ were teachings on the abiding Spirit of Christ in the believer, the life of faith with God daily, and the life of intercession and prayer in the Church.
Andrew Murray was possibly the strongest spokesman of the Philadelphian age to expound the Body's necessity to abide in Christ, like the Apostle John before him.
Murray was born into a family of four children in the then remote Graaff-Reinet region (near the Cape) of South Africa. Educated in Scotland, which was followed by theological studies in Holland, Andrew returned to his native land to work as a missionary and minister. Given the daunting task of ministering to Bloemfontein, a remote region of 50,000 square miles and 12,000 people beyond the Orange River, Murray already began to sense the need to for the "deeper Christian life".
Though successful in preaching and bringing many to Christ, Murray found many of his greatest lessons in the School of Suffering, as will all who follow in the path of obedience.
Andrew Murray was one of four children born to Pastor Andrew, Sr., and Maria Murray. He was raised in what was considered to be the most remote corner of the world - Graaff-Reinet, South Africa. Educated in Scotland and Holland, in 1848 Andrew, Jr., returned to South Africa as a missionary and minister with the Dutch Reformed Church. His first appointment was to Bloemfontein, a territory of nearly 50,000 square miles and 12,000 people.
Andrew and his brother John had been in close contact with a revival movement in Scotland, an evangelical extension of the ongoing Second Great Awakening in America. He prayed for the same sort of awakening for the church in South Africa and wrote, "My prayer is for revival, but I am held back by the increasing sense of my own unfitness for the work. I lament the awful pride and self complacency that have till now ruled my heart. O that I may be more and more a minister of the Spirit." (J. du Plessis, The Life of Andrew Murray)
In 1860, revival did come to the churches of Cape Town, South Africa, and subsequently spread to surrounding towns and villages. Even remote farms and plantations felt the impact as lives were changed. Where once the churches had not been able to find one man ready to be a leader for God, the revival raised up 50 in Murray's Cape Town parish alone. There were more conversions in one month in that parish than in the whole course of its previous history. (Leona Choy, Andrew Murray: Apostle of Abiding Love)
Greatly concerned for the spiritual guidance of new converts and renewed Christians, Andrew Murray wrote over 240 books. His writings reflect his own longing for a deeper life in Christ and his prayer that others would long for and experience that life as well.