May each of us have an all consuming zeal to see lost men and women saved!
A special thank you to Ray Ortlund for posting this on his blog!
Travailing for souls
As soon as Zion was in labor
she brought forth her children. Isaiah 66:8
“If any minister can be satisfied without conversions, he shall have no conversions. God will not force usefulness on any man. It is only when our heart breaks to see men saved, that we shall be likely to see sinners’ hearts broken. The secret of success lies in all-consuming zeal, all-subduing travail for souls. Read the sermons of Wesley and of Whitfield, and what is there in them? It is no severe criticism to say that they are scarcely worthy to have survived. And yet those sermons wrought marvels. . . .
In order to understand such preaching, you need to see and hear the man, you want his tearful eye, his glowing countenance, his pleading tone, his bursting heart. I have heard of a great preacher who objected to having his sermons printed, ‘Because,’ said he, ‘you cannot print me.’ That observation is very much to the point. A soul-winner throws himself into what he says. As I have sometimes said, we must ram ourselves into our cannons, we must fire ourselves at our hearers, and when we do this, then, by God’s grace, their hearts are often carried by storm.”
C. H. Spurgeon, “Travailing for Souls,” 3 September 1871. Italics original.
The statement above and the statement below are perfect mates. May we believe for souls in the same manner George Mueller did. Thank you for this post Michael Acidri!
Spurgeon on George Muller…
“When I was conversing lately with our dear friend, George Muller, he frequently astonished me with the way in which he mentioned that he had for so many months and years asked for such and such a mercy, and praised the Lord for it, as though he actually obtained it. Even in praying for the conversion of a person, as soon as he had begun to intercede, he began also to praise God for the conversion of that person. I think he told us he had in one instance he had already prayed for thirty years and the work was not yet done, yet all the while he had gone on thanking God, because he knew the prayer would be answered.”-C.H. Spurgeon
Reaching Africa's Unreached 
Often I find that, not only is travailing for souls a much needed disciple but traveling to reach souls is equally at times, as arduous. To often those who will pray will also stay and those who will travel find that they unravel because the two disciplines must be carried out with equall veracity. Great combination of thoughts for the post. Run to the battle! 1Sam. 17:22