"O Israel, trust thou in the Lord: he is their help and their shield. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield. 11 Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield" (Psalm 115:9-11).
Although the Lord worked mighty miracles in the lives of his people they had a tendency to drift away after other gods. They did so especially in times of prosperity. And whenever they found themselves back in trouble again and cried out to God, in His mercy and love, God would deliver them. God is not happy with our sin. But he loves when his children look to him in dependence, faith and repentance. Three times the Psalmist exhorts God's people to. "...Trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield."
Men and women that have accomplished great things for God have always been those that believed with great faith that God would answer their cries for help. And not only did they trust that God would help them to fulfill their service to him, but they were more concerned with God's reputation than their own.
Notice that the Psalmist not only exhorted God's people to trust in God their help and shield, but he writes in the first verse of his Psalm, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth-s sake."
Peter Deyneka, who founded the Slavic Gospel Association, and who God used to win countless others to Christ, was a man mighty in prayer.
"In the early years of the Youth For Christ movement following World War II, Peter's contribution to their efforts were super doses of prayer, all-night session which opened the door of heaven and unleashed spiritual power. Those Deyneka-led prayer meetings became legendary, continuing to occur for 20 consecutive summers. One YFC rally was scheduled at Chicago's huge Soldier Field on a memorial Day weekend. For three weeks before the rally it had rained steadily every day, threatening to cancel the event. Much preparation had been made and much money spent on advertising. YFC president Torrey Johnson phoned in an SOS to Peter.
"We must have a 24-hour prayer meeting," Torrey said, "and I want you to lead it, Peter."
Christian leaders, pastors, and laymen gathered at the Sherman Hotel in downtown Chicago to ask God to stop the rain so the meeting could be held. "As we prayed for it to stop, we could hear the rain falling outside," Peter recalls. "It was difficult for some to keep going."
Two hours before the 24-hour prayer vigil was scheduled to end, Peter stopped the meeting. "We have been praying for the rain to stop," he reminded the gathered intercessors. "Let us now spend the final two hours thanking God that there will be no rain tomorrow!"
The next morning, the rain had vanished. Sunshine bathed the rainsoaked city, although for five miles all around Chicago the rain kept falling. More than 65,000 people gathered at Soldier Field to hear the singing, testimonies, and Gospel message. Hundreds of people committed their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. The service closed and the people went home rejoicing and praising God--and the next day the long siege of rain resumed. It continued to rain for several days afterward." (Peter Dynamite, by Norman Rohrer and Peter Deyneka Jr.).
On another evening Peter was directing an all night prayer meeting at the old Westminster Hotel in Winona Lake, Indiana. "At about 2:00a.m., he began to warm up to his usual "level" and his prayers began to rise to the floors above the main conference room...Soon, there was a knock on the door. It was the clerk at the front desk asking, "Could Mr Deyneka please lower his voice so guest upstairs could get some sleep?" One of the men took the message to Peter and tapped him on the shoulder. "You know, Peter, God isn't deaf." "No," Peter replied, "and He isn't nervous either!" He went right on praying without missing a beat." (Peter Dynamite, by Norman Rohrer and Peter Deyneka Jr.).
Like Elijah of old, Peter Deyneka (aka, Peter Dynamite) was just a man of like passion as we are. But like a Elijah, "he prayed earnestly..." May, "he prayed earnestly," be that testimony of our lives to the saving of souls and for the glory of God.
