Daily Devotion

“We need the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Swatow, as in Kilsyth, to turn the souls of sinners from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God. We need this, and this God has promised to prayer — true prayer. Who among us has the spirit of prayer! They are mighty who have this spirit, and weak who have it not.”

William Chalmers Burns · Letter to his mother from Swatow, March 1857, in Islay Burns, Memoir of the Rev. Wm. C. Burns (1870)

Scripture

Acts 6:4 Let us devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.

Reflection

William Chalmers Burns's life reminds us that the greatest crisis in ministry is not a lack of resources, but our attempt to cover up the absence of prayer with heavy "labor." In Acts 6:4, the apostles clearly established spiritual priority: prayer precedes preaching. Today, we often forget God while busy working for Him. Without a deep foundation of prayer, all expansion is merely a superficial appearance. True professionalism lies not in mastering techniques, but in focusing on God. We must reflect: am I busy building God's temple, or am I piling up my own hay and stubble? Apart from Him, we can indeed do nothing.