Andrew Murray (1828-1917) was an amazingly prolific
Christian writer. He lived and ministered as both a pastor and
author in the towns and villages of South Africa. Some of Murray's
earliest works were written to provide nurture and guidance to
Christians, whether young or old in the faith; they were actually
an extension of his pastoral work. Once books such as Abide in
Christ, Divine Healing, and With Christ in the School of Prayer
were written, Murray became widely known, and new books from his
pen were awaited with great eagerness throughout the world.
He wrote to give daily practical help to many of the people in his
congregation who lived out in the farming communities and could
come into town for church services only on rare occasions. As he
wrote these books of instruction, Murray adopted the practice of
placing many of his more devotional books into thirty-one separate
readings to correspond with the days of the month.
At the age of seventy-eight, Murray resigned from the pastorate and
devoted most of his time to his manuscripts. He continued to write
profusely, moving from one book to the next with an intensity of
purpose and a zeal that few men of God have ever equaled. He often
said of himself, rather humorously, that he was like a hen about to
hatch an egg; he was restless and unhappy until he got the burden
of the message off his mind.
During these later years, after hearing of pocket-sized paperbacks,
Andrew Murray immediately began to write books to be published in
that fashion. He thought it was a splendid way to have the
teachings of the Christian life at your fingertips, where they
could be carried around and read at any time of the day.
One source has said of Andrew Murray that his prolific style
possesses the strength and eloquence that are born of deep
earnestness and a sense of the solemnity of the issues of the
Christian life. Nearly every page reveals an intensity of purpose
and appeal that stirs men to the depths of their souls. Murray
moves the emotions, searches the conscience, and reveals the sins
and shortcomings of many of us with a love and hope born out of an
intimate knowledge of the mercy and faithfulness of God.
For Andrew Murray, prayer was considered our personal home base
from which we live our Christian lives and extend ourselves to
others. During his later years, the vital necessity of unceasing
prayer in the spiritual life came to the forefront of his
teachings. It was then that he revealed the secret treasures of his
heart concerning a life of persistent and believing prayer.
Countless people the world over have hailed Andrew Murray as their
spiritual father and given credit for much of their Christian
growth to the influence of his priceless devotional books.
A myriad of genuinely good books have been written on prayer, one
of the best being Andrew Murray's classic With Christ in the School
of Prayer. We would do well to read widely and experience deeply if
we desire to know the ways of prayer.
-Richard Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline
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