Dear Friend,

     Is it your desire for God to use you? Do you hope to make an impact upon the lives of others—for His sake? If so, what will that goal require on our part?

     Sometimes you and I are the ones who keep ourselves from being used by the Lord. We say, “Oh, I’m not really qualified to do that.” So, we wait for someone else to step up or step in. Other times, we interrupt the flow of God’s activity by getting in the way. We clog up the pipeline with our own ambitious ideas of how He should use us.

     But what amazing results can come when we unreservedly make ourselves available!

A Tender Reminder

     A few months ago, I received a memorable note from Eleanor, a dear friend in Georgia. She simply wanted to let me know she had been touched by something I had written. (One of the traits Cindi and I love about Eleanor is her delightful sense of humor, and we are close enough to feel free to joke with one another.) Here is what she wrote:

“Dear Dick, your January letter, ‘Staying Focused,’ was a word straight from God to me. You only thought you were involved.”

     I laughed out loud at her remark. It was the perfect reminder of what really happens when God uses us. You and I get ourselves out of the way so our “pipeline” can be clear enough to carry His message. We simply make ourselves available to Him.
 

The Goal of a Lifetime

      Maybe you have had the very experience I am describing in this letter. In a random conversation, you say something that seems so spiritually profound as to make you wonder where it came from. What is that? It is the Lord pouring His truth through you—as if you are an open aqueduct to carry His message. (“You only thought you were involved.”)

     Or, you are penning a note to a friend, and the words you write begin to sound like they are coming directly from the heart and mind of Jesus. Once again, you have become a conduit for His truth to someone you care about. Guess what? Jesus cares about them even more than you do—enough to pour His love and wisdom through you to them!

     Is there any higher goal than to be such a vessel—carrying the essence of His loving nature and voice to others? What can be more fulfilling than making ourselves available?

  

Intentional Steps

      The kind of availability required for us to be used by God doesn’t come by accident. As a servant of the Lord, you and I need to be intentional in our desire to be a clear conduit for the Lord. We see this in at least three examples from the New Testament.

     Jesus. The Son of God Himself made it His aim to empty Himself (see Philippians 2) and allow the Father’s love to flow through Him. “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do” (John 5:19).

     John the Baptist. Please note his profound statement in John 3:30: “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease.” A modern rendition might be: “More of Jesus; less of me.”

     Peter & John. After the healing of the lame man at the entrance to the temple, some were attributing the miracle to Peter and John. Here is how they responded: “Why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?” (Acts 3:12, NASB).

     There is but one conclusion we can draw from these cases (and many more we could cite from the Bible). Our aim must be to get these “jars of clay” empty and clear so God’s love can flow unobstructed through us to others. We simply make ourselves available.

  

Your Special Job

     In a message called “God Demands Holiness in His People,” Derek Prince talks about this process of making ourselves available to God. Please don’t be put off by Derek’s title. Rather than saying we have to be holy in order to be used, Derek makes exactly the opposite point: God uses us when we feel the least capable of succeeding. 

     
    It wasn’t by his [Isaiah’s] own works; it wasn’t by his own effort; it was by the direct intervention of God that he heard the call to service…. “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me’” (Isaiah 6:8).

     Basically, I think this is true: most Christians don’t realize that God does not use volunteers. You have to come to the place where you realize that you’re ineffective and helpless. As long as you think you can do the job, (that God is rather lucky to have you working for Him), there isn’t really much that you can do of any permanent value for God.

     When you come to the place where you realize that you’re totally unfit, unable, and unworthy, then God may reach out His hand and touch your life. Every man who was called to a special job in the Bible felt he was unfit to do the job. If you ever meet a person who says he is called of God and he is able to do the job, you can be almost sure he wasn’t called of God.

     So, Isaiah had to be humble. He had to be brought low in the presence of God’s holiness before he was qualified for the task to which the Lord had called him.

Emptying Ourselves

    What Derek is talking about here is an emptying process. Do you sense something stirring in you to make yourself available to the Lord? You may have offered yourself many times for His service. Even so, this may be a good occasion to renew that commitment. Will you pray with me now to do that?

     
     Father, it is my highest desire in life to be used by You to accomplish Your purposes. I know I have made myself available in the past; but I sense that it is right for me to renew that commitment to You now with this prayer.

     Lord, here I am, at Your service. Please use me in these significant days to carry Your Word and to radiate Your love and glory to those around me.

     I know without a doubt that I am a jar made of common clay, carrying Your treasure in a very humble container. Please help me to keep this vessel clean and clear for the message You want to pour through me. Amen.

 

Carrying His Treasure

     Offering this prayer to be used by God ought to be a daily step for you and me. In this season of worldwide turmoil, people desperately need to hear the Lord’s voice through us.

     We want to help you carry His treasure effectively. One necessary ingredient for that goal is a life founded on the Word. It would be our honor to supply Derek Prince’s teaching to help in your spiritual growth and development. A good place to begin would be to download a free MP3 of “God Demands Holiness in His People,” the message we quoted earlier.

     Providing you with this teaching is a tangible way for us to stand with you, and to thank you for standing with us. Thank you again for making yourself available to this ministry! Your prayers and gifts have blessed us and encouraged us more than words can express.

    

The Impact of Our Faith 

     Can you and I really make a difference in the world around us? The answer to that question is conditional. In our own strength, our efforts may have little impact. But when you and I offer ourselves in service to the Lord—in whatever capacity and in whatever context He chooses for us—the impact can be astonishing and supernatural.

     When it happens, we may hear words similar to what Eleanor said in her note: “It was straight from God to me. You only thought you were involved.” That is absolutely right!

     Through the theme of this letter, and the prayer of renewed commitment you and I have offered together, we have opened up to being used more fully by God. Only the Lord Himself knows what results will come because we have made ourselves available to Him.

    

All the best,

 

 

 

Dick Leggatt
President, DPM–USA

P.S. Thank you again for your faithful friendship and partnership with us. We are truly honored at your commitment, and we want to provide, free of charge, Derek’s helpful message, “God Demands Holiness in His People.” Please download it using the link below. You can also download a study outline by clicking the PDF button.