A prayer of George Whitefield:

“Yeah that we shall see the great Head of the Church once more . . . raise up unto Himself certain young men whom He may use in this glorious employ. And what manner of men will they be? Men mighty in the Scriptures, their lives dominated by a sense of the greatness, the majesty and holiness of God, and their minds and hearts aglow with the great truths of the doctrines of grace. They will be men who have learned what it is to die to self, to human aims and personal ambitions; men who are willing to be ‘fools for Christ’s sake’, who will bear reproach and falsehood, who will labor and suffer, and whose supreme desire will be, not to gain earth’s accolades, but to win the Master’s approbation when they appear before His awesome judgment seat. They will be men who will preach with broken hearts and tear-filled eyes, and upon whose ministries God will grant an extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit, and who will witness ‘signs and wonders following’ in the transformation of multitudes of human lives.”

Since we are just a few days away from 2019 I’m posting these questions that Georg Whitefield used to evaluate himself. Who is George Whitefield?

George Whitefield was probably the most famous religious figure of the eighteenth century. Newspapers called him the “marvel of the age.” Whitefield was a preacher capable of commanding thousands on two continents through the sheer power of his oratory. In his lifetime, he preached at least 18,000 times to perhaps 10 million hearers. You can read more about him here.

George Whitefield’s Diary:
Questions used to evaluate himself every day (assigning a rating from 1 to 9)
Have I –

1. Been fervent [had warmth of feeling] in private prayer?…
2. Used stated hours of prayer [morning, noon, and evening]?
3. Used [spontaneous prayer to God] every hour?
4. After or before every deliberate conversation or action, considered how it might tend to God’s glory?
5. After any pleasure, immediately given thanks [to God]?
6. Planned business for the day?
7. Been simple [avoided luxury and ostentation] and recollected [stayed aware of God’s presence] in everything?
8. Been zealous in undertaking and active in doing what good I could?
9. Been [humble], cheerful, affable in everything I said or did?
10. Been proud, vain, unchaste or enviable of others [in my thoughts]?
11. Recollected in eating and drinking? Thankful? Temperate [disciplined] in sleep?
12. Taken time for giving thanks according to [William] Law’s rules?
13. Been diligent in studies?
14. Thought or spoken unkindly of anyone?
15. Confessed all sins?

HT: Timothy Keller