Knocking at God's Door

by Oswald Chambers

"Lord, my chief desire is to be rooted and grounded in you—God-centered and God-absorbed, God-enthused and God-loved. How eager my soul is to know you and be still!" Learn how to pray from the prayers of a man totally surrendered to Christ. Selected and arranged by Biddy Chambers from her husband’s personal diary, this collection of 366 prayers, in updated language, provides a unique glimpse into the spiritual life of Oswald Chambers, author of the classic devotional My Utmost for His Highest . Exhibiting humility and perseverance, these petitions encourage you to knock at God’s door, enter into His presence, and live your “utmost for His highest.”

206 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1985

About the author

Oswald Chambers was born to devout parents in Aberdeen, Scotland. At age 16, Oswald Chambers was baptized and became a member of Rye Lane Baptist Chapel. Even as a teenager, Chambers was noted for his deep spirituality, and he participated in the evangelization of poor occupants of local lodging houses. Oswald married Gertrude in May 1910, and on May 24, 1913, Gertrude gave birth to their only child, Kathleen. In 1915, a year after the outbreak of World War I, Chambers was accepted as a YMCA chaplain. He was assigned to Zeitoun, Cairo, Egypt, where he ministered to Australian and New Zealand troops, who later participated in the Battle of Gallipoli. Soon his wooden-framed "hut" was packed with hundreds of soldiers listening attentively to his messages. Confronted by a soldier who said, "I can't stand religious people," Chambers replied, "Neither can I." Chambers was stricken with appendicitis on October 17, 1917 but resisted going to a hospital on the grounds that the beds would be needed by men wounded in the long-expected Third Battle of Gaza. On October 29th, a surgeon performed an emergency appendectomy, but Chambers died November 15, 1917 from a hemorrhage of the lungs. He was buried in Cairo with full military honors. Gertrude, for the remainder of her life published books and articles for him edited from the notes she had taken in shorthand from his sermons. Most successful of the thirty books was, "My Utmost for His Highest", which has never been out of print and has been translated into 39 languages.

Reviews

[Richard L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Inspirational

I have enjoyed the insight and wisdom of Oswald Chambers for almost three decades. Staring with the devotional and then this book of prayer. Whether I need encouragement or a dose of humility it seems the words of this prayer book are right for the day. Interestingly after all this time the words never seem to be a repeat nor do they get old.

[Steve Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

These prayers help to open to the reader the heart and mind of Oswald Chambers, but their subject matter is often so specific to his situation that the reader cannot really make the prayer his own. Still, as with most of Chambers' writing, these prayers exhibit much spiritual depth.