An Inspired Pen

Andrew Murray, one of the great teachers given by God to the Church.

Andrew Murray was born in South Africa, on the 9th May 1828, in the heart of a Scottish family. His father was a pastor linked to the Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the Dutch Reformed Church, which was decisive in the formation of the feverous Dutch spirit of Murray.

He was sent by his father to Scotland at the age of ten, to receive a complete academic formation. In that time, a great spiritual revival was shaking that country. The man that God used to carry this out was the young minister William C. Burns who ended up having a great influence on Andrew, since they shared long nights together in his uncle John Murray's house.

Six years later, Andrew traveled to Holland to complete his studies. When in Utrecht, he was born again, at the 16 years of age.

After ten years absence, Andrew returned to South Africa as a pastor and evangelist. His youthful and playful disposition captured the heart of his younger brothers, who used to say: "Is our brother Andrew really a pastor? He seems to be exactly like one of us!"

When Murray was 28 years old he got married to Emma Rutherford, the younger daughter of an English pastor. They had 10 children. Emma's help was vital in his ministry, especially in her work as a writer.

In 1860 a great revival came to South Africa, just like the ones that had come to the United States and Europe a couple of years before. Murray was witness to this revival while he pastored in Worcester. In the beginning, fearing that it was a simple wave of emotion, Murray tried to stop its force among the youths of his congregation, but he had to surrender faced with the solid fruits that he began to see in the life of many Christians.

Without a doubt, this was an experience that influenced the rest of his life and which submerged him in the depths of walking in the Spirit that he had yearned for and prayed for. From then on, Murray's preaching acquired such a supernatural intangible quality that it really can be said that he ministered "in the power of the Spirit."

However, Murray was permanently possessed by a feeling of dissatisfaction regarding his own ministry. When looking at the spiritual state of his sheep, he threw upon himself the responsibility of their lack of edification. Sometimes even to the point of being totally discouraged. From there the vision arose of teaching about how to remain in Christ for a deeper spiritual life. "It is necessary to guide the children of God toward the secret of having the possibility of an uninterrupted fellowship with Jesus in a personal way"-he said.

In 1877, he traveled to the United States for the first time and participated in many conferences on holiness there, and in Europe. His theology was conservative, and it was frankly opposed to liberalism.

In the school of the pain

Andrew Murray learned his most precious spiritual lessons by means of the "school of pain", mainly after 1879, when he suffered a serious illness to the throat that left him without his voice for almost two years. After seeking the Lord in incessant prayer, he was healed in the "Bethshan" Home, in London, founded by W.E. Boardman, author of the book "The Lord your Healer." His healing was so complete that he never once had another problem with his throat. In spite of the great effort that he permanently subjected it to, his voice maintained such a force and musicality that it astonished all. As a result of that experience, Murray came to believe that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit were not limited to the primitive church.

His eldest daughter, Annie who was for many years his private secretary, testified in this way after her father's illness: "it was after the 'time of silence ' that God came so much closer to my father so that he saw the meaning of a life of complete surrender and of simple faith more clearly. Then that permanent fondness, that serene benevolence and that consideration without selfishness toward others began to show itself in all his relationships. All this was what increasingly characterized his life. Little by little, there also went developing in him that wonderful, sober and beautiful humility that one could never have been able to fake, but rather it could only be the work of the Spirit that lived in him, and which everyone who ended up having contact with him could immediately feel."

Other painful experiences for Andrew Murray were two accidents that he had while he traveled by car, on evangelistic journeys. As a result of the first one, he fractured an arm, and in second he received a serious lesion in his leg and on his spine. The consequences of these accidents were long suffering, because from then on Murray limped when he walked. For him, this was his Peniel, because starting from these experiences Murray became a prince who persuaded God in a greater way through prayer. He was driven toward a life of even deeper prayer and he learned what the true power of intercession was. "His extraordinary books on prayer -wrote Annie-were all writings after that last accident, and the influence that they have had cannot be measured by any man. God was glorified in His servant, and in spite of his limp, he lived to a good age."

Keswick

In 1895, Andrew Murray was invited to the Keswick Convention, in England. This Convention which was carried out every year was well-known in the entire Christian world as promoting a greater spiritual intensity. The teaching of Keswick emphasized the necessity that each son of God was full and permanently guided by the Holy Spirit, which would enable him to live a life that was pleasing to God here on earth. It also emphasized the complete cleansing of sins by means of Jesus' precious blood and the necessity of a more complete surrender to the Lord. Murray felt a great affinity from the beginning with this teaching, because he had been preaching it even before knowing about the movement of Keswick. On that opportunity, Murray's messages were full of power, even though his physical aspect was weak. "One feels Christ's presence whenever one is with him", was the average comment.

When describing the effect that Murray exercised on those that listened to him in Keswick, Evan H. Hopkins, the helmsman of that Convention, said: "His messages touched the sensitive chord in many people, with an uncommon power… it seemed as if nobody was able to escape, as if nobody could choose anything other than Christ Himself, in the power of His living Spirit, as the Only one to live in us, even if the cost was to die for him… When dealing with this, Mr. Murray, went deeper every time as the days went on, some of us remember the first days of Keswick, when a reverent fear toward God descended on the whole assembly, in a such form that the author has never seen again…."

During the last 28 years of his life, Murray was considered the father of the Keswick movement in South Africa. The results of the annual conferences in South Africa were lasting in the churches of the region. Many of the workers, who stood out in the different churches and missions, received their inspiration and spiritual training in these meetings.

One of the most excellent characteristics in these meetings was the great number of people that participated in the specific experience of reaching victory and power over sin.

Murray's message was always simple: "Come to Jesus; remain in him; work through him." Repeatedly he put an emphasis on the central word "in." "The two parts of the promise: 'Remain in me and I in you' find their union in this, so significant, word. There is no deeper word in all the Scriptures"-he declared.

A good age

As Murray aged, his presence caused a strong impression on all who knew him: "Like the tree that produces more fruit increasingly bends over and almost breaks in half under the weight, so too the more holy he became and the more famous he became, the humbler he seemed and the more his face was illuminated with the glory that was inside him."

One time his daughter asked him: "What are you doing there, so calmly, while sunbathing, father?" "I am asking God to show me the necessity of the church and that he give me a message to meet that necessity"-he answered.

A friend wrote: "I saw him five months before his death, and his venerable face shone like the mountains of the Alps that shine with brilliance on the slopes: so radiant, so benign, with a purity that came from within."

On his last birthday he was asked if he was disappointed because God had allowed his limp and his deafness to prevent him leading a more active life. "It is a kind decision from my Father -he answered- God has excluded me from the life of incessant activity in which I was in during the previous years, and has locked me in a greater stillness, in which I can dedicate more time to meditation and prayer. In solitude and in silence, the Lord gives me beautiful messages that I try to transmit to others through my writings."

His exhortation to those that accompanied him on his last birthday -his 88th- was: "Children of God, let your Father guide you. Don't think of what you can do, but in what God can do in you and through you."

A generous legacy

Believing in what God can do by means of literature, Andrew Murray wrote more than 250 books and countless articles. His work touched and touches the Church throughout the whole world by means of deep writings, among which are "Christ's Spirit", "The Most sacred of all", "With Christ in the School of Prayer", "Remain in Christ", "Raising his Children for Christ" and "Humility." His books are considered classics of Christian literature. However, in spite of writing so many books, he never wanted to write his autobiography.

He died on the 18th January 1917, just as he had announced: in his bed and surrounded by his children. His wife had died twelve years before.