David Brainerd, the young missionary...
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David Brainerd, the young missionary to the American Indians during the Great Awakening, embodied Isaiah's desire to yearn after God and wait for his righteousness to be revealed.
In his journal Brainerd repeatedly entered such petitions to God as the following: "I wished and longed for the coming of my dear Lord: I longed to join the angelic hosts in praises ... All I want is to be more holy, more like my dear Lord."
After several years of failure to accomplish very much in his mission work suddenly in the years 1745-1746 the Great Awakening became a reality to him. He had decided to abandon his work when the New Jersey Indians became responsive to the gospel. In his journal he recorded how his journey took a surprising turn: "It is remarkable that God began this work among the Indians at a time when I had the least hope ..."
Brainerd's waiting upon God and yearning after a closer relationship with his Lord not only enabled him to be a remarkable missionary in his own short lifetime of less than 30 years, but the devotional life captured in his journal later published by Jonathan Edwards has become a model for missionaries and other Christian leaders even to our present day.
In his journal Brainerd repeatedly entered such petitions to God as the following: "I wished and longed for the coming of my dear Lord: I longed to join the angelic hosts in praises ... All I want is to be more holy, more like my dear Lord."
After several years of failure to accomplish very much in his mission work suddenly in the years 1745-1746 the Great Awakening became a reality to him. He had decided to abandon his work when the New Jersey Indians became responsive to the gospel. In his journal he recorded how his journey took a surprising turn: "It is remarkable that God began this work among the Indians at a time when I had the least hope ..."
Brainerd's waiting upon God and yearning after a closer relationship with his Lord not only enabled him to be a remarkable missionary in his own short lifetime of less than 30 years, but the devotional life captured in his journal later published by Jonathan Edwards has become a model for missionaries and other Christian leaders even to our present day.
