From the archives of Oral Roberts
I once saw Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mount Everest. He told of the very difficult task of climbing to the summit: the swirling, icy winds, the thin, oxygen-poor air, the task of carrying tent and gear, the sheer fatigue and the presence of death every hour.
Even with everything that he endured going up, Sir Hillary declared that coming down was the most dangerous part of the climb. He was exhilarated from reaching the mountaintop, but the very joy of his accomplishment made him careless. He made it safely, but he learned that such an attitude could have cost him his life.
I have learned that difficult lesson in my own life. During the tent crusade years, when I was young and vigorous and full of faith, I thought everyone I prayed for would be healed. In one meeting, I was feeling exhilarated over the great victories of healing and deliverance we’d won over satan when a young boy in the healing line fell to the ground with an epileptic seizure. I knelt down to pray for him, but nothing happened.
At that moment, I learned a vital lesson: I must totally rely on God. I stopped praying and told God how sorry I was. I asked Him to forgive me. I knew He had forgiven me when I prayed for the boy in the mighty name of Jesus and he was delivered!
We must never be careless about relying on God as our Source in every situation, especially when things are going well. Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NIV). But when we depend solely on Him, He said we will produce much fruit.