Letting God’s Voice Be The Loudest - Carrie Judd Montgomery

1858–1946

Taking a chance can be scary, even when you believe it’s something God wants you to do. People around you may try to dissuade you, often thinking they’re looking out for your best interests. It can be difficult to ignore their well-meaning words of caution.

In the early 1880s, Carrie Judd Montgomery had an idea she believed God wanted her to act on. She wanted to publish a monthly journal about divine healing.

As a teenager, Carrie had been bedridden for two years. She experienced an immediate healing though prayer, and she quickly was able to walk. When news of Carrie’s healing spread, she wrote a pamphlet, The Prayer of Faith, about her experience.

People began to ask her about healing prayer. There was much more to be written about healing, more people to encourage, and more stories than just her own to be told. A monthly journal was the way to do it.

Of course she asked the opinion of those she trusted. Not everyone was as enthusiastic as Carrie. One trusted minister didn’t think it would be a success, so he discouraged her. But Carrie wasn’t looking for success. She was looking to do what she believed God wanted her to do. She took the chance. In January 1881, the first issue of Triumphs of Faith was published.

Financially, it was an all-or-nothing deal. A second issue could be published only if those who had received the first issue paid for a subscription. They did. Triumphs of Faith had a sixty-year run.

Carrie became an influential leader in the divine-healing movement of the late 1800s because she took what others saw as a chance. But is it ever really taking a chance when you do something God has planned for you to do? Obedience to God doesn’t always lead to financial or critical success, but it does lead you closer to being the person that God means you to be.

When you hear God’s voice, do you let the voices of well-meaning people become louder than his? Or do you trust God’s voice and your own relationship with him and follow his lead, knowing that whatever the outcome, you’ve done God’s will?

Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”

Acts 5:29