Ann Preston

Ann Preston, also otherwise referred to as Holy Ann, was a woman who loved God with all her heart and soul. As Tozer said, she was a woman who had such an intimate relationship with God as if she was His only daughter. She was a godly woman and her life is an example of all that Christians can be in our relationship with our Father. As I look through the life of Ann Preston, I have discovered that there is a lot that can be learned from her life.

One thing I noticed from her life is that she was from a humble background. She wasn’t a rich well to do person. This shows that she was an ordinary person. This brings to mind the verse of the scripture that says that Elijah was a man of like passion as us. There might be some people who think that salvation is for some special people made from heaven or something. She wasn’t a special person per se; she was just someone ordinary who allowed the love of a Saviour to change her to become someone extra-ordinary.

There was something she had before she got saved and that was a fiery temper. She had a rage that stayed even many years after her salvation. One consolation I got was that each time she fell, she ran back to God for repentance. She battled with this problem for many years until she finally came to an end of herself. When self-died, then she got her freedom. I think, or rather, I believe that the reason a lot of Christians still have a problem with besetting sins is that we haven’t come to an end of ourselves. A lot of times we take on the responsibility of living out our spiritual lives ourselves that we forget it is not ours to live. The Christian life is the outliving of Christ in us. When we fail to realize this, we end up like Paul in the book of Romans chapter 7 where he bemoaned his inability to conquer sin. He says ‘O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the burden of this death?’ Well, thank God for verse 25 which says ‘I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord’. He had realized the futility of doing it all by himself and turned the struggle over to Christ. God allows these things to happen so that we can learn to trust him and come to the point where we cannot do all of these things while living in the flesh. We need to come to the point of letting go and letting God. This was the point she got to and then she began to enjoy her Christian journey.

Ann Preston had a wonderful relationship with her Father- God. One thing that amazes is that she was a stark illiterate (sorry to use that word). She couldn’t even read the Bible like we some of us educated Christians can. However she had the Holy Spirit bring those verses to her when she needed them. I believe one thing responsible for this was her simplicity. She was a literal epitome of Jesus’ words “let the little children come to me”. We sing the song- Jesus loves the little children but little do we realize how true that really is. We have to be like children. Unfortunately, a lot of us choose to act as adults before God. We also should get a say in what happens in our lives and are not willing to let go of the reins and just let God take charge of everything. We do not want to take the trust fall with God and let him lead us, just as a child willingly trusts his father to always be there to take charge. As such he does not worry about anything but lives his life without a care in the world because he knows he has got a dad to take charge. On the contrary with us big adults however, we are always careful. We are not simple about anything with God. Instead, our problem is that we THINK TOO MUCH about a lot of things. WE SHOULD STOP THINKING TOO MUCH AND JUST TRUST OUR FATHER TO DO BEST BY US. Let us enjoy the fact that we have a Father who will always be there for us and desires to have a real relationship with us. Why do we not realize this fact and live as our loving Heavenly Father wants us to be. Our Father loves us and I think this is what most of us don’t realize- myself inclusive. We think of God as a Great Being who lives up there and watches over us, interfering when He needs to. He is one who has done all that He possibly can by sending Jesus to us to die for us. After that, it’s just us to ourselves- except when we need His help of course. Then He is one who provides answers to our requests and if He doesn’t in time then we look for another alternative.

Ann recognized and understood the fact that God as a Father saved us not to get us into heaven but to also have a Father-Child relationship with us. She got that right and enjoyed the most loving relationship one could have on earth- a relationship with God. That’s the best anyone could ever have as a Christian.

Ann went to God for everything she needed. Be it a missing object, food, anything. She never considered anything too small to go to God for. She was practically a child in His arms.

Another thing Ann was known for is that she would never deliberately do anything to grieve the Spirit of God. If she discovered she did at any point in time, she would be seriously grieved and pray and appeal to God until she found her peace and restored her relationship back with the One she loved the most above all else.

When a Father sees a child who loves Him so much, of course He would love her so much in return. This is not to say that He does not love the other children but of course He will be closer to the one who is close to Him the most. That’s the way it is.

Today’s Christian has a lot to learn from Ann Preston including the females. The female is regarded as a weaker vessel than the male. She is a lot more given to emotions and has to go through a lot in a way than the male. Aside from being just a nominal Christian, managing to lug her way through on the way to heaven and somehow manages to get to heaven after lugging her way through. I believe as women we can enjoy the loving relationship with our Father. However it is going to cost a lot from us.

Cultivating a relationship with Father (as I like to call Him) isn’t as easy as it looks. Even I have not gotten there myself (my entire fault I know). It takes time, discipline and commitment to God. God has to trust us and we have to prove ourselves before we can experience the pleasure such blessedness His presence brings. A Father would want to prove His children to be sure they are worthy of the gift He gives them. This is not because of lack of love but to be earnestly sure that they value the gift he gives them. God loves us but we ought to remember that “blessed are they which HUNGER and THIRST after righteousness, for they shall be filled”. It is hunger and thirst that brings about this blessed fulfillment. Note that it is not by your works alone, lest any man should boast, it is the gift of God. However, we also have a part to play also.

This is hard. Remember, we’ve got to pick up our cross and follow. Anyone who doesn’t deny self and everything he loves above God cannot please Him. Remember what according to our Lord Jesus was the first and greatest commandment- “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with ALL THY HEART, WITH ALL THY SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY MIGHT….” This is the price we have to pay for a closer walk with God. Self-denial.

Can we pay the price? Most of us do not want to go the extra mile to ‘find’ God. We are willing to stay the same way we are. Going the extra mile would mean denying the pleasures of this world that we are used to. We are not ready to go the path our fathers took to find peace and relationship with God. We are LAZY. We do not want to work. I say this for myself also. God loves us and wants to draw us closer to Him but He will not compromise His standards.

I love my Father, I really do but daily my love is tested with my ties to the world that I have yet to cut off. I pray for God to help me but deep inside I know that He has already given me grace to do the right thing. I just hope and pray that I will be able to shake off this lethargy. I know if I can succeed in doing this, I will be who God wants me to be. Truly I know my Father loves me and I truly love Him too. I know however that cultivating a true relationship with Him isn’t going to come about by mere wishing. God desires a better life for me than what I am experiencing now and I know I have still got a very long way to go in this my Christian race. I am trusting in God to help me through and not give up on me until I am who he wants me to be and still growing.

For and if anyone read(ing)s this, I really pray that you get to the pinnacle of the height God wants us to get to. We cannot experience all of God but we can come into the beginning of that experience and fellowship and grow in it from this earth and continue in heaven. Go the extra mile and if you have already started, don’t stop. As my favourite author A. W Tozer says, God is ingenious in fashioning out crosses for His children. Of course there will be challenges and difficulties, BUT BE OF GOOD CHEER I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD. Christ assures us of victory and together we will experience the life of total blessedness that He has designed for us here on earth and in heaven also. If you are not even born again, why don’t you go to God in sincerity and openness? He is a loving Father he will forgive all your sins. I’m not going to tell you what to say tell Him how you feel exactly and believe He will forgive. Have faith and believe. Then you can go on to being a true disciple of Christ and enjoy his fellowship. I end with these parting words from the Saviour:

Let not your hearts be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there YE may be also. (John 14:1-3).

So tell me isn’t it worth it? I’ll leave you to reason that out.

Note: words in red are bible verses, also including the words of Jesus Christ.