D. L. Moody reached more than 100 million people with the gospel — not because of talent, strategy, or platform. Because of position. He placed himself at the right angle to reflect God to the world. This guide asks one question: What would it look like for you to do the same?
The Question
Not What God Can Do Through You. What You're Holding Back.
R. A. Torrey, who knew Moody personally, identified seven characteristics that explained why God used him so mightily. This guide walks through those seven — plus one more — not as a biography of a famous evangelist, but as a mirror for your own life.
The goal isn't information. It's obedience.
Eight Characteristics. Eight Weeks.
One Question Each.
Week 1
Surrendered
What are you holding on to because you don’t want to be vulnerable? Abraham’s story shows us what it looks like to walk by faith rather than by sight.
Week 2
Prayerful
Prayer isn’t something we do before we do what we’ve already decided. It’s the practice of setting aside our agendas to hear from God.
Week 3
Studious
Being studious isn’t about accumulating knowledge. It’s about submitting ourselves to God’s revealed word — reading it against ourselves, not just for ourselves.
Week 4
Humble
Humility is embracing our role, exercising our gifts for Christ’s body, and pointing others to Jesus. As John said: He must increase. I must decrease.
Week 5
Free from the Love of Money
Contentment isn’t passive. It’s a posture of trust that recognizes God’s provision is sufficient — and resists the lie that security comes from accumulation.
Week 6
Consumed with Passion for the Lost
Paul became all things to all people — not by compromising his convictions, but by letting his passion for the lost outweigh his preference for comfort.
Week 7
Imbued with Power from On High
We don’t advance the gospel in our own strength. The Holy Spirit empowers, teaches, seals, and fills. The question is whether we’re grieving him or making room for him.
Week 8
Undistracted
Distraction is a gateway to idolatry. In a world proficient at telling stories that deny God, staying fixed on what matters most is an act of resistance.
The Approach
Resist. Hear. Do.
Resist
Something that is hindering your usefulness to God — not necessarily something dramatic, but something real.
Hear
God’s voice through a devotional study, a daily Bible reading plan, and prayer focused on that week’s characteristic.
Do
Something concrete. Obedience isn’t a habit, but we often need to be faithful in small things to prepare ourselves to be faithful in big things.
Good For
Individual self-study
Small groups
Sunday school classes
Discipleship pairs
Length
8 weeks
Format
Devotional + Bible reading plan + reflection + weekly action
Cost
Free
“The world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to him.”
The companion book Useful to God: Eight Lessons from the Life of D. L. Moody is available on Amazon. Also explore the Useful to God Audio Seminary series.