A missions-minded church in Indiana produces a prayer calendar every year focused on the missions and mission partners they support. Calendars are very easy to produce and share with today’s technology! This church has pictures of their missions partners and their family with names, ages of the children, etc. They also post some interesting facts about each family member. The calendar has a map of the area where each missions partner is serving, whether at home or in another

When I was young I had an uncle who would come visit about once a year. He was just a mailman who worked hard–rain, sleet, snow or hail. There wasn’t anything too special about him, but he managed to endear himself to all his nephews and nieces. Every year when he came home, he would bring with him some new magic trick to impress and amaze us. Without it, we probably wouldn’t have even noticed he was back. With it he earned our excitement every time he came home. When I look

The Apostle Paul gives an interesting picture of prayer in 2 Corinthians 1:8-11. He talks to the Corinthian believers about all the hardships he has been through on the missionary trip which he and his team have taken. He says: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed in our hearts we felt the sentence of de

Do you ever find yourself asking God to “just save all the lost people”? If you have ever wanted to have some specific, biblical ways to pray for those who are still lost in darkness, here are seven simple ways to posture yourself before the Father and ask for Him to move: Praying for Open Eyes “I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance a

Here is a simple prayer tip for a prayer room, a 24-7 season of prayer, or for families at home. One person will need to monitor the activity and keep things in order. This is easily adaptable to your own creative ideas! Materials Needed: Small clothespins or other kinds of similar clips Large corkboard, bulletin board, or really any kind of board. Sturdy twine or wire Any kind of paper or 3×5 cards Small table with instructions, cards/paper, things to write or draw with, Bib

A church in Florida was in the midst of building a larger church. Before the paint and carpet stage, the church leaders and staff went to the areas of the church where their primary responsibility was to be. They spent time praying over their spaces. Next, they took pencils and wrote scriptures on the floors, walls, etc. Afterwards, the entire group met and prayerwalked the entire building indoors, praying Scriptures, worshiping, and adding written Scriptures to places they s

Have you ever considered praying for the businesses and business people in your church, asking God to prosper them so that they might become a blessing to the church and to others? The prayer ministry team in one church in Texas began to do just that and saw God do amazing things! In Genesis 12, Abraham was called by God to leave his country and go where the Lord was calling him to go. He promised Abraham that he would be blessed so that he could become a blessing to all the

God loves every person on the planet and has called us to go and make disciples of everyone we can! We are also instructed by God to pray for the lost in our families, our neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, and to the ends of the earth! Here are seven scriptural ways to begin praying for lost people every day: Pray for the salvation of those who have yet to attain an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. “But don’t forget this, dear friends, that a day or a thousand years

One of the more disturbing verses in Scripture concerns Cain, the second man to ever live – the eldest son of Adam and Eve. After Cain killed his brother Abel, he is put under a curse that makes him a wanderer. The ground, which received his brother Abel’s blood, will no longer produce for Cain. A worker of the soil, Cain is cut off by his own actions from his means of livelihood. Following his conversation with God after Abel’s murder, comes an action that foreshadows much o

Before launching into intercession for others, corporate prayer, or even personal prayer, here are some powerful questions to utilize as a way to examine the condition of your heart so that God will hear and respond! Spend some time meditating on these scriptures as you answer the questions. Have I confessed all known sin? Isaiah 59:1-2 says, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your G

Many churches have poor attendance at prayer gatherings. Here are two ways to boost attendance for those with families, as “child care” is often an issue: Offer Prayer Care instead of Child Care for young kids. If parents know that their kids will be trained to pray in fun, creative ways, and also be prayed for by loving people while they attend the prayer gathering with other adults, it is a good way to encourage them to come. This requires preparing some simple prayer mate

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:43-45a). “But I tell you who hear Me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28). Choosing to love and pray for those who persecute or mistreat us mystifies unbelievers, and yet this is the li

Christians around the world are praying for revival. What are they praying for and do they have good reason to expect revival? Is revival something God wants to do for His people today? To answer these questions, we need to understand that God has always worked in the area of revival with His people. From the earliest days of Israel, on through the history of the Church, God’s method of dealing with His people has been to grant periodic times of special blessing in which His

You can tell a lot about a person by listening to him or her pray. The passions of the heart flow out through prayer and give us a glimpse into the soul. What is really important to a person will find its way into the prayer life of that one. So it was for Jesus as He prayed in John 17. The entire chapter is often referred to as “The great high priestly prayer” of Jesus. As you study this powerful prayer of our Lord, you can find five basic petitions: 1. Restore Me to the glo

Prayer is the most powerful form of evangelism, and everyone can do it! It is my personal belief that no one comes to Christ apart from prayer. Many of us had parents, grandparents or friends who prayed that we would know Jesus personally. Some of us may not know who prayed for the eyes of our hearts to be opened, and may never know until we arrive in heaven. What we do know, through Scripture, is that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ (John 14:6). A

Most church prayer ministry teams are predominantly female. There’s a reason for this. In most situations, women pray more than men. C. Peter Wagner notes that of those who have been identified as being primarily intercessors, about 80% are female. Consider why this is so, remembering that we are dealing in generalities here. Women are typically more compassionate than men, which naturally leads them into praying for others. Again, generally speaking, women are more spiritual

A pastor in California led his family to pray for yet-to-be-followers of Christ who lived in five neighboring homes. Within the first eight weeks of prayer, one of their neighbors began asking faith questions and ended up committing her life to Christ. Another neighbor wanted to give up drug dealing and asked for prayer help. A non-churched couple living next door asked the pastor to start a neighborhood Bible study. The family continued to pray. By the six-month mark the cou

I will always remember November 11, 1997. It was a holiday, so my family and I went to Indianapolis to relax and to do some shopping. After a full day, we went to the airport to pick up some relatives and drive them back to Terre Haute. My mother’s brother was waiting there for us. He had driven to the airport to give us the news that my mother had suffered a major stroke earlier that day. Suddenly, getting back home was an urgent matter. We drove quickly home and went straig

Here are ten ways to pray for your pastor(s) so they will see their churches become houses of prayer for all nations! Pray for your pastors to be: people who seek intimacy with God and who have discipline and passion regarding fasting and prayer in family life and ministry. models of prayer, demonstrating prayer as the basis from which all other ministries develop and grow. diligent in planning dynamic and creative prayer experiences. preachers and teachers on the subject of

How does prayer actually work? The best and simplest answer we have ever heard to this question involves a wonderful graphic developed by Dr. Alvin VanderGriend. Follow the directions below to get a good visual as we walk through the amazing miracle called prayer! Do this quick exercise with a paper and a pencil or pen: 1. Draw a circle on your paper. 2. At the top of the circle write GOD. 3. Going clockwise, to the right of the circle write HOLY SPIRIT. 4. Continuing clock

Today’s culture is desperate for a fresh infusion of extraordinary love. The Lord’s Church has been uniquely designed to provide it. Yet many of us are distracted or even paralyzed by the negative, angry, polarizing climate surrounding us. This prayer guide examines what Scripture says about love, and then encourages God’s people to pray and boldly demonstrate that extraordinary love in action. May we as believers be known as people who love completely and without reservation

One of the most neglected aspects of our prayer lives–whether individual or corporate, is the need for confession and repentance. We all know that we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We all know that when we ask for forgiveness with a truly repentant heart, it is freely given to us by the grace of God through the blood of Christ. So, if we as Christians know this and believe it….why are we so negligent in practicing it? Why is confession so often overlooked o

There is no doubt that we live in an age of terror. The threat of terrorism affects us every time we go to an airport, or cast a vote. It affects the policies of nations and the daily lives of individuals. Nations are mobilizing to face this increasingly dangerous threat. What is the Church’s response to terrorism? It certainly affects us. In some places, the Church has been the target of terror attacks. In order for the Church to fully engage this threat, we must see the spi

“How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near Your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they are ever praising You. Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.