With all that has been happening in our nation and around the world, it eventually becomes very easy to allow our attention to be diverted back to what we call “normal.” Unfortunately, “normal” often means life without God and without a dependence upon Him in prayer. I believe it is vital for us to hold on to our first response – – the response of prayer. The Church desperately needs to both issue and respond to a new call for extraordinary prayer. Extraordinary prayer goes b

The National Prayer Accord is patterned after a rhythm of prayer established by Jonathan Edwards and churches in the colonies prior to the First Great Awakening in the United States. In more recent days, many prayer and revival ministries are encouraging believers and churches to adopt this ongoing rhythm of prayer in their own churches. It is presented here as a challenge for you to consider how you or your church can join with the hundreds of thousands of believers and thou

“Lord, teach us to pray” was a request of the disciples to Jesus 2000 years ago. It still seems to be a popular request of His disciples today. In spite of years of sermons and lessons on prayer, Christians are still saying, “I don’t know how to pray.” Often what is taught is more motivational and theoretical than practical teaching on how to pray. It is assumed that prayer is a spiritual discipline that all Christians will automatically do. I am finding, as I travel the coun

The following is edited from a message given at the Midwest Prayer Conference of Harvest Prayer Ministries, in October 2006 at Maryland Community Church in Terre Haute, Indiana. Every believer is called to be a spiritual watchman to some degree in his or her prayer life. It may be a watchman upon the walls of your family, or the walls of your church or your city, or God may entrust you with being a spiritual watchman on the walls of the nation. Some may have a more advanced c

I remember as a young man reading the classic by E.M. Bounds, The Power of Prayer . The author told story after story of great men and women of prayer who would often spend hours and hours in prayer each day. I was excited about the prayer lives of these amazing prayer warriors, yet something that so intrigued me, also disturbed me. These great prayers, after spending hours praying, would often cry over their prayerlessness and lack of devotion to prayer. I remember thinking

“I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth” (Isaiah 62:6-7). “Then He returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. ‘Could you men not keep watch with Me for one hour?’ He asked Peter. ‘Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is wea

The Book of Acts is the greatest book on revivals which has ever been written – greater than Charles Finney’s word or that of Jonathan Edwards – God’s own Word. I spoke one day to the Youth for Christ leaders at the Moody Church in Chicago about revival. Afterward, standing on the steps of that great church, Ken Anderson said to me, “Armin, you ought to write a book on revival.” At once I said, “Ken, that book has already been written. It is the book of Acts!” It really surp

In May of 1995, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend several weeks in South Korea for a missions conference. One of the highlights of my time there was to worship at the world’s largest church. Pastor David Yonggi Cho’s Yoido Full Gospel Church with its 800,000 members is an amazing thing to see. The role of prayer in its establishment and growth is well-known. What may not be so known is the role of the Lord’s Watch, or continual prayer. Yoido Full Gospel has several pra

When Jesus prayed for us in John 17, His primary desire was that we would all be one: “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name – the name You gave Me – so that they may be one as We are one” (John 17:11). Christians have failed to be obedient in keeping the unity for which Jesus prayed. The tragedy in this failure is that God’s purposes are evangelistic – that the whol

There are many types of prayer. Prayers of confession, praise, petition, spiritual warfare, and thanksgiving are just a few examples. But if there is one type of prayer that God seems to be bringing to the forefront in the current movement of prayer it is the prayer of intercession or intercessory prayer. Intercessory prayer is very simple. It’s someone asking God to do something in a person’s life, in the church, or in a certain situation. It is coming to God on behalf of so

When focusing on the Second Coming of Jesus, most Christians seem to want to talk of nothing but speculation concerning future events: Will the Temple be rebuilt…where? Will the rapture happen before, in the midst of, or after the tribulation? Will there be a great tribulation? Which world leader is the anti-Christ? After examining Scripture, you will find that the focus is not on trying to figure out the details in advance, but rather on the response of the Chris

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (Colossians 4:2). Devotion to prayer was one of the marks of the early Church. In Acts 2:42, Luke lists four areas of devotion that marked the Jerusalem church: Apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. The rest of Acts demonstrates their devotion, as a praying Church breaks out of Judea and embarks upon its mission to the world. God’s call to His people today is for nothing less than that de

“I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth” (Isaiah 62:6–7). There is a movement of prayer, firmly rooted in Scripture, taking place all over the planet. It is the call of God to His people to take their places on the walls as watchmen. Whether we look to the Old Testament or the New, we find

Sometimes it all seems so easy. Everything in life falls together for you. Your job is fulfilling. The family is happy. Things are going well at church. Your loved ones are healthy. Those times seem kind of rare, don’t they? All too often, we feel as though we are under attack. Life seems so hard. Difficulties surround us. Relationships are fractured, health has fled, and finances are a struggle. These valleys of struggle seem all too common. How can we deal with these hard t

Several years ago I had the opportunity to write a book entitled The Devil Goes To Church. It’s been interesting to watch the responses of people who see the title for the first time. Most of them say, “The devil sure does go to church… especially mine.” Why this overwhelming awareness that Satan is somehow interested in what happens in churches? Maybe it’s because we’re seeing his hand at work in the church. This excerpt helps us understand why Satan is interested in your

For many years as I’ve been traveling in the prayer movement worldwide, I’ve been asked many questions. One of the questions asked most often is, “What is the most formative moment in your life for giving you a heart for prayer?” That is an easy one to answer. It goes back to 1970 when I was pastoring a little church adjacent to Kent State University in Ohio. I stood on the campus the day the National Guards shot into the students, killing four, maiming about eighteen others.

Revival comes to those who are desperate for it. Many today are talking about spiritual awakening and even beginning to pray about it. But have we allowed God to place within us the burden necessary to pray desperately for God to show up in our midst? Are we willing to “pray the price” to see God move in a powerful way in the Church today? As I continue to learn how to move my prayers into alignment with God’s will, praying Scripture has become increasingly important. As I pr

Here are 7 specific ways to pray for yourself and others before, during and after any election day: Pray before you vote: 1. Ask God to give you a desire to get out and vote even if you don’t feel like it. “The good influence of godly citizens causes a city to prosper, but the moral decay of the wicked drives it downhill” (Proverbs 11:11 TLB). We often have the mentality, especially in local elections, that voting isn’t really very important or that our vote is just one o

Our nation, and indeed, every nation, is in great need of targeted intercession! There are so many different ways to seek God on behalf of America; however, here are five topics to prompt your prayers and guide your heart towards whatever else the Holy Spirit places on your heart: 1. Presence “I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people” (Lev. 26:11-12). Nothing is more important than the P

The Prophet Hosea, whose name means Salvation, has given us an amazing outline for prayer: “Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you” (Hosea 10:12). Use these scriptural prayer points from Hosea to pray for yourself, your family, church, community and nation: • Sow righteousness for yourselves 2 Corinthians 9:6 – “Remember this: Wh

Do you ever run out of words to describe our powerful, amazing Lord as you pray? The Bible has a well that never runs dry. We can dip into this wondrous source of praise and lift our voices together as a family to glorify God. Here are 31 days of prayers that offer praise to Him in a multitude of ways. As you begin to praise Him in prayer about His character and attributes, you will begin to see how Scripture becomes a vital part of your prayer vocabulary. Each day you can ex

Praying Scripture is powerful and effective because: 1. Jesus is the Word.(John 1:1-2, 14) 2. It is the example of Jesus. (Matthew 4:1-11) 3. It is the example of the early Church.(Book of Acts; Acts 4:23-31) 4. His Word is His will. (Timothy 3:16-17) Scripture teaches us to know and fulfill God’s will. (John 5:14-15) Scripture teaches us God’s will for His Kingdom (Knowing what is on God’s heart). (John 6:38, John 14:10, John 13:34-35, 1 Timothy 2:1-4, Matthew 9:37-38, John

It may happen during worship, or in our daily quiet time. We’ve all experienced it and been frustrated by it – distraction! It is the number one enemy of our attempts to worship, to pray and to listen.

Longtime Presbyterian minister Dr. Wilbur Chapman (early 1900s) was 26 when called to be pastor of Wanamakers Church in Philadelphia. His first Sunday, an old gentleman came up to him and said, “You’re much too young to be the pastor of such a fine church as this.” Chapman thought the guy was a kook. The older gentleman went on to tell him that he and another gentleman had decided to pray for him—that the Holy Spirit’s power would fall on him each time he stepped into the pul