It is no surprise that Israel is a source of division and contention, both in the world and in the Church. It has always been so. For reasons, one could look to the unique geographic place of the nation, a bridge of land between warring empires for millennia. Or one could look to the exclusivist monotheism of the Jewish faith that set it apart through the ages. Modern analysts can perhaps look to the deep-seated antagonism between Jew and Arab as an outgrowth of tribal hatred

There is a movement being encouraged across the United States of America to encourage Christians to pray at polling sites in their communities. Here are three ways you can participate along with prayer points and a written prayer to help you: 1. Encourage and organize intercessors in your community to cover every polling site in prayer (physically, if possible).  Secure a complete list of the polling places that are now or that will be open on Election Day. Ask others to “ado

This prayer guide is easily adaptable for individuals, small groups or entire churches focused on confession, repentance and the forgiveness of God: Read 2 Chronicles 7:14 out loud:  “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Spend some time in prayer based on this passage: Father, we are Your people, called by Your name

Death Valley is an expansive desert in California, known as the lowest, driest, and hottest location in all of North America. It is a barren, desolate place that holds the record for the highest recorded temperature in the Western Hemisphere—a mere 134 degrees Fahrenheit! Death is obviously a fitting description. Not much survives in Death Valley, whether vegetation or any human life exposed to the elements. But that doesn’t necessarily mean life is not possible. In 2005, a r

There is a tendency for us to think of confession as a personal act we do before God. Certainly much confession is of this personal, private nature that is only between ourselves and God. But God’s Word gives us another picture of confession that is corporate in its practice. It is confession from a group of people who are aware of the corporate aspect of their sin and aware that private confession is inadequate to deal with this problem. I believe that the call of God to the

God is doing a new thing today. If you want to be “in” on what God is doing, you must begin praying with greater passion and intensity. If you want purpose and meaning to life, and if you want your life to really count for God and to make a difference in this world…PRAY! Prayer is what God is calling His people to do today as a part of His plan for this world. God is moving all things toward completion. I don’t pretend to know when or how or any of the details that people oft

There’s a fascinating change taking place in the way the Church perceives prayer. From dusty devotions and meeting personal needs, prayer has taken center stage in our attempts to reach the lost. Prayer seems to have become the Divine Strategy for the completion of the task of world evangelization. Wherever the church is growing the most, you find the Church praying the best. The explosion of prayer evangelism is happening in Korea, in Argentina, in many places in Africa…and

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

“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

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

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

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

“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

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

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.

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

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