God can hear our prayers anytime, anywhere, and at any volume! He is able to hear us even when we think our prayers to Him rather than voice them. Yet, so many of us struggle and would like to be able to verbalize prayers in a group setting. Here are a few tips on how to stretch yourself a bit and grow in this area: One of the best ways to grow in praying out loud, is to practice listening to yourself reading prayers from Scripture. You could start with the Lord’s Prayer in M

“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

As Christian parents, it is not difficult to discern whom we wish our children to be like. We desire for them to be like Christ, and our greatest hope is that others will be able to see Him in them. However, it is not enough just to “wish” that our children will emulate Jesus. We must be godly examples of Christ to them. And, we must pray His character into their lives. It is a joyful task to discover the character of God in His Word. Whenever I see what God is like, I want t

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

It’s easy to get caught up in the frenzy of activity as we push hard to advance the Kingdom of God on earth and manage our work lives, family lives, church responsibilities, etc. If we use Jesus Christ as our example, as well we should, we see that His approach to advancing God’s agenda was first – to retreat. Retreating, not in the sense of acceptance of defeat; but rather, withdrawing from normal activity for a period in order to prepare for intense activity. Jesus began Hi

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

Recently I met with a pastor who shared that he had missed his customary morning prayer time with the Lord due to an unforeseen schedule conflict. He went on to tell me that this occurrence led him to question what it might be like for the people in his church when they, too, miss regular times of prayer. Would they struggle with feeling out of sync and slightly “off” for the day? As we mulled this over, we explored what the Lord might have to say. Must we experience a “disco

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