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

Originally published as a blog post by Harvest Prayer Ministries I have a sign on my office bulletin board that states, “Sit in silence for ten minutes every day.” It is not as easy as it sounds; however, silence is an important discipline to cultivate in one’s journey towards Christ-likeness. I wish I could say I was good at practicing this discipline, but it is my goal to eventually get to the place where the exercise of silence strengthens my ability to be attentive to God

Originally published as a blog post by Harvest Prayer Ministries Here is a creative prayer idea to do individually, as a couple, a family, small group or Sunday School class, etc. in order to cultivate thankfulness. You can tweak it to fit your needs in many ways, as you will soon see! Here are two ways to utilize Psalm 103 as a means of expressing thankfulness/gratefulness to God using The Living Bible translation (feel free to use whatever translation you wish…or even multi

What is your family dressed like today? There are two very distinct Biblical commands that tell us how Christians should be clothed:  in  armor, and  with  Christ. This clothing serves three main purposes: it protects us against the enemy, it gives us the ability to fight the enemy, and it allows us to live the kind of lifestyle that reflects Jesus Christ before others. If there is any kind of clothing more important that this, it would be difficult to convince me. In an age

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