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This is an important question, as the majority of Christian couples, even pastoral couples, don’t make this a regular practice. Yet it is probably the most fulfilling and divorce-proofing thing any couple can engage in. Stepping into the presence of God together in prayer is the most intimate and important practice a husband and wife can engage in.  So how do you get started? Here are a few ideas and things to consider: Maybe all it will take is for one of you to simply suggest it. Many spouses just haven’t considered this practice as it was never modeled in their own homes. Perhaps just a suggestion that you pray together for your children/grandchildren, or for one another’s day…could prime that pump. Sometimes one spouse is obviously a more seasoned pray-er, especially out loud. This makes the other feel very self-conscious. Be sure to remember that you are talking to God and simply agreeing in prayer with your spouse. Reassure one another and make a commitment to be completely non-judgmental of one another’s prayer styles. Praying Scripture over family, friends and situations is a very good way to pray together if this practice seems difficult at first. For example, pray the Aaronic blessing in Numbers 6:24-26 over children/grandchildren and even over one another. Another Scripture to pray over children/grandchildren is 1 Timothy 4:12. A good prayer devotional can also be very helpful. Pray as you take walks or while you are driving together. Try praying together first thing in the morning. Get coffee and a blanket and sit on the couch or outside (depending on weather). Some like to hold hands as they pray. If you are trying to make a decision together, ask God to bring your thoughts and hearts into unity. Perhaps spend a few minutes praying silently alone. Next, share what the Lord seems to be saying to each of you. For example, when my husband and I pray together about an amount of money we might want to give to a missions organization, we will pray separately and then share the amount we feel God has impressed on our hearts. If we don’t have the same amount, we split the difference. Then we give thanks together that He has blessed us to be a blessing to others. Whenever you are angry or upset with one another, come to the Lord in prayer together and ask Him to give you forgiving hearts, grace, wisdom, peace, and to show you whatever seems to be at the root of your disagreement. It’s very difficult to stay angry with someone you pray with. Even if it’s only for five minutes a day, please consider praying together as husband and wife. Not only will it benefit your relationship greatly, it will please the heart of God, be an incredible example to your children and/or grandchildren, and you will always wonder why it took you so long to get started! If this practice is a blessing to you, please don’t keep it a secret! Your kids and/or grandkids, other family members, friends, and engaged or newly married couples need to hear your testimony of what it has meant to you to pray together as a couple. Pass it on! !

Let’s face it! Many of us struggle to stay focused when we pray. Our culture is busy and there are so many things vying for our attention. What are some simple ways to combat the wandering mind when we want to focus our attention on God in prayer? Choose times for focused prayer when you are most mentally alert.  If mornings are your best time of day, get up a bit early to meet with God. Grab a cup of coffee or tea, your Bible, journal, and a blanket if needed. We are to pray without ceasing, so although setting aside a certain time to pray is important, don’t forget to pay attention to the activity of God in and around you throughout each day. Keep paper and a pen nearby  so that if distracting thoughts come, you can quickly write them down so you won’t forget and then go back into prayer. Engage your senses and creativity.  We have all been uniquely created by God, and He is a creative Father. Don’t be afraid to stretch yourself in prayer through the use of your senses. For example, it is perfectly fine to sometimes draw your prayers to the Lord, to sing your prayers, or to use different body postures (try kneeling, lifting your hands, lying prostrate on the floor, bowing before Him, etc.). Prayerwalk your home, neighborhood, city, etc.  Prayerwalking is simply praying while you walk. Pray about what and who you see. For example, if you are walking through your neighborhood, you might pray for each family as you pass their homes, whether you know them or not. Notice things like swing sets and pray for the children in the home, or for sale signs which can lead you to pray for a safe transition for those moving out, and for the neighborhood to be welcoming to the new family moving in…there are endless possibilities! Pray out loud.  It is more difficult to allow your mind to wander if you are praying out loud. If you are new to this, praying Scripture out loud to the Lord is a good place to start. Try praying a familiar passage such as Psalm 23 back to the Lord! For example: “Father, You are my shepherd, guiding me every day of my life…” Learn how to pray continually throughout the day.  If your mind does  tend to wander, you can train yourself to be continually aware of the presence of God as you go about your day. Scripture does tell us to pray without ceasing. One way to do this is to cultivate thankfulness! Each moment you are aware of something you are thankful for, tell God about it! Even if it is just thanking Him that you were able to get up this morning! Begin to notice things around you that God is using to bless you, show His love for you, care for you and your family, etc. God understands that our minds will tend to wander sometimes. After all, He created us! He has also given us a multitude of ways to seek after Him and to carry on conversations no matter when, where, or how they take place!

If you are a Christian and you need something, the first place you should turn is to the Lord. Jesus teaches us that we are to ask for anything we need, even for daily bread. That’s how dependent on Him we are to be. It seems to me then, that if I want to grow in prayer, the first place to go is to God. So, I suggest praying about prayer. Isn’t it interesting, and maybe a bit sad, that we struggle so much in prayer, and yet never come to the Lord and ask Him to help us to pray. Do we really believe that we are so spiritual that we can handle this on our own? If we know clearly in Scripture that God wants us to be a person of prayer, then when we ask believing God to do so, we can and should expect great results. I pray every day that God would make me a man of prayer. In His way, and in His timing, He will always answer that prayer. The apostles are a good example of this kind of prayerful dependence on the Lord as we seek to grow in prayer. Realizing how critical prayer was to the ministry of Jesus, they asked Him to teach them to pray (Lk.11:1). The truly amazing thing is that as far as we know, this is the only thing the apostles asked Jesus to teach them. What was Jesus’ response to this request? He certainly did not downplay their request or tell them they didn’t need to be taught. He gave them a clear outline of what to pray in simple straightforward fashion. We often call this the Lord’s Prayer, though it might better be named the Model Prayer, or the Disciples Prayer. Jesus knew that His disciples needed help in their prayer lives, so when they asked, He provided that help for them. He will for you, too! Make me a person of prayer. Praying about prayer can have several important aspects. The most basic request is for help to pray. “Make me a person of prayer” is a good beginning place, and one that can and should continue throughout life.  When you make this request, you are not so concerned about methods as simply the fact that you need to learn to go deeper and deeper into the mystery and power of prayer. Making this sort of foundational request each day will build a deeper desire to know the Father relationally and grow your life of prayer over the course of your life. Ask for help praying about people and situations. Building on this, we begin to ask God how to pray about people in our lives and about certain issues or situations. This recognizes our own limitations and the need for God to step in, even to the shaping of our prayers. The great promise of the Lord’s help in this area is found in Romans: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26). God does not leave us on our own to flail about. When we ask, He will even show us how to pray in a way that He can bring about the answer that will accomplish His purposes. Action Step:  Begin today with the most basic prayer of all: “Lord, make me a person of prayer.” Pray this every day.

“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 lifestyle to which we are called by God. We are to love all people regardless of how they treat us. Although some may set themselves up as enemies against us, they are people in need of a saving relationship with Jesus and an understanding of His Lordship in their lives. The Word of God instructs us to love them, praying that they might enter into His kingdom! Before reading any further, bring someone to mind whom you would consider to be your enemy. Read, study, apply and pray the truths from God’s Word that your enemies might be drawn to Jesus’ kingdom. Knowing Your True Enemy Scripture states that our chief enemy is Satan. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). Therefore, we should recognize that behind our flesh and blood enemies ultimately Satan is at work. The Apostle Paul probably understood this concept more fully than any of the disciples or other believers. At one time, he persecuted the followers of Jesus, even casting his vote to have many put to death while he watched in approval. A case could certainly be made that Paul considered all believers to be his enemies and vice versa. But when God got Paul’s attention on the road to Damascus, which ultimately led to his salvation through Jesus, he grasped for the first time, the mercy of the Lord. He understood that the followers of Jesus were not his enemies, as God gave him tremendous insight about his real enemy–Satan. Paul went from being an enemy of God to a child of God through a personal encounter with Jesus. He described the difference, from personal experience, to the Philippian church: “For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven”  (Philippians 3:18-20a). It is also important to remember that, like Paul, each of us was at one time an enemy of God: “Since we now have been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled shall we be saved through His life? Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (Romans 5:9-11). Because we have experienced the mercy of God, should we not also extend it to others? Examine your heart to be sure that you are not allowing the devil to have a foothold in your life where you have acted against others in a manner unworthy of Christ. With repentance and godly sorrow, ask for His forgiveness and seek the forgiveness of those you may have damaged by your words or actions. We are either serving the cause of Christ, or doing the work of the enemy of our souls. Perhaps there are people who have hurt or persecuted you or your family in some way. If so, God calls you to forgive them. Pray that the Father will help you to see these enemies through His eyes. Ask Him to give you a forgiving heart. It may mean that you will need to go to someone to extend forgiveness so that your relationship may be healed and restored. Jesus Prayed for His Enemies Jesus had enemies . . . and they crucified Him. Yet, as we know, He had the ultimate victory in the end. But because God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus to die, His Son did not leave the earth without praying for those who were responsible for His death. Jesus, who told us to love and pray for our enemies, demonstrated the ultimate gift of love while hanging on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34a). Jesus prayed for His enemies . . . how can we do less? One of the most amazing commands of Christ is to love our enemies. In our flesh, we naturally want to retaliate or fight back when we are treated unkindly or persecuted. Jesus preached forgiveness and mercy: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). His lifestyle demonstrated grace, that ours might also. He took His command one step further, adding another level of difficulty: “Pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44b). May this article give you a firm foundation upon which to train your children to love their enemies so that they might be determined to pray for them to know Jesus as Savior and Lord. Jude also spoke about the importance of mercy: “Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them” (Jude 1:22). Because of God’s mercy, we were saved. We must extend His mercy to those who are still enemies of God, so that they might also receive what we have been given. Overcome Evil with Good “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is Mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:17-21). How will the unsaved most likely come into God’s kingdom–through your revenge, or by your loving acts and your prayer for them? This is an extremely important concept to teach children, as their first response is often to hit back, think up revenge, cease friendship, etc., rather than praying, continuing to be kind, etc. Sometimes I say unkind things to my husband that I would normally not say to him. Precious man that he is, he always responds kindly to me and is never harsh. He doesn’t try to get back at me or say something hurtful in response. What does this do in me? It drives me to God in repentance and then to my husband to apologize! How many arguments or hurtful situations in our families could be avoided by simply responding kindly instead of fighting back–submitting to God instead of to our natural human sinful flesh! It really works! I feel terrible for hurting my husband’s feelings or lashing out at him because he is kind! If he responded back to me in anger, I doubt I would feel very repentant. But because he responds in love, it brings me back into right relationship with him, and with God. How to Pray for Your Enemies Our Lord is the “God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were” (Romans 4:17b). Sometimes it is hard to imagine that our enemies could ever turn away from evil and come to Christ, but He has called us to pray for them. What seems impossible to us is possible with God (Mark 10:27). What greater love could there be than to pray for God to draw them into His kingdom? Remember the people you and each family member considered as enemies? Here are some passages from Colossians that you can pray on their behalf: Pray that God will rescue them from the dominion of darkness and bring them “into the kingdom of the Son He [the Father] loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14). Pray God will make known to them His glorious riches through the mystery of Christ (Colossians 1:27). Pray that they may “know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2-3). Pray that they will “put to death whatever belongs to [their] earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry”  (Colossians 3:5). Pray that they will rid themselves of “anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from [their] lips” (Colossians 3:8). Pray that they will become one of God’s children, holy and dearly loved, clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:12). Pray they will come to know and possess the love of the Lord (Colossians 3:14). Pray that they will come to know the peace of Christ and that it will rule in their hearts (Colossians 3:15).

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 presence is made manifest and His people are drawn back to Him. The result of that is a changed society. Perhaps the clearest view of revival can be seen by looking back at Israel in the Old Testament. Historians tell us that there are seven major revivals in the Old Testament. I would suggest that if you take away the word “major” there are somewhere between fifteen and sixteen revivals. Very clear, distinct times, in which the people of God were restored to a time of religious excitement, enthusiasm, and commitment with a resultant change in society. You typically see something like this: Israel, as a people, called by God to make a difference…called to be a light to the Gentiles. You see them under a leader such as Moses or David, people who are living a life that causes them to be set apart from the people around them. They are worshipping God, they’re holding on to His Word, they are doing what God wants them to do. Then, typically, after a generation or so when a leader has died you see Israel begin to slide. You begin to see them move farther and farther away from obedience to the Word of God. They begin to accept idolatry from the tribes around them. Pagan practices begin to come in, with acts of immorality and all the problems associated with that – eventually times of war and even slavery. Typically at this point of decline there arises a remnant of people who begin to pray. They begin to cry out to God asking the Lord to save them. Then, in His own timing, God sends a leader and there comes a time of revival when they begin to throw off their idolatry and paganism and restore once again the true worship of Jehovah. They begin to again hold on to the Word of God. The nation experiences a time of national prosperity, spiritual excitement and religious significance that lasts for about a generation. Then you see the cycle begin to happen again. Over and over again throughout the Old Testament: revival and decline, revival and decline. As you move into the New Testament you see a group of people who were born in a time of revival. But we know historically that it did not last. Through the history of the Church you once again see the exact same pattern of revival and decline. It seems to be the way God deals with His people. Down through the years many countries have experienced periodic times of revival. Within the United States we have experienced three times of national revival, known as the Great Awakenings. During these times, God moved and changed the course of our nation. Many of us believe that God is getting ready to do it again in our day, in our age. What is this thing called revival? I believe that revival is the Church waking up to the presence of Jesus in her midst. It is nothing more and nothing less than you and I beginning to experience what we already know theologically and intellectually. You believe that Jesus is with you. Why? Because He said He would be. You don’t necessarily believe it because you feel Him, but just because Jesus said it. He said that where two or three are gathered together there am I in your midst. You also have to believe Colossians 1:27:  “Christ in us, the hope of glory.” We believe that Jesus is present when we gather as the Church. But we don’t act that way. That is not the way things happen on Sunday. You know why I know your church needs revival? The reason I know your church needs revival is when church services ended last Sunday, you went home. What would happen if Jesus was there? Let’s just suppose Jesus was there. Would you be looking at your watch? Would you be eager to leave? One of the characteristics of the great revivals was extended times of worship. They never wanted to end the service. Now obviously people had to leave, they had to take care of physical things, they had jobs that they had to go to, but as soon as they were done they were back, because that was where God was. They wanted to be in on the action. They wanted to be where God was. They wanted to experience His presence. I want to suggest to you that revival is not strange or mystical. It is simply the Church waking up to the presence of Christ in her midst. It is almost as though God reaches out and slaps us and we wake up and we realize God is there. That is what revival is. It is God shaking us. It is God waking us up. And we recognize that Jesus really is here. We are desperate for that in our nation today. I am not in any way a critic of the Church. The more I travel the more I fall in love with the Church of Jesus Christ. I am seeing so many wonderful things happen. Christians are doing wonderful things in the name of Jesus, acts of love, mercy and self-sacrifice. It is amazing what is happening today, and has been happening for years. We are doing all we know to do. But it isn’t working. Most of the churches have all kinds of activities. They’ve tried all kinds of programs. They’ve given and done everything they know how to do to get the Church going and to impact society. But in all that has happened in the last fifty years in the Church in the US, are we a more moral and ethical nation because of what we have been doing as a Church? It is unbelievable when we consider the tremendous acts of sacrifice, service and ministry in the last fifty years in the Church, and yet it is apparent that the Church is going one way and our nation is moving the opposite way as fast as it can. In a very real sense, we are at this wonderful point of despair. We are at a wonderful point of hopelessness in which the Church is beginning to recognize that we have been doing everything we know how to do and it is not working. It is time for revival. It is time to humble ourselves before God in prayer and ask Him to make Himself known in the midst of His people so that our nation can be saved and our world impacted for Christ. How does revival come? Any student of revival will tell you that there has never been a revival without a movement of prayer. God always calls His people to prayer in anticipation of revival. I would ask you today to get serious about praying for revival. We need to shift our prayer focus to the issues that are close to God’s heart, especially that His people, His Church, would wake up and discover the presence of Jesus in our midst. When that happens, our lives become different. When Jesus is there, suddenly things that we accepted before, are no longer acceptable. Some of the things that go on in our church and in our society are changed because it is the Lord who is present. That is why in those great revivals in the past, there was a bit of emotionalism. Suddenly they came into a church service and there was Jesus. Now they did not see Him in the flesh, but there was a powerful sense of the presence of Jesus. What do you suppose happens if you come into a church service during a revival and there is a strong sense of the presence of Jesus and you’ve been sinning all week? When you come into the presence of the awesome holiness of God suddenly there is weeping, crying out, and sometimes even falling down before God in repentance. Heaven-sent revival is our only hope. We don’t have answers. We don’t know what to do. We don’t have any programs in our churches that are changing whole communities and our society. It’s just not happening. What we need is God. How do you pray for revival? Psalm 85 is a good place to begin:  “You showed favor to Your land, O Lord. You restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of Your people and covered all their sins. You set aside all Your wrath and turned from Your fierce anger. Restore us again, O Lord our Savior, and put away Your displeasure toward us. Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger through all generations? Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?” Based on that passage we will find ourselves praying, “Lord, revive us again, do it again in our day.” We will come before God saying, “Lord, this is what you have done and this is what we want you to do in our life and in our nation.

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 glory I had in heaven.2. Protect My followers from the evil one.3. Sanctify them by the truth.4. May they be one.5. May they be with Me forever. I’d like to focus on a point of passion with Jesus. It concerns the fourth petition, “May they be one.” It seems to me that Jesus is most passionate about this request. It is this part of the prayer that seems to identify the believer most with both Father and Son. The practical, lived-out unity of the Body of Christ is literally the most powerful apologetic to the world that God had sent Jesus into the world and demonstrated for all eternity the Father’s great love for mankind. New Testament scholar Merrill Tenney writes, “The unity mentioned here is not simply a unity achieved by legislation. It is a unity of nature because it is comparable to that of the Son and the Father. The unity of the Church must spring from the common life that is imparted to all believers by the new birth; and it is manifested in their common love for Christ and for one another as they face a hostile world. The unity of the Son and the Father was manifested in the deep love that each sustained for the other and by the perfect obedience of the Son to the Father and the perfect response of the Father to the Son.” (The Gospel of John, Merrill C. Tenney, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Zondervan Publishing, 1981, p.164). Our passion needs to come alongside that of our Lord’s. Should we not join our prayers with Jesus for the unity of all believers? We can discuss the implications and obstacles to unity forever, but the most powerful force toward unity is the same used by Jesus…prayer! How can we pray in an effective way concerning this essential issue in God’s kingdom? Praying Scripture is always my first impulse. It is in praying the Word of God that we most line up with His thoughts and intents. Would it be possible for us to take Jesus’ prayer for unity that we find in John 17:20-23 and make it an integral part of our prayer life? I’ve taken the words of Jesus and adapted them to our own situation. May they be a blessing to you as you regularly pray back to the Father a similar prayer to the one He heard 2,000 years ago from His only begotten Son. Holy Father, I lift before You today the scattered followers of Jesus Christ. In the same way that Jesus prayed, not just for the disciples who stood in front of Him as He prayed, but for all who would believe in Him through their message, so I too, do not limit my prayers just to the Christians around me. Lord, there are millions of us now…divided by language, creed, and customs. Our divisions have brought us shame and have hindered the advance of the Gospel. Father…make us one. In the same way that You and Your Son are one, would You make us one? I don’t understand Your unity….how two can be one, and how the Holy Spirit added to that makes the three still one. But in some ways that is reassuring, because I also don’t understand how You can make all of us one. It’s obvious though, Lord, that our unity is somehow rooted in Your very unity as God. That gives me hope. Father, in a way that is beyond our comprehension, You dwell in Jesus and Jesus dwells in You. That astonishing unity is what You desire for us by inviting us as believers in Jesus to come to dwell in You. We confess our desire for that as well. We want to live in You. We want to continually experience Your presence…Your oneness. We are beginning to see that dwelling in You in unity is so amazing that it literally declares to a watching world that You truly did send Jesus into the world. We need a supernatural work of Your Holy Spirit to break down our divisions and to bring us together into Your presence. We long to see the day when the world wakes up to the realization of Your awesome love that prompted You to send Jesus into the world. Father, make us one that this day might come soon. Father, as You and Your Son are one, Your presence in Him and His presence in You, we pray the presence of Your Spirit in us will make us one with You and Your Son. And if we are one with You and Your Son, then we certainly become one with each other. You are not divided, Lord. Forgive us for our actions and attitudes that have appeared to divide the Body of Christ. Would You give us the passion for unity that You and Your Son have? Help us to see how important this issue is to the proclamation of the Gospel. You have loved us as You love Your Son. Please teach us to love each other in that way…people who are different from us in so many ways…yet who are still a part of Your Body. Bring us to complete unity that the world may know of Your astounding love. We ask in Jesus’ name.

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).  And, no one can come to Jesus Christ unless the Father who sent Jesus draws him (John 6:44).  God draws us to Himself through the prayers of His people. Be constantly aware of the people whom God places on your heart to pray for – they may be your prayer assignments.  Your prayers may ultimately result in their eternal destiny being changed from darkness to light.  The Lord wants everyone to pray for, care about and share his or her faith in Christ with others because He  “wants all men  [and women and children]  to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth”  (1 Tim. 2:4).  His way of accomplishing this is for His people to pray for those who are still in darkness. Perhaps the greatest mission field that most families will ever have is the neighborhood.  There are many families and individuals living within a short walking distance of your home who have never known Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  Whether you live in a subdivision, an apartment building, a college dorm, or even out in the country, you can pray effectively and powerfully for your neighbors. Praying the Word of God As we pray for our neighbors, we should always remember that His Word will bring life and light into the lives of others, as it has for us.   “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path”  (Psa. 119:105).  Praying the Word of God into the lives and situations of those around us blesses them, and fulfills God’s desire to see us apply His Word to our actions.  For example, try praying the blessing from Numbers 6:24-26, “Lord, bless them and keep them.  Make Your face shine upon them and be gracious to them.  Father, turn Your face toward them and give them peace.”  Isn’t that a much more powerful prayer than, “Lord, bless our neighbors”? When we pray the Word of God into the lives and situations of others, God can do some amazing things.   “The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple”  (Psa. 119:130).  Those who could not understand before are able to grasp the things of God.  When we pray, their hearts and minds can be opened to receive from the Lord. The Light of Christ in You Matthew 5:14-16 says,  “You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”   Your neighbors need to see the light of Jesus Christ in you.  When they begin to see that there is a difference in you, they will want to know what it is and they may even want it for themselves .   We need to allow God’s plans and purposes to shine through us. When you pray for your neighbors, ask God to give you opportunities to care for them as well.  Perhaps an elderly woman needs someone to mow the lawn, or a mother with a new baby would appreciate someone going to the grocery store for her.  Maybe a new couple in the neighborhood would appreciate being invited over for dinner to get to know your family.  God will open up opportunities to care about people if you will simply ask Him.  Then, He can allow your light to shine into the lives of others.  Praying for neighbors will lead to caring about them, which will eventually open a door for you to share Jesus with them . The Light of Life “…[Jesus] said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’”  (John 8:12).  God’s plan is for lost people to seek and know Christ.  As we walk in obedience to the Lord, and begin to pray for them, their eyes can be opened so that the truth of Jesus can be made known to their hearts. As we pray for our neighbors, we will find an amazing thing happening.  We will begin to care for them more deeply, and even to love them as Jesus does. The Five Blessings One way to pray for our neighbors (and others) is to pray the Five Blessings based on the acronym BLESS: B  – BODY – pray for their physical bodies; for health and safety L  – LABOR – pray for their work, school, finances E  – EMOTIONAL – pray for their emotional needs S  – SOCIAL – pray for their relationships with family and friends S  – SPIRITUAL – pray for their relationship with Jesus Christ The most effective way to pray the Five Blessings for your neighbors, as we have already established, is to pray the Word of God into their lives.  Here are some examples: Body – “Lord, help my neighbors to lie down and sleep in peace because You make them dwell in safety” (Psa. 4:8). Labor – “May Your favor rest upon my neighbors, Lord.  Establish the work of their hands” (Psa. 90:17). Emotional – “Father, help our neighbors to live in peaceful, secure homes and to have undisturbed places of rest” (Isa. 32:18).  “Help them to know that the joy that comes from You is their strength” (Neh. 8:10). Social – “Lord, give my neighbors the ability to live in harmony with one another, and to be sympathetic, loving, compassionate and humble in their families and relationships” (1 Pet. 3:8). Spiritual – “Gracious God, let my neighbors see that You are the Way and the Truth and the Life.  May they realize that no one can come to You except through Jesus Christ” (John 14:6). Powerful Results Using this simple plan to pray for your neighbors as a family will yield powerful results – even though you may not see the results for some time.  As you begin to pray for your neighbors, you will be amazed at how much love God pours into your hearts for them.  Look for ways to show the love of Jesus to them through acts of caring.  Then, as you feel led by the Holy Spirit, begin to share the Gospel with them.  Let them know what Jesus has done in your lives.  Because you have prepared the ground in advance through prayer, and because you have shown them love through acts of caring, they will be more prepared and ready to hear what you have to say. Children love to pray for neighbors, and will readily join in. You will have an opportunity to grow as a family together in prayer and in the process of becoming more like Christ.

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 to prayerfully ask Him to place that characteristic in me, and in my children. He is the standard by which all of my behavior and that of my children should be measured. Do people see Jesus in you, in your spouse, in your family? There is no greater act of worship than to be like Christ, for we were created in His image for fellowship with our Creator. To pray God’s character into the lives of our children is simply a matter of studying His Word and praying that specific characteristics will be manifest in us! Let’s look at one short passage that gives four distinct characteristics of God: “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love” (Psalm 145:8). We know that God has many more characteristics; however these particular ones are repeated over and over in Scripture. Here are just a few examples: “But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love” (Nehemiah 9:17). “But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (Psalm 86:15). “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love” (Psalm 103:8). “For he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love” (Joel 2:13). Now, take these four very important characteristics of the Sovereign Lord’s person, and pray that your children will be: Gracious Compassionate Slow to Anger Rich in Love I will give you many examples for each of these characteristics that you can pray for your children. Begin with these, and then begin to pray other characteristics into their lives (and into your own). If you begin with only one of these four character traits at a time, begin with “love.” There are more references to “love” in the New Testament than any other characteristic. Do you think the Lord wishes us to be loving? Absolutely! In the following examples, I have also allowed the first Scripture to reflect how Jesus either displayed the characteristic of His Father, or what He had to say about that particular characteristic. Since Christ lives in us, and since we desire to be Christlike–it is important to know that the characteristics of God also describe the characteristics of His Son. So, when we pray for our children to display the characteristics of God in their lives, we are praying that they will be like Christ, who showed us the very character of God as He walked on this earth. Pray for Your Child to Be Gracious (Filled With Grace) The Graciousness of Jesus: “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. ‘Isn’t this Joseph’s son?’ they asked” (Luke 4:22).Prayer: Father, Your Son spoke gracious words and people spoke well of Him. Would you help my child to speak gracious words that minister to others and point them to You? “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:6).Prayer: Lord, help all of my child’s conversations to be filled with grace and seasoned with salt, so that he/she may always know how to answer everyone. “He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble” (Proverbs 3:34).Prayer: Help my child to walk in humility rather than in pride, so that You may fill him/her with Your grace. “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14).Prayer: Thank You, Father, that my child is under grace, and that sin will not be his/her master! “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work”(2 Corinthians 9:8).Prayer: Help my child to be filled with Your grace, so that in all things at all times, he/she will have all that he/she needs and will abound in every good work. “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1). Prayer: May my child be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus! “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10).Prayer: May my child use the gifts you have given to him/her so that he/she may administer Your grace to others. “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2).Prayer: May my child have full knowledge of You, Father, and of Jesus Christ our Lord so that grace and peace might belong to him/her in abundance. Pray for Your Child to Have the Compassion of Jesus “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick” (Matthew 14:14).Prayer: Father, build compassion into the character of my child so that he/she sees every person just as Jesus would. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).Prayer: Holy Lord, show me how to demonstrate to my child how to be kind and compassionate to others. Help me to be a forgiving person so that he/she will forgive others just as Jesus has forgiven us. Place the compassionate heart of Christ in my child so that others will be drawn to You. “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble” (1 Peter 3:8).Prayer: Father, help my child to get along with everyone he/she comes into contact with. May he/she be a compassionate, humble tool that you can use to bring unity into the body of Christ. Pray for Your Child to Be Slow to Anger “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment” (Matthew 5:22).Prayer: Lord, Jesus taught that we should not be angry with anyone. May my child have the strength to be the kind of person Jesus was when He walked this earth–with a heart of forgiveness rather than a heart that desires to harbor anger. “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold” (Ephesians 4:25-26).Prayer: Father, when my child is angry, help him/her to keep his/her anger in check so that he/she is not drawn into sin by the schemes of the enemy. May he/she never allow the sun to go down on his/her anger. Show him/her how to become a peacemaker. Help him/her to be determined not to give the devil a foothold in this area. “I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing” (1 Timothy 2:8).Prayer: May my child continually lift up holy hands to You, Father, because You have delivered him/her from having an angry heart towards others. “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires” (James 1:19-20).Prayer: Father, help my child to be quick to listen and slow to become angry so that he/she can live the righteous life that You desire. Pray for Your Child to be Rich in the Love of Jesus “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:9-12).Prayer: Lord, Jesus loved us as You loved Him. That’s a powerful love! Help my child to remain in Christ’s love all of his/her life. Give him/her the strength to obey Your commands so that he/she can remain in Your love just as Jesus did, because remaining in Your love brings complete joy. Help my child to love others just as You love him/her. “‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these’” (Mark 12:29-31).Prayer: Father, You have given us two commandments that You consider to be the greatest of all of Your commandments. Give my child a burning desire to love You with all of his/her heart and soul and mind and strength. May he/she always love his/her neighbor as much as he/she loves him/herself. “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked”(Luke 6:35).Prayer: Lord, it’s hard for kids to love their enemies. Give my child Your supernatural love so that he/she can “do good” to those who are unkind or hurtful to him/her, and so that he/she can become a son/daughter of Yours, Most High God! “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves” (Romans 12:9-10).Prayer: Most High God, help my child to love out of a sincere heart that clings only to what is good. May he/she be continually devoted to others in brotherly love, honoring others above him/herself. “But the man who loves God is known by God” (1 Corinthians 8:3).Prayer: Lord, may my child be known by You because he/she truly loves You all the days of his/her life! “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:17-18).Prayer: Loving God, I pray that my child will never learn to love this world or to love the material possessions it has to offer. May he/she instead take pity on those in need and respond. May he/she love with actions and in truth rather than with just words. Help him/her to have Your love within him/her. Bless Your Children Using Scripture The two following prayers lend themselves to wonderful blessing prayer! You can lay hands on your child and pray these prayers over him/her. Actually, you can do this with any of these prayers. Let your children know that you are praying specifically for them to develop the character traits of God. Prayer (based on Philippians 1:9-11): Lord, this is my prayer for my child: that his/her love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that he/she may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to Your glory and praise! Prayer (based on Ephesians 3:16-19): I pray that out of God’s glorious riches, He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart(s) through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Perhaps there are other specific character traits of God that your child needs at this time. Ask God to reveal these to you, if you are not already aware of them. One good additional example is to pray that your child will demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in his or her life: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). Pray them one at a time, as you feel led, keeping in mind those things your child needs in his or her life most right now. Praying the Word of God is powerful, and because it is His Word, such prayers are ALWAYS in His perfect will! And, as you begin to faithfully and expectantly pray for God’s character to be shown in your child, He will be faithful to answer.

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 spiritually sensitive than men. This awareness that something is happening spiritually brings about prayer. Certainly in many, if not most churches, they have had the model of praying women set before them. Women go to the prayer meeting while the men go work on the building. Stereotype? Yes…but all too often very close to the truth. What God has perhaps allowed in the past is no longer permitted today. God is calling men to step up to the plate and do their part in prayer. The Lord today is calling ALL of the Church to prayer….both men and women, young and old. Look just at the spiritual warfare aspect of prayer. John Piper writes, “Until we know that life is war, we won’t know what prayer is for.” Prayer involves battle against spiritual forces in the heavenlies. Men —how do you feel about sending your mother or wife out to do battle while you sit at home? Isn’t that what we’ve been doing when we have looked at prayer as women’s work? It’s time to take the place of the warrior, alongside the women, as we do battle together in the Lord’s strength and victory as a people of prayer. Consider also the issue of spiritual leadership in the home. It’s very apparent in Scripture that the Lord expects Christian men to be the spiritual leaders of their homes. Here is a truth though, that is not always understood: spiritual leaders pray! If a man is not praying, he is not a spiritual leader. Prayerless men have abdicated their place of spiritual authority and left their families open to attack. You see, this is not an abstract discussion, but a matter of very practical issues for you and your family. I believe the place for married men to begin is to develop the habit of praying with their wives. Most Christian men do not do this. Several years ago, Leadership Journal shared how most pastors don’t pray with their wives either. There are always excuses why we don’t, but they remain mere excuses. Couples that pray together are forging strong bonds that will not easily break. A survey was taken that noted just 1 in over a thousand couples who prayed together saw their marriage fall apart. Match that up against the close to 50% figure for all other couples, including Christians. When my wife, Kim, and I were first married, we made a commitment to pray together. We found that there never seemed to be just the right time of day to do this. We finally decided the only way it was going to work for us was to get up a half an hour earlier in the morning. Our prayer time is precious to us. I hear from Kim about the things that are important to her by just listening to her prayers. She hears me praying over her day and asking God to bless her, as I also hear her pray for me. It is a wonderful time of sharing together before the Lord, and strengthening one another. There are some days we don’t pray together. The schedule is out of the ordinary, or we’re on a trip, or one of us is especially tired. That’s ok. It’s not a legalistic requirement that we never miss a day of prayer together. Don’t put yourself under condemnation. Praying together is a great gift to give one another. Whether it is in the morning or evening, for 5 minutes, or for an hour, it is vital for Christian couples to learn to pray together. I believe that God is calling men to lead out in prayer as part of His strategy for retaking planet earth. As men begin to respond in prayer, God begins to move in amazing ways. Dr J. Edwin Orr said it this way, “When God gets ready to do something new with his people, He always sets them praying.” 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. But I do know the key. It is evangelism. And the key to evangelism is prayer. Let me show this to you scripturally. Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). The gospel is going to be preached to all nations…Jesus said so. Do you want to be a part of the fulfillment of these words? Jesus ties together prayer and evangelism in Matthew 9:37-38: “The harvest is truly plentiful but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Then, in 1 Timothy chapter 2, Paul urges prayers to be lifted up because God wants everyone saved. Again prayer and evangelism are brought together. There are two passages of Scripture in Revelation that you may not have noticed before that are exciting in their presentation of prayer and evangelism: “Each one has a harp and they are holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” (Revelation 5:8). “Another angel, who had a golden censor, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand” (Revelation 8:3-4). After each of these incidents, in which the collected prayers of God’s people are poured out before God, angels are loosed upon the earth to cause events intended to bring people to repentance and salvation. God uses the prayers of His people to bring about the establishment of Christ’s Kingdom. The second passage in Revelation comes in the midst of a half an hour of silence. Author Walter Wink explains the connection well: “Heaven itself falls silent. The heavenly hosts and celestial spheres suspend their ceaseless singing so that the prayers of the saints on earth can be heard. The seven angels of destiny cannot blow the signal of the next times to be until an eighth angel gathers these prayers…and mingles them with incense upon the altar. Silently they rise to the nostrils of God. “Human beings have intervened in the heavenly liturgy. The uninterrupted flow of consequences is damned for a moment. New alternatives become feasible. The unexpected becomes suddenly possible, because God’s people on earth have invoked heaven, the home of the possibles, and have been heard. What happens next, happens because people prayed. The message is clear: history belongs to the intercessors.” Dick Eastman, of Every Home for Christ, said it this way: “God’s ultimate purpose for mankind, the completion of Christ’s bride and the establishing of His eternal Kingdom on earth will result only from the release of the prayers of God’s saints.” Graham Kendrick and Chris Robinson wrote the hymn, All Heaven Waits. See if their words call to your heart and stir within you a passion to be a man of prayer: “All heaven waits with bated breath for saints on earth to pray,Majestic angels ready stand with swords of fiery blade.Astounding power awaits a word from God’s resplendent throne.But God awaits our prayer of faith that cries, “Your will be done!”

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 couple who asked for a Bible study had given their lives to Christ. A Buddhist family who lived across the street was coming to church regularly, and one member of the family had become a Christ-follower. The children of both families were involved in the church’s education classes. This pastor’s family discovered the power of prayer evangelism. What Is Prayer Evangelism? Prayer evangelism is a form of evangelism in which God moves in the hearts and lives of yet-to-be-followers of Christ in response to the earnest prayers of believers. Intercessors, with access to the throne of God, plead with the Father on behalf of those who lack that access. And then, believers with access to prayed-for persons who do not know Christ, now stand ready to share the good news with those who are prepared to hear. Why Pray for the Unsaved? God wants us to pray for unsaved persons. Christ modeled prayer for yet-to-be-believers. The day before He was crucified, He said to the Father, “. . . I pray also for those who will believe in me through [the disciples’] message” (John 17:20). Paul was moved to pray for his fellow countrymen: “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites, is that they may be saved” (Rom. 10:1). God’s Word urges us to make “requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving . . . for everyone,” with the awareness that, “God our Savior . . . wants all [persons] to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:1–4). Prayer for unsaved persons is a high priority. Prayer is the way Christ chooses to work in the world today. When the disciples worried they would fail if Jesus left them, He assured them that they would do “even greater things” than He had done, “because” He said, “I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name. . .” (John 14:12-13). When Christ acts in response to our prayers, people get saved. Why Prayer Evangelism Works Not only is prayer evangelism biblical—it is also powerful! There are several reasons why combining prayer with evangelistic efforts produces great results. Praying for others changes the person praying. Praying for others changed me. To be effective for God I needed to become more deeply concerned for the spiritual well-being of others, more aware of God’s heart for them. What I found was that the more I prayed for yet-to-be-followers of Christ, the more I cared. The more I cared, the harder I prayed. The harder I prayed, the more I wanted God’s best for them and the more effective I was in reaching out to them. Prayer doesn’t just change things. It changes people—especially the people who pray. Prayer for others builds relationships. Most people who come to Christ come because they have a relationship with a bona fide Christian—a relationship in which the love of Christ is not only communicated but demonstrated. Intercession builds relational bridges—bridges of love that connect us to the persons we pray for and connect the persons we pray for to Christ. Prayer gains access where hearts are closed. People may refuse to open a Bible. They may turn a blind eye to what can clearly be seen in the things God has made. They may brush off the testimony of believers and spurn the church. They may close their hearts and minds to the gospel. But they can’t keep the Spirit from moving in their hearts—the Spirit who moves when God’s people pray. The unknown author of Kneeling Christian said it best, “Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons, but they are helpless against our prayers.” Prayer evangelism is simple, flexible, and do-able. I can pray for yet-to-be-followers of Christ whether I am alone, with my family, with a small group, or with my whole church. My prayers can focus on friends, family members, neighbors, or coworkers. I can pray at home, in a restaurant, at my workplace, or on the move. Prayer evangelism is simply a matter of talking to God about the “lost sheep” who are all around us, lost sheep that Christ wants to bring home.     No one can honestly say, “I don’t know when, where, or how to pray.” Opportunities are everywhere. What Prayer Evangelism Requires Prayer evangelism requires a burdened heart. Burden is one of our strongest motivations to pray for unsaved persons. Jesus’ call to pray for harvesters arose out of His burden for “harassed and helpless” sheep. Paul’s fervent prayer for fellow Israelites sprang from his “heart’s desire . . . that they might be saved” (Rom. 10:1). Prayers without burden are lifeless and perfunctory. When Salvation Army workers reported their failure to win souls, their leader William Booth proposed a two-word solution: “Try tears.” Burdened hearts love the lost. Burdened hearts weep. Burdened hearts pray fervently and powerfully. Prayer evangelism requires perseverance. Jesus applauded the shameless perseverance of the man who went to his neighbor to plead for bread to give his friend who had come at midnight. I am sure that he also applauded the persevering evangelistic prayers of George Mueller. Mueller began in 1844 to pray daily for five individuals who did not know the Lord. One by one they came to the Lord as Mueller persisted in prayer. The last of the five came to faith shortly after Mueller’s death, more than 63 years after he first began to pray. Mueller understood perseverance. He just didn’t quit. Our best evangelistic prayers are Scripture prayers. Since “no one can come to [Jesus] unless the Father . . . draws him,” Scripture prayer means praying that the Father will draw them (John 6:44). Since the evil one snatches away gospel seed sown in the hearts of people, Scripture prayer means praying that they will “hear the word and understand it” (Matt. 13:23). Since the “god of this age” blinds the minds of unbelievers, it also means praying that they will be unblinded and will “see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4). God loves to hear us pray His purposes back to Him. Prayer evangelism is spiritual warfare. Satan—the strong man—is determined to keep his captives bound. Christ, who is able to bind the strong man, wants them set free. Warfare prayer, according to Wesley Duewel is, “joining Christ in driving out and defeating Satan and in setting his captives free” (Touch the World through Prayer, p. 208). We do the praying. Christ does the freeing. It’s not prayer that defeats Satan. It’s Christ who defeats Satan in response to our prayers. He binds the strong man and sets captives free. Prayer evangelism requires the Word of God. It’s not enough just to pray. If there is to be a spiritual harvest, people need to hear the Word of God. “Faith comes by hearing” said Paul, and “hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). People can’t “hear” the word unless the Holy Spirit opens their ears and their hearts. Our prayers move the Spirit to do just that. And that word, God decrees, “will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire” (Isa. 55:11). That’s a promise—God’s promise! Where Prayer Evangelism Works It works person to person . Norm began praying regularly for John, an annoying neighbor, who he didn’t like very much. The first thing God did as Norm prayed was to change his own heart. He began to feel genuine concern for John. In a “chance” meeting John reported that he had started going to church, and Norm responded, “Great! I want you to know that I have been praying for you.” Next, John asked Norm to suggest a Christian book for him to read. Norm gave him More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell. Then, to Norm’s surprise, John accepted the Lord, joined the church, and was reunited with his divorced wife who had also come to know the Lord. Norm’s reaction: “I am grateful that through prayer God not only changed John’s life for eternity, but He also changed me.” It works family to family.  A family placed the names of each of their neighbors in a jar. Each day at dinner they pulled out a name and prayed as a family for that neighbor. One week they pulled out the same neighbor’s name three days in a row. Wondering if God was sending them a message, they visited this home and found that the father had abandoned the family three days earlier. With this new awareness they prayed fervently for the needs of the abandoned family. Not long afterward the father returned home and reunited with his family. Prayer can change families. It works in small groups.  A prayer triplet is a small group in which each person presents the names of three persons he or she knows who have yet to follow Christ. The triplet members pray daily on their own for the nine persons named and come together once a week for mutual prayer. Any existing small group can choose to use prayer triplets. Group members agree to pray faithfully for those named, to report progress to each other, and to plan activities that might appeal to those being prayed for. God is pleased to hear our “agreeing” prayers. It works in neighborhoods.  A church in Bakersfield, CA, planted eight prayer cells in high-need apartment complexes near the church. As prayers mounted up, things began to change.  Residents of the complexes began helping each other. An out-of-control boy got turned around. Drug dealers moved out. A prostitute was converted and gave up her lifestyle. Several of the residents started going to church. Eighteen young people became involved in the church’s youth ministries. A couple of new Bible studies started in the complexes. Ten persons made commitments to Christ. Crime rates came down so dramatically that the police asked the church to consider planting prayer cells in other neighborhoods. It works in whole churches.  A 1,200-member church in southern California challenged its members to pray for family members, friends, neighbors, and coworkers who were not yet followers of Christ. The church provided prayer guides and regularly encouraged outreach prayer in their worship services. As a result the church began to see a steady stream of new converts. At the end of one full year of outreach prayer they had recorded 430 new commitments to Christ. Most of them had been prayed for by name by church members. Their prayers were the key to effective evangelism. It works in whole denominations . Some years ago the Evangelical Covenant Church, a fellowship of about 110,000 members, initiated a denomination-wide emphasis to pray by name for yet-to-be-followers of Christ. At the denomination’s annual conference, members submitted the names of 394,000 persons who were being prayed for. One year later the denomination reported 11,600 decisions for Christ, which represents 11 new faith commitments for every 100 members. That is a conversion rate approximately seven times greater than the average in America. Prayer paved the way. Rapid and Fearless Pace Something happens when people pray for unsaved persons in their spheres of influence—something that wouldn’t have happened if they hadn’t prayed. I think E. M. Bounds had it right when he said, “The gospel moves at slow and timid pace when the saints are not at their prayers early, long, and late.” If that is true, then wouldn’t it also be true to say that the gospel will move at rapid and fearless pace when God’s people are at their prayers early, long, and late? I think so! NOTE:  This article was written for issue 7 (Nov/Dec 2012) of  Prayer Connect  magazine.