Pray Network Forum

“Might we not set ourselves to learn silence, stillness, and solitude? It will not be easy to come by. It must be arranged. The Lord Jesus, available to people much of the time, left them, sometimes a great while before day, to go up to the hills. He could commune in solitude with His Father. Job, enduring his friends’ tiresome lectures and accusations, was very much alone in the ash heap, but it was there that he came to know God as never before. When Paul received God’s call to preach the gospel he did not consult anyone. He went into Arabia. The old apostle John, when exiled to Patmos, must sure have known a holy aloneness through which he received the book of Revelation^.” Elisabeth Eliot

I like to write motivational books on prayer. One of my books is called Deeper Still: Secrets to a Deeper Prayer Life. As I wrestled with what to call this book and after finally deciding on a title, God gave me several confirmations that this was His choice. Within a very short time I saw the words “deep,” “deeper,” and “deeper still” everywhere—a street name, a magazine title, a song on a CD, an article title, and several other places.

God was showing me that depth is very important to Him as we learn the lessons of prayer. The great biblical characters like Job, Paul, John, and even Jesus had to learn this lesson. God wants to take each one of us deeper still—deeper than we have ever been before. And this requires an invitation to times of aloneness.

Going deeper in prayer is not always easy or fun.

Actually it can be quite difficult, especially when we don’t know what God is doing. We have to give extravagant time to God. When I wrote Deeper Still, God was wooing me into a deeper prayer life. I thought to myself:

“Haven’t I gone deep enough? Do You still want me to go deeper?”

That is exactly what He wanted. The difficulties of the end-times require it. You may wonder, “Lord, isn’t it about time that I take action? I’ve been waiting a long time.” But you may not realize the strength that is needed at the foundation of your life in order to stay consistently stable in hard times. Your foundation has to be strong so that no attack from the enemy can penetrate your firm trust in the Lord.

The word “deep” in Webster’s Dictionary means “extending far below the surface, descending far downward, profound, opposed to shallow, piercing a great way, not superficial or obvious, hidden, secret, heartfelt, intricate.” God wants to take us far below the surface in our relationship with Himself. This relationship must not be superficial—as so many are—but heartfelt, hidden, and of great depth.

The quality of our aloneness with God can actually enhance the quality of our time with others. Cultivate that deep, alone time with God and make it a holy aloneness. Make your relationship with God of prime importance because this is what life is all about. Someone once told my husband and I, “God is taking you deeper and working intricately with your life, so that you can work intricately with the lives of others.” I’ve often thought about how true that statement has been to us.

We used to live in Virginia Beach so we learned a lot about hurricanes. A few years ago we had a hurricane called Ernesto that swept through the area. I’ve written about this hurricane before because of its’ profound message. Ernesto was not a very forceful hurricane, yet many trees fell because of the strength of the winds. Many people lost one or more trees during that hurricane. It left Virginia Beach in a huge mess with trees and branches lying everywhere.

The stability of the trees depended on how deep the roots went below the surface. Shallow roots could not stand the force of even a small hurricane. In Virginia Beach in mild weather you could never tell how deep a tree’s roots extended, but in a hurricane the truth was exposed. Shallow roots meant a big downfall. The roots just could not sustain the tree.

Likewise, right now God is developing your prayer life and the depth of your personal relationship with Him. He is inviting you deeper for a purpose. He has great plans to use you in the coming days. You must not bypass this most important season in your life.

During the last several years, I have concentrated a large majority of time in writing books on prayer. This has called for a lot of root work. It has called for alone time with God and heavy concentration. I am an active person and like to be out in the nations, but God is inviting me to go deeper. I have learned to say “yes” to this call. I know it is perhaps the most crucial time in my relationship with God. I have learned that the value of this time of going deeper with God is worth gold. I need to be exceedingly grateful for it even though it takes effort and a prioritizing of everything I do.

God is inviting you to enter into deeper intimacy. As you accept this invitation, I recommend that you do the following:

• Thank Him for what He is doing in you - Live a life of praise and thanksgiving. Choosing to go deeper with God will pay off in the end. Thanksgiving brings joy and contentment.
• Refuse to listen to the devil - Just as those shallow trees fell in the hurricane, God does not want you to be shallow so that you fall in the end times. He wants to strengthen you now. Listen to God when He is calling you deeper, and accept His invitation.
• Be patient and don’t complain - Watch your speech and guard it carefully. Be one who speaks positive words that bring joy and faith to others.
• Be content with where you are - Thank Him for the depth He is developing in your life through your present circumstances. Let Him work intricately with your life.
• Cultivate holy aloneness with God on a daily basis - Plan it in your schedule. Sacrifice in order to give God your time. Make Jesus central in all that you do.

Your depth with God now is of utmost importance. He knows what is needed. He is working intricately with your life. He is deep, and He is inviting you to go deeper into His heart through prayer. He knows how strong the winds will be howling in the end-times. He is very purposeful in what He is presently developing in your life. The devil will say it is not important. He will tempt you with these thoughts:

“Eat, drink and be merry. Nothing will happen. Live just for today.”

But God is developing this holy aloneness with Himself for a purpose. Every day of “root building” is beneficial. When you are building depth, often you can’t see anything happening on the surface. It can even feel that all is dead and lifeless, but actually the opposite is true—sustainable life is being built deep down where it really counts. Realize that your root development will one day pay off. Let His song be with you even during the midnight hour.

Don't miss the Intercessors Arise prayer webinar called: How to Grow in Intimacy with God. It's filled with free prayer material to help you grow in your relationship with God  - SECURE YOUR SEAT HERE!

“Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me—a prayer to the God of my life” (Psalm 42:7-8). 

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
www.intercessorsarise.org

In a culture where the individual is everything, a congregational prayer meeting is perceived simply, as a lot of individuals in the same room praying. Sadly, we are blind to the critical importance of corporate prayer. We fail to see the difference between the individual’s right and privilege of prayer, not to diminish its value or power, and corporate prayer, from the office of the church.

Eugene Peterson lamented,

The single most widespread American misunderstanding of prayer is that it is private. Strictly and biblically speaking, there is no private prayer. Private in its root meaning refers to theft. It is stealing. When we privatize prayer we embezzle the common currency that belongs to all. When we engage in prayer without any desire for or awareness of the comprehensive, inclusive life of the kingdom that is ‘at hand’ in both space and time, we impoverish the social reality that God is bringing to completion.^[1]

Peterson concedes that prayer involves the individual, but he asserts,

…it never begins with the individual and it never ends with the individual. We are born into community, we are sustained in community; our words and actions, our being and becoming, either diminish or enhance the community, just as the community either diminishes or enhances us.^[2]

In the gospels, we find the model of individual prayer – Jesus, portrayed in prayer, constantly. In the early hours of the day and late at night. Before and after ministry events. Prayer marks His life. He ministers out of these private times of prayer, after being alone with His Father. This is the premier model – Jesus, a man, living in and out of divine collaboration, a God-man partnership, a heaven-earth tandem; a man tuned to heaven who speaks and acts out heaven’s word and will.

In Acts, we meet the church gathered in prayer, corporate prayer. Though there are moments of individual prayer – that is, the personal prayer life of the believer never goes away – the corporate prayer expressions dominate. Corporate prayer provides another dimension. Here is the church gathered, many members, one body with Christ, the Head, now in heaven. This heaven-earth tandem is corporate. It is the reformation of the Old Testament tabernacle community; people who lived under the fire and moved following the cloud. Who camped around the ‘Presence’ of God.

In ancient times, the church sponsored daily corporate prayer called Lauds (Morning Prayer) and Vespers (Evening Prayer). When people lived in small villages with the church at the center of the town, daily corporate prayer gatherings drew the villagers inside for moments to consider God in the midst of their daily lives. These two go together. They complement each the other. Neither is complete without the other; the personal and the corporate. This individual intimacy with God and corporate humility and unity is prayer with the goal of personal transformation and the collective prayer of a people who by such prayerful assemblies, declare their deep dependence on God as His visible community.  Through prayer, we are a part of His body on the earth, carrying on His business, engaging in kingdom transactions in His behalf. You can never have a praying church without praying people; and you will never have a prayerless church with praying people.

Scotland pastor, William Still (1911-1997) asserted that the church-wide prayer gathering should be “the tip of the iceberg.”^[3] Prayer should be pervasive throughout the life of the church. Without a church-wide prayer meeting, however, the so-called tip of the iceberg, one can almost certainly guarantee that there is little prayer throughout the various organizational layers and operations of the church – a house of prayer.

• This blog is an excerpt for The Praying Church Handbook – Volume III – The Pastor and the Congregation.
• PRODUCT SPECIAL: Purchase The Praying Church Handbook – Volume IV for $29.99 and receive your choice of Volume I, II or III for FREE. Purchase today>
• Give a donation to PROJECT PRAY>

P. Douglas Small is founder and president of Alive Ministries: PROJECT PRAY and he serves in conjunction with a number of other organizations. He is also the creator of the Praying Church Movement and the Prayer Trainer’s Network. However, all views expressed are his own and not the official position of any organization.

Grandparenting looks different to many grandparents. In some cases,
grandchildren live with their grandparents, some live near their grandparents and some live many miles away, even across the ocean. Our grandchildren’s parents may be spiritually rebellious or neglectful of their spiritual lives, failing to make time to read God’s Word, pray or regularly fellowship with other believers a part of their routine. However, even if our grandchildren’s parents have a strong established Christian home, busy schedules, jobs, parenting and all the distractions of today’s world conspire to distract or destroy the family.

Many grandparents have broken hearts because their precious grandchildren are not learning about the love of Jesus; some have been estranged from their grandchildren.  Long distance grandparents find it difficult to be a part of the lives of their grandchildren. Although today we do have many more resources to connect with them than we did years ago.  Today, resources such as Facetime, Skype; cell phones, texting, email, videos and others can be used for grandparenting.

This past weekend I attended a women’s conference the keynote speaker spoke on the subject of “Courage”, courage to be a woman of God in the world we live in today from the first chapter of Joshua.  Joshua was afraid when the Lord told him that Moses was dead and he was going to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. However, the Lord said, “Be strong and courageous, be careful to obey my law, do not turn from the right or left of it, meditate on it day and night. Then you will be successful . . . .Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” [1]

Grandparents are often overwhelmed and discouraged about how to grandparent in today’s ungodly culture. Just as Joshua was afraid when the Lord gave him the assignment to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land grandparents are struggling how to reach out to their grandchildren in our technological age.  I believe these words to Joshua “Be courageous” applies to grandparents today who are struggling with grandparenting in a broken world.

I find there is a requirement in those verses for me to spend time in Good’s Word, be careful to obey God’s Word, holding fast to the truth, and meditating on it. If I am spending time with the Lord consistently I will be able to trust Him with the heavy burdens on my heart. I will be able to ask the Holy Spirit to make intercession when I don’t know how to pray for the grandchild who is breaking my heart.[2]  God’s Word gives me courage, which comes from knowing God, trusting Him to work in the hearts of my grandchildren.  I pray intentionally for my grandchildren to experience the reality of a relationship with Jesus and live the adventure of walking with Him.

I had to ask myself the following questions after hearing this message from Joshua. I hope you will ask yourself these questions, also.

 “Am I a courageous woman/man of God?

 Am I a courageous Godly grandparent?”

Do I nourish my spiritual life with God’s Word consistently so I can nourish my grandchildren spiritually?

Do I pray intentionally for the spiritual well being of my grandchildren?

Do my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren see what it looks like to walk with Jesus from my life?” 

 Courageous Godly Grandparents will invest in their own spiritual life to be able to lead their grandchildren into a loving relationship with Jesus Christ.

By Lillian Penner, Co-Director of Pray Ministry, Christian Grandparenting Network, lpenner@christiangrandparenting.net

When I was a teenager, my father was Pastor of a church in Houston, Texas and my mother was President of a city-wide Pastor Wives organization.  On a cold-December night I lay in an Emergency Room with a broken second vertebra of the neck, hearing doctors saying it was a miracle I was alive, and not paralyzed. That’s when my mother sprang into action.  On the social media of the day, my mother placed phone calls to several Pastor wives, who in turn called several others, and the prayer chain continued until a hundred or more wives had been contacted with a request on my behalf, to go “boldly to the throne of grace . . .  and find grace to help in time of need”  (Hebrews 4:16).  I spent the next nine months hearing doctors and surgeons explain why my neck bone would never heal, twice scheduled for surgery and twice cancelled at the last minute, unable to attend school or church services for nine months.  After these nine months, I was pronounced healed.  When my parents tried to thank the atheist orthopedic surgeon, he replied, “Thank someone else.  I had nothing to do with the healing.” So my mother and her pastor wives friends did just that, they thanked Someone else. Six decades later, many of those ladies and most of the doctors who said I would never be totally well again have moved into eternity, and I’m still here. We sang a version of a little song originally written in 1929, and often adapted with different words, “Are there any rivers that seem to be uncrossable? Are there any mountains you cannot tunnel through? God specializes in things that seem impossible.  He knows a thousand ways, to make a way for you. Let go and let God have His wonderful way.  Let go and let God have His way.  Your burdens will vanish, your night turn to day.  Let go and let God have His way.”  We did, and He did!

There are two billion people who call themselves Christians. Of those, only 680 million (11.5 percent) are Evangelicals or Bible reading Christians. Our task is to wake up 1.3 billion sleeping Christians and simultaneously reach the other 4.5 billion people on the earth. Those billions live in 200 nations, but more importantly, in 16,597 Major People Groups. According to data from the Joshua Project, 6,916 of those People Groups, some 1.8 billion, are still virtually unreached.^[1]

Of the 430,000 missionaries from all branches of Christendom, less than 3 percent work among unreached peoples.^[2] Seventy-four percent of all missionaries work among Nominal Christians. Only three percent work among Buddhists, eight percent among Tribal Peoples, two percent among Hindus, six percent among Muslims, two percent among Chinese Folk Religions, four percent among non-religious/atheists and one percent among Jewish Peoples. Fifty-thousand unreached people die daily without having heard the Gospel – that is about twenty-six million a year, more than 2000 every hour. Oswald J. Smith would lament, “We talk of the second coming, half the world has never heard of the first.”^[3]

Take a world tour with me.^[4] If the whole world were a village of 100: 61 would be Asians, 13 Africans, 12 Europeans, 8 from Central and South America, Mexico and the Caribbean, 5 from the USA and Canada, and 1 person would be from Australia or New Zealand. If the whole world were a village of 100 people, 14 people would speak Mandarin, 8 people would speak Hindi/Urdu, 8 English, 7 Spanish, 4 Russian, and 4 Arabic. If the whole world were a village of 100 people, 33 would be Christians, 22 Moslems, 15 Hindus, 14 non-religious, agnostics or atheists, 6 Buddhists, and 10 from all the other religions.

If the whole world were a village of 100, 80 would live in substandard housing or on the streets of the village, half of them illiterate, 50 would suffer from malnutrition, 33 would not have access to clean, safe drinking water, 24 people would not have any electricity (Of those with electricity, the vast majority would use it only for light at night). If the whole world were a village of 100, there would be 42 radios, 24 televisions, 14 telephones, and 7 computers, but they would not be equally distributed. Only 7 would own an automobile. Five people would possess 32 percent of the entire village’s wealth, all from North America. The poorest one-third would receive only 3 percent of the total income of the village.

If you woke up this morning healthy, be grateful. One million will not survive the week due to some disease for which they have no funds for medical care. If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the gnawing pain of starvation, you are better off than 500 million people who are living in a war zone, under a dictatorship, in oppression, or in deprivation. If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead, a place to sleep tonight, you are among the top 75 percent of people on the planet in terms of comfort. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in your pocket, you are among the top 8 percent of the worlds’ wealthy. If you can read this, consider yourself blessed. Two billion people in the world have never been taught to read at all.^[5]

This is the task at hand. Let us pray with a missional focus – click to learn some ways to do this. Adopt an Unreached People Group. Pray for National Prayer Leader and Career Missionaries. We can do our part.

• This blog is an excerpt for the newly released The Praying Church Handbook – Volume IV – Intercessory Prayer and Mission.
• PRODUCT SPECIAL: Purchase The Praying Church Handbook – Volume IV for $29.99 and receive your choice of Volume I, II or III for FREE. Purchase today>
• Give a donation to PROJECT PRAY>

P. Douglas Small is founder and president of Alive Ministries: PROJECT PRAY and he serves in conjunction with a number of other organizations. He is also the creator of the Praying Church Movement and the Prayer Trainer’s Network. However, all views expressed are his own and not the official position of any organization.

^[1]       www.joshuaproject.net.

^[2]       www.aboutmissions.org/statistics.html.

^[3]       www.lausanneworldpulse.com/research.php/856.

^[4]       David Julian Smith, If The World Were A Village: A Book About The World’s People (Kids Can Press, 2002).

^[5]       The are adapted from data by David B. Barrett and Todd M Johnson of the Global Evangelization Movement website. Other portions come from Patrick Johnstone’s The Church is Bigger Than You Think, Bill and Amy Stearns’ Catch the Vision 2000, and the course materials for Vision for the Nations published by the U.S. Center for World Mission.

For the entrepreneur, possibility is greatly exaggerated. The question is not if one will get those two minutes with a successful gadzillionaire; it's what one will do with them -- particularly at the inevitable moment of the question, "What do you want from me?" When Steve Jobs cold-called Bill Hewlett out of the phone book, and Bill asked him that question, Jobs' answer was, "left over electronics parts." I don't know how much Jobs had thought about that answer, but one of the things that I have realized is part of my gifting is the weeks and months I spend beforehand preparing. For that is the moment where the entrepreneur is called out, and it quickly becomes obvious whether the entrepreneur is serious enough to warrant even those two minutes in conversation.

So I recognized that moment in Nehemiah chap. 2: "Then the king said to me, 'What would you request?'" Nehemiah had a quick answer: to rebuild Jerusalem! But then the king wanted details. On the spot, Nehemiah was able to rattle off:

• a "definite time" for project delivery (v. 6)
• travel permits needed (v. 7)
• resources needed for completion, broken down by sub-project (v. 8)
• extraneous security measures (v. 9)

Now, it could be that, after what appears to have been a quick, internal prayer, these things simply came to Nehemiah even as he was speaking them. Automatic mouth. I know that happens. It's happened to me -- I once wrote an entire sermon that way. But I sense here a kindred spirit who thought these things through as he spent days fasting and praying beforehand (1:4). Particularly since he displayed a fastidious devotion to executive administration later on. He was, after all, a career bureaucrat as well as an innovator.

So here I beg consideration for a wider understanding of fasting and prayer. Beyond reaffirming God's perfection and sovereignty, beyond the appeals and partial admission to the spiritual realm, there can also be a place for intense work sessions and planning -- complete with flowcharts, outlines, epic-generation, timelines, and spreadsheets. And I have to add here that the strongest relationships are formed in work partnerships. When rolling up one's sleeves to figure out the details of God's plan to change the world, there's nothing quite like having the Almighty alongside, doing likewise.

The more social media responses I read of people responding to prayer requests, the more I realize how much we have failed in teaching people about prayer.  When Bible Schools and Seminaries opt not to teach prayer in their curriculum, assuming that students already know how to pray and how to lead others to pray, they graduate ministers who are weak in prayer, who in turn are unable to teach or lead believers how to pray, and thus folks know not how to even respond to the prayer requests of their friends.  I’m sure the requests are sincere, as are the responses, and I want to assume that responders actually pray, sending their prayers to God, not to the person making the request.  Other than perhaps making the needy one feel good, responses that say things like, “Prayers coming your way” and “Sending prayers your way” and “Prayers going out” indicate a knowledge gap in the very basics of prayer. The Bible is clear that prayer is to be directed to God. “Call to Me” says the Lord in Jeremiah 33:3. The Psalmist records God saying, “Ask of Me.” You are to make the “desires of your heart” known to God (Psalm 37:4).  You are to go “boldly to the throne of grace” (Hebrews 14:6). And in the end, you are to yield to God’s will by praying like Jesus, “not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39).  And for goodness sakes, whoever decided, “sending good thoughts your way” was a substitute for prayer?  We need to ask like the disciples, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1) and then teach us how to respond to the prayer requests of others.  And while you are praying, pray that those in academic authority will allow proper biblical prayer it to be taught.

"Every moment is alive with My glorious Presence, to those whose hearts are intimately connected with Mine. As you give yourself more and more to a life of constant communion with Me, you will find that you simply have no time to worry. Thus, you are freed to let My Spirit direct your steps, enabling you to walk along the path of peace." Sarah Young, Jesus Calling

As we enter into a new year, it is absolutely essential that we learn to walk in God's presence. We need to be intimately connected with Him as we face an unknown future and uncharted waters. We are in a new day with so many stresses and strains in our everyday life, and what God wants from us in the midst of a chaotic world is to walk in His Presence and live from that place of peace. Worry, anxiety, and fear are at an all-time high, but this is not what God wants from us. He wants us to be free from negative emotions so that we let His Spirit direct our steps with confidence and joy.

To help you this year, I want to give you a gift of 11 crafted prayers that will empower you with new joy and breakthrough for what God has in store for you during this new season. CLICK HERE or the title below to receive your gift called:

11 Breakthrough Prayers to Empower Your Life in 2017!

Take time to realize that God will take you farther than you ever dreamed possible if you learn the secret of practicing His presence. What a privilege to become a best friend of God! Have you grasped the reality of what this means?

“Knowing and loving God is our greatest privilege, and being known and loved is God’s greatest pleasure. Rick Warren

Look at the amazing example of Brother Lawrence. He was a humble cook in a seventeenth-century French monastery who was able to turn even a boring job, such as washing dishes, into an act of worship and an opportunity to build his relationship with God. He said:

“The key to friendship with God is not changing what you do, but changing your attitude toward what you do. What you normally do for yourself you begin doing for God, whether it is eating, bathing, working, relaxing, or taking out the trash.”

Following Brother Lawrence’s example, let’s realize that worship should not be so much an event as a perpetual attitude. We read in Psalm 16:11, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

I once read about a man who said that he wanted to learn to pray all the time in every situation day and night. He wanted to live in constant fellowship with God and moment-by-moment companionship with Jesus. This is a holy ambition and motivated me personally to develop this kind of intimate relationship with God. When we pray, we are speaking to God, and when we meditate on God’s Word, He speaks to us. We need both as we develop our friendship with God. Practicing the presence of God will give us rest and lead us into a more fruitful lifestyle.

But how can we practice God’s presence on a daily basis? Here are two key ways.

How  to Practice God's Presence

“When you think about a problem over and over in your mind, that’s called worry. When you think about God’s Word over and over in your mind, that’s meditation. If you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate! You just need to switch your attention from your problems to Bible verses.” Rick Warren

As you apply the following two ways of practicing God's presence, you will realize in a deeper dimension His companionship with you. As time goes on, it come will become a natural practice in your everyday life, and you will realize afresh that Jesus really is your best friend. You become more aware that He is with you through all the joys and sorrows of daily life. A deeper joy invades your life as you realize that you are learning to abide in Christ.

• Use Breath Prayers - Pray a brief phrase to Jesus throughout the day that you can repeat in one breath. You may want to pray phrases such as, “You will help me,” “You promise to never leave me,” “I can do all things through Christ,” “Your joy is my strength,” “I love You,” and “Help me trust You.” Breath prayers, unlike regular prayers, are short with just a few words that you can quickly pray to God at any time. They will keep you more conscious of your relationship with God on a moment-by-moment basis, and you will walk in less worry and greater peace. 
  
  “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14).
  
  
• Think About God’s Word. Meditate on God’s Word throughout the day. Focus your thoughts on the Bible. Write down short Bible verses and repeat them often. Think about who God is and what He has done. This takes time to learn, but Scripture offers a promise of God’s prosperity in our lives when we meditate on His Word:
  
  "His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.
 Whatever he does prospers (Psalm 1:2-3).

Father, I pray that You will help me to cultivate Your presence in my life. Remove the distractions that keep me from Your presence [Repent of any distractions in your life]. I repent of any pride or personal idols that have taken me away from having you in first place and being completely Yours (Name them one by one - i.e. television  material possessions, food, sports, work, etc.]. Remove the compromise in my life, and set me on fire for You. I want to be a clean vessel, bringing light into the darkness and carrying Your presence wherever I go. I want to come up higher around Your throne and sit with You in heavenly places. 

Help me to worship only You. Take me deeper in my prayer life and in intimacy with You this year. Help me to walk in Your light and holiness. I want to know You more. “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord” (Psalm 89:15). Give me joy in Your presence and help me to bring joy into the lives of others. I want to dwell in Your house and gaze on Your beauty. I want to seek Your face. “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple… Hear my voice when I call, O LORD" (Psalm 27:4, 7a). In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

By Debbie Przybylski

Intercessors Arise International
International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC)
www.intercessorsarise.org

One of the reasons that people don’t go to a prayer meeting is that they think that it is going to be boring. Even if Christians “should” go to the prayer meeting even if it is boring there are ways to change it so boring is not the first thing that comes to mind when people hear the words, “prayer meeting.”

Reason 1: Lack of expectation that God will meet with us.

From a Bible perspective when we gather for prayer we can be assured that God is, “there in the midst of us.” But often it is the leader’s job to play the role of Elisha with his servant when he prayed, “Open his eyes.” When people expect to meet with God their attitude will be very different. As George Muller used to say, “God has dealt with me according to my expectation.” 

Cure: There are ways to increase people’s expectation of meeting with God. Here are three examples of that. Songs of worship can raise our awareness that we are meeting with God and not going through religious activities. Drawing our attention to Bible passages of God’s power with His people can have the same effect. Finally, along a similar line, stories of powerful prayer meetings from history can increase expectation in the room.

Reason 2: Lack of anticipation of the importance of the meeting.

Many people in our day and age place a high value on time. Things are equated with boring if they are considered a waste of time. I think that is part of the reason that people, especially men, often skip the prayer meeting for other activities. Overcoming this perception can increase the attendance of the prayer meeting.

Cure: One of the ways to help people to see the importance of the prayer meeting is to line up the agenda of the prayer meeting with important items. When the early disciples met for prayer in Acts chapter 4 about the persecution they were facing no one probably questioned the importance of the meeting. And the room was shaken. Maybe make the agenda for your prayer service the Big Hairy Audacious Goals that God has put on your heart for the church. Maybe put signs around the room with pictures of lost people in need of God.

Reason 3: Leaders governed by obligation instead of desperation in calling the meeting.

I was a senior pastor for about nine years before starting this ministry back in 2005. There always seemed like there was more to do than I had time to do it. It is easy with that type of environment to feel like a prayer service is just another item on the list of things to do. If this is how the leader feels it will quickly be felt by everyone else and drain the energy in the room.

Cure: There are two steps to overcoming this challenge. Both are important. First, the leader needs to reconnect with their “why.” This may be as simple as changing the agenda of the prayer meeting like we talked about in the last reason. The second part is to set up the time and structure of the prayer meeting as the leader so that you want to come. Don’t feel obligated to have a morning prayer service if you are a night owl. Maybe to start with a 30 minute prayer service before Sunday morning is better than adding another night to your agenda when you are feeling overwhelmed.

Reason 4: No balance of spontaneity and predictability.

There is nothing wrong with routine in your prayer service. Structure can provide security to people who are new to a prayer meeting. Knowing what is happening next can even help the veterans of the prayer service feel comfortable to focus on prayer. But structure can also create boredom if we are not careful. 

Cure: Hopefully you will see that the first three reasons are foundational to fixing this challenge as well. Let me encourage you as leader to create a simple broad stroke plan with predictable parts, but don’t be afraid to change to follow the moment. Let the components be like your playbook that gives you the comfort to call an audible with confidence. 

Over the history of the church the prayer service has often been the moments that changed the course of churches and countries. May your prayer service be with expectation as you meet with God and do the work of prayer that changes the world. 

How You can Stand in the Gap with Prayer for your Grandchildren

Years ago, Esther stood in the gap for her people, the Jews when their lives were physically threatened. Today grandparents can stand in the gap with prayer for their grandchildren in the same way as their spiritual lives are threatened.  

I would like to invite you to become a part of a prayer group for grandparents to pray together for each other’s grandchildren and families.  At this time there are 30 G@P groups meeting in the U.S and South Africa, and interested groups in Australia.

There is an urgency for the power of prayer to keep the hearts and minds of our grandchildren from falling captive to the enemy’s deception and lies. We are engaged in a spiritual battle that requires the spiritual weapon of prayer.

As grandparents, we can make a significant difference in the world by praying regularly and intentionally for our grandchildren and their parents. We have an opportunity join together to powerfully touch the lives of another generation.

Grandparent @ Prayer (G@P) intercessory prayer groups consist of small or large groups of people meeting once or twice a month for approximately one hour at a designated location for prayer and fellowship. Groups are meeting in retirement centers, schools, churches, and homes weekly.

The beginning of 2017 would be a great time to get started, just ask a few grandparents to join you, try it for a few months, and see what you think. Many grandparents have told me that they appreciate a safe place to share their concerns for their grandchildren.

Please go to https://www.christiangrandparenting.net/prayer/grandparents-prayer/participate-in-gap to sign up to receive the eBook “The Prayer Ministry of Christian Grandparenting Network “.   You may also email me at lpenner@christiangrandparenting.net indicating that you would like to receive the eBook “The Prayer Ministry of Christian Grandparentring Network.”

By Lillian Penner, Prayer Coordinator, Christian Grandparenting Network.

In His grip,

Rob Griepentrog
This blog post is also posted at Pray OnSite

There are probably few images more evocative than the manger – that of the shepherds and the Wise Men kneeling before the babe, Christ Jesus. We know that it is unlikely that the two groups were there at the same time, and also, the Biblical record doesn’t include the angels that we place around the primitive scene, but we sense that in that moment kings and common men, indeed, heaven and earth were drawn together. It is a kind of cosmic, but simple image. God has come – in innocence. And men, yes, and angels, even the stars, have declared his coming.

We are drawn to this image. The manger scene never grows old. We buy them and place them on our mantles, in our yards – large and small ones. It is the story of hope. Of God, who has come to earth. Of the possibility of peace. Children and seniors are both moved by it. The poor and the powerful.

All of us want to kneel around the manger – to touch the child. To hold the hope. To sing with the angels. To believe, that with this child, the world will be a better place. Psalm 95:6 issues the call, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” This is the call of heaven to the entire earth – to kneel, to bow down, and to receive the blessing from our Creator and Redeemer. Bowing, kneeling is a sacred matter.

There are cameo moments in Scripture where some godly man knelt and history pivoted. Abraham, on seeing the three angels, one of them, the Angel of Yahweh, “… ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground” (Gen. 18:2). This was a life-changing moment for him and arguably, for the world – the barrenness was broken. Sarah would now have the long-awaited child, ‘Laughter,’ known to us as Isaac.

Men have, throughout history, bowed before the throne of God. In the incarnation, God came to earth, and men bowed before him (Jesus) – and out of him flowed blessing.

The etymological root of the word bless in the Old Testament is – to kneel! The implications of the idea are explosive. To kneel is to position oneself for blessing from God. It is a declaration of dependence. It is an act of humility. It is the tranquility of stillness – how can we move about on our knees? It is the lowering of self. It is coming beneath the shadow of God. It anticipates God above, hovering, touching, giving life, brooding, anointing, imparting – blessing! It the opposite of arrogance, of self-sufficiency, of proudly standing by one’s own strength. It is the end of pride. In the Hebrew mind, the knees were an indication of strength and therefore, to bend a knee, was to subordinate strength to God. Prayer, kneeling, is learning to lean into His strength. To kneel is to seek the blessing of God. It anticipates a positive response. It expects the gift of grace. It awaits a sense of His loving presence. It looks forward to what God might say or do!

At this Christmas season – take time to kneel before the Lord!

Read more blogs by P. Douglas Small>

Learn about Project Pray>

I've just read a blog of an intercessor about Christmas - for her "T'is the season to be jolly" was not possible for several years since losing her son in a traffic accident. Thanksgiving and Christmas were awful, painful reminders of her big loss. But now, there is enough healing and peace to celebrate the birth of Jesus again. The love of the Lord, that carried her through dark times, has broken through at last. Missing her son will always be there, until they are united in the Lord, but she can lift her head again and sing with joy of God's grace and the gift of His Son as the Savior of the world.  

So, for those whose Christmas is a time of sorrow and hardship, pain and loneliness, even fear and despair, we pray.

May joy come again in the morning, though weeping endures for a night. May the Presence of Lord Jesus Christ carry each one through, bring strength and peace and rest, in Jesus' Name we pray.

Rob Griepentrog

Engaging in CHRISTmas Conversations

Greetings Neighbors,

   I pray that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that now you are busy preparing your hearts and homes for Christmas. It is such a beautiful time of the year; lights brighten our homes inside and out, generosity flows and the smells of our favorite goodies baking in the kitchen fill the air. More than anything else this year, I am praying that the sights and sounds of people praying, caring and sharing fill our neighborhoods and overflow into our communities and across the nation. I pray that the division that has plagued us this year will be healed through the love Jesus, which is the true message and meaning of Christmas.

   Christmas is one of the best opportunities to share the love and message of Jesus. Our Christian celebration is a culturally acceptable time to invite neighbors and co-workers to gather and celebrate. Our partners at Every Home for Christ have created some great resources to help us engage others in a conversation about connecting or reconnecting with Jesus. Your church can order these three unique Christmas Engagers – absolutely free of charge – to invite people to reconnect with Jesus, the heart of Christmas. Using seasonally-loved topics, these Engagers provide a fresh take on the gospel shown through a Christmas lens.

   So what exactly is an Engager? Engagers are like tracts, but with a much different approach. Each Engager shares a relevant topic or theme that provides a natural jumping off point to easy conversations with anyone. The ultimate goal of the Engager is to lead the conversation to Jesus – each Engager aims to draw interested hearts into the wonderful privilege of actually being able to know God. For ordering information, or to see a current offering of Engagers, go to www.everyhomeusa.org. In January, Every Home for Christ will be releasing new Engagers on a continual basis, so please check back from time to time to order new topics and utilize the resources available to anyone.

  Love and Christmas begin at home; with your family, friends and neighbors. Let’s get out there and deck the halls and fill some hearts with Christmas joy. I challenge you to touch every “neighbor” with the love of Jesus by the end of the year 2020.

    Love is a verb…let’s get moving!

          Kathy B.

For more ideas and inspiration visit LOVE2020.com and take a look at http://www.love2020.com/introducinggiveeternalgift/  for how you can give the greatest Christmas gift of all, #GiveAnEternalGift!