Just as David was chosen for his generation God has positioned us, as grandparents for our generation with our personality and gifts for our families. We read in Acts 16:36 “ David served God’s purpose in his generation.”

According to Deuteronomy 4:9, God’s purpose for us, as grandparents is to teach God’s commands to our children and our children’s children. If Timothy’s grandmother Lois had not been faithful in passing on her faith to her daughter Eunice and grandson Timothy we would not have the books, I and II Timothy in the Bible today. This is a good generational example of the importance of passing on the faith to future generations. Lois is our forerunner who modeled grand mothering for us.

Isn’t it interesting that nowhere in the Bible does it say that the church has the primary responsibility to pass on our faith to the next generation? It makes clear that parents and grandparents are the principal conduit to instruct their children and grandchildren about God and his love for them.  

God has placed our children and grandchildren in our lives so we can be their prayer warriors and model a godly lifestyle. He has given us the awesome opportunity to partner with Him on their behalf. He has given me and my husband, 3 sons, 3 daughters-in-laws, 12 specific grandchildren and 4 great-granddaughters to pray for. He has given you your family members.

A family’s faith can be lost in one generation; however, we as parents and grandparents can be defenders of our faith.  We have the opportunity to powerfully touch the lives of another generation for Jesus Christ. That is why our children and grandchildren are our mission field and our responsibility. So they will not be helpless before their spiritual enemy.

My prayer is that you will experience God’s richest blessings as you grandparent with a purpose, as you invest in your spiritual lives and pray for your children, grandchildren, and future generations.

The most precious gift we can give our families

is the legacy of a praying grandparent.

Have you thought about your purpose as a grandparent?

Prayer

Lord, how do you want me to fulfill your purpose

for my children, grandchildren and future generations.

In Jesus’ name. Amen 

Will you make September 11 the National Grandparents’ Day

a Day of Prayer for your grandchildren?

To learn more about the Grandparents’ Day of Prayer

Click on http://www.grandparentsdayofprayer.com

I shared about the Grandparents Day of Prayer and the Million Praying Grandparents initiatives in an interview on “The River” radio program. If you would like to listen go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/krvr/2016/05/23/praying-grandparents

By Lillian Penner, National Prayer Director for Christian Grandparenting Network

The struggle began again this week; worse than which club to use on a difficult golf shot. Back pain! MRI showed arthritis and muscle spasms. Return to Physical Therapy and the therapy pool. Once again I heard the two voices battling in my head. One reminded me it had been nine years since I retired, “from a position, but not from a calling.” The voice continued, “You’ve carried too much heavy luggage to too many places, traveled in too many tight airline seats for too many miles, slept on too many bad mattresses in too many hotels, prayer-walked in too many hot places resulting in too many skin cancer surgeries. Your body is worn out. It’s time to stay home and write another book.” The other voice reminded me how many times I said there is no such thing as retiring from God’s call. The voice uttered, “You said you would keep going as long as God gave you strength and even quoted, Psalm 71:18 about being grayheaded and still declaring “strength to this generation” and “power to everyone who is to come.” What to do! Which voice is God’s, and which is Satan’s? Tough struggle! When you’re on the back nine of life, someone needs to point you to #18 and then help you to the club house for rest and refreshment. I’m not there yet, but I’m a lot closer to #18 than I am to #1, and every now and then, the struggle returns.

In Luke 20:1-8  the scribes and Pharisees challenged the authority of Jesus who the day before had cleansed the temple. Incidentally, they also questioned his authority to cast out demons and heal the sick. His question of what they thought was the authority of John the Baptist silenced the rulers. This passage brings us face to face with the question of all authority. And it highlights the genuine authority of Jesus that obviously did not need to be defended.

This story shows us, The Authority of Righteousness.

His cleansing of the temple did not lean on any human or earthy authority. But everyone who saw what he did knew that what Jesus did was right.

He depended upon, The Authority of Revelation.

As He cleansed the temple Jesus quoted Scripture. "It is written!" I once heard Henry Blackaby comment, "I know people who talk a lot about the inerrancy of Scripture who do not submit to its authority in their lives. But authority is the question of inerrancy. Believing the Bible is true does not mean I understand everything I read. It means Scripture has the authority to call me into account.

His presence also brings out, The Authority of His Person.

When Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple, I doubt if anyone was thinking about His right to do it. They were too busy fleeing from His presence. I believe that is a sign of nearness to God today. His nearness to you may be wonderful. But it will also overwhelm you with His majesty and authority.

And in this account we see, The Authority of Purpose.

Real authority is not an end in itself. It always accomplishes the purposes of God. 

http://daveswatch.com/

(I have a new video trailer for HOME IN THE WILDERNESS on the book page of my website.

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/  

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

Prayer as described and modeled in the Bible is a two-way conversation between the believer and God, guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ Our Mediator. Praying without ceasing practices the presence of God as we go through our days and nights aware of and in communion with Him. Extraordinary prayer is understood to be one of the foundational principles of church planting or disciple-making movements. At its heart is this continuous abiding in Jesus, the Vine, through whom we bear much fruit for His glory and to the extension of His kingdom on earth as in heaven.

Just as Jesus Himself did nothing but what He saw the Father in Heaven doing, so we as His disciples also are called to be trustfully listening and obeying His instructions. In this way, we position ourselves to join Him as He is working, going where He is about to come, and announcing the advent of His kingdom. He confirms His Word with signs and wonders following. 

Much is now being written about listening prayer at least at an individual level. As we spend time apart with God, we can hone our ability to hear Him as we sing and praise, read the Word, and quietly tune our ear to His voice, making space for Him to speak to us. The more intentional we are at listening to Him, the more clearly we are able to hear during the hustle bustle of our days and in times of greater pressure and distraction. Journaling helps us to develop greater confidence that we are hearing Him as we record what we believe He’s saying and then see Him confirm through events and circumstances as they unfold.

Although some time back, the thought among believers was that only certain specially gifted people we referred to as prophets or preachers “heard God,” and we sought them out for “a word from the Lord,” in this hour believers are realizing that God is calling each one to listen, pay heed, and obey His voice continually. In fact, disciple-making movements or church planting movements are based on the importance of interacting with God’s Word, either orally through stories or the written Word, and obeying what God is speaking to us. The mature disciple is one who is obeying all that He is learning as he listens to God directing him day by day.

But, individual listening isn’t all we’re called to do as followers of Jesus Christ. We are called to be a Body, part of the family of God, interdependent on Him and one another. Over one hundred fifty “one another” commands are given in the New Testament, indicating the importance of the community aspect of our lives in Christ. We are being fitted together with every joint supplying by Him and growing up into the full measure of the stature of Christ. Something unique happens where two or three are gathered together in His Name: He is in their midst.

Now, we know God is omnipresent—He is everywhere. So what does Jesus mean in telling us that He is among us when two or three are present together in His Name? I believe the Bible is teaching us that He manifests Himself in a unique way as we come together in community. When we do that, align ourselves with one another, tune our hearts together to focus on Him and His Presence among us, we experience Him in a heightened way that isn’t possible individually. The Bible indicates that every matter should be established in the mouth of two or three witnesses. In listening to God together in community, we offer God the opportunity to speak in stereo or even “surround sound” to us through confirmations and elaborations that come only in community. In fact, it seems that God will speak things to a group that He cannot or will not speak to a single individual.

Especially when we come together called by God to catalyze movements to Christ in areas with little access to the gospel, individual and corporate listening prayer are critical to the success of our efforts. John 15 is clear that unless we abide in the Vine, Jesus, we can do nothing. Abiding clearly indicates an intimacy of relationship where the connection is almost seamless. Obeying God’s commands to love Him and to love one another depend on this kind of intimacy with Him and one another. Fruitfulness therefore flows from intimacy much as in a marriage relationship, bearing children is impossible without intimacy. Since His is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, our ability to accomplish His will depends on the free release of both the determination and the enabling to do His will for His glory. Doing things our own way will certainly not result in God-glorifying ends. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, not only individually but corporately as well.

So what does corporate listening look like? How does it work? Coming together with others with the same heart and purpose is key. Psalm 133 indicates that the commanded blessing is where brothers (and sisters) dwell together in unity. The image of synchronized swimmers comes to mind in which a number of different athletes have trained themselves to move as one with each other following the rhythm of a single song. An orchestra would be another example of unity in diversity, many different instruments tuned to the same note and playing according to the rhythm set forth by the conductor. Each participant’s contribution is as valuable to the whole as any other. A single contribution may totally shift the understanding of the communication so it is important to wait until each person has contributed their piece to the picture. And, each contribution lends nuance and shade to the message. Since the Bible indicates that the mind of man plans his way but the Lord directs his steps, perhaps even the order in which the messages are shared is significant and should be considered. Good artists paint in such a way that we feel drawn into the picture and perceive depth and complexity near to that of the natural world. Perhaps God is desiring His Body, His Bride to learn to hear Him more deeply, more broadly, more widely, more complexly than we have ever perceived before for this hour. The Bible speaks of growing up into the fullness of the measure of Christ Jesus—Jesus is coming back for a Bride with whom He is equally yoked. Shall we not exercise ourselves to move on to maturity in the Spirit and cultivate our listening hearts to be instantly, joyfully responsive to His voice, moving as one with Him and one another?

By Liz Adleta, Fellowship of Prayer Strategists, www.prayerstrategists.net

 Listening%20Part%201.pdf

www.globalprn.com ;

HEALING IN THE CHURCH

What part should healing play in the church? I believe the Bible is clear on this matter. James 5:14,15 gives specific advice.

"Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well, the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven."

I don't want to deal here with how we are to pray for the sick. Different churches and denominations certainly pray for healing in different ways. But I want to deal with the theological foundations for healing in the church.

I will begin with the Power of Prayer.

There is no question that the Bible teaches the power of prayer. There are certainly more important things to pray for than physical healing. But if we pray for our needs they will include health and healing. I have terminal cancer. And I am always pleased with people who will pray for me. Several years ago I told one of my doctors I had been alive much longer than they had been willing to suggest because people were praying for me. He looked at me thoughtfully and then said, "That's right."

For many years I visited people in the hospital as a pastor. For the first twenty or so of those years I had the feeling that doctors were uncomfortable with me being there. Then something changed. Suddenly doctors started asking if I would step into intensive care units before they were admitting family members. What happened? The American Medical Journal published a study that showed a significantly higher rate of healing in patients who were being prayed for. Medical literature is replete with evidence for the effects of prayer. God has given that power to us.

However, I also need to point out the Humility of Faith.

God does not always answer prayer the way we expect. And while most of us know of dramatic examples of healing, we have also prayed for people who did not get well. I think this may be the main reason many of us are reluctant to pray formally and somewhat publicly over someone who is sick. Will I be embarrassed if God does not heal this person immediately? And there is of course the concern that the Name of God might be dishonored if I pray for healing when He has something else in mind. I am thankful that we can trust God to protect us from harmful prayers we might pray. I trust God to give me what I would have prayed for if I knew everything He sees. If I know that, surely I can trust God when He does not heal the way I want Him to heal. We can trust the outcome to God.

And we need to see healing as commensurate with the Compassion of Our Lord.

The early church saw compassion for the sick as the natural expression of faith in Christ. In his book, The Rise of Christianity, Rodney Stark points out that one of the major factors in the upstart Christian faith supplanting the dominant, pervasive, and enforced paganism in the Roman Empire was the terrible plagues that swept the country. While the pagans were casting former loved ones out into the dirt to keep from contracting the deadly disease, Christians risked their lives to minister to them. Many gladly died showing Christ's love to others. Stark quotes from letters written by the Emperor, Julian, to pagan priests, saying "Not only do the impious* Christians minister to their own sick, they minister to ours as well." A pagan had a better chance of surviving a plague if he lived near a believer.

Finally, we pray for healing to bring about the Witness of Praise.

We honor God simply by praying to Him for others, believers and unbelievers alike. And we share His glory by telling people what God has done. Healing prayer becomes a springboard for talking to people about things that are more important and enduring than physical healing. It is a fact that all physical healing is temporary. It is also important for us to know that all illness is temporary for believers. 1 Corinthians 13 says that is also true of knowledge and prophecy. And like the foolishness of preaching, God may use it powerfully to bring forth His kingdom on the earth. 

http://daveswatch.com/

http://watchinginprayer.blogspot.com/

http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/

Studies show that only 1 in 5 Americans reads their Bible on a regular basis, even though 88% own a Bible.* If you're like most people, you want to connect with God - and even have what you need to do so - but life gets in the way. Distractions, necessities, and even emergencies pull you away from your scheduled time with God, and by the end of the day you feel frazzled, empty, and guilty. There's got to be a better way!

Click to Read more here:

Introducing Prayer Boot Camps from Claude V King on Vimeo.

The response to War Room indicates that God is calling His people to prayer, and God’s people are responding with a hunger to learn to pray more effectively and strategically. Developed by Claude King, Prayer Boot Camp is a flexible prayer training experience to provide basic training in prayer and to introduce the weapons of our spiritual warfare. It is not just learning about prayer. It is learning to pray by praying together. The content is based on The Battle Plan for Prayer by Stephen and Alex Kendrick, developers of War Room.

The Prayer Boot Camp utilizes a learning map that guides learning and prayer experiences based on content from The Battle Plan for Prayer.

I’ve developed the learning map, a leader guide, reproducible handouts, a script, and an optional PowerPoint file leaders can use to customize and conduct a Prayer Boot Camp for their groups, churches, ministries, or communities. All the instructions and files you need can be downloaded at on the bottom of this page.

At this link you will find three file folders. You can open each folder to see the contents. You may download entire folders, or you may download only those files and folders you check mark.

At the local vigil for the victims of the mass shooting in Orlando Sunday, Rev. RL Gundy conceded that finding forgiveness in the face of such hatred was challenging. "How do I look you in the face and say, 'Love your enemy?'” he wondered.

I know where RL is coming from....There is much to say, there are so many larger forces at work but it just doesn’t seem appropriate now. If we would pray more and speak out less, we would find ourselves on the side of good. If we would be love more, talk love less, we would find ourselves on the side of good. If we would pray for our enemies, we would find ourselves on the side of good. If we would not condemn those who do not live like us, we would find ourselves on the side of good.

It is my hope and prayer that the church would lead with genuine humility, compassion and an openness to LGBT people rather than a religious lead-with-justice approach…. Because the most justice can exact from us is respect.

When justice is conveyed through religious culture mindset, it doesn’t even get that much from us; it gets our rejection with a not surprising “thanks, but no thanks” response. This is something the legalists never acknowledge, allowing them to heap further judgment upon those who do not “obey the law.” This enables them to artificially shift the blame from themselves to those they have victimized.

The whole lead-with-justice system fails, even in its best efforts. God certainly does not want our rejection, and even our respect is not enough. God wants our love. And only mercy begets love.

If God did not begin with mercy, God would not be God–Whose nature is love, love from which amazing grace flows to “the sinner” who is any and all of us. As we learn from the story of Hosea, mercy doesn't deny justice, it only precedes and then goes beyond it.

The ultimate sign that mercy supersedes justice is the Cross. In eternal paradox, God “absorbs” the justice and “extends” the mercy–both in Christ -- the Just One who died self-sacrificially for the unjust. We, the justified body of Christ, the Church, must do likewise, as we seek to “act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly” and integrate the whole counsel of scripture into our prayer, care, share lifestyle. 

But too often we reverse it by asking the sinner to “absorb” justice as a pre-requisite to the extending of mercy. This is simply not the way of God. Instead, in Christ we see the primacy of mercy, offered to us all in ways that derives justice in the process.

That's why the church is the place in our society where the fullness of God’s ways should be displayed. Ministries of justice and mercy strengthen the reach of the Great Commission insofar as we live and teach the whole counsel of scripture. Those who are called to evangelism must not neglect that full counsel any more than those who are called to feed the orphan and the widow. And conversely, we cannot truly love our neighbors as ourselves without offering them the Good News of Christ’s redemption, so that God’s love and forgiveness may extend everywhere–and do so in ways that are continually new and surprising.

Radical? Yes. Risky? Clearly. Mandatory? Absolutely. Because the work of justice is the restoration of God’s true image in the world, made known in the one true Image, Jesus Christ. So, when Jesus commands us to love our neighbor and to love the enemy, he’s training us in overcoming the split between my self and your self. What you do to another, you do to yourself. What you do to the neighbor, you do to Christ. As Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”

Scripture says it is with loving kindness that God drew us to himself. That kindness is the balance to justice and it is something that God accomplishes and that we are to emulate in our pursuit of unity with our neighbor, with the enemy, and with God. This creates a missional unity within the body of Christ. For as stated in the Lausanne Covenant: “When people receive Christ they are born again into his kingdom and must seek not only to exhibit but also to spread its righteousness in the midst of an unrighteous world.”

I seldom hesitate to ask my readers to pray for me. I need prayer in so many areas of my life. I need prayer for spiritual strength. I need you to pray for moral purity. I need prayer for my attitudes and thinking. I need you to pray for my prayer life. I seldom preach now, although I still could and would preach if God gave me opportunities. Prayer is my most important ministry. And in deed I need you to pray for my writing.

I have always worked at my writing. The first thing I wrote for publication was written my sophomore year in college. That was 1968. I have written regularly since then. But I never imagined I would come to a point where I would spend most of my days writing. God had to allow me to be afflicted with cancer before I would consider it. I had to lack the energy necessary to pastor a church before I would consider retiring. And yet He has granted me many years beyond what the doctors thought, to write and keep on writing.

In Isaiah 30:8 the Lord spoke to the prophet.

"Go now, write it on a tablet for them, inscribe it on a scroll, that for the days to come it may it may be an everlasting witness."

I need you to pray that I will be faithful to write. I don't know how much time God will give me. I have six more books planned, if He allows. I need you to pray that I will know what God wants me to write. Most of all I need you to pray for God to use my writing by His mighty power. Just like a sermon, the effect of writing depends upon God. Pray for Him to be glorified beyond all measure by His hand on my writing.

HOME IN THE WILDERNESS, my third and final(?) novel in The Wilderness Series has been released. https://goo.gl/pJA4jK

This Saturday, June 18, 2016, the Kindle edition of HOME IN THE WILDERNESS can be downloaded free. I am hoping some of you will read it and put a good review on Amazon. Most of all I trust you to pray.

 http://watchinginprayer/   

 http://thinkinginthespirit.blogspot.com/ 

http://daveswatchh.com/

“You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives…” (James 4:3 NASB)

We don't have the answer because we ask amiss, with the wrong motives. We are not asking God for the revival He truly wants to give us. We are not preparing for the revival He truly wants to give us. Maybe we don't even have a glimpse of the revival that He wants to give us. We must cease asking amiss and begin to ask according to His heart, His desires, and His plans.

What does real revival look like when it comes? There is brokenness. There is unity. God's servants are putting the needs of others above their own. There is true fellowship. There is hunger for God and thirst for righteousness. There is prayer before, during and after every step. There is desperation. And there is obedience to that which is closest to God's heart: the saving of souls, the Great Commission.

We ask amiss when we pursue a word from a prophet of flesh rather than trust in the Word God has already given. We ask amiss when we run to an event, a church, or a geographic location expecting to receive it there rather than in a closet humbled before God in repentance. We ask amiss when we make an idol out of manifestations rather than coming into His throne room with holy hands and pure hearts lifted in bewildered gratitude for His grace. We ask amiss when we want to own a revival so that we can make ourselves a spectacle in the eyes of man. We ask amiss when we say we want to get closer to God but we have no love.

So let us not ask amiss. Let us ask Him for true revival. Let us ask to be broken and crushed under the weight of His Mercy. Let us ask to finally grasp the cost of our sin. Let us ask to be living sacrifices. Let us ask to serve others rather than seek for ourselves. Let us ask to love and forgive unconditionally. Let us ask for the fire of God's grace to consume our flesh and burn away all of the chaff so that we can be more acceptable to Him. And let us ask to reach the nations with the blood of the Cross and the Only Name by which mankind can be saved, and that is the precious name of Jesus.

Yes, let us ask, and let us pour ourselves out until we are completely empty so that we can be filled by Him.

“... Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that He may come and shower righteousness upon you” (Hosea 10:12 NLT).

Proverbs 14:34 reads,

"Righteousness exalts a nation,

but sin is a disgrace to any people."

I recently read a speech by Winston Churchill entitled The Defense of Freedom and Peace. It was subtitled, The Lights are Going Out. The great orator proclaimed to Americans who had not yet entered the war that it is the conflict of spiritual and moral ideas which gives free countries their strength. Especially in the light of history resistance against the domination of the Nazis should not be seen in any other way. By some estimates they put as many as 20 million people to death simply because of their race, or their weaknesses, or unwillingness to support the evil cause.

Even 70 and 80 years later we can feel good about our sacrifices to defeat that evil regime. But where are we in the world today? Where are we as a nation? Since 1973 Americans have brutally extinguished nearly 60 million innocent lives simply because we found them inconvenient.

This was not done by our government. We do not have S.S. troops pounding at our doors in the middle of the night. We did this ourselves to those who by any reckoning were the most innocent among us. Most Americans now admit that abortion is wrong. It is interesting to me that many people say they believe abortion is wrong to justify not doing anything about it. We believe abortion is wrong, so we must be free from responsibility before God, or history for that matter.  

But what can we do? I am sympathetic with those who see the crisis as overwhelming. But nothing is impossible with God. Let me suggest three essential approaches to the problem.

First come to this crisis with humility and compassion. We all share in the cultural, intellectual and moral corruption that has swallowed up our nation. This is not simply the problem of churches that did not stand against abortion. This is not simply the fault of another political party or someone else. Most of us would agree that German people who ignored the disappearance of their Jewish neighbors or were afraid to speak up no matter what it cost them, shared in the guilt.

And we who are also guilty need to seek ways of ministering to girls faced with unwanted pregnancy, and unplanned and unwanted children. Do we have means to intervene in the lives of young people who realize they have sacrificed their vision of the future on the altar of sexual freedom?

Next, address the problem with wisdom and intelligence. If we simply demonize political opponents or shout at them in protest, rather than listening to their arguments and seeking to persuade people, we will make little headway in the issue.

Finally, we must face this problem in prayer and worship. We will not turn this evil around without the mighty hand of God. We need to see this as a matter of spiritual war, crying out to God about every issue small and great. We have no greater weapon in spiritual warfare than worship that connects us with God Himself.

The culture of death is a daunting reality. But it is no greater than slavery that the enemy foisted on our fathers a few generations back. Against all social, economic, and political odds Great Britain outlawed the vile trade on her far flung shores. And eventually Americans were willing to plunge ourselves into a horrible civil war.

If your faith is not built on a powerful relationship with Almighty God you will not be able to pay whatever price is demanded of us to defeat this horrible plague. 

The Christian Grandparenting Network (CGN) recognizes the desperate moral and spiritual climate our grandchildren must navigate in a world hostile to truth. Satan has launched an aggressive attack on all fronts using media, technology, education, social influences and political pressures to desensitize and cloud the boundaries of truth and righteousness that hold nations and families together. Perhaps at no other time in our history is a call to prayer more urgently required than it is today.

Therefore, CGN is proclaiming September 11, 2016 as a National Grandparent’s Day of Prayer.

As a grandparent, God has entrusted you with a sacred responsibility to impress upon another generation the message of God’s faithfulness, grace, and to stand in the gap on their behalf through prayer and the power of Christ living through you. Assuming this responsibility means taking seriously the effectiveness of prayer to keep their hearts and minds from falling captive to the enemy’s deception. You are engaged in a spiritual battle requiring spiritual weapons.

On Sunday, September 11, 2016, Christian grandparents everywhere will be asked to stand in the gap together for our grandchildren just as Esther stood in the gap for her people in a desperate time. Together we will link arms with other grandparents in prayer for the sake of the next generations.

If you are interested in serving as an event organizer for the Grandparent's Day of Prayer in your church, the RESOURCE section on our website provides the necessary tools and resources to help you organize and implement a Grandparent’s Day of Prayer event at your church, school or neighbourhoods. Our hope is that thousands of churches will participate in the Grandparent's Day of Prayer. That will require people like you willing to step forward and make it happen.

If you are not interested in being a volunteer, then we invite you to join our Million Praying Grandparents who will be participating to pray on their own or with a small group. Our Lord taught that where two or three are gathered in His name, he is there is their midst. There is always something extraordinary and powerful about a group of people gathering to pray. I encourage you to participate with a group of grandparents during this time of prayer if possible. Sign up, to join the Million Praying Grandparent movement and we will keep you informed about events in your area and pass on to you suggestions and ideas for strengthening your prayer life.

Whether as a Volunteer or joining the Million Praying Grandparents movement, we need YOU to make the Grandparent’s Day of Prayer a reality in your church and community by getting the word out to everyone you can.

Click on www.grandparentsdayofprayer.com for more information

We look forward to linking arms with all of you on September 11, 2016 as we stand in the gap through prayer for our grandchildren, our families, our churches and our nation.

May God bless you and find you faithful.

Cavin T. Harper, CGN Executive Director and
Lillian A. Penner, CGN National Prayer Coordinator

A Praying Life is the most practical training on prayer possible, yet it is rooted in biblical theology. 
I highly recommend it.
- Rev. Tim Keller, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, NY 

To pray or to plan?

The short answer is YES!

When it comes down to doing life in today's rushed world, I think we can all agree that the better you plan, the better off you are.

But what does that have to do with doing all of life through prayer?

Everything! Where do you think Jesus got his plans for the day? Since he was always looking to his Father, the plans for the day or the week had to come from his prayer times in the early morning.

I have found this to be particularly liberating. Pray and let the plan(s) flow from your time with your Father.

Here are some practical tips I have picked up through the years.

1. One of my favorite prayer cards is simply labeled: "Myself: my commitment to God". The Scripture I use is Proverbs 16:3, "Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established." (See how the Bible promises that the plan(s) will flow from the commitment?)

2. On the same card, I ask for wisdom. The Father loves it when we do this. It shows we see him for who he is and that pleases him. In fact, according to James 1, he loves to give wisdom when we ask for it.

3. After committing our way (our day, our year, or our project) to the Lord and asking for wisdom, watch how the plans will come together. Something may come to you right then while you are praying. Or, you may pick up wisdom for your plan in a conversation with a friend, in a Bible passage you are reading, or in a sermon. One can never predict how the Spirit is going to weave the tapestry of the story.

4. Once you have a plan down on paper, set about to faithfully execute it. Sometimes, faithful execution is the hardest part. But this is all part of the prayer story you are in. Note the areas where you need repentance and pray for help. Note things you learn and jot them down as you go through the plan. Note areas where it occurs to you that you need more obedience from your heart. Personally, I find it is in this part that I ask for more and more faith. Your prayer card(s) will help you here.

5. Be adaptable. It's okay to adjust the plan as long as you are praying about it and seeking the Spirit's lead. Remember, in being adaptable to changing circumstances, you are fully engaging the story of what the Spirit is doing IN you, not just through you.

6. Enjoy the fruit! Yes, don't forget to enjoy the whole story as much as possible. You have committed your work unto the Lord and he is blessing because he loves it! Love it with him.

7. Lastly, every so often, just look at the card and recall the story. You cannot help but thank God. That is genuine and often robust worship.

Don't forget our Father loves to put you in situations where you are in over your head. You have the plan, but you don't have the expertise or the money or the personnel or....well, you get the picture.

He is watching and listening to see if you will just sit there and worry or if you will excitedly ask big things of him. Ask away, thinking all the while, "I can't wait to see what the Father is going to do with this."

Happy praying!

Bob Allums
Director of seeJesus Seminars: A Praying Life

P.S. Have you ever thought about hosting a Praying Life seminar? There are still dates available this fall! Contact us for the details.