Prayer

Let's Raise the Level of Prayer

As a child, I remember my pastor regularly calling our congregation to "extended seasons of prayer." Then, during my teenage years, our church transitioned to an "evening of prayer" on Wednesday nights. By the time I was an adult, prayer meeting night had largely transitioned to a Bible study. And before long, the prayer meeting vanished altogether.

At the same time, another dynamic was at work in Sunday worship services across the country. Most services gradually changed from including an ardent "pastoral prayer" to simply pausing for a "moment of prayer."

A recent national conference designed to ignite and foster ...

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No More Sleepy Prayer Meetings!

Let me be the first to admit that I have the problem. I have fallen asleep in my share of prayer meetings. Sadly, I have even led some of these supplication siestas. My problem started as a child. It was complicated by a serious drug issue. My parents drug me to church several times a week. The Wednesday evening prayer time provided a special occasion for napping. After a few hymns, the group commenced a long litany of boring, gossip-laden, and seemingly tedious prayer requests. My eyes grew heavy. By the time the people gathered in huddles, sluggishly recounting the ...

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It Shall Be Granted

The book of Esther is one of my favorites for many reasons. But one of the most meaningful personal applications I have found in that book is the insight it provides on prayer.

Totally apart from any initiative or effort on Esther's part, God sovereignly arranged for her to be placed in a position of great influence at a crucial moment in Israel's history. Esther couldn't see the script God had written in heaven and was carrying out on earth. The entire Jewish nation stood in the balance as wicked Haman set out to destroy the chosen ...

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Anguish

Whatever happened to anguish in the house of God? Whatever happened to anguish in the ministry? It's a word you don't hear in this pampered age.

Anguish means "extreme pain and distress; the emotions so stirred that it becomes painful; acute, deeply felt inner pain because of conditions about you, in you, or around you." Anguish. Deep pain. Deep sorrow. Agony of God's heart.

All true passion is born out of anguish. Search the Scriptures, and you'll find that when God determined to recover a ruined situation, He would share His own anguish for what He ...

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The Poetry of Revival Prayer

He called prayer "the church's banquet," "the soul in paraphrase," and "the heart in pilgrimage." An intellectual, born into an upper-class family that had strong links with the King of England (James I), George Herbert seemed to be doing very well for himself—he was successful at Cambridge University, where he gained a B.A. in 1611; he was an accomplished linguist and musician; he even served as a Member of Parliament.

Yet it's not for these accomplishments that Herbert is remembered. Rather, it's as a poet, specifically of the spiritual life. His work influenced many poets ...

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Real World: What Should I Pray?

A student with a burden for revival runs into a familiar challenge: filling his prayer time without becoming distracted or discouraged.

The Scenario

My campus group has been encouraging us to pray for revival in our personal lives and at our school. I even read an interesting biography about someone who did this. But for some reason, I haven't figured out what I'm supposed to do. I know I should pray, a lot ... even a few hours at a time? It all sounds great to me-the call to prayer, the joy of prayer, the results of prayer ... So ...

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Making It Personal: Prayers That Birth Revival

Download this Making It Personal worksheet to help personalize this topic of prayer. Download PDF  

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