### Table of Contents

Endorsements

Community Prayer Devotional

Copyright

DEDICATION

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

DAY ONE

DAY TWO

DAY THREE

DAY FOUR

DAY FIVE

DAY SIX

DAY SEVEN

DAY EIGHT

DAY NINE

DAY TEN

DAY ELEVEN

DAY TWELVE

DAY THIRTEEN

DAY FOURTEEN

DAY FIFTEEN

DAY SIXTEEN

DAY SEVENTEEN

DAY EIGHTEEN

DAY NINETEEN

DAY TWENTY

DAY TWENTY-ONE

DAY TWENTY-TWO

DAY TWENTY-THREE

DAY TWENTY-FOUR

DAY TWENTY-FIVE

DAY TWENTY-SIX

DAY TWENTY-SEVEN

DAY TWENTY-EIGHT

That You will fill the hearts of Your people with compassion and purpose, calling them to labor in prayer for the many needs in our community, nation, and world...DAY TWENTY-NINE

DAY THIRTY

BONUS DAY

NEXT STEPS

PRAYERS IN THE BIBLE

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM SEARCH FOR ME MINISTRIES

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM SOUTH EAST ASIA PRAYER CENTER

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

POSTING BOOK REVIEWS

PARTNERING WITH OUR MINISTRIES

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Bob Santos' Community Prayer Devotional has been one of the most remarkable instruments for focusing our corporate and personal prayer lives at the church I pastor. It is uncanny how often his writing aligns with not just what we are experiencing, but also where the Spirit is clearly leading. If you are, or want to get serious about Jesus, prayer, and your community, this is a must-have book. God is using Santos' work greatly!

--Rev. Chris Enoch

Pastor

Presbyterian Church of Marion Center

Marion Center, PA

The Community Prayer Devotional by Bob Santos will teach you principles of prayer and help you put what you've learned into practice. This devotional is one of the best tools I've seen to take you from simply reading about prayer to actually praying, opening your heart to experience God in new and unexpected ways. Thirty days of prayer will change you and impact your community!

--Sheryl Motzing

Prayer Coordinator

Summit Church

Indiana, PA

Jesus prayed in John 17 that we would be one. It is our job to answer that prayer. This is Bob Santos' passion in his book, Community Prayer Devotional. Every page is calling the Body of Christ to pray together and serve together "so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me" (John 17:23). I recommend this outstanding devotional for such a time as this!

--Dr. Terry Teykl

Author and Speaker

Prayer Point Press

Houston, TX

Bob has poured his heart into a great resource for a whole church or community-wide prayer emphasis. This thought-provoking, prayer-inspiring book helped our families go deeper and further in their prayer life. I highly recommend this to anyone whether they have a prayer life or not. It will change you!

--Rev. William Blair

Pastor

Grace United Methodist Church

Indiana, PA

With prayer as the basis of The GAP Ministry (God Answers Prayer), I stand amazed at this powerful prayer devotional that unifies the community of believers. It is easy to read and follow, and full of truth that guides us into the presence of God. He is surely in our midst and is without a doubt answering these prayers.

--Rev. Jackie Greene

Pastor

The GAP Ministry & Celebrate Recovery

Indiana, PA

In writing his Community Prayer Devotional, Bob Santos has truly gifted our newly formed Indiana Clergy Network with a delightful medium for local churches to literally be "on the same page" in community prayer outreach! The churches of Indiana, Pennsylvania, are once again seeking and serving Christ together as prayer partners in our shared community ministries.

--Rev. Howard Greenfield

Founding Member

Indiana Clergy Network

Indiana, PA
Community Prayer Devotional

Bob Santos

SEARCH FOR ME MINISTRIES, INC.

INDIANA, PA

SEAPC

OAKMONT, PA
Community Prayer Devotional

Copyright © 2018, 2019 by Search for Me Ministries, Inc.

Permission is granted to make physical copies of this material for the purpose of praying for your community. However, it is not acceptable to sell the copies that are produced or to change the textual content of this work. For security reasons, please do not copy or circulate digital PDF, mobi, or ePub files of this document. Also, do not accept a file from another person. Instead, we ask that you individually download the digital files at no cost through Smashwords (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/912629). It is also acceptable to post excerpts on social media for purposes related to prayer.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org) Quotations from the Old Testament are capitalized.

Passages labeled ESV are taken from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®). ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

Passages labeled NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover photo by Margita Design Photography - Used by Permission

Cover design by Gaffney Printables

Formatting by Rik - Wild Seas Formatting

The _Community Prayer Devotional_ is being co-published as a cooperative ministry venture by SfMe Media and the South East Asia Prayer Center (SEAPC).

SfMe Media

A Division of Search for Me Ministries, Inc.

865 School Street

Indiana, PA 15701-2911

sfme.org

SEAPC

PO Box 127

Oakmont, PA 15139

seapc.org

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019901865

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-937956-19-6

ePub ISBN: 978-1-937956-20-2

Mobi ISBN: 978-1-937956-21-9

# DEDICATION

_To Mark Geppert and Dave Wasemann --two very different men whose shared faith has brought a blessing of life to so many families of this earth._

# FOREWORD

In 1998, I was told that there were 28 local _Christians_ living in Lhasa, Tibet. There may have been more, there may have been less, but of the few friends who stood beside each other working hard to serve those believers, numbers were not as important as the vision to see a nation change. We understood that at any moment authorities could break through the door, take our local friends off to prison, and deport us. This knowledge kept us very closely united, focused in prayer, and submitted to the core values of the gospel. In those years, a smile to a friend in the street transferred deep, deep messages of hope, security, and promise.

We prayed daily for each other and engaged the community with a fiery resolve to return any evil with good and to identify and magnify the good we found in those we were called to serve. We interfaced regularly with the government, markets, health industries, schools, monasteries, and media only with love. As we tempered our hopes with patient trust in the promise for change, we watched, ever longing for the opportunity to pray with and introduce God's love into another life in need. When the opportunity came, we stood strong and courageous allowing God's love to transfer into the life of another.

By 2008 transformation was taking place across the nation! A small group of 28 believers scattered through town had grown into 21 different churches in that city. And by 2012, 333 fellowships were birthed representing every prefecture and every township of Tibet.

Over that period of time the local government changed, the economics completely transformed, the Dalai Lama eventually declared that he was no longer the supreme ruler of both government and religion in Tibet. Nobody thought that these changes would ever occur in that land.

Those friends who walked through these years together will never question the power of prayer to change a nation, nor would we look at a nation like America and consider a prayer movement for righteous change as something impossible. We know now exactly what it takes to witness a nation change, and we believe it is possible at this time for America.

So what it is going to take? Simply put, _people_ and _prayer_. Someone is going to have to leave all that they know and love to die for this cause. That death to self will release them into a powerful lifestyle of prayer led by the Holy Spirit. I am certain that when they do, they will find many others who are doing the same. These loving souls will grow fast into friendship with those others and their prayers, and love for each other will touch the heart of God. He will move the mountains on their behalf, and so too will the nation move.

The person who is coming into a reality of who God is, how much He loves them, and their purpose birthed, sustained, and empowered through prayer is the one who Bob Santos was born to speak into. I believe that person is meant to be you and I believe this guide will launch you into changing the world around you.

Can you imagine an America united in the Spirit of God? A nation where health, provision, wisdom, and identity are daily found and secured within its people who acknowledge God's presence in their lives. I personally have walked through many parts of this world that desperately need the United States to yet again export this reality to them.

Did you know that _culture_ is the largest exportable United States good? The nations consume it at a dizzying pace. No other nation in the history of the world has exported the Judeo-Christian ethic and the values that follow more positively and effectively than the United States. And in no time previously have the pathways to distribute this culture been more established than today. But what is being exported now is certainly not what was being exported a generation ago. How far have we removed ourselves from those values, and how devastating the consequences have been!

This guide frames the lifestyle of prayer necessary to restore those values within us and our families, then to our communities, and in the near future, to the nations. They are the same values we witnessed so many years ago in Tibet among those 28 believers who prayed and saw "the impossible" come to pass. Thank you for participating in this life-changing initiative to pray for your community. May God bless you as you go out in love and bring His life-changing presence into the world around you!

To God be the glory,

Matt Geppert

President, SEAPC

# INTRODUCTION

One day, while sitting in a meeting, I was struck by the impossibility of some of our nation's circumstances. Mass shootings, drug overdoses, toxic politics, racial conflict, sexual confusion, continued movement away from Biblical truth, and a breakdown of human decency are just some of the daunting issues that have overwhelmed the hearts of people who care about the fate of our nation. As I sat in that planning meeting, the human voices faded into the background, and it dawned on me that even our best efforts will fade in futility unless they are rooted and grounded in prayer. Thus, the idea for this _Community Prayer Devotional_ was birthed.

As the people of God, we are by no means powerless despite the negative forces at work in our world. The Lord has given us the privilege, ability, and authority to bear heavy influence through the power of prayer. If even half the professing Christians in a community devoted themselves to consistent and faith-filled prayer, dramatic changes would result. And if enough of our communities begin to change, so will our nation.

When I was younger, some friends and I would sometimes stay at a camp owned by my employer. My motto was always, "Leave the place better than it was when you found it." As someone now firmly immersed in middle-age life, it was with this mindset that I wrote this devotional. Thus, the reader will find that most of the prayer points are geared not toward the needs of the older generations, but toward bringing change for the sakes of the ones who follow in our footsteps.

Those who face the reality of gray (or no) hair in the mirror should by now understand how quickly our time on this earth passes. And regardless of our past track records, those of us who are older still have a powerful opportunity to leave this earth "better than we found it." I do not doubt that those with children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren carry an especially weighty concern for the future state of this world. As individuals, this task might seem overwhelming, but collectively, we still can pave a path of promise for the generations to come. Let's fully avail ourselves to this opportunity!

From the very beginning, I want to state that I see this devotional as only a _starting point_. It is my sincere hope that the words on these pages will help set the stage for many community prayer initiatives and events such as joint worship and prayer meetings.

To better facilitate community prayer efforts, we are making this devotional available in the following formats:

  * ePub - permanently free from various retailers such as Barnes and Noble.

  * PDF - permanently free and available for download through Smashwords.com.

  * Amazon Kindle (mobi file) - at a minimum cost through Amazon.

  * Paperback - at a reasonable cost through various online outlets. (See sfme.org/cpi/ for information about group rates and use.)

  * Audiobook - through Amazon and Audible.

This prayer devotional is a work in progress that began with the use of a beta draft in Indiana, PA. Those who utilized the draft will see some stylistic changes in this final version as well as an additional chapter about praying for healing. I had felt the nudge to include such a chapter in my original draft, but it was very difficult to write and felt like a daunting task on top of all the other work involved with writing and publishing this book.

A community might consider the following for uses of this devotional:

  * Have members of all participating churches work through this thirty-day devotional at the same time.

  * Have a different church pray through the devotional during each of the twelve months over the course of an entire year.

  * Have members across the spectrum of churches sign up for one of the twelve months during a year. This way, all churches will be involved every month, and church size will be a non-issue.

  * Have church prayer groups read a chapter each week and pray accordingly.

  * Encourage families and small prayer groups to use it throughout the year.

Because this is an ongoing and evolving effort, you can also go to the resource section of our website (https://sfme.org/cpi/) for periodic updates, ideas, and links.

Regarding the individual readings, each is designed as a starting point for prayer. A relatively short message will both instruct and encourage you. Then, at the end of each reading, you will find a Bible verse to employ in your prayers, a prayer focus for the day, and a starting prayer with a list of several prayer points. I have purposefully limited the number of prayer points so that you can follow the Holy Spirit's leading to pray for burdens He lays on your heart relative to your community.

Practically speaking, the Bible provides several powerful prayers that we can utilize for our own times of prayer. Ephesians 3:14-19, for example, can be "personalized" as you pray for the Christians--and especially the leaders--in your church and in your community:

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19

When we pray using the Scriptures, we can adapt passages that were not originally in prayer form. It is my personal opinion that, unlike their use in teaching, these verses do not need to be considered in context as long as we remain consistent with God's heart. Following the Holy Spirit's leading, we can thus use a wide number of passages in both the Old and New Testaments to complement our prayer lives.

Toward the end of this book is a section titled, "Prayers in the Bible" that lists several Old and New Testament prayers. The list is by no means exhaustive, but you might find the progression of these prayers helpful as you come before the Lord for yourself and for the sake of others.

As a whole, this devotional provides a basic structure for your personal and group prayer times, but it is by no means rigid. My concern is not that you follow an exact order, but that you use this book as a springboard for greater things. Please feel free to take what I have written and adapt it to the work that the Lord is doing in and through you and your community.

I have also sought to interweave an attitude of gratefulness with each prayer focus. Sometimes, we as Christians can be quite persistent in petitioning God, but if our prayers lack the element of faith that flows from a thankful heart, they will come up lacking. As the apostle Paul wrote many years ago:

The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:5b-7

Finally, you may have noticed that this devotional is being co-published by two organizations--Search for Me Ministries, Inc. (SfMe Ministries) and the South East Asia Prayer Center (SEAPC). My wife Debi and I founded SfMe Ministries because God has gifted and called me to write and teach. At the same time, I am a pretty ordinary introvert with a relatively small sphere of influence. Thus, to broaden our reach, it seemed best to partner with a prayer-centered ministry that I not only admire, but also has a proven track record in both the national and international spheres.

None of us knows exactly what our good God has planned, but we live in a time of amazing opportunity for the gospel as our traditional foundations of stability are being shaken. If we are rooted in faith, motivated by love, and filled with hope, instead of being shaken, we will help birth God's kingdom blessings into our communities. The Lord knows how much we need His touch not only for our sakes, but especially for the future generations.

Bob Santos

President, Search for Me Ministries, Inc.

# DAY ONE

## THE DESPERATE NEED

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 (NKJV)

In prayer you align yourselves to the purpose and power of God and He is able to do things through you that He couldn't do otherwise. For this is an open universe, where some things are left open, contingent upon our doing them. If we do not do them, they will never be done. For God has left certain things open to prayer--things which will never be done except as we pray. --E. Stanley Jones

It is best not to be a people who wistfully wish for the return of the "good old days," but we have seen drastic (negative) changes take place in the United States over the past several decades. Humanity always has its issues, but a person needs only to watch a U.S. television show, such as _Leave It to Beaver,_ from the 1960s to see that a certain peaceful innocence has been lost over the past several decades.

  * The gap between rich and poor has widened considerably.

  * Technological advances, while providing many benefits, continue to undermine the quality of our relationships.

  * Our educational systems are breaking apart at the seams.

  * Our innocent children are pulled into the vortex of sexuality at far too young an age.

  * Deep-seated animosity divides those on the right and left.

  * The fear of being shot or blown up in a public place has skyrocketed.

  * Drug addiction is destroying both individual and family lives.

  * The church at large, once influential and respected, has been beset by scandal after scandal and is now a cultural afterthought and the object of public ridicule.

Much more could be said about our current state, but we bear the risk of sinking into morbid despair. Instead, we are joining with Christians across the globe for a "call to arms." Our world needs a revolution that cannot be accomplished with bullets and bombs. America especially needs a change of heart which only the sovereign hand of the Almighty can facilitate.

Political involvement is undoubtedly necessary, but our sharply divided political system has displayed its inability to fix itself. How, then, can we expect a broken government to right the course of a faltering nation?

Politics can bring favorable change only as honest, just, and capable individuals rise to places of leadership. And due to the nature of the political beast, such ascendance is unlikely apart from a praying generation of believers. Rare is the person who embarks on the political trail without being hardened and corrupted by its nasty underbelly.

For her part, the church has acted like a sleeping (or preoccupied) giant that is largely ignorant of its potential to alter the course of history. It is the people of God who have His ear, and it is the people of God who must steal away from the busyness of day-to-day life to seek their heavenly Father through prayer. The core problem is not that God has abandoned our nation, but that we have abandoned the central role that prayer plays in a "normal" Christian life.

Admittedly, we do not fully understand the dynamics of prayer, but the sovereign Creator of the Universe has chosen to work through people to advance His divine purposes on this earth. Such a partnership certainly includes the giving of time, energy, and money, but it is also predicated upon a resilient foundation of prayer. Furthermore, it is not simply a need for prayer that we are proclaiming but rather a need for _community_ prayer, for it is within the context of communities large and small that the backbone of a nation is forged.

A favorite verse used to call the people of God to prayer can be found in 2 Chronicles 7:14:

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)

In addition to challenging our complacency and bolstering our faith, this well-used passage has a "corporate" feel to it. By corporate, I refer not to being business-like, but rather to a collective sense beyond the individual. And what better group of people can be found to pray for a community than those who call it their home?

So it is that we approach heaven's throne to pray for the advancement of God's kingdom in our local communities. It is within this familiar sphere that we want healthy families to flourish, the character of future leaders to be formed, and those with hardened hearts to be drawn near to our loving Savior.

If God's people fail to pray, the continued decline of our nation is inevitable, but that is not a predetermined outcome. This world is in desperate need of praying communities, and by God's grace, we will be the community that makes a difference by faithfully lifting our prayers to heaven's throne!

**Today's Prayer Focus:** For today, your primary prayer focus will be _you_. Please begin with the prayer below and then personalize it to fit your own situation, while incorporating the Scripture and including the prayer points that follow. Feel free to continue praying as the Holy Spirit leads.

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. Colossians 1:9-12

**Starting Prayer:** Lord God, I celebrate the fact that You have chosen to use imperfect people to accomplish Your divine plans. Dear Lord, I make myself available to You. I ask that You help me understand the value and necessity of prayer, and that You grant me the grace to pray consistently for my community during the next thirty days and beyond...

  * That You will enable me to know You and Your ways.

  * That You will help me to recognize Your nearness through the presence of Your Spirit, and that You will help me to know that I have Your ear.

  * That You will free me from a sense of guilt and obligation and guide me to lift before You prayers that are motivated by love.

  * That You will fill my heart with Your love for my community...

# DAY TWO

## PRAYING AS ONE

"I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me." John 17:20-21

The unity of Christendom is not a luxury, but a necessity. The World will go limping until Christ's prayer that all may be one is answered. We must have unity, not at all costs, but at all risks. A unified Church is the only offering we dare present to the coming Christ, for in it alone will He find room to dwell. --Charles H. Brent

Language communicates meaning, and if there is one word that has been misused, abused, and misunderstood, it is _covenant_. The entire Bible was penned with a covenant mindset, but because our modern Western mentality lacks this perspective, our view of the Christian faith has been severely skewed and distorted. Thus, if we want to truly honor our Lord and Savior in all we do, it is vital that we educate ourselves in this regard.

A covenant can be defined as "a sacred and binding relationship of the highest order." The ancients used words such as _pact_ , _treaty_ , _vow_ , and _oath_ in connection with their covenant relationships. Being faithful to the terms of a covenant was one of the highest priorities given by God to the people of Israel.

The story of Joshua and the Gibeonites provides an excellent case in point (see Joshua 9 and 10). Terrified because of Israel's string of military conquests, the Gibeonites devised a plan to deceive the Jewish leaders into forging a covenant bond. When he finally realized their trickery, Joshua seethed with anger, but in spite of his fury, he refused to violate a sacred oath.

Before long, armies led by five kings attacked the Gibeonite nation. Knowing that they were doomed otherwise, the leaders sent a message to Joshua asking for help. How did he respond? By marching his men _all night_ to attack and defeat those armies. In the minds of the ancient Israelites, their covenant with the Gibeonites was so sacred that they did not hesitate to risk their own lives by honoring its terms.

For His part, God then honored Joshua and his men by causing the sun to stand still for the better part of a day. Never before or since has such an action been seen. Heaven was sending a loud and clear message to God's people: covenants are sacred in the eyes of heaven's King.

Of covenants, there are various types, and those of the highest forms are sealed with _blood_. By cutting themselves and mingling their blood, ancient peoples all over the globe would become "blood brothers." When a larger group such as a tribe was involved, a _covenant representative_ was often chosen to act on behalf of the entire people group. Regardless of their individual participation, the terms of the covenant applied to all members of those tribes.

Just because we do not understand the dynamics of a blood covenant, does not make the concept wrong or archaic. In fact, the new covenant is a blood covenant, and Jesus Christ is our covenant representative. Through the shedding of His blood, we are privileged to enter into relational oneness with the heavenly Father. The new covenant means many things for us, two ramifications of which I will highlight in this chapter.

The first ramification of our new covenant relationship with God is that our lives belong to Him. Communicating from a covenant perspective, the apostle Paul wrote:

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galatians 2:20

What was Paul saying? Because he had become one with Jesus through a sacred covenant, Christ's death had become his death, and his life had become Christ's life. Thus, all who live as Christians do not belong to themselves but to God.

The second ramification of our new covenant relationship with God is that those who enter into a sacred unity with Him through the new covenant also enter into a sacred unity with one another. This oneness of God's family holds a special place in the heavenly Father's heart. He is blessed when we preserve and celebrate that unity and grieved when we violate it by judging, belittling, or unjustly criticizing other Christians.

Embracing the covenant mindset of the Bible leads us to realize that there are not multiple churches in a community but rather a _single_ church with multiple expressions. And while it is entirely reasonable that we have different "flavors," styles, and practices, the believers in a community must never forget that they are one in Spirit. Therefore, if our church doctrine is true and pure, it should lead us to have larger--not smaller--hearts of love for our covenant brothers and sisters in Christ.

For the sake of clarity, I must also state that Jesus Christ is the focal point of our unity. Thus, we can never jettison our profession of Jesus as Lord and Savior in an attempt to alleviate conflict with those who reject the deity of Christ. Christians should treat all people with honor and respect, but our new covenant unity is through Jesus and Jesus alone.

Whether relating to God or to our fellow Christians, the new covenant finds its expression in _faithful love_ , and this is where both our witness and our prayers gain their strength. When we love as one, those who do not yet know God are attracted to our warmth. And when we pray as one, our requests ascend to heaven as a fragrant aroma.

If we want to see real transformation in our communities, we must learn to preserve and celebrate our covenant unity in Christ.

**Today's Prayer Focus:** The unity of the church. Please begin with the prayer below and then personalize it to fit your own situation, while incorporating the Scripture and including the prayer points that follow. Feel free to continue praying as the Holy Spirit leads.

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

"The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me." John 17:22-23

**Starting Prayer:** Heavenly Father, we thank You for the body of Christ in our community and that You have called us to be one in the Spirit. Please open our eyes to the reality of our Christian unity, and forgive us for the times that we have violated it. We echo this prayer for all Christians in our community. We pray that you will knit our hearts together as one...

  * That You will open eyes to see that the church is one body with many different expressions.

  * That You will heal hurts, soften hearts, and tear down the walls that separate the Christians and churches in our community.

  * That You will knit together the hearts of Christian leaders in our community.

  * That You will stir hearts for joint worship and prayer meetings between the pastors and churches in our area...

# DAY THREE

## UNIMAGINABLE POWER

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:16b ESV

History belongs to the intercessor! --Walter Wink

The area around Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is known for its large Amish community, but Lancaster is not alone in this regard.

_Tucked away in a secluded section of Southwestern Pennsylvania are the communities of Smicksburg and Dayton. Though small in size, these towns have much to offer. Beautiful, country scenery, away from the hustle and bustle of city life, is just one of the attractions._

_These two small communities and the surrounding area are home to over 325 Old Order Amish families. These families still enjoy a life of simple living, shunning modern conveniences._

_As you drive through the countryside, you will see rolling farmland along with the English and Amish homesteads. You may see an Amish man working his fields with his team of horses or Amish children playing in the yard of a one-room schoolhouse. Laundry blowing in the breeze and a horse and buggy traveling along the road are also common sights._ 1

The Amish horse and black buggy--how often I have passed them while driving through the countryside to hunt or fish. One tell-tale sign of an Amish buggy ahead is a pile of horse manure lying along the edge of the road. An old friend used to call those horses "hay burners." They eat their hay, convert it into energy, and leave the waste to fill the treads of our tires.

Driving through Amish country is made all the more interesting by the many hills. How sorry I have felt seeing a horse--with buggy in tow--slowly climbing the long ascents surrounding Smicksburg. For the passengers, however, the power of a horse certainly beats walking or bicycling--especially in the dead of a snowy, frigid winter.

Although parts of Amish life are indeed enviable, I prefer driving my 179-horsepower SUV up and down those hills. As strong as a horse might be, it has nothing in comparison to our modern piston-driven engines. Even the Amish will hire vans with drivers to take them beyond the boundaries of their locale as they head out to work or shop.

Drawing a comparison between a horse and a combustion engine gives us a small glimpse of the difference between human influence and the power of prayer. All too often, we sacrifice the latter in exchange for the former, and it is a huge mistake to do so. Let us briefly consider the difference between human and divine design when it comes to power.

The huge danger we face in harnessing power is the ever-present desire--if not compulsion--for _control_. From within the prideful recesses of the human heart flows the innate desire to control our lives, the people around us, and whatever circumstances affect us and our loved ones.

A person need not be a student of history to recognize humanity's deceptive lust for power. Even when intentions are good and honorable, the siren call of power tickles our ears and consumes our thoughts. The problem is that the evil quest for control often cloaks itself in garments of compassion, justice, and responsibility. One of the worst feelings in the world is that of powerlessness. No one wants to feel helpless in the face of need or injustice. Even so, our methods matter _because the roots of controlling tendencies spread rapidly in the ground of genuine need._ How quickly and easily we become ensnared!

The desire for control, whether for a good or bad cause, is why we intimidate, pressure, and manipulate others. In the process, we create our own "divine dramas" as we seek to "play God" on the grand stage of life.

The real God, on the other hand, has the mysterious ability to exercise power without controlling everyone and everything. Thus, He will not violate people's free will even as He steers their decisions toward a desired end. In a sense, we might say that the Lord is able to wield the mighty scepter of power without it "going to His head."

God reigns, make no mistake about that! He will one day call all actions into account, but that does not mean that He is responsible for all actions. We have all been given the freedom to make choices for which we will have to answer. It is for this reason that people do so many terrible things in our world without the mighty hand of God reaching down from heaven to stop them. Still, we can be sure that He is actively at work, and through our prayers, He will redeem even the worst of circumstances.

In contrast to the destructive fruit of our human approach, God's design for prayer is genius! As Christians, we are by no means powerless. Yes, it is easy to feel as though life is a steep mountain we are forced to climb without even a horse, but do not believe it! Through prayer, we have the opportunity to change the destiny of nations.

Most who pray do so because they understand the power of prayer to influence our world. Testimony after testimony has been given of how a God-answered prayer has changed the course of human history. Prayer is powerful because our God is powerful.

On a personal level, my uncle, mother, and grandmother often tried to sway me toward faith with their words, but my heart was hard and those words fell on deaf ears. Their prayers to God, however, did not. Those prayers accomplished what their attempts to change me could not. The Lord eventually softened my heart and drew me to Himself. Never underestimate the privilege and power of ordinary people who make prayer integral to their daily lives.

_An aging grandmother has far more potential to exert a positive influence on this world than a cocky young Christian leader._ Why? Weakness, humility, a contrite heart, and faith in God are the keys to real power. We seek out the spectacular, but some of the greatest work of God is done through the lone quiet of an obscure prayer closet as we surrender control to the One who can care for our needs in a way far beyond our human abilities.

**Today's Prayer Focus:** For faith and hope to increase in our community. Please begin with the prayer below and then personalize it to fit your own situation, while incorporating the Scripture and including the prayer points that follow. Feel free to continue praying as the Holy Spirit leads.

**Today's Scripture to Pray** :

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

**Starting Prayer:** Lord, we rejoice in the fact that we are not powerless against the human and spiritual forces of control. We ask that you break strongholds of discouragement, unbelief, and hopelessness while You reveal to the Christians in our community the amazing power of prayer...

  * That You will free Your people in our community from deceptive feelings of powerlessness and stir their hearts to pray.

  * That You will give Your people the grace to surrender control of their lives and loved ones.

  * That Your kingdom will come and Your will be done in this place...

* * *

1 <https://www.smicksburg.net>, accessed November 13, 2018.

# DAY FOUR

## LETTING GO OF CONTROL

The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." And He said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven." Luke 10:17-20

When you stop trying to control your life and instead allow your anxieties and problems to bring you to God in prayer, you shift from worry to watching. You watch God weave his patterns in the story of your life. Instead of trying to be out front, designing your life, you realize you are inside God's drama. As you wait, you begin to see him work, and your life begins to sparkle with wonder. You are learning to trust again. --Paul Miller

Humans are ever inclined to put themselves in the position of God. It was with such an inclination that the original sin unfolded in the garden of Eden, and the ripples of that sin continue to wreak havoc and destruction in our world today.

Good intentions are never enough. It is especially easy for insightful and caring people to fixate on all that is wrong. In doing so, we elevate the bad over the good, the ignoble over the noble, the shameful over the glorious. Worse still, our fixation leads us to carry burdens that break our backs and press us into the ground.

As much as we might think that we know what we are doing, the Almighty is far more capable. Human vision, wisdom, and ability are all woefully limited. God, on the other hand, sees all, knows all, and can do all. Therefore, it seems foolish for us to struggle under weights and worries that we were never designed to bear. The prophetic passage of Isaiah 9:6-8 tell us:

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,

On the throne of David and over his kingdom,

To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness

From then on and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

Isaiah 9:6-8

Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and the government of God's kingdom rests upon His shoulders. When we carry burdens that belong to the Lord, in a very real sense, we are competing with the Almighty for His throne. Furthermore, our efforts to control tend to box Him out of our circumstances. It is not that the sovereign Lord of the universe is powerless to move, but that He _chooses_ not to act when we take control of the steering wheel of life.

I remember a time when I was especially worried about our kids. More than simply fulfilling my parental responsibilities to teach and discipline, I had crossed a line between leading and controlling. In short, I was trying to play God in their lives. When I approached the Lord in prayer about the situation, the Holy Spirit spoke gently but firmly to my heart. "If you want to be God in your children's lives, it's up to you to change their hearts, but if you will allow Me to be God in their lives, I will change their hearts." That simple statement profoundly influenced my approach to parenting.

A short passage from the apostle Peter's first letter adds another interesting slant:

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:6-8 (ESV)

When the veil is pulled back, we see the nasty connection between pride, worry, and an open door for the devil to work in our circumstances. Still, there is no condemnation in such a message but rather a firm warning. We do ourselves and our loved ones no favors when we seek to play God by carrying burdens that belong to only Him.

This world is full of things that should not be, and there are plenty of reasons for us to be concerned and upset. Grief, sorrow, fear, frustration, and anger, however, are emotions that must be processed. We do not dare set up camp to permanently dwell in such dark places.

Prayer works when we let go of control by transferring our genuine needs and concerns to the One who is loving, faithful, and ever-capable. Drawing near to God, we can make a _divine exchange_ by rolling our sorrows and cares onto His shoulders. In return, His peace and joy begin to fill our hearts. Many of us are weighed down with concerns either because we are prayerless, or because we have not learned the elusive art of trusting God and placing the weight of our concerns in His ever-capable hands.

By no means am I advocating irresponsibility. Surrendering a person or situation to God does not mean that we become passive bystanders, but rather that we align our hearts with God's design. In life and death situations, for example, action is necessary, but it must flow from a treasury of divine wisdom. In Luke 10, Christ's disciples were casting out demons by God's command, but Jesus cautioned them to act with wisdom as they exercised spiritual power.

Prayer is a gift given from heaven intended to give us a powerful influence without corrupting our hearts. In this, God's design for prayer aligns us with a universal reality: we are blessed with honor, stewardship, and dominion over this world, but all things must be subservient to our all-wise and all-powerful Creator.

Finally, sometimes we fail to pray because we do not want to "bother" God in the midst of the many pressing needs that He must address. Such hesitation reminds me of the insightful Corrie ten Boom who once said, "Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden."

As we pray, we are not clamoring for the attention of a preoccupied and distracted God, but rather, we are aligning our requests with what He already desires to do. Prayer simply gives us the amazing honor of being involved with the fulfillment of His purposes in human lives.

**Today's Prayer Focus:** For God's kingdom to come and His will to be done in our community

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom." Luke 12:32

**Starting Prayer:** Heavenly Father, it delights our hearts to know that You care about us, our loved ones, and our community even more than we do. Holy Spirit, we invite you to work as we give You the burdens that weigh down our hearts. We ask that You work within our community, and that You have Your way in the hearts of those who profess Your name...

  * That You will give the Christians in our community a fresh revelation of Your kingdom and also grace to break free from the worries of our era.

  * That parents and church leaders will learn the art of leading without controlling.

  * That Your life, peace, and wholeness will invade our households and churches...

# DAY FIVE

## PRAYING IN FAITH

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." Luke 17:5-6

Faith is to prayer what the feather is to the arrow: without it prayer will not hit the mark. --J. C. Ryle

A violent war wages for the souls of men, women, and children, and one of the key battlegrounds is _faith_. I speak not of some type of blind wishful thinking, but rather a confident and active trust in the true person of God. Christianity is anything but a business, but to use business terminology, we might say that faith is the "currency" by which humans "conduct transactions" with heaven.

Faith--or the lack thereof--permeates every facet of our existence. By faith we are saved. By faith we come to know God. By faith we know internal peace. By faith we obey heaven's commands. By faith we love. By faith we pray. By faith we let go of control.

Yes, love is greater than faith, but without faith, the fruit of unselfish love will never fully ripen in our lives. Thus, faith in God serves as the precursor for all good things to come.

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Hebrews 11:6

Those who seek to lift prayer to its rightful place must learn to fight the good fight of faith, to stand against the doubt-filled temptations of hardness, cynicism, and despair. We like to believe that God hears all prayers, but prayers without faith are like rockets without fuel. Faith is always integral to us having a voice in heaven (see James 1:5-8).

I have learned from experience that a large percentage of Americans profess a depth of faith that they do not actually possess. We tend to believe in God in a general sense, but when it comes to trusting Him in specific (and difficult) situations, we struggle. What we often fail to realize is that faith is not really faith until it has been tested and proven by fire.

A primary reason that so many of us struggle with faith is because our perspective of the Almighty is either limited or skewed. Our natural tendency is to view God through human eyes, and those human eyes are spiritually short-sighted.

Have you ever thought about faith from God's perspective? After all, there must have been valid reasons for Jesus praising people of faith and admonishing those who lacked. From a divine perspective, faith not only makes perfect sense, it makes the _only_ sense.

If we take the time to ponder the immensity, ability, and character of God, we realize that He is:

  * The Creator of all things

  * All-powerful

  * All-knowing

  * Unchanging

  * Entirely loving

  * Perfectly faithful

  * The highest authority in the universe

The sovereign King of Glory expects us to trust Him because He is perfectly trustworthy. _Faith, then, has far more to do with God's character, power, and wisdom than it does with us._ In the end, faith is as much a matter of recognizing His true nature as it is of anything else.

The key to victory over unbelief lies in discovery--not of ourselves, but of God. Faith begets faith. We seek to know Him because we believe He exists. The Lord then graciously answers by revealing Himself to us, which leads in turn to greater faith.

I learned long ago that it is a mistake to compel people to suppress their struggles with doubt. Instead, we should seek His face with total honesty regarding our questions and doubts. Only then can we come to see the Lord for who He is, and only then will our doubts begin to dissipate.

Sadly, I have known worry a bit too well over the years. We were introduced at an early age, and it has taken far too long for me to leave it in my dust. It has not helped that I have chosen a career course that has thrust me out on a long limb of life.

My path has led to many daunting situations in which I have been compelled to dig deeper into God's Word and to pray desperately for the ability to see Him as He is. Admittedly, the growth process has been wrought with difficulty, but my struggles have made the growth no less powerful. In extreme situations, we learn to trust those who are trustworthy, and no one is more worthy of our confidence than the God who created us.

Jesus said that those with faith the size of a mustard seed would be able to move mountains (Matthew 17:19-20). That is a hard statement to accept because a mustard seed is very small and a mountain very big. Perhaps the Son of God was simply saying, "All you need is an accurate glimpse of Me, and no obstacle will be too big."

Faith believes when everything in and around us--except the Word of God--compels us to doubt. As we pray, may we break free from the earthly mindsets of this world. May we move beyond fear and frustration and despair, lifting prayers to heaven with the confidence that our heavenly Father both hears and answers. May we refuse to allow the passage of time to erode our confidence in the King of Glory. And may our faith-filled prayers ascend as fragrant incense to the throne of heaven.

If only we will pray and believe, He will respond and bring breakthrough. The answers might not come in our timing or in our way, but they will come nonetheless, gliding on the wings of eternal wisdom.

**Today's Prayer Focus:** For God to be revealed for who He is

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

Open my eyes, that I may behold

Wonderful things from Your law.

Psalm 119:18

**Starting Prayer:** Jesus, we thank You that You are the author and perfector of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). Please heal our collective blindness. We pray that spiritually blind eyes will be opened and that faith will increase as a result...

  * That Christians in our community will see You for who You are.

  * That the spiritual blindness of the unsaved will be healed and their unbelief cleansed.

  * That You will do a powerful work in drawing careless souls to Yourself.

  * That You will establish a viable witness of Your truth, faith, and love in every cultural sphere of our community (e.g., business, social, academic, athletic, etc.)...

# DAY SIX

## HONORED BY GOD

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16

There is no wonder more supernatural and divine in the life of a believer than the mystery and ministry of prayer...the hand of the child touching the arm of the Father and moving the wheel of the universe. --A.B. Simpson

Privilege--those who have it are loathe to let it go; those who lack it often stew in envy, frustration, and anger. People of privilege have a voice that others lack. Political decisions, for example, are routinely bought and sold by those who possess the wealth to pad campaign coffers. Thus, the common person, who possesses no such means, may be left to think that he or she has a representative voice only in principle. Immigrants who lack citizenship are in an even worse position.

The word privilege can be defined as "a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most." 1 Privileges are usually granted because a person's status is somehow set apart from others. Money, popularity, success, personal connections--all are reasons for VIP (Very Important Person) status to be granted. In many cases, privilege is earned, if not by the individual, then by a relative or close friend.

Privilege is not generally a word that I hear associated with Christianity, but it should be. Far more than duty, requirement, or obligation, living as a Christian can be characterized as a profound privilege!

In ancient times, only a select few were granted access to a monarch's presence. Furthermore, those who were enemies of the throne had much to fear. If the ruler looked upon them, it usually meant either death or torture (and then death). And though we were once enemies of God's throne because of our prideful and selfish sin, the King of kings and Lord of lords welcomed us to become children in His royal family. Just as a king's child might have the freedom and innocent audacity to enter his or her father's presence, so too, have we been given the right to draw near to God. And not only do we have the amazing privilege of accessing the sovereign King's presence, we also have His ear.

God hears the prayers of His covenant children, and what an honor it is for us to enter His presence and bring our requests before His throne. Our station in life makes no difference, for His ear is tuned to a follower in a church as much as it is to the leader. This means that we are not without influence even when it might seem as though we have no voice.

Jesus is our high priest and covenant representative who has earned access to heaven's throne on our behalf. In Christ, we find both the forgiveness of our sins and an understanding heart. Therefore, we can come boldly before God's throne even though we lack the personal merit to do so.

Some people make the foolish mistake of avoiding prayer because, due to some sin or shortcoming, they do not feel worthy to approach our magnificent and holy God. Here is an important newsflash for you: _none of us is worthy!_ None. Not one. Jesus, and Jesus alone, is the reason for our access. How foolish it is to wallow in a sense of unworthiness when He has given us bold and confident access through the power of His sacrificial blood!

The key to establishing such an envious connection with God lies in turning from our stubborn self-effort and placing the full confidence of our trust in the person of Jesus Christ. We can do this by confessing our sins, asking for forgiveness, and giving God the freedom to do what He wills with our lives. Such a response to God's goodness is not only for the day a person is saved, but for an entire lifetime.

As we align ourselves with God's will, prayer takes on a fresh dynamic:

This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. 1 John 5:14-15

How exciting to think that the Lord not only hears our prayers, but that He also answers them according to His wisdom and timing!

Because prayer is indeed a sacred honor, we must understand that answers to prayer are not granted to everyone. Without question, God's arms are open wide to all who will embrace Jesus as Lord and Savior, but sadly, not everyone will take that necessary step. If people are left outside of the covenant, the cause is rooted in human will and does not reflect an apparent blight on our Creator's impeccable character.

Are you a child of God? Have you entered into a sacred covenant with the King of Glory? If so, you are privileged in a way that transcends any VIP status of this world. In a very real sense, you stand with Jesus at the pinnacle of human honor.

Sadly, if we fail to grasp our identity in Christ and its associated privilege, we will open wide the door for all kinds of unhealthy and destructive tendencies. Self-absorption, an insatiable need for recognition, and competition against other Christians are just a few of the cancer-like problems that will corrupt the purity of our ministries.

Finally, our covenant privilege is never to be used selfishly. Instead, the Lord calls us to reject the self-elevating, elitist mindset of this world as we spend our lives in service to others. And a vital part of that service involves prayer. We can pray for others with confidence because we know that we are the honored and privileged children of God and that we have our heavenly Father's ear!

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Healing the damage done by social stratification

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise. Galatians 3:27-29

**Starting Prayer:** Jesus, Your goodness stretches the limits of our imaginations! Thank You for the covenant privilege of entering Your presence and bringing our prayers before Your throne. We also thank You that every true Christian is Your child and our brother or sister. Knowing that we live in a world in which people are divided by issues of gender, race, education, and class, we ask that You please open eyes to realize that none of us is any better than the other...

  * That You will sever the bitter and poisonous roots of conflict that separate men and women, as well as those from various national and racial backgrounds.

  * That You will humble the hearts of the arrogant who lift themselves above others.

  * That You will lift up the downtrodden to know an amazing identity as Your beloved children.

  * That people will see education as a tool and not a status.

  * That people in our community will grasp the wisdom and power of forgiveness...

* * *

1 <http://www.dictionary.com/browse/privilege?s=t>, accessed November 13, 2018.

# DAY SEVEN

## STANDING IN THE GAP

"For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14

The idea that everything would happen exactly as it does regardless of whether we pray or not is a specter that haunts the minds of many who sincerely profess belief in God. It makes prayer psychologically impossible, replacing it with dead ritual at best. --David Brainerd

A collective gasp followed by a deafening silence filled the king's throne room. Queen Esther had done the unthinkable by approaching the throne of King Ahasuerus without being summoned. According to Persian law, such a self-willed act was punishable by death unless the king chose to extend his scepter as a sign of favor.

Esther, however, felt that she had little choice. Her people seemed destined for destruction unless she took the bold step of risking her own life to intercede for their salvation. As a seconds-long eternity passed, the king extended his golden scepter, and Esther knew in an instant that God's grace had won the day.

Esther is the only book in the Bible that does not mention the name of God, but it communicates vital truth nonetheless. In particular, we find within Esther a powerful illustration of intercessory prayer.

An intercessor is a _mediator_ who bridges the gap between two opposing parties with the intention of bringing them together. In Esther's case, she had been given a voice with the king, which she then used for the benefit of her voiceless people. And so it is with us.

According to New Testament teaching, the difference between being a Christian and a non-Christian is the difference between life and death. To those who have embraced a new covenant relationship with God through the sacrificial work of Jesus, the royal scepter has been freely extended.

There are times when a Christian might feel unworthy and distant from God, but those feelings mean nothing in light of Biblical truth. When we put our faith in Christ's saving grace, we become the privileged people of the covenant--meaning that we have the ear of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Those outside of the Christian sphere do not.

No small number of people will take offense to such a statement, but they understand neither the depth of human sinfulness nor the profound beauty of His grace. That is why prayer is so vital. Those with a voice have been given an amazing opportunity to bridge the gap between a holy God and sinful people.

The huge problem for Christians is that many tend to make too little of God's grace toward us, too little of the dire state of lost souls, and too little of our opportunity to lift others before heaven's throne. Even those Christians who expend billions of dollars and countless hours of effort for missions and outreach programs--as well they should--will produce minimum fruit apart from vital and effective prayer.

Sometimes people mistakenly assume that God is going to do what He is going to do regardless of our actions or inaction. Such an idea might be true in a very broad sense, but when it comes to individual lives, our prayers matter, and they matter a lot. We dare not risk a prayerless existence when so many people are so far from God. And as Mordecai exhorted his niece Esther, "who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

Another element of intercession involves praying for other Christians whose lives fall short of our expected standards. How adept we can be at deriding those who fail to live according to our expectations! Prayer, however, gives us an opportunity to bring positive influence to situations in which we are normally tempted to criticize and complain.

Sometimes, the Lord will allow us to see things because He wants us to bring those needs and situations before His throne in prayer. This is especially true of our church leaders. I once saw a tendency in my pastor that I thought dishonored the Lord. (If you have not noticed, pastors are human too.) Bringing my concern to God in prayer, I got a sense that my primary course of action was not to confront or complain, but to pray. I then lifted my heartfelt concern before the heavenly Father and left it at that. A few weeks later the pastor shared a story about how God had deeply convicted his heart regarding the very issue for which I had recently prayed. How I wish I saw all of my prayers answered so quickly!

By praying instead of criticizing and complaining, I was aligning both my attitudes and my actions with God's design for the situation. He moved powerfully as a result. In contrast, I have seen far too many ugly confrontations in which well-meaning people (myself included) took upon themselves the role of "church correction police." These are "lose-lose" situations because relationships are damaged, good people become discouraged, and nobody ends up happy.

When church leaders make decisions, rarely do we see the whole picture. I have been privy to numerous decisions in which leaders chose to accept public defamation in order to protect a vulnerable person. Of course, this does not mean that leaders always make good and unselfish decisions. I am simply saying that we need to exercise caution with the words that come out of our mouths. What a travesty it is when people who have been given the esteemed privilege to pray instead choose the nasty and unfruitful path of public criticism!

If the Lord has given you a voice to influence the leaders in your life, I encourage you to use that voice but to do so wisely. And if He has not given you such obvious influence, you always have a voice in heaven, which also means that you have the opportunity and privilege to influence any given situation. May God give us the grace to use our tongues as instruments of life through prayer and not weapons of death through unholy criticism!

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Church leaders

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. Ephesians 1:15-19a

**Starting Prayer:** Lord, how awesome it is that we always have a voice before heaven's throne even when we lack the opportunity to influence others with our words. Please forgive us for complaining when we should instead be praying. We begin praying today by lifting before You some of the very people we have been complaining about. We pray that You will graciously touch the church leaders in our community...

  * That You will fill church leaders with a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the true knowledge of You and Your Word.

  * That You will grant them the ability to skillfully lead so that they advance Your kingdom and not their own.

  * That You will cleanse their hearts of hurtful ways.

  * That You will bless their families and protect them from the strain and trauma that can come with ministry.

  * That You will teach them to minister from the overflow of Your presence...

# DAY EIGHT

## THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:8-11

Persistent calling upon the name of the Lord breaks through every stronghold of the devil, for nothing is impossible with God. For Christians in these troubled times there is simply no other way. --Jim Cymbala

Imagine waking up early one morning and trekking into a nearby park or forest. With shoes soaked from the morning dew, you continue to walk until you locate a massive oak tree, morning rays of sunlight gleaming through its branches. Touching the tree in awe, you fall to your knees. Ouch! The point of an acorn pierces your skin. Taking a moment to clear the area, you go back to your knees and cry out to the tree, "Dear Tree-God, I bring my heartfelt petitions before you this morning..."

To many in the modern world, the scenario seems foolish. Sure, a tree is alive, but it has no personality and certainly no ability to hear or answer prayers. No matter how heartfelt your requests, the reality is that you would be praying to wood. In truth, this is how the Bible portrays _idolatry_ as described in the Old Testament:

Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and falls down before it. Isaiah 44:14-15

Idolatry makes no sense. With the same material that they would use for craftsmanship or cooking, people fashion gods to which they pray. The impotence of idols--even those of silver and gold--is expressed well by the psalmist:

The idols of the nations are but silver and gold,

The work of man's hands.

They have mouths, but they do not speak;

They have eyes, but they do not see;

They have ears, but they do not hear,

Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.

Those who make them will be like them,

Yes, everyone who trusts in them.

Psalm 135:15-18

If praying to idols is so vain and detrimental, why do people across the globe continue with such worship? In part, because idols are thought to be visible representations of an unseen reality. By inherent tendencies, we humans seek security and fulfillment in what we see with our natural eyes. Vibrant Christian living requires that we do the opposite.

When we understand the concept of idolatry, we begin to understand that idols take many forms and shapes beyond the obvious representations found in so many religions. In essence, an idol can be any person (or thing) in which we place the weight of our trust and treat as the primary focus of our worship. Money can be an idol. So can sports. Even romantic relationships can hold a place in our hearts above that of Christ our first love.

Driving each form of idolatry, we must note, is a spiritual entity that seeks to separate us from the one true God (see 1 Corinthians 10:20-21). This is the essence of what Jesus was communicating in His discourse on materialism found in Matthew 6:19-33. Materialism is not simply about material possessions, it involves submission to unseen forces.

We live in a cosmos with boundaries beyond our human comprehension, and yet it was all spoken into existence by an unseen God. The spiritual realm is greater than anything visible to the human eye, and what happens in our natural world is the result of unseen spiritual activity.

If we want to profoundly influence this earth for good, we must look to the spiritual realm because that is where the real power lies. And not only is the seat of real power spiritual, no other name even comes close to carrying the authority found in the now unseen person of Jesus Christ.

Throughout the New Testament, we find an emphasis on the name of Jesus. (See Luke 10:17; John 14:13-14; Acts 3:6; and Acts 4:12 for examples.) Those who walked with Jesus understood the explosive spiritual power that is released through His name.

Praying with power in the name of Jesus, however, is not something that any arbitrary person can do. Acts 19:11-16 records the story of the seven sons of a Jewish priest who found themselves in a mess because they tried to utilize the name of Jesus as a kind of good luck charm. His name is not to be used as a mystical tool to be thrown out at will, but rather as an extension of the authority that Christians have through a covenant relationship with God.

We do ourselves and our loved ones no good when we profess Jesus but direct our passions toward other gods. Not only do we seriously undermine our spiritual strength, we self-inflict our lives with a wilderness existence in which God seems distant and nothing quenches our thirst.

There is no name in heaven or on earth that compares with the name of Jesus. No power. No authority. No status or significance. Jesus' name is a representation of His exalted Person, and we are privileged to call upon that all-powerful name as we live out our representation as the covenant sons and daughters of God.

The name above all names. By God's grace, may we use it wisely. May we use it reverently. May we use it in faith. May we use it with authority. May we use it to advance His good plans and purposes on this earth. His is the name above all names, and no other authority can compare!

**Today's Prayer Focus:** To tear down powerless idols that blind people and divert their attention from the one true God

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, guard yourselves from idols. 1 John 5:20-21

**Starting Prayer:** Heavenly Father, we are ever so grateful that You have not left us powerless but have instead given us authority to pray in Jesus' name. In that mighty name, we pray that You will be exalted and that the idols that pollute the spiritual rivers of our community will be brought low...

  * That You will open blind eyes to see the emptiness of those gods that are not really gods.

  * That material possessions, sports, and relationships will be put in their proper place.

  * That You will move on people's hearts to look to You for provision and hope.

  * That You will give Your people a fresh revelation of the power of Your name...

# DAY NINE

## MYTHS OF PERMANENCE

They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" Having said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7: 59-60

The reality is, my prayers don't change God. But, I am convinced prayer changes me. Praying boldly boots me out of that stale place of religious habit into authentic connection with God Himself. --Lysa TerKeurst

Play-Doh has long been a favorite of children. They can entertain themselves for hours because of its pliable nature that allows them to create practically anything their imagination desires. After that, they can roll it back into a ball and start all over again. Play-Doh also helps to illustrate a vital truth about our world.

Humanity tends to believe two myths about permanence, and both have a significant influence on our prayer lives. The first myth is actually one of _impermanence --_the belief that the so called "God of the New Testament" is somehow different from the "God of the Old Testament." People tend to view the Old Testament Deity (seen as God the Father) as harsh to the point of cruelty, and the New Testament God (Jesus) as timid and syrupy sweet, doing little more than winking at our sins.

The truth is that God is _immutable;_ He does not change. Perfection cannot be improved upon. According to Jesus Himself, there is absolutely no difference between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New (see John 14:9).

How, then, do we account for the differences in God's behavior between the New and Old Testaments? Covenants. The difference lies in the covenants. The Old Testament is characterized by a covenant of _law_ , while the New Testament is embodied by a covenant of _grace_. In this, the Old serves the New.

The Mosaic law, which was filled with all manner of judgment, served a necessary purpose to steer people away from natural human thought patterns. The new covenant, which is characterized by grace (though not entirely free of judgment) provides a more accurate perspective of God's heart.

Love was, is, and always will be integral to our heavenly Father's character. Do not believe the lie that Jesus is more loving than the heavenly Father, or that God has somehow changed from the Old Testament to the New. God is nothing like Play-Doh, and because of this unwavering constancy, He is both approachable and worthy of trust for those who have embraced Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

The second fallacy alluded to above is that we accept a false sense of permanence in this world. People of means will spend massive amounts of money for houses and properties that they think will last forever. Catastrophic events such as natural disasters, however, have a powerful way of opening human eyes. In recent years, we have seen tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, floods, and even mudslides devastate the finest of homes without discrimination.

In my younger days, a powerful tornado ripped through a neighboring county, cutting a wide swath of destruction. In a newspaper account, one farmer sadly lamented that the tornado had destroyed in five minutes what had taken him thirty years to build. Not a happy reality, but reality nonetheless.

Not only does the myth of permanence apply to inanimate objects such as mountains and buildings, but also to people and their attitudes. Most of us have given up praying for someone because he or she seemed beyond hope. More than one Christian has probably uttered in frustration, "My boss! That guy is so far gone that he will never change!"

The truth is that this planet always has and always will be in a constant state of flux. Nothing stays the same. Mountains erode, rivers flow, living creatures grow old and die. _God alone is immutable; He does not change._

Some of us despise the thought of a changing world; we recall a time when life seemed kinder and more wholesome. It was an era when people got along and looked after each other. Of course, that has never been the full reality in our fallen world, but still we have seen far too many negative changes over the past few decades.

The epic human slide into a moral abyss need not be permanent, however, and if we want to pray effectively, we must learn to dispel the myth of human permanence. People's hearts are like modeling clay in our Creator's hands. Certainly, some of our clay vessels have become drier and harder than others, but none of them are beyond the power of our Savior's touch. Everything in this world is fluid which means that there is always hope for positive change. _God alone does not change._

The apostle Paul provides a classic example of God's ability to save and the role that prayer plays in the process. Incensed by the growth of the seemingly blasphemous religion we call "Christianity," a group of enraged Jews stoned a man named Stephen to death (see Acts 7). Uttering his final words, Stephen prayed to God, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!"

Those who witnessed the event laid their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul who found Stephen's stoning to be inspiring. Filled with blind zeal, Saul himself began to persecute and imprison the followers of Jesus (see Acts 8). Stephen's prayers, however, had found their mark. God knocked Saul off his "high horse" and thoroughly reworked the man's thinking. Saul became the apostle Paul--the divinely inspired man who wrote about a quarter of the New Testament. Saul's conversion was so dramatic that even Christians had a difficult time believing it to be genuine.

While being pummeled with stones, Stephen could have reacted with anger, bitterness, fear, resignation, or all of the above, but he did nothing of the sort. And because Stephen trusted God and refused to believe the myth of human permanence, he lifted a powerful prayer of forgiveness to heaven. This world and untold lives have been forever changed as a result.

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Those mired in addiction

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

**Starting Prayer:** Lord, we thank You that You do not change and that our prayers are powerful to change human hearts! We pray that You will impart a rich hope to those in our community who are addicted to sex, drugs, alcohol, and any other substance or activity. These bonds might seem unbreakable at times, but we ask that You demolish the destructive mindsets that keep people bound...

  * That You will do a marvelous work in those addicted to materialism and guide them to finding fulfilment in You.

  * That You will free those addicted to sex, and that You will give grace and wisdom to their spouses.

  * That You will deliver those addicted to drugs while strengthening, encouraging, and imparting wisdom to their families.

  * That You will break the bonds of alcoholism and protect family members from the resulting neglect and abuse.

  * That You will change the hearts of drug dealers and expose the drug trade for the sake of rooting it out of our community.

  * That You will bring comfort, healing, and peace to those who have suffered the loss of loved ones due to addiction, and that You will miraculously bring much good from those tragic circumstances...

# DAY TEN

## LOVE PRAYS

Behold, the Lord's hand is not so short

That it cannot save;

Nor is His ear so dull

That it cannot hear.

Isaiah 59:1

Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what He can do. --Andrew Murray

The date was July 19, 1977, and several of us were preparing for a wild evening to celebrate a friend's birthday. The night turned out to be wild but not in a way that we expected. The evening began with the "birthday boy's" parents allowing us to sleep out in their garage. The case of beer we brought along was our own clandestine idea.

We spent the early evening drinking beer and exploring the country neighborhood in which he lived. Up the road a short way was a bridge covering a small stream that passed under the road. And in that stream, which was little more than a trickle, sat a massive moss-covered rock. We probably jumped on the rock a few times and then headed back to the garage for more beer.

Being that there were five or six of us, it did not take long for the beer supply to run dry. At the same time, a powerful storm had settled into the area. The sky blazed with almost-continuous flashes of lightning while a nonstop deluge of rain poured from above. But in our still-developing teenage-brains, a trip to buy more beer seemed entirely appropriate.

None of us were of the legal drinking age, and so we decided to drive to a bar that had a reputation for serving underage patrons. Normally, the drive was less than twenty minutes, but the heavy rains slowed our speed to a virtual crawl. To make matters worse, the power had gone out, and so our only light came from the beams of our headlights interspersed with flashes of lightning.

As we pulled in front of the bar, it became evident that their power was also out. That fact, we figured, would work to our advantage. One guy in our group towered well over six-feet tall, but he was also youthful looking. As long as his face was hidden from the bartender, he stood a good chance of being able to purchase the alcohol.

The young man got out of the car, dashed through the pouring rain, and entered the bar. In an odd stroke of fate, however, the lights popped back on just as he walked through the door. The bartender looked at his youthful face dripping with water, chuckled, and told him to go home. Dejected, and in light of the weather, we had little choice but to follow the bartender's instructions. Little did we know that his unwelcomed counsel probably saved us from premature deaths.

The storm never lessened as we drove back to our evening lair along roads that were now beginning to flood. Finally arriving at my friend's garage, we now found ourselves in awe of the deluge and the nonstop lightning. We barely slept that night, and I do not think the sky remained dark for more than five seconds without a flash of lightning. Making sleep even more elusive was the fact that water was now seeping into the garage and threatening to soak our sleeping bags. But by this time, there was no sense trying to drive home; through the flashes of lightning we could see that the road in front of the house had been transformed into a river.

That was the night of the Johnstown flood, and our "hotel room" was less than twenty miles from the center of the disaster. A thunderstorm had gotten caught in the hills around our area and stalled. Nearly twelve inches of rain fell in twenty-four hours, leading to the failure of several dams. By morning, the city had been inundated and dozens of people drowned. And the roads that we had driven to get to the bar? Several were wiped out by the force of rushing water. Even that massive rock in the small stream up the road had been picked up and moved downstream.

When I recall this and other stories from my teenage years, I cannot help but see God's hand of protection. I am especially struck by the realization that none of us deserved to be spared. And though I was basically a "good kid" in school, I was far from God, spiritually lost, and living by my own stubborn desires. What made the difference in my life? Why did God protect me when I in no way deserved it? I am mostly clueless, but I do know that people who loved me were praying.

Considering my family members who prayed for me, they were all far from perfect. Each had his or her own flaws and foibles, and yet, motivated by love, they prayed for a lost and confused kid who wanted nothing to do with God.

Throughout the centuries, the Lord's long arm of salvation has been known to apprehend wayward hearts, and what is to say that He will not do the same in our day? Greedy bosses, immoral coworkers, irritating neighbors, and errant family members can all become clay in our Master's hands if only we will continue to pray and believe for Him to work.

The history of our world is full of injustice, and the oppression continues even in our era. Mysteriously, however, the Lord has been known to save both the oppressed and the oppressor. The former slave Harriet Tubman (a major player in the underground railroad) was a Christian, but God also apprehended the heart of John Newton (the author of "Amazing Grace") who captained slave ships. Furthermore, God's mercy reminds us that an oppressor saved can also mean a victim spared.

In the end, no one is worthy of salvation, and the Almighty saves without consideration of a person's moral track record. More powerful than a person's morality--or lack thereof--are the prayers of God's beloved children. When we think about approaching Him in prayer, we do not need perfect lives or exactly followed rituals. Nor is the Lord looking for profound eloquence or impeccable cadence in our prayers. Instead, He asks only two things: _that we care and that we believe._

Do you know people who are lost and far from God? Love prays and bridges the gap between a holy God and corrupt humans regardless of what they deserve. Love prays!

**Today's Prayer Focus:** The victims of sexual abuse and human trafficking

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

Because the Lord has anointed me

To bring good news to the afflicted;

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to captives

And freedom to prisoners;

To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord

And the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn,

To grant those who mourn in Zion,

Giving them a garland instead of ashes,

The oil of gladness instead of mourning,

The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.

Isaiah 61:1-3a

**Starting Prayer:** Lord, we thank You that faith and love are the languages that move Your heart. We pray that You will free and heal those who are oppressed through sexual abuse and human trafficking in our region...

  * That You will do an amazing work of grace to heal victims hearts and to restore a healthy perspective of life and sexuality.

  * That You will draw them to Yourself and also restore any broken family relationships.

  * That You will motivate local authorities to give adequate attention to these issues with both wisdom and sensitivity.

  * That You will provide wisdom, grace, and resources for those who help victims.

  * That those who traffic others will be exposed, that their networks will be dismantled, and that their souls would be saved.

  * That You will lovingly but firmly discipline those who seek out sex with prostitutes.

  * That the victims of pornography will be rescued and restored...

# DAY ELEVEN

## WHERE DOES GOD LIVE?

Watch over your heart with all diligence,

For from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23

God sees hearts as we see faces. --George Herbert

I went hunting once at a place called "Lost Hill." Do you know what happened? I got lost. Lost Hill is in a rural area, but it is not totally isolated, so I contend that I was not entirely lost. After all, I am a man, and I have my dignity.

I could have reached a road by walking less than two miles in any direction, but the deep snow had already worn me out. What I really needed was to get my bearings in a landscape that suddenly made no sense. Thanks to modern technology and a couple of patient hunting partners, I eventually realized that I was right where I needed to be. My confusion had come from a failure to understand the lay of the land. Due to the name of the area, I can assume that I was not the first person to have such a problem.

Jesus sometimes used the word _lost_ to describe those who are far from God (Luke 15 and 19:10). Such usage implies that God is exactly where He needs to be, but that those individuals do not know "where He lives." In a practical sense, those who are spiritually lost do not understand how God thinks, what He expects, or how to get to Him, assuming that these issues matter to them at all.

Do you know what I have learned during my time on this earth? As a whole, humanity has a grossly inaccurate perspective of our Creator. We tend to think that God thinks the way that we think, but in truth, such a thought is unthinkable. In essence, we are ignorant of where our Creator lives.

Rules, requirements, obligation, laws--these are the words that we tend to use when referring to the Lord's expectations of us. What we fail to realize is that our thinking is rooted in our natural human tendencies rather than God's reality. And while we live in a world of external demands, our Creator rivets His attention on the state of our hearts.

While correcting the prophet Samuel's misconceptions, the Lord said to him:

"God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7b

If even a _seer_ of God had such imperfect vision, what does that say for the rest of us? If we, like Samuel, follow the thoughts that come to us most naturally, we will find ourselves lost in a world of wrong thinking (see also Isaiah 55:6-9).

Why does it matter that we know where God lives? Because without a clear destination, we will choose whatever direction seems best. For the most part, our path will be guided by customs, moral codes, and laws intended to keep us on the straight and narrow.

Is this not the way that humanity works? If we think someone's actions to be wrong, we labor to get laws passed with the expectation of modifying that person's behavior. And while human governments absolutely must establish laws to protect the innocent and vulnerable, not even the most well-written statute possesses the power to change a human heart. As a result, people will ever search for loopholes and ways to skirt the intent of the law.

Take a minute to think about some of the problems plaguing our society. How many of them are tied to the heart? Theft, molestation, exploitation, and a host of other societal maladies are the results of self-centered hearts seeking to fulfill their own selfish desires. You would think that if laws were truly effective, the mountainous volumes of legislation already passed by our governments would be sufficient.

While the passage of laws is certainly necessary to protect a nation's citizens, real and lasting change takes place only through a change of heart. And the heart is where God lives. Not only does He mysteriously dwell in human hearts, He also takes a keen interest in the environment in which He dwells. Furthermore, when the Lord brings about radical changes to a culture, they come through heart transformation rather than laws.

Being given a new heart is a central tenet of Christian doctrine. When a person comes to faith in Christ, God nullifies the power of the old, hardened heart of selfish thinking and replaces it with a new, loving heart that reflects His mindset. The problem is that far too often we allow ourselves to live with old mentalities rather than renewing our minds with the Word of God.

It is in the arena of the heart that prayer becomes vital. First, we begin by learning to align our thoughts and emotions with God's reality. As we do this, we find ourselves dwelling where He lives. We begin to innately know what matters to our Lord and what does not. Suddenly this world emerges in a whole new light.

Second, and just as important, we come to understand that the real power of prayer comes with the Lord's mysterious and uncanny ability to change hearts. Politics seek to modify human behavior through the use of laws, but prayer changes the motivations that influence behavior. And regardless of the degree to which we involve ourselves in the political arena, prayer must always be the foundation for all that we do.

Do you want fewer greedy businessmen and women? Pray! Do you want more honest and competent politicians? Pray! Do you want to see more moral fortitude in a different generation than yours? Pray!

As faith-filled Christians, we have the potential to alter the course of human history, but real and positive change happens only as we discover where God lives: in the arena of the human heart.

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Our local government

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 1 Timothy 2:1-2

**Starting Prayer:** Heavenly Father, we thank You that You value the state of our hearts far more than our outward appearance. Lord, we also thank you for the men and women who serve our community in various capacities, and we pray that You will mold and shape their hearts according to Your wise design...

  * That You will grant wisdom and humility to local government officials, including judges and those in the legal system.

  * That You will enable these officials to be great parents and spouses while blessing them with healthy families.

  * That You will expose and root out corruption while raising up competent and godly leaders whose lives overflow with integrity.

  * That You will influence them to make financially responsible decisions.

  * That You will cause them to treat their oath to public service as a sacred trust rather than a self-serving path to wealth, power, and fame...

# DAY TWELVE

## MAKING PRAYER A REALITY

"For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples." Isaiah 56:7b

When I pray coincidences happen, and when I do not, they don't. --William Temple

There is little more I can say to convince you of the importance of prayer in the Christian life. Given the power of prayer and the unraveling of our national moral fabric, most of us sense a basic need to pray more. The key, it seems, lies not in heaping more expectations upon our shoulders, but rather in asking and answering a simple question of ourselves: _How can I make prayer a consistent reality in my life?_

A necessary step in this process involves making an honest evaluation of one's life by asking several additional questions. What are my motives for praying? How much time do I think I should be spending in prayer? How does my current prayer life sync with my expectations? How are my time and energy being expended? What practical steps can I take to improve my prayer life?

**1. What are my motives for praying?** It might seem strange to some that this first question involves motives, but our motives profoundly affect our day-to-day existence. Getting our motives properly aligned with God's kingdom paradigm sets the stage for a spiritually healthy and fruitful lifestyle.

We can talk about having a duty, obligation, and responsibility to pray, but in all honesty, duty is a low-level motivation. If we want the best of our prayer lives, we must cultivate the greatest motive of all: _love_. We pray because we love God and humanity, and this two-pronged focus of our love is rooted in an awareness of our Savior's amazing and unmerited love for us. _Love is and must be the starting point of a vibrant prayer life._

None of us is worthy to be called God's child, let alone be used by Him for eternal purposes. Still, He has mysteriously chosen to draw us near to Himself and give us lofty status in the grand scheme of His plan. Even through our sins and struggles, He patiently works to free and transform our hearts.

In all these things, it is _faith_ that enables us to break free from burdensome expectations. Through faith, we know that we are loved by God, and so we love Him in return. And because we love Him, we love those whom He loves: all humanity. Furthermore, if we love people, we are motived by an internal desire, if not compulsion, to seek divine blessings for human lives.

Those who seek to cultivate consistent and effective prayer lives learn to build upon a foundation of faith and love. If you are praying (or doing anything for that matter) for the purpose of alleviating guilt, your efforts are already beset by decay. A guilt motivation will not only lead you away from vibrant faith, it will compel you to avoid God when you are struggling with sin or failing to meet your own expectations for a vibrant and consistent prayer life.

Whenever you fall short, in whatever way that might happen to be, admit your shortcomings and bring them straight to God's throne of grace to find forgiveness and release from your burden (Hebrews 4:14-16). By learning to abide in His amazing grace, you then set the stage to return easily to a place of prayer rather than foolishly keeping yourself at a distance when you are struggling.

**2. How much time do I think I should be spending in prayer?** No universal answer can be found to this question. Life has its seasons, and each of us deals with a different mix of demands and responsibilities. I suggest that you prayerfully set _attainable_ goals regarding the amount of time you spend in prayer. Then make a decision to routinely re-evaluate those goals and how well you are meeting them.

**3. How does the vitality of my current prayer life sync with my expectations?** An answer need not be complicated. Simply make an honest appraisal of where you are currently, compared to where you think you should be.

**4. How are my time and energy being expended?** Twenty-four hours. One thousand four hundred and forty minutes. Eighty-six thousand four hundred seconds. That is how much time each of us is given on a daily basis. It does not matter whether a person is unemployed, working for a large corporation, or staying home to care for children. The boundaries of time are the same for all. The real question involves how we fill and occupy that time.

Much of life involves striking a delicate balance between things that really matter. For example, as much as a parent with young children might feel the desire to spend long hours in contemplative prayer, the reality is that raising children demands a huge amount of focus and attention. Sometimes, the bigger issue is not about what demands are on our lives but rather how much time we are squandering with things that really do not matter.

**5. What practical and creative steps can I take to improve my prayer life?** Experience reminds us that if we fail to prioritize our time, something will fill it. An honest appraisal of our lives will often reveal that social media and various forms of entertainment consume more time than we realize. Honestly evaluating the use of our time allows us to prune away the "branches" that bear little or no meaningful fruit.

Busy people can also carve out time for prayer by getting creative. While the ideal "prayer closet" might be a quiet room away from the hustle and bustle of life, there is nothing wrong with praying while going for a jog, mowing the yard, or washing the dishes. _If our prayers are motivated by love, love will make a way for prayer to become a personal reality._

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Our state government

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

"'These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates. Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate,' declares the Lord." Zechariah 8:16-17

**Starting Prayer:** Lord, we thank You that faith and love are Your primary expectations for our lives. We also thank You for our state leaders and lift them before Your throne. We pray that You will grant wisdom and humility to our governor, legislators, judges and those involved with the legal system...

  * That You will enable our state officials to be great parents and spouses while blessing them with healthy families.

  * That You will expose and root out corruption while raising up competent and godly leaders whose lives overflow with integrity.

  * That You will cause them to treat their oath to public service as a sacred trust rather than as a self-serving path to wealth, power, and fame.

  * That You will cause them to value the sanctity of life and give them the courage to make just and financially responsible decisions.

  * That You will cause those who are godly to grow in influence...

# DAY THIRTEEN

## GOING TO WAR

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:10-12

There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight. --C. S. Lewis

Just as the existence of Satan and his demons presents considerable difficulties for the "civilized" world, so does the topic of spiritual warfare to the genuine servants of God. If ever there was an arena of life in which Christians were in desperate need of wisdom, this would be it!

To begin, we must establish that demonic spirits exist. For this task, the Bible stands as our ultimate authority. Consider the following passages:

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1

So that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes. 2 Corinthians 2:11

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. 1 Timothy 4:1

You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. James 2:19

These few verses provide but a sampling of the Scriptural passages referring to the devil and his lackeys. The bottom line is that if we accept the Bible as the inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God, we must also accept the reality of unclean spirits. Those who profess to believe in Jesus without believing in the existence of Satan and his demons are playing a deadly game of "pick and choose" with the Scriptures.

Lucifer--a created being--was once the most beautiful of all angels and possibly the worship leader in heaven (see Isaiah 14:3-21 and Ezekiel 28:11-19). At some point, the idea entered his head that he deserved to rule from heaven's throne of glory, and so he recruited a third of the angels to join him in a violent coup attempt (see Revelation 12:9). Their plot failed miserably for there never has been, and never will be, a balance of power between good and evil in this universe. The Almighty reigns supreme!

Humiliated in defeat, Lucifer and his followers were cast down from heaven. Much to our disappointment, planet Earth is where they landed. Lucifer became Satan (meaning _adversary_ or _slanderer_ ), and it was he who took the form of a serpent in the garden of Eden. His co-conspirators became demons who possess varying degrees of power.

Satan is the most egotistical of all creatures, and his hatred for God knows no bounds because of the humiliating defeat suffered by the Almighty's hand. Thus, his goal is to steal, kill, and destroy all that the Lord holds dear, and nothing matters to God as much as the creatures we call "humans." Those who allow themselves to be enticed through pride and their base desires become pawns who blindly do the bidding of an evil lord.

Why God allows fallen spirits to infect and afflict the human race is a matter of considerable debate (hence some of our struggles with the concept of spiritual warfare), but one thing is certain: _the all-wise and all-powerful Creator of the cosmos knows exactly what He is doing._ Through ability beyond our comprehension, He will even use evil schemes to accomplish His good and loving purposes. We can find no greater evidence of this truth than the cross itself, for through the vilest demonic plan imaginable, the sovereign King of Glory brought salvation to humankind.

Creating humans in His image, God also invested them with the authority to rule over the earth (Genesis 1:26-28 and Psalm 115:16). This authority Adam and Eve surrendered to the devil when they trusted the serpent over God and ate deceptive fruit from the forbidden tree. Yet, even in that darkest of times, the Lord had a plan that would find its fulfillment in the person of Jesus--the Son of God in human flesh (see Genesis 3:15).

By living sinlessly and rising from the dead, Jesus reclaimed for the human race the rightful stewardship of this earth. And though the devil and his lackeys have no legal right to this planet, they remain as _squatters_ who, through guerrilla warfare, continually fight against all that is good.

This brief history lesson now brings us to our present reality of spiritual warfare. As children of God and representatives of His kingdom, we have been given both the power and authority "to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy" (Luke 10:19). And though the victory is most certainly ours through the resurrection power of Christ, advancing God's purposes on earth does not happen without a fight--especially when it comes to seeing human souls rescued from the kingdom of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of God.

Space does not permit me to further develop an understanding of spiritual warfare, but I will highlight the quote from C. S. Lewis found toward the beginning of this chapter. In secular cultures, dark spirits seek to operate by stealth. Concealing their existence, they wreak havoc in even civilized environments by implanting thoughts of pride, judgment, hatred, fear, etc. On the other hand, when their existence is publicly acknowledged, they work their evil schemes not only through enticement, but also using blatant tactics of intimidation and control.

Our task as servants of God's kingdom is to wisely wage war in a way that we comprehend and contend against dark powers without being drawn into their schemes. The secret involves walking in the authority given to us by God, while also keeping _Him_ as our focus. We will explore this approach further in the next chapter.

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Our federal government

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

"It is He who changes the times and the epochs;

He removes kings and establishes kings;

He gives wisdom to wise men

And knowledge to men of understanding."

Daniel 2:21

**Starting Prayer:** Heavenly Father, we thank You that You are the highest authority in the universe and that you reign over all. We realize that our battle is not against political parties but against spiritual forces that would steer our nation toward destruction. Today, we pray that Your name will be exalted, and that spiritual forces of wickedness will be brought low...

  * That You will fill our president, legislators, and federal judicial system (including the Supreme Court, federal judges, federal law enforcement personnel, and others in the legal system) with humility, wisdom, and profound insight.

  * That You will enable these officials to be great parents and spouses while blessing them with healthy families.

  * That You will expose and root out corruption while raising up competent and godly leaders whose lives overflow with integrity.

  * That You will cause them to treat their oath to public service as a sacred trust rather than as a self-serving path to wealth, power, and fame.

  * That You will cause them to value the sanctity of life and give them the courage to make just and financially responsible decisions.

  * That You will cause those who are godly to grow in influence...

# DAY FOURTEEN

## ADVANCING GOD'S KINGDOM

"And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

Pray, then, in this way:

'Our Father who is in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.'"

Matthew 6:7-13

It is well said that neglected prayer is the birth-place of all evil. --Charles Spurgeon

The chaos we see on earth presents evidence of the intense battle being waged between the kingdom of darkness and God's children as representatives of the kingdom of light. Understanding the history of Lucifer's failed coup attempt and his subsequent trickery to upend humanity helps us appreciate the pattern for prayer that Jesus gave to His disciples. In the _Lord's Prayer_ , we find the basic elements (some of which will be later expounded upon) of effective intercession.

**"Our Father who is in heaven"** \- Not only does God reign supreme in heaven, He also wants us to know Him intimately as our Father. And though "heavenly Father" is a term familiar to most Christians, our perceptions of what it means are often tainted by human brokenness.

**"Hallowed be Your name"** \- This statement acknowledges both God's holiness and the fact that He is unlike any product of creation--including us. The Lord's Prayer leads us to do what Lucifer would not--acknowledge God's supremacy. All that we are and all that we could ever become are but reflections of His glory. This reality provides the cornerstone of healthy spirituality. To approach Him is a privilege to be undertaken with reverence regardless of how familiar we become with Him as a friend or family member.

**"Your kingdom come"** \- The heartbreaking stories that populate our news feeds are the ultimate products of billions of human wills seeking to build their own kingdoms. In doing so, they are not victors but rather pawns of the devil. That is not to say that a clear correlation can be found between all tragedy and sin, but that we live in a world in which much of humanity is bound by the dark lord. By praying for God's kingdom to come, we are inviting the King of Glory to work and move in human hearts, minds, bodies, and circumstances.

**"Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven"** \- One of the biggest problems with the human race, and one of the biggest struggles we will ever face, involves seeking to exalt our own will above God's. How inclined we are to selfishly seek our own way and then blame Him for the results. The pattern of prayer presented by Jesus provides a continual reminder that our well-being is found in the Father's will.

The advancement of God's kingdom results in the glorious life of heaven being experienced here on earth. Healing in its various forms, wholeness, and peace are just some of the benefits of heaven's reign being extended over this earth.

**"Give us this day our daily bread"** \- The Lord is God, and we are not. He alone is self-sufficient and without need. We, on the other hand, remain ever dependent upon His provision. And while our natural tendency is to seek security and control through the accumulation of goods and resources, Jesus reminds us that drawing upon His goodness is a day-to-day endeavor.

**"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors"** \- Love is always to be the primary motivation for all that we do. Because the Lord has sought out and forgiven us, our prayers serve as extensions of His unconditional love as we humble our hearts and forgive those who have hurt and offended us.

**"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil"** \- This statement presents probably the most difficult aspect of the Lord's Prayer for us to grasp. James reminds us that God does not tempt anyone, so Jesus must be saying something different than appears at first glance (James 1:12-14). I think this is His way of reminding us not to get too full of ourselves. Although we are highly favored by the Lord, we are never superior--even to the cunning intelligence of the fallen one. Thus, we seek to navigate difficulty and hardship in a way that honors Him, while also acknowledging that the ability to walk in victory over evil is found in God's grace alone.

**"For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."** \- In closing the prayer, Jesus again reminds us of God's supremacy. It is here that we establish a necessary connection to spiritual warfare. While we need a basic understanding of the devil's schemes and at times exercise authority in Jesus' name, from start to finish, our primary focus must always be bent toward God Himself.

One of our worst human follies lies in diverting our focus away from our glorious King and putting it on the devil, natural circumstances, ourselves, or even angels. Only as we keep the Lord central to our thinking are we in a position to effectively pray for the people and difficulties we relate to on earth. Thus, praise and worship, in a sense, are two of our most powerful spiritual "weapons." The story of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20 tells of how ancient Israel "overcame" a mighty foe simply by singing and praising God.

Our Creator does not control all that happens in our world, but He does _reign_ as the all-powerful King who will one day call all people into account. More than a ritual, the Lord's Prayer provides a pattern for prayer that helps us align with His reality, dispel darkness, and advance His kingdom in our respective communities. Our individual and collective well-being finds its roots in the advancement of God's good government within our human sphere. May we learn how to pray and lead in a way that welcomes and advances that glorious kingdom!

**Today's Prayer Focus:** First responders, law enforcement, social workers, and medical personnel in our community

**Today's Scripture to Pray:** The Lord's Prayer

**Starting Prayer:** Lord, thank You that Your kingdom reigns supreme! Almighty God, we lift before You the first responders and law enforcement personnel, along with social and medical workers, who are on the front lines of our human struggles. We pray that You will protect them while molding and shaping their hearts...

  * That You will fill those on the front lines of our human struggle with both wisdom and compassion and that their hearts will not become hardened as a result of trauma.

  * That You will grant them the grace to process the weight of human brokenness while remaining emotionally healthy.

  * That You will open their eyes to Your goodness and work humility into their hearts while exposing and removing corruption from their respective agencies.

  * That You will bless their marriages and families with a richness of love, unity, and peace...

# DAY FIFTEEN

## ALIGNING WITH GOD'S WILL

This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. 1 John 5:14-15

Prayer does not mean that I am to bring God down to my thoughts and my purposes, and bend his government according to my foolish, silly, and sometimes sinful notions. Prayer means that I am to be raised up into feeling, into union and design with him; that I am to enter into his counsel and carry out his purpose fully. --D. L. Moody

I remember a time many years ago when I was praying intensely for the Lord to enable Debi and I to move up the date of our wedding. It was something I desperately wanted, because at that stage in my life, I saw marriage as the means to heal a slew of emotional hurts.

As I prayed, I sensed the Holy Spirit speaking to my heart, "I will allow you to move up the date if you want, but it will not be My best for your life." To be honest, that short message from God struck fear in me. And while I desperately wanted to be married, I also felt an ominous sense that I would one day regret that answer. I quickly backed off and discontinued that line of prayer.

Now, looking back over more than three decades of marriage, I can say with confidence that even the best marriage can never be a panacea for our emotional ills. Ultimately, God is our healer, and though He often uses people in the process, we approach idolatry when we elevate people to the place owned only by the Lord.

Since that experience in my younger days, I have seen several significant prayers--requests that were usually made in times of emotional need--go unanswered. Sometimes, months--and even years later--my eyes were finally opened to see God's wisdom in not granting my request.

I am reminded of the time when the nation of Israel demanded a king (see 1 Samuel 8). Having a king to order the chaotic affairs of the nation made sense, but it was not God's best for them. Nonetheless, He gave the people what they wanted, and their descendants experienced long seasons of pain-filled regret as a result.

In contrast, I have also heard people lift up weak, vague requests to the Lord. "Dear God, if it might possibly be Your will, please help my neighbor be a better person." Vague prayers, like vague laws, do little to influence our world for the good.

If one of the keys to answered prayer is learning to pray according to God's will, one of the secrets to life involves discovering what that will is. We can indeed pray with confidence, but it all begins with learning to understand God's will and ways.

We begin by setting our perspective in order. The Lord is God, and we are _not_. Yes, He wants to bless us, but He does not live to make us happy. Instead, _we exist for Him_.

Next, we admit that we are spiritually blind in contrast to God's ability to see. He sees and fully understands the big picture. Hidden motives, distant events, and future circumstances are all within His gaze but well beyond ours. Thinking that we know best creates a formula for certain disaster. Recognizing the limitations of our human wisdom then positions us to seek and receive a deeper understanding of His ways.

The Bible plays an essential role in our process of discovery and alignment, leading to greater confidence in our prayer lives. If we understand His desire to save souls, for example, we can discard "If it be Your will," and pray passionately for that neighbor's salvation (see 1 Timothy 2:1-4).

Furthermore, as important as it is to stand on the promises of God written in His Word, they cannot substitute for living out a personal relationship with Him. God's promises are often a matter of timing, and if we attempt to claim them indiscriminately, we might find ourselves out of step with His timetable. The better we train ourselves to hear His voice, the more confidence we can exude in lifting our requests to heaven.

I once knew a middle-aged man who stopped taking the anti-rejection medicine for his transplanted liver. He admitted that he was not following the Holy Spirit's leading but simply felt that he needed to either believe the Bible or not. The man's liver failed, and he died because the idea was birthed of him and not of God.

Finally, there will always be situations in life that do not make sense to our logical minds--situations that we do not fully understand. That is why learning to pray according to God's will requires putting our trust in who He is as the foundation for what we believe He will do.

Many years ago, Debi and I put money down on the purchase of a home. It seemed like a great idea, but complications developed. We prayed and stood on God's promises to provide for our needs and to answer our prayers. Still, the heavens remained silent. Then, on the night before going to a new bank for financing, I felt a strong sense of foreboding from the Holy Spirit. As painful as the experience was, we backed out of the deal, losing our deposit money in the process.

In so many ways, it seemed as though the Lord had let us down. But, of course, He had not. He had a better plan which became evident about six months later. I will be honest with you, though--the in-between time was tough on us. Through that difficult season, however, we learned a valuable lesson: _our trust must be rooted in who God is more than in what we believe He will do._ That way, if our specific prayers go unanswered for some unknown reason, our faith will not be shipwrecked.

Praying according to God's will is always an outflow of knowing His impeccable character. The more we get to know Him, the more we can pray with specificity. And during those wilderness seasons when our circumstances seem to stray far from our heavenly Father's promises, we can always live with peace and confidence by trusting in who He is.

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Families

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19

**Starting Prayer:** Lord, we thank You that we can trust You even when our circumstances make no logical sense. We come to You recognizing that families form the fabric of our community, and therefore our society. We ask that You please strengthen marriage and family relationships in every way possible...

  * That You will give academic educators and government leaders the wisdom to recognize the importance of families and to promote policies for their benefit.

  * That You will heal hurts between husbands and wives and between parents and their children.

  * That You will provide excellent job opportunities to create stability while also helping everyone elevate the importance of family over money and material possessions.

  * That You will give parents the wisdom to discipline well and to spend quality time with their children.

  * That You will motivate parents to establish family foundations on Your truth and within the community of a healthy church.

  * That You will sever the roots that contribute to domestic abuse...

# DAY SIXTEEN

## CONTENDING FOR MORE

Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." But he said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." He said, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed." Genesis 32:24-28

To say prayers in a decent, delicate way is not heavy work. But to pray really, to pray till hell feels the ponderous stroke, to pray till the iron gates of difficulty are opened, till the mountains of obstacles are removed, till the mists are exhaled and the clouds are lifted, and the sunshine of a cloudless day brightens--this is hard work, but it is God's work, and man's best labor. --E. M. Bounds

The sky was dark and the air brisk as my friend Diane and I, deep in conversation, walked along the quiet streets of our college town one fall evening. She did not provide details, but my fellow organic chemistry classmate was stumbling through a rough patch in her life. It was not her difficulty, however, that grabbed my attention; life struggles are normal for college students. What caught me off guard was a relatively innocent statement on Diane's part: "I think this is the first time I've encountered a real problem in my life. I don't know what to do."

Having grown up with seemingly endless difficulties, I struggled to comprehend the concept of an easy life. And yet, here she was, a good friend providing living proof that not everyone's life is hard. In that strange--at least for me--situation, the best that I could do was provide a listening ear and a few hollow words of consolation.

The semester ended, Christmas break passed, and I returned to school. Diane, however, was nowhere to be found. Heading back to our dorm from the organic chemistry lab, I climbed a few flights of stairs and made my way to Diane's room. Only, it was no longer her room. My friend had quit school.

Looking back, Diane's decision was no big deal; she simply needed to step back and regain her bearings. But at that time and in my world, I was devastated. For me, college was not merely an expected next step after high school; it was my ticket to a new and better life. And having almost dropped out myself because of a seemingly impossible calculus course, the idea of quitting school struck a sensitive nerve.

Sometime later, I went for a run at a local park while wrestling with some of my own personal difficulties. Life was not going well, and I could not help but think about Diane leaving school. As I circled the dirt oval, I kept repeating to myself, "I will not quit! I will not quit! I will not quit!" That experience profoundly affected me as a new sense of determination grew in my heart. Come what may, I would not allow the difficulties of life to keep me from pursuing the dreams God had given me. No matter how painful the circumstances, I would keep moving forward step by step.

Since that time many years ago, I have undertaken four significant ministry endeavors--each of which had an extremely bleak period that was far more difficult than I could have imagined. Almost to my surprise, three of the four turned out exceedingly well, and I am still in the midst of the fourth--one which grows more promising with each passing week.

I share this glimpse of my personal story because similar principles apply to our prayer lives. Our God has a habit of redeeming seemingly impossible situations, but tenacious prayer is often required on our part. _Far too often, vital spiritual ground goes unclaimed because the people of God resign themselves to negative outcomes._

The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus prayed with "loud crying and tears" (Hebrews 5:7). The Son of God also made a seemingly strange statement while speaking about John the Baptist:

"From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force." Matthew 11:12

While the exact meaning of Christ's words can be debated, they nonetheless awaken an awareness of an intense spiritual conflict. Because dark forces of wickedness refuse to abandon their strongholds, there are times when we must tenaciously lay hold of God's promises and refuse to let go.

I once heard a pastor say that if you prayed about a matter once, you should quit praying and just leave it to God to answer. I understood his logic, but more than once, Jesus seemed to indicate that persistent prayer was a sign of _faith_ and not unbelief.

"So I say to you, ask [and keep asking], and it will be given to you; seek [and keep seeking], and you will find; knock [and keep knocking], and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened." Luke 11:9-10

Our Lord is pleased as we believe Him in the midst of deep darkness. Yes, we must seek out and discover God's will, but once we do, we want to squeeze His promises tight and never let go. Jacob was honored by God not because of great spirituality or stellar character, but because of his _tenacity_.

Whether we are praying for the salvation of a loved one, the provision of a need, or the transformation of our communities, we want to tenaciously contend for more when every circumstance points toward quitting. Yes, it is vital that we give up trying to control God, but surrendering control is not to be equated with passivity. Furthermore, when our lives are fully surrendered, we have far more freedom and authority than we often realize.

Are there prayer requests that you have been bringing to God for seemingly forever? Have you sought to confirm that the answers are indeed His will? Tenaciously persist! Ask and keep asking. Seek and keep seeking. Knock and keep knocking. The Lord is not deaf, but He is waiting for "the fullness of time" when your petitions will be poured out like incense before His throne. The answers might not come today, or tomorrow, but they will come. Lay hold of our faithful King's promises, and contend for more!

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Those who serve in the military and their families

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress,

My God, in whom I trust!"

Psalm 91:1-2

**Starting Prayer:** Good God, we thank You that there are answers to prayer that lie beyond our natural ability to see. Lord, today we lift before You those who serve in the military, asking that You will protect them from harm, and that You will bring healing to those whose lives have already been traumatized...

  * That You will fill them with divine peace, enabling them to trust You even in the midst of chaos.

  * That You will guide them to grace and away from substance abuse.

  * That you will give them courage and wisdom to stand for truth, righteousness, and justice.

  * That You will comfort their families and strengthen their spouses.

  * That You will sustain marriages and provide for material needs.

  * That You will show Yourself to be a parent for those children who are struggling without Mom or Dad being in the home.

  * That You will rescue homeless veterans from a pit of despair and set them on a path to a hope-filled future...

# DAY SEVENTEEN

## PREPARING OUR HEARTS

For though the Lord is exalted,

Yet He regards the lowly,

But the haughty He knows from afar.

Psalm 138:6

There are parts of our calling, works of the Holy Spirit, and defeats of the darkness that will come no other way than through furious, fervent, faith-filled, unceasing prayer. --Beth Moore

Some people tend to view prayer as a required ritual. I see it as a relational experience used by God to change hearts and order circumstances. Remember, Jesus said, "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words" (Matthew 6:7). No doubt, some who attend church services pray the Lord's Prayer in total sincerity, but I know from experience that far too many congregants utter shallow prayers as mere ritual.

If we are asking God to change people's hearts, it is only appropriate that we begin by preparing our own hearts. We who pray dare not allow darkness to roost within us. Vigilance is required to prepare and guard our hearts because darkness ever searches for a point of entry.

Malice toward others, self-centeredness, pride, and unbelief can be worse enemies than demon spirits. When we give these "anti-virtues" a foothold in our hearts, we open the door for darkness to expand its evil influence. Below are four simple (but not necessarily easy) steps that we can take to help prepare our hearts for a more meaningful prayer life.

**1. Love others** \- Isn't it interesting that Jesus included forgiveness of others as a part of the Lord's Prayer? Why would He do that? Because God is love, and He loves all people equally regardless of gender, race, nationality, or church denomination. Love causes light to flourish; malice does the opposite.

I use the word _malice_ here to refer to a general, wide-sweeping attitude of ill will. Sometimes, we are bitter toward others, and sometimes, we simply have an intense dislike. Such attitudes might be entirely natural given our life circumstances, but that does not mean they bear desirable fruit.

You need not live long on this earth to encounter people who do you wrong, even in the church. Trust me, I have had my share of negative experiences. But with each significant situation, I have sought to objectively examine my perceived injustice. In many of the cases, I came to the conclusion that my perceptions were indeed accurate. In other words, I had just cause to be upset!

Taking my complaints to God, I discovered a powerful truth: He does not care! I am not saying that He cares nothing about my hurts and pain, but that no matter what injustice I face, malice and bitterness are never warranted. Our Lord expects His followers to dispel all "unlove" from their hearts. This means making honest confession of our dark thoughts to God and crying out for grace to love even our enemies.

**2. Shake off guilt and condemnation** \- Self-condemnation is another powerful tool of darkness. The enemy will seek to shackle us in self-centered feelings of guilt, shame, and personal reproof. Let's have none of it! The Scriptures clearly state that there is "no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).

How, then, do we reconcile our failures, shortcomings, and ungodly thoughts with God's holy love? The cross of Jesus Christ. Daily devotional times provide perfect opportunities to bring all that is bad in our lives to the Lord, so that we can exchange the underbelly of our existence for all the good that He provides through the cross.

If you see God as a strict teacher who demands that you perfectly follow the letter of the law or else face stiff retribution, you have not yet had a clear revelation of grace. Jesus came to us full of grace and truth, and moment by moment, grace flows from His throne both to forgive our sins and to empower us for better living. It all begins, however, by shaking off those nasty feelings of self-condemnation that keep us feeling beat up and weighed down.

**3. Cultivate faith in the midst of frustrating, disheartening, and seemingly hopeless circumstances** \- Faith is central not only to answered prayer, but also to our entire existence. It is faith in Jesus Christ that keeps us from becoming hardened in the face of conflict and adversity. When we trust God as the all-knowing and all-powerful sovereign King of Glory, we can face the most disheartening of situations without becoming hardened or bitter.

Faith is integral to every aspect of Christian living, including the state of our thoughts and emotions. Cultivating faith does not just lead to answered prayer; it enables us to align our lives so that we can intimately abide in our heavenly Father's amazing love.

**4. Pray rather than fret** \- Psalm 37 emphasizes the dangers of _fretting_ , that it leads only to evil. The Hebrew word for fret ( _charah_ ) can mean to burn with anger or be filled with grief.1 And though both anger and grief can play important roles as we navigate this crazy world, they are emotions that must be processed rather than held tightly to the chest.

It takes a self-centered blindness to ignore all the wrong on our planet. Look in virtually any direction, and you will find just cause for us to grieve, stew, and rage. Faith, however, allows us to see through all that is wrong in light of a God who can redeem even the worst situation. Let's not ignore the wrong and injustice on this earth, but rather exchange our negative emotions in the secret habitation of prayer.

Pursuing personal victory in each of the areas listed above also requires meaningful time in God's Word. Furthermore, prayer and Bible reading go hand in hand. The truth of God's Word preserves the vitality of a personal prayer life, and faith-filled prayers open up our understanding of His Word. Please do not make the mistake of pursuing one and neglecting the other. How we need the Master to mold and shape our own hearts so that we can lift pure and wholesome prayers before His throne!

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Those who are at risk

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

Vindicate the weak and fatherless;

Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.

Rescue the weak and needy;

Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.

Psalm 82:3-4

**Starting Prayer:** Lord, we thank You that You can turn every evil act toward Your good purposes. Today, we lift before You those who are vulnerable and at risk in this world and ask that You intervene in dire circumstances, giving them grace for each situation to live as vessels of Your love...

  * That You will give grace, strength, and peace to single parents and their children.

  * That You will comfort and draw near those who have been deemed to be outcasts--including foster children--in our society.

  * That You will give hope to those wrestling with suicidal thoughts.

  * That You will do a powerful work of hope and grace in the hearts of pregnant women who are considering abortion.

  * That You will give financial wisdom and provision to those who struggle to make ends meet.

  * That You will protect the elderly, meet their needs, and fill them with hope for the future...

* * *

1 James Strong, _A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible_ (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), 43.

# DAY EIGHTEEN

## THE PROBLEM WITH OUTRAGE

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4

God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer. --Mother Teresa

On June 22, 2018, the owner of the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia asked Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave because she was the press secretary for President Donald Trump. When the incident became publicly known, outraged supporters of Sanders inundated the restaurant with negative reviews, threats, and intimidation.

In a classic case of rage gone wrong, unwell wishers also attacked the _unaffiliated_ Red Hen restaurants in Washington, D.C., Swedesboro, New Jersey, and Old Saybrook, Connecticut, as well as Red Hen Press--a nonprofit book publishing company in Los Angeles. They even complained to the owner of The Red Hen Cafe in Atlanta--a restaurant that had been closed for nearly a decade. This is not a commentary on right or left, conservative or liberal, because history has shown rage to cross all manner of political and social boundaries.

A similar incident took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when a video surfaced of a physical altercation between a male employee of Pizza Milano and a woman. People were so incensed at seeing the man hit the woman that they began to stage protests in front of the pizza shop. False information was dispelled, and threats were made, bringing business to a virtual standstill. Unfortunately, some protesters had targeted the wrong shop. Thus, the unaffiliated Milano's Pizza unjustly lost business through threats and protests because an outrage-induced frenzy produced a serious case of "tunnel vision."1

When it comes to outrage, rarely do the crowds get it right. And all too often, innocent parties pay a steep price for blind actions. If we are going to see real and lasting change, we must learn how to process the outrageous realities of our world and respond in proactive ways that honor God. Let us consider several critical issues related to outrage:

**1. Whose narrative do we believe?** While in college, I was blessed with an astute political science professor. Dr. Morris adeptly illustrated how the press would often skew a story to sensationalize it, which led to increased readership, which led to greater revenue. Now, with the rise of internet news sites, the "financial media pie" is being sliced into many more pieces. Thus, news sites must generate more sensationalism and outrage just to stay in business. This is in addition to the pre-established bias that every organization brings to the table.

**2. Who decides what should outrage us?** If we were to give serious attention to every injustice in our world, we would be overwhelmed. Racism, sexual harassment, and unjust business practices are terrible scourges on society. But so are abortion, religious persecution, and government collusion against opposing organizations. Why are we so quick to encourage outrage over our own causes while turning a blind eye toward those that do not fit _our_ narrative?

**3. Who has the right to determine how we should respond to injustice?** One of the secrets to life involves choosing your battles carefully. While I believe there to be many meaningful causes worthy of support, the _gospel_ is the most powerful force on earth to abolish oppressive, self-serving actions. Sadly, when we get pulled into the vortex of toxic political arguments, they distract us from the power of true transformation. In our advocacy, we must elevate the gospel, working to move past the issues in order to bring people face to face with the God who redeems and transforms hearts.

**4. Outrage has the potential to harden our hearts, which dulls our love and blinds our actions.** Anger, no doubt, has a viable place in our existence, but we cannot live there.

The apostle Paul taught, "Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity" (Ephesians 4:26-27). What was Paul trying to communicate? If we care about others, there will be times when we get angry. Injustice deserves outrage, but that anger must be processed so that it does not overrun our hearts with cynicism, bitterness, and hatred. _When rage overtakes love as a primary motivation for societal actions, a culture opens itself up to widespread deception, manipulation, and injustice._

**5. Continual outrage blinds us and leads us to violate human freedom.** When we love God, we cannot help but care about other people. And when we care about other people, we cannot help but be outraged when they are mistreated and oppressed. But when we allow rage to stew and fester and take root in our hearts, we set ourselves on a painfully destructive path. Our motives then become skewed and our methods _unrighteous_.

Festering anger gives way to violence and other forms of control which one group of people exercise over another. Thus, a group's outrage "demands" that others take certain actions in response to a situation. When they fail to comply, a full wrath of fury is unleashed. It is a sad commentary on human nature that those fighting against injustice and oppression often become the unjust oppressors themselves.

Love-motivated prayer provides us with the opportunity to influence others without violating God-given principles of freedom. It also brings us to the only One who can purify our hearts and guide our actions with flawless wisdom. Prayer, then, becomes the foundation for all action.

Please do not allow outrage to become a welcomed emotion. No doubt, we must at times fight for justice, but we do not want to lose the most important battle of all: the one for human souls. Love God first. Process your anger at His feet. Prayerfully choose a plan of action to remedy the situation. Make outrage serve you rather than becoming its brutalizing slave.

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Passionate people who care

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

He has told you, O man, what is good;

And what does the Lord require of you

But to do justice, to love kindness,

And to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8

**Starting Prayer:** Heavenly Father, thank You that Your kingdom operates with a purity of love that contains no shade of injustice or oppression. We also thank you for people in our world who care about others, and we pray that more of them will emerge from the shadows of apathy...

  * That You will give people young and old the wisdom to see through efforts to manipulate and enrage them.

  * That You will apprehend the hearts of those who rail against truth.

  * That You will soften hearts and heal deep divisions in our society.

  * That You will extract the poisonous root of bitterness from our political system.

  * That You will discipline and correct media outlets that skew truth and foster division.

  * That You will give Christians the wisdom and grace to navigate vital causes in a way that preserves the centrality of the gospel...

* * *

1 "Pizza Milano Protests Cause Problems for Similarly Named Shop," CBS Pittsburgh, accessed January 18, 2019, <https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/video/3793010-pizza-milano-protests-cause-problems-for-similarly-named-shop/>.

# DAY NINETEEN

## THE FOUNDATION FOR ACTION

Unless the Lord builds the house,

They labor in vain who build it;

Unless the Lord guards the city,

The watchman keeps awake in vain.

It is vain for you to rise up early,

To retire late,

To eat the bread of painful labors;

For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

Psalm 127:1-2

Prayer moves the hand, which moves the world. --J. A. Wallace

On February 14, 2018, a deranged young man shot and killed seventeen of his former classmates at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Immediately, a slew of people expressed their condolences through "thoughts and prayers." To many who were heartbroken and frustrated, however, the idea of thoughts and prayers seemed shallow and futile. They wanted action. More laws. Stricter gun control. Something with substance rather than a passive reactionary response.

It is certainly understandable that people suffering unimaginable pain and grief would want substantive action. But is that all that prayer is--a passive reactionary response to free our consciences in the wake of inaction? Or is it something more? Is it possible that prayer is actually the _foundation_ for action rather than a shallow substitute?

Admittedly, our approach to prayer is too often reactionary rather than proactive. The reasons are numerous. Deep down, we might not believe that prayer truly makes a difference. Or that God cares. Or perhaps we are too busy to pray. Or we are simply unaware of the issues until the media thrusts bloody and traumatic images into our faces.

The choice between praying or taking action presents a _false dichotomy_. Real prayer is action, and it also forms the foundation for physical action. Without prayer, we easily fall into the trap of working nonstop to accomplish little or nothing.

Our loving Lord designed humanity to _labor from a place of rest_ --a design that contains multiple facets. From the very beginning of time, the cycles of day and night have established the overall patterns of physical labor and rest. In the Biblical paradigm, He has also ingrained the idea of a day of rest--a time each week to lay down our labors and to draw closer to God, family, and friends. Without becoming legalistic about the issue, I think that Western culture has lost much by abandoning the Sabbath concept.

Within each day, we as individuals also have a need to seek the Lord through prayer and Bible reading. Giving God a vital part of our day invites Him to work in ways beyond our capacity. It also provides an opportunity for us to "sit at His feet" to pray for wisdom and guidance and to listen for the Holy Spirit's quiet leading.

Such quiet times provide powerful opportunities for God to groom our motives and to instill creative productivity within us. They also help us to prayerfully process the many difficulties we encounter in this tumultuous world. The psalmist David, for example, would often come to God hot with raw emotion, but through prayer and song would find his heart freed from burdensome weights. Only then could he interact with others in a way that accurately represented and honored the Lord.

Perhaps most significant, is the fact that a prayerless life leads us to act according to our own wisdom and strength. Independent from the Lord, we pursue agendas that seem right to us, and through our own strength, try to force circumstances and people into the mold of our own self-will. And when things backfire, as they are sure to do, we pray to God while vainly hoping that He will fix our self-inflicted messes.

In our political world, those on both the right and left are often hypercritical. Such attitudes are counterproductive, undermining the benefits that come from respect and common decency. Yes, it is important that these people care, but caring alone is never enough. We need _wisdom_ to make good choices and to adopt attitudes that reflect Christ instead of a toxic political culture. Let your anger run wild, even in the name of justice, and you will become a tool of evil.

In our quest to "take action," we must question whether we are forfeiting the Holy Spirit's anointing in the process. Especially in the world of politics, taking godly action involves walking a delicate line that very few people seem to navigate well.

One of the beautiful things about prayer is that it leads to action without the need to violate God-given principles of human freedom. Those who lead, for example, are not called to manipulate and control others, but to welcome the advancement of God's kingdom in a present situation. When His kingdom comes, good things happen, and human lives are transformed.

Confusing prayer with passivity, I have learned, is one of the more painful mistakes made by the human race. Only prayer that is faithless, dull, and distant from God will create a passive generation. In contrast, those who truly draw near to the Lord through prayer will find their hearts burning with the desire to make a difference in this world. And more often than not, the Lord will direct them in ways to do so. When our lives are in balance according to God's design, our prayers will form the foundation of our actions, and our actions will bear eternal fruit.

Finally, prayer provides an awesome opportunity for those who cannot take physical action to make a _huge_ difference in our world. One day, all of heaven will celebrate the amazing transformations wrought through the prayers of elderly shut-ins, invalids, and otherwise obscure people who were looked down upon by the "movers and shakers" of this world.

"Prayer moves the hand, which moves the world."

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Issues connected to violence

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

"But let justice roll down like waters

And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."

Amos 5:24

**Starting Prayer:** Heavenly Father, we thank You that You listen to the prayers of Your children! Today we lift before You the families and individuals who have been marred by violence in our community. We ask You to bring comfort, hope, and healing to those who have been devastated...

  * That You will shield and protect our young people, miraculously sparing lives from injury and death.

  * That You will humble proud hearts and elevate the value of human life.

  * That You will raise up a generation of loving and faithful fathers to heal the blight of fatherlessness that plagues our world and leads to violence.

  * That You will kill animosity and apply Your healing balm to the intense conflicts between individuals and people groups.

  * That You will expose and dismantle organizations that perpetrate violence and stop violent plots by individuals and groups before people get hurt...

# DAY TWENTY

## EMBRACING DEPENDENCE

In my distress I called upon the Lord,

And cried to my God for help;

He heard my voice out of His temple,

And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

Psalm 18:6

Prayer is not so much an act as it is an attitude--an attitude of dependency, dependency upon God. --A. W. Pink

As I pulled into the prison parking lot, the barbed wire immediately grabbed my attention. Elongated rolls of shiny, sharp silver wire rose high above every fence. Anyone who became entangled would be rendered a bloody mess within seconds.

Three middle-aged prison ministry volunteers--two men and a woman--had been visiting this penitentiary for over fifteen years, and their faithfulness was finally beginning to show visible fruit. A significant turning point came when they began using _The War Room_ teaching series about prayer. Toward the end of the first evening, the lone woman (I will call her Mary) asked a group of hardened men if they had any prayer requests. Silence. Showing vulnerability in even a minimum-security prison environment was the last thing that any of them wanted to do.

As the teaching series continued, Mary persisted in asking for prayer requests. Finally, one night, the men began to respond and open up about their personal issues. Many of them carried a tremendous weight of concern for their families. They had let them down by committing crimes and being incarcerated. Now, their wives were managing households alone, with their children trying to navigate life without a father in the home.

As the men began to open their hearts and share their concerns, something unexpected happened; they began to feel empathy for one another. No longer was prison life simply a matter of personal survival; here were other living and breathing men who were struggling with similar issues. Then, as the group members began to open up and forge new bonds with one another, they also began to feel compassion toward other inmates. To a man, they understood intimately the shell-shocked feeling a person gets when coming inside the wire for the first time--the feeling of being alone, empty-handed, and overcome by the anxiety of an uncertain future.

Motivated by love and prompted by the Holy Spirit's leading, these men began to reach out to the new inmates coming into the prison. They gave them toiletries and expressed concern for their prayer needs. In turn, the entire atmosphere of the facility began to change. More men began to join various Christian meetings throughout the week, and as of my visit, twenty-five percent of the prison population had been attending their Sunday services. Even the non-Christians were known to open up and share their prayer requests. I was deeply touched by that visit, and without a doubt, took away more inspiration than I had taken in.

For all my life, I have been fed messages typifying "real masculinity." John Wayne in the old western movies. Steve McQueen in action thrillers. Chuck Norris in martial arts flicks. Sylvester Stallone in "shoot and blow them up" dramas. These provide but a small sampling of the rugged, self-confident hero. Now, the scope has expanded even further. Gone are the days when weak women waited helplessly for male rescue. Women in the media lens have become every bit as strong, independent, and self-sufficient.

Strong, independent, self-sufficient. Strong, independent, self-sufficient. Strong, independent, self-sufficient. Strong, independent, self-sufficient. Strong, independent, self-sufficient.

Cultural trends do not always do us well, and that is certainly the case with the images we are fed of the "ultimate" man and woman. Not only do these portrayals heap unnecessary burdens of expectation upon our shoulders, they also undermine our ability to align with God's design.

In almost every way possible, the message of independence and self-sufficiency runs against the grain of Biblical thinking, and it takes but a few minutes of thought to dispel the fallacy of independence for the lie that it is. How are we born? Entirely dependent. Never has there been a baby birthed who survived into adulthood without extensive care by adults. Even the worst parents must provide a basic level of care or their children perish--something that happens far too often. As we grow toward adulthood, we are taught by others--parents, teachers, role models. Even "self-taught" individuals draw from the instruction of others. An old book might be the source, but its words did not suddenly form on the page by a mysterious act of nature.

The influence of an independent mentality is nothing short of deadly. This is especially true of independence from God. He is the source of all life, and though we might physically survive for a season without Him being "near," separation from God most certainly spells spiritual death.

I think another purpose of prayer (and especially prayer combined with fasting) is to remind us of our extreme dependence on our Creator. Prayer gets us in the habit of coming to our heavenly Father to see our needs met, our loved ones touched, and our dreams fulfilled. Not only is God always faithful, He is also willing. I cannot imagine my heavenly Father being in a bad mood or getting miffed because I send up a prayer asking for a need to be met.

Admittedly, embracing a lifestyle of dependence upon God has been slow to take root in my own heart. Although He is absolutely faithful to His promises, I do not always trust Him to be so. But mostly, I struggle to understand how His promises should play out in real life.

Even when I can accept being dependent upon God, I must still overcome my hesitancy to depend upon others. In my youth, I did not choose a path of independence because it appealed to me; I was simply trying to survive the only way I knew how. People let me down time and time again, so I put the weight of my trust in my own feeble self. The result? In many ways, I became my greatest source of disappointment.

If we embrace the reality of our dependent existence, entering into prayer becomes much easier. And if we get into the practice of coming to God in prayer, accepting the reality of our dependence will not be so hard. How we benefit as a result! There is a huge difference between surviving and thriving. With a vibrant prayer life, we can actually flourish and thrive in this broken world.

No doubt, prayer is about drawing near to God and bringing heartfelt requests before His throne, but prayer is also about becoming aligned with our Creator's design. If we have any semblance of wisdom, we will move toward embracing dependence sooner rather than later.

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Prison inmates, their families, and their victims

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows,

Is God in His holy habitation.

God makes a home for the lonely;

He leads out the prisoners into prosperity,

Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

Psalm 68:5-6

**Starting Prayer:** Almighty God, we thank You that we can embrace dependence because You are faithful in every way possible. Lord, we lift before You the many men and women who populate our prisons and juvenile institutions. We pray that You will soften their hearts and draw them into a transformational relationship with Yourself...

  * That You will deeply touch their victims with Your loving presence.

  * That You will comfort inmates who are burdened for their families and work miraculously in those households.

  * That You will destroy generational cycles of dysfunction, graciously helping their spouses cope with difficulty and their children to grow into stable, mature, and loving adults.

  * That You will provide employment and support systems for those leaving prison.

  * That You will call wise and loving people to involve themselves with prison and recovery ministries...

# DAY TWENTY-ONE

## FLAVORING OUR PRAYERS

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?

Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.

O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer;

And by night, but I have no rest.

Yet You are holy,

O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.

Psalm 22:1-3

One Japanese translation of Psalm 22:3 reads, "When God's people praise Him, He brings a big chair and sits there." --Dick Eastman

Our community used to be home to a chain restaurant that had an extensive buffet section. During my first visit, I spied one of the counters overflowing with tantalizing desserts. There were cakes drizzled with chocolate, luscious cookies, various puddings, and more. I probably ate too much during my first visit to that establishment, but I made sure to leave just enough room for dessert. Visions of those sweet dainties simply would not leave my head.

After dinner, I walked to the dessert counter, picked up a plate, and began cutting small samples of the various confections. Yes, I knew I was bordering on the edge of gluttony, but those delicious desserts were calling my name. And I was not alone; nearly everyone in our group joined me in assembling their own post-dinner plates.

Returning to our table, I sat down, picked up a fork, and smiled inside. I really do not know what my actual facial expression looked like, but in my mind I thought, "This is going to be so good!" Lifting a small bite of chocolate cake to my mouth, I paused for just a moment. Something seemed off. And so I took another bite. And then another. What a huge disappointment! Each of those desserts--the ones that had looked so amazing--lacked the flavor that makes sugar-laden confections almost worth consuming.

I do not know how they did it, but the restaurant owners had managed to produce an array of baked goods that looked amazing but tasted bland. During my next visit, the visual appeal of the desserts once again drew me, but alas, nothing had changed. Of course, calories abounded, but flavor was nowhere to be found. The appeal began to wane, and on future visits to that restaurant, I did not even bother to taste the confections; they held no flavor to hold my interest.

The desserts at that chain restaurant--which has since closed its doors--remind me of a "flavorless" prayer life. When our prayers consist merely of mindless repetition or burdensome petitions lifted to a distant God, it is easy for us--and possibly even the Lord--to lose interest.

Prayer is an expression of an intimate relationship with the God who created us, and what is a relationship without a variety of emotions? Can you imagine a four-year-old boy speaking like a robot when his father walks through the door? "Dear father, you are now home. Hear my request please. May I go outside? May I go outside? May I go outside? Oh, wise and loving father, may I go outside? May I go outside? May I go outside?"

Such a scenario seems bizarre, doesn't it? In reality, that little guy will jump up and down with excitement, shouting, "Daddy's home! Daddy's home! Dad, how was work? You're the best dad ever! Can I go out and play? Please, can I?" With a hug, and a chuckle, a loving father will smile and send his little boy out to play--or maybe even go with him.

A large part of our human brokenness is due to a common misconception of God Himself. Too many of us are inclined to see the heavenly Father as cold, rigid, and distant. In our minds, He is a God who lacks emotion--except perhaps anger--and so we feel inclined to respond in similar fashion. But if God is a good father, as we know that He is, then He _delights_ in His children.

"The Lord your God is in your midst,

A victorious warrior.

He will exult over you with joy,

He will be quiet in His love,

He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy."

Zephaniah 3:17

If our heavenly Father delights in His covenant children, is it then odd to flavor our prayers with positive emotions? Not according to the Scriptures. In fact, the Bible calls us to add several tasty "flavorings" to our prayers. In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus encourages the use of worship. "Father, hallowed be Thy name" (Matthew 6:9). Furthermore, the writer of Hebrews encourages us to "continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name" (Hebrews 13:15).

In Western culture, it seems that worship and praise are often "institutionalized" while thankfulness seems to be especially elusive. We are expected to sing and honor God in church settings (with or without emotion, depending on the church), but allowing praise to permeate our personal lives is generally seen as a bit odd and over the top.

Moreover, one would think that those in affluent cultures would be thankful above all others, but the opposite seems to be true. Those with abundance grasp tightly their possessions with joyless angst, frustrated that the next soul-pleasing purchase is just beyond their grasp. At the same time, many people who own relatively few material possessions flourish with a sense of happy lightheartedness that the wealthy find elusive.

In the end, it really is not about the "stuff" that we have or lack, it is about drawing near to God and the realm of His presence. It is here that we engage our Creator and our prayer lives begin to thrive. Yes, prayer most certainly involves bringing our burdens and petitions before the Lord, but there is more to a relationship with the living God, much more. And in reality, worship, praise, and thanksgiving are more than just flavorings; they constitute the very substance that makes life meaningful.

Worship, praise, and thanksgiving--all are expressions of faith that help us align with the environment of God's kingdom. This alignment, in turn, facilitates a powerful dynamic: the manifestation of His presence. When we flavor our prayers--and our lives--accordingly, something beyond positive thinking begins to take place. We sense His presence, we feel His joy, and we experience His peace.

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Preschool children

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

**Starting Prayer:** Lord, we thank You that we have good reason to be thankful. We bring before You some of the most vulnerable people in our community--preschool children. We ask that You will protect and bless them during these most formative years...

  * That You will strengthen their parents and caregivers and help them to love those children well.

  * That You will give parents and caregivers wisdom to exercise discipline that is helpful and not harmful.

  * That You will help the little ones build healthy friendships and adjust well socially, keeping their hearts from becoming hardened as they grow toward adulthood.

  * That You will protect them from evil schemes.

  * And most of all, that You will set them on a course that will lead to a personal revelation of Your saving grace...

# DAY TWENTY-TWO

## UNSTOPPABLE LIFE

Your lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens,

Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;

Your judgments are like a great deep.

O Lord, You preserve man and beast.

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!

And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.

They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house;

And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.

For with You is the fountain of life;

In Your light we see light.

Psalm 36:5-9

Prayer is the natural and joyous breathing of the spiritual life by which the heavenly atmosphere is inhaled and then exhaled in prayer. --Andrew Murray

Outside my office, on either side of the driveway, daylilies grow. The green shoots rise from the ground in early spring, and before long the bright colors of their flowers burst forth. On the one side of the driveway, however, a previous owner of the property had planted morning glories. And though the morning glory vines produce beautiful flowers themselves, they seem to strangle the daylilies. Removing the morning glories is not easy, however, because their root systems are well developed. No matter how many times I pull out the vines, new ones will pop up just a few days later. Short of digging up and replanting the entire area, there is not much that I can do to stop those morning glories.

When we think about the life of God, a similar principle applies--only to a much greater degree. I know that it is common for people to view death as being more powerful than life, but reality is actually the reverse. _No matter how much death pervades our existence, it cannot keep the life of God from bursting forth._

God, we must remember, is the very source of vitality. All over this planet, we see the fruit of the Lord's creative efforts. From the grasses along the coast that flow with the wind, to the hardy trees of the mountains, to the diverse creatures swimming the ocean's depths, our world abounds with life. All are the results of a few simple words from our Creator.

The power of life was made especially evident when Jesus walked this earth. Not only did He heal those who were sick, the Son of God even raised them from the dead. In fact, Jesus was so unimpressed by the power of death that he referred to dying as "falling asleep" (see John 11:11-14).

Just before raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus proclaimed, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die" (John 11:25-26a). Then, just prior to the cross, He encouraged the doubtful Thomas by saying, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6). Three days later, Jesus proved the truth of His words by rising from the dead. Who does that? Humans have been known to overcome many daunting obstacles, but no one has ever truly cheated death. Jesus, however, did more than cheat death; He demolished it with the power of indestructible life!

When a person is "born from above" (see John 3:3), he or she receives an impartation of life through the presence of the Holy Spirit. In a spiritual sense, eternal life begins at the moment of salvation. Not only are Christians born again to a new life, we also become _agents of life_ in this death-ridden world. And though our fleshly bodies will one day descend into decay, the time will eventually arrive when they rise from the grave and are transformed to glorious and everlasting life.

When you look at our world, what do you see? Is it evil running amok or the life of God emerging in unlikely places? We are conditioned to focus on all that is wrong, but if we look more closely, we see life. The continents of Africa, Asia, and South America have experienced a massive impartation of spiritual life in recent years. Areas that were once immersed in deep darkness have been experiencing transformation by the light of God's love and truth. And even in places where the church seems to be stagnant, pockets of life continue to flourish.

A primary reason that the powers of hell are so violently angry is that they are so incredibly frustrated. No matter how hard they work to stop the advancement of God's kingdom on this earth, their efforts eventually end in failure. Time and time again, the death of the Christian faith has been prematurely proclaimed. But all across the globe, life continues to break out, and in some of the most spiritually barren places no less.

Not only is God's life greater than the power of death, it is a universal principle that the Almighty uses death to bring forth life. This principle is illustrated in the common seed. Each buried seed represents a "death" which is soon to be followed by a bursting forth of new life.

The Author of Life is not bound by our human perspectives, and He is more than capable of bringing good out of the worst situations--even out of the ugliness of death. This reality is reflected in one of the most amazing promises ever given:

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:28-29

Not every cloud has a silver lining, but those positioned in front of the sun will surely gleam with brightness. Similarly, the God who created us is not the driving force behind everything that happens in this world, and yet, He is able to take the worst of circumstances and turn them to glory. Yes, many in our world are overcome by true tragedies, but that is not the case for God's people. Because of the resurrection life of Jesus Christ, even death in its supposed finality has lost its power to write the end of our stories.

Understanding the unstoppable nature of life plays a vital role in our perception of Christian service and of prayer specifically. Our words, our actions, and our faith-filled prayers release the life of God into territory that was once under death's dominion. His life, my friends, cannot be stopped!

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Elementary-aged children

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

"All your sons will be taught of the Lord;

And the well-being of your sons will be great."

Isaiah 54:13

**Starting Prayer:** Thank You, God, for the unstoppable life of Your kingdom! Lord, please bless the little ones who are of elementary school age. We ask that You draw them to Yourself and provide opportunities for them to know You in a meaningful way...

  * That You will provide loving role models and protect them from bullying, abuse, and other forces that would harden their hearts.

  * That You will teach them compassion.

  * That You will preserve their sexual innocence in our overly sexualized world.

  * That You will enable them to adjust socially and forge healthy friendships.

  * That You will write upon their hearts a love for Your Word and a faith that will last a lifetime...

# DAY TWENTY-THREE

## WHERE PRAYER DIES

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened." Luke 11:9-10

Jesus taught that perseverance is the essential element of prayer. Men must be in earnest when they kneel at God's footstool. Too often we get faint-hearted and quit praying at the point where we ought to begin. We let go at the very point where we should hold on strongest. Our prayers are weak because they are not impassioned by an unfailing and resistless will. --E. M. Bounds

Jesus had more than a little to say about prayer, and one of the truths He emphasized was the necessity of _persistence_. The entire passage of Luke 11:1-13 stresses the need for persistent prayer to a good God. To ask, to seek, and to knock--a closer look at the original Greek wording tells us of persistent efforts. To ask and to keep asking, to seek and to keep seeking, to knock and to keep knocking.

Where do the prayers of God's beloved children die? Certainly not before His gracious throne, but rather in the hearts and lips of those who _stop_ praying, the ones who lose heart because their prayers have not been answered in the expected manner or time frame.

The problem of losing heart in our prayer efforts is especially relevant in our day and age. _We are the instant generation!_ Technological gains have instilled within us the anxious expectation of speed. Web searches, grocery checkouts, and food orders must be immediate and without delay. If a hamburger takes more than five minutes to get to our lips, we are furious. "How can minimum-wage workers be so painfully slow?!!!"

God is unmoved by the impatience of our times. Picture the furious ocean surf crashing upon a rocky coast during a violent storm. No matter how large or angry those waves become, the rocks are unmoved. The main difference is that in God's case, no erosion takes place. He is who He is, doing as He wills, and in His perfect time.

I cannot say that I have a clear grasp on God's timing when it comes to answered prayer. What seems like delay to me is not delay to Him. Because the Creator of all things exists outside of the time that He created, the ticking of the clock becomes His servant and not His master. Even so, the Lord is not ignorant of time. Although the moving of His hand might seem to be delayed, it is never too late.

So many of the great ancients came to understand that an answer delayed was not necessarily an answer denied:

  * Abraham and Sarah waited twenty-five years for their son to be born.

  * Moses was eighty when he became the deliverer of Israel.

  * David persevered for almost twenty years before he became king over all Israel.

  * Jesus did not begin His ministry until He was thirty years old.

  * Paul spent fourteen years in preparation for missionary ministry.

The Lord is faithful to move when the timing is right, but are we faithful to believe when we do not understand God's silence in light of our anxious requests?

The apostle Paul tells us that God sent His Son to earth "in the fullness of time" (Galatians 4:4). I find it especially interesting that the advent of Christ came after four hundred years of virtual silence from heaven's throne. (And you thought your prayer request was taking a long time to come to fruition!) During the interim, God might have been silent, but He was by no means inactive. For example, He allowed the Roman Empire to prosper despite its chaos so that roads could be built and language universalized for the future spread of the gospel. The Lord does not delay; He wisely moves in the fullness of time.

God sees all, and this is a truth we must never forget. While we look about and wonder where He has gone, the Sovereign King of Glory patiently waits for a host of connected elements to come into alignment. Then, when the timing is right, He moves His hand. Not a minute sooner and not a minute later.

Revelation 8:3-4 contains a touch of imagery that has helped me to be patient in prayer throughout the years. God has before Him a golden bowl filled with incense and the prayers of the saints (meaning all genuine Christians). I sometimes imagine that bowl slowly filling up with prayers until a tipping point is reached. The bowl is then spilled out upon the earth when the time to answer those prayers becomes ripe. The Lord is not absent or deaf during the interim. He is enjoying the intimate prayers of His children while working and waiting for His plan to come together.

I cannot speak for your situation, but I can for mine. The Lord once gave me a promise that has taken decades to develop. No amount of anxious prayer on my part has increased the speed of His hand. In fact, self-imposed difficulties from my impatient unbelief have compelled me to rethink my entire approach to life and ministry.

Instead of fretting and complaining about my circumstances, I have learned the importance of cultivating faith, standing on His Word, and learning to trust His faithful character. As my faith has grown, I no longer see darkness looming on the horizon, but rather a set of diverse circumstances ever so slowly (in my opinion) aligning.

Our all-wise and all-powerful Father is not slow in answering prayers or fulfilling His promises. But will we continue to believe when our impatient hearts think that He has forgotten or ignored our requests? Will we look to the truth of His Word and take courage, or will we lose heart as our eyes fixate on natural circumstances?

Persist! Regardless of how you feel, persist. Cultivate love. Cultivate faith. Put off feelings of condemnation. Develop your prayer life. Pray with others. Embrace God's Word. Stand on His promises. Faithfully do what He calls you to do, lifting faith-filled prayers to heaven's throne. Then, when the fullness of time arrives, you will smile with wide-eyed wonder at the amazing things your heavenly Father has done.

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Teenagers

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

For wisdom will enter your heart

And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

Discretion will guard you,

Understanding will watch over you,

To deliver you from the way of evil,

From the man who speaks perverse things;

From those who leave the paths of uprightness

To walk in the ways of darkness;

Who delight in doing evil

And rejoice in the perversity of evil.

Proverbs 2:10-14

**Starting Prayer:** Lord, we delight in the fact that time is Your servant and not Your master. Please have mercy on the teenagers in our community. We ask that You will protect their bodies and their hearts, and fill them with a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the true knowledge of You...

  * That You will release faith for them to believe in the inspirational nature of Your Word.

  * That You will guide them into grace-filled relationships and provide them with a healthy understanding of sexuality.

  * That You will bless their relationships with their parents and with church leaders.

  * That You will cement their identities in You and give them a revelation of the living hope that they have in You...

# DAY TWENTY-FOUR

## WAITING ON GOD

Yet those who wait for the Lord

Will gain new strength;

They will mount up with wings like eagles,

They will run and not get tired,

They will walk and not become weary.

Isaiah 40:31

God has promised to supply all our needs. What we don't have now, we don't need now. --Elisabeth Elliot

In the area of western Pennsylvania where I grew up, hunting and fishing were a normal part of the culture. Not only did fish and wild game constitute a vital part of many family meal plans, each new season was met with an excited sense of anticipation--especially by the young boys.

Our son Mike fit the typical stereotype and relished the idea of joining me on the water or in the woods. A young child is not the quietest creature walking through a forest, but our times together were special (and still are). They also provided a valuable opportunity to train Mike in the basics of firearm safety. If my son was ever going to be around guns, I wanted to be the person to train him in their proper use.

At that time, the minimum hunting age was twelve. Mike was legally permitted to join me in the woods before his twelfth birthday, but he could not carry or shoot a gun on a hunting outing. My son could not wait until that day came, and the anticipation almost overwhelmed him at times. Still, we followed the law and waited. In the meantime, Mike engaged in a wide array of activities, including playing the trumpet for his elementary school orchestra. When it came time to move to the junior high, he signed up for that orchestra too.

What our son did _not_ do was sign up for the junior high marching band because they often had events on Saturdays, and this was to be Mike's first full season of hunting. Unfortunately for him, the junior-high band director was having trouble filling positions, and so he required all the orchestra kids to join the marching band as well.

It turned out that the band was scheduled to march in a local homecoming parade on the first day that Mike was permitted to hunt. The kid was livid and wanted to quit the band, but Debi and I would not let him. We told him that he was free to quit at the end of the school year but that he had to finish what he started. I think we all have vivid memories of an unhappy Mike marching in the Indiana University of Pennsylvania homecoming parade on a beautiful fall Saturday. Our son promptly quit both bands at the end of that school year. He continues to hunt but has never touched a musical instrument since.

Many years later, Mike and I got to talking about that event and that time in his life. In spite of the frustration felt by his younger self, our son had come to appreciate that season of waiting because it helped to instill within him the qualities of patience and self-control. Parenting win!

Putting aside any thoughts for or against hunting, this story helps to illustrate the difficulty of waiting for something that we deeply desire. If patience is a virtue, I do not believe that we have many virtuous people in our day and age. _Wait_ , it seems, has become a curse word.

The God who created time, and exists outside of it, does not seem too concerned about our timing. Seeing no difference between one day or a thousand years, the Lord tends to act when He thinks that the time is right. His attitude about our needs is not cavalier; He simply sees the big picture and understands our circumstances far better than we do.

If you think that you have been waiting a long time for an answer to your prayer(s), you are not alone. Most of the great heroes of the faith had to learn by experience the value of waiting. Unfortunately, many "non-heroes" gave up hope because God did not move in the time or way that they expected. They were impatient people who failed to understand two vital truths about waiting on God.

First, waiting is _active_ and not passive. Not only do we wait on God with a confident sense of expectancy, we seek and serve Him in the process. During times of waiting, it is vital that we faithfully seek the Lord and accomplish the tasks that He sets before us. In doing so, we are setting the stage for future opportunities.

Second, a season of waiting is intended to be a time of growth--and especially the growth of our faith. It may not make sense at first glance, but our faith can grow stronger and flourish during seasons of waiting as we draw near to God and learn to stand firm on His promises. Indeed, the Bible says that this is what happened to Abraham:

In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "So shall your descendants be." Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Romans 4:18-21

The best things in life never seem to come quickly enough. A wedding day, the birth of a child, the finances for a much-desired purchase, a promotion, an open door for ministry, or the salvation of a loved one. Regardless of the dream involved, there is value in the waiting. Let's not drift from God and become hardened or cynical, but rather let us seek His face and grow in faith with a sense of confident but patient expectation.

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Higher education

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

And do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes;

Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

It will be healing to your body

And refreshment to your bones.

Proverbs 3:5-8

**Starting Prayer:** Dear God, thank You for reminding us that You are faithful to fulfill Your promises in their proper season. Lord, the powers of darkness know well the strategic importance of our institutions of higher learning. Please give the church a revelation of this reality, along with a passion to see the fabric of our schools transformed by Your truth. We ask that You work to make our colleges and universities institutions where higher learning truly takes place...

  * That You will guide the hearts of administrators and professors so that our colleges and universities provide an "even playing field" for the gospel to go forth.

  * That You will encourage, strengthen, and fund those who serve as campus ministers.

  * That You will use this unique window of learning to call many sons and daughters to Yourself and to root them firmly in Your truth.

  * That You will give them a revelation of Your grace and cause them to hold the Bible in high regard.

  * That You will form within them a healthy perspective of sexuality, marriage, and the sanctity of life...

# DAY TWENTY-FIVE

## GOD'S OATH

Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son--blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." Genesis 22:15-18 (NKJV)

Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees,

And looks to God alone;

Laughs at impossibilities,

And cries it shall be done.

--Charles Wesley

Matthew Henry once said, "The worse men are, the less they are bound by oaths; the better they are, the less there is need for them." If Henry's quote is to be believed--and we have every reason to accept that it should be--then there would never be a need for God to make an oath. The promises of the Almighty are true, and He needs nothing or no one to hold Him to His word.

Because the Lord made an oath to Abraham, we can only surmise that He was communicating the significance of what He said. In other words, the oath was not for Him, but for us.

We might be tempted to think that an oath from God would focus on His anger over the sinful behavior of wayward humanity. For example, it is not uncommon to hear a parent say something like, "I really mean it this time, if you two don't stop fighting, I'm going to come in there, and you're going to regret it!"

Personal oaths are often made in anger but not this one. God's oath to Abraham was certainly meant to capture our attention but not in a way to stop our bad behavior. Instead, He was compelling Abraham's descendants (including Christians) to believe the Lord's promises even when their fulfillment seems unlikely.

God's oath to Abraham was a blessing that extended a three-fold emphasis to his descendants:

**1. "Multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore."** This promise finds fulfillment in us and in the many more believers who have come, and who will come, to know the Lord. The apostle Paul clearly stated that Christians are the _spiritual_ descendants of Abraham and therefore his heirs according to God's promise (Galatians 3:29).

**2. "Your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies."** For God to promise that Abraham's seed will possess the gate of their enemies is to say that his descendants will overrun and exercise dominion over their foes. This promise was essentially echoed by Jesus in a thought-provoking dialogue with Peter:

_"I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:18 -19._

Jesus gave power and authority to His followers to overrun the gates of hell. City gates are _defensive_ , which means that Christ's church is the _aggressor_. We are not called to simply huddle up and "hold the fort" until Jesus returns. Rather, the Lord calls and empowers the collective body of Christ to aggressively pray and overpower the spiritual forces of wickedness that corrupt and pollute our communities.

**3. "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed."** Through the church, all of the nations of the earth will be blessed. Even in dark, poverty-stricken nations, the Lord's followers will impart a blessing of life. Even in secular, godless societies, God's people will impart a blessing of life. And even in nations that are closed to the gospel, the heavenly Father's children will impart a blessing of life. Eternal life begins at the point of salvation, and it is with the unstoppable vitality of the Almighty God that we bless the world around us.

The ancient Israelites were well aware of God's oath to Abraham, and so they fought to the bitter end time and time again. Few peoples on the earth have tenaciously refused to accept national oppression the way that Israel has. At the same time, the Jews failed to understand the spiritual nature of God's oath. As Christians, we need to lay hold of their indomitable spirit but exercise it in the context of spiritual wisdom.

How does all of this work out for us in a practical sense? In short, we refuse to yield dominion of our community to darkness. Behind our societal dysfunction are spiritual forces that ever seek to steal, kill, and destroy. We refuse to stand idly by, fretting with vexed hearts while drug addiction destroys lives, while the institution of family crumbles, while defenseless babies are unsafe in the womb, and while our governments are polluted with selfishness and corruption.

Some readers might be tempted to think that I am sending out a rallying call for public protests, but I am not. Instead, I am challenging all of us to stir up hearts of compassion, to pray with authority, and to stand in faith, believing for the Lord to work powerfully in our community, our region, and our nation.

Regardless of how our circumstances look, we are the descendants of Abraham, and we _will_ possess the gates of our enemies to release the amazing blessing of God's life into a broken and dying world. This, the Lord wants us to know: _His oath is to be believed!_

There will, no doubt, be times when our circumstances look bleak, times when demonic activity and human pride work to create seemingly impenetrable barriers to God's eternal truth. In those seasons, we might be tempted to despair until we remember that God made an oath!

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Young adults

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

How can a young man keep his way pure?

By keeping it according to Your word.

With all my heart I have sought You;

Do not let me wander from Your commandments.

Your word I have treasured in my heart,

That I may not sin against You.

Blessed are You, O Lord;

Teach me Your statutes.

Psalm 119:9-12

**Starting Prayer:** Lord, we are so thankful that You are trustworthy in every way. We lift before You the many young adults who are now of working age. We ask that You please captivate their hearts and bring a powerful anointing upon their lives...

  * That You will reveal to them plans and purposes for their lives that go far beyond the self-centered living that has consumed so many in the previous generations.

  * That You will fill them with a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the true knowledge of You.

  * That You will help them build healthy relationships.

  * That You will form within them a healthy perspective of sexuality, marriage, and the sanctity of life...

  * That You will provide economic opportunities and motivate them to be contributing citizens in our community...

# DAY TWENTY-SIX

## ANOINTED PRAYER

You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:38

To be used of God. Is there anything more encouraging, more fulfilling? Perhaps not, but there is something more basic: to meet with God. To linger in His presence, to shut out the noise of the city and, in quietness, give Him the praise He deserves. Before we engage ourselves in His work, let's meet Him in His Word . . . in prayer . . . in worship. --Chuck Swindoll

When God proclaimed the shepherd boy David to be the next king of Israel, the prophet Samuel took an animal horn filled with oil and poured it over the lad's head (1 Samuel 16:12-13). This anointing with oil represented the commission of the Holy Spirit to work in and through David to fulfill his calling. Accordingly, 1 Samuel 16:13 tells us that "the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward."

The Spirit's anointing manifested in David's life in a variety of ways. He lived with victory and authority over His enemies, He conducted himself wisely in matters of government (for the most part), he profoundly influenced the spiritual climate of Israel, and he left a rich legacy of psalms to help us honor God in the midst of life's adversities.

Anointed prayer is much more than simply a human action intended to solicit divine favors; it is blessed by the Holy Spirit in alignment with His plans and purposes. _Pregnant with life, anointed prayer bridges the gap between heaven and earth, releasing heaven's redeeming vitality into earth's brokenness and death._

What are some keys to anointed prayer?

**1. Faith** \- Habakkuk 2:4 tells us that the righteous will _live_ by faith. When we live and pray by faith, we align with God's reality. We believe who He is, what He proclaims, and what He says He will do. We also believe who He declares us to be. Christians are not forlorn beggars hoping for a few meager scraps from the Master's table; we are the much-loved children of God who are privileged to have our heavenly Father's ear. On top of this, we are commissioned as _ambassadors for Christ_ who are anointed with His authority to achieve His kingdom purposes on this earth (see 2 Corinthians 5:20).

**2. Alignment with God's will** \- To align with the Lord's will we must first know something about who He is, how He thinks, and what moves His heart. Regular reading of the Scriptures, along with praying for wisdom and insight, will help lay a basic foundation of knowledge.

It is also vital that we develop a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit's voice. The Bible provides us with many answers to life's issues, but it does not specifically address every situation we will face. A healthy relationship with God consists of more than relying on our interpretation of words on a page. We need His presence, and that presence is realized through the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit Himself speaks in a variety of ways, most of which require an open heart and a listening ear.

Another key to aligning with the Lord's will involves yielding our will to His ways. This means obeying Biblical commands as understood through the New Testament gospel of grace, as well as obeying the promptings of the Holy Spirit which will always align with His written Word.

**3. Unity with other believers** \- A third key to anointed prayer involves the unity of God's people. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are mysteriously One and desire the children of God to also be unified.

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:1-6

I am not saying that our differences are inconsequential, but rather that our attitudes are petty when we look down with contempt upon our brothers and sisters in Christ whose view of life differs from ours.

**4. Time** \- Unlike the way olive oil was used to anoint kings and priests, being anointed by the Holy Spirit is not a one-time experience. It is the result of time spent in the Lord's presence, time meditating on His Word, and time centered in worship, praise, thanksgiving, and prayer. In other words, our alignment with God is not simply momentary; it is the ongoing result of _abiding_ in His presence.

The concept of alignment is central to anointed prayer because the ultimate goal is to allow the Holy Spirit to pray through us. Only the Spirit knows the full will of God, and when we yield to Him in prayer, we find that will realized. Anointed prayer, then, produces a kind of _divine convergence_ between heaven and earth.

**5. Weakness** \- The idea of embracing our human weaknesses is counterintuitive, but the apostle Paul made clear that God's power is perfected in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:1-10). Why? Because when we are strong, we are inclined to boast in ourselves. Moreover, voluntarily experiencing weakness through the healthy practice of fasting can have a profound effect on our personal prayer lives.

The goal of anointed prayer is not to make us feel good, but it has a powerful influence on our spiritual and emotional selves regardless. To sense His nearness and receive His life--nothing on earth can compare. Anointed prayer is seismic, enabling God's children to tear down the spiritual strongholds that keep people blind and bound. May the Lord give us wisdom and grace not just to pray, but to pray with a life-laden anointing from heaven!

**Today's Prayer Focus:** The business community

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." Luke 12:15

**Starting Prayer:** Jesus, thank You for making the ongoing presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives possible. Today, we lift before You the economics and business leaders of our community. We ask You to graciously touch the business leaders in our community with Your mercy, grace, and truth...

  * That You will give business leaders grace to trust You in times of both financial abundance and lack.

  * That You will free them from the strongholds of greed and corruption while instilling within them generous spirits.

  * That You will bring down the idol of materialism that destroys families and tempts people to sin.

  * That You will give our business leaders hearts to love their families, treat their employees well, and invest in our community.

  * That You will create stability in our community by attracting good-quality and well-paying jobs to our area...

# DAY TWENTY-SEVEN

## PRAYING FOR HEALING

When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases." Matthew 8:16-17

Prayer is God's ordained way to bring His miracle power to bear in human need. --Wesley L. Duewel

The Bible tells some amazing stories about healing. For example, the apostle Paul was once speaking late into the night to a group of believers (Acts 20:7-12). I suppose more than one Christian speaker has gone too long, but what happened next was anything but typical. A young man named Eutychus fell asleep while sitting in a third-floor window sill and fell to the ground dead. Paul went down and embraced Eutychus as an act of prayer. The youngster came back to life! I once used this story for justification when preaching too long, but my wife cautioned that I could only do so if I had a track record of raising the dead.

The topic of healing presents one of the more mysterious and controversial issues that Christians are compelled to work through. Even Paul, the apostle who was used so mightily of God (Acts 19:11-12), referenced times when the Lord did not bring quick and miraculous healing (Galatians 4:13; Philippians 2:27; 1 Timothy 5:23; and 2 Timothy 4:20).

On the home front, I have had my own physical battles over the years--nothing life-threatening but enough difficulty to make me dig deeper into a Biblical perspective of physical healing. I have also lost loved ones prematurely to disease. I would not wish the physical and emotional pain of disease upon my worst enemy.

The pain and cost of physical sickness can be staggering. And while the Lord is an opportunist who works every situation to our benefit, I am convinced that He wants to perform more miracles in the Western church than we allow. Wrong thinking has led to confusion and unbelief regarding this vital issue. Good people, we must understand, can have bad theology. Having been compelled to dig deeper for a truly Biblical perspective of healing, I will briefly address some erroneous ideas and then follow with what I believe is a healthy understanding of God's healing grace.

Some people look down with contempt upon those who are sick. Like Job's three friends, they try to fix specific blame for the cause of a sickness. I remember once hearing about a callous individual who told a mother and father that their daughter died of cancer because they did not have enough faith. Not only are such responses foolish and insensitive, they deepen people's pain, confusion, and frustration rather than lifting them to new levels of faith and devotion.

The truth is that we all deal with sickness and disease in some capacity because we live in a fallen world. Healing is needed because humanity brought a curse of death upon this earth by spurning God's warning and eating from Eden's forbidden tree. Sickness, for its part, is a form of death at work in our bodies.

The Scriptures tell us that death will be the last enemy swallowed up by Christ's victory (1 Corinthians 15:26), and because sickness is a form of death, its eradication does not come quickly or easily. One day, each of our bodies will be healed and transformed for eternity, but in the meantime, we must fight to lay hold of God's promises.

Erroneous theology, however, makes it difficult for us to believe in healing as a modern phenomenon. First, there is the idea that we get sick because God wills it. Yes, the Lord will turn even the worst sickness for good purposes. That does not mean, however, that He makes us sick or that every outcome reflects His best for our lives. Furthermore, if we really thought that it was God's will to be sick, we would never go to a doctor in the hopes of getting better because we would be working against our Lord.

I also find it disheartening that some theologians and church leaders will discourage people from believing for healing. There is near universal acceptance that our loving Lord brings both spiritual and emotional healing to our lives, often restoring broken relationships in the process. But when it comes to physical healing, some Christians not only balk, they argue against such an expression of God's love.

God does not change; He always has been, and always will be, the Healer of all healers. In fact, one of His Old Testament names is Jehovah Rapha (Exodus 15:26), meaning "the Lord who heals."1 And not only do we see examples of God's healing nature throughout the Bible, Jesus also demonstrated God's healing power during the course of His ministry on earth. Never do we find Jesus saying, "I am sorry, it is not My Father's will for you to be healed." Moreover, the Son of God taught and equipped His disciples--and not just the twelve--to pray for the sick (Luke 10:1-22).

The idea that Jesus healed people only to "jump-start" the early church has no Scriptural justification. How many times did Jesus heal someone and then command silence concerning the matter? Jesus heals people because He loves people, and under the new covenant, we should believe for God to work in greater ways than He did under the old. It is in our Lord's life-giving nature to bring healing and restoration to every aspect--spiritual, emotional, physical--of human brokenness. To limit God's healing power to the past is to confine the Almighty to a box of our making.

Why is it, then, that healing remains such a mystery to us? Why does He sometimes heal unexpectedly and not heal when we hope? Why did the Lord miraculously restore my friend Bryan's health when I laid hands on him to pray but not answer similar prayers for others? In all honesty, I do not understand all the unseen factors at work. There is, however, a huge hindrance to healing that we can all do something about: corporate unbelief.

Matthew 13:53-58 ends with a sad statement: "And He did not do many miracles there [in Nazareth] because of their unbelief." At issue, however, was not simply the unbelief of a lone individual or two, but an entire community. Such corporate unbelief--a huge problem in the Western world--causes the King of Glory to limit His work in our midst.

We can each make a difference by cultivating our own faith in God. We can also create non-judgmental environments in which we seek to lift up and encourage those who are struggling with various doubts. These combined efforts will help to create a spiritual atmosphere in which the healing anointing of God's presence is more likely to be released.

We can also follow the Biblical precedent by laying prayerful hands on those who are sick (Luke 4:40; Acts 28:8; and James 5:14-16). Sometimes, God waits for us to take the first step of faith out of our comfort zones. Exactly what the good Lord will do, we cannot say. But we can look forward with great anticipation to the miraculous work of His Spirit in our midst!

**Today's Prayer Focus:** For the healing grace of God to be poured out in our community

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick. Matthew 14:14

**Starting Prayer:** Jesus, we thank You that You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. We ask that You have compassion on our community by pouring out Your healing Spirit...

  * That You cleanse our unbelief and help us to see You as our Healer.

  * That You comfort and encourage those who have lost loved ones to sickness.

  * That You free us from condemnation over being sick, or visiting a doctor or mental health counselor.

  * That You will bring Your kingdom and all its benefits--including healing--to our community.

  * That You reveal a greater measure of Your glory by pouring out a healing revival in our land...

* * *

1 Robert L. Thomas, _New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries: Updated Edition_ (Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc., 1998).

# DAY TWENTY-EIGHT

## PRAYING TOGETHER

"Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst." Matthew 18:19-20

There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer. --A. T. Pierson

Please answer a question for me: "How are we doing?" What I am asking is, "How is the church in your region impacting the world?" Are you seeing people turn from sin and give their lives to God? Are the members of local churches growing toward spiritual maturity? Is the culture in your region changing for the better because of Christian influence?

Think this through with me for a minute. How many churches care deeply about reaching those who are dead in their sins? Are their members characterized by efforts to reach out to their communities, or by judgmental attitudes that look down with contempt upon those who fail to meet their moral standards? And regarding the churches that do care about the lost world around them, are they working together with other members of the body of Christ to advance God's kingdom? Or do they somehow think that they alone are the Lord's answer for their community?

Why has the church in the West lost so much influence on society? At least in part, it is because we spend too little time praying and far too much time judging with arrogant attitudes that elevate our own lives and organizations above others. Not only does this approach violate God's design, it forfeits much of the power that we need to make a real difference.

This world can be complicated, I will give you that. As a result, we can easily stray from the basic elements that bring vitality to the church. Prayer, worship, the teaching of God's Word, a healthy understanding of grace, fellowship, outreach, service, and generosity--these are the basic elements of spiritual vitality in a church. And we cannot have one or two to the exclusion of the others. To be spiritually healthy, we need them all.

Churches lose the power to influence the world when they elevate their own traditions above Biblical paradigms, when they neglect vital aspects of spirituality, and when they seek to "go it alone"--working independently of other Christian believers in their area.

In contrast, not only does our Father's heart delight when we come together as one, a special anointing of the Holy Spirit flows from heaven when we pray together. Psalm 133 communicates some profound imagery regarding the unity of God's people:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

For brothers to dwell together in unity!

It is like the precious oil upon the head,

Coming down upon the beard,

Even Aaron's beard,

Coming down upon the edge of his robes.

It is like the dew of Hermon

Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;

For there the Lord commanded the blessing--life forever.

Psalm 133

Let's make a brief examination of this passage. First, there is something good, pleasant, and delightful about brothers (and sisters) dwelling together in unity. A parent with multiple children can appreciate the sense of this statement. As a dad, I can truthfully say that few feelings compare to having our kids together and happily interacting with one another.

In this psalm, King David compares the unity of God's people with the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron the high priest to consecrate him for ministry. Not only would Aaron serve as a priestly intercessor to bridge the gap between God and man, he would do so with the power and authority of God.

David also compares unity to the mountain dew watering the arid land of Palestine. In a region that can go for months without rain, the morning dew plays a vital role in making the land fruitful. Water, life, and fruit go hand in hand and were never meant to be separated.

_If prayer is the foundation for action, praying together is the foundation for anointed prayer._ When God's people pray together, His anointing flows and the very life of heaven is released. The result is spiritual fruit--people coming to Christ and being transformed into His likeness. If we are not seeing spiritual life in our region, the first question to ask is, "Are we divided and prayerless?" A very real problem is that too often we are making judgments rather than asking thoughtful and necessary questions.

The principles of Christian unity apply both _within_ and _between_ our churches. Not only do we need prayer groups gathering within our churches, we need prayer gatherings between churches as those from various movements and denominations come together as one. There is no need to abandon our group distinctives to force a kind of organizational conformity; rather, we want to celebrate and honor the spirit of unity that we have _in Christ._

I participate in joint Christian prayer on a regular basis, and I can tell you that something beyond human comprehension happens when Christians from multiple organizations come together to pray by the leading of the Holy Spirit. The life of God is released, fueling the flames of godly passions and touching the hearts of those mired in death. Spiritual fires always burn brighter when God's people are aflame together.

The problems of our era are significant, but this is not a season to languish in the doldrums. Tumult and upheaval create opportunities for God's kingdom to be advanced, and we can have a huge influence on our world--and even our own spiritual vitality--by blessing our Father's heart through unified prayer.

There will always be vital aspects of the Christian life that can never be realized individually apart from a connection to the greater body of Christ. We begin by joining with other believers in a home church, and we build upon that foundation by gathering with Christians from other churches in our community. If we truly want to influence our community, our region, our nation, and our world, we must take time to gather together in prayer. Joint and unified prayer is not an option; it is a necessity.

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Laborers for the harvest

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

And He was saying to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Luke 10:2

**Starting Prayer:** Thank You for making us part of something far greater than ourselves and our own organizations. We pray that You will raise up a generation of laborers--both young and old--for the spiritual harvest that is quickly ripening...

  * That You will free Your people from self-focus and teach them to draw their significance from You.

  * That You will form them into a people of strong faith who know both their identity and their authority in Christ.

  * That, uncorrupted by pride, they will be able to wisely and selflessly serve for Your glory and for the good of humanity.

  * That You will create within Your people a kingdom mentality that transcends our individual lives and organizations.

# That You will fill the hearts of Your people with compassion and purpose, calling them to labor in prayer for the many needs in our community, nation, and world...DAY TWENTY-NINE

## PRAYER WALKING

The heavens are the heavens of the Lord,

But the earth He has given to the sons of men.

Psalm 115:16

All through history, nations have battled against each other over borders and the control of land. Whoever controls the land has the power. --Greg Masse

This world has known seemingly innumerable conflicts over land, but perhaps none can compare to the intensity, viciousness, and longevity of the Arab-Israeli conflict over Palestine. With roots reaching far back into Old Testament times, the renewed conflict has escalated ever since the modern state of Israel declared its independence in 1948.

No question about it, religious disagreements contribute to our worldwide conflict, but politics and arguments over land are far more prevalent and have a far greater influence.1 Not only is land where people live, it also provides the means for economic prosperity and power. Controlling land means everything, and so humans--Israelis and Palestinians in particular--have been known to spill massive amounts of precious blood over otherwise ordinary hills and plots of ground.

Human conflicts over land help to illustrate a greater spiritual reality that predates even the Arab-Israeli conflict. Our story begins with the creation of the world and humanity as God's crowning achievement:

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth." Genesis 1:27-28

In essence, God was giving dominion of the earth to the prized creatures we call "humans." An ideal paradise, the earth was theirs to manage and steward as subjects of God's kingdom.

Paradise unraveled quickly, however, as Adam and Eve surrendered their stewardship of the earth to a cunning serpent whose only desire is to steal, kill, and destroy. Eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil did more than separate humanity from its Creator; it also subjected the earth to the rule of a cruel despot.

For God to become a man through the person of Jesus Christ was ingenious in more ways than one. Because Jesus was a sinless human, He was able to reclaim full stewardship of the earth for the human race. This means that the devil and his lackeys have no inherent rights over the territory that they seek to control.

It is here that the imagery of the ancient conflict over Palestine becomes especially poignant. The Lord promised the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants. When the "iniquity of the Amorites" had been made full, Abraham's descendants would conquer wicked nations, claiming prized territory for God's covenant people (Genesis 15:16). Thus, the Lord said to Joshua:

"Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses . . . Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them." Joshua 1:3-6

In a new covenant context, the apostle Paul referred to the devil as the "prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2), and described our conflict as being against "the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). Paul's language, however, speaks of "standing" against the forces of evil. In essence, he was saying that the powers of darkness have no legal right to earthly territory. Even so, they ever seek to usurp God's authority, and this earth is where the battle plays out.

In light of these things, we view _prayer walking_ not as some mystical act of hyper-spirituality, but rather the simple process of walking and praying to reassert God's authority over physical regions and territories. Furthermore, neither is there anything mystical about walking. We can pray in other strategic ways like interceding from a high point in our community or driving and praying in areas where walking might be unsafe.

Aristotle's ancient adage that "nature abhors a vacuum" certainly holds true with regard to spiritual power. When God's people fail to fulfill their responsibility of stewarding over this earth through prayer, spiritual forces of evil will invade and overrun the land. In this, prayer walking is simply the process of walking and praying--preferably in small groups--to welcome God's rule into territory that _already_ belongs to Him. We are not talking about trying to make our governments religious but about welcoming God's unseen kingdom into our neighborhoods and communities.

Practically speaking, every community has key areas that can be prayer-walked. Schools, government buildings, and business districts, for example, are centers of power and influence that can themselves be influenced by our prayers. However, let us not discount the importance of Christians praying within their own neighborhoods where family life and religious practice find their centers, and unfortunately, where domestic violence, drug abuse, and other destructive detrimental activities often abound.

As God's people strategically stationed throughout the earth, we have both the right and opportunity to exert His dominion through prayer. Let's not sit and scoff and bemoan our troubled land. Rather than wringing our hands in helpless futility, let's put on our shoes to walk and pray and bring God's life-giving dominion to bear in our community. May the Lord grant us the faith, wisdom, grace, and courage to come together to make a difference!

**Today's Prayer Focus:** Your neighborhood or a center of influence in our community

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

"Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare." Jeremiah 29:7

**Starting Prayer:** Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the power to influence our communities. Lord, today we ask that Your kingdom will come and Your will be done within our neighborhood...

  * That You will strengthen marriages, heal broken relationships, and fill downcast hearts with hope.

  * That You will heal damaged relationships and create a safe environment for children.

  * That You will cleanse our neighborhood of drugs, alcohol, and other forms of abuse.

  * That You will soften hearts to Your truth and draw our neighbors to Yourself.

  * And by Your grace, that You will please help us to be effective ambassadors for Christ and agents of love and stability in the place where we live...

* * *

1 Rabbi Alan Lurie, "Is Religion the Cause of Most Wars?," _Huffington Post_ , April 10, 2012, and last modified June 10, 2012, accessed February 1, 2019, <https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-alan-lurie/is-religion-the-cause-of-_b_1400766.html>.

# DAY THIRTY

## PRAYING BEYOND YOUR SPHERE

So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." Acts 1:6-8

God shapes the world by prayer. Prayers are deathless. They outlive the lives of those who uttered them. --E. M. Bounds

During the years that I did college ministry, I had a pithy little saying that I often shared. "College ministry isn't important because I'm doing it; I'm doing college ministry because it's important." All too often in life, issues are important because they involve _me_. The most important agenda is _mine_. The most valuable time is _mine_. The most worthy cause is _mine_. In this, our thoughts and attitudes reflect a gathering of two-year-olds.

This concept can also apply to Christian ministry. I have seen such a self-centered approach to ministry far more than I care to admit. Generally, I do not have a problem when people jump from ministry to ministry, but when each new endeavor is suddenly proclaimed to be the most important above all others, something is off-kilter.

Herein lies the most significant problem with nationalism. What makes my nation the greatest and most important in the world? The fact that _I_ was born and live in it! But in the grand scheme of the universe, can the citizens of any nation claim any sense of superiority over others? Only if we neglect the realities of God's holy supremacy and human sinfulness. The truth is that God created _all_ people, that _all_ have sinned and are worthy of death, and that Jesus came to redeem _all_ from the curse of death.

As recorded in Acts 1:6-8, Jesus instructed His disciples to touch four specific spheres: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the remotest parts of the earth. Essentially, "Jerusalem" and "Judea" represent a person's hometown and the surrounding region. "Samaria" might also represent a nearby region, but was probably meant to include those who are despised by the general public. I think just about every city or region considers some nearby area to be the armpit of civilization. Finally, "the remotest parts of the earth" speaks for itself--of people in faraway lands who mean nothing to us apart from the tragic stories of war or natural disaster.

When the Holy Spirit said to "set apart Barnabas and Saul" for a specific ministry, it was not for the sakes of the Scripture-rich people of God in Jerusalem (Acts 13). Instead, Barnabas and Saul were being steered toward pagan cultures in far-off lands.

The Jews were not any more special than the Samaritans or the heathens at the ends of the earth. What made Jews different was the _covenant_ established between God and Abraham. Other peoples could become "proselytes" to enter that covenant, and Jews could suffer judgment by violating it. One of the great errors of ancient Israel was that they developed elitist attitudes of superiority rather than realizing that, as Abraham's physical descendants, God wanted to use them to bless _all_ the families of the earth (Genesis 12:3).

How do these ideas pertain to us? We must understand that you and I are no better and no more special to God than those in other nations. Furthermore, it has always been the Lord's desire to redeem heathen peoples and their ungodly cultures. We should not look at them with judgment and contempt, but rather love. If our Savior's heart overflows with compassion for the nations, the hearts of His children will also be moved.

I know some amazing people who pray regularly for virtually all the nations of the earth. I confess that my prayer life is not at that level. There is so much going on in this world that a person can easily be overwhelmed by all the needs. Thus, I think it necessary to find a practical approach to prayer that works for each individual. I will suggest two, knowing that other approaches are also viable. Let love, not guilt, be your motivation, and take the approach that works best for you in this season of life.

One option is to connect with an international prayer ministry (such as SEAPC) that will guide you through the prayer process by providing resources and opportunities for corporate prayer. By connecting with such an organization, you can make a worldwide difference through your prayers without having to put a large amount of effort into research and organization.

A second option is to ask the Lord to "give you a country" for which to pray. I have friends who have fallen in love with specific nations through vacations or mission trips, and these countries are not always the glamorous ones. Perhaps you have ancestors from a particular region, or maybe you are--or will become--friends with an international.

The story is too long for this format, but I once built a close friendship with a young Muslim man from a nation in the Middle East. Through this connection, I found myself following that nation much more closely in the news while also praying more intently for its people. One of the beautiful things about this approach is the freedom involved. We give God the freedom to write His law of love upon our hearts for a specific people, and He puts within us the desire to lift them before His throne in prayer.

Does praying for another nation require us to think little of our own? Absolutely not! In case you have not noticed, the greater part of this devotional has focused on praying for our own nation and especially our own community. At the same time, praying beyond our individual spheres reminds us that we are not at the center of the universe. God is King, and one day people from _all_ nations, tribes, and tongues will surround His throne in worship (Revelation 7:9). What an honor it is to help make that distant vision become a visible reality!

**Today's Prayer Focus:** The nation of your choice

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:8-9

**Starting Prayer:** Lord, we thank You that even though we were once far from You and without hope, You brought us into Your family and made us Your people. Great God, along with the Scriptures, we proclaim that You are the God of all peoples, tribes, and tongues. Please give us Your passion and desire to pray for those from other nations...

  * That You will soften the hearts of the people and give them a powerful revelation of grace.

  * That You will grow and prosper local churches while imparting to them a vision for outreach and discipleship.

  * We pray that You will strengthen believers and give them the courage to proclaim Your truth.

  * That You will strengthen and encourage our brothers and sisters suffering persecution, protecting them from bitterness.

  * That You will work in governments to create just laws and policies that are conducive to salvation and spiritual growth.

  * That You will fund and send missionaries while You work even through dreams and visions to make Yourself known...

# BONUS DAY

## REST AND REFRESHMENT

So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:9-11

No amount of activity in the King's service will ever make up for the neglect of the King Himself. --Robert Murray M'Cheyne

Life can be burdensome; this we all know. In the midst of seemingly endless work, the number of responsibilities, needs, and requirements can easily surpass our ability to meet them. The excitement of youthful exuberance often gives way to drudgery, and we find ourselves stuck in the doldrums--wishing for fresh wind in our sails but feeling like we are dead in the water and going nowhere.

The scenario can become especially bleak when we mistakenly view God as a demanding ogre who we can never manage to please. Misery begets misery. An unhappy God--as seen through our eyes--will always "create" an unhappy generation of people.

One of the many beautiful things about the living God is that, contrary to the perceptions of some, He _wants_ us to take time to rest, rejoice, and celebrate. The examples from the Scriptures are too numerous to list, so I will highlight just a few:

  * After God created the heavens and the earth, He rested on the seventh day. Then, under the Mosaic law, taking a _Sabbath day_ of rest became a requirement.

  * The law also established _seven major feasts_ for each year, and celebrating them was mandatory. Productivity screeched to a halt as families gathered for times of worship and celebration.

  * Every seven years, the land was to be given an _entire year_ of rest. In this, God promised that He would provide the food His people needed. And though it was the land that was to be given rest, allowing the ground to lie fallow also meant rest for the people.

  * Every fiftieth year was to be declared a _Year of Jubilee_. Debts were to be forgiven, slaves set free, and fields once again left fallow.

I find it interesting that some Bible-believing people will tout modern secular capitalism as though it were somehow Biblical, but the capitalism of the Old Testament was quite different from what we know and experience in Western culture. Can you imagine taking a genuine day of rest each week? How about _required_ time off for family vacations or periodic forgiveness of debts?

As a celebrant of grace, I will be the first one to point out the burdensome requirements of the Mosaic law, but even within the law, we see God's grace, mercy, and compassion on display. How much more does the Lord have for us under the new covenant of grace?

At the heart of rest, refreshment, and celebration, we find a surrender of control through faith. Under the old covenant, the Lord required that the people take time off from their labors, ceasing from all emphasis on productivity. Doing so required trust because by all natural inclinations, a lack of productivity meant a lack of provision and thus security.

Although days of feasting and rest were integral to family life, there was always a spiritual element involved. People were not to stop productivity just to rest, but also to draw near to the Lord. It is in His presence that we experience refreshment in its fullest sense (see Acts 3:19).

The idea has already been presented, but prayer involves much more than bringing our petitions before God. Yes, it is vital that we lift human needs before our Creator, but we also need times in which we leave those needs at His feet. We need times when we simply rest in the presence of our Lord, appreciate His goodness, and celebrate His faithfulness.

Responsible people have a tendency to labor nonstop when they are vital and strong. I have personally known a few individuals who could "run" for a very long time with very little rest, but their "restless" lifestyles always caught up to them. And in such situations, they are not the only ones who pay a steep price. Virtually everyone connected, including family and friends, is adversely affected. With age comes either wisdom or burnout. Those who understand God's design and the need for rest will make appropriate adjustments to their lifestyles so they can continue running well into old age. Those who do not make such adjustments end up burning out, souring in their attitudes, and being of little use for kingdom purposes.

Below are a few ideas to better facilitate rest and refreshment in our lives. Please pick at least one or two fresh efforts that you can make in the very near future:

  * Take a daily devotional time to pray, worship, and read.

  * Take a weekly day off from your primary efforts of productivity.

  * Use a journal to highlight positive events and specific answers to prayer. Review the journal during a weekly time of rest and reflection.

  * Unplug for a day from your electronic devices, along with newspapers and social media.

  * Take a spiritual retreat to spend 2-3 days with God (and possibly His people) away from the need to live up to standards.

  * Schedule a vacation.

  * Take time to celebrate and commemorate anniversaries, special events, accomplishments, and answers to prayer.

I understand that times of rest, refreshment, and celebration can seem like a waste of time--especially in the eyes of highly productive people who care about the needs of humanity--but we cannot afford to ignore them.

Attempting to serve the Lord without taking times of rest, refreshment, and celebration is generally an indicator that we think more highly of our own importance than we should. We do not need to carry all the burdens of the world; we need only do our part. The Lord alone is indispensable, and He alone is self-sufficient. Ignoring our needs amounts to "playing God" which always leads to a crash of some kind.

Fruitful service to our King will ever be the result of spiritual overflow. We do not serve God and humanity through our own self-sufficiency, but through the overflow of His presence in our lives. Apart from Him we can do nothing, but through His presence and His precious gift of prayer, we can change the world!

**Today's Prayer Focus:** That God's people will learn to labor from a place of spiritual overflow and rest

**Today's Scripture to Pray:**

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

**Starting Prayer:** Today, we are thankful that You have given us a multitude of reasons to be thankful. Lord, we also thank You for all the prayers that You have heard and answered over the past month. Please help us to continue to labor and pray from a place of rest in You...

  * That You will help us lift up prayers with hearts of peace, to trust that You always hear and that You will act according to Your divine wisdom.

  * That You will enable us, through prayer, to cast our burdens upon Your more-than-capable shoulders.

  * That You will teach us and the other Christians in our community the rhythms of rest so that we can abide in Your presence and continue to labor for Your glory for a very long time...

# NEXT STEPS

While the experience of using this devotional is still fresh, map out a plan of action for prayer during the next season of your life. Review the list below and determine at least one or two steps that you can take. When enthusiasm is high, we are all confident we can hit home runs, but at least be sure to make changes that are sustainable in light of your life circumstances. If you try some things and fail, do not beat yourself up over it; just come back to this list and start over with a different plan. Persistence will take you a lot further than an emphasis on perfection ever will. Of course, there is no need to confine your efforts to the items on this list--just draw on God's amazing creativity--but at least be deliberate to keep moving forward.

•Go through the _Community Prayer Devotional_ again but as part of a closely knit group--perhaps a spouse or a couple of good friends, or a church prayer group.

•Enlist at least one other prayer partner and schedule some prayer walks in your neighbor-hood, around the schools, or in the business district of your community.

•Establish at least one new prayer "habit" in your home. Dedicating blocks of time to per-sonal prayer, praying with your spouse, or praying with your children before school or bed might be some appropriate steps, depending on your circumstances.

•Help to facilitate joint prayer efforts among the churches in your community. Start small if you need to, but at least take some steps to get the process started.

•Sign up for a prayer list or newsletter sponsored by a national or international ministry such as SEAPC.

Other possible options are to use a prayer journal and weekly or monthly prayer calendars. Please be mindful that one of the keys to sustainability is having enough structure to keep you disciplined but not so much that you constrict the life and leading of the Holy Spirit. Below is a suggested monthly prayer list highlighting some of the needs that we have already addressed. You might want to further develop this list for your own use:

•January: Victims of Abuse - Grace and healing for victims of bullying, and sexual and domestic abuse, as well as victims of human trafficking.

•February: Damage from Social Stratification - Healing of the wounds due to racism, classism, and oppression due to gender.

•March: Frontline Workers - Grace, strength, and wisdom for first responders, social workers, and medical personnel.

•April: Government - That the Lord would raise up and sustain godly and competent leaders at every level of government.

•May: Those Not Yet Saved - Family members, neighbors, and coworkers, as well as the work of missions in various countries.

•June: Families - That the Lord would strengthen families and heal the wounds that sepa-rate them.

•July: Your Neighborhood - That the kingdom of God would invade your neighborhood and that criminal activity would be driven out.

•August: Your Community's Economics - For healthy businesses and a strong economic base to help create stable family structures.

•September: Your Area Educational System - For area educators to grow in the wisdom and grace of God and in the skills of their craft.

•October: The Church - For pastors and leaders to have strength, wisdom, integrity, an outward focus, and an abundance of spiritual life.

•November: Members of the Military and Their Families - That God will bring healing to the broken, and grace and strength to the suffering.

•December: Those Who Are at Risk - Grace, guidance, and wisdom for all who are at risk due to addictions and a host of other societal issues.

# PRAYERS IN THE BIBLE

"Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation,

But deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."

Matthew 6:9b-13 (NKJV)

Make me know Your ways, O Lord;

Teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

For You are the God of my salvation;

For You I wait all the day.

Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,

For they have been from of old.

Psalm 25:4-6

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

And see if there be any hurtful way in me,

And lead me in the everlasting way.

Psalm 139:23-24

Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;

According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity

And cleanse me from my sin.

Psalm 51:1-2

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11

For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. Colossians 1:9-12

"The Lord bless you, and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine on you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance on you,

And give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26

Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21.

# ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM SEARCH FOR ME MINISTRIES

If you want to gain a Biblical perspective on identity, **_From Glory to Glory: Finding Real Significance in an Image-Driven World_** **** is the book for you! Not only is this powerful forty-day devotional filled with illuminating insights, it will also help to renew your mind as a beloved child of the King of Glory. (Also available as an audiobook.)

**_Say Goodbye to Regret: Discovering the Secret to a Blessed Life_** __ is a life-changing book that deals with the problem of regret on two fronts. The first couple of chapters are designed to help people move beyond the lingering pain of regret. The remainder of the work focuses on avoiding regret by understanding and pursuing the rich treasures of God's spiritual wisdom. (Also available as an audiobook.)

**_The TouchPoint: Connecting with God through the Bible_** __ is a valuable resource for those who are new to the Bible or who are seeking to renew their Bible-reading efforts. This book provides a great introduction to the Christian Scriptures while emphasizing a personal relationship with God. (Also available as an audiobook.)

**_The Divine Progression of Grace: Blazing a Trail to Fruitful Living_** __ thoughtfully explores God's grace from a perspective of empowerment as well as acceptance. This book will take you deeper into a relationship with your Creator and also help make you more usable for His purposes.

**_Treasures of Grace_** is a four-part video study that takes a probing and powerful look at God's amazing grace. These videos also provide a synopsis of _The Divine Progression of Grace_. _The Treasures of Grace_ videos are available to view online at no cost or by purchasing the DVDs. If you genuinely want to understand the unique way that the God of the Bible relates to humanity, these videos are for you!

Each of the readings in **_Champions in the Wilderness: Fifty-Two Devotions to Guide and Strengthen Emerging Overcomers_** draws from a deep well of truth to encourage, strengthen, and instruct those who desire to walk with God but are struggling in the face of adversity. The format of this devotional lends itself well to group discussion. (Also available as an audiobook.)

**_The Search for Me: A Journey Toward a Rock Solid Identity_** is a 12-part DVD study that boldly but lovingly touches many of the core issues influencing human behavior. This excellent small group resource makes for more than casual interaction as it interweaves the gospel with the issue of personal identity. The effects are multifaceted as participants grow together in faith, renew their love for God, and break free from sin. The audio files are free for streaming from our sfme.org website.

You'll want to stay tuned as SfMe Ministries publishes more books that emphasize vital issues of Christian living from a unique perspective!

If you are looking for someone to consistently engage in social media, Bob is probably _not_ the person. If, however, you are interested in sporadic engagement, you can connect through the following platforms:

Facebook: facebook.com/sfmeministries

Twitter: twitter.com/SfMeMinistries

Instagram: Instagram.com/bobsantosauthor/

Through the sfme.org website, you can also sign up for _Bob's Publishing Notes_ newsletter which he sends out sporadically to offer special deals and announce upcoming book and video projects.

# ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM SOUTH EAST ASIA PRAYER CENTER

_The Attack Lambs_ describes the ministry of prayer walking. These principles have been proven in Asia and America, in mosques and temples, in metropolitan cities and mud huts. Published in 1999, this book has been translated into fifteen languages with 50,000 total copies in print. It is the backbone of the spiritual warfare ministry of SEAPC. Available in Chinese, Spanish, Hindi, Chin, Burmese, Khmer, and Thai.

_A Faith To Die For_ asks "How can you face death squarely and know an absolute absence of fear?" And the answer? You can if you have hope. You can if you have traveled from Guatemala to Kiev to Beijing and seen God restoring hope in hopeless situations. Recounting his journey from captivity to freedom in Aceh, Indonesia, Mark Geppert shows us the reality of knowing a God who "never fails us or forsakes us."

_Bridges_ was first taught in a leadership meeting in Indonesia. This book teaches the establishment of a ministry base, resource development, intercession, discipleship with a purpose, going, evaluation, and sustaining the work. It is the backbone of the church-planting effects of SEAPC.

_Where Have The Children Gone?_ is a prayer guide geared toward the parents and ministers of college-aged youth. Each day discusses the vocabulary the student will learn and the Biblical response. It encourages daily prayer for the student and a loving, non-confrontational Christian apologetic based in the student's personal experience with God through Christ.

_A Guide to Prayer Walking_ (http://seapc.org/resources/teachings-downloads/) is a free print and digital resource from SEAPC based on prayer walking tenets established in _The Attack Lambs._ This six-step, pocket-size guide to prayer walking will have you on your feet and in your community praying in its five central pressure points of government, education, communication, commerce, and spiritual activity to establish righteousness and bring godly change.

SEAPC is also active on the following platforms, regularly sharing stories of lives and nations changed through prayer:

Facebook: facebook.com/SEAPC

Twitter: twitter.com/SEAPC

Instagram: Instagram.com/_seapc

Blog: seapc.org/blog

# ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bob Santos writes with the purpose of seeing lives transformed by God's goodness. After years of working in college ministry, it became clear to Bob that people crave to know more about God not only in their hearts through faith, but also through a deeper understanding of the truths found in His Word.

Understanding that the intricacies of God's truth are essential to spiritual vitality, he has endeavored to help others "connect the dots" of Biblical truth through a series of books and video teachings. His explanations of difficult Biblical concepts, combined with inspirational messages of hope in Christ, are insightful, thought-provoking, and transformational as they explore the Christian faith in an understandable and yet intellectually satisfying way.

Bob was licensed for Christian ministry in 1997 and ordained in 2005 through Elim Fellowship (www.elimfellowship.org). He currently serves as Elim's southwestern Pennsylvania area representative. In 2006, Bob and his wife Debi founded Search for Me Ministries, Inc. (sfme.org) with the mission to help form and equip a generation of world changers for Christ through the production of Biblically based teaching resources.

College sweethearts, Bob and Debi have been married for over thirty-five years and live in the small college town of Indiana, PA (whose claim to fame is being the birthplace of actor Jimmy Stewart). Bob and Debi have two adult children and a granddog. When he is not writing, speaking, or leading a small group Bible study, you are likely to find Bob doing something in the great outdoors.

# POSTING BOOK REVIEWS

Our ministries burn with a vision to profoundly influence our world for Christ, but it is not something we could ever accomplish alone. _Would you please consider posting an online review of this book? We will not beg for money, but we will for reviews because they are vital for indie authors and small Christian publishers! Honest reviews are deeply appreciated and provide an easy way for our readers to contribute to our ministry efforts. Also, if your life has been touched by one of our resources, please recommend it to others._

# PARTNERING WITH OUR MINISTRIES

If your heart moves you to partner financially with one of our ministries, you will be playing a vital role in advancing God's kingdom on earth. The resources will be put to good use. We do not distribute contact information, nor do we badger our financial partners to give.

More information about financial partnership can be found on the sfme.org and SEAPC.org ministry websites. Both are IRS recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.

_Regardless of whether you feel led to give, your prayers for our ministry efforts are both coveted and appreciated!_

# ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

None of our book projects is ever completed without a collective effort by loving individuals who generously give of their time and energy. Mel Jenkins, Kay Loose and Sheryl Motzing provided valuable editing feedback while Lynda Logue, Samantha Mitchell, Elaine Rice, and Sarah Rodden also served critical roles in the publishing process. Matt Geppert wrote the foreword, and several people graciously provided endorsements--some of which were requested on very short notice. Steve and Grace Margita took time out of their busy schedules to snap some great photos for our original cover, while K-Lee Gaffney added her design expertise. Many years ago, Randy Johnson planted a seed thought that helped to make this initiative unique. Finally, production of this book was made especially meaningful by the Indiana pastors and churches that participated in our inaugural Community Prayer Initiative. What an honor it is to co-labor with such amazing people as we serve for the glory of God and the betterment of humanity!
