October 22, 2013

Revivals start when prayer spreads. What could possibly happen if many people started praying for one hour. What would happen if your circle of connections started praying for one hour. I challenge you this week to reach out to others and encourage them to pray for one hour.

October 15, 2013

All hearts are opened to God. He sees every heart He has access to every heart. An amazing thought right. There is not one person's heart who is not opened to God. He can touch every heart. Not one heart is beyond God's reach. This fact encourages me to pray regularly for people. Even the hardest most resistant person still has a heart that is opened to God. The potential is there. By praying for people the pressure and the opportunities to turn their hearts to God grow. By praying for believers the work of God deepens. Finally by praying for others my heart towards them is changed. I no longer see them as unreachable because their hearts are open to God.

October 8, 2013

I saw the movie "Gravity" yesterday and there was a scene that spoke to me. Sandra Bullock, who plays an astronaut who is the only one left in the space station after a terrible accident, is desperate and crying out. In her deepest desperation she says "I don't know how to pray no one ever taught me." What a tragedy not to know how to pray. What a tragedy to have never been taught to pray. What a privilege to know how to pray. What great gift it is to teach others how to pray. How sad it is when those of us who do know how to pray neglect the opportunity to do so.

October 1, 2013

Here is a quote from EM Bounds that encouraged me, " Faith does not grow disheartened because prayer is not immediately honored; it takes God at his word and lets Him take what time he chooses in fulfilling his purposes, and in carrying on his work. There is bound to be much delay and long days of waiting for true faith, but faith accepts the conditions - knows there will be delays in answering prayer, and regards such delays as times of testing.

September 25, 2013

Today I felt a joy and could not wait to pray. Yesterday I saw answers to several prayer focuses that I have had. It was amazing it was as if there was a break through and once the break through happened then the answers started flowing fast. It is almost as if the pressure of many months of prayer was like water building up behind a dam. It seems as if nothing is happening until the day the dam breaks and the water just floods through. So if you have not yet seen responses to your prayer be patient each prayer adds a little more water behind the dam - the water will break through.

September 17, 2013

I had a good time of prayer with a group of 8 people this morning at 6am. One hour of prayer together. I always come away encouraged when I can gather with others and pray together. It encourages me to keep my own appointment one hour with the Lord each day. I imagine that is why Jesus wanted the disciples to pray with him in the garden of Gethsemane. How is your one hour of prayer coming along?

September 10, 2013

Desire! It is wonderful to feel. It drives us to prayer. Have you ever felt the desire to pray for a person or a situation or a ministry? You feel an urgency and a need to go to God for this situation or person. Those times are wonderful. Every day is not like that however. Many days the desire is not there but we pray. I believe it is the consistent faithful prayer day after day that develops in us a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and leads to those wonderful times when the desire ignites our hearts in prayer.

September 3, 2013

When we get to the point where we no longer hide from God in prayer then the conversation with God can begin. We no longer feel we have to impress God by how we pray or what we say instead we sit before him knowing that he sees us deeper than we see ourselves - our hearts are truly open before him and we are ready to receive whatever he says to us. It is amazing how little we really know ourselves but as we continue our prayer relationship with God we will break through to the place of intimacy. Intimacy with ourselves always precedes intimacy with God.

August 27,2013

When is it time to stop praying?

August 20, 2013

Three months is a long time. I believe it is also a spiritual barrier that must be crossed. If you have been praying the one hour prayer daily for at least 3 months you may have reached the point that I have reached where the novelty of the prayer has worn off. The initial excitement has faded. You are entering a season where endurance and persistence is required in prayer. If you are sensing that - be encouraged. God is doing a deep work in you and bringing you to a deeper level of prayer. Persist!

August 13, 2013

What is prayer like for you? Do you like I do many times come to God with a list of needs both for yourself and others. Does the prayer time become a one way conversation? Is it basically you speaking and God listening? One phrase that has impacted me from the one hour prayer is right in the beginning when we are instructed to take a paper and pen so we can write down what God is saying to us. That is a different approach to prayer. Sort of like listening for your instructions for the day.

July 30, 2013

It is important for daily prayer to become a habit. It is helpful if you can establish this practice as part of your daily lives. To develop a habit it is helpful to set aside the same time each day and to go the same place each day. It usually takes about 2 months of persistence for something to rise to the level of a habit. In order to persevere in developing the habit it is helpful to have an accountability partner. You know you have succeeded in developing the habit when you miss a day and you just do not feel the same - you know something is missing. Be encouraged and persevere.

July 24, 2013

Have you heard this saying, "Showing up is 90% of life?" To me this statement means that there are days when I do not want to show up. Days when I do not feel like showing up. I certainly have had those days in my life and still do. It is by showing up on those days that one reap the benefits of living a faithful life. This concept certainly applies to prayer. Don't feel like praying - just show up - the feelings will follow.

July 16, 2013

On my vacation I went to a church to pray most mornings. It was a small sanctuary seating about 50 people. It was opened from 6am - 6pm each day for prayer. Each day I went to the chapel I was the only person there and the chapel provided a beautiful quiet place for prayer. Being a curious person I walked around and found a bulletin with a history of the area. I learned that the town I was in - Cape May Point, NJ - was formed in the 1870's to be a place of spiritual revival and was dedicated to the glory of Jesus. The town was planned around a central circle in which was erected a wooden tabernacle in which 3,000 people would come and worship. I looked out the window at the circle - now just a nice public garden - no tabernacle - no one worshiping Jesus. The town now just another summer destination. I thought of the empty chapel with only myself at prayer. My friends it is time for us to seek the Lord and pray for revival.

July2, 2013

I missed my usual hour of prayer this morning. Actually the reason I missed it was because we had a prayer meeting at 6am at the church I minister with. Yet I missed my time alone in prayer. Group prayer is important but has a different flavor for me than individual prayer alone. By about one o'clock in the after noon I had a break from my work and about an hour before my next appointment. I took this time in prayer - alone. I felt a passion to pray in several areas. How is your prayer time coming along?.

June 25, 2013

When the format for prayer that I am using starts to get routine or ritualistic as it seems to happen for me after a few months then I will alter the format. I find that a few days of change brings a freshness again to my one hour of prayer. Sometimes I will use scripture to pray and just pray through one of Paul's letters. At other times I will follow one of the other formats I have learned in the past. How is your prayer time coming along this week?

June 18,2013

I saw an answer to prayer while I was praying this morning. For years my wife and I and our church have been praying for the Muslim community which is growing around us. This morning I was praying alone in the sanctuary of the church and I looked out of the window. I number of Muslim women were entering the lower level of the church building to take weekly ESL classes that we started at the church to build relationships with the Muslim community around us. When I saw them I was reminded of our prayers of many years for them. God does answer prayer especially prayer for the spread of his Kingdom. Be faithful in prayer!

June 12, 2013

I love to hear testimonies of people who have tremendously moving encounters with God during prayer. I have had such times also. I have cried - sensed God speaking to me - been inspired etc. I also find that at times my prayer time is duty (in a good sense). It is a time when I offer myself to God as an instrument of prayer whether I feel anything or not. How is your week going?

June 4, 2013

The amazing thing about prayer is that it sometimes takes a while for me to notice that the prayers I pray are being answered. Sometimes there are subtle changes - gradual changes that are clearly the result of prayer. Often we do not attribute these types of changes to prayer. We like to see the instant dramatic radical type of changes. Yet I am beginning to see these subtle gradual changes all around me as I continue to pray. Be encouraged and never stop praying - How are you doing in your prayers?

May 29, 2013

Almighty God, my heavenly Father. Some days I just skip over those words as sort of an introduction to prayer. However on days when I am feeling overwhelmed or feeling discouraged I linger on these words. Almighty God - is anything too difficult for Him? is anything outside of His control and authority? My heavenly father. Emphasis on my - personal - there when I need Him - understanding me - loving me - sitting with me. I need to know that. I need to remember that. Prayer is alive not a ritual. Hope you are growing and developing as you set aside one hour to pray each day.

May 22, 2013

Praying the one hour is not only working to discipline me in prayer but also is actually transforming my nature. I have for example become acutely aware of being joyful in all circumstances. After all I pray that every morning. Just that simple one line has work within me to bring about change in the way I respond to circumstances that normally would not produce joy. Someone asked me recently if I pray the one hour prayer every day - may answer was - most days. There are days that i do not pray but not many. the point is not perfection and not missing a day but rather having a habit that lasts. This blog is intended as an accountability tool for everyone taking the challenge. How are you doing this week.

May 14, 2013

It is amazing how easy it is to fall out of the habit of prayer. This past week was a busy one for me and I convinced myself that rather than pray in the morning before I begin my daily activities I would wait until later in the day. You of course know what happened. Several days I just never got to it. I am now back on track thanks to the accountability I have with my wife. First things first!

April 30,2013

I am always challenged by Jesus' statement "could you not pray with me one hour." As I discipline myself to pray God has been revealing to me my inner nature. I have what has been called 'hurry sickness.' If there is an issue or situation pending then my first and primary response is to solve the problem or deal with the issue. When my day is full I am in a hurry to get to work and get busy. Prayer of course challenges this aspect of my nature. I remember what John Wesley said - "I am too busy to be in a hurry." I am reminded what I believe Charles Spurgeon said, "I pray two hours each day and if I have a busy day then I pray three hours." God is disciplining me to make prayer a priority every day especially when I am rushed and busy.

April 17, 2013

This week I have not been feeling well and had to go to the doctor - he diagnosed what I had and gave me medication and advice. when I was spending my one hour in prayer a sense of gratitude and thankfulness came over me as I thanked God for the doctor, for medicine, for my insurance I also started to feel compassion for those who do not have those things especially the homeless and really felt how they must suffer when they get sick. Not even having a secure place to sleep when they are sick. It is amazing how regularly spending time with Jesus in prayer really molds us and changes us.

April 10, 2013

As I continue the one hour daily prayer I am starting to understand what David meant when he said in the Psalms that God was his refuge. As I close the door and spend the time with god each day it becomes clear what a refuge and foundation God is when I spend this time in prayer.

April 2, 2013

As I begin my one hour prayer each day I struggle for the first 10 minutes or so. The beginning of the Prayer guide says, " Go into a room and close the door - Matthew 6:6. The challenge for me is to close the door. Close the door to my thoughts about the day - close the door about what I have to do - in short to keep my mind from wandering outside the closed door. This is especially difficult when I have a busy stressful day ahead of me. I want to skip prayer and just get things done and resolved. After about 10 minutes of battle though I settle down and I am always glad I did. I leave the prayer time with a sense of peace and I am handling things throughout the day with a greater sense of peace and purpose. How did your week go?

March 25, 2013

As I went to prayer this week the words of Matthew 6:6 which appear at the beginning of the one hour prayer format kept coming to my mind. The words are, "Go into a room and close the door." To me the words "close the door" symbolize the shutting out of everything to spend time with Jesus. To shut out my worries, my anxieties, my racing thoughts, my to do list for the day - to shut everything out and leave them outside the door. To focus and spend uninterrupted time with Jesus. This is difficult for me. I often find my mind wandering particularly at the beginning and I have to remind myself that I have shut the door.

I encourage each person to continue to shut the door and leave everything outside.