INSIDE THIS ISSUE
february 2011 THIS MONTH
PRAYER MATTERS MAGAZINE is a premier online publication that educates, empowers and engages Christians around the world. It challenges readers to take responsibility to advance the Kingdom of God. The mission of PMM is to equip individuals to become more effective in prayer, fasting and spiritual warfare.
03 AN HOUR IN PRAYER 09 WHY PRAYER DOESN’T WORK (2) 15 Q & A
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17 PRAYING MEN 19 CALENDAR
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20 RECOMMENDED READING
Why Prayer Doesn’t Work (part 2)
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On The Cover: Our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane
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AN HOUR IN PRAYER
PRAYING MEN 03 17
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Prayer Matters Magazine 3 February 2011
FEBRUARY| frontline
“exciting future”
PEOPLE OF PRAYER Stay tuned for the launching of a Premium Service for our readers. As you know, Prayer Matters Magazine is a free online publication, and it will continue to be just that. However, many readers around the world desire to connect with the ministry in a more frequent and personal way. This will be an outstanding platform to grow, learn and bond together. For a modest monthly fee, a Premium Member will have access to a number of added benefits such as: • Video devotions and prayer Monday through Friday • Ongoing video teaching that correlates with the magazine • Social media style interaction with other readers around the world • Prayer Blog • 24/7 prayer request center • Free advertising for your business or ministry These are just some of the excellent benefits of becoming a Premium Member of Prayer Matters Magazine, so stay tuned! v God bless and enjoy this edition of the publication. RICK THORP, Publisher
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How to Spend an Hour in Prayer An hour seems a very long time to spend in prayer, especially for young Christians. How can I spend an hour in prayer meaningfully without repeating myself and without it becoming boring and a burden? Dick Eastman suggests in his book 'The hour that changes the world' that we divide and hour into 12 period of 5 minutes each. You change to another form of prayer after every 5 minutes.
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The following is his method: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
Praise and Worship Waiting on the Lord Confession Praying Scripture Watching Intercession Petitions Thanksgiving Song Meditation Listening Praise
1. Praise - is an act of commitment to God. God who is the Unlimited and Infinite Through praise we acknowledge God for Being. We make sure at this point that who He is, exalt Him with our words, our we are in contact with God. This time of whole being and our attitude, in prayer. waiting on the Lord cannot be hurried, All prayer should start with praise. Psalm there is no place for impatience and haste 115:1 says: "Not to us, O Lord, not to us here. During this time you think of nothbut to Your Name be the Glory, because ing else but God The Father, His Son Jeof Your Love and Faithfulness". We praise sus your Redeemer and The Holy Spirit. Him for His Name, His Justice, Love, Ho- You need not express your thoughts in liness, Omnipotence, Greatness, Faith- words. Concentrate on your relationship fulness, His Word, His Creation, His Re- with God and your love for Him. demption, etc. You can for instance, use a different theme each time in this time 3. Confession is the condition to adspan of Praise and Worship. Expand on mission to God. This is a time of self-exthis them as much as possible, meditate amination (introspection) and allowing on it, weigh the practical implications the Holy Spirit to point out any unconof it on your life and the lives of others. fessed sin to you. I acknowledge my sin Watch out, though for a mere repetition and sinfulness before the Lord during of words. this period; I confess my sin and turn my back on it; I break with my sin and ac2. Waiting on the Lord - is an act of si- cept the Lords' forgiveness. Confession is lent love or adoration of God. It incorpo- the cleansing of the Christian. Sin builds rates worship and praise to God for who a wall between us and God so that God He is. It is to worship God and to praise will not hear us (Isaiah 59:1-2). Our sins Him for who He is. During this period of silence we tune in to (adjust ourselves to) God Himself, we direct our whole being to Him and commit ourselves to Him anew. We rejoice in and over His Presence. Psalm 46:10 says: "Be still and know that I am God." We can say that this is a very intimate form of communication between God and ourselves, it is I, as the limited (shackled) and finite being before
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are paid for and forgiven solely through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ on the grounds of his death on the Cross. I don't ask God to change the circumstances during confession but that He will forgive and change me. Confess each form of failure, negligence and sin. 4. Praying Scripture - To be able to pray in a balanced way, I have to spend time in The Word. I must get to know God's promises and pray them to God. The Promises of God create faith. In the first place The Bible is a Book that has to be believed and obeyed. During this period I ask: "Lord what promises can I make my own; what commands must I obey, what warnings must I pay attention to?" The Word is our prayer manual. We must remind the Lord of His promises in His Word day and night. As you read Scripture, ask the Lord how to apply it in your life and in your prayer time. Your prayers must become quotations from Scripture more and more. 5. Watching - a time of spiritual perception (observation) to be spiritually aware of matters to pray for. It will lead to praying for the needs of others and some of your own needs. You tune into the Lord and ask The Holy spirit specifically to draw your attention to specific matters so that you can pray for them. Be especially wary and alert for the onslaughts of the evil one during this time. Pray and ask The Holy Spirit to show you the plans, methods, strongholds and strategies of the evil one. Paul teaches us to watch and pray with thanksgiving. "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful" (Col.4:2) Satan will certainly try to keep you from praying and
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confuse you so that you can not concentrate. Be wary, rebuke and resist him. Be sure to pray purposefully. What are the problems people experience while teaching the Gospel? Pray for that. Are there things reported in the newspapers, things that we hear on the radio or see on the television that we should pray for; things like economic problems, political unrest, wars, etc. 6. Intercession - to intercede for others, to pray for other. In intercession we concentrate on the needs and distress of others - we stand in the gap for some-
one else. Intercession is God's method to get His children involved in His plan for the World. We become involved in World evangelization during intercession. When you intercede you stand at God's side and you work with Him for the salvation or the benefit of some else. By faithful intercession you can do as much as those who are physically in the field. Work out a systematic plan for intercession, start with your own household and family, then your friends and church, then your town, your country and lastly the whole World. Every Christian should have a burden for
lost souls and a World in need. Remember the church of the Lord also needs intercession. Intercession is not only on behalf of unbelievers. Spiritual warfare is an element of intercessory prayer that deserves a specific place in our prayer time. Pray and ask the Lord to show you through the working of The Holy Spirit where the powers of evil are working. Binding evil forces in Jesus' Name, break their strongholds and resist them. Resist the devil, don't give him a hold in your life. Jesus conquered the evil one on the Cross. We as believers must proclaim his victory in each area of life. Spiritual warfare will also be part of your prayer time during Watching and Petition. 7. Petition - for your personal needs. The believer may and should come to his Father and pray for his own personal needs. And he can pray expectantly, even for the smallest things. During this period we pray for our "daily bread" and we also pray for spiritual strengthening and equipment for our lives and work as believers. I look to the Lord in total dependence to meet my needs. We must never ask out of selfishness. No, our requests must bring Praise to Our Father. Anticipate what your needs are going to be during the day in this period and pray for them. John Rice said: "Prayer is asking and receiving." Tell the Lord why you ask these things from Him, thus ensuring that your intentions are pure. Come with frankness as our Father wants to meet our needs gladly. 8. Thanksgiving - is to acknowledge your appreciation to the Lord for what He has done for you and others. During this period I thank God for who He is, His gifts, His answers to my prayers, His care and
provision. Thank the Lord for spiritual, material, physical and any other blessings. Be specific in your thanksgiving and beware of generalizations. Tell the Lord why you are grateful. Think about the day or days gone by and thank the Lord for everything which you have received from Him. 9. Song - is melodious Worship. Song does not have to be used during communal worship only. The intercessor can sing his own (new) song to the Lord or make use of existing songs as circumstances determine. Song and Spiritual warfare (our battle with the evil one) are inextricably linked to each other. During this period one Praises, Worships, Exalts and Adores his Father in song. Your singing can take the form of praise songs, songs that testify to God's power and grace, Thanksgiving and songs about God's Name. To sing to the Glory of the Lord is definitely a command from God (Ps.100). Sing enthusiastically and heartily, because you are Exalting God. The attitude of your heart and the fact that you are carrying out His instructions are of greater value to the Lord than whether you can sing beautifully or can sing in tune. 10. Meditation - means to reflect upon or examine a matter more closely (deeply) to evaluate it spiritually. During this period I think about the Being and the nature of the Triune God, his creation and great deeds. You can use a portion of Scripture to reflect upon, a Psalm for instance, but also other portions. Christian meditation is the opposite of Eastern meditation. To the Christian, meditation is an active process of evaluation, searching and pondering, where he uses his full February 2011 4 Prayer Matters Magazine  
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FEBRUARY | 2011 intellect and is led by Scripture and the Holy Spirit in his meditation. Meditation is to ponder in a disciplined way. Beware that Satan does not plant his thoughts into your mind. Also beware of negative thoughts during this time. Consider everything that is true, pure, noble, right, beautiful and praise worthy. When you meditate on a certain portion of Scripture you must ask yourself among other things what this portion means to you. 11. Listening - is a period during which you ask the Lord to reveal new things to you, things that He wants you to notice and pay attention to. You deliberately ask God to reveal His Will and Strategies/ Plans to you. In waiting on The Lord the emphasis is on loving God. During meditation we want to learn more from God. During the period of listening we want to hear what God wants to say to us. During this period I ask: "Lord, what do you expect from me; What is Your Will for me?" You can also ask the Lord specific questions, perhaps some difficult questions that you do not have the answers to. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Write down all the thoughts that come from the Lord in your opinion, and put them to the test in the Scripture. Use them as directives for the execution of God's command. Be careful not to say immediately that: "The Lord said this and that to me." Always test if the Lord is still with you in the matterand be prepared to make a change of course, if necessary. 12. Worship - to exalt God and say of Him: "I know who I am praying to and I Trust Him with my prayers (supplications.").
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This is a period of jubilation before the Lord. Let your AMEN be strong at the end and confirm thus that you believe that God has heard you and will answer you. Amen means - it is true and sure, so shall it be. This "method" of prayer can be applied meaningfully by individuals and by prayer groups. Of course you don't have
to keep to 5 minutes. It can be shorter or longer. Eventually each individual will develop his own method or style. All the elements do not have to be present during each prayer session. You will also notice that some of these sections over-lap each other. Initially keep to the scheme, but be free to do it in a different order or to incorporate two or three aspects with each other. v
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers.
1 Peter 3:12
WHY PRAYER DOESN’T WORK (part 2 ~ God’s Will)
by Rick Thorp
Prayer doesn’t work all the time. Just because a person says something directed to God, doesn’t mean that God will hear or even answer that person’s prayer. Prayer is more than just talking to God anyone can do that, but it must be done according to God’s way. Prayer is not meant to get “things”. Prayer is not meant to make us comfortable. Prayer is not meant to be an exercise to make people do what we want them to do. Prayer is communication with God based on an intimate relationship with Him and that is congruent with His Word. It’s true that God desires us to bring all kinds of needs and requests to Him, however, when prayer becomes only about ourselves, an improper balance occurs. Prayer is certainly relationship, but just as important, it is partnership in advancing the Kingdom of God on the earth.
hand move. The biggest barrier to praying God’s will is deception. No matter how earnest one is; how much faith we exercise; how long and hard we pray; if our prayers are misaligned, we are wasting our time. One of the most powerful scriptures on prayer is found in 1 John 5:14-15. It says: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
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With this powerful promise in our hands, it’s not a coincidence that our spiritual enemies do everything that they can to make us pray amiss. The devil knows that if he can deceive us into believing a lie, then we will not be productive or fruitful in our praying. John 8:44 states,
Last month we discovered how anger can be a barrier to answered prayer. Disrespect and frustration toward God is fool- “He (the devil) was a murderer from the beish and immature and will not produce ginning, not holding to the truth, for there results when we want something from is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks God. Just like a child that angrily de- his native language, for he is a liar and the mands something from their parent, the father of lies.” adult would be hard pressed to give the child their wishes until that child gets a What better strategy would the devil new attitude and shapes up. So it is with place on God’s children than bombard us God. Obedience is paramount with Him. with lies so that we pray outside of God’s will? If he can deceive us into thinking we Over the next two months, we will ex- are praying God’s will, yet our prayers in amine another reason that prayer does fact are contradictory to God’s will, then not work: praying outside of God’s will. we are foolishly wasting our time and beIf we are not praying in alignment with ing nonproductive. That is exactly what God’s desires, we are not going to be ef- the enemy wants. If we are pleading to fective. The goal is to be in agreement God about things that are contrary to with Him, add our faith and watch His His desires, we cannot be effective. Let
me give you some real-life examples of praying amiss because of deception and a lack of understanding of God’s will. • A man was so unhappy in his marital relationship that he began to pray that his wife would pass away so that he could marry the woman that God really wanted him to marry. • A Christian was in the practice of praying illness on another with the sincere intent of teaching this unsuspecting person the power of God's healing. • A person was praying that their enemy launch a ‘fatal attack’ upon them so that they could be injured and die. • A man requested prayer that the car leasing company would not “ask, demand, request, order, force or take money from him” for the dent he put on the car, or the seat that he ruined, or for the extra mileage he put on the vehicle. • A person was asking others to join them in praying for Satan to become born again, therefore, ending all the evil in the world. The examples above are obviously extreme, but you would be surprised at what misguided people will pray. More than likely, the twisted thinking began as subtle, deceptive thoughts that the enemy began to build upon to bring the persons thinking outside of God’s will. If a person is not grounded in God’s Word and does not seek counsel, it is easier to be tricked into incorrect thinking.
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Here is a more common illustration of deception that ultimately birthed incorrect praying. It is something that happened to me as I was seeking financial opportunities. Years ago, I had a money-making proposition presented to me from a trusted Christian employee. The deal that was presented to me was a company that a Christian man started that was positioned to go public on the stock market. The company seemed stable, was endorsed by a number of famous people, was a sponsor to a couple of major sports franchises and was ad-
vertising quite impressively around the country. The executive proclaimed his love for the Lord and got a very large Christian community involved in the investing of his company. I became quickly persuaded that this investment was for me. I knew that if I moved forward with it, my family would be financially secure for the rest of our lives, and our ministry would be launched like never before. Against my wife’s better judgment and gift of discernment, I invested thousands of dollars into it, with scarce research, advice or prayer. I knew, without a shadow of doubt, God was telling me to move forward with the deal. In fact, I prayed that God would show my wife
that it was His will and that her eyes be How can we avoid being deceived in open to the fact that this was a once in our prayer life? How do we know what a lifetime opportunity. What happened? God’s will is? What Not long after I invested our hard about isearned money, the company was invessues that tigated by the Securities and Exchanges the Bible Commission and was deemed fraududoesn’t lent. Everything that was presented to have dethe investors turned out to be lies. The finitive company was not what they portrayed. answers They ultimately went bankrupt, and I, on such along with about five thousand others, as what lost every dime of the investment monhouse to ey. The “Christian” man heading up the buy, who to marry, which college to go organization went to jail after he and to and other personal questions? Due to his colleagues had stolen and spent 90 the depth of this subject, we will address million dollars. Later, the authorities the subject of praying God’s will next found out that they spent the money on month. But this month I want to offer jewelry, automobiles, houses and lavish a litmus test that will help us keep our gifts. prayers on the right path. I was heartbroken and stunned. I had been completely deceived. Have you ever believed something so much that no one could tell you that what you were doing was not the right path? You firmly believed God was telling you to do something, yet He really wasn’t? I was praying that God prosper us through this investment, but what God really wanted was for me to heed the discernment he gave my wife, take time to fast and pray over the decision, get wise counsel from others, then make a sound judgment. It was a very hard lesson for me to learn. Although, I was not completely off base such as praying illness on someone so that God could get the glory by healing them, I was still deceived and still praying for something that was not in God’s will.
To pray according to God’s will, examine what you are praying by asking these three questions: 1) Is my prayer in alignment with Heaven? 2) Is my prayer in alignment with Christ’s Character? 3) Is my prayer in alignment with God’s Word? 1. Is my prayer in alignment with heaven? In Mathew 6, Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” If we examine what’s in heaven, we can pray it on the earth. The Apostle John sees many things in heaven as recorded in the
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book of Revelation, particularly in chapters 21 and 22. I have chosen some of the items that he observed. Heaven: a. Complete worship, adoration and glory to God. b. Complete health; no disease or sickness c. Light and no darkness d. No death, mourning, crying or pain e. No impurities, shame, curses or deceit f. Unlimited riches and beauty g. Perfect truth and righteousness h. No enemies or sin When you pray, pray in accordance to what’s in heaven. The caveat of course,
is that heaven is a perfect place; the earth isn’t. There’s no death or pain in heaven; there is on earth. The point isn’t that we should pray that no one will ever die or cry on earth again, the point that we always pray for life and health. I never pray for death; I never pray that someone get a disease. Disease is not in
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heaven, therefore, I know that it is not God’s will for people to get disease. In other words, embrace what is in heaven and know that we should not contradict its overall theme on the earth. What types of things cause death, pain, mourning etc.? Separation, divorce, abuse, theft, murder, sickness, disease, accidents, rebellion, poverty, hunger, mental anguish, lies etc. Our prayers should mirror the things in heaven and always pray the opposite of the above. 2) Is my prayer in alignment with Christ’s Character? A great idea someone came up with in the 1990’s were wristbands that said, ‘What would Jesus Do?” Read the gospels and examine Jesus. His purpose was to put God’s will ahead of all else. His heart was in the right place. He was kind, he showed love, He healed, He freely gave forgiveness, He had compassion, etc. Have you ever been so mad at someone that you practically prayed, “Lord, get em”. Or, “Lord, teach them a lesson.” Well, that’s not the character of Jesus. Jesus commands us to pray for our enemies and love our neighbors as ourselves. Vengeance is for the Lord to deal with. A perfect list of items that portray the Christian character is found in Philippians 4:8-9: Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent 8
or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Pray whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. By doing so, your prayers will line up with Christ’s character.
These things are important to know as we bring our requests to God. For example, selfish ambition and conceit are deeds of the flesh. This will eliminate the temptation to pray for things that exalt us and prop up our own pride. Similarly, we know that we would be praying outside of God’s will if our motives are lined with jealousy, rage, disruption, hatred, etc.
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3) Is my prayer in alignment with God’s Word? Of course, to pray God’s Word means to know God’s Word. There is nothing more powerful than to bring God’s Word to Him in prayer and agree with Him on something that He has already said. Take for example Galatians 5:19-26. Paul outlines the deeds of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit: The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to
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Prayer doesn’t work without praying in accordance with God’s will. Next month, we will continue to discuss this very important subject. In the meantime, remember to examine your praying by asking yourself if your prayers are in alignments with Heaven, with Christ’s Character, and God’s Word? Rick Thorp is the Founder and President of The Joshua Group, a multifaceted prayer movement that includes ministries such as Prayer Matters Magazine; Prayer-for-a-Million; and PrayerMap, a unique prayer program for churches. Mr. Thorp has been in church leadership for over 31 years and is ordained under John Eckhardt, Founder and Presiding Apostle of The IMPACT Network. He is a passionate writer, speaker and teacher with a mission to spread revival and the power of God to the saved and unsaved alike. He resides in Tacoma, Washington, USA, with his wife Jennifer; has a daughter Ashley and two grandchildren. For more information about the ministry, go to: www.thejoshuagrouponline.org
Q FEBRUARY | q and a
What is prayer walking?
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A FEBRUARY | q and a
Prayerwalking is simply praying in the very places we expect God to bring forth His answers. Prayerwalking is usually a low-profile affair: Friends or family stroll two-by-two through their own neighborhoods, schools and work places, interceding on behalf of others in those areas. Prayer walks are taken by individuals, groups, and even whole churches. They can be as short as a block or as long as many miles. v
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Praying Men Can Make a Difference By Dave Butts
Most church prayer ministry teams are pre- men go work on the building. Stereotype? dominately female. There’s a reason for this. Yes…but all too often very close to the truth. In most situations, women pray more than men. C. Peter Wagner notes that of those What God has perhaps allowed in the past who have been identified as being primarily is no longer permitted today. God is calling intercessors, about 80% are female. Con- men to step up to the plate and do their part sider why this is so, remembering that we in prayer. The Lord today is calling ALL of are dealing in generalities here. Women are the Church to prayer….both men and womtypically more compassionate than men, en, young and old. Look just at the spiritual which naturally leads them into praying for warfare aspect of prayer. John Piper writes, “Until we know that life is war, we won’t others. know what prayer is for.” Prayer involves Again, generally speaking, women are more battle against spiritual forces in the heavspiritually sensitive than men. This aware- enlies. Men —how do you feel about sendness that something is happening spiritu- ing your mother or wife out to do battle ally brings about prayer. Certainly in many, while you sit at home? Isn’t that what we’ve if not most churches, they have had the ex- been doing when we have looked at prayer ample of praying women set before them. as women’s work? It’s time to take the place Women go to the prayer meeting while the of the warrior, alongside the women, as we
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do battle together in the Lord’s strength and victory as a people of prayer.
over her day and asking God to bless her, as I also hear her pray for me. It is a wonderful time of sharing together before the Lord, and strengthening one another.
Consider also the issue of spiritual leadership in the home. It’s very apparent in Scripture that the Lord expects Christian There are some days we don’t pray together. men to be the spiritual leaders of their The schedule is out of the ordinary, or we’re homes. Here is a truth though, that is not on a trip, or one of us is especially tired. always understood: spiritual leaders pray! That’s ok. It’s not a legalistic requirement If a man is not praying, he is not a spiritual that we never miss a day of prayer together. leader. Prayerless men have abdicated their Don’t put yourself under condemnation. place of spiritual authority and left their Praying together is a great gift to give one families open to attack. You see, this is not another. Whether it is in the morning or an abstract discussion, but a matter of very evening, for 5 minutes, or for an hour, it is practical issues for you and your family. vital for Christian couples to learn to pray together. I believe the place for married men to begin is to develop the habit of praying with I believe that God is calling men to lead out their wives. Most Christian men do not do this. Several years ago, Leadership Journal “I believe that God is shared how most pastors don’t pray with calling men to lead out their wives either. There are always excuses why we don’t, but they remain mere excusin prayer as part of His es. Couples that pray together are forging strategy for retaking strong bonds that will not easily break. A survey was taken that noted just 1 in over a planet earth.” thousand couples who prayed together saw their marriage fall apart. Match that up against the close to 50% figure for all other in prayer as part of His strategy for retakcouples, including Christians. ing planet earth. As men begin to respond in prayer, God begins to move in amazWhen my wife, Kim, and I were first mar- ing ways. Dr J. Edwin Orr said it this way, ried, we made a commitment to pray to- “When God gets ready to do something new gether. We found that there never seemed with his people, He always sets them prayto be just the right time of day to do this. ing.” We finally decided the only way it was going to work for us was to get up a half an hour God is doing a new thing today. If you want earlier in the morning. Our prayer time is to be “in” on what God is doing, you must precious to us. I hear from Kim about the begin praying with greater passion and inthings that are important to her by just lis- tensity. If you want purpose and meaning tening to her prayers. She hears me praying to life, and if you want your life to really
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FEBRUARY | 2011 count for God and to make a difference in this world…PRAY! Prayer is what God is calling His people to do today as a part of His plan for this world. God is moving all things toward completion. I don’t pretend to know when. But I do know the key. It is evangelism. And the key to evangelism is prayer. Let me show this to you scripturally.
the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand” (Revelation 8:3-4). After each of these incidents, in which the collected prayers of God’s people are poured out before God, angels are loosed upon the earth to cause events intended to bring people to repentance and salvation. God uses the prayers of His people to bring about the establishment of Christ’s Kingdom.
Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). The gospel is going to be preached to all nations…Jesus said so. Do you want to be a part of the fulfillment of these words? Jesus ties together prayer and evangelism in Matthew 9:37-38: “The harvest is truly plentiful but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Then, in 1 Timothy chapter 2, Paul urges prayers to be lifted up because God wants everyone saved. Again prayer and evangelism are brought together. There are two passages of Scripture in Revelation that you may not have noticed before that are exciting in their presentation of prayer and evangelism: “Each one has a harp and they are holding golden bowls The second passage in Revelation comes in full of incense, which are the prayers of the the midst of a half an hour of silence. Ausaints” (Revelation 5:8). “Another angel, thor Walter Wink explains the connection who had a golden censor, came and stood at well: “Heaven itself falls silent. The heaventhe altar. He was given much incense to of- ly hosts and celestial spheres suspend their fer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the ceaseless singing so that the prayers of the golden altar before the throne. The smoke saints on earth can be heard. The seven anof the incense, together with the prayers of gels of destiny cannot blow the signal of the
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FEBRUARY | 2011 next times to be until an eighth angel gathers these prayers…and mingles them with incense upon the altar. Silently they rise to the nostrils of God. “Human beings have intervened in the heavenly liturgy. The uninterrupted flow of consequences is damned for a moment. New alternatives become feasible. The unexpected becomes suddenly possible, because God’s people on earth have invoked heaven, the home of the possibles, and have been heard. What happens next, happens because people prayed. The message is clear: history belongs to the intercessors.” Dick Eastman, of Every Home for Christ, said it this way: “God’s ultimate purpose for mankind, the completion of Christ’s bride and the establishing of His eternal Kingdom on earth will result only from the release of the prayers of God’s saints.”
“No one is a firmer believer in the power of prayer than the devil; not that he practices it, but he suffers from it.” ~Guy H. King
Graham Kendrick and Chris Robinson wrote the hymn, All Heaven Waits. See if their words call to your heart and stir within you a passion to be a man of prayer. “All heaven waits with bated breath for saints on earth to pray, Majestic angels ready stand with swords of fiery blade. Astounding power awaits a word from God’s resplendent throne. But God awaits our prayer of faith that cries, “Your will be done!” v Article was used by permission of Harvest Prayer Ministries. www.harvestprayer.com
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EVENTS | calendar
e bruary
events
February 3-5 | Harrisburg, PA GLORY SCHOOL Patricia King www.extremeprophetic.com
February 18-19 | Murfreesboro, TN POWER & GLORY OF THE KINGDOM Rick Joyner morningstarministries.org
February 10-13 | Fort Myers, FL AWAKEN GATHERING Dutch Sheets, Lance Wallnau, Robert Stearns, Gaspar Anastasi www.wolm.net
February 25-26 | Westerville, OH RELEASING THE APOSTOLIC DIMENSION John Eckhardt aotbm.eventbrite.com
February 16-19 | Houston, TX GLOBAL AWAKENING Randy Clark, Jack Taylor, Rodney Hogue, Will Hart www.globalawakening.com February 17-18 | London, UK OASIS CHURCH Che Ahn www.oasischurch.org.uk February 17-21 | Ft. Lauderdale, FL GLORY BREAKTHROUGH FLORIDA! Heidi Baker, Lance Wallnau, James Goll, Georgian & Winnie Banov, Apostle G Maldonado, Julie Meyer www.globalcelebration.com
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Prayer Matters Magazine 3 February 2011
BOOKS For these and other Spirit-led books, go to www.arsenalbooks.com
The Power of Persistent Prayer Cindy Jacobs
Do you feel stuck in your prayer life, wondering if your prayers make it past the ceiling? Do you want your prayers to have a greater impact in the lives of your family, friend, and the larger community? If so, open this book and discover what Cindy Jacobs has learned through her years of power ful, persistent prayer and now shares with you, including: The basics of prayer; Praying the Word; Fasting; Praise;Intercession and more. W herever you are in your prayer life, you will discover how to become a persistent prayer warrior. v
The Worship Warrior
Chuck Pierce and John Dickson The Worship Warrior shows you how to ascend in worship and descend in God’s power to declare His will in your life, your family, your city and the nations. In this revised and updated edition of their bestselling book, Chuck Pierce and John Dickson uncover the biblical model of worship and show you how to push back the kingdom of darkness to claim God’s blessings. Each chapter concludes with fresh prophetic insights that reveal what God is seeking to accomplish in the near future through worship and spiritual warfare. v
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