NorthStar PrayerNet

Waiting passionately, not passively

Mark Batterson has a great post on waiting "passionately for God" through prayer:

In my daily Bible I came across this passage in Numbers 32: "They went as far as the valley of Eshcol." I think that is where many of our dreams die. It is the place where we lose heart or lose sight or lose focus. That is as far as the spies got. The promise was about to be fulfilled. It was at their fingertips, but instead they let it slip through their hands.

The valley of Eshcol is the place where we stop trying or stop believing. It is the place where we turn back. But here is what God put in my heart: turning your back on a God-given dream is turning your back on God himself. Obviously, the operative phrase is "God-given." You need to keep going after that dream. Why? Not so you can accomplishment something. Please! You need to go after that God-sized dream because it is the thing that will keep you on your knees living in raw dependence upon God. That is how we grow. And that is how we glorify God.

Read more of Mark's post HERE.

Prayerfully Arranged Marriage

"The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (James 5:16).

James Rutz, author of MegaShift, tells a wonderful story of God's supernatural hand in answering prayer.

"I have a good friend named Barclay Tait who sells vacation real estate in Niceville, Florida. Back in 1977, he was a 36-year-old Florida basketball coach. That summer, he decided to hitch-hike to a Christian conference in Front Royal, Virginia. Arriving four days early, he went to a nearby forest and pitched his tent by a stream. On the last day, a tall, thin hiker with a notebook under his arm suddenly appeared, startling him as he read his Bible. Barclay explained that he came out there to fast and meditate.

Dave, the hiker, replied, "Well, I'm an intercessor. What would you like me to pray for?"

Read the rest of Os Hillman's devotional HERE.

When You Speak, God Hears

Those who pray keep alive the watch fires of faith. For the most part we don’t even know their names. Such is the case of someone who prayed on a day long ago. His name is not important. He is important not because of who he was, but because of what he did.

He went to Jesus on behalf of a friend. His friend was sick, and Jesus could help, and someone needed to go to Jesus, so someone went. Others cared for the sick man in other ways. Some brought food; others provided treatment; still others comforted the family. Each role was crucial. Each person was helpful, but no one was more vital than the one who went to Jesus.

Read more of Max Lucado's devotional HERE.

HT: Bridget Turner

What we can learn from Jehoshaphat’s prayer life

What we desperately need in our worship services is for God to move off the pages of our orders of worship and into the hearts of our congregation. Dwight L. Moody remarked that "every work of God can be traced to some kneeling form." A.T. Pierson, a Bible teacher in the 18th century, once observed that "no revival has ever come about but by united supplicatory praying, as in Acts; and no revival has ever continued beyond that same kind of praying."

We see in 2 Chronicles 20 that Jehoshaphat obviously understood that prayer is indispensable. That's why he called all the people to fast and pray rather than to run out and fight. If they hadn't heard from God, they wouldn't have known what to do to win the battle. Furthermore, I believe God honored their determination to seek him first. (According to Matthew 6:33, he still does!)

Not only did prayer have an effect on the outcome of their dilemma, it also had a profound effect on them. In fact, at least three results of personal and corporate prayer are revealed in that passage.

Continue reading Dwayne Moore's article HERE at Pastors.com.

The prayer life of Jesus

The Zone Gathering writes:

Probably the most common characteristic of Jesus’ prayer life is that He often withdrew to a solitary place to pray. Matthew 14:23 says that “After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.” He often slipped away to the wilderness or lonely places to pray. His 40 days and nights of fasting in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-2) undoubtedly involved much prayer, as the two disciplines are often linked in Scripture (we will discuss the relationship between fasting and prayer in a future Bible Drill). Luke 5:16 tells us “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Indeed, even on the eve of His crucifixion, He prepared by separating himself from the disciples and praying for deliverance and submitting His will to God’s (Matt. 26:36-44; Luke 22:39-46).

Read more HERE.

The Prayer Life of the Leader

The great reformer Martin Luther said, “I generally pray two hours every day, except on very busy days. On those days, I pray three.” Luther was a pretty busy man– defending his theology, translating the Bible into German, writing books, and leading a Reformation– so I imagine he spent several days in 3-hour prayer.

How I wish I were more like Luther! Instead of following Luther’s example and praying more on my crazy days, I tend to pray less. Instead of coming to the recognition that Bill Hybel’s did that I am Too Busy Not to Pray, I sacrifice my time with God for other pursuits. It’s dangerous. It means I am building on a shaky foundation of my own making and not on a solid rock of dependence on Christ, the Chief Cornerstone.

Prayer is one of the most critical disciplines of a godly leader, and it is a key component of solid spiritual foundations. It is ridiculous to think we do justice to this topic in one Thursday Leadership Lesson, so I will simply share some of the things that I am personally trying to practice this semester.

Read more of this post at The Zone Gathering HERE.

"My House Shall Be Called a House of Prayer"

Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, with an incredible 1994 message on prayer:

HT: Mike Linch

"The Foundation of Every Ministry"

It amazes me how God continues to humble me as a pastor through the people of my church. I am supposed to be the spiritual leader, but many times the laity in my church blazes the path forward. For example, at our prayer meeting last night, a meek and humble woman made a passing comment that she did not intend for anyone to hear.

“This prayer list is getting long. I guess I’ll have to get up 20 minutes earlier to pray for all of them,” she whispered in a hushed tone.

Read more HERE from Sam Rainer's blog Church Forward.

The Lord's Prayer

From Sarah at The Zone Gathering blog:

In giving what has become to be known as “the Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. But I would argue that, while the Lord’s prayer is a beautiful and poetic masterpiece, Jesus did not intend for it to be recited as a charm or empty prayer. Consider what He says in Matthew 6:5-8: “And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless reptition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him.”

It is interesting that Jesus says all of this before He instructs them how to pray. In setting the example for His disciples through the “Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus equipped them with a model for prayer.

Read more HERE.

Too Busy to Pray

"We are too busy to pray, and so we are too busy to have power. We have a great deal of activity, but we accomplish little; many services, but few conversions; much machinery, but few results."

— Evangelist R.A. Torrey, How to Obtain Fullness of Power

HT: ChristianityToday.com