By Alvin VanderGriend I received a letter the other day from a person asking me to pray about a family problem. Along with that request came additional pages with forty-four more prayer requests, all of them for various aspects of personal and family life. Most of the requests were for good and legitimate concerns. This…
One of my favorite passages I like to use when I speak or preach is James 5:13-17. Most believe the book of James was written by Jesus’ brother James, who became a primary leader of the church in Jerusalem. His nickname was “Camel Knees” because his knees were stiff from all the time he spent…
My friend Joe seldom prays out loud in our prayer group—yet he comes faithfully. While others bounce in and out with short prayers four or more times during the forty-five minute prayer time, if he prays at all, Joe will only pray once. I have heard him pray publicly, in a church service, and he…
If Your Heart Is True, Your Prayers Are Sure By Geoff Eckart When I was a sophomore in college, I borrowed my older brother’s guitar and took it with me to school. A friend shared five basic chords with me, and in my spare time I began to pick up the basics and play. Within…
By Alvin Vandergriend Something happens when we pray that would not have happened if we hadn’t prayed. That statement summarizes a lot of what the Bible says about prayer. It is also a reminder of how much our prayers affect God’s way of ruling in our lives and in the world. (Read longer article “What…
By Jonathan Graf In Part 1 of Find Your Prayer Style, we learned that we all have a different prayer style. But what is our prayer style based upon, and how do we discover what ours is so we can develop as a powerful prayer warrior? PRAYER AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS We start by finding our…
My mind kept wandering. I wasn’t going to make it through this prayer meeting. Prayer after lengthy prayer covered everything mentioned during request time. On my knees, with my head in my arms, I was fighting sleep. I only held passionate interest in two or three of the issues being prayed about. Was I just a…
By Elizabeth (and Joy) Schmus Did you know that spending daily time in prayer actually causes measurable changes in our brains? I was so inspired by this research my high school daughter Joy discovered that I knew I had to share it with you my “Prayer Hack” and Church Prayer Leaders Network friends! Here is…
You don’t have to be a Christian for long before you hear people praying to different persons of the Trinity. “O God” or “Father God,” “Jesus, You have said in Your Word,” “Holy Spirit, come upon us now,” and similar phrases are common across denominational lines. But perhaps the question lingers: To whom should I…
When I was in my junior high years we lived in the small town of Sherrill, NY, on a street with nine guys within a year of each other in age. We had a lot of fun and got into some innocent trouble together. A great time in life! I recall one night hanging out…
