By: Mark and Kandy Persall “Pour out Your Spirit, O God.” This prayer went up repeatedly as cities set aside time for revival prayer. “Come in power, Lord. By the mighty Name of Jesus, we stand against evil’s desire to steal, kill, and destroy.” How thrilling when people awaken to pray. Every day I hear of another prayer group across my city, …
Darkness has developed a new swagger. For a while, we pretended that hunkering down would protect us from harm, but fear, discouragement, and hopelessness has crept under the door. Despite my conviction that capitulating to fear is a darkened response, the struggle to live in power and love is real. Maintaining a sound mind isn’t as easy as I would …
The God who is gathering our tears is also collecting our prayers (Psalm 56:8). It’s true; God is putting the groans of all His people together in a bowl of remembrance before Him (Revelation 5:8; 8:3). Isn’t this astounding? That’s a lot of prayers, including not only the ones uttered this morning but also the cries from His children long …
Holy Father, While the world seems to spin out of control, we purposefully quiet our hearts before You, our supreme King. As we pause, we remember that all governments are on Your shoulders, including those hostile to Truth (Isaiah 9:6). You are the conclusive authority over every kingdom of the earth (Isaiah 37:16). Despite evil’s flex of muscle, every dominion …
“Power is perfected in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) What is perfect power? Boundless energy? Surging potential? Superhuman strength? In the past, these were my expectations. Yet, in practical reality, His perfect power doesn’t feel a lot different from thoroughly worn-out weakness. Since the spiritual realm is a radically different plane from the natural realm, we should expect spiritual strength to …
God desires to answer your prayer. He yearns for it as much as you do. How can I be sure? Because answered prayer glorifies Him, the very thing that He desires. When prayer is answered, praise automatically springs to life in our hearts. Think of an example in your life. When was a time that a supernatural answer came in …
Holy Father, As I come before You today, I realize that within my flesh lies nothing good (Romans 7:18). In and of myself, my wisdom is inadequate concerning what to do about _______ (2 Corinthians 3:5). But this doesn’t deter my need to pray. In my weakness, You do not condemn (Romans 8:1). You merely say, “Call upon Me, and …
In her book Start Small, author Karen Dilbeck points out that every organization or family has its own culture. “Each of us functions in many kingdoms (cultures and sub-cultures) and move freely between them every single day.” What a great insight. My child’s classroom has its own culture, and your workplace has another. Everywhere has a particular way of doing things; …
I love thinking about this. Not only do we pray as the Father unfolds His Word, but the recipient may also begin to pray as they read. That’s already “two of you agreeing on earth about what they ask” (Matthew 18:19). Just think what happens if they print out the prayer to pray again or forward it to friends. One …
While living overseas, I regularly received letters from my mentor Bobbie Trull, who would often end her letters by writing out her prayer for me. I knew from experience that Bobbie’s intercession always had power. So, I often kept this portion before me, praying her words as my own. Each precious prayer had one thing in common: the Word of …
