“Being curious about Christ second coming is one thing, being ready for it is another, writes A,W. Tozer. “I cannot think of even one passage in the New Testament which speaks of Christ’s revelation, manifestation, appearing or coming that is not directly linked with moral conduct, faith and spiritual holiness. The teacher who engages in speculation to excite the curiosity of his hearers without providing them with a moral application is sinning even as he speaks.”

I’m much in agreement with this statement of Tozer’s. It shouldn’t surprise us that one of the reasons we are to live in a right way before the Lord’s return, is so that we can pray with greater power and effectiveness in these critical days. The Apostle Peter said it this way: “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray” (1 Peter 4:7).

The events and trends of our day have many Christians wondering if we are living in the last days. Unfortunately, the response of many is to worry and live in fear. The godly response is to pray. As we look forward to the Lord’s return, whenever that might be, we must live the kind of lives that allow us to replace fear with intercession that will release the Lord’s power and purposes into our needy world.

(c) Harvest Prayer Ministries

“What can you ask God that will help you be more complete?” This was the question posed to me in a friend’s blog recently. As I considered my everyday life, it occurred to me that I already have everything I need in Jesus for a complete life…and, on a theological level that is true. However, in reality, there is still much that is incomplete in me. I have unmet goals and aspirations. I have things that go undone each day. There are relationships that go unattended and projects that have to stay on the back-burner.

The aforementioned blog lovingly revealed to me that perhaps the reason so much of who I am and what I do is incomplete, is because I am not living a “rhythmed life.” A rhythmed life is one that brings spiritual disciplines into our daily activities in such a way that God is noticeably present in all of our moments. It is life that is embedded continually in the Presence of the Living God…the One who brings completion to the life of every believer. The completeness we seek cannot be found in one compartmentalized moment of our day when we focus on God and then go about the other activities of life unaware that He is active around, in and through us. Relegating the Lord of the Universe to one corner of our daily journey can be equated to living out of balance…and therefore, in a state of incompleteness.

If we engage the original question at an even deeper level, perhaps it changes a bit. It isn’t just that I need God to help me become more complete in my life…the real question should focus on how I can obediently live in such a way that I become more complete in Jesus. I believe King David recognized the need for completeness in God at the very core of his being. He shared the heartcry of his life with us in Psalm 27:4:

One thing I ask of the Lord,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.

This prayer is not a request to make of God without a great deal of thought and intentionality. ONE THING! It seems I have so many things to ask God. Is this truly the “one thing” that I seek the most from Him? Is this lip service to what should be, or is this really the cry of my heart to become more complete in Him for the sake of His kingdom rather than my own? Am I ready to make the commitment that this prayer implies? What does it mean to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life? How, when I am so busy can I make space in my life and in my heart to simply gaze upon His beauty? His temple is…me! How do I seek Him within myself persistently?  This is what prayer as everyday life is! It is a continual awareness of the Christ, living within me. The answer to the question is deeper than many of us may wish to go…but to be whole in Christ Jesus is to seek after the one thing in order to become all He has designed us to be – fully complete – nothing missing.

Here is my prayer…the question I most wish to ask God so that He will complete the good work He has begun in me: Father, as Your heart beats within me, may I dwell in Your house all the days of my life, gaze upon Your beauty and seek You continually within the moments of my everyday life?

This is a journey with the Holy Spirit that will be different for each of us. Perhaps your question is different; however, Psalm 27:4 has become the major question I have begun to ask of God in order to live a life of completeness in Him.

(c) Harvest Prayer Ministries

“Each time, before you intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things!” -Andrew Murray

Quietness is becoming more and more a necessary part of the transformative work of God in me. I am not a naturally quiet person; yet, I crave seasons of silence and solitude more and more. Stillness centers my heart, and gives me the opportunity to escape the noise of my own thoughts and plans and notice the unobtrusive peacefulness of the God who would shape me more fully into the image of His Son. At the same time, being quiet allows me to hear more clearly from the Father, who loves me beyond anything I could ever imagine. His thoughts shape my prayers to give me a focus that is always directed to kingdom issues and concerns rather than my own pathetic pursuits and selfish petitions. Not that God doesn’t want to hear what is on my heart…He simply wants my heart to connect more directly with His own. It is in these moments that my intercession becomes dangerous for His sake…and the impossible becomes possible.

God has purpose and desire that I cannot know when I am not still. First, He desires to connect with me…to know that my journey belongs to Him alone. When He is allowed to direct my steps, my prayer life is yielded to His purposes. Who I am in Jesus Christ is the focal point of my life of prayer because then I am surrendered to His will and not my own. Worship springs from a heart of gratitude and longing at the same time. Surrender becomes the only way to accomplish His purposes…and His intentions are focused upon His desire that one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus, is Lord! If I am unable to shake off the noise and clutter of life to be still and know that He alone is God, I allow urgency to erase the “one thing” that is important above all other things – intimacy with the Father (Luke 10:42).

How is it possible to carve out times of refreshing in order to be drenched in the Presence of the One who gives us living water to drink? At least in my case, it takes great intentionality. Setting apart those moments of quiet can take creativity and purposeful planning…but it can be done. All that is involved is to cultivate a more continual awareness of Christ in us:

• All of us have discretionary moments when we make choices as to how the time is spent. Some of us choose to unwind and play a game or watch television or just mindlessly waste time on empty pursuits. It’s not wrong or bad to do so; however, what if our unwinding from busy stretches of life involved premeditated seasons of intimacy with God where we focus our hearts on simply being with our Father? We often think we deserve to waste time on gratuitous activity when God desires to connect Spirit to spirit in a continual embrace that takes place every moment we are willing to turn our attention towards Him.

• Some of our activity can be very naturally turned into times of listening: gardening, coffee breaks, waiting in lines, exercising, cooking, building, driving, etc. We find ways to carve out time for these kinds of activities, or they are simply part of moving from one place to the next; however, they offer opportunities for being still and knowing He is God. We have a coworker who suggests that people hit the mute button during TV commercials in order to seek the Father.

• Little children can reduce our flexibility for silence…but we can certainly invite them into the stillness with us! God desires that we come to Him as little children . . . and teaching them how to trade off times of noise and playfulness with times of quiet and worshipful listening will yield fruit beyond anything we can imagine! Find ways to train children to hear the voice of God by being still…as still as they can be!

• Persevere! Quiet is difficult for many of us, but if we patiently nurture this spiritual discipline, silence will add a powerful dimension to our intercession.
• When you are preparing to pray, do as Andrew Murray suggested: “Each time, before you intercede, be quiet first, and worship God in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things!”

There are many ways to creatively embrace quietness in order to hear the Father’s voice, or to just simply recognize His Presence. For some, it may mean needing to find a solitary place, as Jesus so often did. For others, it may be learning to discipline the mind or to deny fleshly desires to do other things. Whatever means you use, I encourage you to pursue the heart of God whenever possible in the quiet so that He may speak and inform your prayers…and so that He may whisper how much He loves you.

(c) Harvest Prayer Ministries

The World Prayer Assembly in Indonesia, May 14-18, 2012, was a wonderful time of prayer and fellowship with more than 9000 prayer leaders from around the world. I was there representing America’s National Prayer Committee, a group I am privileged to serve as Chairman. God touched my heart in so many ways. One of the most significant things has to do with our fall elections. The Lord seemed to press in upon me that we must pray as never before if we are

It seems that a time of intense prayer for 40 days prior to our elections is in order. I have to confess . . . I argued with the Lord about this. I thought, not another 40 day event! But He was insistent that this be not another event or prayer gathering such as we have had . .  . but something unprecedented in American church history. The testimonies of these amazing praying international Christians prompted much of this. We are talking about 40 days of 24/7 prayer!

To issue such a call to prayer is beyond the parameters of the National Prayer Committee or any one group. It needs to come from a wide-spread array of leaders. Denominational, para-church, seminaries, publishing houses, broadcast ministries, etc., must all be a part of this call to prayer. I’m not proposing a single event or activity for everyone to get behind . . . but a call for everyone to get behind something. I envision a dozen different 40 day initiatives. I’ve already had a number come to me over the past few months.

This needs to go beyond what one ministry or denomination can do. My sense that this is a call to prayer for three things:

•  The Elections–asking for the Lord’s intervention.
• A righteous standard to be raised over the nation.
• Revival in the Church.

It seemed to me, first of all, that this call to prayer is essential for America. If we will mobilize and pray, we will see Him work. Without intense day and night prayer, we will not see the hand of God at work to transform our nation. The second thing is that I believe that many of the communities that do 24/7 prayer for 40 days will continue beyond that. We may well see a huge and immediate proliferation of 24/7 prayer across the nation as a result of these 40 days. It would be just like God to use something that we are interested in (the election) to produce something He is interested in (day and night prayer).

A website will soon be launched with further information to help disseminate the word about this vital prayer initiative. You will see information and links to other prayer initiatives that are focusing on this election. We are not endorsing these initiatives, but making you aware of them. Our intent is to stay far away from anything that looks like an endorsement or movement for any particular candidate or party. What we are asking for is the intervention of God on behalf of our nation.

Will you join us? The first thing you can do is go immediately to our new facebook page and “Like” us. This is so you can receive immediate information about the site and the initiative as it becomes available. Click here to go to the facebook page. Then help us get the word out!

A friend of mine recently wrote about a question that was asked at the end of a devotion she was reading: “What is your simple prayer today?” As I thought about what a “simple prayer” looks like for me, I was reminded of a quote by author, Lee Anne Payne, who stated, “Prayer is the school from which no one graduates.” Having been in prayer ministry for many years, I still am awed by the depth and breadth of prayer, and how much I continue to learn about the Father who created this most intimate avenue to connect human hearts with His own. In the midst of the complexities of life, God’s heart is continually postured to hear from ours.

A simple prayer, to me, is the one that is on my heart in the moment…and the one that can be most easily expressed for it is closest to the surface. Perhaps it is breathing out a cry or a need that has made its way up from deep within so that the Father can be invited to bring His peace and Presence into my needful spirit. It might also be a joy-filled expression of praise in response to the goodness of the life of Jesus being formed within me. A simple prayer is unpretentious and very real…and in its rawness and humility, it is offered to God in depth of feeling rather than through the intellect. I believe that God is pleased to be engaged heart to heart throughout my day. A profound benefit is that simple prayers will likely feed and inform my longer conversations with my Father in the space I have already created in my schedule for such time with Him.

Simple prayers might be requests or just statements of thankfulness, praise, deep pain or desire. Sometimes there are just no words other than what simple prayers express to God. They are cries from the depths of my soul, and are prayers that allow me to pray without ceasing in the ordinary as well as the extraordinary moments of my everyday life when there may not be time for lengthier discourse with God…or because the circumstances surrounding my prayer are complicated, confused or happening too fast.

Although there are obviously an infinite number, simple prayers might be somewhat like these:

Help me.

Draw me close.

Hear us.

I’m hurting.

Answer me.

Fill me.

I don’t know what to do.

Strengthen them.

Show me.

You are awesome!

Empower us.

Forgive me.

I’m angry!

Please give me wisdom.

Thank You.

Teach me.

I’m so lonely.

Use us.

Equip her.

You alone are worthy of praise.

Heal them.

Help him to know You.

Send me!

No matter what I express in my simple prayers, God is waiting to meet me in the midst of them! I know this because I trust that the Spirit understands and creates meaning from my painful, confused, angry or frustrated utterances as well as from my thankful, joy-filled moments of praise. He positions my prayers before the Father…as an offering. And God, who already knows my present reality and the concerns of my heart, is pleased to hear my simple prayers in the midst of my not-so-simple life. He can respond to them in love for the sake of my transformation to become more like Jesus, and for the purposes of His kingdom.

What simple prayer is on your heart right now? Take a moment to express it to God and then sit before Him in silence. You may not get any perceived response at all…except to know that the Father, who loves you intensely, is listening and has placed His heart over your own. Trust Him to begin to work in and through your life the moment your simple prayer has been expressed. Simple prayers are not a replacement for longer seasons of prayer…but perhaps you will find that your heart will be better informed by your day when you invite the Spirit of God to be more fully present within it.