Confession: I struggle being consistent in intercession. It's easy enough to pray for my own needs, or my husband's needs, because they're right in front of me. But ask me to pray for a friend three states away, or a second-cousin-three-times-removed, or some family in South Africa -- and I start off well with great intentions, but a few days later "out of sight, out of mind" kicks in and my prayers for them wane. It can be hard to focus on the unseen things for very long. Even with prayer journals, and reminders, and all that -- it's hard to stay consistent. Tell me I'm not alone in that! But what to do? How to improve? How do you become more faithful in intercession -- [...Read More]
Let’s Pray for Each Other!
February 27, 2013 By 8 Comments
Let's take some time today to pray for each other. We all have burdens on our hearts. We'd all love some extra prayer for those difficult situations, those uncertain or tricky circumstances. We'd all appreciate some extra encouragement. It's our privilege to pray for each other! And it's a joy to see how God works through our prayers. It's a delight to know He uses our meager words. Will you take a moment to share YOUR requests? Let us help carry your burdens to the throne of grace. Give us the honor of interceding for you. Don't be embarrassed by your requests, or shy about asking for prayer. We're all imperfect, sinful creatures. We all struggle with the same sort of [...Read More]
Taking the Time
February 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Ephesians 6:18 tells us to pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. Of course, it's silly to think we're supposed to be on our knees 24/7. It's silly to think we're supposed to walk around spouting off prayers every single second. But we should have a spirit of prayer at all times. Praying should come as naturally as breathing! We should live so continually dependent upon God that our first thought is always of Him, that our first cry for help goes immediately upward, that our first exclamation of joy is spoken for His ears alone. That continual dependence on God is made possible by His Spirit dwelling in us. And we are instructed to pray in that same [...Read More]
Focus on Intercession: Christian Missions
February 20, 2013 By 10 Comments
Did you know that you can be a missionary from the comfort of your own home? That you can be a missionary, no matter what you do or where you live? At the end of Christ's earthly ministry, just before He ascended into heaven, He left his disciples with a very singular command [Matthew 28:19-20]: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. This command is given to every believer -- no matter where they live, or what they do. You may not be a pastor or a missionary, but as a Christian, you still have the responsibility to make disciples of [...Read More]
Intercession: Family Time
February 13, 2013 By 16 Comments
Valentine's Day -- love it or hate it? I may be married, but I'm not crazy about all the romantic-hoopla that retail stores try to throw at us. I never buy cards, I make my own. I don't usually buy gifts for my husband, I make my own. And we don't always go out for a nice meal -- sometimes, I make my own. All the commercialization of love can get kind of crazy -- especially if you don't feel like you have any reason to celebrate. Valentine's Day can be difficult, there's no question about it. I know you're not all married. And I know not all married people are happy in their marriages. But I want to propose a challenge for today and tomorrow... a challenge that everyone can [...Read More]
Intercession: How to Make a Prayer List
February 6, 2013 By 6 Comments
Last week I had the following comment from a reader: "...my prayer list is so long. I've been thinking about reading through the names, then saying a prayer over the whole notebook at once. No one ever taught me otherwise, so I have always done each prayer request individually. It takes so long and I don't pray for those people daily [because] it's too long. Any input?" I thought it would make a great topic for our weekly focus on intercession -- how to make and effectively use a prayer list. But first, a confession. I've tried plenty of different methods, but none of them have lasted for more than five or six months. I do believe intercession is a priority, and I do have [...Read More]
Intercession: Using Your Prayer List
January 30, 2013 By 7 Comments
Do you have a prayer list? Do you use it? I don't know about you, but I find the list-keeping part easy -- and the using of it, not so easy. It's hard to carve out time to sit there and pray for others. It's hard not to get distracted by whatever else is going on. It's hard to stay consistent in praying at the same time every day. It can be difficult to build the habit of daily Bible reading -- but somehow daily prayer time is even trickier. Maybe because it's not a tangible thing. Because we're having a conversation with Someone who's invisible. Because there's no audible voice talking back to us. But praying for each other is so incredibly important! Anyone can encourage [...Read More]
Focus on Intercession: Soldiers of Christ
January 23, 2013 By 11 Comments
You're probably familiar with the passage about the armor of God. Paul compares earthly battle armor with invisible spiritual armor. Everything he lists is something a Roman soldier wore to protect vital organs or parts of the body crucial to fighting a battle. For instance, shoes -- you can't fight very well if your feet get cut off or mangled. Or a sword, to attack the enemy. Or a breastplate to protect the heart, or a helmet to protect the head. Now imagine a battlefield full of soldiers. There's mayhem all around: swords are clashing, horses are trampling over wounded men, and fierce screams overwhelm your ears. Every soldier is so focused on cutting down his enemy that he can't [...Read More]
Focus on Intercession: America
January 16, 2013 By 4 Comments
A note to those readers in other nations around the world: my country is very dear to me, and is high on my prayer list. Maybe you'd like to join us in interceding for our beloved nation, or perhaps you can apply these suggestions to pray for your own homeland. I think we can all agree that America needs our prayers. Whatever your political views, wherever you fall on the conservative/liberal spectrum, you surely agree that our nation has problems. You may have even experienced some of them personally. Whether the fiscal cliff, domestic security, foreign policy, education and welfare, homosexuality and abortion, or other moral or spiritual issues -- we are dealing with a lot right [...Read More]
Celebrating Christ at Christmas: Card Intercession
December 10, 2012 By 12 Comments
Have you ever practiced Christmas Card Intercession? It's really quite a simple idea: pray for people as you write cards for them. Even if all you do is sign your name and address the envelope. Because everyone needs prayer. Maybe you don't really know what's going with that old friend or distant aunt -- but God does. Maybe you haven't heard from them since last year's Christmas cards. But God sees them every day. He knows their joys and their sorrows. He hears their heart-cries. So pray for them. Pray for their general spiritual welfare: Pray that they would seek Him first, acknowledge Him in everything they do, and trust Him to direct their steps. [...Read More]
