PRAYER
“I’d rather be able to pray than to be a great preacher; Jesus Christ never taught his disciples how to preach, but only how to pray.”
—D.L. Moody
Prayer is not just part of the Christian life.
It is the Christian life. For therein is our very relationship with God.
Given it’s importance, we challenge people to have daily and monthly prayer emphases in their lives.
DAILY
In addition to spending time in prayer as you walk through the H.E.A.R. outline in the Word each day, set three, daily timers to go off on your phone to help you persist in prayer and pray without ceasing throughout your day.
Set an alarm on your phone to go off at 10:02am, and pray every day through Luke 10:2.
When the timer goes off, simply pray, “God, use ME!”
As you have time and the Spirit prompts, regularly pray for B.O.B.—a greater burden for the lost, opportunities to share the gospel today, and for boldness when those opportunities come.
After you pray for God to use YOU, you can also pray that God would specifically use you to win the people on your Impact List (3-5 lost people in your life) to Christ. Pray for them by name.
Also, set an alarm on your phone to go off at 11:13am, and pray every day through Luke 11:13. During this time:
Pray, “God, fill ME!”
As prompted, pray for the Holy Spirit to come, take over, and fill other people as well. You could pray this for one of the people on your Impact List or over one of the people you are discipling. This is one of the most powerful prayers that you can pray. As you pray this for others, you will see the Spirit do immeasurably more than you could ask or imagine in other people’s lives.
Lastly, Scripture tells us that Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” at the ninth hour of the day when His work had been accomplished and our salvation won. The ninth hour of the day for Jews was 3pm. Set an alarm to go off on your phone at 3pm, and rest each day in the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
MONTHLY
Attend a prayer meeting once a month. As you surround yourself with people who pray, you will grow exponentially in your prayer life.
Also, we recommend that you fast on the 1st day of every month as a way of surrendering your heart and the first fruits of your life to God. Abstain from eating food either the entire day, or simply skip breakfast and lunch.
As your stomach growls and the hunger pains begin to set in, simply pray, “God, more than I want food right now, I want you!” You’ll be shocked by God’s presence, power, and direction in your life as you make this a monthly habit.
