Intercessory prayer is God’s way to extend His kingdom and defeat Satan. God’s kingdom advances as the devices of the devil are dismantled. It takes time for Christ’s rule and reign to replace the powers of darkness. Satan’s hold must be broken. Donald Bloesch says, “Prayer is needed as a continuous violent action of the...
Some people fast to burn calories. Others fast to break chains. Prayer is reaching out after the unseen; fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal. Andrew Murray put it like this: “Prayer is the one hand with which we grasp the invisible; fasting the other, with which we let loose and cast...
This type of heartfelt praying only occurs with the enabling of the Holy Spirit. It normally begins with an impression to pray for a known need or, occasionally, an unknown need. A sense of heaviness overwhelms your spirit. Sometimes, there is a specific object, such as praying for revival. It may involve a specific location,...
Richard Sibbes wrote, “It is atheism to pray and not to wait in hope. A sincere Christian will pray, wait, strengthen his heart with the promises, and never leave praying and looking up till God gives him a gracious answer.” The primary point of intensified intercession is that it is far more than a conversational tone....
The scriptural mandate is that every church should function as a house of prayer. Listen to Samuel Chadwick: “There is a marked absence of travail. There is much phrasing, but little pleading. Prayer has become a soliloquy [monologue] instead of a passion. The powerlessness of the church needs no other explanation. . . . To be prayerless is...
Prayer is the greatest force on earth. Andrew Murray said, “We must begin to believe that God, in the mystery of prayer, has entrusted us with a force that can move the Heavenly world, and bring its power down to earth.” A locomotive has sufficient power to travel great distances from one place to another, but it...