Slideshow image

Effective Prayer

Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.  Isaiah 65:24

 

John Knox spent much time in prayer, and the Church in Scotland burst into new life. John Wesley prayed long and often, and the Methodist movement was born. Martin Luther prayed earnestly, and the Reformation exploded across Europe.

Why was prayer so important to these spiritual giants of the past? Because they knew they were up against almost overwhelming forces of spiritual opposition. They knew the urgency of the gospel message, and they understood that prayer is an essential weapon in advancing the gospel to the ends of the Earth. Like Paul, they knew that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds" (2 Corinthians 10:4). Is our situation any different today?

God desires that we Christians be concerned and burdened for a lost world. If we pray this kind of prayer, an era of peace may come to the world and wickedness may be turned back. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16).

From, HOPE for Each Day: Morning & Evening Devotions, by Billy Graham.