Why Do We Struggle in Our Personal Prayer Lives?

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You and Your Personal Prayer Life

Pastor, as I prepared to preach a sermon on prayer last week, I got out two resources that have shaped my prayer life. The first was T.W. Hunt and Katherine Walker's Disciple's Prayer Life. This in-depth 13-week study would be the perfect daily study and prayer guide for you personally for the next three months. I am going through it for the fourth time and am amazed at how fresh it is. I got permission to post a 22-page sample including the introduction, first complete week of daily studies, and one of the twelve prayer guides. The other study shaped how I pray with others. It is T.W. Hunt and Claude King's "In God's Presence." The cool thing is that this study has been revised and is now part of our "Growing Disciples Series." The new study called Pray in Faith just released this month and I've posted a 17-page sample including the introduction and week one. I personally led this study when I first got to the church that I served before coming to LifeWay. It established a biblical pattern for group prayer for the nine years I served there. Access the Sample of "Disciple's Prayer Life" Access the Sample of "Pray in Faith" Blessings on your prayer life, Craig Webb, Editor View back issues of Pastors Today here or view sermons and preaching articles in Proclaim Online.

Pastor, why do we struggle with prayer?

Do you have another moment, pastor? I was talking with Claude King about these prayer resources and he shared something with me. He said, "Craig, I fear that the struggle that many pastors have with their personal prayer life is that they, like many of their church members, had earthly fathers that make it difficult to desire intimate fellowship with their Heavenly Father." He also said, "Often when I'm teaching around the country on prayer or intimacy with God, I'll take the time to discuss this issue with the group and invite them to a time to seek healing from these wounds."

Claude suggested that you take a "no-agenda" thirty minute walk with your Heavenly Father and allow Him to minister to you in the ways He knows you need it.

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21 Days of Prayer Yields Evangelism, Gangs. Repentance, News Artice . . ..

We received the prayer request below from Tim Tremaine, Pastor of Prayer Evangelism at East Meadows Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas on May 8:

"Please pray for 21 Days of Prayer for Tarrant Co. Texas. Pastors and intercessors from Southern Baptist churches in Tarrant Co. Texas are partnering with other congregations around the county for 21 Days of Prayer for revival and transformation in our county. If you live in Tarrant Co. you are invited to attend one of the 14 Prayer Centers around the county meeting at different times every day from May 7-27. The prayer effort ends on Sunday night, May 27, the Global Day of Prayer, with a county-wide prayer and worship gathering in a downtown Fort Worth park. If you don't live in Tarrant Co. would you pray for this prayer evangelism effort and consider doing something like it in your city or county?"

On June 28 when we checked back with Tim to see how the prayer times had gone, he responded by sending an article from the local newspaper that we have permission to reprint for you to see. God worked in a powerful way through the prayer preparation.

'To reach out to these guys'

By Bob Ray Sanders

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Sunday school classes at one southeast Fort Worth church will shut down on Father's Day because word already is out that "Evil" is on the way.

And he's bringing lots of friends with him.

Evil is an "OG" (original gangster), one of the longtime leaders of the notorious Bloods who have wreaked havoc on the Stop Six community and other neighborhoods in the city for years.

Truevine Missionary Baptist Church on Miller Avenue is making preparations for the arrival of the gang members who have said they will be there at 9 a.m.

Don't worry -- the pastor and church members will be armed. They will be carrying their Bibles.

The gang members also will be "packing" -- not weapons but rather a new disposition and what appears to be a sincere desire to make peace in a place where they have long been at war.

Last week, members of the gang dressed in their traditional red clothing went to a public park and did something good for a change. They grilled meat for the kids in the area and then made a public apology to the community for their past behavior.

The Rev. Randolph Shaheed, who went on a violence spree himself long before the Bloods came on the scene, was instrumental in pulling together last week's Stop Six Day. When the successful event was over, Shaheed went a step further and stopped by to talk with Pastor Jack A. Crane of Truevine about having the church reach out to the gang members.

Since the National Day of Prayer last month, Crane said, his congregation had been praying for 21 days, and "God just opened that door."

Now that the gang members have asked for forgiveness, Crane said, it is time for the church to do so as well.

"Not only do the Bloods have to repent, but the church, which represents the blood of Jesus, must repent," he said. "The Bloods will stand on a truce, and the church will stand on truth."

The minister was quick to add that although Sunday's come-to-Jesus meeting involves the gang that was based in Stop Six, he also wants to reach out to its rivals, the Crips.

"I want them to understand our foundation is not Crips -- it's Christ," Crane said.

Evil, 30, whose given name is Keith, has been part of a gang for more than half his life, and he doesn't see the day when he will ever leave it. But that doesn't mean that he is not changing.

"I'll always be a gang member -- not an active gang member; not shooting people up," he told me the other day.

Without going into detail, Evil said he had done many things through the years that brought down his community, but he emphasized that the recent actions and apology are meant to prove that gang members can end the violence and get along with others in the neighborhood.

So on Sunday morning, Crane will shut down his men's and boys' Sunday school, and they will gather on the church parking lot to meet and pray with the Bloods.

Crane said four other pastors in the area will join with them for an occasion that, just a few days ago, would have been unthinkable.

"It's my due diligence to reach out to these guys and to bring them together -- to stop the violence, stop the drugs and stop a whole lot of things that's been done over the years," Crane said.

He added, "We're going to ask for forgiveness, confess and ask God to heal the land. ...We can change this nation."

Crane said he was especially impressed when the gang members asked if the church would help them distribute school supplies and uniforms for children in the community, and they said very bluntly: "If you all don't help us, we're going to do it anyway."

"It's just amazing that gang members are ready to do what the church should be doing," he said.

Sunday will be a special day for Stop Six and all of Fort Worth, and we can only pray that this coming together evolves into a lasting peace.

By the way, Crane already has prepared the Father's Day sermon that he will preach to his congregation after the church-gang prayer meeting. It will be on the prodigal son -- the story of the wayward young man who, after leaving home, squandering his inheritance and ending up eating with hogs, finally comes to his senses and returns to his father's house.

Considering the recent developments in Stop Six, that's a very appropriate lesson for the day.
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/columnists/bob_ray_sanders//story/135286.html

Tim concluded about the gangs: "Pastor Jack Crane said the reconciliation meeting went very well. Many gang members have left the gang, a couple have gotten jobs and a Bible study for them has developed out of the meeting. We believe this is a direct result of the prayer initiative and are trusting that this is the first wave of revival breakthroughs for Tarrant County."

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IBSA @ Prayer ~ Pray for 5,000

Dear Phil,

For the 3rd consecutive year the Lake County Baptist Association has rented space for a booth to share the Gospel from to over 200,000 people who come to the Lake County Fair during the week of July 24th - 29th 2007.

• We have 5000 hand fans ready to give away with the gospel message printed on them. We have over 40 volunteers ready to man the booth.
• We have Bibles, Gospel of John booklets, and tracts in multiple languages. We are ready. What we really need now is prayer.
• We have had 2 great prayer meetings at the home of Ric Worshil. We are having our final one this Friday evening at Ric's home at 6:30 pm.

Everyone is welcome. I am writing you to ask for your prayers and that you pass this message on to anyone else whom you know will pray for us up here in Lake County. This is our primary Associational Evangelistic event. Last year we had 3000 hand fans and ran out by Saturday. We actually could have given them all out by Friday but we did not have all of the fans on site. We ran out of Spanish materials as well. Praise God! We are definitely excited about what God is going to do in 2 weeks. Please pray for us. Love in Christ.

Lance Rengel

LCBA Special Ministries

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Prayer Training Workshop

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55,000 answer 'The Call' ~ "Prayer is the Key"

Rally calls America to pray & fast

Posted on Jul 9, 2007 | by Mark Kelly NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The sins of a nation drew an estimated 55,000 believers to Nashville July 7 to convene a "solemn assembly" and pray for spiritual awakening among America's young people.

Christians from all 50 states and countries as far away as Nepal and Mongolia gathered in Nashville's riverfront LP Field for The Call -– 12 hours of worship and prayer they hoped would spark a renewal movement that would sweep the country.

The nondenominational event marked 40 years since the "Summer of Love" in San Francisco unleashed a wave of sexual promiscuity, drug abuse, abortion on demand and pornography in the country and separated a generation of Americans from God, organizers said.

Public confession and repentance was a hallmark of the day, as a series of individuals testified about the havoc those sins had wreaked in their lives and publicly prayed for forgiveness –- both individually and on behalf of the nation.

Sam Brownback, a Republican senator from Kansas and GOP presidential contender, greeted the crowd when the meeting opened at 10 a.m., affirming that he shared their convictions about the sanctity of life and the need for spiritual renewal in America. Popular musicians like Ricky Skaggs, Michael W. Smith and Jeff Deo echoed Brownback's concerns and performed for the assembly.

The Nashville event also commemorated 40 years since the youth revival called the Jesus Movement swept America -– and organizers hoped it would spark a similar movement for another generation.

"America is a sleeping nation. We have casually and nonchalantly let things slide and get worse," said Morgan Blount, a staff member of The Call from Dallas. "We are calling for young people in this country to wake up and take a stand, to pray about our world instead of just complaining about what's wrong with it. We are calling them to take action and believe that the Lord can change things."

Prayer is the key to spiritual awakening, said Adam Thomas, a staff member of The Call from Louisville, Ky.

"This weekend was about prayer, whether you are Baptist or Catholic or Church of Christ. We believe that prayer changes things," Thomas said. "Our desire is to see God come back on the scene like He did in the 1800s, when there was a great awakening that shut down entire towns with the power of God.

"I believe that a movement of prayer is going to unlock these things for America. We believe history belongs to the intercessors. Ezekiel 22:30 tells us God is looking for a company of people who will stand in the gap in prayer so the country will not have to be destroyed. We want to be like the widow in Luke 17 who kept pressing the judge until he gave her what she wanted."

As midday temperatures soared near 100 degrees, worshipers lifted their hands in prayer. The stadium floor was sectioned off for those who wanted the freedom to prostrate themselves or kneel in prayer.

Many of those in attendance had fasted for up to 40 days in preparation. Prayerwalkers left Nashville's Centennial Park at 7 a.m. and made their way in silence through downtown to the stadium.

To symbolize their desire for America to return to a covenant relationship with God, three couples simultaneously exchanged marriage vows late in the afternoon.

Organizer Lou Engle, who initiated The Call in Washington, D.C., in 2000, chose the date -– 7/7/07 -– because seven is the biblical number of covenant.

"In the Old Testament, the cult of Baal was identified with violence and death, sexual promiscuity, pornography and promiscuity," said Dutch Sheets, senior pastor of Springs Harvest Fellowship in Colorado Springs, Colo. "We are here today to confess our nation's sin and ask God to renew His covenant with us. This stadium is a courtroom today. We have filed for divorce as a nation from the spirit of Baal, and we are petitioning God for custody of our children."

The event was broadcast live over the Internet at thecall.com and Christian television networks like God TV, TBN, DayStar and Inspiration Network also carried part of the proceedings to as many as 200 countries.

The evening closed with 300 men -– the number of Gideon's biblical army -– blowing the shofar while those in the stands shouted.

"That was the highlight for me," said Julia Richardson, spokeswoman for the event. "You could feel the presence of the Lord. In the sound of the shofar, we pray our destinies are released and that the city of Nashville would see a new wave of the Lord."

Future gatherings are planned later this year for Las Vegas, Kansas City, Atlanta, Orlando, Detroit and Berkeley, Calif. An assembly is scheduled for Washington, D.C., in August 2008.


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Prompt for Revival Praying

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Why Revival Tarries
By Henry Blackaby

ATLANTA (BP)--Ezekiel 18:31b-32 is the heart cry of God to His covenant people, Israel: "'... why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,' says the Lord God. 'Therefore, turn and live!'" God had just reminded His people that if "a righteous man turns away from his righteousness ... and dies ... it is because of the iniquity that he has done that he dies" (Ezekiel 18:24-26, 26).

Like the "house of Israel," God's people continue to sin against God in our day and live without any awareness of the consequences.

We seem to be totally indifferent to any judgment whatsoever, as if that only happened in the Old Testament. But, of course, that's just not true. It was to the people of God in Rome that Paul wrote: "... the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord." For anyone who sins and continues to sin without repentance -– especially God's people -– it leads to "death."

And did Jesus not warn God's people that they must repent or perish? Read the accounts in Matthew 4:17, Luke 13:1-9 and Luke 17:20-36. Repentance among God's people requires an immediate turning that changes our heart, will and actions. Repentance requires a changed lifestyle. Therefore, we too must heed Christ's warning for our own generation.

We must possess a wholehearted desire to return to God.

Many of us today are aware that America is in desperate need of revival, but we haven't made the connection. While we see the spiritual darkness around us, we do not recognize that the greater problem is with the light! Light dispels darkness! Jesus said that His disciples are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16). When the light of Christ is dimmed by our sin, the darkness flourishes. But when we repent, His light shines in us and through us to a watching world; people "see" and God is glorified!

For now, however, America continues to move steadily closer to God's judgment. And there remains a prevailing carelessness among God's people concerning this activity of God.

Revival tarries because God's people will not repent, and we see no reason to do so. So, even if we recognize that the times are urgent and the spiritual climate is dark, and even if we cry unto God for a mighty revival, without our repentance He will refuse to hear us because we keep iniquity in our hearts.

We must, therefore, heed His call: "'... Return to Me, and I will return to you,' says the Lord of hosts" (Malachi 3:7b). We must repent and return to Him in holiness, love and obedience, or the nation will surely perish under the judgment of our sin! (2 Peter 3:9).

Visit Henry Blackaby’s website to learn more about the desperate need for revival in America: www.blackaby.org. For other information about Blackaby's ministry and travel schedule, visit the website; call 770-603-2900; or contact Blackaby Ministries International, P.O. Box 16338, Atlanta, GA 30321.

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Baptist Pastor's Outline Becomes Prayer Format

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Note>>> Use the following outline as a format for an hour or session of prayer. Consider introducing each segment with a comment from Baptist Pastor Rick (give him credit when you begin). As you transition to each new segment, instruct the pray-ers to use the question as the launching point of their petitions . . .

From Vision to Victory

By Rick Ezell

"For as he thinks within himself, so he is" (Prov 23:7 NASB).

Some years ago a magazine pictured a man staring out of a window; the caption read: "Why does this company pay this man $100,000 to look out a window?" Because the lifeblood of any organization lies in ideas and creative thinking.

Thinking is powerful. Flying a plane, air conditioning, cell phones, vaccines, the World Wide Web-without thinking, these were "impossible." Everything begins with a simple thought.

Ideas are a great moving force of history. For that reason, thinking is a critical need of leadership. We are never free to do what we cannot conceive. A leader's thinking must shaped by the following:

Vision: What Is Our Dream?

Carl Sandburg was right: "Nothing happens unless it is first a dream."

Vision is a process of the mind-it's mental, not visual. Vision is seeing what everybody has seen but thinking what nobody has thought. Vision, in a biblical context, is to ask: What would God have me do? What does God want with our organization, our church, our ministry, our family? Where does God want us to go?

Someone has said that what is needed to build pyramids is someone who can think and ten thousand people who can grunt. Unless at least one person is thinking, no pyramids will be built-and neither will a church or business or ministry or family.

Values: What Is Important?

Values have to do with how we treat people, how we do our work, what is important to our organization. Values are the standards, the principles, the code of conduct that characterizes our organization.

Organizations don't dream up values, they already exist. But leaders give the organization's values shape and form. It's like some universities that decide to pour sidewalks after students have first worn a path. Look at your organization. Where are the well-worn paths-the actions, the beliefs, the attitudes-that matter most. These are your values: make them known.

Venture: What Are We Willing to Risk?

Organizations that make a difference are willing to think outside the box. For example, a company was in the well-digging business. For years the employees had thought only in terms of how to make better augers to dig wells. They hired a new president and on his first day at work he said, "We are no longer in the well-digging business. We are in the hole-making business." Thus his employees began to think in terms of efficient and effective means of making holes, and they soon discovered that lasers dug holes better than augers. They achieved the same goal but accomplished it more efficiently.

Look at things differently, and take risks as a leader.

Vehicle: What Will Get Us There?

Once the vision, values and venture are in place, we need to think about what steps to take to arrived at our objective. How can we accomplish our desired outcome? A dream without a strategy is merely wishful thinking, but with a strategy it becomes powerful thinking.

Victory: What Will the Celebration Be Like?

A leader thinks like a champion. He or she thinks in terms of success, not just "getting by." The leader has the ability to stir things up, to capitalize on a unique window of opportunity. The end result is to move forward, to accomplish goals, to be God's faithful servant, to celebrate being a part of God's kingdom.

Today, wake up and start thinking. Take off your nightcap and put on your thinking cap.

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