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One of my favorite verses about prayer comes right out of James 5:16. I especially like it in the Amplified Bible….the wordy Bible! It says, The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man (or woman) makes great power available, effective in it’s working. I really like the part that says great power is made available when we pray. Hi, This is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. Of course, when we are praying, we use our words to express our heart to God. Prayer is when God’s heart is expressed through our words. We can pray God’s heart as we pray the Word of God, because His Word is an expression of His heart. Here is your dailyeword.

One of the greatest tragedies for believers is that instead of praying about everything, we try to figure things out on our own, or to make things happen without God’s help. We are given great power when we pray, if only we will pray! When we do, we hook up with the power of God and great things can take place. As it says in Ephesians, God wants to do exceedingly abundantly above all we could ever ask or think. So when we give Him the opportunity to work on our behalf, things can change! Miracles can happen! When it comes to prayer, the greatest encouragement I could give you is to just pray! Prayer is just talking to God, and since He is supposed to be our closest companion and our Lord (or boss), we should be communicating with Him on a regular basis, just like we communicate meaningfully with friends and family. Regular for God isn’t once a week, it is all through the day, constantly communing with Him as we go about our normal activities. The familiar scripture in I Thessalonians 5:17 says 3 simple words….pray without ceasing. It almost sounds impossible, but it isn’t. When we keep an ongoing dialog with God during the day, that is what we are doing. We can also use that time to be praying in the Spirit, believing that God is praying through us, things that we might not even be aware of. Often we can be diverting things that were part of the enemy’s destructive plan for us. So this week, remember to open your mouth, use your words, and pray. God wants to work through you so stand back and watch as you see your prayers not only change circumstances and work a change in you, they may even change the world.

There are some pretty astounding verses in the Bible that really sound too good to be true when it comes to prayer. Words have the power of life and death within them. And God makes it pretty clear that although we have a choice about what we say. He wants our words to be life giving and beneficial to the hearer. One of those astounding verses is in James 1:5 which says that if we lack wisdom, as of God, and He will give it to us liberally. I know when I have lacked wisdom before in my own life, it is amazing to me that God is willing to give me the wisdom I need, if only I ask. Mark 11:24 is another astounding scripture. It says whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours. God’s heart for us is that we are so connected to Him that the requests ask for would then be received. He loves to answer prayer! He is the one who invented it. Do these words from Matthew 7:7 and 8 sound too good to be true? Ask and it will be given you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you, for everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. It sounds like if we want answered prayer, we should be asking, seeking and knocking! It seems hard to believe, but God’s Word is true. Let’s put it into operation in our life.

We have a lot to be praying for as believers. We should regularly be praying for our own families, our church locally, for Christians around the world, our communities, the lost, our nation, and our leaders both spiritual and political. I know sometimes it can seem like there is just too much to be praying for. Well, just like anything in God, you don’t have to do it all at once. We can start with a teaspoon and then bring out the backhoe.

I love it that we don’t have to feel like we have totally covered one area before we can move on to the next! We don’t even have to be walking in total health to pray for someone who is sick. Just look at the first part of James 5:16….it says to pray for each other, that you may be healed! So as we think about our words when it comes to prayer, let’s make a decision to just pray. Be a person of prayer. Pray without ceasing. Pray when it is convenient, and when it isn’t. Pray when you feel like it, and when you don’t! Prayer isn’t optional for the believer…..it should be as natural for us a breathing, so I’m encouraging you….Just do it! Let’s be people who pray!

To be an effective pray-er, you need compassion for those outside your inner circle
How much time do you spend praying for those who don’t know Christ yet? My husband calls unbelievers pre-Christians, and I love that, because we believe that they won’t be unbelievers forever, and we want them to come to know Christ soon. It’s easy to look at sinners in the world and get discouraged. Jonah did just that when God asked him to go and as a missionary to Nineveh. He was more than a little reluctant. The Ninevites were not the most desirable people to go to, and Jonah was disobedient to what God has asked him to do. In the long run, after a three day tour in the “Mouth of Fish Cruise Line”, he changed his tune, and became willing to do what was asked of him. What is interesting about Jonah’s story is that the fish actually was a rescue ship for him. Had God’s mercy not intervened, he would have been at the bottom of the ocean instead of the belly of a fish! Jonah may have gone through what we feel like when sharing our faith with the lost. We could be afraid of rejection, or even afraid of looking foolish. In the big picture of life, especially with earth being short and heaven being long, we need to just get over it! If they reject you, it is really Christ they are rejecting. If we look foolish, why not be a fool for Christ. I do think we should not be trying to get rejected, or on purpose looking foolish….that in itself would be foolish. But when we do share Christ, let’s make sure that we realize we could be changing someone’s whole destiny. Their life journey changes from bound for hell, to bound for glory! Our prayers for those pre-Christians really do have an effect. God can prepare the soil of their heart, to receive the Word that we will share with them. We can ask Him to remove blinders from their eyes so that they can see the goodness of God. The Bible does say that it is the goodness of God that draws men and women to salvation. Let’s do our part by praying for the lost to be saved.

Does the list of things you need to pray for seem overwhelming, or even daunting? We are talking about the power of prayer, and I know in my own life, there are times when it feels like the list is so long, I don’t know where to start. I want to keep all of my bases covered, and make sure everything and everyone around me is covered in prayer, and that involves a lot of people! Just getting an opportunity to pray through the phone or mailing list from our own church body takes a very long time. Praying for my own family, then extended family, …..the list goes on and on and on. While I want to be praying for safety, protection, healing, or blessing for all of the long list, I have come to realize that the best prayer at the moment, is the one that is most needed at the moment. That is where I have the opportunity to be sensitive to the Spirit of God and tune in to what is most important at the moment. That is often called “Spirit directed prayer” and it is very helpful at all times, but especially when you don’t have an extended period of time to pray for a long list. Listen for cues, promptings from the Holy Spirit – they are supernatural urgings to pray for someone / something specifically. When you get a flash of someone’s face, or out of the blue think of someone- pray for them! Maybe even give them a call and find out if there is something specific you can be lifting up before God for them. Teach yourself to walk in the consciousness of God. God consciousness comes as we keep our eyes focused on Jesus throughout the day. Are you more God-conscious than you are conscious of your own self? Sometimes we look only in the natural when God says that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but are mighty in the realm of the spirit. Let’s be people of prayer who are sensitive to the voice of God, and listen when He speaks…..then obey.

We all want to know the secret to powerful prayer. What really is the best kind of prayer the best answer I know for that question is…the one that is needed at the moment. God has given us the keys to the kingdom and has shown us how we can pray to change circumstances on the earth. It is important that we know that prayer is our responsibility, and at the same time, it is a privilege. The God of the universe wants us to communicate meaningfully with us. How amazing. Living a life with God at the center makes prayer as natural as breathing. A need arises, talk to God. Something praiseworthy happens, thank God. It isn’t the last resort, it is what we do first. We abide in Him, and we will bear much fruit. Our prayer life will be fruitful when His Words abide in us.

This topic of prayer is inexhaustible! I want to encourage you more than ever, line your prayers up with the Word of God. Know what God says on a topic and pray according to the will of God. Pray with all the different kinds of prayer. Be specific when you pray, and expect things to change. Prayer changes things, but it also changes people. Choosing to be a person of prayer will change you. Let’s pray effectively, to accomplish what God wants to have done on the earth!

II Tim 1:6 tells us to fan the flame and stir ourself up! Hold fast and follow the pattern of wholesome and sound teaching. Guard and Keep the precious and excellent truth which has been entrusted to you to be an effective pray-er. Make a commitment today to make prayer more of a priority in your life!

It is easy to be distracted, and lose focus when we pray. God wants us to be attentive and listen. We are to listen and be familiar with His voice. You get to know someone’s voice by being around them, and listening. It says in John 10:4,5 that I know His voice, I won’t follow the voice of a stranger. Listening is more than hearing with your natural ears. He that hath an ear, let Him hear. Mark 7:16 If any man has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him perceive and comprehend by hearing is how it is stated in the Amplified Bible. God knows how to speak to you! He spoke through a donkey in Num 22, so surely He can handle speaking to and through you! Be attentive, and pay attention! He’ll bring the Word to your remembrance – John 14:26. The important part of remembering it is having it in your heart to begin with. That is why we are to hide His Word in our hearts. Get the Word in! Jesus will take what is God’s and reveal it to you! John 16:14-15. If we’ll be teachable and attentive to His Words, He will teach us if we will listen! I John 2:27. It is proof that we are God’s sons and daughters when we are led by His Spirit. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. Rom 8:14
Pay attention to God in your prayer life by stopping, looking and listening. He needs our spirit to be quiet and concentrating on Him, and our ears and eyes attentive to what He wants us to see and hear. If we want our prayer to be effective, we must stay vitally connected to the vine, and whatever you ask will be yours. John 15:5-7 What a promise! Today remember to pray for our nation and the many issues we are facing. God is bigger than it all!

Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. I don’t know if there is anything more encouraging than knowing someone is praying for you. I am always so thankful for the people who are praying for me! We’re going to talk about effective prayer for a few weeks, and making the most of our time in communication with the Father. The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing, or to always be in an attitude of prayer, so I encourage you to take time to pray, and to pray effectively. Don’t forget to pray for our leaders, our nation, your church, your family and the lost who don’t know Jesus yet. We really do move forward, when we are on our knees

I don’t want to miss anything that God has for me! I want my eyes wide open. Today we’re going to talk about how important it is for us to be watchful, or to look and see what God is doing. In John 5:19-20,30, Jesus said that He did what He saw His father do. God discloses, or shows Jesus everything that God Himself does. He isn’t hiding from us! He wants us to see, so keep your eyes open. There are clues for you to find, just by having your eyes open.

The Holy Spirit wants to lead and guide us and will lead and guide us to the truth if we are willing to stop, look and listen. (John 16:12-13) God can impress images on your heart – pray those things that He shows you. He can put a word in your heart and give you insight that you wouldn’t know by your natural mind. During a time of prayer recently, I was impressed to call a friend of mine who that day needed God’s intervention. I wouldn’t have known that other than by the Spirit of God.

It is important that we don’t try to make something happen or try to impress others with how spiritual we are. It’s not about us, it’s about Jesus! Relax and let the Spirit of God do His work in you! The gifts of the spirit and the leading of the Holy Spirit are for us today as it says in I Cor 12. They are given to believers. The Spirit divides them to every person as he wills or desires. Be alert and have a heart of expectation – and be ready with your eyes open! Be a watcher! Every time I hear or sing the song, Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord, I remember the scriptures that God wants to show us great and mighty things. I want my eyes open! Let’s pray effectively and see God do great things on the earth.

[/audio06You’ve probably heard the statement, that there is no “I” in team. The very word “team” means that there is more than one person working together. There is great power in teamwork. Once we’re born again, we have joined a great team, the family of God, and we have many great benefits for our lifetime because we are on a God’s team. He fights for us, He gives us strength, He helps us overcome, and helps us make it to the finish line. We’ve been talking this week about being childlike and keeping things simple. Both are very important because we are on a team. Keeping things simple and childlike on a team means that every teammate matters and we are here to help and lift each other. Just like a runner in an Olympic relay medley, we don’t want to be the one teammate that holds everyone back, that tires out, or drops the baton. It’s no fun being the weakest link. It is sweet to see how kids help one another when one gets tired or falls down in a race. It isn’t just about being competitive and beating everyone else. Kids want everyone in on the win. God wants all of us to be winners! That should reminds us that God wants us to be childlike and keep things simple, because we have a race to run, and God wants us all to obtain the prize at our finish line.

6To be pure in heart really means to become childlike. Children have a wonderfully simple way of looking at things. They are trusting, transparent, carefree, humble, full of compassion and forgiveness, full of wonder and amazement, and they love focused attention. For us to have the kind of pure heart that a child has, we can choose to be like Mary instead of Martha in the Bible. What matters most and was most important that Mary discovered? It was time spent with Jesus. Taking a drink from the fountain of life. Being amazed by His wisdom. Ignoring unimportant distractions. Listening to the warmth of His voice. Enjoying incredible fellowship. Meditating on His promises. Giving the seed of the Word the right things to cause germination.

All these things take time. Time is a precious commodity, and something that children have much more of than adults. To become and remain pure in heart, it takes time in the presence of Jesus. He asks us to sit at His feet. What the world calls waste, God calls worship! He gives us permission to be still! When we are filled to the brim with the presence of God, our motives, our attitudes and our actions will be much more Christ-like, than if we’re just trying our best in our own strength.