Chapter 8. LISTENING PRAYER 1. Ibid., Charles Spurgeon. 175 2.

Charles Finney Quoted by Wesley Duewel, Mighty Prevailing Prayer (Grand Rapids: Zondervan 1990) 115,116. 3. Ibid., S.D. Gordon, 40. Chapter 9. PRACTICING THE PRESENCE OF JESUS. 1. Ray Stedman, Talking to My Father (Portland: Multnomah Press). 14. 2. Paul Billheimer, Destined for the Throne (Fort Washington, Pa: Christian Literature Crusade, 1975) 3. Ibid., S. D. Gordon, 102. Chapter 10. PREVAILING PRAYER 1. Ibid., Wesley Duewel. 10. 2. Ibid., Oswald Chambers, 118. 3. Albert E. Day quoted by Bob Benson and Michael Benson, Disciplines for the Inner Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1989) 75. 4. D. M. MIntyre, The Hidden Life of Prayer (Minneapolis: Bethany House, P3232ub. 1993) 82. Chapter 11. FASTING 1. Arthur Wallis, Gods Chosen Fast (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1975) 2. Ibid., Arthur Wallis Chapter 12. SPIRITUAL WARFARE 1. Arthur Mathews quoted by Wesley Duewel Ibid., 243. 2. Ibid., Wesley Duewel. 258. 3. Andrew Bonar quoted by Wesley Duewel Ibid., 255. 4. Ibid., Wesley Duewel. 258. Chapter 13. HINDRANCES TO PRAYER 1. Soren Kierkegaard quoted by Dick Eastman and Jack Hayford, Living and Praying in Jesus Name (Wheaton: Tyndale House, Pub. 1988) 38 2. Francois FenelonSource not found.

EFFECTIVE PRAYER
The Prayer of a Righteous Man Is Powerful and Effective. (James 5:16)

By Lorene McCullough

God Always Answers Prayer

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PREFACE
As a child in my church I learned that prayer was talking to God about things, and so for many years I battled with a devastating eating disorder by talking to God about it. I had no idea that prayer wasnt prayer until God speaks to you, for prayer is meant to be a conversation, not a monologue! After more than thirty years of struggling unsuccessfully to deal with this addiction, the day finally came when I studied a scripture that speaks of asking and not receiving because we ask amiss. (James 4:3) In studying the meaning of the word ask I was surprised to discover that it doesnt mean that we are to beg and plead for what we want, but rather it means to inquire of the Lord for the purpose of discerning what He wants! I learned to wait on the Lord in order to hear His guidance, revelation and wisdom, and it changed not only my prayer life, but resolved the eating disorder as well. Even though I still have physical damage from the many years of dealing with it the wrong way, inside where it counts the disorder is GONE. I then discovered that most people have no idea of what the Holy Spirits part is in prayerHis enabling is crucial, because without it we can have no conversations. The result is inevitably a lack of sanctification and prayers that dont get above the ceiling. These small lessons were prepared for the instruction of prayerwatchers at churches in Wisconsin and have been sent out every month for their instruction and encouragement as they pray for our church and other concerns. May you find them useful to you as well. As Wesley Duewel said so well we only go forward on our knees! Lorene McCullough
All scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE; NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (North American Edition) 1973, 1978, 1984, by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. Produced by: TLC Ministry, W204S7794 Gaffney Dr., Muskego, WI 53150 Phone: 262-679-3939 Permission given to copy pages of this booklet to share in classroom use. 1998 Lorene McCullough

NOTES
Chapter l. WHAT IS PRAYER 1. Charles Spurgeon, What the Holy Spirit does in a Believers Life (Lynnwood, WA: Emerald Books, 1993) 175. 2. Ibid., Charles Spurgeon, 173. 3. Ibid., Charles Spurgeon, 178. Chapter 2. WHY DO WE PRAY? 1. John Wesley, Sermons on Several Occasions edited by Thomas Johnson. Vol. 2 (New York: Mason and Lane, 1840) 2. S. D. Gordon, Quiet Talks on Prayer (Uhrichville, O: Barbour & Co. 1994) 40. 3. E. M. Bounds, The Complete Works of E. M. Bounds on Prayer (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990) 357. 4. Arthur Wallis, In the Day of Thy Power (London: Christian Literature Crusade, 1956) 110,111. 5. Ibid, Arthur Wallis, 61,62. Chapter 3. HOW TO PRAY 1. Oswald Chambers, Prayer, a Holy Occupation (Nashville, TN 1992) 19. 2. Ibid., Oswald Chambers, 70. Chapter 4. PRAYING IN A GROUP 1. Thomas Payne, The Greatest Force on Earth (7th ed. London: Marshall Brothers.) n.d. 2. John Bisagno, The Power of Positive Praying (Grand Rapids: Zondervan 1965) 67. 3. Ibid., Oswald Chambers, 75. 4. Wesley Duewel, Mighty Prevailing Prayer Grand Rapids: Francis Asbury Press, 1990) l38-139Quoting Charles Spurgeon. 5. An Unknown Christian, The Kneeling Christian (Grand Rapids: Zondervan) n.d. Chapter 5. HOW GOD ANSWERS PRAYER 1. Ibid., Oswald Chambers, 41. 2. Glaphre Gilliland, When the Pieces Dont Fit (Grand Rapids: Zondervan 1984) Chapter 6. INTERCESSION 1. Source not found. 2. Ibid., Wesley Duewel, 194-195. 3. Ibid., Spurgeon, 175. Chapter 7. PRAISE AND WORSHIP 1. Lloyd Ogilvie, Gods Will in Your Life. (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1982) 135-136. 2. Lloyd Ogilvie, Conversation with God (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Pub. 1993) 19. 3. Ibid., Lloyd Ogilvie, 22.

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BOOK LIST
The Power of Prayer in a Believers LifeCharles Spurgeon

CONTENTS 1. What is Prayer. 4

What the Holy Spirit does in a Believers Life Charles Spurgeon The Day of Thy PowerArthur Wallis Prayer, a Holy OccupationOswald Chambers The Power of Positive PrayingJohn Bisagno Mighty Prevailing PrayerWesley Duewel Disciplines for the Inner LifeBob Benson and Michael Benson Conversation with GodLloyd Ogilvie Living and Praying in Jesus NameJack Hayford & Dick Eastman Quiet Talks on PrayerS.D. Gordon

2. Why do we pray?. 6 3. How to Pray. 8 4 . P r a y i n g Group.10 i n a

5. How God Answers Prayer 12 6. Intercession.14 7. Praise and Worship16 8. Listening Prayer 18 9. Practicing the Presence of Jesus...20

Destined for the ThronePaul Billheimer FastingArthur Wallis Prayer PowerpointsRandall D. Roth With Christ in the School of PrayerAndrew Murray Intercessory PrayerDutch Sheets Dialog with GodMark and Patti Virkler Listening PrayerLeanne Payne
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10. Prevailing Prayer. 22 11. Fasting.. 24 12. Spiritual Warfare 26 13. Hindrances to Prayer.. 28 Book List.. 30

Chapter 1 WHAT IS PRAYER? Romans 8:27We do not always know what to pray for, and if we were to refrain from prayer for a few minutes till we did know it, it would be a good and wise rule. Ask Him to reveal what those matters are which we should petition Him about.1 Charles Spurgeon Any time you ask someone what prayer is, the usual answer is that prayer is talking to God or that prayer is asking God for things. It is a surprise to come across a verse such as Matthew 6:7,8 which says: When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. These verses are instructing us to take a yielding position before an Almighty Godwe come with our hearts open and willing to receive. Why? Because we dont know what to pray for! (Romans 8:26) Even when we pray for a request as seemingly obvious as continued spiritual revival, we recognize that we cannot know the spiritual needs of thousands of individuals, or what blocks might be in the way before it can happen. Only the Lord knows the requests for which we ought to pray. Consider this: Jeremiah 33:3: Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. James 4:2,3: You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives To ask God doesnt mean to beg and plead with God for something that we decide we want. What we are doing when we pray is that we are holding up something before the Lord, who is wiser than we are and who desires as our Heavenly Father to give us all good things. The beginning of prayer is to ask God what His will is so that we might pray for it. In addition to this, our God is so gracious that, when we do not know what to ask for, the Holy Spirit prays on
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5. Sometimes God is speaking but we dont recognize that it is Him. God doesnt speak in audible sounds like our friends do. He speaks to the heart through revelation. It is more like gaining an internal understanding than it is like physical hearing. Seeing has to do with getting the idea. If you can picture a lightbulb going on suddenly as the light dawns, this is how hearing happens. It is an internal knowing that something is so. When scripture speaks to you and you sense yourself getting it, that aha is hearing! 6. Ignorance can cause our prayers to be hindered. If we dont understand that prayer is more than just us babbling at God, and we talk and talk, but dont give Him a turn to reveal something of Himself to us, we dont hear, simply because we are doing all of the talking. Our object in prayer is not to get answers, it is to get to KNOW Jesus as a real person.

The unreflective person thinks and imagines that when he prays, the important thing, the thing he must concentrate upon, is that God should hear what he is praying for. And yet in the true, eternal sense, it is just the reverse; the true relation in prayer is not when God hears what is prayed for, but when the person continues to pray until he is the one who hears, who hears what God wills. A more succinct way of saying this is that only those who linger really listen, for listening takes time. So praying in Jesus name is to linger long enough in Christs presence to receive His revelation of what needs purifying in our lives. So lets begin our humble praying in Jesus name today by agreeing with the humble African child who prayed: O Great Chief, light a candle within my heart that I may see what is therein, and sweep the rubbish from your dwelling place.1 Soren Kierkegaard How can you expect God to speak in that gentle and inward voice which melts the soul, when you are making so much noise with your rapid reflections? Be silent and God will speak again.2 Francois Fenelon

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Chapter 13 HINDRANCES TO PRAYER Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. (1 Peter 3:7) It isnt unusual to hear people complaining because as hard as they try and as much as they work, they cannot get prayer into a place where it is real communication with God. Usually they will say that God just doesnt answer prayer, but the truth is, there seems to be some reason why they cannot sense God saying anything in their prayer time. There are many reasons for this, so we will cover a few of them. 1. The first thing God does when we get into His presence is to reveal sin. If we refuse to acknowledge or accept how sinful we are, we will not hear until we do. When a holy God touches frail humanity, humanity changes. Our refusal to allow God to show us our condition will hinder our prayers. Known sin that is unrepented of will also hinder our prayer. I dont think this means that our prayers just wont be answeredit means that we probably wont have any communication, and thus wont be able to do what real praying is at all. 2. Another hindrance to communication with God is a failure to use the resources through which He speaks. If we dont spend time meditating on scripture, which is where He speaks the most clearly, and is where our conversations usually begin, our hearing ear will not develop. Not using the means of grace that are available will clog up our spiritual ears! 3. Unbelief, where a person doesnt actually believe that God will communicate will become a hindrance. Unbelief is solved when we confess it as sin and invite the Lord to produce faith through His Word so that we can believe. 4. Trying too hard will hinder prayer, because the ability to sense what God is saying is only accomplished through total dependance on God. Our striving actually keeps us from hearing. (Romans 8:25,26)
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our behalfIn the same way the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with Gods will. (Romans 8:26,27) Only prayer according to Gods will is ever answered. His will always agrees with His word, with no contradictions. So will you simply hold up your requests to the Lord and pray as the Spirit leads you about it? Check what you hear against scripture, and watch to see what God will do. Most of us have been used to praying according to our will for what we wanted. The concept of asking God what He wants is extremely foreign in our timesit is no wonder that the praying of the church has become so ineffectual! It takes practice to learn to listen when weve been used to talking. Ask God to pierce your hearts ears so that you can hear. The ability to hear is a gift from the Lord. (Ps. 40:6) Many times writing our prayers helps, because then our mind is occupied with the writing and our hearts hear better. Thanks for practicingwe will see what God will do as we really get in touch with His will.
I understand from the expression praying in the Holy Spirit that the Holy Spirit is actually willing to help me to pray, that He will tell me how to pray, and that when I get to a point where I am at a loss for words and cannot express my desires, He will appear in my extremity and make intercession in me with groaning that cannot be uttered. Jesus in His agony was strengthened by an angel; you are to be strengthened by God Himself.2 The Spirit of Gods writing in the heart always concurs with the writing of destiny in the book of Gods eternal purposes. Rest assured that you cannot but succeed when you have laid your soul like a sheet of paper before God and asked Him to write on it. Then it becomes the Spirit making intercession in you according to the will of God. He will do itHe is pledged to do it. If the Spirit teaches you to pray, it is certain that God will give you what you are seeking.3 Charles Spurgeon from What the Holy spirit does in a Believers Life.

Chapter 2 WHY DO WE PRAY?

If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears uswhatever we askwe know that we have what we asked of Him. (1 John 5:14,15)
There are many reasons why believers must pray. They are basic and necessary in order to live a victorious Christian life. 1. The first reason why we must pray is so that we can KNOW Jesus personally. As we depend on Him to open our ears to His voice in meditating on scripture, He reveals Himself to us, and we become familiar with His personality, His purposes, and His plans. He intends to use us to facilitate those plans on earth. If we dont recognize His voice, it is impossible for us to do our part in Gods purposes for the world. 2. The second reason we must pray is so that the Lord can KNOW us! It is through revelation that God shows us our true condition and cleanses us from the effects and damage of sin. Search me, O God, was the prayer of the psalmist, and it must also be our prayer. (Ps. 139). This is because we do not know our own condition. Without the searching power of God, we never will know our condition, and thus will not confess sin properly. Confession is agreeing with what God shows usmost of us confess that WE see, and dont rely on God for His ability to show us what He sees. Lack of holiness is the inevitable result. 3. We pray in order to receive the knowledge of what Gods will is so that He can use us (the church) in the process of accomplishing that will on earth. John Wesley taught that God does nothing apart from the saints.1 It is a mystery to be pondered as to why God chooses to do His will through us instead of by Himselfbut He wants us to be His bride, His bodyHe wants to accomplish things through us. Apart from listening to His voice, inviting Him to show us what to pray for, we are usually praying OUR will! This may be one reason why our prayers have been so ineffective. When our will and His will are lined up in a straight line, THEN the Spirit moves to do what He led us to pray in the first place! It is a privilege to be part of the Body of Christ, because Jesus is the Head of His Bodythat connection between body and Head is what keeps the church alive.

will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts. I will look to see what He will say to me. This verse is so descriptive of how a believer waits on the Lord for the content of His prayer before saying anything. When we say what He gives us to say, He then does what He asked us to pray for. This is called praying in the Spirit. It is nothing more than praying through the Spirits enabling. All prayer is to be enabled by the Spirit, but most importantly, spiritual warfare can only be accomplished through His power, not through ours. When that marvelous powerful authority comes over your heart, the fear of Satan will vanish. His attacks cease at the very mentioning of the Word of God, which is our sword. It is Christ in us who wins the battle; in fact it is Christ in us who fights the battle. We fight in the strength of Another, who lives within us.

In any situation where Satan dominates and threatens, God looks for a man through whom He may declare war on the enemy. He purposes that through that man Satan be served notice to back, up, pack up and clear out. 1 Arthur Mathews There is nothing automatic in spiritual victory, but when God sees a weapon being used in His name and faith daring to attempt the impossible, He musters heavens cohorts and moves in to confound and rout the enemy. Gospel advance is constantly impeded through prayerlessness and lack of spiritual militancy on the part of Gods children. Forward on your knees should be the watch-cry of all believers. 2 Wesley Duewel Satan does not fear prayerless study, preaching, work or Christianity. He laughs at our prayerless busyness but trembles when we take prayer warfare seriously. Therefore he tries to frighten us away from this holy ministry.3 Andrew Bonar To pray with effective prevailing you must get in harmony with the intercessions of Christ on His throne and of the Spirit praying within you. S. D. Gordon says that praying is finding out Gods purposes and insisting that they shall be done here. Wesley Duewel

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Chapter 12 SPIRITUAL WARFARE The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Cor. 10:4,5) There isnt a more important type of prayer that believers need to learn than the prayer of spiritual warfare against the workings of Satan in the church and in believers lives. The problem seems to be, though, that when you mention this type of prayer many believers find themselves gripped with fear. The antidote to fear of Satan is to study and learn and practice everything we can learn about the authority we have in Christ. Satan is an already conquered foe. However, for us to conquer him, we must use the resources of Christ, which are imparted to us through the praying of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. When you come right down to it, even the ability to recognize that demon activity is going on is one of the gifts (or abilities) of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 12:10) The Spirit s resources are imparted to us as needs arise. There is no reason to have to do any kind of guess work about whether demons are present, because the Spirit reveals their presence. He also imparts the authority of God to the believer, which, when spoken, dispatches demons to where God sends them. It is important to remember several things when being involved in this kind of prayer. Our own life has to be right with God so that the Spirit is free to work through us. Sin blocks the channel of His working, and we find ourselves relying on our own strength, which will be useless. When Gods authority comes over a believer, and the command of God is heard in the spiritual ears, saying that command causes the Spirit to cast out demon powers exactly like Jesus did in the New Testament. So we dont issue commands in our own power; we only issue one when we hear the Lord give it. Habakkuk 2:1 says I
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4. S.D. Gordon said When we learn Gods purposes and make them our prayers, we are giving Him the opportunity to act.2 E. M. Bounds wrotePrayer is not me getting God to do what I want. Nor is prayer God getting me to do what He wants. Prayer is me getting God to do what He wants!3 If we pray as the Spirit leads (Eph. 6:18) Gods will can be done on earth! Not only is this exciting, but it causes our Christian life to actually work. There is so much work to be donewe cant do it without His enabling, and He doesnt do it without us. Together, Christ, the Head, and the Church, His body get His will done. Praise His name! 5. If revival is to come, and cities and nations be won to Christ, it starts with us on our faces before the Lord, praying His will down! It is Gods will that is accomplished in prayer, and never ours. His ways are higher than our ways. His plans are different than ours. It is no wonder that we must learn to yield our own ideas so that His ideas can take over our prayers. He WILL be God, the real King of all things. The first great condition of revival is that brokenness of heartthat is sensitive to the least touch of the Spiritwhen a person has only to know the will of God in order to do it. When our hearts are sensitive, responsive, and impressionable to the movements of God across our lives, we may be sure that the hardness of our hearts has been broken. Brokenness before the Lord is not revivalit is a vital and indispensable step towards it. The importance of heart-preparation becomes clear when seen in relation to prayer, the next vital step toward revival. The prepared heart becomes the praying heart that prevails with God.4 Revival is a strategic attack by God on the strongholds of Satan. In revival, God works suddenly and unexpectedly. Often even many believers are surprised to see it happen. Charles Finney often noticed Christians being taken by surprise, and he said that though few knew it, you may be sure there had been somebody on the watch-tower, constant in prayer until the blessing came. How vital it is for the ears of the saints to be open to the voice of God in these days, for He speaks first to those whose ears are attuned to Him, and then He acts suddenly.5 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants, the prophets. (Amos 3:7) Arthur Wallis (From: In the Day of Thy Power)

Chapter 3 HOW TO PRAY I will look to see what He will say to me. Habakkuk 2:1 How to pray is explained a great deal by studying what it is to be a watchman. The word means A guard who stands watch, who peers into the distance to see approaching danger and to warn those who are endangered. The idea is that this guard (we who pray) peer into Gods spiritual kingdom through His enabling, and then say what we are given by Him to say. The first step is shown in Jeremiah 31:6: There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of Ephraim. Come, let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God. This represents our simply choosing to spend time seeking the Lord. Psalm 119:148 says My eyes stay open through the watches of the night; that I may meditate on your promises. Here is the place prayer startsmeditating on Scripture causes it to be illuminated to usin other words it speaks to us through the Holy Spirits enabling. Ezekiel 3:17 shows the prophet being a watchman: I have made you a watchman...hear the word I speak and give them warning from Me. This represents what we do when we meditate on scripture, inviting the Holy Spirit to speak to us through it. Our response to His speaking to us is prayer. Eugene Peterson wrote about prayer that what we are actually doing is answering God, who takes the initiative. Lamentations 2:19 shows how it feels to do thisPour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him. Our response to the revelation that the Spirit brings produces the ability to pour out our hearts to Him. Lifting up hands represents our praise as we recognize who He is. Habakkuk 2:2 shows the recommendation of writing what is heard. The Lord replied, write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. It is the Lord who suggests writing down what is heard. Those who practice writing what they hear find that hearing becomes
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fasting becomes. In Isaiah 58 God shows us what a fast does. Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen To loose the chains of injustice To untie the cords of the yoke And set the oppressed free, And break every yoke? Isaiah 58:6 The worst forms of sin that entangle us which elude resolution are the ones that we can fast over. During the fasting time, God will reveal roots and causes of things that we never knew existed. He really does reward the searching heart which will allow Him to search the heart! In times of national crisis, people fast and pray that God might send deliverance from things that are impossible. To get guidance when perplexity reigns, we fast that God might show us what path to take. Lets recover this disciplineGod cares! Fasting is designed to make prayer mount up as on eagles wings. It is intended to usher the supplicant into the audience chamber of the King and to extend to him the golden sceptre. It may be expected to drive back the oppressing powers of darkness and loosen their hold on the prayer objective. It is calculated to give an edge to a mans intercessions and power to his petitions. Heaven is ready to bend its ear to listen when someone prays with fasting.1 How often we have made earnest prayer to God for some specific need, with the assurance that this was the will of God, and yet there was no result. Why? It could well be, and often is, that God is saying to us You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jer. 29:13) When a man is willing to set aside the legitimate appetites of the body to concentrate on the work of praying, he is demonstrating that he means business, that he is seeking with all his heart, and will not let God go until He knows what the answer is.2 Arthur Wallis

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Chapter 11 FASTING So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He answered our prayer. (Ezra 8:23) In todays church fasting is not a popular thing to do. It doesnt seem to be commonly done, and yet there is good reason to do it. The purpose of fasting is to be enabled to give up our own power, since we wrestle with God so hard in order to get our own way. We always seem to have such strong ideas of how He should bend to our will, when the exact opposite is what we need to do in prayer. Adding fasting to prayer helps us to get rid of our own strength, and our own will and to better be brought into line with what Gods will is. The longer we fast, the less strength we have to insist on our own way. If we use the time that we are fasting to seek the Lord, He will reveal what His will is so that you can pray according to itthe only condition there is for answered prayer. Remember that the answer is that God shows you what you dont know! (Jer. 33:3) If we pray continually about something that we think we just cant do without and we get no results, it is usually because what God thinks about the situation is totally different than what we think. But He doesnt just leave us in the dark. If we care enough about getting hold of His will to fast and pray in order to be enabled to let go, He certainly will lift us up higher until we can see what He is doing and wanting for us. I proclaimed a fastso that we might humble ourselves before our God, and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children with all of our possessions. (Ezra 8:21) Sometimes people fast for the wrong reasons, thinking their performance will coerce God into doing their will. People even use fasting as a way to lose weight, but neither of these things are the purpose for fasting. The purpose is so that we lose our own power and strength so that humbly we can conform to what God wants. Fasting causes us to hear more clearly, to sense His presence better. The harder the problem is, the more powerful
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clearer, because God speaks to the heart. Psalm 63:6 says On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Communication with God becomes a habit as we learn to recognize His voice, His character and His purposes in things. No matter what the request is that we bring to Him, this process reveals His will to us, which is what we are trying to do in prayer. As we pray His will, He does it. In Matthew 26:38,39 Jesus asked His disciples to watch with HimHe was getting direction, revelation and strength from His Father for the ordeal before Him. He asked the Father if the ordeal could pass from Him, and obviously heard that it could notthen God strengthened Him for what He would go throughYet, not as I will, but as You will.

If you have a gift of prayer, may God wither it up until you learn how to get your prayers inspired by God the Holy Spirit. Do we rely on God, or on our own earnestness when we pray? God is never impressed by our earnestness; we are not heard because we are in earnest, but on the ground of redemption only. We have boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus and by no other way.1 One of the disciples said, Lord, teach us to pray. The disciples were good men and well-versed in Jewish praying, yet when they came into contact with Christ, instead of realizing they could pray well, they came to the conclusion that they did not know how to pray at all, and our Lord instructed them in the initial stages of prayer. We become conscious not only of the power God has given us by His Spirit, but of our own utter infirmity. We hinder our life of devotion when we lose the distinction between these two. Reliance on the Holy Spirit for prayer is what Luke is bringing out in this verse. We state it glibly, but Luke touches the thing we need to remember: the truth of our infirmity. 2 Oswald Chambers

Chapter 4 PRAYING IN A GROUP Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them. Matthew 18:19,20

Praying in a group is always more powerful than praying alone, especially if all of the people in the group can manage to yield themselves to the Holy Spirit to receive the content of their prayers. The idea of being gathered together has to do with the Spirit leading people alike or in symphony with each other. The proof that the Lord is leading is that the prayer will be very similar or each person in the group will receive a part of the prayeronly youll notice that each part is obviously part of the whole. The word agree means to symphonizewe must make sure that even if we pray only one part of the chord that we are all on the same song! It is disconcerting to have one person in a group bring up a subject to pray for, and before anyone has time to listen to see what the Lord would give them to pray about that subject, someone jumps in and changes the subject, praying for Aunt Tillies appendectomy or some such thing when the subject is lost sinners in Russia. It is well to stick to a subject until it has been exhausted, listening for the ideas that God would give you. Then move on to something else. Being gathered together only happens as people listen as a group, yielded to what the Lord shows them in prayer. To pray in Jesus name means simply to pray in, by, and with the help of, and through Jesus! It is to desire what He desires, to sense His will in the same time frame. When this agreement comes, and you can sense what the Lord is saying to all of you, it produces tremendous faith, and the asking becomes so positive that you KNOW you will receive what you are asking for, because the Lord has made it clear to everyone what His will is. You can see that prayer actually originates in the heart of God, and it is received into our hearts as we listen to what He wants us to pray for. His leading will almost always be different than what we would think of, because His ways are higher than our ways
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structions to persist. The verbs in the above verses have a continuous tense, which means theyre saying Ask and keep on asking; seek and keep on seeking; knock and keep on knocking. This emphasis is there for a reason. Our persistent prayers bring God straight into any situation. Stay tuned in for as long as it takes. Eventually that wonderful assurance that Gods will and yours are lined up will come, and then so will the result youve been led to ask for!
Prevailing prayer is prayer that obtains the answer sought. It overcomes delay, opposition and unfavorable circumstances. It involves the Spirits guidance in how you pray and His deepening your desire for His will. It involves His specially empowering your prayer and strengthening your faith until you receive the answer from God.1 Wesley Duewel Some prayers are so big and God has such a surprising answer for us, that He keeps us waiting for the manifestation.2 Oswald Chambers When our union with Christ is complete, then His desires and ours are one. Having no will but His, it is right that His will should find expression in our prayers. Here is where the difficulty arises. Most of us are far from such unity with Him. We still will things which God must veto. Therefore, our desires should always be suspectour preferences should not become petitions. Our priority right now should be for the unfolding of His will, guidance and power for its fulfillment. THEN what we pray for Albert E. Day can become a petition.3 The prayer of faith, like some plant rooted in fruitful soil draws its virtue from a disposition which has been brought into conformity with the mind of Christ.4 D.M. MIntyre

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opened. Matthew 7:7,8.

People often get so unhappy over the fact that prayer is not answered immediately, exactly the way they wanted it answered. This unhappiness simply shows a lack of knowledge about what some of the conditions are for answered prayer. God promises that prayer is ALWAYS answered, but we must realize that since He is God and we are not, He answers prayer only when the prayer is His will. We dont get the option of bossing God around, because He WILL be God. We arent! Sometimes people argue that you should only have to pray once, and then forget it and if what you asked for doesnt happen, then God didnt want to do whatever it is. This just shows that actual communication with God hasnt happened yet. Remember that prayer is not a monolog. It is a dialog. Persistence in prayer is necessary because it involves seeking the Lord until He reveals what His will isthis takes longer if we havent given up what we insist on having. James 4:3 says that we ask and dont receive because we ask with wrong motives, usually to glorify or gratify ourselves with no thought as to what God wants. The time spent in prayer about an issue depends on how well we have discerned His will after we ask Him to reveal it, and how He has changed our will to match His! Sometimes time has to do with Gods work in a persons life, and it takes a long time because the person being prayed for isnt willing to do things Gods way yet. Other times theres a persistence in prayer necessary because conditions being prayed for are very complicated and it takes time for things to sort out. We must not forget that we also have a satanic adversary that blocks the revelation of what to pray for. The time frame at times has to do with the fact that our persistence keeps the spiritual warfare going so that Gods will can be revealed. If we are praying for missionaries in some area of the world, burdens in prayer are often far-reaching and long-lasting because there is a cumulative effect of prayer necessary for something to happen in that country. Most believers give up far too soon, and dont follow the in22

ways. Thomas Payne wrote, While it is true that one man who knows how to pray and make intercession in the Spirit has far more power with God than a host of half-hearted ones, it is nevertheless a glorious fact that the prayers of a sanctified group, when of one heart and soul, become irresistible.1 It is tremendously encouraging to hear another person utter the very request that God has put into your heart. You will know God has led and because He has led, He is sure to do of His good pleasure. All who unite in prayer begin to sense Gods power coming upon them and anointing their praying in a new way. Faith grows as our praying becomes more effective!

Ask God to form afresh the Lord Jesus in all His beauty and power in your innermost being, that you might pray His prayers, think His thoughts, desire what He desires. This is the secret of praying for others. Oh, that God would raise up men and women so able to cooperate with Him, so willing to be yielded, that He might perform His perfect will through them. The world has yet to see what God can do with people completely yielded to Him.2 John Bisagno The Power of Positive Praying God is not meant to answer OUR prayers. He is answering the prayer of Jesus Christ in our lives. By our prayers we come to discern what Gods mind is. 3 Oswald Chambers PrayerA Holy Occupation If one Jacob can prevail over a wrestling angel, what can two do? What victory would come to two joined in the same wrestling. There is accumulated power in united intercession, two do not only double the force, but multiply it tenfold. God grant to each of us a praying partner. When we pray together in commitment to Christ, we share His love, sense His heartbeat and the priorities of His will. 4 Charles Spurgeon & Wesley Duewel

Yes, we need Divine help for prayerand we have it! How the whole Trin-

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ity delights in prayer! God the Father 5 listens; the Holy Spirit dictates, Chapter the eternal Son presents the petition and Himself intercedes and so the HOW GOD ANSWERS PRAYER The Kneeling Christian answer comes down. 5

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and tell you great and unsearchable things, which you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3 The most commonly asked question about prayer is usually Why doesnt God answer my prayers? We tend to think that an answer is simply getting what we asked for. However, it would probably be wise to think again about what we are doing when we pray. We are consulting with the Lord, who is higher than we are (in Heaven), who knows everything, who has a specific will that He wants to have happen, and who has a plan for our salvation and the salvation of the world. As far as God is concerned an answer doesnt just give us what we ask for. In the above verse out of Jeremiah, Gods answer is going to be to tell us things we dont know. This requires that we do what prayer isinquire of the Lord in order to ascertain what His will is! If our asking is demanding things from God, diagnosing our own problems or figuring things out for ourselves, instead of realizing that we are consulting with someone higher than we are, we probably wont receive what we want. If we go to the Lord with a yielded heart, consulting with Him for His input, our want will begin to match His want. He will show us great and mighty things that we do not know! Our problem seems to be that we usually think we know everything, God says we dont. We dont know our own heart, or anything about His plans. We really do need to develop a heart that inquires of the Lord which is what asking is. We do this in order to find out what His will is so that we can pray for it. The conditions for answered prayer are that we ask in His will, in the Spirit or that we pray in Jesus name. Answers are not promised in any other way. All of these basically mean the same thing. Praying in the Spirit is to pray through the Spirits enabling. Praying in Jesus name is to pray the prayers He gives. Praying according to His will is to ask for what he leads you to ask. Most of us pray for things that are in our own will, because we
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busy, but thats when the Lord will reveal Himself to our hearts, which is where the hearing happens. If there is any really good hint I can give you about how to do this, the best thing I can say is ASK Jesus to communicate with you, and then ask for the ability to let go of control to receive what He wants to say about everything that comes up. Most of us have grown up talking at God instead of inquiring of Him, so that He can communicate with us. We have been practicing OUR presence instead of His. Lets reverse that, and simply decide that from this day forward we are going to resign from the sending mode of prayer and go into receiving mode, like a radio receiver does. Radios too can both send and receive. Its a boring conversation if all we do is send!
The purpose of prayer is to bring us to an understanding of the Fathers heart. Prayer does not always lead us to an answer that satisfies our wants, desires and curiosities. Prayer does, however, lead us to a place where we can accept that such answers are unnecessary to involving ourselves in the vast and mysterious purposes of the Father.1 Ray Stedman Prayer makes possible Gods accomplishing what He wants and what He cannot do without it. The content of all true prayer originates in the heart of God. So it is He who inspires the prayer in the heart of man, and the answer to every God-inspired petition is already prepared before the prayer is uttered. When we are convinced of this, then faith for the answer is easyfar easier than it would be otherwise. 2 Paul Billheimer Prayer is not exacting favors from a reluctant God. The roots of prayer lie in oneness of purpose. God up yonder, His Victor-Son by His side, and a man down here, in such sympathetic touch that God can think His thoughts over in this mans mind and have His desires repeated upon earth as this mans prayer.3 __ S.D.Gordon Chapter 10 PREVAILING PRAYER Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks it will be
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Practicing the Presence is another way to describe the command that is found all over the New Testament telling believers that they should abide in Christ or walk in the Spirit at all times. It is a term that has to do with the connection we must maintain with Christ that makes it possible to live the Christian life. Not too long ago I heard someone say that the hard part about practicing listening to the Holy Spirit convey what Jesus is saying is that we have so little time that we cant seem to get to know Him. It is necessary to meditate on Scripture, allowing it to speak to the depths of our hearts, depending on the Spirit to illuminate its meaning to us, and of course this takes timebut it is the only way to develop a relationship with Jesus that will be real. At the time I thought how strange it is that it would seem like work to develop a relationship with Jesus, when we spend a lot of time every day doing all sorts of other thingswe develop relationships with friends, acquaintances, people at work and in the world without worrying too much about the time it takes, even though all of these relationships will be temporary and will end when our lives end. The relationship we develop with Christ lasts throughout eternity. What a shame it would be if we find ourselves at the end of our life going into eternity without KNOWING Him! Practicing the presence is possible only as we decide that we will practice. Start by thinking of Jesus and His attributes, who He is and what He has done as often as possible during the day. Ask the Lord to open your heart to hear what He has to say to you so that a constant flow of conversation goes on between you and the Lord all the time. If you see an accident or an ambulance along the road immediately lift that concern to Jesus. When you see children playing, bless themyour aim is to be used as a vessel that the Lord can bless the earth through all the time, during every minute of your life. Share your thoughts, feelings and dreams with Jesus all day long, even while you are doing other things. Often when we are driving or working around the house or yard, our minds are
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havent consulted with the Lord to inquire as to what His will is. Many times Gods will is outlined perfectly in scripture. For instance it is His will that all people be saved, so it is always legitimate to pray for someones salvation. Having said that, it is amazing how we can block the answers to our own prayers for someones salvation by having a judgmental condemning attitude, praying tattletale prayers rather than being burdened for the spiritual danger the person is in. We need to seek the Lord in order to gain His attitude, His compassion, His will. Listening prayer makes it possible to actually KNOW whether Gods answer is yes, no, or waitwe wont have to guess. He will show us clearly what He wants. Our prayers should be in accordance with the nature of God; therefore the answers are not in accordance with our nature, but with His. We are apt to forget this and to say without thinking that God does not answer prayer; but He always answers prayer, and when we are in close communion with Him we know that we have not been misled. God is not meant to answer our prayers. He is answering the prayer of Jesus Christ in our lives. By our prayers we come to discern what Gods mind is.1 Oswald Chambers We tend to use God instead of seek Him. We want God to do our bidding more than we want Him. What percentage of our prayers are for our own comfort? To fulfill our fantasies? Where do we ask for Gods will? Isnt it usually at the end of the prayeras a closing benediction...almost as an afterthought? I wonder how this all-wise God of ours feels about being brought in at the conclusion and asked to bless the plan? What a waste to rely on our wisdom, when Gods wisdom is available.2 Glaphre Gilliland Lord, teach me to pray with a love for your will that cleanses my askings. Amen. Chapter 6
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INTERCESSION If they are prophets, and have the word of the Lord let them plead with the Lord Almighty..Jeremiah 27:18. I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land.. Ezekiel 22:30. Intercession is prayer that is prayed for others as the Holy Spirit leads. The important thing to remember about intercession is that it is produced by the Holy spirit. For some reason God chooses to use human beings to accomplish His work on earth. Intercession is God imparting his concerns to people so that we can pray that His activities get done on earth. There are several references to intercession in the New Testament. One is He (Jesus) always lives to intercede for them (Hebrews 7:25); another is the Spirit himself intercedes (Romans 8:26); and then we who belong to God must intercede. (Isaiah 59:16). It almost sounds as if these are three separate kinds of intercession, but it is actually only one. Jesus intercedes in Heaven; the Holy spirit imparts that intercession to us, and we on earth speak it forth. We are to pray the prayers of Christ for others. This is true intercession. If someone asks you to pray for them and you agree to, and then babble your ideas for that person to God, that is not intercession. Intercession is what happens when you inquire of the Lord for that person and He imparts His ideas to your heart so that you can ask intelligently. As God burdens us to pray for His concerns in the lives of people or places, we become the conduit that God works through so His will can be accomplished in people or places. Without this obedient intercession it is often impossible for areas of the world to become open to the gospel message. A gap in scripture refers to a break in the thorny hedge or wall of stones that surrounded a vineyard and invited trouble. To bar intruders, someone had to stand guard until the gap could be repaired. Therefore, the Bible used this figure of speech to describe Gods search for an intercessor among Gods people.
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power, the benefits are so greatproblems unravel, confessions become more meaningful. The Lords leading into what He actually wants you to do will become more clear. Another helpful thing is to give up what you want to pray for. Dont pray answers. Ask what to ask and see what comes. (Prov. 3:5) Wait in silent expectancy, writing what the Spirit brings into your mind. Then later check what you wrote against what the Bible says. You will begin to discern the Lords voice making things clear to you as only He, the Spirit of all Truth, can. Write about one subject at a time, and then thank God for what He is going to do in answer to the prayers He inspired you to pray. If you pray His will, He will unfailingly do it! The secret of prayer is to pray for what God the Spirit moves you to pray for and to be very sensitive to the Holy Spirits influence. We do not pray correctly if we think what it is we want and we wish for and then ask for it in selfish willfulness, but we pray correctly when we consent to that which is the mind of the Spirit. Lord, teach us to pray. Put your thoughts in our minds, your desires into our hearts, and the very words into our lips, that we may be praying in the Spirit and not in the flesh.1 Charles Spurgeon If you would pray in faith, be sure to walk every day with God. If you do, He will tell you what to pray for. Be filled with His Spirit and He will give you objects enough to pray for. He will give you as much of the Spirit of prayer as you have strength of Charles Finney 2 body to bear.2 When we learn Gods purposes and make them our prayers, we are giving God the opportunity to act. If we are willing to do His will, we will know it. Ask for the ability to hear His promptings in your heart, that you might know that God is speaking to you through His word.3 S.D. Gordon Chapter 9 PRACTICING THE PRESENCE OF JESUS Pray continually(1 Thess. 5:17)
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I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts, and I will look to see what He will say to me.Then the Lord replied Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time. Wait for it, for it will certainly come, it will not delay. Habukkuk 2:1-4 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. Ecclesiastes 5:2 Listening to the Lord is something that takes practice. To start, you simply ask Him to reveal to you what you need to know from scripture. It is immensely helpful to practice this by writing scriptures down, personalizing them to yourself, then asking the Lord whatever questions you want to know, and recording His insights that come into your mind. As you practice doing this, depending always on the Holy Spirit for His inspiration, you will begin to recognize the Lords character, purposes and personality in your writing. He can become personally known so quickly no other way. God speaks to our hearts by pouring His thoughts into them. His voice is always pure, quiet, and peaceful and orderlynever confusing or accusing. What we hear will never contradict scripture, but will cause scripture to become more clear to us. The first step in this process is probably to realize that hearing the Lord is impossible apart from the Spirits enabling relying on Him for the content of your prayers relieves you of the striving that causes prayer to be so frustrating. (Prov. 20:12) Writing what comes to you keeps your mind occupied with the writing and enables the heart to perceive what God is saying. The command to write what is heard comes from the verses above and people practicing this have found themselves amazed at the insight that has come as they give up trying, and simply confess that unless the Lord give the gift of the ability to discern His thoughts, they cant pray at all! Writers throughout the centuries have agreed on this theme over and over. Even though it takes practice because we are so used to doing things in our own
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Standing in the gap links Gods mercy with mans need. In our day, the protective hedge around families, churches and nations is often in a state of terrible disrepair. God is still searching for intercessors to stand guard in the gap and by prayer to help repair the breaches that Satan and sin have made. Remember, God does nothing apart from the prayers of His peopleHe works through His body on earth, and in no other way. If we as the body are not there, He cannot move. If we sign up for duty in his army, God will assign us the sentry duty that is necessary. We must not take up burdens that we invent, but allow the Lord to impart His burdens to us so that He can do what His blessed will is! True prayer is God the Holy Spirit talking to God the Father in the name of God the Sonand the believers heart is the prayer room.1 Samuel Zwemer Intercession is a prayer burden which is the gracious work of the Holy Spirit applying spiritual pressure on your heart. It is Gods way to call you to intercession at a time when your prayer is needed by God who has ordained to work through the intercession of His children. The burden is the Spirits personal call to you to intercede.2 Wesley Duewel Beware of hit or miss prayers. Never make haphazard work of intercession. Come to the throne of grace, intelligently understanding what it is that you require. It is well with us in prayer when the Holy Spirit guides the mind. Spiritual people can consciously sense a freedom or a restriction in the direction of their prayers; then let us obey the Holy Charles spirit and pray as He directs. 3 Spurgeon I would find out what He would answer me, and consider what He would say. Job 23:5

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Chapter 7 PRAISE AND WORSHIP Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Psalm 100:4. People often wonder how a believer gets into the presence of the Lord. The verse above shows the exact way that it happens. We enter into the presence of the Lord by beginning with thanksgiving, which reminds us of what God has done in the past. This focus takes our mind off of whatever problem we are facing and pins our mind on God, who is always the solution. As the Holy spirit begins to enable our praise, and we really do need to ask for this, He enables us to see God with all of His majesty, all of His attributes. The Spirit brings to mind all of the things that God is, so that we can realize that everything that looks like a mountain to us is just a molehill to God. Nothing is too big for Him, or too complicated for Him, or too hard for Him. One thing that praise does is to change our mind from focusing on the problem to focusing on God, who is the solution. As we continue to praise Him, solutions to thorny problems come into our mind from His mind; wisdom that we dont naturally have becomes ours, and the problem tends to shrink. We usually have such precise ideas about what God should do in any given situation. The process of praising Him loosens our control and gives us the ability to yield to His will as He reveals it to us. Gods solutions are nearly always different than ours, because He knows so much more about what the problem actually is, and what it will take to resolve it. Another thing that praise does is to bring spiritual warfare into play against the enemy, who is always trying to stop Gods will from being done. A combination of praise and the indwelling Word routs spiritual enemies and prepares the way for the coming of the Lord into any perplexity. Deliverance is the ultimate result. Praise often brings about confession as the Holy Spirit enters into our meditations about who God is. Since we are not able to see into the depths of our heart in our own
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strength, the presence of God will show us what needs to be changedconfession brings about forgiveness. We can have many expectations from the continual practice of praising God. One is elation and pure worship as we begin to see clearly what He is like. Another is an escalation of spiritual warfare, and an increased perception of spiritual truth. Worship will become exciting instead of dull; spiritual growth will escalate, and a pure heart develops. All of this happens as we simply choose to deliberately praise the Lord. Praise is the language of a childit is exactly like the childs arms being held up to a very tall father saying I accept your love for mepick me up and hold me! Our sense of safety and security will increase and we will know where safety is at last! Service to others is the inevitable result.

There is a mighty power in praise which unlocks the secret of guidance. God moves within us to free us to will to do His will. Praise releases us from our tight control over our own affairs. The best strategy for receiving guidance is praise. When we are in a tight spot, not knowing what to do, we need to praise God, for He is in the very thing which is causing us tension or pressure. Consistent praise over a period of time conditions us to receive what the Lord has been patiently waiting to reveal to us or release for us.1 When we give thanks, we glorify God for what He has done; when we praise Him we glorify Him for what He is in Himself. Praise concentrates on God for Himself rather than His gifts or provisions. Praise is the antidote for pride. And pride does not give up its grip easily. When we praise God, we admit that He is Lord of all. 2 The living Christ, through the power of the Spirit enables our praise to the Father. Christ motivates it and the Spirit manifests it in our hearts. It is essential to ask for the power to praiseit brings His presence right into our awareness.3 Lloyd Ogilvie

Chapter 8 LISTENING PRAYER

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