I pray that today’s challenge brings a powerful charge into your spirit.  If this world ever needed men, women, and children of God who know how to pray and daily walk in a vibrant life of prayer, it most definitely needs them today!

There is no shortage of remarkable tools for ministry in the day and age in which we live.  A brief perusal around the Internet, and even the CMT websites, reveals an abundance of creative methods to present the gospel.  God desires that you and I make the most of every available method to pour out His love into a love-lost world.  He has a plan to equip, prepare, and empower you for this holy purpose.  His plan is for you and I to be devoted first and foremost to Him through an intimate life of prayer.

Our efforts, our sermons, our activities, and our programs must be birthed out of prayer first, instead of meetings, studies, or church tradition.

Jesus trained His disciples to pray!  He demonstrated that a life-changing ministry to those in need is the direct result of being steadfast in prayer.

I absolutely love this quote from E. M. Bounds.  “All ability to talk to me is measured by the ability with which a preacher can talk to God for men.  He “who ploughs not in his closet, will never reap in his pulpit.”

E. M. Bounds holds nothing back with that statement.  It cuts to the core of who we are and how we minister.

Like you, I want to impact this world for Christ.  Let’s make a difference!  Let’s be a part of the greatest outreach to children this world has yet to experience!  Let’s get on our knees and pray!  Let’s immerse our studies in prayer.  Let’s saturate our special events in prayer.  Let’s pray before we plan.  Let’s pray and then pray some more!  The reality is that, without prayer, we will be ineffective, but with it, we position ourselves to hear the “how, when, where, and to whom” of which God is leading us.

Gary R. Linn