To desire revival... and at the same time to neglect (personal) prayer and devotion is to wish one way and walk another.  — A.W. Tozer When I was in Ukraine during the 1990’s, I often visited the Orthodox churches in our city.  Holidays, weddings and regular Sunday morning worship looked very different from our western evangelical church services. I have one visual memory in particular of rows and rows of little burning candles. In the Orthodox church, when a person wanted to pray for someone or some situation, they would go to the church, buy a little yellow thin candle, and light it as part of their prayer.  Now just to be clear, lighting a candle isn't necessary for us to commune with God, but the flame on a candle is a beautiful symbol of how God illuminates our path through prayer and how His presence warms us and brightens our day.  Sometimes I enjoy the ambience of a candle burning during my prayer time, just to remember that our prayers are like incense...

  In worship, God imparts himself to us.  — C.S.Lewis As we begin a journey of praying through scripture, each day will be focused on the four elements, which consist of: worship, appropriating truth (spiritual growth), walking in the light (confession), and knowing God more as well as a specific focus to pray for different people each day.  This focus is intended to guide you through a time of prayer - for yourself, for your loved ones, for your school, etc.  Remember last week I introduced the idea of walking with God as though we were in the garden with Him again and to walk in the light with Him through this life. This imagery along with the key themes found in the Lord’s prayer lead us to the acronym WALK.   W orship the God who hears our prayers A ppropriate the truth of scripture as you grow in your walk of faith L ight - Walk in the light by openly confessing your sins and need for God K now Him more and more as you spend time with Him daily Before ...

God shapes the world by prayer. The more praying there is in the world the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil.  — E.M. Bounds Many years ago I began to develop a longing for a deeper and richer prayer life, to figure out what it meant to be a prayer warrior. An acquaintance of the time (a missionary who had a heart to build up others) gave me a little prayer book that helped guide my time in prayer and became a part of regular time with God. There is no doubt that prayer is powerful, but many times when we sit down to pray, we can feel at a loss for words.  How do I pray through this situation?  How does prayer not become rote or surface level?  How can I enrich my prayer life and make it a rich experience in God’s presence, drawing closer to Him and truly approaching the throne with confidence?   There are many prayers recorded throughout the scriptures that can guide us in our prayers and by using these scriptures, we can be c...