Grace and peace to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am thankful for each of you and your commitment to prayer. Your prayers are a vitally important part of the work of the church. Please pray that all of God’s people will become involved in diligently seeking the Lord through prayer and fasting.

God has been showing me that prayer is essential to accomplish His work. Whether it is preaching or teaching or anything else that we do, our fruitfulness in large part is dependent on our praying. We are engaged in a spiritual battle. It can only be won in the spiritual realm.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 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.¹

Christ has promised, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it”.² Why then is it that we don’t always see our prayers answered? Could it be because we have sin in our life? The answer is found in God’s Word. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:³ The LORD is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.⁴ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.⁵

"THE ONE WHO DESIRES LIFE, TO LOVE AND SEE GOOD DAYS, MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT. HE MUST TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD; HE MUST SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT. FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE TOWARD THE RIGHTEOUS, AND HIS EARS ATTEND TO THEIR PRAYER, BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL."⁶

God is Holy and righteous. When we come into His presence, it must be with a pure heart. Confession of sin and repentance is necessary for fellowship with God and revival among God’s people. Ask God to help you to see yourself as He sees you. Ask God to reveal any sin He sees in your life. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.⁷ Enjoy intimate fellowship with God today. I found the linked resource Heart Searching For Prayer Preparation And Personal Revival helpful. I pray you will too.

© 2000