Turn Your Thoughts into Prayers

The more you get in the habit of praying, the more you will accomplish through prayer  and
   the happier you’ll be, because you will have learned the secret of staying in constant, close communication with your loving Savior and Friend. The following article by Maria David explains this principle beautifully:

The Bible has a lot to say about our thoughts, and it makes an interesting study. For example, it says we can hardly count the Lord’s thoughts toward us, and we’re supposed to hate vain thoughts but love His Word.1

One of the best ways to put our thoughts to good use is to turn them into prayers. Think of all the things you do throughout the day, all the things you think about, all the thoughts that run through your head. Now consider your thoughts. Size them up, take stock, analyze, weigh them up, and ask yourself what your thoughts are accomplishing. Where are they going? Are you transforming your thoughts into power that will bring about some good in the lives of others?

If you want to do more in prayer, consider your thoughts. Thoughts are real things. They can help or they can hinder. Are your thoughts helping to sustain a soul in need? Or are they silently turning a blind eye to the one who cries for help? Where are your thoughts running? Are they reaching out to answer a call? Are you tapping into heavenly thought power? Are you directing your thoughts to where they can do some good and really make a positive difference?

God wants us to learn to convert our thoughts into powerful prayer. Thoughts turned into prayers will materialize into God’s blessings, God’s intervention, God’s protection, power and strength, and God’s healing balm poured out on those for whom we care.

Thoughts turned into prayers will accomplish great feats, make the impossible possible, and change the course of history! On the other hand, thoughts left idle slip away into the gray mass of nowhere land, into the cracks and crevices of complacency, where they will rot and ruin and go to waste.

Every time we think a thought, we can turn it into a mighty prayer-all the time, anywhere, even when we’re all alone. When we’re doing physical chores or routine duties, we can turn our thoughts into prayers throughout the day. We can capture our thoughts, beam them up to God, and see miracles come to pass before our very eyes!

For example, if you’re at home cooking and your thoughts turn towards your kids at school, pray that they’ll have a good day. Or if while at work you start thinking about an upcoming difficult project, turn that thought into a prayer for the Lord’s strength for the task. Or maybe you pass by an accident while driving home-pray for those who may be hurt, and for your own safety and that of your family.

All day long, no matter what else we’re doing, we’re thinking thoughts, but it’s how we filter and direct them that can make a difference. What we decide to do with our thoughts and where we direct them is what counts. For as we learn to direct our thoughts in prayer, filtering them through the sieve of God’s Word, sending them on to where they can genuinely accomplish something, we will be able to fulfill this mission of prayer.

In solitude with our thoughts, we can turn each one to a prayer and change the world! We can take the thoughts that come to us as a result of the input we see and receive all around us, and we can turn those thoughts into prayers.

Turning every thought into a prayer is a great privilege and a great gift-the privilege of tapping into heavenly thought power. Use it, and it will serve you well. It will make your life easier and bring about miracles. Thoughts can be a burden or a blessing. Turn them into good by turning them into prayer. Tap into Heaven’s thought power!

The story is told of a certain minister who was disturbed to see a shabbily dressed old man go into his church at noon every day and come out again after a few minutes. What could he be doing? He informed the caretaker and asked him to question the old man. After all, the place contained valuable furnishings.

“I go to pray,” the old man said in reply to the caretaker’s questioning.

“Come, come now,” said the other, “you are never long enough in the church to pray.”

“Well, you see,” the old man went on, “I don’t know how to pray a long prayer, but every day at twelve o’clock I just come and say, ‘Jesus, it’s Jim.’ I wait a minute and then come away. Even though it’s just a little prayer, I think He hears me.”

When Jim was injured some time later and taken to the hospital, he had a wonderful influence on the ward. Grumbling patients became cheerful, and often the ward would ring with laughter.

“Well, Jim,” said a nurse to him one day, “the men say you are responsible for this change in the ward. They say you are always happy.”

“Aye, that I am. I can’t help being happy. You see, it’s my visitor. Every day he makes me happy.”

“Your visitor?” The nurse was puzzled. She had noticed that Jim’s chair was always empty during visiting hours, for he was a lonely man, with no relatives. “Your visitor? But when does he come?”

“Every day,” Jim replied, with a light in his eye. “Yes, every day at twelve o’clock He comes and stands at the foot of my bed. I see Him and He smiles and says,

‘Jim, it’s Jesus.’”

Prayer opens a channel from our emptiness to God’s fullness. It’s the connecting link between human needs and divine resources.

* * *

You must learn to make personal contact with the power of God, to let Him do the work of bringing you joy, health and happiness.

-D.B.B. (David Brandt Berg)

* * *

No man or woman accomplishes so much with so little expenditure of time as when he or she is praying.

* * *

Prayer is so simple.

It is like quietly opening a door

And slipping into the very presence of God,

There in the stillness

To listen for His voice.

Perhaps to petition

Or only to listen,

It matters not;

Just to be there,

In His presence,

Is prayer!

                                -Unknown

1 John 1:1-3,14;

Hebrews 4:15.

2  1 Timothy 2:5.

3  Revelation 3:20

1  Isaiah 65:24.

2  For more on receiving God’s specific answers to your questions, don’t miss Hearing from Heaven in the Get Activated! series.

1  Matthew 21:22

2  Psalm 138:3

1  Matthew 11:28-30

2   Romans 8:28

3  2 Corinthians 5:7

4  Psalm 147:3

5  Psalm 94:19

6  James 1:5

1  Isaiah 30:21

2  Jeremiah 33:3

3  Proverbs 1:33

4  James 5:15

5   Psalm 32:5

6  1 Corinthians 2:9-10

7  Isaiah 40:29,31

1   Philippians 4:6-7

2  Matthew 7:7-8

3   Psalm 119:18

4   Romans 8:26

A few days after our seven-year-old son, Peter, prayed for a large-print Bible, I went to price one at a Christian bookstore that carries English Bibles. The cheapest one was way out of our price range. I explained Peter’s prayer request to the shop owner, and asked if he might be able to give me a special discount on a large-print Bible, considering the circumstances and that we were volunteer missionaries. I had scarcely finished my question when the shopkeeper started into a story that at first seemed to have no connection.

Seven years earlier, a blind woman had been miraculously healed in answer to prayer. Out of gratitude to the Lord, she had given the shopkeeper $500 to hold in a sort of trust fund. Then she had instructed him that if anyone ever came to his shop and asked for a Bible, but was unable to pay for it, he was to “charge it to her account.” With that, he pointed to the shelf and told me to pick the Bible I wanted.

      We never met the woman who bought Peter his Bible, but what a lesson we learned from her: A truly thankful heart looks for a way to share its blessings with others.

-P.A., Japan

* * *

On wings of prayer our burdens take flight

And our load of care becomes bearably light

And our heavy hearts are lifted above

To be healed by the balm of God’s wonderful love!

And the tears in our eyes are dried by the hands

Of a loving Father who understands

All of our problems, our fears and despair,

When we take them to Him on the wings of prayer.

-Unknown

One day I visited a small, poor school to give an inspirational video presentation. When I arrived, they were in the middle of a power failure. I offered to pray for the problem to be found and fixed, and ten minutes later the power came on.

The children all came in for the video, but their video player was old and didn’t work properly, no matter how much we tried to adjust it. We decided to ask all the students, teachers, and staff-Muslims, Hindus and Christians alike-to pray with us that Jesus would fix the machine. Immediately after praying, everything began to work properly. They were all thrilled! Not only were they able to see the videos, but they were amazed to see the Lord answer prayer in such a specific way. Afterwards, some of the staff said, “We want to know more about God and His power to work such miracles!”

-R.H., Pakistan

* * *

An African Christian in a remote village moaned and tossed as his fever raged higher and higher. The missionary doctor who was helping to care for the boy did what he could to bring the fever down, but what he really needed was an ice pack. He quickly dismissed the thought. The nearest ice was a difficult day’s journey away.

“Cannot God send ice for my dear son?” the sick boy’s mother asked. Then she reminded the missionary of what he had said in one of his sermons-that God delights in doing miracles for His children.

“That’s true,” said the missionary. “But ice?-Here?”

Paying no attention to his doubts, the mother asked again matter-of-factly, “Shall we not pray?”

And so they did. The missionary prayed a vague and general prayer, but then the boy’s mother got right to the point: “Lord, if ice is necessary to my son’s healing, You can send it. I believe it!”

No sooner had she ended her prayer than a hailstone the size of a walnut rolled into the hut. When the two looked out, they saw hailstones plummeting from the sky.

“God has answered in His own wonderful way!” the mother exclaimed.

The hailstorm was local, and did not damage the village’s crops. The son recovered completely. News of the miracle spread to neighboring villages, and increased the faith of everyone who heard it.-And the missionary was reminded that God answers “impossible” prayers.

* * *

A couple who we are friends with had been trying to have a child, without success. About a year ago, the wife asked us to pray for her. Two weeks later she was pregnant, and a few weeks after that she found out she was going to have twins!

Word got around, and other childless couples started asking us to pray for them. So far, four more couples are expecting babies-including a second set of twins!

-D.G., Thailand

* * *

Man’s greatest power lies in the power of prayer.

A Persian fable says: One day

A wanderer found a lump of clay

So redolent of sweet perfume,

Its odors scented all the room.

“What are thou?” was his quick demand,

“Art thou some gem from Samarkand,

Or spikenard in this rude disguise,

Or other costly merchandise?”

“Nay: I am but a lump of clay.”

“Then whence this wondrous perfume-say!”

“Friend, if the secret I disclose,

I have been dwelling with the rose.”

Dear Lord, abide with us, that we

May draw our perfume fresh from Thee.

-Unknown

* * *

A Chinese Christian was once asked to give to a fund that would be spent on sacrifices to idols, as fire insurance on his house. He declined on the grounds that he trusted in the living God, not idols, to protect him from fire.

The same night that the sacrifices were offered, fire broke out in the street where the Chinese Christian’s home was. Over 120 houses were burned down. As the flames were coming nearer and nearer to his house, his neighbors told him to save his furniture, but he refused. Instead, he prayed in a voice loud enough for all to hear, “Dear God-the one true God-prove Your existence and power by sparing my house from this fire.”

Nearer and nearer the fire came, until only one house was left between his and the flames. Suddenly there was a change of wind, and his house was saved.

1 Galatians 5:22-23.

2 2 Corinthians 3:18

Many years ago, a little backwoods town in the U.S. northeast seemed to have more than its share of problems-and problem people.

One night a few Christian friends were talking, when one of them said, “We may not be trained pastors or evangelists, but something must be done in this town. Let’s form a prayer group. We can start by all praying for one person. Who shall it be?”

They picked one of the hardest men in town, a hopeless drunk, and all concentrated their prayers on him. He received Jesus as his Savior that same week, and became a changed man. Then they concentrated their prayers on another man, and he was also converted. Then they prayed for another and another, until within a year, hundreds of people had found Jesus. The town was transformed!

* * *

How lovely are the faces of

The ones who talk with God-

Lit with an inner sureness of

The path their feet have trod;

How gentle is the manner of

The one who walks with Him!

No strength can overcome him, and

No cloud his courage dim.

Keen are the hands and feet-ah, yes-

Of those who wait His will,

And clear as crystal mirrors are

The hearts His love can fill.

Some lives are drear from doubt and fear

While others merely plod;

But lovely faces mark all those

Who walk and talk with God.

-Unknown

One night in April 1912, a woman tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She was suddenly very worried about her husband who was then in mid-Atlantic, homeward bound on the Titanic. For several hours she prayed earnestly for him. At about five o’clock, a great peace came over her, and she finally fell asleep.

Meanwhile her husband, Colonel Gracie, was among the men who were trying frantically to launch the lifeboats from the great ship that had struck an iceberg and was sinking fast. He had given up all hope of being saved himself, and was doing his best to help the women and children. He wished that he could get a last message through to his wife, and cried from his heart, “Goodbye, my darling!”

As the ship plunged toward the ocean floor, he was sucked down in the giant whirlpool. Instinctively he began to swim under water, ice-cold as it was, crying in his heart, Goodbye, my darling, until we meet again!

Suddenly he came to the surface and found himself near an overturned lifeboat. He and several others climbed aboard, and they were picked up the next morning by a rescue boat.

After Colonel Gracie made it home, he and his wife exchanged their stories and soon realized that she had been praying for him when he had been in the greatest danger. Not only that, but according to the time at home, he had been rescued at five in the morning-the exact time that the Lord had assured his wife he was going to be okay!

* * *

We give to others in their need

No greater love and care,

Than when we give them to the Lord,

Surrounding them with prayer.

* * *

Intercession

Say not I do not understand the fierceness of your fight,

For I was with you many times in the darkness of your night.

Though you were many miles away and we were years apart,

I felt oft-times your agony, the pain within your heart.

Say not you fought the battle grim in darkness all alone,

For I was with you there in prayer, stood by you at the Throne.

With shield of faith and Spirit’s sword, I answered at His Word,

And came to battle by your side when first your call I heard.

Say not, “’Tis fantasy that one should hear such distant cry.”

For we are one in Him we love; His Spirit draws us nigh.

And oft He whispers to my heart the call to quickly pray.

So I have reached you there in prayer, though you are far away.

-Virginia Brandt Berg

1  Isaiah 54:5, 62:5; Hosea 2:19-20; Romans 7:4;

2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 19:7-8.

1  Luke 12:32; Matthew 6:8.

2  Matthew 6:10 

I met God in the morning

When my day was at its best,

And His presence came like sunrise,

Like a glory in my breast.

All day long His presence lingered,

All day long He stayed with me,

And we sailed in perfect calmness

O’er a very troubled sea.

Other ships were blown and battered,

Other ships were sore distressed,

But the winds that seemed to drive them,

Brought to us a peace and rest.

Then I thought of other mornings,

With a keen remorse of mind,

When I, too, had loosed the moorings,

With His presence left behind.

So I think I know the secret,

Learned from many a troubled way:

You must seek Him in the morning,

If you want Him through the day!

-Ralph Spaulding Cushman

There are a lot of Christians who start playing with the gifts of God or the gifts of the Spirit, and neglect God Himself!  Like a father coming home with gifts for his children: The kids grab the presents, forget to kiss their father and greet him, and sit down on the floor and start playing with the toys!

Or it’s like the story about the little girl who each day took the time that she normally spent with her father to make him bedroom slippers for his birthday. God may appreciate the bedroom slippers you’re making for Him, but He’d rather have you! And in fact, you’ll probably make an awful mess of them if you neglect Him!

-D.B.B.

1   Psalm 55:17

2  Matthew 6:9-13, KJV.

3  1 Thessalonians 5:17; 1 Chronicles 16:11; Luke 18:1; 21:36.

Robert G. LeTourneau, the man who invented and manufactured the world’s first large earthmoving equipment, was also a dedicated Christian.

One evening he needed to design a piece of machinery that was supposed to be built the next day, but he was also expected at a prayer meeting that same evening. To postpone the building project would be costly, but he finally decided that the prayer meeting was even more important, and he went ahead to the meeting. How would he ever get the plan drawn by the next morning?

He returned home about ten o’clock. Up to that time he hadn’t even been able to make a start on the plan, but he sat down at his drafting board and in about five minutes came up with a plan that was both innovative and doable. He had been inspired by God! What is more, the little piece of machinery he designed that night became a key component of many other machines Robert G. LeTourneau went on to invent.

It pays to pray!

* * *

Take time to hear from God, and He’ll take time to straighten out the problem.

-D.B.B.

Start the Day Off Right: Hear from the Lord!

You ought to try a little prayer time every day, early in the morning before beginning your day’s work, asking the Lord to help you, lead you and guide you. When you first wake up, before you do anything, talk to God. Get your orders from Him for the day and you’ll be amazed at how He’ll solve a lot of your problems before the day even starts, simply by listening to what He has to say.

But if you go plunging into all your problems and troubles and your day’s work without stopping to talk to the Lord and get your directions from Him, you’ll be like a musician who decided to have his concert first, and tune his instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all in harmony with Him.

Don’t ever think “It’s too hard to pray,” or “I haven’t got time to pray.” The busier your day, the more reason you have to pray and the longer you ought to pray. If you’ll just spend a little more time praying, you will find that you’ll spend a lot less time working to get things done later. If your day is hemmed with prayer, it is less likely to unravel. It’s just that simple!

-D.B.B.

* * *

We mutter and sputter,

We fume and we spurt;

We mumble and grumble,

Our feelings get hurt.

We can’t understand things;

Our vision grows dim;

When all that we need is

A moment with Him.

-Unknown

Most Christians today seem to be more concerned in having God hear what they have to say than they are in hearing what God has to say. They’re trying to put their program across on God and get Him to sign His name to their program. I heard someone say one time, “Are you willing, not to present your program to God for His signature, not even to be presented with God’s program for your signature, but to sign a blank sheet of paper and let God fill it in without your even knowing what His program is going to be?”

You need to learn to listen to the Lord most of all. It’s not up to the King to try to go chasing His subjects around screaming and hollering at them to try to get them to do what He wants! You come to Him with quietness and respect and you sincerely and in trembling present your petition, and you wait silently to get the answer. You have to fear, respect and reverence the Lord, and treat Him like the King He is!

-D.B.B.

* * *

Getting quiet before the Lord shows you have faith that God is going to handle the situation, that He’s going to take care of things. It shows you trust the Lord. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee” (Isaiah 26:3). If you’re not trusting, you’re going to be in confusion all the time. Like the little poem:

“When we’re trusting, we’re not heard to fret.

When we’re fretting, we’re not trusting yet!”

If you’re in a big stew, confused and worrying and fretting and fuming, you’re not trusting! You don’t have the faith you ought to have! Trusting is a picture of complete rest, peace and quiet of mind, heart and spirit. The body may have to continue working, but your attitude and spirit is calm.

-D.B.B.

I got up early one morning,

And rushed right into the day;

I had so much to accomplish,

I didn’t have time to pray.

Troubles just tumbled about me,

And heavier came each task.

“Why doesn’t God help me?” I wondered.

He answered, “You didn’t ask.”

I tried to come into God’s presence;

I used all my keys at the lock.

God gently and lovingly chided,

“Why, child, you didn’t knock.”

I wanted to see joy and beauty,

But the day toiled on gray and bleak.

I wondered why God didn’t show me.

He said, “You didn’t seek.”

I woke up early this morning,

And paused before entering the day.

I had so much to accomplish

That I had to take time to pray.

-Unknown

1  Psalm 100:4

2  Philippians 4:6

1  1 John 1:9; Matthew 5:23-24; Psalm 103:8-12.

2  Hebrews 4:16

3   Psalm 37:4

1  John 15:7

2  Matthew 20:32

1  Matthew 6:8.

2  Isaiah 64:7

1  Jeremiah 29:13

2  Matthew 9:27-30. 

3  Matthew 13:58.

4  Romans 10:17.

1   John 14:13

2   John 14:6

3   1 Timothy 2:5  (See also Hebrews 8:6.)

4   2 Peter 1:4

Are You on the Spot?-Turn Around
And Put God on the Spot!

The Lord loves to precipitate a crisis! He sometimes lets things happen to make us pray and believe Him for the answer. He wants us to be specific and take a definite step of faith by making specific requests and expecting specific answers. Specific prayer puts both God and ourselves on the spot, but it is also a sign of our faith, which pleases God.

Some people are afraid to ask the Lord for definite answers to prayer, for fear they won’t get them-and that might be a reflection on their spirituality, or even hurt God’s reputation! “What if He doesn’t answer prayer? What will people think of our faith and our God?” So they just generalize in order not to be pinned down, in case they don’t get an answer.

But God loves to be put on the spot because He knows He’ll never fail. He’ll never fail as long as we meet the conditions, exercise our faith in prayer, and obey His Word. And when He answers, it will be a testimony to His Word and His faithfulness, as well as to our faith in expecting a specific answer. So tell Him exactly what you need or want done, and He won’t fail!

-D.B.B.

* * *

Dr. Alexander Whyte of Edinburgh was famous for his pulpit prayers. He always found something to thank God for, even in bad times. One stormy morning a member of his congregation thought to himself, The preacher will have nothing to thank God for on a wretched morning like this.

But Whyte began his prayer “We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this.”

A Baby Illustrates Faith!

How do we receive the spiritual nourishment we need from the Lord? It’s so simple: we just have to have the faith of a little baby!

When a baby is crying to be fed, he knows his mother wouldn’t think of refusing him! God put it in that baby to know that if he calls, she will answer. He expects the answer and he gets it!-And if we, as children of our heavenly Father, ask for milk, He’s surely not going to give us a serpent or something else! (Luke 11:10-13.)

And what is it that brings the milk out of the mother’s breast? When the baby sucks, he creates a vacuum inside his mouth, which pulls the milk out. Prayer is creating a vacuum like that inside our hearts: “Lord, here is this empty space!-You fill it!”

When the baby is very tiny, his mother has to bring the nourishment to him and show him where it is. But as he gets older, he automatically knows where to find the milk and he can reach out for it himself.-And likewise, the more we practice receiving nourishment from God, the better we know where to find it! And as long as we keep sucking, we’ll get more, because God has unlimited capacity to give!

-D.B.B.

The story is told of an old woman who had lived alone near a remote village in the Highlands of Scotland, and who was so poor that her church had to pay her rent for her.

One day when her pastor brought the monthly rent, he said, “Mrs. McKintrick, why is it that your grown son does not support you? I understand he has a very good job in Australia, and that he is a good boy who loves you dearly. Is this not the case?”

“Oh yes,” said the mother. “And he never forgets me. Every week he writes me the most loving letter.”

Curious to know more about a son who could so love his mother and yet leave her without support, the pastor asked to see some of the letters.

Soon the woman returned with two packages. “These are his letters,” she said, handing the pastor the first package, “and these are the pretty pictures he sends me with every letter. They fit nicely in the letter, and it shows he thinks about me.”

 “A picture in every letter?” The pastor was more curious than ever. “May I see them also?”

“Oh, surely,” she answered. “Some are of a man’s head, some of a man sitting on a horse, and some have the king’s picture on them. See, this one here has the King of England.-Long live the king!”

“Long live your son!” said the astonished pastor. “Why, my dear friend, do you know that you are a rich woman? This is money! You have wealth here! And to think of how you have suffered and done without, when right here in the house all the time you had riches that you thought were just pretty pictures!”

The promises of God in His Word are not just pretty pictures, not just beautiful language. God’s Word says, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4)-and there are hundreds of them. Abundant supply! Limitless resources!

-Virginia Brandt Berg

* * *

God Says to You, “Command Me!”

You’re in God’s hands, but in a way He’s also in yours. “Concerning the work of My hands, you command Me” (Isaiah 45:11). You can command the Lord? Yes, if you’re living in obedience to the Lord and are in His will, desiring only those things which please and glorify Him, you can command whatever you want. If you’re doing the right thing, love Him, and have faith in His Word, He’s already promised to answer prayer.

So much of what God does depends on your will and your action and what you want and how you pray! He has confined Himself and His operations to your faith and your requests. “You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2). He’s just waiting on you to command the situation.

Prayer moves the hand and heart of God. He enjoys using us, confining the majesty and the power of His omnipotence to the hands of frail men and women. So pray!

-D.B.B.

1  Matthew 12:13

2  John 9:1-7.

1  Luke 17:12-14.

2  John 11:1-44.

The pioneer missionary Hudson Taylor first went to China in 1853-a voyage that took five and a-half months. Once, when passing very close to an island inhabited by cannibals, the ship was becalmed. Slowly it drifted toward the shore. The savages assembled on the beach, anticipating a feast.

“You’re a man of God, Mr. Taylor. Pray for God to do something to save us!” the captain implored.

“I will pray,” said Taylor, “provided you set your sails to catch the breeze.”

“I can’t do that,” the captain protested. “I’d be the laughingstock of my crew if I unfurled the sails in a dead calm.

“Then I won’t pray,” Taylor said. “First prepare the sails.”

It was done.

While Taylor was still praying in his cabin, there came a knock at the door. It was the captain again.

“Are you still praying for wind?” the captain asked.

“Yes.”

“Well, you’d better stop,” the captain said, “because we have more wind than we can manage.”

And so they made it safely to their destination.

1  Psalm 37:4.

2  Malachi 3:10.

1  1 John 5:14-15.

You are coming to a King,

Large petitions with you bring;

For His grace and power are such,

None can ever ask too much!

* * *

Prayer is the most powerful form of energy that one can generate. The influence of prayer on the human mind and body is as demonstrable as that of secreting glands. Its results can be measured in terms of increased buoyancy, greater intellectual vigor, moral stamina and a deeper understanding of human relationships.

Prayer is indispensable to the fullest development of personality. Only in prayer do we achieve that complete harmonious assembly of mind, body and spirit which gives the frail human need its unshakable strength. When we pray we link ourselves with the inexhaustible motive that spins the universe.

-Dr. Alexis Carrel, French-born American surgeon and biologist, winner of a 1912 Nobel Prize.

1  1 Peter 5:7.

2  1 Samuel 13:14.

1  Matthew 6:6.

2  Matthew 18:19-20; Deuteronomy 32:30.

1  Other books of topically arranged Scripture available from Activated include the Discovering Truth series, together covering over 100 different subjects! For a short compilation of key Bible promises arranged topically, see the lists beginning on page 90 of this booklet.

2  1 Corinthians 13:1

THE LORD LEAVES A LOT UP TO US, AND OUR CONCERN AND PRAYER.

You’d be surprised how much God depends on our prayers, how concerned we are. When we’re faced with a needy situation, He wants us to show concern and pray specifically about it. If we really believe, every prayer is heard and answered. But if we don’t pray, it is not done. God can do anything, but He puts the responsibility of prayer on us.

The very intensity with which we pray and really mean it or desire it is reflected in the answer! The recipients of our prayers are not going to receive any more than we send. We have to visualize the people or situations we’re praying for, and pray for them with that thought on our heart, asking the Lord specifically for what we want Him to do.

Prayers are answered with the same intensity as they originate. Like a beam of light focused on a mirror, it will bounce back with as much power as it began with. If we only pray with half a heart, we only get half an answer. But if we pray with our whole heart, we get a wholehearted, strong answer!

Are you exercising your prayer power? Heaven will reveal what good we have done-or could have done-through prayer!

-D.B.B.

A young country boy was keeping his sheep one Sunday morning. The bells were ringing for church, and the people from the village were flocking to attend, when the little fellow began to think that he, too, would like to pray to God. But what could he say? No one had ever taught him any prayer. So he knelt down and started to recite the alphabet-A, B, C, and so on to Z.

A man happening to pass on the other side of the hedge heard the boy’s voice, and looking through the bushes, saw him kneeling with folded hands and closed eyes, repeating, “A, B, C … ”

“What are you doing, young man?”

“Praying, sir.”

“But what are you reciting the alphabet for?”

“Well, I didn’t know any prayer, but I wanted God to take care of me and help me to care for the sheep. So I thought if I said all I knew, He would put it together and spell all I want.”

“Bless your heart, son. God will hear and answer. When the heart speaks right, the lips can’t say wrong.”

THERE IS GREAT POWER IN UNITED PRAYER.

Some people are a bit shy about praying with others and sometimes they probably think about what Jesus said, “When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6). Well, there is a time for that, but there is also a time to pray together!

Sometimes it’s important that you make your request known, not only to the Lord but to others, so they can join with you in prayer, manifest their faith, and confess their dependence upon the Lord along with you. So never be ashamed to ask for prayer when you need it!

The Lord loves to give the answers, and He has to give the answers when He sees we’re united in love and prayer and purpose and mind and heart and spirit. “If two of you agree on Earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in Heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:19-20). God’s dynamics of the Spirit really operate amazingly! The Lord says that when one can only chase a thousand, two can put ten thousand to flight! (Deuteronomy 32:30.)

-D.B.B.

Sometimes I do not even pray in words,

I take my heart in my two hands

And hold it up before the Lord;

I’m so glad He understands.

Sometimes I do not even pray in words,

My spirit bows before His feet,

And with His hand upon my head,

We hold communion, silent, sweet.

Sometimes I do not pray in words,

For I am tired and long for rest.

My heart finds all it wants and needs

Just resting on the Savior’s breast.

* * *

Say to the Lord each morning, “Here I am, Jesus, my Friend, my Savior, my Teacher.  I stand before another brand-new day. I know I’m not capable of anything on my own, so I ask You to fill me with Your love and strength for today. I can’t muster it up on my own, but You’ve promised that if I’ll only ask, you’ll fill me to overflowing with Your love to give to others. So here I am now asking You to fill me to overflowing with love. Give me enough love so that I can pass on a bit of Heaven to those who I’m with today-my family and friends, or others I meet.  As I give a little bit of love, a little bit of Heaven, I’m giving a little bit of You, Jesus, and that’s what I want: I want to give You. I want to reflect You. I want to share You and Your wonderful love with everyone.”

If you ask in faith, He will do it.  He’ll answer your prayer and give you enough love and strength for each day, one day at a time.

NO MATTER WHAT ELSE YOU’RE DOING, YOU CAN ALWAYS BE PRAYING.

You don’t have to be down on your hands and knees to be praying. In fact, in everything you’re doing you ought to be praying and looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith.

Prayer is like breathing, just breathing the Holy Spirit all the time. Stay in constant communication with the Lord, constantly thinking about Him, and you will be anointed and Spirit-led in everything you do! If you’re praying about what you’re doing and asking God for wisdom, He has promised to give it to you!

The Lord can save you a lot of work, a lot of trouble and a lot of time if you’ll just pray first before you start a job. Pray about it and ask the Lord to help you and lead you, even if it’s just a few words- “Jesus, please help me!” You can pray in a split second and get the answer back quick, but if you don’t take the time to pray, and you lean on your own understanding and your own wisdom, you’re apt to make a sad mistake!

So “pray without ceasing!” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Ask the Lord about everything, every problem, every decision, and make sure you’re doing what He wants you to do. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths!” (Proverbs 3:6).

-D.B.B.

1  James 4:3.

2  John 15:7; 1 John 3:21-22.

3  John 9:31; Psalm 66:18-20.

1  Luke 11:5-10; 18:1-8; Romans 4:21; 12:12; 1 Peter 1:6-7.

2  Romans 4:19-22

UNANSWERED YET?

Faith cannot be unanswered.

Her feet were firmly planted on the Rock;

Amid the wildest storms she stands undaunted,

Nor quails before the loudest thunder shock.

She knows Omnipotence has heard her prayer,

And cries, “It shall be done,” sometime, somewhere.

Unanswered yet? Nay, do not say ungranted;

Perhaps your part is not yet wholly done.

The work began when your first prayer was uttered.

And God will finish what He has begun.

If you will keep the incense burning there,

His glory you shall see, sometime, somewhere.

-Robert Browning

* * *

ANSWERED PRAYER

God answers prayer;

Sometimes when hearts are weak

He gives the very gifts believers seek.

But often faith must learn a deeper rest,

And trust God’s silence

When He does not speak;

For, He whose name is Love

Will send the best.

Stars may burn out,

Nor mountain walls endure,

But God is true, His promises are sure

To those who seek.

-Myra Goodwin Plantz

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve,

I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to
   obey ...

I asked for health, that I might do greater things,

I was given infirmity, that I might do better things ...

I asked for riches, that I might be happy,

I was given poverty, that I might be wise ...

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men,

I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God ...

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,

I was given life, that I might enjoy all things ...

I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I had hoped for.

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am among all men most richly blessed.

-Roy Campanella

1  Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11.

2  Psalm 119:99-100

3  Psalm 32:8

1  John 14:26; 16:7,13-14.

2  Luke 11:13

3  Please see God’s Gifts, also in the Get Activated! series, for more on how to receive the Holy Spirit and what the benefits are.

1  1 Corinthians 12.

2  Mark 11:24

3  For a more complete explanation of prophecy and how it works, see Hearing from Heaven, another booklet in the Get Activated! series.

1  1 Kings 19:11-12.

2  Isaiah 30:21

1 Psalm 40:5; 119:113.

I cannot tell why there should come to me

A thought of someone miles and miles away,

In swift insistence on the memory,

Unless there be a need that I should pray.

Too hurried oft are we to spare a thought

For days together for some friend away:

Perhaps God does it for us, and we ought

To read His signal as a call to pray.

Perhaps just then, my friend has fiercer fight;

Some overwhelming sorrow or decay

Of courage, darkness, some lost sense of right,

And so, in case my friend needs prayer, I pray.

Friend, do the same for me, if I, unsought,

Intrude upon you on some crowded day.

Give me a moment’s prayer in passing thought;

Be very sure I need it, therefore pray.

-E. Middleton

* * *

If I can do some good today,

If I can serve along life’s way,

If I can something helpful say,

Lord, show me how.

If I can right a human wrong,

If I can help to make one strong,

If I can cheer with smile or song,

Lord, show me how.

If I can aid one in distress,

If I can make a burden less,

If I can spread more happiness,

Lord, show me how.

-Grenville Kleiser

Margaret, a busy executive, felt a tug on her heart every time she passed by a certain beggar. He’d been camped out just a block from her office for over a month. His name was Walter, she learned, and he was homeless. She would give him a few coins each time she saw him, but obviously he needed a whole lot more-and there were so many like him!

One night before going to bed, Margaret prayed, “Lord, I know I can’t solve the world’s problems, but show me what I can do for Walter and others in such dire circumstances to make their lives a little better.”

The next day she came across an article in the newspaper about a shelter for the inner-city homeless that was about to open. They were looking for sponsors and volunteers.

Margaret excitedly called the number given in the article. She would like to help financially, she told the organizer who answered the phone, and also to put in some hours to help get the center up and running.

Margaret had a little less in her savings account after that, and less time for herself on weekends, but she kept telling herself that it was a good investment.

The payoff came a few weeks later when Walter proudly announced that he had found a job and was moving into an apartment across town. “Margaret, you made my life bearable when I was down and out. I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done,” he told her.

   She was sure then that God had answered her prayer!

* * *

The Bible is a book of prayers. Out of 667 recorded prayers, there are 454 recorded answers.