E.M. Bounds

Day 31 – The Prayer Cafe “31 Day Challenge”

November 6, 2015

upside-down-world-21

Day 31

 

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. – John 15:16

 

“Prayer puts God’s work in His hands, and keeps it there. It looks to Him constantly and depends on Him implicitly to further His own cause. Prayer is but faith resting in, acting with, and leaning on and obeying God. This is why God loves it so well, why He puts all power into its hands, and why He so highly esteems men of prayer.” – E.M. Bounds

 

Let us pray:

Father, I pray for those who have been on this 31-Day Prayer Journey. May Your Light and Love abound in them richly. May they truly be connected to you as their Vine. May they bear good fruit. May they be wonderful witnesses of Your Grace and Love in word, in deed, and in attitude. And may they truly turn the world upside down. 

In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

#upsideDown #love

 

Day 30 – The Prayer Cafe “31 Day Challenge”

November 5, 2015

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Day 30

  

They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. – Acts 1:14

   

“The praying which makes a prayerful ministry is not a little praying put in as we put flavor to give it a pleasant smack, but the praying must be in the body, and form the blood and bones. Prayer is no petty duty, put into a corner; no piecemeal performance made out of the fragments of time which have been snatched from business and other engagements of life; but it means that the best of our time, the heart of our time and strength must be given.” – E.M. Bounds

 

Let us pray:

May prayer be our main business. Amen.

 

#Priority #TheBest

 

 

Day 25 – The Prayer Cafe “31 Day Challenge”

October 31, 2015

Do-You-Hear-My-Cry-1

 

Day 25

 

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. – Acts 16:25

 

“The goal of prayer is the ear of God,” a goal that can only be reached by patient and continued and continuous waiting upon Him, pouring out our heart to Him and permitting Him to speak to us.” – E.M. Bounds

 

Let us pray:

“Hear my cry oh Lord. Give ear unto my earnest prayers. Rescue me Lord Jesus. And take away my every fear” – Hear My Cry (Fred Hammond)

 

# Listen #Ear

 

Day 19 – The Prayer Cafe “31 Day Challenge”

October 25, 2015

Prayer9

Day 19

 

Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer. – Psalm 4:1

  

“If prayer puts God to work on earth, then, by the same token, prayerlessness rules God out of the world’s affairs, and prevents Him from working. And if prayer moves God to work in this world’s affairs, then prayerlessness excludes God from everything concerning men, and leaves man on earth the mere creature of circumstances, at the mercy of blind fate or without help of any kind from God.” – E.M. Bounds

 

Let us pray:

Help us O Lord from the fate of prayerlessness and the occupation of prayerlessness. Keep our hearts and minds focused on you. Lead us today in our prayers. May we hear the cry of your heart and pray Your kingdom be made manifest on earth in every situation. Amen.

 

#Prayer #Fate #Worldchanger

 

 

Day 18 – The Prayer Cafe “31 Day Challenge”

October 24, 2015

4am

Day 18

 

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. – James 1:6

  

“Mr. Wesley spent two hours daily in prayer. He began at four in the morning. Of him, one who knew him well wrote: “He thought prayer to be more his business than anything else, and I have seen him come out of his closet with a serenity of face next to shining.” – E.M. Bounds

 

Let us pray:

I can say nothing but “Thank You Mr. Wesley for raising the bar”.  Point well noted. 

Lord, continue to teach me. 

 

#Believe #Prayer #MainBusiness

 

 

Day 11 – The Prayer Cafe “31 Day Challenge”

October 17, 2015

SELF-RELIANCE

Day 11

 

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. – Matthew 18:20

 

“What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use — men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men — men of prayer.” – E.M. Bounds

 

Let us pray:

There are many of us, women and men, who are looking for answers and looking for guidance Lord. We need You. Sometimes we stumble along the way with our best designed plans. We are brilliant people, but the truth is we don’t see everything. We need You.

There is a sect of us who hold our sacred allegiance to self-reliance. Help us to find our alliance and reliance in You. Help us to be MIGHTY merely because we find our MIGHT in prayer, through prayer, and with prayer. Help transform the lens through which we see prayer in this season. Help us to be found in You because of prayer. 

This is our prayer today. Amen.

 

#Prayer #Strength #Mighty #Reliance

 

Day 8 – The Prayer Cafe “31 Day Challenge”

October 14, 2015

healing_of_steve-meyer-by-the-finger-of-god

Day 8

 

The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.

– Psalm 145:18

 

“Few Christians have anything but a vague idea of the power of prayer; fewer still have any experience of that power. The Church seems almost wholly unaware of the power God puts into her hand; this spiritual carte blanche on the infinite resources of God’s wisdom and power is rarely, if ever, used—never used to the full measure of honouring God.” – E.M. Bounds

 

Let us pray:

Praying in this moment would be presumptuous of me. Let’s just marinate in what E.M. Bounds shared.

I know there will be some people who will shout how they know all about that power and glory. My first reaction is to ask us to refrain from shouting.

Maybe Mr. Bounds is talking about a prayer level we know nothing about. Some of us start shouting when we get to the rooftop of a private house and I think Mr. Bounds is speaking on a skyscraper level. Maybe there is more. Maybe the answer is found deep in God. Maybe there are untold riches of grace and miracles we don’t really know about because we don’t see them regularly manifesting in our lives and in the sacred places we congregate.

And I am not talking about emotion. We can manufacture that very well. I am talking about true power.

Maybe we are in need of a new normal. What about a miracle-working prayer life where cancer flees bodies and dead people rise from the grave? What about an intimacy with God where the peace that passes all understanding falls on those who stand within our presence without us saying a word? What about a contagious joy that envelops the hearts and bones of those we interact with on the daily?

Thank you Mr. Bounds for challenging my imagination. Thank you for enlarging my territory for a prayerful thirst.

How about you? Where are you challenged?

 

#Honesty #Power #Levels #Pause

 

Day 3 – The Prayer Cafe “31 Day Challenge”

October 9, 2015

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Day 3

 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7

 

“Men and women are needed whose prayers will give to the world the utmost power of God; who will make His promises to blossom with rich and full results. God is waiting to hear us and challenges us to bring Him to do this thing by our praying. He is asking us, to-day, as He did His ancient Israel, to prove Him now herewith.” Behind God’s Word is God Himself, and we read: “Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, his Maker: Ask of me of things to come and concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me.” As though God places Himself in the hands and at the disposal of His people who pray – as indeed He does. The dominant element of all praying is faith, that is conspicuous, cardinal and emphatic. Without such faith it is impossible to please God, and equally impossible to pray.” – E.M. Bounds

 

Let us pray:

Lord, many times we have faith to believe in You and faith to believe prayer for others. However there are many times when we do not have faith to believe prayer for ourselves. It is so strange. Help our unbelief. We are anxious and our minds run with so many plans of fixing things on our own. Help us to stop, be still, and focus on You. Help us to remember you are so desiring to intervene in our lives. We just need to allow You.

We’re tired of trying to make it work all the time. Today we give you permission to take control. We submit our cause into Your hand. Please take care of us. Please. Amen.

 

#Surrender #Trust #Still

 

Day 1 – The Prayer Cafe “31 Day Challenge”

October 7, 2015

Busy busy busy

Day 1

In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came before him, into his ears.
– Psalm 18:6

 

“Praying is spiritual work; and human nature does not like taxing, spiritual work. Human nature wants to sail to heaven under a favoring breeze, a full, smooth sea. Prayer is humbling work. It abases intellect and pride, crucifies vainglory, and signs our spiritual bankruptcy, and all these are hard for flesh and blood to bear. It is easier not to pray than to bear them. So we come to one of the crying evils of these times, maybe of all times — little or no praying. Of these two evils, perhaps little praying is worse than no praying. Little praying is a kind of make-believe, a salvo for the conscience, a farce and a delusion.” – E.M. Bounds
Let us pray:

God, some of us are so guilty of little praying. We allow the busyness of our lives and the busyness of our hearts to keep us entertained and distracted from conversing with You. Help us to find our voice with You. Help us to find our place with You. Help us to see You are the friend who sticks closer than a brother. You are the friend who is always willing to listen and to talk with us. Forgive us for ignoring You and not seeking You more often and more diligently.

May our continued prayer today be to seek You, to find You, and to know You. Amen.

 

#Direction #Focus #Intimacy #Prayerfulness