Living a life of prayer means actively and intentionally opening ourselves to God's Spirit every day and cooperating with his will.

Most of us categorize our lives in segments: home life, work life, leisure life and even prayer life. Years ago God began to show me that I didn't have to settle for just "having a prayer life." Instead, I could live a praying life.

What is a praying life? It is a dimension of living in which you experience minute-by-minute the flow of God's provision. read more

7:00PM EST 1/31/2001

NOBODY IN MY FAMILY watches Desperate Housewives. My wife and I are raising four teenage daughters, so the last thing we need is a sleazy prime-time soap opera about suburban women who consider adultery an acceptable way to cure boredom.

No thanks. I'll change the channel.

On the other hand, I do want my girls to grow up to be desperate. Not like the women who live on the fictional Wisteria Lane, but more like Hannah--the Bible's original desperate housewife. We could use a big dose of her desperation today. read more

8:00PM EDT 9/30/2005

If you are especially burdened to intercede for governmental authorities, it's possible you've been anointed for a special assignment.

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Who can forget the memorable Wednesday night in January 1991 when television viewers watched with astonishment as the Gulf War unfolded before our very eyes? The war appeared to be a struggle over Kuwait's crude oil. However, oil is symbolic of power, both physically and spiritually.

Saddam Hussein did not count on the fact that God's people would gather throughout the land to pray. Not unlike the prideful Goliath, Hussein was swiftly defeated and made the laughingstock of the entire world. God honors the prayers of His government intercessors! read more

7:00PM EST 3/31/2001

In obedience to Jesus' explicit command, 120 believers waited in the upper room for the promise of the Father, and while they waited, they travailed in prayer. For 10 days they gave themselves to intercession.

Luke records their steadfast spiritual labor: "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication" (Acts 1:14, NKJV). This is a key fact that reveals that intercession was an integral part of the birth of the church.

In that miraculous moment, the Holy Spirit fell in power. Peter preached Christ, and suddenly 3,000 souls believed, repented and were born anew (see Acts 2:37-41). The travail of the 120 brought forth new life for many. This is the calling of God's interceding forerunners everywhere. read more

7:00PM EST 1/31/2005

IS PRAYING ALL NIGHT THE KEY TO RELEASING THE POWER OF GOD?

Pray all night?" you ask. "How can anyone pray all night?"

It's easy. Bonnie and I discovered long ago that although prayer is the calling of God to all believers, it is our decision whether we respond or not. Once we make the commitment to seek God's face in prayer, He honors our decision by empowering us with a special outpouring of His grace, strength and physical stamina. read more

8:00PM EDT 9/30/2000

IF WE WANT TO PROGRESS IN OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEYS, WE MUST PURSUE THE INWARD LIFE, COMMUNING WITH GOD IN THE DEPTHS OF OUR SPIRITS.

Your way to God begins on the day of your conversion, for conversion marks your soul's initial return to God. From that moment you begin to live and have your being by the means of His grace.

After your conversion, your own spirit--the human spirit (which is deep within your inmost being)--is touched by God and is made alive and functioning. Your spirit--in turn--invites your soul to compose itself and to turn within, there to find the God who has newly come to reside at the center of your being. read more

8:00PM EDT 5/31/2005

The local weathermen warned us regularly in spring 2006 about the dreadful hurricane season Florida residents were facing. The two previous years had been record-breaking in our state and across the Gulf region for damage due to hurricanes. In Orlando, where I live, three storms hit within six weeks.

At a conference I attended in May 2006, several leaders discussed the dismal forecasts. As we talked, it became clear that the Holy Spirit was prodding us to do something. After all, Jesus has authority over the winds and the waves (see Mark 4:39), and He gave His authority to us. By the end of the discussion, three of us who have intercessory prayer networks totaling about 10,000 people committed to take a stand in prayer against the storms and their probable devastation.

During the next month I connected with several other leaders whom God was also directing to stand in prayer regarding the storm season. We began to ask the Holy Spirit for His strategy and were amazed at how specifically He directed us to pray. We decreed: "No storm of hurricane strength will hit American soil." read more

8:00PM EDT 5/31/2007