Romans 8:15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” Scripture Insights We were foster parents to a teenage girl. We had the opportunity to remove the term “foster” from our relationship. The adoption decree stated that “she shall be deemed and taken t...  Read More

Ezra 8:23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer. Scripture Insights The principle of fasting figures high in today’s text. I could go in many directions to plumb the riches of fasting, but my focus is on its aid to fervency in prayer. James 5:16 gives us a three-part formula for availing prayer. I liken these three to the necessaries of fire (fuel, heat, oxygen...  Read More

Acts 4:31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Scripture Insights Following Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was actively empowering and expanding the body of Christ. As opposition arose, the faithful turned to the Lord seeking even greater boldness and the assurance of his continued presence thro...  Read More

Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Scripture Insights Pentecost stirred up a hunger for prayer within the church. People were brought together “in one place” (Acts 2:1). Through corporate prayer, they experienced a powerful unity, and this resulted in the Lord bestowing his blessings and “life forevermore” (Ps. 133...  Read More

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Scripture Insights Can you imagine how impossible this promise must have felt to those who first heard it? How could they be witnesses to the ends of the earth when few of them had even been outside of Judea? Even with all our...  Read More

2 Chronicles 20:6 Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. Scripture Insights The rhetorical question at the beginning of this verse is a reminder that we are not praying to just any run-of-the-mill god. We are calling out to the God of heaven, the one and onl...  Read More

John 17:15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. Scripture Insights At times the world seems to have gone mad. Most of us would rather be transported out of it. “Beam us up, Jesus,” would be our prayer. The disciples probably had similar thoughts. Jesus made some pretty awful predictions about what would be ahead for them: others will try...  Read More

John 15:16 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. Scripture Insights Directly from the heart of Jesus, he has called each one of us to bear fruit, to be productive in ministry, and to win people to the Lord. And it all begins with prayer. Our prayers must alw...  Read More

John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Scripture Insights Have you ever forgotten where you left something? We all have misplaced an item. Our human nature is to forget. Backtracking is a way to remember where that item is. I begin by reversing my actions in my mind and reme...  Read More

Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Scripture Insights As a children’s pastor, a favorite song was “Pray,” by Mary Rice Hopkins and Gary Hopkins. “Pray” tells how Daniel, Jonah, Abraham, Sarah, and Jesus faced every challenge with prayer. The chorus states when we need a friend, are in trouble, or need to talk to someone, we ...  Read More

Luke 10:2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Scripture Insights Farmers understand this metaphor all too well. I once made my living as a potato farmer in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. We invested a lot of energy and work to get every potato into the bin before winter. We knew wha...  Read More

Luke 6:12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. Scripture Insights Jesus is a great example on whom to model our life of prayer. Practical applications come to the one who spends time delving into the different practices of his prayer life. This passage from Luke highlights one of those practices—spending time alone with his Father for sign...  Read More