At the Throne of Grace

Dr. John MacArthur is host of the daily radio program, Grace to You, and has been the senior pastor of Grace Community Church in Southern California for nearly 50 years.  At the Throne of Grace is a collection of 54 prayers that have preceded some of his 3,000 plus sermons.

MacArthur's goal, rather than encourage repetitive prayer and religious formalism, is to motivate believers to become more prayerful, more expressive and more thoughtful in their prayer as they come to the Lord before his throne of grace.

Dr. MacArthur has found his own prayer life blessed by Puritan prayers and resources from Charles Spurgeon and other godly men of earlier generations who convyed truth and passion in vivid, heartfelt language.

"We need to pray more; we need to give more careful thoughts to the content of our prayers; and we need to spend more time preparing our hearts and our tongues for prayer," says MacArthur. "Remember that Jesus warned against vain repetition and showy, grandiose prayers (Matthew 6:5-8)."

To listen to my conversation with John MacArthur, click here or scroll down.

Prayer Circles

Mark Batterson is lead pastor at National Community Church in Washington, D.C., a multi-site church plant that is targeting emerging generations. He is author of several books, and his latest is, The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears.

The idea for this book, Mark says, came from a story from the Talmud.  It is a true legend of how Honi, a man of God, prayed a bold prayer for rain during an intense drought.  What he did was he drew a circle and said to God that he would not leave that circle until He blessed the area with rain.  Mark shows in his book that miracles will happen once Christians pray bold prayers.

In his unique story-telling way, Mark Batterson encourages his readers to take that step of faith, like the children of Israel, Moses, Noah and many others in Scripture, and watch what God does when you pray "circles" around your biggest dreams and greatest fears.

To listen to my interview click here or scroll down.

Ramadan - A Time for Christians to Pray

Ramadan, 30 days of prayer and fasting in the Muslim world, began this past Saturday and The 30-Days Prayer Network has a rich website that guides Christians during the next 30 days on how to pray for the Muslims in our communities and around the world. Check out this video!



Remember to pray for the Muslim world during Ramadan!

Where Do You Get Your Energy?

From Tim Stevens and LeadingSmart

A Fourth of July Prayer

Dear Lord,

There is no greater feeling of liberation than to experience this freedom from sin and death that you have provided for me through Jesus Christ. Today my heart and my soul are free to praise you. For this I am very thankful.

On this Independence Day I am reminded of all those who have sacrificed for my freedom, following the example of your Son, Jesus Christ. Let me not take my freedom, both physical and spiritual, for granted. May I always remember that my freedom was purchased with a very high price. My freedom cost others their very lives.

Lord, today, bless those who have served and continue to give their lives for my freedom. With favor and bounty meet their needs and watch over their families.

Help me to live my life in a way that glorifies you, Lord. Give me the strength to be a blessing in someone else's life today, and grant me the opportunity to lead others into the freedom that can be found in knowing Christ.

Amen

(Author Unknown)