“You must pray with all your might. That does not mean saying your prayers, or sitting gazing about in church or chapel with eyes wide open while someone else says them for you.”
William Booth (1829-1912)
Mindless words aren’t prayer. Pray with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. 
“You can do more than pray
after you have prayed,
but you cannot do more than pray
until you have prayed.”
John Bunyan (1628-1688)
“On every occasion of uneasiness, we should retire to prayer, that we may give place to the grace and light of God and then form our resolutions.”
John Wesley (1703-1791)
Pray first, think, then act.
Philippians 4:6 (NLT)
Tell God what you need, and
thank him for all he has done.
Pray, think, act, thank. 
“Prayer should not be regarded as a duty which must be performed, but rather as a privilege to be enjoyed, a rare delight that is always revealing some new beauty.”
E.M. Bounds (1835-1913)
“Prayer is not only asking, but an attitude of mind which produces the atmosphere in which asking is perfectly natural.”
Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
James 5:16 (AMP)
The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].
Prayer is a privilege, perfectly natural, and powerful.
This week, I plan to share a variety of thoughts about prayer — including a few of my own.
“Beware in your prayers, above everything else, of limiting God . . . by fancying that you know what He can do.”
Andrew Murray (1828-1917)
“We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves; The Bible idea of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself.”
Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
Ephesians 1:18 (NIV)
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you.
Prayer — God is in charge.
Andrew Murray included this prayer in his book, With Christ in the School of Prayer:
“Lord, Jesus, teach me to pray with all my heart and strength that there may be no doubt with You or with me about what I have asked. I want to know what I desire so well that as my petitions are being recorded in heaven, I can also record them here on earth and note each answer as it comes.”
In his book With Christ in the School of Prayer, Andrew Murray urges us to first seek the Spirit.
“The Holy Spirit is the first of the Father’s gifts and the one He delights most in bestowing. The Holy Spirit is therefore the gift we ought to seek first.”
Murray tells us to start with the Spirit, then stay with the Spirit.
“If there is one thing we should pray for to draw us to the Father’s throne and keep us there, it is the Holy Spirit.”
Pray in, with and through the Spirit.
Here’s more wisdom from Murray’s
With Christ in the School of Payer.
“Let us seek not only in prayer, but at all times, to joyfully accept the assurance that man’s prayer on earth and God’s answer in heaven are meant for each other.”
Our prayers and God’s answers — perfect together!
In his book, With Christ in the School of Prayer, Andrew Murray reminds us to look to our heavenly Father.
“God loves you not because you are clever or good, but because He is your father.”
Pray with Pastor Murray:
“Lord, teach us to live in such a way that the Father and His love may be nearer, clearer and dearer to us than the love of any earthly father.”
This week I plan to share a few nuggets of wisdom from Andrew Murray’s little book, With Christ in the School of Prayer. Pastor Murray (1828-1917) was a Dutch Reformed Church missionary sent from Scotland to South Africa. He had a knack for putting big ideas into simple words.
“Though in its beginnings prayer is so simple that the feeblest child can pray, it is at the same time the highest and holiest work to which man can rise . . .
At first there is no work that appears so simple; later on, none that is more difficult.”
Ready to work hard?
Proverbs 17:15 (NIV)
Acquitting the guilty and
condemning the innocent—
the Lord detests them both.
In God’s eyes, there’s no “lesser of two evils.” If it’s not right, it’s not justice.
