Thursday, November 13, 2014

Prayer, then Renewal (PrayerLife)

Our backyard on the river
There is a close relationship between prayer and renewal. For example:

"Every spiritual awakening of significance from the beginning of Acts to the powerful Welsh revival early in [the 20th century] had its roots in prayer. The awakenings under John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards and Charles Finney were first of all revivals of prayer. These religious leaders openly declared that prayer was the basis for all that happened in these world changing revivals." (In Stanley Grenz, Prayer: The Cry for the Kingdom, 4)

When the people are "too busy to pray" expect no ongoing personal and corporate renewal. Therefore "the greatest challenge facing the church today is that of motivating people to pray." (Ib.)


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NOTE: If you are looking for a very good book on prayer, try Stanley Grenz's Prayer: The Cry for the Kingdom.

But remember that reading a book on prayer without actually having a prayer life is like reading books on swimming without ever jumping in the pool.