9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” 10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.
6 In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. 7 The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. 8 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. 9 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. 10 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
“The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. 4 But in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them.”
7 In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah 8 “Hear, O my people, and I will warn you--if you would but listen to me, O Israel! 9 You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god. 10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.
20 They were helped in fighting them, and God handed the Hagrites and all their allies over to them, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him.
7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him?
13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.”
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. 7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
17 Pray continually.
“Something happened when I consistently postured my heart towards God throughout the day. Talking to Him became a rhythm of living. I was abiding — enjoying the journey of connecting with God through a beautiful new habit of ongoing conversation.” Chrystal Evans Hurst
“What is ‘good’? Just as Pilate asked Jesus ‘What is Truth?’ while all the while looking straight at Truth Incarnate, we as humans often misconstrue ‘What is good?’ and end up missing out on God’s best by ‘kicking against the goads’ and not walking in His ways. We so often buy into what the world believes as good. Do we believe it’s all about more – More clothes in the closet? More comforts in the den? More money in the bank? More health in the body? More buildings, marquees, publications or whatever’s bearing our names? More children in the home? And on and on and on it goes. ‘Good’ is not merely ‘wants. ‘Good’ can be as varied as the people who populate this dusty earth. Simply put, ‘good’ is always God’s best for a life. The Maker of all humankind has a plan for each life and our best is always to walk in it – be it ever so hard. His will is revealed in a myriad of ways from His Word, from the Holy Spirit’s promptings Who indwells every true believer in Christ, from prayer and petition with thanksgiving, from fellow sojourners – why God can even use a donkey or a great big fish! And believe me, you always want to be in the center of His will as it is good and pleasing and perfect. Don’t fight against God’s best because it is hard. Allow Him to conform you to the image of Christ. We are the ultimate losers if we don’t. It is the life of true blessedness.” BHY
“Let a few of God’s people, they don’t need to be many, get thoroughly right with God themselves—the rest will count for nothing unless you start right there; then let them band themselves together to pray for a revival until God opens the heavens and comes down. Then let them put themselves at God’s disposal to use them as He sees fit. That will bring a revival to any church, any community.” R. A. Torrey
“There comes a time, in spite of our soft, modern ways, when we must be desperate in prayer, when we must wrestle, when we must be outspoken, shameless and importunate. Many of the prayers recorded in Scripture are ‘cries,’ and the Hebrew and Greek words are very strong. Despite opinions to the contrary, the Bible recognizes such a thing as storming heaven- ‘praying through.’ The fervent prayer of a righteous man is mighty in its working.” Cameron Thompson
“So, write it down. Bare your heart before Him and place every desire at His feet; yielding to His ultimate will being done above all. Asking and yielding are in a delicate balance together. Yes, we can ask. But along with asking, we have to yield. This means letting go of control and leaving it all up to Him. Ask, and then let go of the breath that you have been holding in for so long. It’s not all up to you. Surrender.” Chrystal Evans Hurst
“Grant especially, blessed Lord, that Your church may believe that it is by the power of united prayer that she can bind and loose in heaven, cast out Satan, save souls, remove mountains, and hasten the coming of the kingdom." A prayer from Andrew Murray
“‘Pray without ceasing’”...and here the word ‘pray’ does not mean to beg or to plead as if God were unwilling to give – but simply to expose by faith every situation as it arises, to the all-sufficiency of the One who indwells you by His life.” Major W. Ian Thomas
“The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.” Samuel Chadwick
“Philippians 4:6 instructs us to pray about everything. If Paul had wanted us to limit our praying to everything big, he certainly would have told us. God is as interested in your small, seemingly insignificant requests as he is your kingdom-level, life changing needs. God’s interest in your prayers isn’t dependent upon their relative kingdom weightiness. Its’ based on his love for and interest in you. Praying for the little things teaches you to depend on God. Since prayer is communication and dialogue with God, praying for little things teaches you to enjoy his presence. Seeking God in the little things increases your gratitude and offers perspective. You should pray for little things, because they often turn into big things.” Anonymous
“He longs to speak with us as one would speak to a friend. And He longs for us to talk back to Him in never-ending conversation. Don’t miss out on connecting with the ultimate Lover of our Souls.” Chrystal Evans Hurst