Chapter 1 — The Legacy of Prayer
It should not surprise you to discover that the greatest and most spiritually successful men and women in the Bible were always people of prayer. Abraham walked by faith but was guided by prayer. Isaac’s intercession on behalf of his barren wife resulted in the birth of Jacob, who became the father of the nation of Israel (Genesis 25:21). Moses spoke with God “as a man speaks to his friend,” receiving guidance and revelation for his leadership decisions (Exodus 33:11). The world still has the Torah and the Ten Commandments as fruit of it.
Before choosing His disciples, Jesus spent all night in prayer to God. As they followed Him, they discovered His private habit was to rise early and pray before the sun rose (Mark 1:35). Even as His popularity was exploding, He would “often slip away to the wilderness and pray” (Luke 5:15–16).
Chapter 2 — The Power of Prayer
Prayer provides an unlimited spiritual data plan — you never need to worry that you have drifted out of range from the signal tower. With everything that prayer can be to you, why would anyone choose not to pray?
Chapter 3 — The Priority of Prayer
Prayer aligns the body of Christ with her Head. When Jesus ran the money changers out of the temple, He proclaimed, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a robbers’ den” (Mark 11:17). He did not say, “My house shall be called a house of sermons” or “a house of singing” or “a house of evangelism.”
Scripture specifically ties each of the following to prayer — a preview of what will happen when a church truly becomes devoted to it: evangelism of the lost (Colossians 4:3; 1 Timothy 2:1–8), discipleship (Luke 11:1–2; John 17), true fellowship (Acts 2:42), wise decisions (James 1:5), obstacles overcome (Mark 11:22–24), needs met (Matthew 6:11), worship ignited (Acts 2:41–47), and revival sparked (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Chapter 4 — The Ultimate Purpose of Prayer
Ultimately, all prayer is for the glory of God. The best answer He can give to any prayer is whatever answer brings Him the most glory. When God reveals His glory, He is unwrapping a measure of His identity — some of His nature, His holiness, His power, His lovingkindness. That awareness should shape the posture of every prayer you offer: “Your ways are higher than my ways. Work in my heart and in each of my situations, Lord, so that You are most glorified.”
Chapter 5 — What Is and Isn’t Prayer
Prayer is communion with God in order to intimately know, love, and worship Him; to understand and conform your life to His will and ways; and to access and advance His kingdom, power, and glory. When you pray, “Give us this day … lead us not into temptation … deliver us,” you are seeking access to God’s kingdom resources and His mighty power to work on your behalf. Prayer is not about prayer. It is about a Person — God Himself. When it becomes merely about accessing provision or protection rather than knowing and pleasing the Person of God, you are getting off track.
Chapter 6 — What: Types of Prayer
When you study praise in Scripture, you will observe people expressing: a reminder of who God is, a recounting of what He has done, a recognition of His holiness, a rejoicing in His name, and a relinquishing of control.
Your heart is more pure and ready to pray in faith when you have first adored God, confessed your sins, and thanked Him for what He has done. Intercession — praying on behalf of others — is another vital type. While Haman was planning to destroy the Jews, Esther interceded in prayer and then politically interceded for the people and saved her nation. You do not need to always include every type of prayer when you pray. Sometimes you need to just get to the point, like Peter when he cried, “Lord, save me” (Matthew 14:30).
Chapter 7 — What Are God’s Answers to Prayer?
What may surprise you is how many of God’s answers to prayer are a variation of yes. His answers form up under about five different types. Yes, immediately — Abraham’s servant prayed, “Before he had finished speaking,” Rebekah appeared (Genesis 24:12). Yes, in due time — a delay is not a denial. Yes, so you will learn from it — sometimes God gives you what you asked to teach you what you truly needed. No, because your heart is not right — “you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3). And no, I have got a better plan — sometimes you ask too small when God wants to give you a houseful. That is why it is good to pray, “Lord, would you do more than I can ask or imagine?”
Chapter 8 — When: Scheduled Prayer
Prayer should be a natural part of your thinking — not just in your quiet moments but also in your chaos. If you were to say that teenagers “text their friends constantly,” you would not mean they never do anything else. Likewise, God desires that prayer become an ongoing opportunity you take full advantage of — quietly praising, thanking, and leaning on Him at any moment and in any context.
Chapter 9 — When: Spontaneous Prayer
What if the richest man in your city called you today and said he would give you ten thousand dollars in cash every morning if you showed up and rang his doorbell at six? Would you be there? Absolutely. Why? Because if you really want something badly enough and value it enough, you make it happen. And yet your Savior, Jesus Christ, is daily offering you eternal treasures from His Word and the opportunity to talk with His Father, the God of the universe — and you still come up with excuses as to why you do not have time to make it work.
Chapter 10 — How: The Posture of Prayer
Many prayers from Scripture were made with uplifted hands. The Bible talks about raising hands — “the lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.” And while closing your eyes limits distractions, a common biblical expression was lifting the eyes toward heaven, like when Jesus “raised His eyes” before praying at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:41).
You can identify the difference between the prayers you make while flat on your back, fighting sleep — and the prayers you make while deliberately kneeling, or raising your hands, or speaking aloud. Posture shapes engagement.
Chapter 11 — How: The Locks of Prayer
Certain things can hinder your prayers from being effective. The first lock is relational neglect in marriage. Peter wrote plainly: “Husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way … so that your prayers will not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7).
The second lock is indifference to the poor: “He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered” (Proverbs 21:13). The third is unforgiveness. “Whenever you stand praying,” Jesus said, “forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions” (Mark 11:25–26). Bitterness poisons not only you spiritually and mentally, but also the effectiveness of your prayers.
Chapter 12 — How: The Keys of Prayer
Where the previous chapter identified locks, this one reveals the keys that open the door to powerful prayer. The first key is persistence: “Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” The second is praying in Jesus’ name — which means to pray as He would, from within your relationship with Him. You approach God based on Christ’s authority and what He has done, not your own.
An overlooked third key is fasting — going without food in order to focus more fully on the Lord. Jesus fasted and prayed. Esther fasted and prayed. Nehemiah fasted and prayed. Fasting opens your spirit to God when you would otherwise be feeding your flesh. The fourth key is obedience: “Whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:21–22). And the fifth is delighting in the Lord: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). When your delight is in Him, your desires begin to align with His will.
Chapter 13 — Vertical: The Cross of Christ
Before diving into what is involved in developing a more vibrant and effective prayer life, the first place for anyone to start is by pausing to make sure they have even begun a genuine relationship with God. Jesus said plainly: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 7:21). The path to a genuine relationship with God runs through the cross: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9–10).
Good works cannot save anyone. But after a person is genuinely saved and truly transformed by Christ, specific good works will start showing up as evidence of their salvation. The book of 1 John gives seven key indicators — not the roots of salvation, but the fruits: a lifestyle of obedience to God; confession of Jesus as the Christ; a lifestyle of repentance of sin; genuine love for other believers; the discipline of God your Father; the presence of God’s Holy Spirit, who testifies with your spirit that you are a child of God (Romans 8:16); and faith in Jesus alone for salvation. These are litmus tests revealing whether God has really made you a new creation.
Chapter 14 — Vertical: Repentance Versus Pride
Pride is one of the greatest sins of all (Proverbs 6:16–17). It leads to almost every other sin. “When pride comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2).
The antidote is honest prayer of surrender: “Where I have worked so hard to build myself up, I see now I have actually been tearing away at what my relationship with You can be. Today, Lord, I come to You with nothing but gratitude, asking You to purge me of pride and help me see things as they really are. You first. You always.”
Chapter 15 — Horizontal: Unity Versus Division
The enemy does everything possible to keep God’s people divided, because once believers come together in unity, they gain momentum and take ground for the kingdom. Unity in prayer is not optional — it is strategic. Scripture is equally clear about the opposite posture: “Let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:6–7). Division breeds doubt; unity fuels faith.
Chapter 16 — Your Heart: Faith Versus Doubt
When you pray, you should rest in the fact that God is not unaware, unable, uncaring, unwilling, or unlikely to answer. If you do not feel like praying much anymore, the diagnosis probably lies in one of four misconceptions. God does not know your needs — but interaction with God is the whole point. God is not able to help — Paul declared He is “able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20). God does not care — Jesus pointed to the birds of the air: if He cares for them, how much more you. And God is not likely to do anything anyway — that is not the impression you get from Mark 11:24: “All things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” Jesus illustrated God’s readiness with two parables of a sleeping neighbor and a heartless judge (Luke 18:1–5): God is neither. He cares for you more than anyone else in your life.
Chapter 17 — Your Heart: Secret Versus Show
Scripture reveals that the primary way Jesus prayed was in secret. Though there are a few accounts of short public prayers, His routine was to either rise early to be alone in prayer (Mark 1:35), send everyone away and escape to a solitary place (Mark 6:46), or stay up late and pray after the others had gone to sleep (Luke 6:12). The most powerful prayers are not performed for an audience — they are offered in hidden communion with the Father.
Chapter 18 — Your Heart: Obedience Versus Rebellion
A lot of people hide behind prayer. They hope it will cover for disobedience in other areas that are a lot harder and more costly to do than just praying. God keeps telling them to do things, but they keep “praying about it” with no steps of action. Pray and obey. Obey and pray. Put those two together, and you have got a powerful combination.
Chapter 19 — Your Heart: Persistence Versus Impatience
”Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed” (Psalm 25:3). God may use delays in your life to reveal your heart and your level of trust in Him. When Elijah prayed for the dead son of the widow, he prayed three times before the boy came back to life (1 Kings 17:21–22). When he was asking God to send the rain, he ended up praying seven times (1 Kings 18:41–44). You do not know if God’s answer will come immediately, after several days, or even years. Persistence is not a lack of faith — it is the expression of it.
Chapter 20 — The Word of God
Your copy of the Bible is not only your companion when you enter your prayer closet; it is also your inspiration, your source, your reliable storehouse and gold mine of trustworthy promises. When you do not know what to say, let the Bible lead your praying for you.
Chapter 21 — The Will of God
Pray in accordance with what you already know for sure to be His will. The chief goal of God’s will is that He be glorified and His kingdom advanced — “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). He also wants you living a pure, sanctified life (1 Thessalonians 4:3), rejoicing and grateful in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18), maturing in the faith, producing fruit, and in close fellowship with other believers. When you make known your sincere requests to Him in prayer, “the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
Chapter 22 — The “Whatever” from God
Some people claim that God allows you to ask only for what you need, but never what you want. Sounds dutiful and honorable, but it is actually not biblical. The truth is, the “whatever” offer runs throughout the New Testament. “Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it” (Mark 11:24). “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do” (John 14:13). “Whatever we ask we receive from Him” (1 John 3:22). There is a noticeable pattern — a “whatever” pattern.
God is not Santa Claus. He will not answer requests born in sin (James 4:3). But if you are walking with Him, and if your heart’s desire is to please Him, then He delights in granting your heart’s desires. James 4:2 tells us that one of the reasons we do not have what we want from God is because we have not asked for it. Turn those desires into petitions. But do ask.
Chapter 23 — The Wonder of God’s Names
As you pray strategically, remember to call out to your God by His names as you learn them. He loves to hear His children acknowledge Him for all He does and all He can do.
Chapter 24 — The Wisdom of God
”Wisdom is supreme — so get wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7). Acquiring wisdom is of supreme importance, and prayer is one of the keys that unlocks it. Wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge to a given situation — making the best choices, making your relationships work, making grand-slam decisions about friendship, marriage, and parenting. God promises to give it generously, especially to those who “seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure” (Proverbs 2:4).
Solomon was young and inexperienced when he came to David’s throne, so he prayed, “Give Your servant an obedient heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” God was pleased and grew him into a man whose wisdom was known far and wide — producing 3,000 memorable proverbs and providing him the secrets of riches and honor. The Proverbs’ consistent refrains show the difference between hard work and laziness, righteousness and wickedness, honesty and dishonesty: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.”
Chapter 25 — The Ways of God’s Spirit
Prayer is an admission that you are not in control, and yet at the same time completely and confidently under God’s control (Psalm 103:19). God knows you often forget to pray and do not know what to pray (Romans 8:26). And yet God urges you to keep entering into prayer anyway — knowing He can lead you through the One He has deposited into your heart.
The Holy Spirit is the engine of the Christian life. Every believer has the Holy Spirit within them (Ephesians 1:13–14), but you must be filled with, submit to, and walk in the Spirit. The Greek tense used in Ephesians 5:18 is a command to keep being filled — not a one-time experience but a moment-by-moment, daily way of living. He illumines God’s Word, convincing you of the hideousness of sin and the glories of righteousness (John 16:8–11). He prays for you: “The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). What you cannot pray, His Spirit can. When He speaks to you, it is an internal knowing — a good and timely thought accompanied by a holy burden. “This is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). Our prayers are not bound by our limitations because the Spirit has no limits.
Chapter 26 — Praying Offensively
There are times when you need to play defense. But you also need a game plan for offense — asking God to open doors for the gospel, to send forth laborers into the harvest field, to pour out His Holy Spirit in revival, to use your spiritual gifts in His service. Spiritual warfare is about standing your ground against the enemy and taking new ground for the kingdom.
Think of your marriage, family, or city, and let these questions generate your offensive prayers: What is the most loving thing I can ask for right now? What could greatly advance God’s kingdom in my situation? What could I pray for that would be really glorifying to God?
Chapter 27 — Praying Preemptively
”Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). Fight your battles on your knees before the battle rages in the natural realm. The enemy’s signature schemes include distraction — Satan will constantly try to get you off track. Deception is another — “he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44), lying to you about God’s goodness, the Bible’s trustworthiness, and who you really are. Then there is derision — running you down in your mind — and division, since Satan knows that “if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand” (Mark 3:25). Prepare in prayer first, or wait until he has you in a headlock before you call on the One who has already defeated him.
Chapter 28 — Praying Defensively
Christians are equipped with everything needed for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), but many are not ready when the enemy attacks. You must take up “the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one … the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:16–18). Every time Jesus was tempted (Luke 4:1–13), He cut down Satan by quoting the Word of God. When the devil comes against you: resist Satan in Jesus’ name, escape with Scripture, search for unconfessed sin, plead the blood of Jesus, and delight in the Lord. The devil will tempt you less and less when he realizes his attacks only remind you more to call on Jesus, repent, pray, and praise.
Chapter 29 — Praying Extraordinarily
Prayer strategies go to the next level when situations reach a point of desperation. Esther understood this kind of moment: “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day … and if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16). Jesus prepared for the challenges ahead with forty days of fasting (Matthew 4:2). By denying the daily demands of the flesh, you can go more deeply and intently into focused prayer in times of difficulty and emergency.
Nehemiah is the master model. When he heard of Jerusalem’s ruin, he wept, fasted and prayed — with humility and brokenness, using God’s names, persisting with fervency, confessing sin, praying God’s own Word back to Him, and making his specific petition with faith and expectation. That is what extraordinary prayer looks like — and it rebuilt a city.
Chapter 30 — Praying for the Lost
You cannot allow embarrassment or the fear of rejection to stop you from sharing the most important message in the universe. Putting your insecurities above another’s need for the truth is like saying, “My comfort level is more important to me than your salvation.” Jesus Himself said the reason He came to earth was to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).
So how do you pray for the lost? You pray for God to begin working in their hearts to prepare them to receive the truth. You pray against the enemy, that he would be prevented from blinding their eyes and hearts. You pray for opportunities and boldness to share the gospel. You pray for conviction of sin to agitate their hearts, bringing about true repentance and a desire for Christ’s cleansing.
Chapter 31 — Praying for Believers
Praying for other believers involves encouraging them, thanking God for them, bringing their concerns before the Lord — both physical and spiritual — and asking them to do the same for you. One strategy that works for all kinds of settings is using the Lord’s Prayer as an outline. Instead of praying it for yourself, pray it for your fellow believers.
Consider what you are missing by not taking advantage of this opportunity. How much of your time has been eaten up by gripes, problems, and tirades, when it could have been invested in praying for others — with no loss to how God helped you deal with your own life and its issues? “Pray for one another” (James 5:16). It will pay high, eternal dividends.
Chapter 32 — Praying for Family
You will praise God more and recognize His handiwork when you pray specifically. Pray for your spouse — that he or she would above all be devoted to Christ in loving gratitude, surrendered to His Word and His lordship. Pray that each relationship would be marked by love and unselfishness, especially those that are most strained. Pray for peace, healing, and restoration wherever brokenness exists.
As a parent, your role is to stand in the gap, attentively listening to your children and knowing the true condition of their hearts. Pray with them, with your arm around them, as well as when they are not physically present. Be diligent in interceding for their protection, their character, their friendships, and their ability to stand up to temptation. They may not yet realize just how seriously the warfare is being waged against them (Ephesians 6:12).
Chapter 33 — Praying for Authorities
The goal is to cover the entire circuit, praying all the way around the whole authority structure — praying for leaders as well as followers, all for the glory of God. Authority basically orbits around four centers of activity: family, church, government, and employment. God still uses imperfect authorities to carry out His perfect purposes (John 19:11; Acts 4:24–28), and the Lord is able to turn the heart of a ruler (Proverbs 21:1) — your impassioned prayers and petitions are part of how He does it.
Those in authority carry four overarching responsibilities: providing direction, instruction, and an example to follow; protecting with boundaries and rules; praising those who do right; and punishing those who do wrong. Let these areas of influence guide your praying.
Chapter 34 — Praying for Laborers in the Harvest
If you want a better pastor, start praying boldly and faithfully for the one you already have. Pray for God’s protection around his heart, his marriage, and his home. Pray that he would freely and unapologetically fulfill his ministry — that he would fear God more than men.
By most ways of accounting, the world is comprised of 11,500 different people groups. Current data suggests that in more than half of these groups, around 6,800, their populations are less than two percent Christian. And half of those — roughly 3,200 — do not contain any Christians at all and are not being engaged in any way by the gospel. No Bible. No churches. No missionaries. No spiritual light.
Chapter 35 — Praying for Churches and Revival
There is no reason why you cannot see God’s Spirit poured out in abundance, as He has done in days past — reviving families, restoring broken lives, seeing salvation breaking out en masse. The secret is united, repentant, humble prayer. Persistent prayer. Fervent prayer — believing that what God wants is always better and more important than what you want.
Evan Roberts, the leading face of the Welsh Revival in the early 1900s, boiled down his message to a few succinct points: confess all known sin; remove anything you are in doubt about; be ready to obey the Holy Spirit instantly; and publicly confess the Lord Jesus Christ. “Bend me” was the frequent prayer that echoes through the written recollections from those days. In response to that prayer, God’s power came down and set thousands afire with fervent love for Him. “Bend me” — help me to submit, to want Your will first, to follow Your Word without question.
Appendix — Spiritual Temperature and Prayer Strategy
God responds to the surrendered, repentant, expectant hearts of His people, and He blesses and moves even more when His people are working together. Before drawing up any battle plan for prayer, it is worth taking a spiritual temperature test — the kind of honest self-examination that reveals whether your spiritual life is on fire, or merely going through the motions.
The signs of a cold or lukewarm Christian are not difficult to identify: joyless and apathetic spiritual life; unconfessed sin or unforgiven bitterness; no answered prayer or evidence of God’s power; time for entertainment but not for Scripture and prayer; pride or fear stopping obedience; double standards between church and home; reluctant giving; needing to be begged to serve; making little effort to share faith (Revelation 3:15–19). These are not condemnation — they are a compass.
Alongside these indicators, Scripture offers a full arsenal of prayer strategy — specific passages for praying over your spouse, children, pastor, governmental authorities, the lost, other believers, and your city. Woven through it all are the names of God — Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord who provides; Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord our healer; El Shaddai, God Almighty; names for Jesus like Alpha and Omega, Good Shepherd, and Prince of Peace; and names for the Holy Spirit like Counselor and Comforter. To know these names is to know who you are addressing when you kneel — and to pray with confidence that you have never been closer to the help you need.