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For some reason the Lord has placed huge burden on my heart for prayer. It all started the first time I watched Jim Cymbala’s message entitled ‘My House Shall be Called a House of Prayer’ (you can view the video here). This message really stirred up my heart to be a man of prayer and yet I have always struggled with how to pray. Recently I read a book By R.A. Torrey entitled simply ‘How to Pray’ that has helped shed light on this foundational Christian practice. Below you will find the notes I took while reading this book. I also used these notes for a 3 week series on prayer.

How To Pray by R. A. Torrey

Chapter 1 - The Importance of Prayer

Ephesians 6:18 - praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
ESV

I must pray, pray, pray. I must put all my energy and all my heart into prayer. Whatever else I do, I must pray (pg. 15)

Why?

1. There is a devil
2. Prayer is God’s appointed way for obtaining things, and the great secret of all lack in our experience, in our life, and in our work is neglect of prayer.
   

   James 4:2 - You do not have, because you do not ask.(ESV)

3. Those men whom God set forth as a pattern of what He expected Christians to be - the Apostles - regarded prayer as the most important business of their lives.
   

   Acts 6:2-4 - And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (ESV)

4. Prayer occupied a very prominent place and played a very important part in the earthly life of our Lord
5. Praying in the most important part of the present ministry of our risen Lord
   

   Hebrews 7:25 - Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (ESV)

6. Prayer in the means that God has appointed for our receiving mercy, and obtaining grace to help us in times of need.
   

   Hebrews 4:16 - Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (ESV)

7. Prayer in the name if Jesus Christ is the way Jesus Christ himself has appointed for his disciples to obtain fullness of Joy
   

   John 16:24 - Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. (ESV)

   Prayer in the name of Jesus brings us into communion with him - Psalm 16:11

8. Prayer, in every care and anxiety and need of life, with thanksgiving, is the means that God has appointed for our obtaining freedom from all anxiety, and the peace of God, which surpasses a, understanding. - Philippians 4:6-7
9. Prayer is the means that Christ has appointed whereby our hearts shall not become overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life, and so the day of Christ’s return comes upon us suddenly as a snare.
10. Because of what prayer accomplishes!

More to come,
cary

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Hey Everyone I just wanted to let you know that our 2008 retreat is drawing near. The theme of this year’s retreat is Pause. We will again be at the Young Life Camp in Williams Arizona. The dates are August 8th-10th and the cost will be $85.00. I have a feeling this retreat is going to fill up fast so please let me know if you want to reserve your spot. You can call me @ 602.973.4768 or email me @ revolutionministry@mac.com. I look forward to seeing everyone there.

In Christ,
Cary

I just wanted to let everyone know that I created a group for Revolution on Facebook. I admit I know very little about Facebook, so it may be pretty basic, but hey at least it is there. If you have a Facebook account make sure you join the group.

Click here to go to the group page.

Cary

Well, here it is, you found it, the Revolution website! Now… what do you think?

My hope and prayer is that this site will be a blessing to everyone in the group.

There are a few things I would like to point out about the site:

1. The Blog - One of the cool things about this new site is the Revolution blog. Here we will be discussing topics such as theology, prayer, purity, current events, single life, and many others. You can check out recent posts under “Anything New?” and older posts under the “Archives” section.
2. The Calendar - This page of the site will keep everyone up to date on what is going on in Revolution.
3. The Prayer Wall - Let the group know how we can be praying for you by posting it to the prayer wall section of the site.
4. Bible Reading - Everyone in Revolution is encouraged to be reading their bible. By clicking on “The Bible Reading” link you will be able to see where we are on our bible reading plan and actually read it right there on the site. You can also listen to each section of scripture.

We will be adding more links to other sites as they come up.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions. We want this to be a site that is used, and is a tool to build you up in your faith.

In Christ,
Cary