All posts filed under: Prayer

Poll: 87% of Americans who prayed state prayers were answered in the past year

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A survey released in conjunction with the National Day of Prayer held this year on May 4, 2023, found that the vast majority of people who pray reported an answer to prayer in the past year, The Christian Post reports. This survey sponsored in part by Radiant Foundation polled 1,700 Americans and discovered that of those Americans who say they pray, 87% reported having at least one answer to prayer over the past 12 months. The survey also found that 85% of Americans said they regularly connected with what the poll described as a higher power. The most common way of doing this was through prayer, 61%, followed by meditation 39%, and mindfulness, 38%. The top three issues that people most often prayed for included: READ: 87% of Americans who pray say their prayers were answered in the last year: study AND Prayer is Everywhere

Survey: How long do you pray?

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A poll conducted by City Square Associates for Skylight and released in conjunction with the National Day of Prayer (May 4, 2023), discovered that 61% of Americans pray daily, averaging nearly 20 minutes, the Christian Post reports There was nearly an even split among the 1,700 people surveyed between when they prayed with 50% stating they have a prayer time in the morning and 55% said they prayed in the evening, just before bedtime. The uneven split of the percentages suggests that some obviously prayed at both times. We know that the prophet Daniel prayed and praised God three times a day, so multiple prayer times during the day are not unheard of (Daniel 6:10). Considering the favorite prayer times were early in the morning or late at night, it is not surprising that 81% of the respondents said that they most often prayed in their bedrooms. But what was surprising was that cars, at 61%, were the second favorite spot for prayer. But this makes sense considering that Jesus was often looking for a …

Call to prayer: Tonight’s National Day of Prayer expecting to reach 110 million people

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America’s annual National Day of Prayer is scheduled for tonight (Thursday, May 4, 2023) at 8 PM Eastern Standard Time. The organizers of the event expect to reach 110 million people through various mediums including radio, TV, local meetings and online, the Christian Post reports. The theme of this year’s event comes from the book of James which speaks of the effective prayer of a righteous man: 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much. (James 5:16 NASV) If you are interested in participating in this year’s call to prayer, you can watch the 30-minute program online in three ways at: In an interview with the Christian Post (CP), National Day of Prayer, co-organizer, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, said this year’s event was one of the more important calls to prayer that he has participated in. “As a nation, we’ve never been down this road. It’s a road of moral relativism, a …

Christian prayer warriors gathering in Boston to pray for those attending SatanCon

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A group of Christian prayer warriors have organized a Revive Boston conference purposefully being held in at the same time as SatanCon, scheduled for Boston this upcoming week, Fox News reports. SatanCon, which will run from April 28-30, 2023, coincides with The Satanic Temple’s tenth anniversary and has been billed as the ‘largest satanic gathering in history.’ The event advertised as “a weekend of blasphemy and remembrance in Boston,” will include a satanic marketplace, discussion panels, speaking events and even ‘unbaptisms’ for those denying their Christian faith. In an interview with the Christian Post, Suzie MacAskill, an organizer of Revive Boston, said she expects hundreds of people to attend the gathering as many intercessors have expressed that they felt God calling them to Boston. While there, they will be praying for the salvation of those attending SatanCon. “My personal sense is that God is doing something new, something powerful, something wonderful, and He is calling His bride to unity as He does this,” McAskill said. “We are seeing intercessors and watchmen joining with us from …

Was COVID part of a strategic satanic attack?

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There is an interesting verse in the book of Mark that describes the events leading up to King Herod’s slaying of John the Baptist after Herod’s wife, Herodias, had her daughter ask for John’s head after performing what was essentially a strip tease for Herod and his cronies. The verse hints at the seditious nature of the spiritual conflict that we are involved in. 21 A strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his lords and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee; (Mark 6:21 NASV) The 1995 version of the NASV called Herod’s birthday celebration as a strategic day. Other versions translate the Greek word ‘eukairos’ as an opportune time. But the meaning is clear, it speaks of a well-timed assault and speaks of satanic forces strategizing in their attack on the Kingdom of God. And it’s obvious from this verse that this strategy involved manipulating political leaders. Herod’s wife Herodias wanted to take out John the Baptist who was publicly criticizing her marriage to Herod. Using her daughter, …

Prayer makes the difference

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On the heels of Buffalo Bills receiver, Damar Hamlin, nearly dying during a game with the Cincinnati Bengals, former NFL running back, Peyton Hillis, 36, was also on his deathbed after saving his children from drowning on a Florida beach. He was airlifted to a nearby hospital in critical condition but is now on the road to recovery. In an Instagram Post, Hamlin’s girlfriend, Angela Cole asked for people to continue praying for Hamlin because he still has a long way to go, The Blaze reports. Cole continued that prayer, “truly makes all the difference.” But she wasn’t the only one to credit, prayer for making a difference, so did Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III. “There is POWER in prayer!” Griffin tweeted. “Peyton Hillis is off the ventilator and doing much better in his recovery. Awesome job by the medical professionals caring for him.” And of course, we know of the prayers that went up Hamlin after he collapsed to the ground after tackling a Bengal receiver, requiring CPR to restart his heart. This …

Do you spend time alone with God?

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A recent survey conducted by Lifeway Research found that 65% of people who attend protestant churches have a daily devotional or time alone with God, with 21% saying they do it more than once a day, the Christian Post reports. Of the remaining 35%: The survey conducted in the last half of September 2022, pre-determined that those surveyed attended a protestant church at least once a month. The survey also found that when it came to devotionals 48% of women said they did it daily compared to 38% of men. These times included reading from the Bible or devotional and prayer. The importance of spending time alone with God It is interesting that Jesus emphasized the importance of being alone with God: “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” (Matthew 6:6a) He was comparing this to the Pharisees who liked to make a public display of their fasting and prayers (Matthew 6:16-18). But it can be difficult with our hectic schedules and myriad of …

Taking risks: ESPN analyst prays for critically sick Buffalo Bills player while cameras are rolling

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Buffalo Bill’s safety, Damar Hamlin, has awakened from sedation and was able to use pen and paper to ask doctors a question, the NY Post reports. The question he asked is “Did we win?” Dr. Timothy Pritts, with the University of Cincinnati Medical Center answered, “The answer is yes, Damar, you won. You’ve won the game of life.” Damar, 24, collapsed in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals shortly after tackling Bengals’ receiver Tee Higgins. His heart stopped beating, shortly after the Bill’s staff arrived forcing them to perform CPR while on the field. Damar was then rushed to hospital in critical condition. The game was subsequently cancelled. While still in critical condition, with a recent positive neurological scan, doctors are now predicting a full recovery and his turnaround has been described as nothing short of miraculous. And in the title of its article, Prayers answered as Damar Hamlin wakes up with a chance to make a full recovery, the NY Post acknowledges the efficacy of the prayers that have gone up for the player. …

Praying the Apostles’ Prayer

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By Dr. Michael Brown You’ve heard of the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles’ Creed. But have you ever heard of the Apostles’ Prayer? Actually, the “Apostles’ Prayer” is not a technical term, which would explain why you’re not familiar with it. Instead, it’s my description of the one and only time that the Bible records a prayer prayed jointly by these early Church leaders. We can learn a lot from it for ourselves today. In the fourth chapter of the book of Acts we read that there was government persecution of the believers, in this case, the Jewish leadership imprisoning the Jewish apostles. This persecution was the result of powerful miracles being performed in Jesus’ name and thousands of Jewish people putting their faith in Him as Messiah and Lord. In order to “to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people” these governmental leaders decided that “we must warn them [meaning the apostles] to speak no longer to anyone in this name [meaning the name of Jesus]” (Acts 4:17). What The Apostles …

UK thought police arrested woman for praying in her head

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CBN reports that UK’s thought police have arrested a woman for praying in her head near an abortion clinic in Birmingham, UK. The city has created a perimeter around abortion clinics, called a censorship zone, where people can not show their approval or disapproval of abortions and this includes praying and counselling Vaughan-Spruce, who is the director of UK March for Life, was standing silently near an abortion clinic in the city. She was not carrying anything like a sign that would indicate she was protesting against the clinic. But someone had complained to police that they believed Vaughan-Spruce was silently praying in her head within the zone. The police approached Vaughn-Spruce and asked if she was praying in her head. She was immediately arrested after telling police she might be. The Alliance Defending Freedom UK (ADFUK) is representing Vaughn-Spruce in the court case over illegal thoughts. Speaking on behalf of ADFUK, Jeremiah Igunnubole said: “Isabel’s experience should be deeply concerning to all those who believe that our hard-fought fundamental rights are worth protecting. It …

A weird answer to prayer for Bukayo Saka?

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Have you ever had a thought pop into your mind that you should pray for someone? I did recently, and it was kind of weird. My daughter and I were watching the World Cup soccer match in Qatar between Britain and France over the weekend. It was a quarter-final game, with the winner going on to the semifinals. France would win the game 2.-1. France was leading 1-0, and a British player was dribbling the ball down the right wing, when I felt the Holy Spirit impress me to pray for him, which I quickly did. At that point, I didn’t even know who the player was. I can’t remember exactly how I prayed, but it was something along the lines that God would help him, and bless him. After I uttered this brief prayer, the player continued down the right side and then turned sharply towards the goal and was fouled after he entered the penalty box, sending him tumbling to the ground. This led to a penalty kick, that was taken by another …

Supreme Court rules in favor of Freedom of Religion, coaches are allowed to pray

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In a 6 to 3 vote, the US Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of a high school coach who was fired in 2015 for praying on the football field. Not only that, but the Court ordered that Joe Kennedy be returned to his position of an assistant football coach at Bremerton School District in Washington State by March 2023. After each game, Kenney would pray on the field and at times players would voluntarily join him. None of the players were forced to participate. “I had some kids that wanted to join, and they asked, and, of course, it’s a free country,” Kennedy said. Even though the school had ordered him to quit praying at the end of the game, Kennedy continued to do so, leading to his eventual firing. Kenney took the district to court arguing that it had violated his Freedom of Religion guaranteed under the First Amendment. The Blaze provides more details on the Supreme Court decision: “Respect for religious expressions is indispensable to life in a free and diverse …

How we pray for our political leaders is important

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In some ways, an archaeological discovery in Israel may provide a timely message for believers in our dangerously-polarized, political culture. In 2010, archaeologists found a stone table (26.7 cm by 20.8 cm) near the Gihon Springs in the Kidron Valley with an inscription carved into it. The springs were originally the main source of water for the ancient city of Jerusalem. The limestone tablet was dated to the time of King David. However, it was not until 2022, that Professor Gershon Galil, from the Department of Jewish History and Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa, completed his translation of the wording. According to Israel365 News, it ended up being a curse, calling for the death of the Governor of Jerusalem: Transliteration and translation of the text: ARWR, ARWR, MT TMT; ARWR, ARWR, MT TMT; SR H’R, MT TMT; ARWR, MT TMT; ARWR, MT TMT; ARWR, MT TMT. ארור, ארור, מת תמת; ארור, ארור, מת תמת; שר הער, מת תמת; ארור, מת תמת; ארור, מת תמת; ארור, מת תמת Cursed, Cursed, you will surely die. …

Honesty in prayer

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There has been a trend in recent years, largely due to the influence of the faith movement, that we need to declare faith and belief in the situations we face in our life. Some refer to this as ‘blab it and grab it’. Yet, I am beginning to wonder if we need less declarations of faith and more honesty in our prayer life. And we see that in the story of a man desperate to see his son healed of a demonic affliction. After Jesus took Peter, James and John up on the Mount of Transfiguration for a remarkable encounter with some Old Testament saints, a man approached the disciples who remained below asking for help for his son who was being plagued by an evil spirit (Mark 9: 14-29). However, the disciples were unable to deliver the boy, and when Jesus and the disciples came down the hill they encountered the commotion surrounding the failed deliverance. The man then approached Christ, pleading for help. First, he complained that the Lord’s disciples had been unable …

Sports Illustrated claims prayer at sporting events erodes democracy

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In a recent article (June 13, 2022), Sports Illustrated (SI) suggested that allowing players and coaches to pray prior to a game would lead to the erosion of democracy, Breitbart reports. The magazine was discussing a court case before the Supreme Court involving Joe Kennedy who was fired as an assistant coach by Bremerton High, because he prayed with his players on the football field. Breitbart explains: “This Sports Illustrated article is little else but a long smear against Christians, conservatives, and white people in general, and coach Kennedy in particular, and on a vicious personal level, at that,” Breitbart News noted. Conservatives and religious freedom activists took to social media to lambaste Sports Illustrated for such a disgraceful display of left-wing bias. It’s expected that the Supreme Court will soon make a ruling on the case involving religious freedom. READ: Sports Illustrated Blasted for Saying Prayer in Sports is ‘Eroding Democracy’ Breitbart also supplied a few tweet responses to SI’s article written by Greg Bishop: A couple of my favorites:

One major hindrance to answered prayer

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I want to briefly discuss one of the major hindrances that we can face to answered prayer, and that is unforgiveness. As I was writing this article, a strange thing happened, as the Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance an incident that happened to me over 40 years ago. I was single and a couple of months away from getting married and working for a Christian man, who shortchanged me about $800 in salary. The Christian boss basically ran off with the company’s money, ending the business. That was a lot of money back then, the equivalent of about $2,790 today. And for a soon-to-be wed couple, my wife and I could have really used it. Though this man left the city, he subsequently turned back to God. Several years later, I actually ran into him when he returned to the city and visited our church. He was now retired, quite poor, and it would have been useless to press the issue. I forgave him, and moved on with my life. But there is a …

Praying With Boldness and Confidence

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By Rick Renner

I’m so grateful for all the truths and godly qualities that my pastor and church family planted in me during my growing-up years. But I have to say, in all the years I attended that church, I personally can’t remember a time when I heard anyone pray boldly or confidently. I simply had no idea what bold, confident praying sounded like until I attended a seminar at another church where a special speaker was teaching on the subject of faith.

The Real Battle is Spiritual

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By C. Peter Wagner    Warfare prayer, as I have been describing it, is a new concept to the great majority of American Christians. Many are beginning to ask whether given their traditions and training it could ever be integrated into their ministry. But Americans are not alone. Even Argentine pastors struggle with some of the same theological practical issues. Learning the Lesson I greatly enjoyed talking to Pastor Alberto Prokopchuk of the Los Olivos Baptist Church in the city of La Plata, Argentina, because I could identify so closely with his background. His traditional Baptist ministerial training had not included a course in Spiritual Warfare 101. His ministry at Los Olivos Baptist was not much different from what we observe in so many typical churches in our American cities: good, solid Bible teaching ministry; a relatively high moral standard; the fruit of the spirit manifested to a reasonable degree and church members who pray, tithe, attend service, and witness to their neighbors when the opportunity presents itself. All this, and no growth! Under Alberto’s …

Does forgiveness have a role in spiritual warfare?

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Premier Christian News reports that in the letter that Rev Vlasenko, head of the Russian Evangelical Alliance, wrote to the World Council of Churches, he specifically apologized for the actions of the Russian government and asked for forgiveness: “Today, as a citizen and as General Secretary of the Russian Evangelical Alliance, I apologize to all those who have suffered, lost loved ones and relatives, or lost their place of residence as a result of this military conflict.”[…] My prayer is that you will find strength from the Lord to extend your hand of solidarity and forgiveness, so we can live as the people of God to our world.” It’s an interesting request that may have broader implications when it comes to spiritual warfare. The role of forgiveness in spiritual warfare In the Book of Daniel, we see definite indicators of spiritual warfare in Persia. Israel had been taken into captivity by Babylon and after it was in turn defeated by Persia, Daniel sensed a time of change was coming that would involve a great conflict …

A Supernatural Answer to Prayer

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In the early 1990s, I was on a plane that was horribly overloaded with people, luggage, and boxes. So many air-safety rules were being violated on this particular flight! Pieces of luggage and boxes were strapped into the seats where people should have been sitting — and people were sitting on top of the boxes in the main aisle of the cabin.

Joining together in praying for Ukraine

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Several years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a service at a Ukrainian Orthodox church. Having come from an Evangelical background, there was one thing that I found very unusual. Even though the church was based in North America, as the priest performed various rituals, he prayed for the military at least three or four times during that one service. I can’t remember a time during an Evangelical service when someone actually prayed for the military. This is not to say it didn’t happen, but it never caught my attention like it did that morning. But it shouldn’t surprise anyone. For a church that finds its roots in Ukraine, it reflects the country’s deep insecurity, as it has been the target of war and occupation by megalomaniacs and tyrants for centuries. People still remember Josef Stalin’s forced starvation of millions of Ukrainian farmers under the country’s brutal occupation by the former Soviet Union after it supposedly rescued Ukraine from its occupation by Nazi Germany. So, the church prays for the country’s military. And today, …

How are we to pray for our leaders? Pray counterintuitively

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When we look at what is happening with Russia and Ukraine, and the events taking place in Canada and the US, we need to take a closer look at the Apostle Paul’s encouragement to pray for our leaders. Because in this passage, he also explains how we are to pray for them: I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-3) Remembering that Nero was the Roman emperor when Paul encouraged believers to: Pray that God will help our leaders; Intercede on their behalf (pray for them, not against them); Thank God for them; and Pray for their salvation. In other words, we are not to pray God’s judgment on them when …

Three keys to answered prayer

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There have been books written on how to have a successful prayer life by people who have studied and lived a life of prayer. So, I don’t want to come across as someone who has the final answer on what it takes to have your prayers answered. But I do want to discuss a teaching that Jesus gave about prayer in Luke 18:1-8, which provides several keys to successful prayer. In this parable, Jesus talked about a widow who was seeking justice from a corrupt judge. The Lord described the judge as a man who did not fear God or care about what people thought of him (v 2). He was a narcissist. All he cared about was himself. In other words, justice was for sale in that town. Judges in this day typically travelled from village to village, where they set up a tent, so people could come to plead their case. Often you had to bribe the tent’s gatekeeper just to get a hearing, much less a favourable ruling. And Jesus used this …

78 | What the Septuagint Bible tells us about fallen angels and spiritual warfare

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We are living in perilous times as governments of all political stripes seem intent on restricting people’s liberties and freedoms, either under the guise of protecting us from COVID or banning speech that some consider offensive, because it disagrees with their beliefs. In this podcast, I discuss the Septuagint’s odd translation of a Bible verse in Deuteronomy that may help explain why this is happening.

HS football team gathers for prayer after school board orders ban on teacher-led prayer

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After a Tennessee school board told teachers and coaches last week that they could no longer lead their school teams in prayer, several players, cheerleaders, fans and parents associated with Putnam County football team took matters into their own hands and gathered on the field after a recent game to pray.