What are your prayer life and habits? What books do you recommend on prayer?

It has always been difficult for me to spend great lengths of time in prayer, and sometimes it’s been a cause of discouragement. On the other hand, God has graciously taught me about prayer and dependence on him throughout the day.

Seven Ways To Pray For Your Missionaries

1. Pray for open doors.

“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned (Colossians 4:2-3, NASB).

2. Pray for boldness in witness.

“And pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19, NASB).

3. Pray ...

The Valley of Vision

The Valley of Vision 

Lord, high and holy, meek
and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by
mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the 
broken heart is the healed heart, that the 
contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the 
repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross ...

Wesley’s Covenant Prayer

Lord, I am no longer my own, but Yours. Put me to what You will. Rank me with whom You will. Let me be employed by You or laid aside for You, exalted for You or brought low by You. Let me have all things. Let me have nothing. I freely & heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are mine and I am Yours. So be it.

Amen. 

This article originally appeared in the Summer 2011 issue of EPM's quarterly newsletter Eternal Perspectives.

Note ...

The Hot Water Bottle: A True Story

One night, in Central Africa, I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all that we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying, two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive. We had no incubator. We had no electricity to run an incubator, and no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts.