Pastor Jim Cymbala currently pastors one of the largest churches in New York City – Brooklyn Tabernacle. Pastor Cymbala understood early on that in order for his ministry and church to be successful the need of the hour was persistent and fervent prayer and a firm reliance on the work of the Holy Spirit.
As I was looking over which quotes to share in this devotion the constant thread of the importance of prayer became evident. My friends according to Pastor Cymbala prayer is the key to unlocking the power of the church to become the beacon of light to a world living in total darkness. Not only that but prayer is essential for the growth of the Christian into a strong ambassador for Christ. I pray the following quotes will deepen your desire to spend more time in your prayer closet.1
“Few Christians have anything but a vague idea of the power of prayer; fewer still have any experience of that power. The Church seems almost wholly unaware of the power God puts into her hand; this spiritual carte blanche on the infinite resources of God’s wisdom and power is rarely, if ever, used—never used to the full measure of honoring God.”
“I discovered an astonishing truth: God is attracted to weakness. He can’t resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him. Our weakness, in fact, makes room for his power.”
“We must remember that the goal of prayer is the ear of God. Unless that is gained the prayer has utterly failed.”
“We like to control the map of our life and know everything well in advance. But faith is content just knowing that God’s promise cannot fail. This, in fact, is the excitement of walking with God.”
“The end of ourselves is the beginning of God.”
“When we calmly reflect upon the fact that the progress of our Lord’s Kingdom is dependent upon prayer, it is sad to think that we give so little time to the holy exercise.”
“The Scriptures are not so much the goal as they are an arrow that points us to the life-changing Christ.”
“In the church today, we are falling prey to the appeal of ‘New!’ The old truths of the gospel don’t seem spectacular enough. We’re restless for the latest, greatest, newest teaching or technique. We pastors in particular seem to search for a shortcut or some dynamic new strategy that will fire up our churches.”
“The ‘poor in spirit’ are eminently competent to pray.”
“Prayer is God’s plan to supply man’s great and continuous need with God’s great and continuous abundance.”
“Does anyone really think that America today is lacking preachers, books, Bible translations, and neat doctrinal statements? What we really lack is the passion to call upon the Lord until he opens the heavens and shows himself powerful.”
“Faith deals with the invisible things of God. It refuses to be ruled by the physical senses. Faith is able to say, ‘You can do what you like, because I know God is going to take care of me. He has promised to bless me wherever he leads me.’ Remember that even when every demon in hell stands against us, the God of Abraham remains faithful to all his promises. Jesus Christ can do anything but fail his own people who trust him.”
“The more we pray, the more we sense our need to pray. And the more we sense a need to pray, the more we want to pray.”
“The hardest part of faith is often simply to wait. And the trouble is, if we don’t, then we start to fix the problem ourselves – and that makes it worse. We complicate the situation to the point where it takes God much longer to fix it than if we had quietly waited for his working in the first place.”
“Around us is a world lost in sin, above us is a God willing and able to save; it is ours to build the bridge that links heaven and earth, and prayer is the mighty instrument that does the work.”
“Prayer cannot truly be taught by principles and seminars and symposiums. It has to be born out of a whole environment of felt need. If I say, ‘I ought to pray,’ I will soon run out of motivation and quit; the flesh is too strong. I have to be driven to pray.”
“Prayer — secret fervent believing prayer — lies at the root of all personal godliness.”
“It is the effectual, fervent prayer that influences God.”
“The strongest one in Christ’s kingdom is he who is the best knocker. The secret of success in Christ’s Kingdom is the ability to pray. The one who can wield the power of prayer is the strong one, the holy one in Christ’s Kingdom. The most important lesson we can learn is how to pray.”
“Prayer is the greatest of all forces, because it honors God and brings Him into active aid.”
“When we seek God for answers, we must persevere in prayer, letting it build up day after day until the force of it becomes a mighty tide pushing over all obstacles.”
1 All of the quotes in this devotion are from the following website:
Wow, a pastor who teaches about prayer and practices what he preaches.
In his book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, Cymbala said that real change happened in the Brooklyn Tabernacle when the Wednesday prayer service became the most exciting service of the week. I pray for the Body May we believe every Christian can and should be taught to pray and how to pray in faith. God we lift You up and give You praise. May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us revival and Christian Spiritual Awakening. We declare Your salvation for our families and we decree America shall be saved and will man the harvest fields for a great harvest of the lost and prodigals are coming home in the Mighty Name of Jesus..
Thank you for this post today. May God bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you and give you peace. Amen