[Lee Grzywinski]

Hello everyone!

One of the greatest encouragements of this book is that it describes the difficulty of prayer so we know it isn’t just us, but it shows us that perseverance and a rich prayer life are possible for any of us. Hallesby is right that it is easy to begin strong in praying for someone, but that the business of life (or our inability) makes it difficult to persevere, especially if we don’t see the fruit of our prayer. But praying is giving the Spirit another opportunity to work in us, and it is such an encouragement to keep going in intercessory prayer. And the more the Spirit works in us, the more “it is not necessary for you to strive in your own strength to keep your eyes open to Christ and the needs of the world.”

What did you think?

[Carolyn Hayes]

I totally enjoyed this chapter, “The School of Prayer.” The main reason is that it ended with a beautiful story about a man who, through his affliction of poor eyesight, was seen by God!
This fellow, named Jorn, learned the “Holy Art of Prayer” by practicing prayer . . . praying for others and becoming the spiritual counsellor of the entire parish and eventually the entire community!
While laying awake at night, he would pray for people by name, even for children he had never met.
This Prayer Warrior was considered a treasure – to the point where – as he got older many wanted to be with him because they thought God would take him to heaven through a beautiful ascension. However, God foiled that . . . and took this fellow to Himself while no one was with him . . . not even the woman who was caring for him!
Jorn’s death was like his entire life . . . a beautiful story about a Prayer Warrior who brought the love and shalom of God to his entire community . . . a story of the secret love between a person and his Maker!

[Lynne Mazza-Hilway]

O. Hallesby begins by saying that “neither you nor I will be happy before we yield ourselves to His pierced hands and… voluntarily enroll in the school of prayer, which the Spirit has established for such as do not know how to pray.” No matter how much we’ve studied prayer and try practicing it, I still feel somewhat awkward, yes weary,during the process. Yet the author encourages again that we just need to “give the Spirit, the superintendent of our instruction, the opportunity to reveal Christ to us every day and as we ‘see Him’, prayer will rise from our hearts. He aims at making us earnestly solicitous. Prayer is like an ellipse, which rotates about two different points:Christ and our need. All we need to do is listen to the Spirit as He speaks to us every day in the Word and through prayer.” We’re also encouraged that “the best and most faithful intercessors learn the holy art of intercession only after many trials or great suffering. They are centers of spiritual power, like a great electric power plant, and by their simple and persevering prayers they are chief supporters of the Christian work.” I agree that it is during times of physical illness or emotional weariness that I surrender and spend more time than usual in prayer. I pray that we don’t have to be knocked off our feet to so sincerely engage our Father in prayer but on the other hand it’s so reassuring to know that even then, we aren’t helpless but have more of an opportunity to offer the power of our living God up for so many who are hurting and lost.

[Joe Del Grande]

I enjoyed this chapter on intercessory prayer. I sometimes feel like my daily prayers for my family, me, my church, etc. can feel like a chore or just a rote list be given to God. However, when I pray for the needs of others, it seems to be prompted more from the spirit. Those prayers are often not long, but more fervent.

Please join me in prayer for several friends who are in dire need of healing. My friend Delon, who is in the hospital recovering from surgery and his wife is going through ovarian cancer treatments. My friend Debbie, whose husband Nelson is being treated for stage four pancreatic cancer and is having a lot of reactions to the treatment. For Teresa Caplan, who is going to have surgery on September 5 to remove a cancerous lymph node.

[Author]

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