All Christian disciples have one thing in common: as we carry the gospel across the ocean or across the street, difficulties and persecution are going to become the norm for anyone who chooses to follow Jesus. How we as believers respond both in the face of persecution, and when God asks the seemingly impossible of us, reveals everything about our level of faith and obedience.

Who do you call when you need heavy duty prayer? When your back is up against the wall, is there someone that you call to pray for you? Why do you call them? What do you see in their life that draws you to them?

Who do you call when you need heavy duty prayer? When your back is up against the wall, is there someone that you call to pray for you? Why do you call them? What do you see in their life that draws you to them?

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

To have the kind of intimate relationship that Jesus had with God takes persistent effort. We have to make a decision to pursue the Father through reading and meditating on Scripture and through consistent, passionate prayer. How we do that is different for each person. We each need to approach the discipline of prayer in a way that works for us.

To those who are flying down the fast lane of life, prayer can seem to be nothing but a distraction. While prayer can feel alien to our human nature, at some point in our lives, most of us fall down on our knees, bow our heads, and cry out to God. There are lots of by-products of a life of prayer, but the most important is the qualitative difference it makes in one's relationship with God.

To those who are flying down the fast lane of life, prayer can seem to be nothing but a distraction. While prayer can feel alien to our human nature, at some point in our lives, most of us fall down on our knees, bow our heads, and cry out to God. There are lots of by-products of a life of prayer, but the most important is the qualitative difference it makes in one's relationship with God.

It is not always easy to make the changes that we know we need to make in our

lives. When you make a decision to change something, you start to think of all of the

reasons why you can’t or why it’s really not worth the effort. As soon as you decide to

be different, Satan gives you excuses to stay the same. It’s not that we don’t want to

change, it’s that the process it takes to do so is challenging and often difficult. We’ve

got good intentions to change, but what we really need is GOD intentions

It is not always easy to make the changes that we know we need to make in our

lives. When you make a decision to change something, you start to think of all of the

reasons why you can’t or why it’s really not worth the effort. As soon as you decide to

be different, Satan gives you excuses to stay the same. It’s not that we don’t want to

change, it’s that the process it takes to do so is challenging and often difficult. We’ve

got good intentions to change, but what we really need is GOD intentions