Prayer is the most powerful weapon for Christians so please don’t lose your faith or steam in your prayer work. Here’s a good short article on how Satan prevents the prayers of God’s people.

How Satan Prevents the Prayers of God’s People

outreachmagazine.com

There’s a lot of football going on in our country right now. In case there are football fans in here, you’ll enjoy hearing from this college football player, turned NFL coach, and now a pastor. I didn’t know that there are many Christians in football. According to him, “baseball is America’s pastime and football is America’s passion.” Even if you don’t agree with his statement or watch football, I think you’ll appreciate his life stories and the many lessons that he shares in this interview from several decades of following God.

Episode 232: Choosing Calling Over Career: Rocky Seto (Reprise)Candid Conversations with Jonathan Youssef · January 16, 2024

Dr. Tony Evans uses football analogy often to describe something spiritual. It’s because his eldest son was a professional football player, and then became a chaplain to the Dallas Cowboys team (not sure if he still is). In this sermon, he talks about Christian obedience to God and he uses football as an analogy. It was a really good analogy.

A Challenge of ObedienceTony Evans’ Sermons on Oneplace.com · January 17, 2024

During my earlier years following God, I got the impression from the American gospel that following God was like boarding a cruise ship. Instead I discovered that it was like boarding a war ship and yet I wasn’t being taught how to battle or why I was even there, and why I was giving up my rights and privileges. Christianity looked like a losing and sinking ship and so that’s why I decided to get off the ship after five years and become MIA (missing in action). If something bad happened to me I was going to run right back to God, but nothing happened when I left, and so I was incognito 🥸 for many years until one day God came back for me in a “burning bush“ moment like the way Moses experienced.

If you decide to go wholeheartedly in following Jesus; for me changing my way of thinking about following him really helped me to endure the discipline, the training and the battles. Following Jesus is like joining an army or boarding a war ship. It is NOT a luxury cruise ship.

If the Christian life is so hard then why keep at it? Because of the final destination and reward – heaven!! And not only for myself but for others that I love very much. Something happened to me in my first year running the prayer group that made me realize how important prayer is and also how painfully real hell is. I’ll share this story another time when I’m ready. Until then, please hear this pastor who experienced both heaven and hell.

Experiences of Heaven and Hell (Gary Brown)spreaker.page.link

I feel led to share a testimony that I heard many years ago. A single mom lost her one and only child in a car accident. She wasn’t raised with any religion but after this great tragedy, she started to attend a local Korean church. She prayed and prayed and repented for herself. She explained that as a single working mom that she had no time to think about God or attend church. She was very tormented about her son’s soul since he never had an opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ. As she was praying and fasting about her son, one night she had a dream and she saw her teen son in a place of great darkness and despair. Then suddenly, a bright light came to this dark place and took her son away. After this dream, she had great peace about her son. She believed that Jesus Christ went to hell and rescued her son and now he is in heaven. Accidents and suicides are the two main causes of death in America’s youth today. If you have lost someone you love deeply and you believe that they never had an opportunity to hear about the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, then please pray and fast about it like this mom did for her son. I don’t know if what she dreamt about her son was for real but it’s not my job to judge her and her dream. I’m just glad that she found peace about her son in this dream and that she is in the church community, and is living her life for God now. God is incredibly merciful and fair, and I know that the messages coming from the pulpits in America has been less than stellar in its warnings about eternity and how to receive salvation.

If you have children and family members who have not received their free ticket to heaven yet, then I plead with you to stay faithful to Jesus Christ since you are the only one who is representing them to God at this moment. Your prayers and faithfulness matter even more.

Many of us who attend my church recently heard about a young mom who became unresponsive one morning and after only a few days in the hospital has passed away. If you have been praying for her and are now in conflict about this tragic news, please hear this podcast interview. I pray that it gives you peace and strength. It’ll also help you to pray better for her family members. She leaves behind a husband with two very young children, ages 3 and 6 months old. I remember seeing them several times in church because their adorable children caught my eyes.

Episode 220: Where is God in Seasons of Sorrow: Tim Challies (Reprise)Candid Conversations with Jonathan Youssef · October 24, 2023

Here’s a book on dealing with disappointment with God. I’m halfway through and it is very good. We will all be tested in this area of being disappointed in God not answering our prayers in a certain way. It’s good and wise to prepare yourself before it happens so that when it does happen, you’ll know what to do and not fall away. 

Disappointment With God: Three Questions No One Asks Aloudamazon.com

Quotes to inspire us to pray and to keep our eyes on Jesus and our future in heaven:

Both Billy and Ruth Graham understood that the power of prayer was a direct link to God. In her book 𝘼𝙨𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧 Ruth said the following about prayer:

“𝘔𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳, 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳, 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥.

𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳, 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵.

𝘉𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘉𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘉𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺.” 

 “I am the 8th generation of preachers, that dates all the way back to the Civil War. My father taught me to pray. He said, ‘David, Elijah had 24 hours a day, just like you, and he prayed. So you find a way to pray.’ And then he would add, ’God always makes a way for a praying man.’ ” —David Wilkerson

“It’s when my mind drifts from Heaven that sin seems attractive. Thinking of Heaven leads inevitably to pursuing holiness. Our high tolerance for sin testifies of our failure to prepare for Heaven.” – Randy Alcorn

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were those who thought most of the next.” – C.S. Lewis

“The safest place to be is in the will of God. God will never let you waste a step. Even your mistakes He can make meaningful.” – Jentezen Franklin

With much prayers, Esther prayer team

“Those people who are listening to Me, those people who hear what I say and live according to My teachings—you are like a wise man who built his house on a rock, on a firm foundation. When storms hit, rain pounded down and waters rose, levies broke and winds beat all the walls of that house. But the house did not fall because it was built upon rock.” – Jesus (Matthew 7:24-25)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7&version=VOICE