Book ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: WIN ONE OF VALERIE’S SIGNATURE PRAYER JOURNALS OR A COPY OF HER SPRINGBOARD PRAYERS BOOK. I then close off with prayer in response to my readings as well as use it as a time to pray for my family and friends and whatever personal struggles I may be experiencing. While this works for me, it may not work with your current season. During the last40 years, I have had the honor and privilege of meeting several presidents of the United States.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Have you ever considered that you have immediate access to the most powerful Person in the universe? We’ve all walked through seasons of feeling distant from God. Maybe you’re in one right now. It leaves us feeling like something is missing. The hardest days, just feel harder, the great ones still feel empty.And this is the boldness that we have toward Him, that if anything we may ask according to his will, He doth hear us, Prayer is one of our greatest tools for good and most effective weapons against the enemy. We should wield it with great confidence. Lord Jesus, I come to you, thankful for your greatness in my life. The opportunities you have blessed me with are so many and so miraculous. Now I am required to lead people and make positive changes at work and in society. I need you, Lord, to walk with me, to pour into me your wisdom, and to guide my every step. Help me be confident that I am the leader they deserve. Amen. Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me.

These words describe exactly what I heard so long ago in that seminar when I first heard someone pray with utter boldness. It caught me off-guard because I’d never heard such bold praying. But as I listened, I understood that the man prayed with such confidence because he kne w he was standing firm on promises in God’s Word. His boldness was based in his assurance of God’s faithfulness to perform what He had promised. This man was tho r oughl y convinced that God’s promises were t r ustwo r th y and t r ue, and that confidenc e caused him to pray with bold authority. Our Lord Jesus Christ has commissioned us, as a demonstration of His loving concern and compassion for the world, to go and share the good news of the gospel everywhere. But we huddle in unbelief in our little prayer meetings and talk of peripheral, superficial matters. We are content to see accomplished in the name of Christ only what we are capable of accomplishing through our own intellect, eloquence, and organizational skills. When you have news, good or bad, trouble or joys to share, to whom do you turn? For some of us it a close friend, for others a parent, sibling or other family member, maybe even a pastor or minister. We have an additional choice as Christians. We can, and should, also choose God. Just as we speak to a trusted friend or anyone else, we can pray confidently to God. How to Pray According to the Bible John 5:14, NIV This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. See also: Bible Verses about God’s will, Trusting God’s Plan Valerie calls the fourth condition that keeps us far from God “Deserted in the Desert”. When this happens she says it feels like we have been dropped off and left where we are. Maybe we feel like we were told no, and the door is closed. It feels like we have been abandoned by God, and that can definitely lead to feelings of distance and can make prayer difficult.

For our Volunteers, as they process all they have seen in Zambia; that they will be inspired and motivated bu their experiences. I’m so grateful for all the truths and godly qualities that my pastor and church family planted in me during my growing-up years. But I have to say, in all the years I attended that church, I personally can’t remember a time when I heard anyone pray boldly or confidently. I simply had no idea what bold, confident praying sounded like until I attended a seminar at another church where a special speaker was teaching on the subject of faith. During the very first sorority meeting at UCLA after the prayer chain began, more than half of the sixty women present expressed a desire to receive Christ. Over the next few months, more than 250 students at UCLA -- including the president of the student body, the editor of the newspaper and a number of top athletes -- committed their lives to Jesus Christ. So great was their influence for Christ that the campus chimes began to play Christian hymns at noon each day!