Here is the video and full text of Rick Warren’s invocation given at Barack Obama’s inauguration earlier today:

(Video length: 4:44)

Almighty God, our Father: Everything we see, and everything we can’t see, exists because of you alone. It all comes from you, it all belongs to you, it all exists for your glory. History is your story. The Scripture tells us, “Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.

Now today we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time, we celebrate a hinge point of history with the inauguration of our first African American President of the United States. We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.

Give to our new president, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity. Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the Cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders. Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans—united not by race or religion or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all.

When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you—forgive us. When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone—forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve—forgive us.

And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitude—even when we differ. Help us to share, to serve, and to seek the common good of all. May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy, and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet. And may we never forget that one day, all nations—and all people—will stand accountable before you.

We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care. I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life—Yeshua, ‘Isa, Jesús, Jesus—who taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.

This is Part Seven (the final post) in a series on The Sin of Prayerlessness. The excerpts come from the first chapter of the book The Prayer Life, by Andrew Murray. Click here for an introduction and links to the other posts in the series.

The Storm Center on the Battlefield:

Mention was made in conference of the expression “strategic position” used so often in reference to the great strife between the kingdom of heaven and the powers of darkness.

When a general chooses the place from which he intends to strike the enemy, he pays most attention to those points which he thinks most important in the fight. Thus there was on the battlefield of Waterloo a farmhouse which Wellington immediately saw was the key to the situation. He did not spare his troops in his endeavours to hold that point: the victory depended on it. So it actually happened. It is the same in the conflict between the believer and the powers of darkness. The inner chamber is the place where the decisive victory is obtained.

The enemy uses all his power to lead the Christian, and above all the minister, to neglect prayer. He knows that however admirable the sermon may be, however attractive the service, however faithful the pastoral visitation, none of these things can damage him or his kingdom if prayer is neglected. When the Church shuts herself up to the power of the inner chamber, and the soldiers of the Lord have received on their knees “power from on high,” then the powers of darkness will be shaken and souls will be delivered. In the Church, on the mission field, with the minister and his congregation, everything depends on the faithful exercise of the power of prayer.

In the week of conference I found the following in The Christian:

Two persons quarrel over a certain point. We call them Christian and Apollyon. Apollyon notices that Christian has a certain weapon which would give him a sure victory. They meet in deadly strife, and Apollyon resolves to take away the weapon from his opponent and destroy it. For the moment the main cause of the strife has become subordinate; the great point now is who shall get possession of the weapon on which everything depends? It is of vital importance to get hold of that.

So it is in the conflict between Satan and the believer. God’s child can conquer everything by prayer. Is it any wonder that Satan does his utmost to snatch that weapon from the Christian, or to hinder him in the use of it?

How now does Satan hinder prayer? By temptation to postpone or curtail it, by bringing in wandering thoughts and all sorts of distractions; through unbelief and hopelessness. Happy is the prayer hero who, through it all, takes care to hold fast and use his weapon. Like our Lord in Gethsemane, the more violently the enemy attacked the more earnestly he prayed and ceased not till he had obtained the victory. After all the other parts of the armor had been named, Paul adds: “With all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Eph. 6.18). Without prayer, the helmet of salvation, and the shield of faith, and the sword of the Spirit which is God’s word, have no power. All depends on prayer. God teach us to believe and hold this fast!

Thoughts: We cannot fight the good fight of faith without prayer. Prayer is the place where the decisive victory is obtained. I hope this series has been helpful to you in our own prayer life. If you enjoyed these excerpts from the first chapter, I would encourage you to buy the book. Here are a couple links:

• Amazon.com – The Prayer Life
• Christianbook.com – Living a Prayerful Life

Click here for more posts on Prayer.
Click here to read the message Called to Pray.

This is Part Six in a series on The Sin of Prayerlessness. The excerpts come from the first chapter of the book The Prayer Life, by Andrew Murray. Click here for an introduction and links to the other posts in the series.

The Cause of Prayerlessness:

In an elder’s prayer meeting, a brother put the question: “What, then, is the cause of so much prayerlessness? Is it not unbelief?”

The answer was: “Certainly; but then comes the question what is the cause of that unbelief?” When the disciples asked the Lord Jesus: “Why could not we cast the devil out?’ His answer was: “Because of your unbelief.” He went further and said: “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17.19-21). If the life is not one of self-denial — of fasting — that is, letting the world go; of prayer — that is, laying hold of heaven, faith cannot be exercised. A life lived according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit — it is in this that we find the origin of the prayerlessness of which we complain. As we came out of the meeting a brother said to me: “That is the whole difficulty; we wish to pray in the Spirit and at the same time walk after the flesh, and this is impossible.” …

Scripture teaches us that there are but two conditions possible for the Christian. One is a walk according to the Spirit, the other a walk according to ‘the flesh.’ These two powers are in irreconcilable conflict with each other … ‘The flesh’ cannot be improved or sanctified. “The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Rom. 8.7). There is no means of dealing with ‘the flesh’ save as Christ dealt with it, bearing it to the cross. “Our old man is crucified with him” (Rom. 6.6); so we by faith also crucify it, and regard and treat it daily as an accursed thing that finds its rightful place on the accursed cross.

Here then we have the deep root of evil as the cause of a prayerless life. ‘The flesh’ can say prayers well enough, calling itself religious for so doing and thus satisfying conscience. But ‘the flesh’ has no desire or strength for the prayer that strives after an intimate knowledge of God; that rejoices in fellowship with him; and that continues to lay hold of his strength. So, finally, it comes to this, ‘the flesh’ must be denied and crucified …

O my brethren, do not seek to find in circumstances the explanation of this prayerlessness over which we mourn; seek it where God’s word declares it to be, in the hidden aversion of the heart to a holy God.

When a Christian does not yield entirely to the leading of the Spirit — and this is certainly the will of God and the work of his grace — he lives, without knowing it, under the power of ‘the flesh’ … I pray you take time and give an answer to the question: Have I not found here the cause of my prayerlessness, of my powerlessness to effect any change in the matter? I live in the Spirit, I have been born again, but I do not walk after the Spirit — ‘the flesh’ lords it over me. The carnal life cannot possibly pray in the spirit and power. God forgive me. The carnal life is evidently the cause of my sad and shameful prayerlessness.

Thoughts: This is a long excerpt but a good one. The takeaway line for me comes right near the beginning: “We wish to pray in the Spirit and at the same time walk after the flesh, and this is impossible.” Our prayer life is integrally connected with the rest of our life. How we live affects how we pray and vice versa. As someone once said, “Prayer will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from prayer.” How will you live differently this week knowing that walking according to the flesh rather than the Spirit is the cause of prayerlessness?

Next post in series:  The Storm Center on the Battlefield

This is Part Five in a series on The Sin of Prayerlessness. The excerpts come from the first chapter of the book The Prayer Life, by Andrew Murray. Click here for an introduction and links to the other posts in the series.

A Witness from America:

In 1898, there were two members of the Presbytery in New York who attended the Northfield Conference for the deepening of the spiritual life. They returned to their work with the fire of a new enthusiasm. They endeavoured to bring about a revival in the entire Presbytery. In a meeting which they held, the chairman was guided to ask the brethren a question concerning their prayer life: “Brethren,” said he, “let us today make confession before God and each other. It will do us good. Will everyone who spends half an hour every day with God in connection with his work hold up a hand?” One hand was held up. He made a further request: “All who thus spend fifteen minutes hold up a hand.” Not half of the hands were held up. Then he said: “Prayer, the working power of the Church of Christ, and half of the workers make hardly any use of it! All who spend five minutes hold up hands.” All hands went up. But one man came later with the confession that he was not quite sure if he spent five minutes in prayer every day. “It is,” said he, “a terrible revelation of how little time I spend with God.”

Thoughts: In an interview on his 90th birthday, Billy Graham said that he wished he had spent more time with his family, more time studying and more time in prayer. Do you wish you spent more time in prayer? What positive steps can you take this week towards that goal?

Next post in series:  The Cause of Prayerlessness

This is Part Four in a series on The Sin of Prayerlessness. The excerpts come from the first chapter of the book The Prayer Life, by Andrew Murray. Click here for an introduction and links to the other posts in the series.

Prayerlessness and the Gospel:

What is it, then, that makes prayerlessness such a great sin?

Consider–
    1. What a reproach it is to God.
    2. It is the cause of a deficient spiritual life.
    3. The dreadful loss which the church suffers as a result of
        prayerlessness of the minister.
    4. The impossibility of preaching the gospel to all men–as we
        are commanded by Christ to do–so long as this sin is not
        overcome and cast out.

Many feel that the great need of missions is the obtaining of men and women who will give themselves to the Lord to strive in prayer for the salvation of souls. It has also been said that God is eager and able to deliver and bless the world he has redeemed, if his people were but willing, if they were but ready, to cry to him day and night But how can congregations be brought to that unless there comes first an entire change in ministers and that they begin to see that the indispensable thing is not preaching, not pastoral visitation, not church work, but fellowship with God in prayer till they are clothed with power from on high?

Oh, that all thought and work and expectation concerning the kingdom might drive us to the acknowledgement of the sin of prayerlessness! God help us to root it out! God deliver us from it through the blood and power of Christ Jesus! God teach every minister of the Word to see what a glorious place he may occupy if he first of all is delivered from this root of evils; so that with courage and joy, in faith and perseverance, he can go on with his God!

The sin of prayerlessness! The Lord lay the burden of it so heavy on our hearts that we may not rest till it is taken far from us through the name and power of Jesus. He will make this possible for us.

Thoughts: The gospel cannot go forth in power without prayer. Do you pray for missions on a regular basis? How about for your church’s missionaries? Here are two great resources to help you join in the worldwide effort of praying for missions. Remember, your prayers make a difference!

• Joshua Project
• Operation World

Next post in series:  A Witness from America

This is Part Three in a series on The Sin of Prayerlessness. The excerpts come from the first chapter of the book The Prayer Life, by Andrew Murray. Click here for an introduction and links to the other posts in the series.

Prayerlessness and the Minister:

What is it, then, that makes prayerlessness such a great sin?

Consider–
    1. What a reproach it is to God.
    2. It is the cause of a deficient spiritual life.
    3. The dreadful loss which the church suffers as a result of
        prayerlessness of the minister.

It is the business of a minister to train believers up to a life of prayer; but how can a leader do this if he himself understands little the art of conversing with God and of receiving from the Holy Spirit, every day, out of heaven, abundant grace for himself and for his work? A minister cannot lead a congregation higher than he is himself. He cannot with enthusiasm point out a way, or explain a work, in which he is not himself walking or living.

How many thousands of Christians there are who know next to nothing of the blessedness of prayer fellowship with God! How many there are who know something of it and long for a further increase of this knowledge, but in the preaching of the Word they are not persistently urged to keep on till they obtain the blessing! The reason is simply and only that the minister understands so little about the secret of powerful prayer and does not give prayer the place in his service which, in the nature of the case and in the will of God, is indispensably necessary. Oh, what a difference we should notice in our congregations if ministers could be brought to see in its right light the sin of prayerlessness and were delivered from it!

Ouch! As a pastor, this one hits close to home. “A minister cannot lead a congregation higher than he is himself.” How does a pastor’s prayer life impact his congregation? How can you encourage your pastor in his prayer life?

Next post in series:  Prayerlessness and the Gospel

This is Part Two in a series on The Sin of Prayerlessness. The excerpts come from the first chapter of the book The Prayer Life, by Andrew Murray. Click here for an introduction and links to the other posts in the series.

Prayerlessness and the Spiritual Life:

What is it, then, that makes prayerlessness such a great sin?

Consider–
    1. What a reproach it is to God.
    2. It is the cause of a deficient spiritual life.

It is a proof that, for the most part, our life is still under the power of “the flesh.” Prayer is the pulse of life; by it the doctor can tell what is the condition of the heart. The sin of prayerlessness is a proof for the ordinary Christian or minister that the life of God in the soul is in deadly sickness and weakness.

Much is said and many complaints are made about the feebleness of the Church to fulfill her calling, to exercise an influence over her members, to deliver them from the power of the world, and to bring them to a life of holy consecration to God. Much is also spoken about her indifference to the millions of heathen whom Christ entrusted to her that she might make known to them his love and salvation. What is the reason that many thousands of Christian workers in the world have not a greater influence? Nothing save this — the prayerlessness of their service. In the midst of all their zeal in the study and in the work of the Church, of all their faithfulness in preaching and conversation with the people, they lack that ceaseless prayer which has attached to it the sure promise of the Spirit and the power from on high. It is nothing but the sin of prayerlessness which is the cause of the lack of a powerful spiritual life!

Thoughts: Is it possible to have a vibrant spiritual life without prayer? Do you believe the church (overall) is weakened in its mission today due to a lack of prayer?

Next post in series:  Prayerlessness and the Minister

This is Part One in a series on The Sin of Prayerlessness. The excerpts come from the first chapter of the book The Prayer Life, by Andrew Murray. Click here for an introduction and links to the other posts in the series.

Prayerlessness and God:

What is it, then, that makes prayerlessness such a great sin? At first it is looked upon merely as a weakness. There is so much talk about lack of time and all sorts of distractions that the deep guilt of the situation is not recognised. Let it be our honest desire that, for the future, the sin of prayerlessness may be to us truly sinful.

Consider–

   1. What a reproach it is to God.

There is the holy and most glorious God who invites us to come to him, to hold converse with him, to ask from him such things as we need, and to experience what a blessing there is in fellowship with him. He has created us in his own image, and has redeemed us by his own Son, so that in converse with him we might find our highest glory and salvation.

What use do we make of this heavenly privilege? How many there are who take only five minutes for prayer! They say that they have no time and that the heart desire for prayer is lacking; they do not know how to spend half an hour with God! It is not that they absolutely do not pray; they pray every day — but they have no joy in prayer, as a token of communion with God which shows that God is every thing to them.

If a friend comes to visit them, they have time, they make time, even at the cost of sacrifice, for the sake of enjoying converse with him. Yes, they have time for everything that really interests them, but no time to practise fellowship with God and delight themselves in him! They find time for a creature who can be of service to them; but day after day, month after month passes, and there is no time to spend one hour with God.

Do not our hearts begin to acknowledge what a dishonor, what a despite of God this is, that I dare to say I cannot find time for fellowship with him? If this sin begins to appear plain to us, shall we not with deep shame cry out: ‘Woe is me, for I am undone, O God; be merciful to me, and forgive this awful sin of prayerlessness.’

Thoughts: Have you tended to look at prayerlessness as weakness rather than sin? Have you ever considered prayerlessness as a reproach to God?

Next post in series:  Prayerlessness and the Spiritual Life

One of my favorite books on prayer is The Prayer Life, by Andrew Murray. (It is also titled Living a Prayerful Life.) Andrew Murray was a pastor in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa in the 1800′s/early 1900′s. He was part of the South African Revival of 1860. He also wrote more than 240 books, a number of which focused on prayer.

The Prayer Life was birthed out of a conference that took place in April 1912. At the time there was a sense that the church was generally lacking in spiritual power and effectiveness, and so over two hundred ministers, missionaries and theological students gathered in South Africa to study the problem and discuss it together. Murray writes in the foreword of his book:

“The Lord graciously so ordered it that we were gradually led to the sin of prayerlessness as the deepest roots of the evil. No one could plead himself free from this. Nothing so reveals the defective spiritual life in minister and congregation as the lack of believing and unceasing prayer. Prayer is in very deed the pulse of the spiritual life. It is the great means of bringing to minister and people the blessing and power of heaven. Persevering and believing prayer means a strong and abundant life.” (Andrew Murray; The Prayer Life, p. 8 )

After the conference Murray wrote The Prayer Life, both as a reminder of the things they had learned and as a way of sharing these things with others.

The first chapter focuses on the sin of prayerlessness, and I will be sharing with you some excerpts over the next several days. In the remainder of the book, Murray gives helpful instruction on overcoming the sin of prayerlessness and developing your prayer life with God. The Lord used this book to help form my prayer life as a young Christian, and though my prayer life is far short of what I wish it would be, I am grateful for the truths I learned from this book in those early years.

Here are the posts that will form the rest of the series. I will update the links on this page as each post is published. I invite you to follow along and share your thoughts and comments along the way. (If you are new here, be sure to subscribe by email or feed reader so that you don’t miss any future posts.)

The Sin of Prayerlessness:
    Introduction and Links to the Series
    1. Prayerlessness and God
    2. Prayerlessness and the Spiritual Life
    3. Prayerlessness and the Minister
    4. Prayerlessness and the Gospel
    5. A Witness from America
    6. The Cause of Prayerlessness
    7. The Storm Center on the Battlefield

Here’s a fun poem I shared as part of a message on prayer on Sunday. (A big thanks to Thelma Campbell at Plantation Community Church who first introduced me to the poem.)

“PRAYER ROCK” (Author Unknown)

I’m your little prayer rock
and this is what I’ll do.
Just put me on your pillow
’til the day is through.

Then turn back the covers
and climb into your bed,
and, whack! your little prayer rock
will bump you on the head.

Then you will remember
as the day is through,
to kneel and say your prayers
as you intended to.

Then when you are finished
dump me on the floor.
I’ll stay there through the nighttime
to give you help once more.

When you get up next morning,
clunk! I stub your toe,
so that you will remember
your prayers before you go.

Put me back upon your pillow
when your bed is made,
and your clever little prayer rock
will continue in your aid.

Because your Heavenly Father
cares and loves you so,
He wants you to remember
to talk to Him, you know.

In discussion class after the service, we asked if anyone had actually used a prayer rock before. One woman said she used to but she didn’t need it anymore. Her husband joked, “Yeah, now she puts it on my pillow!” Do you use any types of “reminders” to help you remember to pray?

Click here for more poems.
Click here for poems by Ray Fowler.

Here is a prayer for election day I shared with my church family earlier today:

Father in heaven,

I pray that you will give us wisdom today as we go to the polls to cast our votes. Help us as we make difficult decisions on a variety of issues and as we seek to elect godly men and women to positions of authority in our state and in our nation. Help us to trust you with the results. We pray against any voter fraud or corruption and ask that justice be done in each election.

We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Remember: pray early and often, but only vote once!

International Justice Mission (IJM) has asked for prayer for a slave rescue operation tomorrow.

There will be a major slave rescue operation tomorrow at a rice mill in South Asia offices (precise location not being disclosed for security reasons).

It is night in South Asia right now. Our staff will begin the raid with the local police at 10am their time. They will not sleep until the operation is complete and the slaves are in safety and perpetrators arrrested. This could take one day or it could (more likely) take many.

Please pray that the work is swift, that all slaves are rescued, that the authorities are compliant, and that justice is delivered. Pray for healing for these victims of violent injustice, and pray for safety of our staff.

If you have ever read Gary Haugen’s book Terrify No More then you know just how daring and dangerous these rescue attempts can be. Please keep the IJM staff and this particular operation in prayer.

Update: Bethany Hoang reports from IJM: “For those of you who have been praying for the major rescue operations this week, I want to let you know that these operations were successful. I cannot give more detail due to security necessities, but if you have questions please contact me directly.”