The Breath of Our Spiritual Lives
Prayer is not an indifferent or a small thing. It is not a sweet little privilege. It is a great prerogative, far-reaching in its effects. Failure to pray entails losses far beyond the person who neglects it. Prayer is not a mere episode of the Christian life. Rather the whole life is a preparation for and the result of prayer. In its condition, prayer is the sum of religion. Faith is but a channel of prayer. Faith gives it wings and swiftness. Prayer is the lungs through which holiness breathes. Prayer is not only the language of spiritual life but makes its very essence and forms its real character.
—E. M. Bounds
The Possibilities of Prayer
Jesus said, “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev. 21:5). The renewing work begins in our lives the moment we trust Jesus. He transforms you (in a process called sanctification) “by the renewing of your mind so you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” He enlarges your perspective, from the temporal to the eternal; He gives you ears to hear and eyes to see the bigger picture. He gives you faith to rest assured in things that are promised, though as of yet unseen. Salvation is more than a fire escape, or ‘get-out-of-hell-free card. It is a renewing fountain of God’s goodness and grace that our souls crave. Come to the table. Feast on His goodness. Celebrate His gift of salvation! —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics