In The Lost Art of Disciple Making, Leroy Eims told of a missionary who noticed that the churches that were miles away from the city in which he lived seemed to be more dedicated, active, and growing than the church he ministered in regularly.

Jonathan Goforth, missionary to China, studied the difficult Chinese language for months but found it nearly impossible for him to master. Language had always been difficult for him and he made embarrassingly slow progress. The Chinese complained that they could not understand him preach.

There was a woman in the crowd following Jesus who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years. No doctor had been able to help her, but she had heard about the healing power in Jesus, and she believed. Her thoughts were simple, unorthodox.

One day my neighbor shared an encounter she and her husband had on their way to Colorado. Before leaving, they asked the Lord to use them on the highway. About three hours down the road they stopped for breakfast and again sincerely prayed, “Lord, use us on the highway.”

During a fast God told Nancy to memorize scripture. Since then memorizing has not been a burden. In fact, it is so satisfying to her, she feels she is eating delicious food and loves using the memorized words in prayer. She doesn’t try to learn whole chapters, but she selects several verses that are meaningful to her.

A medical journal reported a scientific experiment in which a group of cardiologists in San Francisco divided people who were admitted to the ICU into two groups. Only one group was prayed for. Those prayed for were asked for permission to give their first name to three prayers who would agree to pray five minutes daily for one week.

A mother concerned about her son and his wife recently emailed this request: “God has led me to do a Jericho’ prayer...Would you join with me in “marching around the walls this week? I am fighting this battle with praise!”

Sue Kidd says each week she selects a Psalm and then daily takes a few moments to pray through it. She tries to live with it throughout the days ahead, returning to it each day, praying it as if it were her own prayer—whispering its pleas for help or joining in its praise and worship. Slowly the Psalm becomes her prayer. Usually, by the end of the week, she can identify her own personal situation somewhere in it.