So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.—Genesis 5:23–24

Did you know it’s possible to pray the most beautiful, eloquent prayer ever prayed and not have it go any higher than the ceiling?

Sometimes we are filled with sin. Maybe it’s unforgiveness, or maybe it’s a sin we have never confessed. But that sin is like a barrier between God and us. It is like being on a phone call with God and having the battery go dead.

Maybe you’ve allowed some sin to work its way into your life, and it has brought your prayer life to a halt. If you want to reconnect with God again, then you will need to confess your sin. The Bible tells us that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

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Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.—Ephesians 4:32

If you’re someone who holds grudges, if you keep score and can’t let things go, then you need to know something: You will suffer in life. You also will see your prayer life come to a screeching halt.

Forgiveness is the key to all healthy, strong, and lasting relationships. That’s why we must realize how important it is to forgive. Jesus said, “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God” (Matthew 5:23–24).

Maybe you’ve decided that you won’t forgive someone who has wronged you. Guess who will be the one to get hurt? You will. Harboring resentment and unforgiveness will hurt you more than the person you’re refusing to forgive. If you want to be healthy and vibrant spiritually, then you must learn to forgive.

Continue reading Greg Laurie – How Unforgiveness Hurts You →

“In this manner, therefore, pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ “—Matthew 6:9–10

If you want God to say yes to your prayers, then you must pray according to the will of God. Jesus modeled this for us when He taught us to pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9–10).

Yet some people teach the opposite. They say that when you pray, you are to tell God what you want and ask for it by faith. You are to speak it into existence and not doubt. I’ve heard one teacher say, “Don’t ever pray, ‘Not my will, but Yours be done.” But those who hold that view are mistaken.

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Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.—Luke 18:1

Why should we pray? The simple answer is because Jesus told us to. Jesus himself was a model of prayer. He was always praying.

In the Garden of Gethsemane as Jesus contemplated the horrors of the cross, He prayed, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39).

On the cross, Jesus prayed for His enemies, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).

Before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, we read that He lifted up His eyes to heaven and prayed (see John 11:41–42).

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The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions. —Proverbs 28:1

Although she was chosen by King Xerxes to become the queen, Esther was not some vain girl who liked to stare at herself in the mirror. Esther resolved to stand up for the salvation of her people, the Jews. We have to admire her bravery as she approached the king, uninvited—at the risk of losing her life.

In a way, we all have our own king, of sorts, whom we have to deal with. It might be a boss. It might be a husband who doesn’t know the Lord. Maybe it is a Christian friend who is compromising. Maybe it’s someone who needs to hear the gospel.

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Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride. —Ecclesiastes 7:8

The Bible is filled with stories of people who started well but finished horribly, like King Saul and Samson. Then there are those who started poorly but finished well.

Think of Nicodemus, whom we read about in John 3. He was just a guy coming to Jesus at night with some questions. There is no indication that he was a believer at that point. But at the end of the Gospel narrative, after Christ had been crucified, who stepped forward publicly, along with Joseph of Arimathea, and asked for Jesus’ body to give Him a proper burial? It was Nicodemus the Pharisee. Maybe he didn’t start all that well, but he ended very well.

The same could be said of Esther. We can argue as to whether Esther should have been upfront from the beginning about being a Jew when she was chosen by King Xerxes to be the new queen. But if the king knew she was a Jew, maybe he never would have married her. And if he hadn’t married her, maybe she wouldn’t have been in a position to save a nation. But even if Esther made a mistake initially, even if she compromised, even if she may not have started all that well, she finished very well.

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Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. —Acts 12:5

Acts 12 opens with a bleak scenario. James has been executed, and Peter has been arrested by King Herod. He was going to be killed next. But then we read that “constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church” (verse 5). The church took this seriously and began to pray. So God sent an angel to deliver Peter from prison, and the story has a happy ending.

Then as Acts 12 closes, King Herod, who orchestrated these events, was giving a great speech, and the people began to cry out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” (verse 22). God judged Herod and killed him on the spot.

Continue reading Greg Laurie – When Things Look Bleak →

Some have defined revival as a community saturated with God or an invasion from heaven.

Richard Owen Roberts said, “Revival is an extraordinary movement of the Holy Spirit producing extraordinary results.” And A.W. Tozer defined revival as “that which changes the moral climate of a community.”

Listen, revival is nothing more or less than a new beginning of obedience to God.

It’s a church word, revival. It is not for the nonbeliever. Revival starts with the church and then affects the world. The world does not need revival; the church does. The world needs evangelism.

Evangelism does not bring revival, but revival always brings evangelism.

Continue reading Greg Laurie – What is Revival? →

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” says the Lord, “thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”—Jeremiah 29:11

Sometimes people will ask me to sign their Bibles. And sometimes they will ask me to include my favorite verse. That can be difficult, because I have a lot of favorites. What I choose to write down typically depends on what I’m experiencing at the time.

If I’m going through a stressful situation, I might write down Philippians 4:6–7, which says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

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Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.—2 Kings 6:17

We often imagine Heaven as a faraway place. We automatically think it is beyond our solar system. But the Bible doesn’t say that Heaven is far away. Maybe Heaven is closer than we think. Heaven is another realm. Right now as we live in this physical realm, there is also a supernatural realm.

In 2 Kings 7 we find a classic example of how God can work both naturally and supernaturally at the same time. Supernaturally God cleared out Israel’s enemies, the Syrians, by allowing them to hear the noise of an approaching army, complete with chariots and galloping horses. This wasn’t an illusion or sleight of hand. This was a glimpse behind the veil into the supernatural realm.

Continue reading Greg Laurie – Closer Than We Think →