• The notorious Roman emperor Nero was in power when Paul penned the words to his young friend, Timothy, exhorting him to pray (1Timothy 2:1). But then Paul extends the directive beyond his protégé, “what I want mostly is for men to pray—not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God” (1 Timothy 2:8).
• John Wesley spent at least two hours daily in prayer, beginning at 4 AM. One who knew him well wrote, “He thought prayer to be more his business than anything else, and I have seen him come out of the closet with a serenity of face next to shining.”
• Martin Luther, the great reformer, once remarked, “If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day.” He also had a motto: “He that has prayed well has studied well.”
• Dwight L. Moody commented, “A great many think it is only the perfectly righteous and pure that pray . . . but notice that every man of God spoken of in the Bible was a man of prayer. You have therefore very good authority and encouragement for asking God to hear your prayers, and for praying on behalf of others.”
• Dr. Billy Graham explained, “Prayer is simply talking to God and the most important thing I can say about this is that God wants you to talk to Him! He loves us and He has promised to hear us when we pray.”
• Regarding prayer, Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ International, remarked, “In my devotional life, I have found it meaningful to begin every morning in prayer and end the day in prayer worshiping our Lord.”

• Set aside time to pray. A lot of this is just self-discipline, combined with resisting Satan who’ll make sure you are too busy, too tired, and too confused to engage in a regular prayer time. I have a friend who has conditioned himself to awaken in the middle of the night and devote 30-45 minutes in prayer; he then returns to bed! While prayer is not restricted to a specific time, Psalm 119: 145-147 notes that men “rose before dawn and cried for help.”
• Use a prayer journal. As loaded as men’s minds are, keeping everything housed in my mind is impossible. Recording prayer requests and petitioning for them for a period of time then also opens up the doors to prayers of praise for answered prayer!
• Refer to a prayer guide.Many such guides are available from organizations or at websites. For example, a daily directive to pray for local, national, and international leaders and circumstances is available at http://pray.menfornations.net.
• Have a prayer partner. Covenant with another individual or with a small group to share in prayer. I know of a men’s accountability group where each member keeps his cell phone on 24/7 so other members of the group may call whenever they are specifically under attack from Satan and need prayer. Immediately, the other members can begin praying on behalf of their friend.
• Support your pastor through prayer for him or her. Satan, I believe, gets extra points if he interferes with a pastor and his call of God to share the gospel. Your ongoing prayers for your pastor are essential. Perhaps a team of men could pray during the Sunday worship service time for the pastor. But ministry continues throughout the week, hence, prayer should, as well. I recently learned of a prayer strategy where, on Sunday morning, men would silently shake the hand of their pastor while holding a nickel. That nickel quietly communicated to the pastor that this man was going to be praying for him for 5 days in the upcoming week. Imagine what it would do for your pastor to go home on a Sunday with a bunch of nickels that reflected congregational prayer support. What a neat way to say, “I care about God’s ministry through you, pastor."
• Join specialized initiatives or organize your own men’s group for special periods of prayer. The website, Encourage Men to Pray, provides ongoing suggestions for how to implement such an initiative. To move heaven, we must first move. Some men’s groups hold weekly prayer events (i.e., Tuesdays at 6 AM); others host prayer events periodically and organize them around a special theme (i.e., upcoming elections, Veterans Day, etc.). At one Nazarene church, men board vans and travel to neighborhood locations; the van parks outside a hospital, nursing home, or other facility and the men then engage in a period of prayer on behalf of the individuals or circumstances at that site.
  

I have a series of different scars on my body. They evoke memories of places and situations. For some of them I’m happy to share only limited information because total revelation shows too much of my folly or obstinacy, or of a negative character-building moment. My scars are reminders of choices I could have made better, or of a situation that got out of my control. It is ok having a few close friends know most of the implications of those scars. They can either laugh with me, or help build on their meaning. What about emotional scars? Surely they have similar implications of folly, obstinacy, or situations we would have preferred not to enter.

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Dr. Paul Tarrant

The only problem with this life is other people – having to live with them; be accountable to them; being expected to agree with them when they are definitely wrong; or to listen to them justifying their actions and attitudes.

By Judge Charles A. Davis
Florida 2nd District Court of Appeals

As a child and teenager, I was keenly aware of my father’s lack of a formal education. Reared during the Great Depression, he obtained the equivalent of an eighth grade education. He left school at an early age to take a job to help support his family. But, he was a godly man, serving our small local church in just about every capacity. However, when he would get up to speak at church, his educated son would wince at his grammar and lack of public speaking ability.