it's time to pray

When Christ becomes the center of our focus, anything that hinders us from seeing Him or understanding Him is taken away. When we turn to the Lord, the separation between us and Christ is no longer there. The darkness of our hearts lifts, and we begin to understand things we didn't understand before. If we are willing to hear what God is wanting to speak to us, and if we're willing to look at what...

Galatians, chapter 1, beginning at verse 15, "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood…" One of the hallmarks of the life of the apostle Paul is that when God called him, he did not seek the opinions of man to guide him. Rath...

Sometimes we think that the road to success is simple and always an upward trajectory with more crowds and more notoriety. However, in the kingdom of God, the ministry becomes more significant when we get lower. At the last supper, the Son of God Himself took a towel, girded himself and washed the feet of His disciples. David Wilkerson once said to me, "Carter, if you want to know the power of God...

I want to remind you today that X-Box is a video game that a lot of young people like to play. It's not reality-there's a lot of fiction involved in it-and nobody really gets hurt. But when you go out to vote this year, remember, that when you put an "X" in the box beside somebody's name, if you don't put an "X" beside the right name, a lot of people will get hurt, particularly the unborn. I want...

Second Timothy, chapter 2, beginning at verse 6: "The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel." As believers in Christ, we go through many places where we need the strength which God gives to keep our victory...

Second Corinthians, chapter four, beginning at verse seven: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of...

Psalms, chapter 119, verse 126: "It is time for You to act, O Lord, for they have regarded Your law as void." Years ago, I had the privilege of visiting in the home of a man of God called Leonard Ravenhill. In that meeting were two of his elderly friends with whom he met to pray on a weekly basis. One of them, before we prayed, recounted that when he was just a child, a spiritual awakening came to...

Jesus said that He is the way, and there is no other way to the Father, except through Him. The religious system of His day had created another way for salvation, and it was that system that crucified Jesus. Today, the narrow path that Jesus prescribes for us is despised and rejected again. Many are in grave danger of being on a wide path that doesn't lead to God's acceptance and tolerance, as som...

We often forget the simplicity of our calling. I'm a Christian first, ministry is just what I do. The same goes for everyone who's called. We sometimes forget the call to individual relationships and so we wait and become bogged down, waiting for big things and titles, when we're just called to all people everywhere from all walks of life. You and I are called to have eyes for people-those who are...

Psalms, chapter 71, beginning at verse 17, "O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come." There are many listening to me today who have walked with Christ for years. You know His delivering power and you...

Sometimes the most tormenting thing people have to live with is their own past. Are your past mistakes, or the people you've hurt, your regrets, are they keeping you up at night? My brother and my sister, the Bible tells us that the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross for you and me cleanses us from all our sin, from all the wrong we've ever done. Not only does it cleanse the record o...

Proverbs, chapter 31, verses 8 and 9: "Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy." It may be argued that every society in decline has lost its focus. You might ask, "Well, what exactly does that loss look like?" The answer, in my opinion, is quite obvious. It's the preeminence of s...

God called Abraham at the age of 75 to follow Him, and required him to go to an unfamiliar place. You know, quite often we want to be blessed right where we are. We want the convenience of not having to do anything out of our comfort zone, don't we? What would biblical history look like of Abraham had stayed home? God often calls us to the unknown, or to an unfamiliar place. He doesn't show us the...

The book of Acts, chapter 5, beginning at verse 27: "And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, 'Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood on us!' But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: 'We ought to obey God rather...

Every Tuesday night we have a Worldwide Prayer Meeting at 7:00 PM Eastern Time at tsc.nyc. People who are answering the call to pray are coming together to trust God just as they once did in the book of Acts. In faith, we come together at our prayer meetings, which are not strategy sessions, but learning to trust God to do what only He can do. We believe God for salvation and beyond for those who...

Luke, chapter 7, verses 12 and 13: "And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, 'Do not weep.'" Many people who are addicted, afflicted, hopeless and full of sorrow are still among us. Be bold in co...

Second Timothy, chapter 4, beginning at verse 1: "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desire...

Second Corinthians, chapter 12, verse 10: "Therefore I take pleasures in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." We're in an hour where we find ourselves confronted by a darkness that everyone knows we're not strong enough in ourselves to defeat. For too long, we've been too strong. For too long, we've polished...

James, chapter 5, beginning at verse 17, "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit." In times past, when we struggled as a nation, we turned to prayer. When we did, the power of God was engaged and great cha...

Scriptures tell us that the people of Israel didn't get the land by their own strength. God brought them there and blessed them through His promises. Similarly, our nation was divinely built, blessed and prospered by God, even though presently, we're trying to push His name out of our borders. For example, speech is becoming so evil that people are wondering if there's any hope left for our future...

A year after the pilgrims landed at Plymouth in 1620, the half that survived gathered to pray. They had very little in the way of resources, no plans and no strength. All they had was the ability to pray and a promise from God, and out of that came an incredible nation. America was enabled by God to accomplish in only 400 years what other cultures had strived to achieve for thousands of years. Onl...

In 1620, as the early pilgrims prayed, they had little strength, no plan and were surrounded by enemies. But they had a promise from Jesus. They were being led to a land where every person could worship God freely according to conscience, and God was faithful to His promise, even until today. Our freedom to serve God according to conscience is once again surrounded by enemies. That's why we're bei...

When the pilgrims landed on the shores of Plymouth, Massachusetts, they had already faced many trials, difficulties, and many unfortunately lost their lives. They landed on the shores of America with nothing but a promise in their hearts. They believed that they were going to a land where they were free to worship God and live their lives according to His Word. They risked everything for this free...

The pilgrims who landed in the shores of America in 1620 had a promise from God that they were being brought to a place where everyone could begin to worship God, according to their free will. When I think about all the people who have come to the shores of America since those days of her founding-people who called out for freedom, for help, for provision, for hope-I have seen how God was faithful...

I met a man once who was lamenting over his mistakes as a father, wishing he could have done things differently. I encouraged him by telling him, "Your children still want and need a father, it doesn't matter how old they are. Turn your heart to God and become the man that He wants you to be. Stop worrying about them and start trusting God with them and watch what God will do in your family." Ther...