"To speak for Him will be our impulse. No matter how timid, nervous, self-diffident, we are in ourselves, as we touch His pierced and royal hand, we shall be instantly masterful and strong."

"The piecemeal criticism which, like the fly, scans only the edge of a plinth in the great edifice upon which it crawls, disappears under a criticism that is all-comprehending and all-surveying."

"There is just now a great clamor and demand for "culture;" but it is not so much culture that is needed as discipline."

"Look back to the cross, and the disciples gazing on it in terror from afar, and then look around on the nations that are influenced by the faith that there centres — and note the change! Then take these elements, established in history, and calculate the orbit Christianity is to fill."

"A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for."

"Just as soon as any conviction of important truth becomes central and vital, there comes the desire to utter it—a desire which is immediate and irresistible. Sacrifice is gladness, service is joy, when such an idea becomes a commanding power."

"God is no more intimidated by childish demands for instant gratification than are wise parents."

"Be wary of insisting that you know better than God about when a prayer request should be granted. God's delays are not necessarily denials. He always has reasons for his 'not yets.'"

"By forcing us to look closely at our requests, prayer purifies us."

"A lot of spiritual gains come through pain, hurt, struggle, confusion and disappointment."

"If the request is wrong, God says, "No." If the timing is wrong, God says, "Slow." If you are wrong, God says, "Grow." But if the request is right, the timing is right and you are right, God says, "Go!""

"If the disciples were capable of making wrong requests - requests that were self-serving, patently materialistic, shortsighted or immature - I feel sure that we are too. Fortunately God loves us too much to say yes to inappropriate requests."

"The greatest prayer motivator in existence is answered prayer."

"Before bringing a request to the Lord, it's a good idea to ask: If God granted this request, would it bring glory to him? Would it advance his kingdom? Would it help people? Would it help me to grow spiritually?"

"Our prayers can be more than empty wishes, vain hopes or feeble aspirations – but only when they are prayed from faith-filled hearts."

"There are two main principles I've picked up over the years as they pertain to cultivating the type of faith that moves mountains. The first is this: Faith comes by looking at God, not at the mountain. The second is this: God gives us faith as we walk by his side."

"When I pray, I'm not just telling God my problems, but rather I'm turning over my biggest concerns to him. It's only when I've put them in his capable hands that I can go about my day in his strength and freedom."

"How do you pray a prayer so filled with faith that it can move a mountain? By shifting your focus from the size of your mountain to the sufficiency of the Mountain Mover and then stepping forward in obedience."

"Supplications are requests that you make of God. And truly, nothing is too big for God to handle or too small for him to be interested in."

"As you walk with God, your faith will grow, your confidence will increase and your prayers will have real power."

"The most common cause of unanswered prayer is prayerlessness."

"I sometimes wonder if my requests are legitimate. So I'm honest with God. I say, "Lord, I don't know if I have the right to ask for this. I don't know how I should pray about it. But I hand it over to your now, and if you'll tell me how to pray, I'll pray your way.""

"Adoration in prayer purges our spirit and prepares us to listen to God."

"Confession is probably the most neglected area of personal prayer."

"When the spirit of adoration takes over and we begin pondering God's attributes, we soon say from the heart, 'I am praying to a tremendous God!' Which only motivates us to keep on praying."

"When I lump all my sins together and confess them en masse, I neglect to feel the pain or embarrassment or shame that should be elicited in me."

"Out-of-balance praying leads to no praying at all!"

"One prayer routine that is balanced and easy to remember is found in the word ACTS, an acrostic whose four letters stand for adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication."

"We don't take confession seriously enough. If we did, our lives would be radically different."

"Adoration in prayer reminds us of God's identity and inclination. As we list his attributes, lifting up his character and personality, we reinforce our understanding of who he is."

"Sensing the carelessness and one-sidedness of our prayers, we start to feel guilty about praying. Guilt leads to faint-heartedness and that in turn leads to prayerlessness."

"If you're a parent, you know how incredibly good it feels when one of your children spontaneously thanks you for something. God is our Father, and he, too, is moved when we express our thanksgiving."

"Are you expecting God to fill your needs? Are you asking him to do so - regularly, earnestly and persistently?"

"Authentic Christians are persons who stand apart from others. Their character seems deeper, their ideas fresher, their spirit softer, their courage greater, their leadership stronger, their concerns wider, their compassion more genuine and their convictions more concrete."

"Busyness is the unrivaled archenemy of spiritual authenticity."

"A key ingredient in authentic Christianity is time. Not leftover time, not throwaway time, but quality time. Time for contemplation, meditation and reflection. Unhurried, uninterrupted time."

"The heart and soul of the Christian life is learning to hear God's voice and then developing the courage to do what he asks us to do."

"Keep on praying because the Father does listen. He loves our company, he wants us to endure in prayerfulness and he is eager to do whatever is best for us."

"Most of us are far too busy for our own spiritual good."

"If your life is rushing in many directions at once, you are incapable of the kind of deep, unhurried prayer that is vital to the Christian walk."

"Authentic Christianity is a supernatural walk with a living, dynamic, communicating God."

"The time of day we choose for prayer doesn't matter, so long as we keep it faithfully. Prayer must be part of the rhythm of our daily lives."

"Sin is plenty strong enough to create an ever-widening gap in one's relationship with God. The wider the gap, the less likely we are to pray. And the less we pray, the wider the gap becomes."

"We can have no deep, ongoing fellowship with God unless we obey him - totally."

"One reason we stop praying or let our prayer lives fade is that we are too comfortable."

"If your ear is open to the afflicted, God will keep his ear open to you."

"If you have pumped your fist at God, the good news is that you can come back into fellowship with him right this minute."

"If you let even a little sin into your heart, it's going to contaminate your prayers. Your Christian life will not achieve its full potential."

"If you're tolerating sin in your life, my friend, don't waste your breath praying unless it's a prayer of confession."

"Prayer busters (causes of unanswered prayer) are prayerlessness, unconfessed sin, unresolved relational conflict, selfishness, uncaring attitudes, and inadequate faith."