Bill Hybels
American author, speaker, and the founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois.
By forcing us to look closely at our requests, prayer purifies us.
Our spirits, like our bodies, have requirements for health and growth. Some people don't want to pay the price of developing good spiritual habits.
Playing around is one thing; following an established regimen is quite another. It's true with exercise equipment and it is true with prayer.
The key is to practice praying - and to practice praying regularly, privately, sincerely and specifically.
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.
God is committed to developing a people who will reflect his character in this world, and his character always expresses concern and compassion for the afflicted.
One reason we stop praying or let our prayer lives fade is that we are too comfortable.
God is no more intimidated by childish demands for instant gratification than are wise parents.
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.
The Lord's Prayer is an excellent model, but it was never intended to be a magical incantation to get God's attention. Jesus gave this prayer as a pattern to suggest the variety of elements that should be included when we pray.