Breakthroughs. Something we all want. In our lives, in the lives of those we love, in our neighborhoods, our churches, our cities. We long to see changed, transformed lives.

Jim Cymbala has influenced my prayers for years, starting with Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire; Fresh Power; Fresh Faith; When God’s People Pray and also Breakthrough Prayer.

As always, reviewing the quotes I highlighted in the book brings awesome reminders. First and foremost is absolute necessity of intimacy with my Father. Without it, are my prayers anything more than throwing wishes into the wind? With it, I’m grounded in his promises, aware of his will, and filled with strength and wisdom for his purposes. In this place, I can experience the breakthroughs I desperately want to see.

Quotes:

• God’s blessing is invincible against all the powers of earth and hell.
• …we are to ask in prayer for an outpouring of God’s favor.
• …effective praying often involves more than just saying the right words.  Seeking God with our whole heart is the kind of Bible praying that secures not just answers but the blessing of God that we all need.
• A tremendous blessing awaits each of us every day in the Word of God!  When we read with a sincere desire to hear God and take his truth to heart by faith, we will receive favor from him.
• God’s blessing is reserved for those who long with all their would to walk in his light and holiness.
• God is waiting for us to obey by faith the leadings and promptings he so often gives us.  As we obey, untold divine resources and grace will be provided.
• Compassion and concern for the downtrodden, then, is not merely part of a “liberal agenda,” but is rooted in the very heart of our Creator.
• …most of us still live with only the slightest understanding of the most ancient, dynamic source of power there is – the power that comes from prayer.
• Prayer for conversion is important and it is true that only God can save a soul.  But unless his servants boldly proclaim the gospel, how will the kingdom of God be extended.
• But when the Lord’s method for accomplishing his purpose includes you and me, then it is both a wonderful privilege and a sacred responsibility for us to respond with faith.
• Don’t be afraid to ask God for great things.
• …this who seldom ask receive in proportion to their little faith.
• Our struggle is to slow down long enough to spend time with God to do two things: ask and listen.
• The world has yet to see a Christlike, victorious, and fruitful, believer who was not a person of considerable prayer.
• How often do we spin our wheels, talking and worrying, while the Lord of the universe waits to be invited into the fray?
• Though we acknowledge that God has plans for us and that his promises reflect his grace and mercy, we don’t realize that he wants us to petition him for the very things he promised.
• Purpose, promise, prayer
• We need to realize that the promises that overflow our Bibles will overflow into our own lives only as we appropriate them through prayers.
• Instead, we are told that prayer brings us before the throne of grace as children seeking the help of their heavenly Father.
• First… humbling… Second… believe… Third… pure heart… Fourth… assurance.
• It’s easy to ask God for the things we want and need.  But it’s not so simple to adjust our hearts and lives to his Word.
• Of course it’s important to hear sound Bible teaching, but the real truth about God should lead people to a life of asking and receiving.
• But rather than allowing our mountains, however massive, to become obstacles to prayer, we can turn them into opportunities to learn valuable lessons about our level of spiritual maturity and our need to go deeper with God in prayer.
• Sound doctrine that yields faithless living and no prayer is no doctrine at all.
• … he is always ready to help those who call out to him in believing prayer.
• The only indisputable proof that God’s grace is at work in us is the spiritual fruit we produce.
• Without love, every form of religious observance is worthless.
• The sign of God’s presence is always love.
• The greatest deception of all… is the idea that we can represent and preach Christ while being strangers to his heart of love.
• After we pray or step out in obedience, things may get worse before they get better!
• Often, standing on God’s promises involves more than we bargained for.
• We act on his promise, and the testing begins.
• When we hold on to God’s word, we will always witness a day when the Lord says, “Now you will see what I will do!”
• … how beautiful they can become as Jesus begins his work in them.
• Only the Holy Spirit can inspire us to pray effectually and he uses various means to accomplish his purpose.
• … serious prayer is born out of a sense of need, out of the knowledge that we must ask God to intervene.
• This is the process the Lord often uses – working out his plans through weak human beings who feel compelled by their need to pray.
• Follow the Spirit’s leading and ignore everything that discourages you from trusting the Lord.
• These are some of the mysteries of prayer that God never fully explains.  Still he gives spiritual insight to those who spend time with him at the throne of grace.
• We should pray for spiritual renewal across the land not so much for the blessings it will bring us, but so that God’s name may be exalted.
• Lack of prayer translates into lack of peace no matter how knowledgeable we are about the Bible.
• …regular praying costs something, but the cost of not praying is much higher.
• Just because God loves the world doesn’t mean he has lost his holy hatred of sin.  Let’s pray for a spiritual revival that will clean the church of unholy practices!
• Isn’t it a solemn matter to consider that what some call “tolerance” God judges to be high treason!
• …the great majority of God’s promises have conditions attached to them.
• …the fulfillment of God’s promises often depends on our walking before him in sincerity and truth.
• An attentive, willing heart is the great need of the hour.
• The enemy knows that the best way to breach your spiritual immune system is by attacking your faith.  Once your faith is undermined, you become an easy target for a variety of spiritual maladies.
• We constantly hear about the need for solid teaching and proper leadership in a church, but when was the last time the “gift of encouraging” received its proper due?
• …it is a real  blessing to have fellowship with believers whose faith is so vibrant that it rubs off on me.
• “What has the Lord given you lately from his Word?”
• When sermons, teaching,s and exhortations don’t build up people’s faith, they are not from God, no matter how many Bible verses are quoted.
• …intercessory prayer touches God with one hand while reaching out to those being prayed for with the other.
• Encouraging others through prayer is both a privilege and a responsibility.
• We have an abundance of teachers, singers, musicians, worship leaders and administrators, but a critical shortage of those who will devote themselves to this sacred calling.
• Folks who have little appetite to be with other believers have, in fact, little appetite for Christ.
• …fear and timidity are never God’s will forms people.
• Not only can God protect us from danger, but he can also rescue us from the nagging fear of what might happen to us.
• “Trying harder” to do the right thing is not what’s needed. Instead, we must have faith in what God can and will do for us.
• When it comes to being led by the Lord, there are no simple formulas that apply to every situation.
• If we are going to break through into new power in prayer and service to others, we must make a deeper acquaintance with the Holy Spirit of God.
• Without being Spirit-led, we cannot possibly live victoriously for Christ.
• …nothing produces spiritual results like being led by the Spirit.
• When is the last time you heard someone pray, “lord, fill me with the joy you promised me”?
• Many people plod through their days with a sour, irritable spirit that is corrosive to themselves and others.
• Real joy is not mere “happiness,” a feeling that fluctuates with our circumstances. Rather, it is a deep inner delight in God that only the Holy Spirit can produce.
• If we are going to walk victoriously by faith, we must maintain a daily spirit of joy in the Lord.
• …those who live closest to God are the most joyful people on the planet.
• When we are full of God’s joy, eery ordinary day becomes a happy celebration of his goodness.
• …we must rejoice in the Lord in everything we put our hands to.
• As you open your heart to compassion and mercy, God will do exceedingly beyond what you can ever ask or think.