Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire (Jim Cymbala)

from an email December 12, 2006

After finishing three of my five final exams, today I decided to take a bit of a break. So I finished reading this great book by Jim Cymbala entitled "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire". (I encourage you to read it too!!!) Thank you very much Anton, Bahy and Mark for recommending it to me.

I've been convicted in recent days that I need to be praying more, and that all of us as Christians need to be more faithful in calling upon Him who is able to do abundantly more than we can ask or imagine. May we be a people devoted to prayer as we make proclaim Christ Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

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From this day on, the prayer meeting will be the barometer of our church. What happens on Tuesday night will be the gauge by which we will judge success or failure because that will be the measure by which God blesses us. (pg 27)

If we call upon the Lord, he has promised in his Word to answer, to bring the unsaved to himself, to pour out his Spirit among us. If we don't call upon the Lord, he has promised nothing – nothing at all. It's as simple as that. (pg 27)

James 4:2
You do not have, because you do not ask God.

You can tell how popular a church is by who comes on Sunday morning. You can tell how popular a pastor is by who comes on Sunday night. But you can tell how popular Jesus is by who comes to the prayer meeting. (pg 28)

If my church or your church isn't praying, we shouldn't be boasting in our orthodoxy or our Sunday morning attendance figures. (pg 51)

Does the Bible ever say anywhere from Genesis to Revelation, "My house shall be called a house of preaching"? Does it ever say "My house shall be called a house of music"? Of course not. The Bible does say, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." (Mark 11:17 )

With some exceptions we are like the church at Laodicea. In fact we have so institutionalized Laodiceanism that we think lukewarm is normal. Any church winning more than a few people to Christ is considered "outstanding". (pg 91)

Can you imagine someone handing Peter a microphone on Sunday morning and whispering, "Okay now, you've got twenty minutes. We have to get the people out of here promptly because the chariot races start at one o'clock"? Of course not!.... The same people who want sixty minute worship services rent two-hour videos and watch NFL and NHL games that run even longer. The issue is not length, but appetite. (pg 133)

Acts 1:14
These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

Acts 2:42
They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Acts 6:4
But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.

Romans 12:12
Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer.

Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.