Prayer Warrior: E.M. Bounds

I've devoted part of this Fall to learning everything I can about prayer and fasting. I started this summer by reading A Treasury of Prayer based on the writing of E.M. Bounds. If you're looking for inspiration for your prayer life, look no further. I practically underlined the whole book. Here are a few gems to get you going:

"This is a thing of the heart, not of the schools. It is more of feeling than of words. Praying is the best school in which to learn to pray, prayer the best dictionary to define the art and nature of praying."

"Men are never nearer heaven... than when praying."

"God's greatest glory and man's highest good are secured by prayer."

"God does His best work for the world through prayer."

"He knows not God who knows not how to pray."

One of the new things I'm trying is sitting on the ground when I pray for any extended period of time. Sounds simple enough, but in the past I've prayed on the couch in my study or at my desk. If it was early enough in the morning, the couch made it too easy to drift back to sleep. And my desk —obviously!—has way too many distractions, not the least of which is my computer.

I've also started setting a timer. Not only does it encourage me to keep praying until it beeps, it helps me completely focus on the task at hand. It requires me to devote a set amount of time and helps me stick to it. It felt forced at first—kind of like when my mom would set the timer for piano practice. But after a time it's beginning to feel freeing. Rather than allowing my mind to wander to all the other things I should be doing, it forces me to do the very thing I must do.

"Failure to pray is failure along the whole line of life."

E.M. Bounds