I love that we've begun a new thing that has become a church-wide trend. Many of our churches ring in the new year with an emphasis on prayer that includes a 21-Day fast.

I'm writing this post on Day 2 of our 21 days and am feeling the physical  and spiritual effects of this fast already! Every year we challenge our congregation to join us in a fast. We provide resources to help them know what fasting is all about, and we create a daily devotional guide to accompany them along the way.

In order to hold each other accountable, we ask participants to sign-up by giving us their email address. These emails go right into an online group where we can send the group emails of encouragement along the way. And, because we want our people fasting and praying MORE than just for 21 days in January, we use these 3 weeks as a time to recruit them to become a part of our ongoing prayer and fasting team. I share with you what that team does in this blog post, What is a Prayer and...

 I've written 19 books, and most of them are on the subject of prayer. I could write a book a week between now and the day I die and I'd never exhaust the subject, nor would I reveal the entire mystery of prayer. (That's not going to stop me from trying, though!) 

But perhaps the most useful tool I've had the opportunity to create is this 4-session study called, Teach My Heart to Pray. If you haven't already done so, take a minute to watch the attached video.

Teach My Heart to Pray is designed to teach anyone and everyone what prayer is; how prayer works; what answers you can expect to your prayers; what barriers there are to our prayers' answers; and how to pray through to a break through. The study is designed to be taught in a Sunday morning, Sunday evening or Wednesday night church setting. It could also be used in home groups.

The material can be taught by me (on video) with a facilitator who is good at turning the video on and off, and leading discussion. Or, it can...

Now that you've got your prayer point persons in your small groups, mobilize them to pray for people who are lost.

Challenge your prayer point people to share this super easy method of praying for their lost friends and neighbors.

First, quote or read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12...

“Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.” – Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (CSB)

Even Solomon knew that a 3-cord relationship was stronger than one or two. I've found that the most practical benefit of prayer triplets is that when 1 can't come, 2 can still get together. And if/when 1 or even 2 might be discouraged there is still 1 (or 2) who aren't. We...