Bill Hybels on Religion

"Developing prayer fitness is similar to developing physical fitness: we must follow a pattern in order to stay balanced."

"Don't let your prayers turn into a wish list for Santa Claus. Worship God and praise him when you come to him in prayer."

"If you have pumped your fist at God, the good news is that you can come back into fellowship with him right this minute."

"Don't ask God to bless junk food and miraculously transform it so that it has nutritional value. That's not how God works."

"As you walk with God, your faith will grow, your confidence will increase and your prayers will have real power."

"Are you expecting God to fill your needs? Are you asking him to do so - regularly, earnestly and persistently?"

"When we make a habit of prayer, we stay constantly tuned to God's presence and open to receive his blessings."

"The heart and soul of the Christian life is learning to hear God's voice and then developing the courage to do what he asks us to do."

"Supplications are requests that you make of God. And truly, nothing is too big for God to handle or too small for him to be interested in."

"How would you feel if your prayer requests were made public, displayed on a billboard or marquee? "Dear Lord, make me famous. Make me rich."

"People who are serious about something always make room for it in their schedules. If prayer is important to you, then you'll find time to do it."

"Most of us are far too busy for our own spiritual good."

"A lot of spiritual gains come through pain, hurt, struggle, confusion and disappointment."

"Sin is plenty strong enough to create an ever-widening gap in one's relationship with God. The wider the gap, the less likely we are to pray. And the less we pray, the wider the gap becomes."

"God isn't interested in stock phrases. Talk to him. Talk to the Father sincerely."

"We can have no deep, ongoing fellowship with God unless we obey him - totally."

"When Jesus prayed the model prayer we call the Lord's Prayer, his first requests were that God's name be shown reverence, that his kingdom come, that his will be done."

"If your ear is open to the afflicted, God will keep his ear open to you."

"Adoration in prayer purges our spirit and prepares us to listen to God."

"By forcing us to look closely at our requests, prayer purifies us."

"Confession is probably the most neglected area of personal prayer."

"Busyness is the unrivaled archenemy of spiritual authenticity."

"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."

"Adoration in prayer reminds us of God's identity and inclination. As we list his attributes, lifting up his character and personality, we reinforce our understanding of who he is."

"The most common cause of unanswered prayer is prayerlessness."

"Be wary of insisting that you know better than God about when a prayer request should be granted. God's delays are not necessarily denials. He always has reasons for his 'not yets.'"

"God-honoring prayers are not simply shopping lists. They are more than cries for help, strength, mercy and miracles. Authentic prayer should include worship, submission, requests, and confessions."

"If the request is wrong, God says, "No." If the timing is wrong, God says, "Slow." If you are wrong, God says, "Grow." But if the request is right, the timing is right and you are right, God says, "Go!"

"Creating planets didn't seem to be much of a problem for God. Neither was raising the dead. Nothing is too difficult for God to handle, but we won't see much proof of this until we actually ask him to handle it."

"Before bringing a request to the Lord, it's a good idea to ask: If God granted this request, would it bring glory to him? Would it advance his kingdom? Would it help people? Would it help me to grow spiritually?"