(Leadership Classics)

Why spend a day in prayer? A critical decision needs to be made. Your spiritual fire needs rekindling. A problem needs God's intervention. Your sense of God's presence needs to be renewed.

You realize that ministry demands so much more than human effort. It's no wonder someone has said, "The most important thing I will do today is pray." The things that matter most to us depend on it.

So why don't we spend a day in prayer? Partly because we don't know how. Perhaps that's why Lorne Sonny's suggestions were so well received in 1982 when we first published this article. Eleven years later, the need has never been greater, and the approach is just as timely.

"I never thought a day could make such a difference," a friend said to me. "My relationship to everyone seems improved. Why don't I do it more often?"

Comments like these come from those who set aside a personal day of prayer.

With so many activities-important ones-clamoring for our time, real prayer is considered more ...