Introduction

I had to give this book another title, I’d call it The Key to Everything. That’s because I believe prayer is the key to every good thing. It really doesn’t matter where you are in your life; you could be the president of the United States of America, a great religious leader, or the new guy at the McDonald’s down the street – we all need to pray.

The reason we need to pray is that life will often deal us a hand we are ill-equipped to deal with. It’s not a matter of if life will throw you a curveball, but when. I have seen intellectuals, corporate executives and even seasoned religious leaders crumble under the pressures of life.

I was once considered a rising star in the financial services sector in Canada, working for one of the largest financial institutions in the world. As a young stock brokerage manager, life suddenly threw me a curveball that shattered everything I’d built, right down to the foundations. My career came to a screeching halt, my marriage of 12 years disintegrated and I wound up in a men’s shelter suffering from depression. If only I had known how to pray then.

The truth is that most people pray even when they don’t realize it. The mere fact that someone desires a profitable outcome for an unwanted situation testifies that they are praying. After all, if you’re caught up in a bad situation where the facts obviously line up against you, what is it that makes you desire a different outcome? It is because we are all wired to tap into the supernatural when looking for an intervention that is beyond ourselves. Some of us know who controls that supernatural realm and how to communicate with Him. Unfortunately, millions of people desiring this miraculous intervention just don’t know where to find it. They grope in the dark, hoping to lay hold of it. They may even mutter words like “god help me” without really believing that there is a God.
Even for those who do know that there is indeed a God who is almighty and who is the creator of everything, effective praying is a challenge. There are many reasons for this, one of which could be some inherited preconceptions from childhood.
For example, I grew up believing God to be a cantankerous old man up in the heavens, just waiting to punish me for the many wrong things I did. This concept of God is un- fortunately very pervasive and will shut down your prayer life faster than you can say “Hallelujah!”. Many people have surrendered their lives to the God of heaven but do not know how to tap into His marvelous power, love, and grace because of misconceptions formed in the early years of their lives.

I have received the joys and benefits of answered prayers. The successes I have enjoyed in every area of my life transpired uniquely because of my own prayers, or prayers others have prayed on my behalf. I have come from not graduating from university to making millions of dollars. My marriage that was destroyed for five years has been restored and promoted to a level of enjoyment, excitement, and peace that I never knew existed. I have seen an increase in the knowledge of the things of God, and a fellowship with Him so sweet that one day I asked Him just to take me home. I was only 35 years old at the time and so in love with God that nothing else came even close, not even the deep love and friendship I had with my wife, and the love for my children.

The memory of that day will always be crystal clear in my mind. I was home alone because I worked from home. As I often did, I turned on Terry MacAlmon’s CD entitled Live Worship. I prayed and sang and worshipped, and I cried sweet tears of joy as the presence of God filled my bedroom. I cried so much I couldn’t speak anymore. I curled up on the bedroom floor in a fetal position, rocking ever so gently. I asked God to keep me in that place of sweet fellowship forever. I told him I was ready to come home to heaven because I never wanted to spend another minute outside of the overwhelming beauty of that sweet fellowship.

That day was one of the first times I remember hear- ing clearly from God. He spoke to my heart in a gentle voice. He said that if He kept me in that place of sweet fellowship like I wanted Him to, the assignment He had set before me would go unaccomplished. He told me that when my assignment was done and He called me home to heaven, I would have eternity to enjoy that special, supernatural fellowship with Him forever. I understood what He said and it made sense. I will never forget that day because everything changed in my life after that encounter.

I became bolder and more confident in my walk with Jesus. I was reminded regularly that God had placed me here on earth for a special assignment. I was reminded once again that He was and is number one in my life. I was empowered in a new way by my identity in Christ, and my prayer life reflected all these new epiphanies. I started praying radically, daring to believe God for the supernatural. It was quite daunting at first but as time went by, I learned to trust God more and more. Today, I live the supernatural and press on confidently into the higher calling of God for my life.

I write this book to testify that God answers prayers, and to clarify for you how you can pray prayers that reach Him – prayers that He hears; prayers that He will answer. Don’t fool yourself. Not all prayers make their way to heaven. I want all your prayers answered according to the supreme will of God for your life. That’s why this book has been written. Read it to the end. I believe it will be a blessing to you.