I spent last week in Colorado Springs for the North American Prayer Summit. Prayer leaders from Canada, Mexico and the United States came together for three days to report on what God was doing in the prayer movement in their nations and to pray for each other. We had a marvelous time and God met us in a powerful way.
The reports were encouraging. God is continuing to call His people back to Himself in prayer. All three nations are seeing an increase in prayer.
Probably the most encouraging time was simply our prayers with and for each other. We discovered new members of our Christian family. Language and cultural barriers fell before time spent in the Presence of God together. A unity that is possible only through Jesus became evident in our midst. In leaving this meeting, I realized that if this diverse group of people could experience such amazing unity during those three days, it was ground for much hope for the Church as we learn to pray with and for each other.

I've really been enjoying the Olympics. Every four years I stay up late watching these amazing athletes from around world as they compete for the gold. Kim and I have been talking about why this is so fascinating to us. I think it has to do with cheering on young people who have paid the price to compete at the highest level in the world.

These athletes are all disciplined. They forgo other pleasures for the thrill of competition and excelling at one particular event. None of them casually decides to compete in the Olympics the week before it begins. For many, the Beijing Olympics is the culmination of years and years of training.

Simple application to my life, and maybe yours. My spiritual life and achievements will also require years of discipline and training. I will find myself giving up other pleasures that I might excel in the realm of the spirit.

We struggle with this concept because we also know that apart from the intervention and help of the Lord we cannot begin to experience spiritual victory. So we trot out an old phrase like, "Let go and let God" and turn the TV on. Somewhere I need to grab the concept that depending upon the Lord does not mean that I ignore the need for spiritual discipline and training. So we hear the Apostle Paul using athletic terms to describe his effort to grow in spirit and truth: "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." ( Phil.3:13-14)