How the Spirit Shapes Prayer

How the Spirit Shapes Prayer answers qustions about:

• Conversational prayer prompted by the Spirit

• Why prayer can be so satisfying

•How a better prayer life happens

•Overcoming blockages to prayer

After a major church planting disappointment followed by a serious illness, Dave Luecke had a series of deep prayer experiences with God that awakened him to a new relationship. He became curious about personal prayer experiences of ordinary churchgoers and did a survey of over 1,000 members in Lutheran congregations. He found much more involvement than expected:

• Three out of four reported they pray at least daily other than at meals.

• Half regularly experienced the peace and presence of God.

•Half called personal prayer the most satisfying experience in my life.

After holding monthly services of prayer for healing, Luecke wondered what other Lutheran pastors thought and did with such prayer. This prompted another survey, with more surprising results:

• Four out five said they had experienced or witnessed a miracle.

• Two out of three said members reported a miraculous healing in response to congregational prayer.

Yet Lutheran pastors never talk professionally about miraculous healings. How the Spirit Shapes Prayer reopens the discussion. addressing many important questions about prayer and Gods response, such as:

• Can God change his mind in response to prayers?

• Can God be influenced by multiple prayers?

• Why is God so frugal with obvious interventions in natural processes?

Pastor and psychologist David S. Luecke has an M.Div. from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and an M.B.A. and Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. He worked as Vice Chancellor for University Services at Washington and then as full Professor for Administrative Sciences at Valparaiso University before going on to serve as Vice President for Administration at Fuller Theological Seminary. Since 1990 he has been a practicing pastor, first at Community of Hope in Brecksville and then at Royal Redeemer Lutheran Church in North Royalton, Ohio.

dluecke@royred.org.

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