When I was a teenager in Argentina, a missionary from California taught me how to pray. His name was Keith Benson. Keith asked if I would like to pray with him once a week. I was thrilled! The first afternoon we got together, Keith put a map on the wall. On the map was the city of Cordoba, which is the second largest city in Argentina.

We began praying for each and every church in Cordoba. It took many months, but we did it! Then Keith began putting up maps of other cities throughout Argentina, and we prayed for those by name, week after week.

Eventually, it was on to South America. We prayed for each and every country. Finally, Keith brought out a globe of the world! And I fell in love with the nations! I learned so much through those prayer sessions. Keith taught me that regular prayer not only enhances your relationship with God, but it increases your vision for what God can do through your prayers. I determined that I was ready to go wherever the Lord called me!

In John 16, Jesus says: “My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” Whatever we ask in Jesus’ name, He promises to do it. So dream big - but pray even bigger - that God will use you to reach your world for Jesus Christ!

There’s a wonderful promise in the Old Testament that I came to understand when I was a young boy. The promise is found in Genesis 26:6. God says to Abraham, “Through your descendants all the nations on earth will be blessed.”

When I read that as a boy, I remember thinking, This is something I can pray for my own kids someday! So, as my wife and I started our family, we prayed that prayer for each of our four boys. We said, “Lord, through these boys, please bless all the nations of the world.”

Now, there were some rough years. One of our sons, Andrew, took a big spiritual hike for about 13 years. We experienced a lot of sadness. But we kept praying, “Lord, bless the nations of the world through our boys.” And praise God, Andrew did finally surrender his life to Jesus Christ!

Now, he’s an evangelist - sharing the Good News all around the world. In fact, each one of our boys is serving the Lord in different capacities. It’s thrilling to watch how God has answered that prayer of ours!

So, dream great dreams for your family. No matter where your kids are right now with the Lord, don’t despair. Pray for your children by name, asking God to bless the nations of the world through them. The Lord will hear, and answer!

Are you feeling spiritually dry? Discouraged? Unmotivated? Have you had a recent failure, either a personal mistake, or the death of a dream? Does it seem like all your hopes and prayers of God using you have come to nothing?

The Lord says to you today, “Keep dreaming great dreams, and planning great plans to reach your world.” Jesus says in John 14:15, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

What an incredible promise of our potential to reach our world for Jesus Christ! When Jesus says He’s going to the Father, that means the Holy Spirit is coming to us! And it’s God’s Holy Spirit who indwells us. His Spirit gives us power to accomplish whatever evangelistic vision God has given us.

You and I have serve a God who says, “I know you’re discouraged, I know you feel dry, but keep dreaming great dreams and planning great plans, because the Holy Spirit will empower you to accomplish them!” God’s Spirit is the power and the anointing that we need to do great things for Jesus Christ

Have you been praying for years that a loved one would believe in Jesus Christ? Does it seem like your prayers aren’t doing any good? Let me encourage you today - don’t give up!

Recently, a very famous man made a decision for the Lord. I’m sure you’ve heard of him - his name was Robert “Evel” Knievel. He was a daredevil. He’d get on a motorbike and jump over anything. But Mr. Knievel was also into women, drinking, and partying.

Robert Knievel shared his conversion story with a church. He said he had refused God for 68 years, but he knew people were praying for him - especially his daughter’s church. Hundreds of people had also written to him, telling him about the Lord.

So prayers were going up for this guy all over, and yet it still took years for Robert to believe in Jesus Christ. But it did happen! He told the church, “I felt Jesus reach out to me, and I repented and I believed in Christ.”

A year later, Mr. Kneievel passed away. And now he’s in the presence of the Lord! Romans 12:12 reminds us: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” So keep praying! Never underestimate the power of God to work through your prayers in miraculous ways!