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Howard Books
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Copyright 2016 by SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt
Jacket Design by Studio Gearbox
Scripture quotations marked NIV taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA. http://www.lockman.org. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible, which is in the public domain.
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Copyright 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, IL. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NET are from the NET Bible. Copyright 19962006 by Biblical Studies Press, LLC. http://netbible.com. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked ISV are taken from The Holy Bible: International Standard Version, Release 2.0, Build 2015.02.09. Copyright 19952014 by ISV Foundation. All rights reserved internationally. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
Scripture quotations marked AKJV are taken from the American King James Version of the Bible, which is in the public domain.
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First Howard Books hardcover edition February 2016
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rushnell, Squire D., 1938
The 40 day prayer challenge: unlocking the power of partnered prayer / SQuire Rushnell, Louise DuArt.
pagescm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Married peopleReligious life.2. PrayerChristianity.I. Title.
BV4596.M3R8752016
248.3'p208655dc232015026510
ISBN 978-1-5011-1967-5
ISBN 978-1-5011-1968-2 (ebook)
This book supports a national movement led by Pray Together, Stay Together, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is working in association with American churches to restore relationships and revitalize families through the supernatural power of Partnered Prayer.
The 40 Day Prayer Challenge also parallels the first-ever empirical study, conducted by Baylor Universitys Institute for Studies of Religion, measuring the phenomenal outcomes when two people pray together five minutes a day, for forty days.
AUTHORS NOTE
THE 40 DAY PRAYER CHALLENGE...
is formed on the foundation of this challenge from the ancient Scriptures:
When my people humble themselves [Thats YOU]
the ones who are called by my name
and PRAY and SEEK me [Thats YOUR challenge] ,
and turn away from their evil practices [You can do that] ,
I MYSELF WILL LISTEN from heaven [Hes listening to YOUR PRAYERS] ,
I will PARDON their sins, and I will RESTORE their land [That is YOUR PROMISE] .
2 Chronicles 7:14, ISV
Right now you are standing at the tipping point to the rest of your life! Join the movement of hundreds of thousands who are discovering that Partnered Prayer increases the power of prayer by many multiplesa supernatural phenomenon!
SQuire & Louise
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
D EFINITION
Partnered Prayer [prt'nrdprer] noun
1. The actions of two peoplemarried or nonmarried couples; two family members; or two friendswho have agreed to pray together in partnership.
T HE 40 D AY P RAYER C HALLENGE
This book is designed to guide you and a partner through The 40 Day Prayer Challenge to develop your daily habit of speaking together with God. In so doing, you are unwrapping a special gift that has been awaiting you in these ancient words: Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
The premise is this: if you and your spouse, family member, or friend are willing to commit to as little as five minutes a day, speaking with God about issues of concern to you, and praising Him for blessings youve experienced since yesterdaymuch the same as two people would gather with a granddad over a cup of tea and a biscuit for a daily chatthe joy in your life will expand immeasurably.
Our beta-study evidence impressively demonstrates that when two people are willing to spend five minutes a dayas much time as you spend combing your hair and brushing your teethcoming before the very Creator who has given you life on earth, speaking of concerns and matters from the heart, believing God will not let you down, and expecting the outcome you have asked for, your lives will change for the better forever.
Your prayer, particularly when you speak it together with a partner, will lift the veil between here and Heaven, and draw not only Gods attention, but His delight.
In my distress... I prayed to my God for help.
He heard me from his sanctuary;
my cry... reached his ears.
P SALMS 18:6, NLT
R ARE R ESEARCH ON P RAYER
In our earlier book, Couples Who Pray , we introduced Gallup data that was evaluated by Baylor Universitys prestigious Institute for Studies of Religion. The rudimentary research provided evidence of surprising levels of improvement when two people went from praying sometimes to praying a lot.
Keeping in mind that most mates never pray together, you will see why George Gallup considered this cursory data astonishing:
Happiness elevated by 18 percent
Agreement on raising children up by 11 percent
Agreement on financial matters increased by 11 percent
Compromise rose 22 percent
Communication went up by 11 percent
Respect was higher by 19 percent
Feelings of delight rocketed to 30 percent
Lovemaking soared by 20 percent
Marital stability became 16 percent greater
The fear of divorce plummeted to zero
In concert with this bookand hopefully with you and your prayer partnerBaylor Universitys Institute for Studies of Religion will evaluate the data from a new studythe first empirical study of its kindwhich measures the outcome of two people praying together, for at least five minutes a day, for forty days. More information is available at PrayStay.org.
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