Pastor Steve Lortz has been part of Emmanuel since his family moved to Montana when he was 10. He joined our staff in 2007 and serves as our Executive Pastor, giving oversight and direction to the day-to-day business operations of the church and its generational ministries.

He also serves as our Missions Pastor. Steve holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering Technology and Masters of Theological Studies from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.

Steve met his wife, Julie, in the youth group at Emmanuel and they married in 1988. Pastor Steve served as a United States Marine Corps Officer and as a Deputy Sheriff in Yellowstone County and was active as a lay-person when the Lord called him to ministry while serving in Iraq in 2006. In his free time, Steve enjoys hiking, boating, shooting, sports, and traveling. Most of the time when you find Steve outdoors, he will be with at least one of his two German Shepherds.

Read this introduction to the next 21 days and come back tomorrow for day one! If you prefer to receive a daily text containing a link to the devotions, click here for instructions.

If you prefer, you can download the entire 21-day devotion booklet here.

Introduction

In the next 21 days I want to challenge you to pray. Not just to pray, but to pray like you have never prayed before. If you are a Christian, then of course you pray. John Bunyan said,

“Thou then art not a Christian that art not a praying person.”1

But do you pray prayers that matter? Do you pray prayers that make the earth shake?

In Acts chapter 4, Peter and John are arrested and questioned for healing a man. When they were released and made their report to the church, the church prayed. The results of their prayer was an outpouring of the Spirit so great the earth literally shook.

We all pray. We pray for our meals. We pray SOS prayers when we get into trouble. We pray for the safety of ourselves and our loved ones. We pray for those who are sick. We pray for our wish list. And we should pray for these things. But what if, for the next 21 days, we devoted ourselves to prayer?  Like the church in Acts. Prayers that will have an impact beyond the immediate; to pray for things which will have an eternal consequence.

Before you say yes, I want you to know exactly what you are getting into. This will not be easy. It will require strength and determination. Satan will resist you in this.

“When we go to God by prayer, the devil knows we go to fetch strength against him, and therefore he opposeth us all he can.” (Richard Sibbes, Divine Meditations, p. 164).2

While praying on the surface would appear to be an easy thing to do, it is in practice a seemingly impossible task. It is easy enough to say a few words every morning, before meals or at night, but to pray prayers that matter is extremely difficult. First, it’s difficult because of our fallen nature. We are lazy and unbelieving and don’t desire spiritual things by nature. Second, it’s difficult because of the opposition of Satan.

Things of value never come easy. Since 1953 when Sir Edmund Hillary first summited Mount Everest, there have been over 4,000 people who have successfully summited the tallest mountain in the world.  Every year approximately 800 climbers attempt to make it to the top. This is not an easy undertaking. If you want to try, it will cost about $75,000 and take about three months of your time. It is physically and mentally challenging. The risks involved in climbing Everest are great. Mountaineers must face avalanches, crevasses, sudden storms, strong winds, lack of oxygen and minus 40-degree F temperatures. They can experience fatigue, nausea, vomiting and other related problems such as hypothermia and frostbite. 250 people have died trying to reach the top, so death is a real possibility. Why would anyone do something so difficult and potentially deadly? Because the payoff is worth it.

While these next 21 days will not be easy, I guarantee it will be worth it. You may experience the power of the Holy Spirit for the first time. You may experience Jesus in a new and life changing way. I don’t know what God will do but I do know if you take this challenge it will be worth all of your blood, sweat, and tears.

Here is a link to the appendix which provides some biographical information on the quotes and writers featured throughout the next 21 days: Appendix 21 Days of Prayer

1 John Bunyan, A Discourse Touching Prayer, vol. 1 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2006), 639.
2 David Mcintyre, The Hidden Life of Prayer (Scotland, UK: Christian Focus, 2010).