E.M. Bounds, an old-school preacher man from the 19th century, earned a pretty impressive nickname. You see, history sometimes refers to him as the "American prophet of prayer." Having had a few nicknames in my day, I can honestly say that none of mine come anywhere close to topping Mr. Bounds. He was a man who believed in the power of prayer, and everything about his life was a demonstration of that deep-seeded belief.

Because prayer was such a pivotal part of his daily faith walk, it was only natural that it would become the focus of many of his sermons and books. If you start digging into his work, you'll find some amazing gems of wisdom regarding prayer. For instance, check out this one:

"Prayer is the lungs through which holiness breathes."

That's a powerful thought, especially considering the fact that Hebrews 12:14 tells us, "...without holiness no one will see the Lord." So if we want people around us to see the Light of Christ, we have to start living holy lives. And if we want to live holy lives, we better get on our knees.

Prayer is the gateway that keeps us connected to God and open to the power of His convicting Spirit. It enables us to see the truth about our spiritual condition and reveals to us the areas that demand repentance. And as God begins to do His sanctifying work in our lives, our desire for Him will grow exponentially. Just like a boy and girl in a new romance seize every moment to be in each other's presence, so we will long to seize every moment with our Love. Soon we'll be staying up late and waking up early because we just can't wait to hear what He's gonna say next. And somewhere in the process of falling in love, we'll finally see the beautiful value of holiness - of ridding our lives of anything that would keep us apart from our King.

So today, Lord, we ask that you would stretch our lungs. Convict us, mold us, change us...winnow away at anything in us that does not reflect your holiness. Let holiness breathe out in every whispered prayer, in every passionate conversation, and in every overjoyed love song. Let nothing separate us from you.