Opening the Gates of Heaven Perry Stone

He slowly approached the Lord, almost like a dignified diplomat addressing a king. He considered approaching the Almighty the same honor as being invited to approach a royal throne to petition an earthly king. But Dad also understood the difference between praying a general prayer and indepth intercession. Dad’s general prayer consisted of phases of worship, thanksgiving, and general petitions, lasting for fifteen to thirty minutes. His deeper intercession, however, lasted up to one hour or more. Dad always respected my time of study, but when the spirit of prayer came upon him, it was not uncommon to stand up after praying and realize that we had prayed for nearly one hour. When Christ was entering a season of “agony” in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:44), He requested for His three chief disciples— Peter, James, and John—to “watch” with Him (Matt. 26:38). The first phase of Christ’s prayer lasted an hour, and His disciples were found sleeping. He asked them, “Could you not watch with Me one hour?” (v. 40). Three different times that same night Christ asked His inner-circle disciples to watch with Him, but all three times they fell asleep (vv. 42, 44–45). There is something to be said about praying for one hour. I will always cherish those times of prayer with my dad, as this taught me that there is nothing quite like spending time in the presence of the Lord. During a church altar call, people often pray for only a few short minutes, perhaps only ten to fifteen minutes, and then the