Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire: What Happens When God's Spirit Invades the Hearts of His People Kindle Edition

I've been a Christian most of my life, but there are times my prayer life feels dry. After reading this book, a new fire got lit inside of me to enter into that secret place again. It's an inspirational read to anyone who might be feeling complacent in their spiritual life.

In “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire,” Pastor Jim Cymbala emphatically makes the case for making prayer a bigger part of every Christian’s life. He effectively supports his arguments with some lessons from the Bible and some lessons from history, but probably most importantly, lessons from his experience as pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle Church.Jim Cymbala became pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle in 1971 without any formal training other than a college sociology degree and a few years of business experience. The church was on the verge of collapse. It had fewer than twenty worshippers, few resources, and appeared unable to make its monthly mortgage payments. When this book was written in 1997, the Church had grown incredibly. The original church now has four Sunday meetings (each 2 ½ hours) at a facility that needed to be built to accommodate 1,600 attendees, plus BT has started another 6 churches in the greater New York area and another ten elsewhere. But Pastor Cymbala makes clear that the goals of his church have nothing to do with the dreaded modern ABC trinity (attendance, budget and cash) that others use to measure success of churches.Pastor Cymbala shares the “secret” of how BT survived, thrived and transformed people’s lives. The secret comes down to one simple word: prayer. It is made clear that the Brooklyn Tabernacle and its members needed to be transformed, but are their issues any more urgent than my issues or the issues of other people in my congregation? Maybe, but it doesn’t matter! My church and I (and probably all of humanity) need to take seriously the Biblical examples of centering worship and life around prayer.The Brooklyn Tabernacle has a strong music ministry. Pastor Cymbala’s wife Carol is the choir director and accompanist and writes some of the songs, even though she cannot read music. There are many examples on YouTube, iTunes and elsewhere of the remarkable music made by this choir; but, as the book makes clear, this wonderful music is much less a result of talent and training than it is of the choir’s ongoing commitment to and reliance on prayer.This book contains some amazingly powerful examples of answered prayers. Perhaps the most poignant is the story of Pastor Cymbala’s daughter Chrissy, who rebelled against her earthly and heavenly fathers in her late teens. If there is anything missing from this book, it is explanations of how BT deals with unanswered prayers. I think I know the answer: pray with more focus, pray with more frequency, pray with more intensity, pray with more unity and listen for God’s answer more fervently!

Excellent

While I accepted the Lord many years ago I've always struggled with my relationship with the Holy Spirit. I've always felt something missing. I've felt distant from the Lord and rarely heard him speak to me. Never really knowing how to obtain that fulfillment, I've often fallen away from pursuing and strengthening my relationship with the Lord. After reading this book I realize what is missing most is a powerful prayer life which is virtually nonexistent except in times of trouble or want. Jim has impressed upon me the importance of a vigorous and zealous prayer life in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit in an abundant way. I pray that I will go forward having the Holy Spirit fall in on and around me on a moment-by-moment basis so that I can go forward in life being an example to others and proclaiming the gospel with boldness.

Great!

great

I have wanted to read this book for quite some time. Why? I watched some videos of Jim Cymbala praying with the people at his church, the Brooklyn Tabernacle. What I saw was authenticity. Reading the book did not disappoint. He credits prayer as the key to the “success” of his ministry. This book says a lot about ministry and the need to do it God’s way. Cymbala makes a statement I will quote:"We must face the fact that for our churches and ministries to be all God wants them to be, they must be saturated with prayer. No new revelation or church-growth techniques will change the fact that spiritual power is always linked to communion with God. If you and I are prayerless, if our churches have no appetite for God’s presence, we will never reach our full potential in him."

Such a great reminder. I'm reenergized in my commitment to prayer. Thankful for Pastor Jim's take on this and the stories he shared and the call to pray. It is not really an option. He said something @ one point that really made me think....it was something like "Ok, so heaven is spending eternity in the presence of the Lord. Prayer is spending time in the presence of the Lord. If we're not praying here on earth, why would we ever want to spend forever in heaven?!" I'm paraphrasing but it was a kick in the butt for me. Why do i not prioritize this when it's something so "simple" and yet the only way to really commune with the Father while still in this sinful world. Amen!!

A really inspiring, challenging and thought-provoking book. Including examples of personal experience and plenty of Biblical material, the author seeks to point us back to the heart of Christian discipleship, namely our relationship with God, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and the life of prayer. The only reason I gave it a 4 start rating and not a 5 star rating that in one section of the book the author seems (in my opinion anyway) to stray from the mainly positive aspect of the book to argue against those who see things from a different point of view in the realm of spiritual warfare. Maybe that's me being picky, but it seemed to jar a little with the rest of the book. Having said that, I would thorough recommend the book to inspire and to challenge.

Such a tremendous book on how God renewed a whole group of people, leading them to pray for things and people that only God could help. Very honest and faith building. It is in two halves. Would suggest reading it straight through. I didn't because I thought the second part would be drier and more theoretical. This is not the case. Makes me want to read other books of Cymbala. and visit this church.

I am finding this book helpful, especially the early days of the Brooklyn Tabernacle with their struggles and complete dependence on God. I wondered if the latter part would descent into a 'this is how you should do it' superiority like many inspiration books I've read, but not so far. In fact there is warning against doing this in the book. I would read others by Jim Cymbala on the basis of this one.

Really enjoyed this book for the following reasons:1) the author is sincere and practical2) it was inspirational and challenging3)easy reading and kept my attention straight through the entire bookI would definitely recommend this book. You will be inspired!

The best read if you are looking for truth.