I called on Your name, O LORD, out of the lowest pit. You have heard my voice, “Do not hide Your ear from my prayer for relief, from my cry for help.” You drew near when I called on You; You said, “Do not fear!” (Lamentations 3:55–57) Our Father, we find relief in knowing that You’re here. We talk to You as though You are sitting right next to us. For indeed, though we cannot see You, by faith we believe You’re here.
Read MoreCategory Archives: Prayer
The Importance of Prayer
O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.” (Nehemiah 1:11) Father in heaven, we call upon You today. We know that You are the Giver of all good things . . . and that You never change like shifting shadows.
Read MoreQuietness
It is almost 10:00, Monday night. The children are snoozing and snoring upstairs (or they should be!). Aside from a few outside noises—a passing car . . . a barking dog . . . a few, faint voices in the distance—all’s quiet on the home front. That wonderful, much-needed presence has again come for a visit—quietness. Oh, how I love it . . . how I need it.
Read MoreTaking Time
EIGHT WORDS WERE BRASHLY SMEARED across the dashboard of the speedboat tied up at Gulf Shores, Alabama. They reflected the flash and flair of its owner whose fast life was often publicized in sporting news across America. In the off-season, the left-handed speedster in the Gulf of Mexico resembled a shiftless, beachcombing drifter with his stubble beard, disheveled hair,
Read MorePerfect Timing
GOD ISN’T in a hurry, so He didn’t have a problem waiting a quarter century before fulfilling His promise and allowing Abraham and Sarah to conceive. Who knows why He waited that long?
Read MoreThe Secret to Prayer
LIKE MANY PEOPLE, I approached prayer simplistically when I first learned how to pray. Ask God for what you want. If you ask Him correctly or impress Him sufficiently, He just might grant your request. Or not.
Read MoreGoing Deep
NEARLY TWENTY-FIVE years had passed since the Lord first spoke to Abram in Ur. Since then, his spiritual roots had pushed deep into the soil of faith in his God. At long last, he trusted in the Lord’s promise and rested in His sovereign will.
Read MoreNo Surprise
What Job lacked here in tact, he made up for in total honesty. Frankly, this was no time for tact. Bildad has been brutal. It’s doubtful he would even hear if Job had been soft and diplomatic. Job gets tough! Sores will do that to you.
Read MoreThe Workings of God
The workings of God are not related to our clocks; they are related to our crises. That’s why God doesn’t care if this is the last day you can buy that car on sale. It doesn’t bother God that it is the first day of summer or high noon or a quarter after seven.
Read MoreWait . . . and Listen
During the three days of waiting, there is a “white space” when nothing is happening—at least nothing visible. You could easily tell yourself at the time, “I’m waiting in vain. Nothing’s going to change.”
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