Devotion For You How vital that we pray, armed with the knowledge that God is in Heaven. Pray with any lesser conviction and your prayers are timid, shallow, and hollow. But spend some time walking in the workshop of the Heavens, seeing what God has done, and watch how your prayers are energized… Behold the…
Jehoshaphat, Isaiah, and Job — Prayers for a Time Such As This
For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You. — 2 Chronicles 20:12 Jehoshaphat and his people were about to face a great enemy, and they were afraid. Armies were on their way to drive them out…
The Storied God: How His Word Heals Our Stories
In your strings is hid a music that no hand hath e’er let fall, In your soul is sealed a pleasure that you have not known at all; Pleasure subtle as your spirit, strange and slender as your frame, Fiercer than the pain that folds you, softer than your sorrow’s name. — G. K. Chesterton,”The…
Praying to Know the Power of Prayer
During the first couple of years I walked with the Lord, my prayers went something like this: “God, help me get that job.” “Jesus, please heal my throat.” “Lord, send enough money to pay these bills.” “Father, take away my fear.” It took me a while to realize that those spur-of-the-moment prayers were not accomplishing…
The God of All Comfort
O Lord, You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O Lord…. Search…
An Abrupt Turn
“St. Patrick’s Breastplate,” a powerful prayer attributed to Saint Patrick of Ireland, begins in this way: I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through belief in the Threeness, Through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.1 “I arise today through a mighty strength.” Oh, wouldn’t that be nice…
3 Scriptures That Will Help Draw You Near to God
This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. — 1 John 5:14-15 Have you ever shared something deeply…
Forgiveness Makes a Difference
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. — Colossians 3:13 The Bible doesn’t tell us if Daniel struggled with forgiving those who inflicted pain in his life: betrayal, injustice, unfairness, slander, accusations, and even persecution. The list would have been a lengthy…
Comfort in God Alone
Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. — James 5:13 The day I met Rebecca, she invited me over to her house for egg salad and raspberries. We were coworkers, the only two squeezed into a ten-foot-by-ten-foot office like two college roommates. Within hours…
Your Greatest Skill: Love in Practice
Having been married for eighteen years, I may not be able to wholly define every aspect of love, but I can tell you with confidence there is one skill above every other that causes love to grow. All the other stuff — like picking up my dirty socks, going out on dates together, keeping romance…