In the meantime

Check out this helpful list of  18 Things to Pray for Your Church .   I don't know about you, but I sure am thankful for the Body of Christ!  I appreciate the reminder to be specifically praying for the local body of believers that we gather with each week.

If you haven’t already read this book, you need to!  It is super straightforward and simple, but it has dramatically affected my approach to prayer! And I am thankful. Basically, the author hones in on the advantages of using the Bible as the guide for prayers.  Prayer really doesn’t have to be super complicated, you know.  But we like to make it complicated, don’t we?  We have acrostics to remind us of different aspects of prayer; we have slips of paper with lists and charts to organize categories of prayer requests for each day of the week and/or month; and if nothing seems to really “work” for us, we scrap the suggested methods and just pray as we feel like praying.  None of these things are wrong, but when all is said and done, we usually end with a rather sporadic prayer life. Which is really a shame [after all, we're talking about ...

The Psalms have become a precious source of specific encouragement.  I thought I’d take a minute to personally “respond” to particular passages that jumped out at me.  It is incredible how the Psalms keep driving me back to focusing on God, His Character, and His Word, no matter what may be going on around me.    ( BOLD is Scripture/ italics is my “response.”) Thou hast put gladness in my heart , [ joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit and the product of abiding in Him. Yes, He is the only source of true joy and gladness and He wants ME to have it!] more than when their grain and new wine abound [and a good crop gives reason for a lot of rejoicing!]   (Ps. 4:7) But I have trusted in Thy lovingkindness [ trusting in the Lord isn’t just a placement of trust in something ambiguous.  God has revealed His character, and among other things, I have the lovingkindness of God to trust in!] M y heart shall rejoice in thy salvation [S alvati...

I recently started a book by missionary John Paton called Thirty Years Among South Seas Cannibals.   I am only a few chapters into it, but already, its story is captivating, while at the same time, an example to learn from. Paton describes a particular event during his growing-up years in which there was practically no food in the house.  His mother’s actions in response to  God’s direct provision left a lasting impression on John's young mind, as well as his spiritual life.  He says: “My mother, seeing our surprise at such an answer to her prayers, took us around her knees, thanked God for His goodness, and said to us: ‘O my children, love your Heavenly Father, tell Him in faith and prayer all your needs, and He will supply your wants so far as it shall be for your good and His glory.”  (pg. 50-51) And it really is true.  Praying with those two things in mind—that God will answer according to what is best for us and that He will do it according to His glor...