Most of us hold on to things that work. A good shampoo, a nice, sudsy dish soap, a comfy pair of jeans, a routine. Faith isn’t much different. As long as it moves mountains, we’re happy to keep it. But when it doesn’t–like a bad shampoo, we tend to stop buying it. Is faith really […]
Standing Firm When Faith Doesn’t Move the Mountain Read More »
Unanswered yet. If any of your prayers fit that description, you might relate when I say I have a love-hate relationship with this hymn. Each verse breathes hope into your soul. And then two words deflate it. They’re not intended to, but when sometime, somewhere is a horizon you can’t see any better now than
Err in your methods or measurements for a loaf of sourdough bread and what went into the oven a promising ball of dough might come out a brick. Ever feel like prayer works the same way? That without precisely 50 grams of humility, 75 grams of submission, 200 grams of faith, 167 grams of gratitude,
Is Effective Prayer Like a Loaf of Sourdough? Read More »
If the answers you expect when you pray could fill a vessel like water fills a pitcher or like wheat fills a sack, if you could physically handle a literal quantity, what size of container would you bring to collect them? I think I come to my prayers with a cereal bowl. On a good
What Do You Expect When You Pray? Read More »
The truest friends stand by you. Even when you’re at your worst. Especially when you’re at your worst. They know your sometimes not-so-pleasant demeanor isn’t a reflection of your heart, but the battle being waged inside it. And rather than abandoning you to your enemy to seek more agreeable company, they’ll move mountains to help
“What a Friend We Have in Jesus” Read More »
In the beginning, God created divine delay. Genesis doesn’t say that in so many words, but ever since, “Let there be light,” one thing or another has sat purposefully on hold. Hold the trees until day three, the fish and fowl until day five, man until day six. And all your hopes and dreams until…
Divine Delay: A Tale of Love That’s Older Than Time Read More »
Sometimes God’s delays feel like a game of keep-away. I’m like a pesky little kid making pathetic little jumps for my heart’s desires while he waves them just out of reach and taunts, “What’s the magic word?” Of course, this isn’t true. But it feels true. Wherever there was teasing in my family growing up,
Making Peace With God’s Delays Read More »
I wasn’t fully aware of what my unanswered prayers had done to me until I went to Gettysburg. Like the metaphorical frog, I’d boiled slowly. Imperceptibly. But standing on Little Round Top, watching the sun set over that sacred ground and picturing the battle waged on it, I understood my battle like never before. December
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