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This week we’ve been looking at common reasons that God doesn’t answer our prayers. Today we’ll look at the problem of people. As in other people. When people refuse to cooperate, refuse to change or follow God’s leading, prayers tend to go unanswered. Sometimes it can be a matter of people who God would have serve as answers to your prayers not taking up the … Continue reading People Are People
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Especially when I was younger, I was prone to saying prayers that amounted to “God, please don’t let reality be reality.’ I would not prepare for a test and ask God to help me do well on it anyways. I would wake up late and ask God to somehow make the 5 minutes I had extend to the 15 minutes I needed. And if the … Continue reading Reality is Reality
Let’s take a quick look at things from God’s perspective. 17 billion years ago or so, God set this creation into motion. Presumably when God did it, it was with the knowledge that eventually a life form such as ourselves would come into existance. But in the meantime, it takes about a million years for the first stars to form. Some explode, some go on … Continue reading God Plays the Long Game
A while ago I shared a story about a woman who needed potatoes. To make potato salad. And apparently she needed a lot of potatoes. I probably wasn’t listening very attentively, because I have no idea why she needed to make potato salad – church picnic, family reunion, Paula Dean was coming for a cook-out, I don’t know. But the woman needed potatoes and had no money for … Continue reading Let’s Talk About Unanswered Prayer
On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. -Psalm 63:6 Today I’m sharing the last of my top 5 slacker tips for building a fantastic prayer life. And it’s a super easy one: Bookend Your Days Ideally, every good Christian will rise early in the morning to spend time in prayer before beginning his or her day. … Continue reading Bookend Your Days
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. ~ Psalm 139:2-3 A few days ago, I began this series on developing a vibrant, faith-building prayer life with this simple observation: if you have no real prayer life, you also have no real relationship with … Continue reading Use Your Wandering, Waiting Mind Well
God is not very far from any one of us, for it is in God that we live and move and have our very being. – Acts 17:27 I’ve been making some changes to the way I pray as of late. Mostly because a few people have entered my life who have been convicting me about how foolish our prayers often are. Mostly because we … Continue reading Practicing the Presence of God
Whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. ~ Colossians 3:17 If you listen to non-Christians talk about Christians, probably the most common criticism is that Christians do a very bad job of living out their faith. As Ghandi famously said, “I like your Christ, but not your Christians.” Anyone who pastors has struggled over what to do about the fact that it … Continue reading Expand Your Concept of Prayer
My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. ~ Job 42:5 Sometimes I wonder if the real problem with the church is that it is filled with people whose primary relationship with God is through what they have heard, thought and believed about him rather than with God himself. People are sometimes startled to hear me say it, but the … Continue reading Find a Prayer Trigger
Once upon a time, back when I was a young, single mom trying to get my crap car to start, or wishing for money to fall from the sky to get my electricity turned back on or hoping I could make it to the gas station on fumes, I prayed many desperate prayers. I was queen of the desperate prayer, in fact. But my prayers … Continue reading Is Your Faith Good Enough? Yes. Always.
The Upside Down World 