Posts Tagged ‘Prayer’
Fervent Prayer
Profoundly godly men and women have existed throughout history, and exist even today. We read rosters of names like those in Hebrews chapter eleven, that great “roll call of faith” and marvel at those who have gone before us. Even among the notable biblical history-makers, there are names that stand out, and even among those…
Read MorePraying for You
It is a pleasant thing to learn that others are praying for us. If I’m being candid, there is a significant part of me that holds to the unbiblical idea that the prayers of others are so much more effective than my own feeble offerings. Cognitively I know this is untrue, but my gut says…
Read MorePray for Your Pastor(s)
Do you pray for your pastor(s)? I strongly encourage you to do so. As a former pastor, I can assure you very few non-pastors understand the load a pastor carries. About thirty years ago, I heard Chuck Swindoll commenting on Jesus’ getting away to rest. He said, “Only those who have ministered publicly understand the…
Read MorePaul’s Prayers
Paul’s prayers for the church are strewn throughout the New Testament, and in those prayers, we see the heart of Paul for the early believers, and I believe, by extension, for the entire church throughout history. This week, we are looking at several of Paul’s prayers, though not all, and not in their entirety. As…
Read MoreA Soldier for Jesus
Soldiers, war, battle, fighting, standing firm, armor, victory, and defeat. The imagery of war and conflict is strewn throughout the pages of scripture. There, the Christ-follower is repeatedly characterized as a soldier. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please…
Read MoreFour Flavors of Prayer
Not too long ago, I had a brief exchange with someone who excitedly exclaimed that the Greek language was so cool because the Greeks had four words for “love.” “No,” I responded. “They don’t. Rather, English is such a limited language that it has only one word to convey four different Greek concepts.” That’s not…
Read MoreHindered Prayers
“Text out of context is pretext,” our instructor said with resounding forcefulness. He was right, of course, and much misinterpretation of scripture has resulted from passages being ripped from their context and twisted to mean something wholly other than what was originally intended. Take prayer as an example. The Bible speaks extensively of prayer, how…
Read MoreName It & Claim It Praying
Those of you familiar with my writing and speaking know I am nowhere near even the outskirts of the “name it and claim it” movement. Abusing scripture with this theological construct is both insulting to the sovereignty of God and depressing to the one naming and claiming when their claims go unfulfilled. For the eyes…
Read MoreIntercession is a Privilege
If there were any area of my life in Christ I would like to heal, it would be my prayer life. I know brothers and sisters in Christ who pray with such ease – as easily and naturally as I converse with Alean. My prayer life is not like that. But as tattered as it…
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