The Heart of Prayer
“It is one thing to say your prayers and another to pray.”[1] – J.C. RyleJ.C. Ryle issues a stern warning in his book A Call to Prayer. He says, “Words said without heart are as utterly useless to our souls as the drum beating of the poor heathen before their idols. Where there is no…
Teach Us to Pray
“Lord, teach us to pray,…” (Luke 11:1) There can be no doubt that prayer is important in the true believer’s life. In fact, Martin Luther King, Jr. is supposed to have said, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” But many of us would echo the…
From a Distance?
There was a very popular song some years ago entitled “From a Distance.”[1] The song detailed what the world looked like from a distance—everyone living in harmony, no one in need, no guns, no bombs, no disease, no one going hungry. From a distance, we are told, everyone is working together, playing songs of hope…
From Wordless Groans to God’s Ear
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know…
Anti-Fouling Agents
I ran across an article on the Internet explaining why ships are traditionally painted red below the water line. Well, it turns out the first reason is tradition. Early sailors would cover the bottom of their ships with paint mixed with copper—which gave that reddish color—to protect against barnacles, worms, seaweed and other organisms that…
I Am the Truth
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) How many “truths” are there? It seems today that everyone has their own truth that they hold to be as valid as anyone else’s truth. The problem is, two contradictory things cannot both be…
I Will Be With You
There’s an interesting thing that these verses have in common: Genesis 28:15, I am with you Judges 6:15, I will be with you Isaiah 41:10, I am with you Isaiah 43:2, I will be with you Matthew 28:20, I am with you always, to the end of the age Hebrews 13:5, I will never leave…
I Am the Way
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) There are several important truths in this very familiar verse, but for now, I want to concentrate just on Jesus’ claim to be “the way.” Elsewhere in Scripture we read the warning to “Enter…
The Lord is My Strength
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. (Psalm 28:7) Lord (YHWH, or Jehovah) is “the existing One,” the one true God. He is my strength (oz). Strength can be material or physical strength,…
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