NUGGETS
Do You Have an Epaphras? – I love this call to the priority of prayer, and its connection to true church growth and health. Real Men Pray – David Murray continues his short videos, as part of the Christian Man
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A Gatekeeper for Your Anxious Heart
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7) God wants us to bring everything to Him in prayer because we need the humility and dependence that prayer
Continue readingTop Security for the Anxious Heart
Psalm 18 is an example of the emotional honesty of the Scriptures, which is something the church needs. Over the 32 years that I’ve been a believer, I’ve noticed a pattern among most Evangelicals; that is, that the only emotional
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A Ten Commandments Prayer
Lord, please counsel us by revealing the subtle deceptions of our heart. We pray: . . . that we will have no other gods before You. That we will not dishonor Your uniqueness. That we will not put anything or
Continue readingJoel Beeke: Take Hold of Yourself and God in Prayer
Yesterday, I was blessed and convicted by a message Joel Beeke preached at the Desiring God 2011 Conference for Pastors. As Beeke reflected upon the prayer lives of the Puritans, he expounded on seven principles for private prayer. TAKE HOLD
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The Holy Spirit Is Praying for You
We need God’s grace in our times of weakness. But we also need the Spirit to pray for us because our knowledge is not complete—we are ignorant of some things. Matthew Henry writes, “We are not competent judges of our
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Is Someone You Love Suicidal? – Listen to this recent podcast with Heath Lambert. Also, if you are looking for a good, small resource, check out HELP! My Friend Is Suicidal by police chaplain, Bruce Ray. 7 Ways to Protect
Continue readingLiving By Prayer
O GOD OF THE OPEN EAR, Teach me to live by prayer as well as by providence, for myself, soul, body, children, family, church; Give me a heart frameable to thy will; so might I live in prayer, and honour
Continue reading3 Reasons that I Published Another Book on Prayer
Prayerlessness may be the most serious sin problem in the church today. Why do I say that? Because the absence of prayer is fueled by prideful independence, which God actively opposes (James 4:6). Who among us wants to be a
Continue readingHow “Online” Is Your Prayer Life?
Last summer, Wired magazine featured an article entitled, “UK now spends more time online each day than sleeping” (August 4, 2016). The article begins, “The average adult in the UK spends nearly nine hours of each day on media and
Continue readingStubbornness Hinders Prayer
Hearing aids are a significant blessing to our family. In God’s gracious providence, these electronic devices have given the gift of hearing to four of our children. Whether it’s the typical battery-powered hearing aid, which became popular in the 1950’s,
Continue reading4 Ways to Pray When Bad News Comes
When you receive bad news what is your first response? Do you get angry? Do you get depressed? Or do you experience a little of both? Does disappointment provoke you to become angry with God or others whom you perceive
Continue readingThe Throne of Grace
In our Older Testament, there is the account of a spiritual leader named Nehemiah who, in the providence of God, assumed a tough assignment. His burden was to regather the Jews who had returned to Judah after the exile to
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Unanswered Prayer Is a Means to Test Our Faith
As God performs his sanctifying work in us—conforming us to the image of his Son, “the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2)—there will be times when answers to prayer seem out of all possible reach. When we try
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Stubbornness Closes God’s Ears
God listens to those who listen to him. The proof of this is all over Scripture. Isaiah 66:2 offers a prime example when God says, “this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite
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How a Husband’s Failure Short-Circuits His Prayers
Since my conversion from dead religion to the risen Christ in 1984, there is nothing I have wanted more than God’s profound favor upon my life. Therefore as a husband, I find 1 Peter 3:7 deeply sobering: “Likewise, husbands, live
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Religious Sins
Hiding beneath the cloak of our perceived goodness are religious sins, those that feed self-awareness of our spirituality. Instead of driving us to God in humble dependence upon his grace, they blind us, fuel self-righteousness, breed spiritual apathy, and often
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Why Refusing to Resolve Conflict Hinders Prayer
Some sins are more passive than active. We may call these sins of omission rather than sins of commission because they are all about what we don’t do. These sins involve neglecting (and sometimes refusing) to do what is right
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