Blog

Tomorrow is a day of fasting and prayer in our two weeks of prayer.  I want to address the subject of fasting since we believe in the grace of God, and fasting can feel like we have to flagellate ourselves or earn God’s favor to get an answer to prayer–the opposite of grace. I practice fasting on a regular basis, and I will now offer a number of my thoughts to…

Encouragement for Married Couples The Lord put it on my heart to share four encouragements for us as married couples for the new year.  His heart is for our relationships in marriage to continue to grow and improve and to be a blessing to each other with each passing year.  I believe these simple suggestions can be of benefit.  Take time to talk.  We…

They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if…

Today is the last day of prayer for the week, and I want us to focus on something very specific that Jesus told his disciples to pray: ask for workers for the harvest.  Here is the passage from Matthew 9:36-38 (ESV):  “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every…

Would you ask for help from a person that you knew disliked you?  Or would you ask for money from someone you knew to be wealthy but stingy and hard hearted?  No, we most likely would not and would instead look for someone who did like us or who was wealthy and generous. Similarly, what we believe about God, deep down in our hearts, not just in our minds, has an impact in…

Have you ever been in a situation where you wonder what you should pray?  I think we all have.  Praise God Jesus gives us excellent instruction in the Lord’s prayer:  “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.  When it is not apparent to us what God’s will is, we can simply pray this prayer:  “Father, please let Your…

Christmas 2020 Have you ever had the thought, “if you really knew everything about me you wouldn’t like me”?  I think most of us have.  Humor writer Dave Barry admitted this in a recent book saying he uses humor to “wrap myself in a protective barrier…because I fear that if they did know me they wouldn’t like me, because deep down inside I am still the…

Last night I joined the prayer service at the Melrose House of Prayer, and a good friend of mine, Pastor Sam Acevedo, preached on this verse:  “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer…” (Romans 12:12, NIV).  You can guess which phrase he focused on–be faithful in prayer.  He actually was really on fire at the end and led us in…

Today I recommend that you read the prayer of Daniel chapter 9 where Daniel prays asking God’s forgiveness and restoration of His people from exile.  Please note that, as we saw in Nehemiah chapter 1, Daniel identifies himself with his people even though he is a righteous man.  Here is the beginning of his prayer:“Lord, the great and awesome…

Jesus taught his disciples the parable of the persistent widow bothering the unjust judge until he gave in with this in mind:  “that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart” (Luke 18:1, NASB).  I want to encourage us today with one way to pray and not to lose heart: giving thanks and praise to God. In Psalm 69, David is writing out of his…