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The Real Problem of Prayer by Stephen Witmer
I remember a blessed season of my life in which I sat under deeply, doggedly God-centered preaching. And I learned a surprising lesson: often, the sermons didn’t specifically address practical topics — such as marriage, singleness, career, tithing, relationships, or time management — and yet they did. By getting to the very center of all things, the preaching touched everything. By being “impractical,” it became eminently practical. -
How to Pray: the Beginner’s Guide by Ross McCall
To pray means to communicate with God. That can mean thanking Him, praising Him, confessing something you’ve done wrong, or expressing a need you have. It can even mean just talking to Him as you would to a friend.Learning how to pray is really about developing a relationship with God. Relationships are built on moments of connection. Those moments of connection bond you to another person, and many of them center on communication — the words you say and the way you say them. But how do you do that with the God of the universe?
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A Simple Exercise for Contemplating the Creed by Martin Luther
If you have more time, or the inclination, you may treat the Creed in the same manner and make it into a garland of four strands. The Creed, however, consists of three main parts or articles, corresponding to the three Persons of the Divine Majesty, as it has been so divided in the Catechism and elsewhere.The First Article of Creation: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.”
Here, first of all, a great light shines into your heart if you permit it to and teaches you in a few words what all the languages of the world and a multitude of books cannot describe or fathom in words, namely, who you are, whence you came, whence came heaven and earth. You are God’s creation, his handiwork, his workmanship. That is, of yourself and in yourself you are nothing, can do nothing, know nothing, are capable of nothing. What were you a thousand years ago? What were heaven and earth six thousand years ago?
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God Answers Better Than We Ask by David Mathis
A godly king, backed into a deadly corner, teaches us a liberating truth about prayer.In one of the great tragedies in all of Scripture, David’s son Absalom has exploited his father’s love and conspired against him. Now the rebellion has grown strong, and David is left with no option but to flee Jerusalem in hopes of living to fight another day (2 Samuel 15:14).
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Luke 11:1-13
And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
