Have you ever wondered why some Christians seem drawn to teaching while others naturally encourage, organize, serve, lead, or show mercy?
Those differences aren’t accidents.
God intentionally gifts each believer differently—not to compete with one another, but to strengthen His church and spread the gospel.
But what if those different gifts even explain why sincere Christians sometimes disagree?
In today’s readings we’ll see how God used the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas to expand His kingdom instead of hindering it. We’ll also discover how to recognize the spiritual gifts God has given us and why using them is essential.
And from our Old Testament reading we’ll meet a king who faced impossible odds, yet discovered a powerful secret about prayer that every overwhelmed believer needs to remember.
We’ve all been there. Maybe you’re there right now. You’re going through a trial yet God seems nowhere to be found. And you find yourself wondering why.
You believe His promise to never leave you or forsake you. You believe God answers prayers. But … silence.
I first wrote this post a couple of years ago near the beginning of the year when many of us make fresh commitments to read more in the Bible, pray more, and in general, have a more effective quiet time. But when I came across it this morning, I thought it was worth republishing since it’s something most of us think about often.
While there is no right way or wrong way to do that, there are some things that can make our time with God more spiritually profitable and enjoyable. I’d like to share twenty-eight of them.
How to pray, that has been a question on the minds of believers for at least 2,000 years. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray and He responded with a very familiar outline for prayer. We can learn more about how to pray from the way the Apostle Paul and others in the Bible prayed.
How do you pray for those in your life? How do you pray for yourself? Do you use any of those examples and could there be some you have not thought about?
I believe prayer changes things and I care about people. So, why do I sometimes forget to pray when I say I will? Maybe you have, too. Someone shares a need and you promise to pray. You really mean to, but...
One book that continues to resonate with me and impact my life, particularly my prayer life, is Donald Whitney’s book Praying the Bible. Even though I had prayed many Bible passages in the past, his book encouraged me to...
Powerful Prayers When You’re on the Run Do you ever feel frustrated about having time to pray and spend time with the Lord because it seems like you’re always on the run? But how much of that time...
If you spend hours in prayer each day and your prayer life is always amazing, this post probably isn’t for you. But if like me, you sometimes feel like you’re going through the motions or you don’t always connect with God the way you would like, you might want to keep reading about my favorite book on prayer, The Power of Prayer in a Believer’s Life.
Do you ever feel like your quiet time is just another thing on your to-do list? Or do you ever wonder why yours is ho-hum when everyone else makes such a big deal out of it? You want to enjoy...
