In Luke 18:1 Jesus said that we ought always to pray and not to give up. There are several features about this exhortation that bring much encouragement. 1. When we are faint and think that all we can do is give up, how encouraging it is to know that there is another way to go, … Continue reading
You turned my lament into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy. So now my heart will sing to you and not be silent; O Yahweh, my God, I will always give thanks to you. Psalm 30:11 Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his gracious kindness is everlasting. … Continue reading
Call upon me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor me. Psalm 50:15 Because of my love for you, O God, I sought your help and you delivered me. Because I rely on your reputation, you set me securely in a place of refuge. As I walked through the … Continue reading
Be anxious for nothing, but by thankful prayer and supplication in everything, let God know your requests. Then the peace of God, which exceeds what human cunning can create, will keep your hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6–7 The prospect of answered prayer provides more peace to our anxious, apprehensive hearts than relying … Continue reading
Call to me, and I will answer, showing you great and otherwise inaccessible things, which you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3 Is this promise just for Jeremiah? No, it is for all of God’s people. The promise is part of a word from God that comes to Jeremiah, part of the message he must give … Continue reading
At all times you ought to pray and not act out of frustration. … God will bring about justice for his elect, who cry to him day and night. He will not delay long over them. He will bring about justice for them quickly. Luke 18:1 & 7–8 Few things are more irritating than delayed … Continue reading
When you pray, go into your closet, and once you’ve shut your door, pray to your Father who is in private and your Father who sees in private will give to you. Matthew 6:6 Prayer is not a performance. God prefers to answer private prayers because private prayers are humble and honest prayers. He does … Continue reading
If you then, being deficient, know to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? Luke 11:13 No human parent loves perfectly. Sadly, we do not always value our children as we should. We are not always able or eager to … Continue reading
Thus says the Eternal Lord, “This also I will let the house of Israel ask me to do for them: I will increase their men like a flock. … Then they will know that I am the Eternal.” Ezekiel 36:37–38 The Lord encourages the growth of the kingdom by connecting the success of the Gospel … Continue reading
The tax-gatherer said, “Be merciful to me, the sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his house justified … for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted. Luke 18:13–14 This is the simplest of the prayers that elicit the forgiveness of God. While it does … Continue reading