prayer

God doesn't attend pity parties.

God doesn't attend pity parties.

Jeremiah 15

This chapter contains one of several personal prayers by Jeremiah that were written down for posterity. And it comes as no surprise that Jeremiah’s not having a pleasant time of it: “Lord, you understand; remember me and care for me. Avenge me on my persecutors. You are long-suffering—do not take me away; think of how I suffer reproach for your sake… Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable? You are to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails.” (vs 15, 18)

God hears you.

God hears you.

Psalm 143

Have you ever been to a whispering gallery? There’s a famous one in the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. There’s one in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. I’m sure there are many others around the world. A whispering gallery is a room built in such a way that you can stand at one end and hear another person who is only whispering, even though they are standing far away from you.

God is everywhere.

God is everywhere.

Psalm 61

I loved the way this psalm began: “Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth, I call to you.” (vs 1-2)

Here, I got a picture of David standing somewhere beyond the horizon, farther than the eye can see, with his hands cupped around his mouth, shouting out to God. In my mind’s image, there was nothing else on the earth—just David calling out to the Lord.

God hears it all.

God hears it all.

Psalm 6

A few years ago, my husband read a book called Why Men Hate Going to Church by David Murrow. Out of the many things he told me about the book, the one thing that has stuck with me is that a lot of men are a bit uncomfortable with all the “relationship” imagery the church uses when it comes to God—especially referring to God as a Lover. And I will agree that much of church (and church language) has become “feminized.” Here’s one example from Murrow’s book:

God sometimes says no.

God sometimes says no.

Nehemiah 6

I was recently engaged in a conversation about whether God really answers our prayers. A question had come up regarding the passage where Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mk 11:23-24) and we were discussing the merits of "name it and claim it" theology.

God helps those who call on Him.

God helps those who call on Him.

1 Chronicles 5

Well, after reading today’s blog, you may think, Duh! However, I’ve never been one to shy away from the obvious, especially since it’s the small, obvious things that we sometimes tend to overlook. So, from time to time, it’s good to stop for a moment and recognize the little things that sit in front of our noses all the time.

God is pure awesomeness.

God is pure awesomeness.

1 Kings 18

At the risk of sounding like a bad flashback from the 80s or 90s, I couldn’t pass this up as the title of today’s blog. This has got to be one of my all-time favorite chapters in the Bible. It seems like I’ve been hearing this story ever since I was a little girl, and it never ceases to amaze me. So, this was a great excuse to sit back and just marvel at God.

God cares about the things that matter to us.

God cares about the things that matter to us.

1 SAMUEL 1

In 1 Samuel chapter 1, there is an interesting story of a man with two unhappy wives. Both were blessed in different ways, but neither was happy with their blessings. Instead, they wanted what they didn’t have. Hannah, the eventual star of the story, had her husband’s heart and affections. Whenever the family was dining together at the temple, Elkanah gave Hannah "a double portion because he loved her." (vs 5) He showed this affection to her even though she was barren. Of course, Hannah was distraught over the fact that she had no children. For women of that time, a childless existence was usually accompanied with feelings of shame and guilt.

God has the answers.

God has the answers.

JUDGES 21

You might think that’s a funny title to describe a chapter of the Bible in which God never speaks. But, for me, that’s precisely the point, so I thought we’d get right to the point today. Did you notice God’s lack of participation in the dialogue of this chapter? The Israelites were asking a lot of questions, but they never received an answer.

An Ordinary Life {gn24}

Photo © Unsplash/Patrick Fore

Photo © Unsplash/Patrick Fore

Nobody plans to win the lottery.
Not really.

The unexpected doesn't arrive
when it's expected.

Nobody goes to the well for water
supposing to find a husband instead.

And nobody who goes to the well for a wife
imagines the answer
before the Amen.

Instead, we assume an ordinary life,
quickly forgetting (did we ever know?)
that ordinary
is the largest part of extraordinary.

The miracle always comes
in the midst of the mundane,
the exceptional
in the midst of the everyday.

In a world conceived by the Supernatural,
there are no natural moments.

Even if you're
on your same way
down the same road
to the same well
with the same jar
in the same shoes you were wearing yesterday
and every day for the last ten thousand days,

this is
no ordinary day
no ordinary shoes
no ordinary jar
no ordinary well
no ordinary road
no ordinary way.

Expect.