Discipleship

 Why Pray? When you pray, do you ever feel like God is not listening? That God doesn’t care? That God is punishing you by remaining quiet? Me, too. I mean, how many times have we asked for the same thing over and over, only to hear or see nothing concerning it? Even when it isn’t anything huge—like moving a mountain or world peace, it still doesn’t seem to get addressed by God. In Matthew 7:7-8, Jesus says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (NASB95) In David Guzik’s commentary on Matthew 7, he says, there is “A threefold description of prayer, ask, seek, and knock. Progressively more intense. Persistent prayer glorifies God, expresses dependance upon Him, and aligns our heart more with His.” I don’t know about you, but when I revisit my prayer’s, I rarely glorify God or express my dependency on Him. I just want what I...

  Three Steps to Inner Peace  Waiting for the coffee to finish its dripping course through the grounds, I check my newsfeeds on the phone. With each headline, the blood drains from my old face, accentuating my look of despair; where is the fairness and the justice, I ask? Filling my favorite cup, I shuffle to my favorite chair to read from my favorite news sites. I’ve begun allotting fewer and fewer minutes for this habit because each site erases some peace from my soul. When my cup is empty, it feels as if all hope has been drained from my day. But I remembered a specific Scripture where Jesus was talking with His disciples. He knew He would soon be gone and wanted to leave them with something they could count on. In John 14:27, He said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” (NASB95) Jesus provided me with the gentle reminder that calling Him Lord entitles ...