Tag Archives: confession

Prayer when Lying in the Dust

You, like I, may have experienced times when your world fell apart. How did you pray? At times, I found it hard to pray at all. I have learned that such times require prayer, that we talk to God when … Continue reading

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Praying when Very Sick

Life-threatening illness erases our calendar and makes us reassess our priorities. Because it often separates us from friends and, in the age of COVID, even family, it may isolate us from previous support systems. We may feel abandoned or at … Continue reading

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Prayer, Confession, and Forgiveness

Guilt weighs heavily. Fear that accountability will be required or that forgiveness will be denied creates stress. In Dostoevsky’s classic novel Crime and Punishment, the primary character plans and commits a crime which no one seems to connect to him. … Continue reading

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Preparing to Pray

How well do we prepare to worship God? How do we prepare to pray? I have heard many stories of families arguing bitterly on the way to a place of worship, only to emerge from their vehicles with smiles and … Continue reading

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Praying with Integrity

When we are hurting, we want to lash out. In anger, or in despair, we abandon love. We flee from trust, even as we crave to trust and long to be trusted. In Psalm 7, a psalmist under attack prays … Continue reading

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Learning to Pray

How do we learn to pray?  Prayer is not an innate skill. Although you might argue that we are born with a desire to communicate with our Creator, even the disciples of Jesus had to ask him to teach them … Continue reading

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In Him

This past Sunday evening, I challenged the assembly to listen for the words “in him” or “with him” as I read Colossians 2:6-15.  Those phrases reverberate through the passage, confirming the Christian’s dependence on Christ, in whom “the whole fullness … Continue reading

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Prayer in Midst of Catastrophe

  I have taken a break from posting for several weeks to concentrate on work and academic requirements as I continued to adjust to the recent death of a son. During those weeks, much has happened in the world. Outrage … Continue reading

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A Prayer for God to Defend His Cause

Devastation surrounds the composer of Psalm 74. His mind recoils in shock as he remembers the ruins of the Temple of God in Jerusalem. The enemy had demolished the building. The Psalmist tells us that the invaders had not contented … Continue reading

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Prayer for Less Disputing

More than two hundred years ago, five Kentucky preachers penned a document (“The Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery”) in which they opined that Christians should “pray more and dispute less.” Their words resonate with me when I … Continue reading

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