Tag Archives: spiritual discipline
Staying Disciplined in Prayer and Running
When I was 26 or 27 years old, I decided that I wanted to start running to improve my fitness. Since it was a mile from my home to my office, I resolved to run from my home to work … Continue reading
A Prayer for Dwelling in Unity
Passion for unity flows throughout biblical narratives and prayers. We may overlook the friction that threatened the confederacy of tribes united around worship of one God and awareness of a common ancestry. The book of Judges records a tragic incident … Continue reading
Like a Child with Its Mother
A sense of entitlement can mar our prayers as we worship God. If I believe I deserve more, that I have earned more than I have received, I will approach life and prayer with anger. On the other hand, I … Continue reading
A Prayer for Those Who Walk in God’s Ways
Actions have consequences. When we read Psalm 128, it seems that productivity and a healthy family life flow from fearing or have reverence for the Lord. The psalmist invokes a blessing on those that fear the Lord and walk in … Continue reading
Fasting and Social Media
I recently read a panicked message from the communications director of a large church that the senior minister had announced that he was giving up social media for forty days and wanted everyone in the congregation to do the same. … Continue reading
Devoted to Prayer?
When you think about activities of the Church that reveal its priorities, what comes to mind? Preaching the Bible? Observing Communion? Helping the poor? Healing the sick? Teaching our young the fundamentals of the faith? Evangelism? Foreign missions? Baptism? How … Continue reading
A Prayer, a Song, and a Memory in the Night
When life is darkest, what do we pray? When hope dims, what songs do we sing? When opponents taunt, on what memories do we rely? In his prayer to the Lord, the writer of Psalm 119 provides his answers to … Continue reading
A Prayer for Focus
The prayer of the first stanza or strophe of Psalm 119 begins with beatitudes that echo Psalm 1: “Blessed are those who way is blameless, who walk in the way of the LORD!” These blessings introduce us to the intense … Continue reading
Praying with confidence that God can effect change
As soldiers fail when they do not trust their weapons and other equipment, we cripple ourselves in the battle against evil when we do not believe that that “those who are with us are greater than those who are with … Continue reading