Pearls, Pigs, Prayers, and People
Not everyone is ready to hear spiritual truth, so we need to discern our audience. All people share divinely endowed dignity, so we should do to others as we would have them do to us.
Do you find prayer difficult? We know that our heavenly Father will respond to our prayers with power and grace. But attempting to express our soul's deepest longings to the God of the universe sometimes leaves us silent.
Jesus knew His followers would struggle as they attempted to talk with God. So, in the Lord's Prayer, Jesus gave us an illustration of how to pray. Rather than reciting His words verbatim, we can learn from Jesus' model. His prayer included: worship, thanksgiving, a declaration of faith, confession of sin, and petition. Our Lord's example can help us put into words what our hearts long to say to God.
Do you need a boost in your prayer life? Then you will love these resources on prayer. They will help you deepen your own communion with the Lord. Remember—the God of the universe loves you, and His ear is inclined in your direction!
Not everyone is ready to hear spiritual truth, so we need to discern our audience. All people share divinely endowed dignity, so we should do to others as we would have them do to us.
Sharpen your understanding of authentic Christianity and deepen your prayer life with Pastor Chuck’s sermon on Matthew 6:9–18.
How automatic is prayer in your life? Chuck Swindoll gives a shining example of someone whose life was immersed in prayer, day and night.
Praying is usually one of the last disciplines we master. Have you found that true in your life?
As we share with God every worry that weighs us down, our circumstances may not change but we will. We begin to let Him carry the heavy loads that we can’t bear. We start to trust Him to handle the problems that we can’t control.
Rather than wallowing in self-pity or bitterness, David praised God with a grateful heart. Praise leaves humanity out of the picture and focuses fully on the exaltation of the living God. The magnifying glass of praise always looks up.
Prayer is the greatest and most important conversation we’ll have all day. Through human expressions, prayer touches the divine heart. Infant lips may babble and intelligent lips may baffle, but the Lord hears in His heaven and acts on His earth.
The Lord’s Prayer isn’t a magical formula. It isn’t an incantation. But for those who learn to humble themselves and ask the Father for the right things in the right way, prayer can become a rich source of encouragement, joy, and peace.
Is it true, prayer changes things? That depends on what “things” we are talking about. I think when most of us wonder whether or not prayer changes things, we’re really asking if God will intervene in a specific situation.
Had Christ not taken a drastic step, sinners like us would’ve never survived the fall. We would never have been rescued. We would be permanently lost. The cross was God’s incredible response to our extreme dilemma. Christ did something radical.