Holy God
Read: Isaiah 6:1-7 Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts. (v. 3) I am privileged to pray with myriads of people around the world. I’ve noticed that people often begin prayers in a similar way each time. One friend of mine, Dr. Bill “Ruggles” Church, begins almost every prayer with “Holy God . . .” […]
Lord of Hosts
Read: 1 Samuel 1:1-20 I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. (v. 15) Hannah is desperate. Her rival taunts her for being childless, which only compounds her disappointment. Her posture in prayer is deep distress and bitter weeping. As her lips quiver and she cries, the priest Eli chastises her because he thinks […]
How Prayer Begins
Read: Genesis 4:25-26 At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD. (v. 26) Do you remember your first prayer? What did you say? I remember a childhood prayerlike poem that began, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.” I remember my parents prayed […]
The Old Testament Book of Revelation?
Read: 2 Chronicles 36:15-23; Revelation 1:4-5 The LORD, the God of heaven . . . has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem. (2 Chron. 36:23) Chronicles is the last book in the Hebrew order of what Christians call the Old Testament. While not using the same images as Revelation (the last book of the Christian Bible), […]
Living on the Perfume of an Empty Bottle
Read: 2 Chronicles 34:29-33; John 7:38 He read . . . all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD. (2 Chron. 34:30) When my after-shave cologne is nearly gone, I mix the remaining contents with a little water to get a little more use out of it. But […]
Springs of Faith for Inflection Points
Read: 2 Chronicles 32:24-33; John 9:7 Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of the waters . . . and directed them down to the west side of the city of David. (2 Chron. 32:30) At a recent adult education class, the presenter noted that we are at an inflection point in history—a time of change, a turning point. This is […]
November 2024 Prayer Guide
TURKEY — The team in Turkey reports: “We held a training for our leadership on core communication and conflict resolution. These are key, as they help our leaders know how to best communicate with each other, how to bring forth the different voices of the team, and how to decide together what God is leading […]
The Gospel for the Strong
Read: 2 Chronicles 26:16-23; Philippians 4:12 When he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. (2 Chron. 26:16) Many conversion stories follow a pattern: “I was weak and down on my knees, and then took Jesus into my heart.” Praise God this does indeed happen! But what does the gospel say to the affluent, the gifted, […]
God’s Faithfulness
Read: 2 Chronicles 24:15-22; Revelation 2:4 He sent prophets among them to bring them back to the LORD. (2 Chron. 24:19) In various sports, coaches instruct us to follow through with our swing. The spiritual way of putting this is expressed in the words of an old hymn, “O Jesus, I have promised to serve Thee to […]