Is there really any reason to pray intentionally if God already knows our hearts and souls better than we do? I mean, if He already knows, and if He can and does answer the prayers of our hearts when we don’t even realize what we’ve prayed for, then why bother? Why not just let Him take care of everything without bothering Him?

I believe the first and most important reason to pray intentionally is that it helps us get closer to God. The words we use don’t matter to Him nearly as much as to us. We need to express what is in our hearts so we will better understand where we fall short in giving God the glory He is due, how our pain or disappointment or hurts have kept us from trusting Him, and how we need to change in order to live that abundant life He wants for us.

Praying intentionally is the best way to worship God in Spirit and truth, which is, after all, what He wants most from us. John 4:23-24. You see, we cannot really know the truth about ourselves unless we are willing to take a good, long, unflinching look at ourselves. Otherwise, it is almost impossible to avoid fooling ourselves and being fooled by that liar, Satan. If our introspection is only that, a solitary, inward look at ourselves, we will miss most of what is most important. You don’t know what you don’t know, and you don’t see what you don’t see. Unless we present our thoughts, desires, heartaches, plans, and dilemmas to someone else, we don’t have any way to see when we are off-course, off-kilter, or off our rocker.

We could just talk to a good friend or anyone we love and trust. But, just like us, they can only see from their perspective. Two limited perspectives are better than one, but my limited perspective plus God’s unlimited, eternal perspective is infinitely (pun intended) better. God can advise, correct, and enlighten me as no one here on earth can.

He is also a gentleman who waits for us to come to Him. Unless our hearts are open and actively seeking Him, His provision and guidance are not activated. By the same token, unless we openly discuss what we’re thinking about, worrying over (pointlessly, of course), or stupefied by, He will allow us to work it out on our own. We are free to make all the mistakes we want. We can run away from Him as fast and long as we want. We can exercise our free will until we are experts at doing exactly what we want when we want with no one to blame but ourselves when it all falls apart.

Or, we can just start talking to Him, the One who created us and loves us regardless of our rebellion and foolish pride. If we take just a little time to talk to Him, He will always shine the light on the truth. Maybe then we’ll see the way out of the corner we’ve worked our way into. Maybe we’ll discover that it was time well spent. It is always our choice.

Amen and amen.

I can only speak for myself, but I believe that prayer is the pathway to real, sustaining hope. Now, I don’t mean any particular form of prayer, only that which allows your heart to best open up to God. Because I am a Christian in a long term relationship with Jesus, I always pray in Jesus’ name when I am praying aloud or blessing a meal. But I absolutely do not believe that prayer must include any particular words. In fact, I believe that the words we consciously choose are mostly irrelevant to God.

I’ll try to explain. And, I can only explain from my experience. Although for decades I have regularly read and done what I call studying the Bible, I am certainly no Bible scholar. However, that is not a caveat because I do not believe that being a Bible scholar is necessary. Sometimes, I am afraid our knowledge of who we think God is, derived from our studies, can blind us to God’s infinitely creative and personal interaction with each of us.

Okay. The explanation of what prayer means to me is lifting my thoughts to God, as well as allowing Him into the deep crevices I cannot access with my conscious mind. I also believe in the power of intentional prayer–of prayer that articulates the desires of my heart as pointedly as possible. I have seen many, many prayers of this sort answered. I have also had many more either unanswered or denied. That does not change my belief that God has heard them and answered them perfectly.

But, whatever words I use have to be mostly irrelevant to God, who knows my heart and soul incredibly better than I do. You see, if our conscious words are what tip the scales for God to answer prayers as we want, then smarter, more articulate people have better access to God and His promises and provisions. What utter nonsense! God does not care one whit about our I.Q., lineage, education, or eloquence.

What God cares about is the sum total of our hearts, whether they are willing to trust Him or not. Time and time again, God has moved on my behalf in a way that only afterwards lets me know the content of my heart’s desire. One example of this was years ago, after I had made a decision to leave a very comfortable, secure job to open my own law practice. After I had been working for myself for about six years, out of the blue, I got a phone call offer of a job I thought was totally unavailable to me. I was blown away, because, until the offer came, I had not allowed myself to even think about leaving private practice, much less pray about it. Only afterwards did I realize that God had indeed answered a deep prayer of my heart.

This little explanation only barely begins to scratch the surface of how prayer works. I hope to have more to offer from my perspective in the days to come. Until then, I pray that you allow yourself to pray in any way that gets you closer to God. That is really all there is to it.

Amen and amen.

Without hope, I couldn’t keep going on. I’d just give up and let life trample me into the ground. With hope, I am always able to at least peek my head out from my hiding place to see if there’s a path to a better place.

I was born with a good, steady supply of natural optimism. I am a half-full kind of person. In fact, I’ve driven many coworkers and friends to distraction by constantly looking on the bright side.

Even so, without hope, my optimism would turn sour and rot. It would dry up like a fat maple tree seed in autumn and catch a ride straight out of town on the next incoming breeze.

Optimism is a part of me, like my now graying hair, too small eyes, and too wide hips.

Hope, on a completely different hand, comes from outside me, like a gift left on my doorstep from a secret admirer who yearns to be discovered. Hope bubbles up as if from our bellies in an unexpected giggle over something we’ve seen a hundred times before but never reveled in till now. Hope is the bright white cloud floating across that impossible blue sky, waving hello.

Hope comes from the place where God designed my soul, a place I can’t remember but will always know. Hope waits for you to turn your head away from the misery of this world just so you’ll see the wink and heel click jump before it skips away.

Hope. Look for it. It’s right there where you never expected it to be, camouflaged in plain sight, a chameleon perched on a sunny windowsill on a dreary, rainy day.

Amen and amen.

Jesus is the “word of the truth of the gospel,” the One who brings “forth fruit.” If you’ve accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, the good results of your life belong to Him; He has “delivered us from the power of darkness.” Colossians 1:5-6, 13.

On our own, we’re swimming, mostly drowning, in the enemy’s sea of darkness. When we accept Jesus, He pulls us out of that darkness. Unless we jump back in, it no longer has any power over us. I cannot count the number of times I’ve jumped back in, but I’m eternally grateful that every time I’ve cried out for Jesus, He’s pulled me out again.

Jesus is perfectly able to save us from the darkness, to cut off and revoke its power over us because “by Him all things were created,” “whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.” Colossians 1:16. Who better understands how to control anything than its creator?

That is why He tells us to “stand” when we put on the whole armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-18. He repeats this command because it is so vitally important. Our job is to “stand,” “withstand,” and “stand” as we “put on the whole armor of God.”

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness.” Ephesians 6:12. On our own, we can’t even see what or who is really behind the forces against us. Occcasionally, the Holy Spirit gives us a quick glimpse of the real enemy, a flash of a snapshot of the perpetrator. That momentary peek comes with no other clues or context, and we don’t see the cohorts or chain of command.

But, as we accept the armor He’s created especially for us, we get to participate in His line of defense against the real enemies behind our problems. Standing with other believers who have also volunteered to put on their armor, we serve as a line of defense, a bulwark, a barrier, a citadel and a stronghold through which the enemy cannot penetrate. We stand in the light, arms linked, guarding those we love, all those to whom He’s connected us. We don’t fight the battle ourselves, but we get to hold down the fort while Jesus fights for us.

Amen and amen.

The end of another month.

All of 2020 & especially since March,

the pandemic has consumed us all.

Whether we’re infected with covid-19

or just the fear & isolation & pandemonia,

it surrounds and encapsulates.

The ants still scurry back & forth

doing their work.

The birds still fly & sing.

The possum still sleeps, or so we think.

The lion stands proud & high

& doesn’t need to roar.

The world has pivoted on its axis.

A slight tilt of a half degree

otherwise unnoticed but for

the constant faint sound, just beyond

our hearing, almost heard.

The swoosh, swoosh,

air in & out of respirators,

keeping some of us alive for a while.

“For a mere moment

I have forsaken you,

but with great mercies

I will gather you….

For the mountains shall depart

and the hills be removed,

but my kindness

shall not depart from you….

Behold, I have created the blacksmith

who blows the coals in the fire,

who brings forth an instrument

for his work;

I have created the spoiler to destroy.

No weapon formed against you

shall prosper,

& every tongue that

rises against you in judgment,

you shall condemn.” Isaiah 54:7, 10, 16-17.

We are not abandoned

or left to fight alone.

The battle rages beyond

the reach, outside the pall

of the pandemic.

We were caught unprepared

& off guard,

thrown to the ground

& down for the count.

But Jehovah the Lord

saw this coming from

before the clock started.

His blacksmith has

wrought out of the fire

the weapon to destroy

the enemy, melt his veneer

of lies and mirrors,

vaporize his disease.

“As wax melts before the fire,

so let the wicked perish

at the presence of God.” Psalm 68:2.

Amen & amen.

You can be sure that’s exactly what you’ll find.

What we focus on shapes and colors our world. Like “Where’s Waldo?” in the kids’ book section, we can train our eyes and ears to see and hear whatever we want, even when it’s hidden in obscurity in the middle of a puzzle.

Philippians 4:8 dares us to focus on, meditate on, concentrate on and seek out the good in life. “Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8

It is desperately important for us to search out the truth. When has there ever been so many lies and half-truths? We are drowning in misinformation and meaningless tidbits of nonsense. But we can ask God to reveal the truth that rises above that cesspool, always and forever unchanging and certain.

We can look for nobility–not in the royal lineage of kings and queens–but in the poorest people giving the most, the sickest people complaining the least, the true heroes that never seek applause.

We can search out purity–of hearts, of smiles, of the blue sky, gray sky, hurricanes or gentle breezes, from the joy that comes not from a bottle or another person or riches or fame but from the love that comes first from God and then gets passed on from person to person, a pure gift that is wonderfully contagious and infectious.

We must look for and aid justice–in our courts and governments, in our homes and businesses and especially in our relationships, justice extended to everyone.

We are blessed beyond measure when we look for loveliness–in the lonely old man’s timid smile as he dares to look you in the eyes as he passes you at Walmart, in a child offering you the gift of a pebble retrieved from his driveway, in an old memory that comes unbeckoned but oh-so-sweet.

We need to listen for anything that is of good report–and then pass it on. If someone does something good, congratulate them and tell others about it. No matter how small the accomplishment, notice it and compliment that person. Never miss an opportunity to encourage someone, especially yourself.

Focus on whatever has virtue. Look for goodness and value everywhere; you’ll always find God at work there.

Turn your spotlight of attention on whatever is praiseworthy. When scanning the headlines or the horizon, pass quickly over the ugly, nasty, mean-spirited, negative news and wastelands until your eyes and ears rest on the good, praiseworthy miracles of life hiding in plain sight all around us.

If we only ask God to guide our eyes and ears and minds and souls to look for these good things, He will always show them to us, delighted to delight us, excited to enlighten and encourage us.

Amen and amen.

“He who sows sparingly

will also reap sparingly,

and he who sows bountifully

will also reap bountifully.

God loves a cheerful giver.

Now may He who supplies

seed to the sower

and bread for food,

supply and multiply

the seed you have sown

and increase the fruits of your righteousness.”

2 Corinthians 9:6-7, 10 NKJV

Since every bit of everything good

comes from God,

we can hold it loosely and easily

allow it to flow on to others.

Even if the good Lord Himself

takes it from our hands,

we can rest assured that

He’s opening our hands

to receive something better.

Whatever we get from Him

benefits us most

when we send it on to someone else.

It’s God’s law of supply and demand.

He multiplies everything He’s given us

in ridiculously lavish proportion

greater than what we’ve given.

And He tops it off with whipped cream and a cherry,

the sweetness of joy & love & patience

& peace & goodness

& greater & greater ability

to trust Him more & more.

Amen and amen.

He started out firmly settled on one direction.

He knew without a doubt his way was right, the most righteous

thing to do was to continue doing what he’d always done.

Then he he got the promotion he’d been waiting for.

He was going on to even bigger and better things.

He was on his road to success.

Then Saul saw the light of his Savior

on the road to Damascus.

Jesus’ light struck him down to the ground

and blinded him to everything in the world.

Saul was left in black isolation

until Jesus sent a terrified servant to heal Saul’s blindness.

Like Saul, Ananias did not want to see beyond what he believed,

but they both accepted the truth and did as Jesus said.

The seed of truth accepted into the rock hard clay of unbelief

shattered lifetimes of reliable, familiar notions of what must be true,

what they’d always known to be positively true.

May our current 2020 vision of what must be true,

what we’ve always known to be positively true,

fall away like the scales from Saul’s eyes

if in fact we’re blind to Jesus’ light,

most especially and desperately those of us raised and steeped in certainty of belief

and long traditions of thought or ancient ruins of doctrine that no longer

hold life or water.

Ruin us for life as we’ve always known and cherished it

as we walk our road to Damascus without Jesus.

Strike down our proud hearts set on going our own way

and blind us with the light of your love

so we’ll know the way, the truth and the life

and no longer be only who we think we want to be

but who You’ve truly created us to be.

Amen and amen

Nope. That’s not a typo. It’s what is happening to you if you live in this world, and I assume, if you’re reading this, you live here on planet earth.

Thlipsis is the Greek word for tribulation, and it means pressure, oppression, stress, anguish, adversity, affliction, crushing, squashing, squeezing, distress. It is pressure that comes against that which otherwise is free and unfettered. It is what happens to grapes when they’re made into wine and olives when they’re made into oil.

We might think we’ve cornered the market on this kind of crushing, pressurized stress here in our modern society, but it has always been part of living in the world. More than 2,000 years ago, Jesus faced the impossible anguish of being nailed to a cross. He knew what was coming, and in His humanity, He was under the same kind of crushing weight of oppression that we face each day, except He didn’t try to escape from it, but willingly died a horrible death for the sole purpose of saving me and you. He knew the unimaginable suffering of the cross, but trusted our Father’s plan to raise Him from death so that we, you and I, could live with Him in eternity.

Just before Jesus went to the cross, He told His followers:

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me, you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation (thlipsis); but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

John 16:33

What a hilariously encouraging concept! If only we choose to believe that Jesus is our Savior, that He died for you and me, then the crushing weight of the world becomes cause for “good cheer!” When we’re cheerful, we feel light and airy, not weighed down and depressed. The more the world and its ruler, Satan, presses in, crushing the life out of us, the more Jesus breathes His life into us. As we allow Him to breathe His life into us, we become like fine wine that cheers others without any drunkenness or stupor and oil that anoints ourselves and others to reach our true, creative potential.

I laugh in the face of thlipsis! How about you?

Amen and amen!