Holy Father, You exist as one God in three persons. Yours is the perfect spirit of friendship. We rejoice to know you and be known by you. Draw your people together into this holy spirit of friendship so that we might fellowship face-to-face and shoulder-to-shoulder, feasting and working alike, in joyful bonds of covenant love. … More A Prayer for Friendship
Holy Father, When I ponder the world, the church, and especially my own life, I am astonished at your patience. Your long-suffering is beyond comprehension. We, your church, stand in loving amazement at your united patience as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Loving Father, you patiently chose us, patiently made us, patiently redeemed us, and … More A Prayer for Patience
Holy Father, This morning I pray for all who find themselves discouraged and depressed, for all who find their souls numb and their vision blurred, for all who feel their lives slipping down to the pit. Help them turn to your Word, cry out for your mercy, trust in your promises, and rise to do … More A Prayer for the Downcast
Holy Father, On this day of presidential inauguration, we gladly acknowledge that you alone are God. You are King of kings and Lord of lords, for all time and forevermore. Amidst the rightful pomp and circumstance of today’s events, we gladly worship you alone. You alone are our shield and defender; you alone are pavilioned … More A Prayer for Our President
For a kaleidoscope of reasons, we often assume that lament implies doubt. We assume that crying out to God in our pain is somehow an inherent indictment against his character and our faith. We’re fearful or ashamed of expressing our frustrations, our complaints, and our sorrows to him — for a tapestry of reasons that … More Trusting God Enough to Lament
Last night I got some terrible news about a close friend. After the phone call, there was nothing to do but pray. We gathered our kids downstairs, told them what had happened, and did what Christians do when death, sorrow, and pain lacerate the soul: we spoke to God. Three of the kids wanted to … More The Prayers God Loves
Father of all light, Son of all wisdom, Spirit of all power, Humbly we come before you, our Creator, and humbly we confess our double blindness: sin and ignorance. You are wisdom, but we are folly. You are truth, but we are error. You are light, but we are darkness. Send us rays of your … More A Trinitarian Prayer for Learning
What makes ministry effective? How are people changed? What has the greatest impact? In the annals of war, certain leaders and strategies and weapons get the most attention: the tanks and the bombers, the gold and the generals, the noble sacrifices that rightly earn chests of medals and leave loud legacies ringing out to the far … More Seven Secret Weapons in Ministry
How are you shaped ethically? What experiences nuance your beliefs and behaviors? What factors determine your rights and wrongs, creating your categories of good, bad, and ugly? I am convinced that everything we experience shapes us. What we see, what we hear, what we feel — everything. Human beings are a startling blend of two … More Psalms as Torah: Reading Biblical Song Ethically (Review)
The Psalms are the pulse of the saints. The Psalter expresses the peaks and valleys of God’s people throughout the centuries, mapping the landscape of our lives and echoing the rhythm of our hearts. What would Christians do without the Psalms? The Psalter is the only God-breathed hymnbook, and it’s as magisterial as we might … More The Case for the Psalms by N. T. Wright (Review)
The Psalter Reclaimed: Praying and Praising with the Psalms (Crossway, 2013) is a collection of insightful essays by seasoned OT scholar Gordon Wenham. Wenham promotes using the Psalms in worship, reading the Psalms through canonical, messianic, and ethical lenses, and valuing the imprecatory psalms. Emphasizing a canonical approach throughout, Wenham seeks to interpret a particular psalm in light … More The Psalter Reclaimed: Praying and Praising with the Psalms by Gordon Wenham (Review)
Every day in my role in Student Life at Boyce College, I enjoy rich conversations with students and staff about the nature and dynamics of spiritual life. I only wish that I had an hour at the end of each day to reflect on all that I learned. Today, my late afternoon conversation with an enjoyable young … More From Anxiety to Gratitude
Teaching big truths to little minds simplifies our thinking. Some day I’d like to reach the place where my thinking and teaching could fit Jonathan Pennington’s description of renowned New Testament scholar Richard Bauckham: “He’s on the other side of complexity.” Like any other parent, I’d tried and tried to get our kids (4, 4, 5, 6) to look people … More Praise You, Thank You, Sorry, Help Us: Teaching the Little Ones to Pray
I have been benefiting from D. A. Carson’s A Call to Spiritual Reformation about the priorities of Paul’s prayers. The first chapter, “Lessons from the School of Prayer,” is a collection of lessons he’s learned from mature Christians over the years. It’s well worth your time; what follows is a summary of quotes and paraphrases … More Lessons from the School of Prayer
Perseverance demands power. Perseverance demands more than power, but not less. You also need faith, and hope, and love, and many other biblical fuels, but without the sheer power to keep going, perseverance is impossible. So where do we get this power, how do we get this power, and in what measure? Paul gives one striking answer in … More Power to Persevere
Paul, why are you praying? Because I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. What are you saying in your prayers for us? I’m thanking God for you. How often do you thank God for us? Every time I pray. Who are you praying to? The God … More Paul’s Prayer in Ephesians 1:15-23
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