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Praying our Way to Fruitfulness

As I was reading the story of the loaves and fishes recently, it grabbed my attention in a new way. I could imagine the stunned looks of the disciples as they gathered up the left-over’s – and the chuckle of Jesus as he helped them. Twelve baskets full of food to spare! How generous is the heart of our God. He could have made just enough. How did this story progress from need and helplessness to abundance? Four things in this story lead to prayer – and each are different types of prayer – and each lead step by step into this abundance. For different needs and different occasions, we will require different kinds of prayer under the direction of the Spirit. read more...

Perception Radically Affects Prayer

'How we perceive who God is, will radically affect how we pray.' That surely is true! Is he distant, or is he close? Is he kind or is he crabby? Is he merciful or is he intolerant? Our perceptions of God change as the Lord reveals himself progressively. This is meant to happen, and is a delightful part of our walk with God. read more...

Many Words vs Persistent Prayer

'We should pray like a salesman with his foot wedged in the door opening, like a wrestler who has his opponent in a headlock and won’t let go. The God “who watches over you will not slumber,” promises a psalm of comfort. Even so, sometimes when we pray it feels as if God has indeed nodded off. Raise your voice, Jesus’ story implies. Strive on, like the shameless neighbour in the middle of the night. Keep pounding the door. read more...

The Privilege of Prayer

In Genesis we see the picture of working in partnership with God during the day – being his agents in the world, and then fellowshipping with him as they walked and talked ‘in the cool of the evening’. Looks very simple, doesn’t it - partnership and fellowship. I think we have somehow made prayer complicated – and that it is much simpler than we imagine.

Prayer is an invitation with my name on it; an invitation to fellowship and to partnership.

Prayer is a privilege – as we daily walk and talk and work with our God.

How we do that is hugely varied – delightfully varied. read more...

Finding living water in the Word again

Why does the Word become dry and empty to us? It seems a common experience that the Scriptures that once poured life into us, now seem boring and uninspiring. It is as if the well has dried up. In pondering on this lately, I have come to the following conclusions. The first is centred on our belief about the Word, and the second is in how we handle it, how we read it and pray it. read more...

Long Haul Praying

Many of us have been praying for years for situations that do not seem to have changed. How do we persevere when it feels tedious and even discouraging? read more ...

God's Delays are not Denials. J Lee Grady

Do you trust God's timing? The path to spiritual maturity requires us to surrender our selfish deadlines. read more...

Doorways through Disappointment

Disappointment is a common experience, a part of life. Things don’t always work out as we had hoped... It is important in these places to watch that we don’t get stuck there. Disappointment can become like a quicksand that sucks us down into despair and hopelessness. Our view of life gets very warped...The hardships and disappointments in life can be seen as a pruning that will produce more fruit and more life for others. Every loss has in it some life that others can gain. read more...

So Long, Insecurity...It's time we got our dignity back. (Beth Moore)

It wasn't until the last few years though that I realized we had somehow never gotten all the way down to the deepest root of all: my persisting insecurity. Sometimes you have to shove all the surface stuff to the side in order to see what's underneath. Keep in mind that it took me a while to identify my ongoing problem because it only reared its head in certain select areas of my life. I was completely secure in others. Finally, those select areas caused me enough misery to make this pivotal God-fed decision: I don't have to live this way anymore.. read more...

Boldness in prayer

The Bible teaches that boldness in the life of a believer is at once both a process of becoming and a state of being. See it in the lives of the early believers in Acts 4. "When the Sanhedrin saw the boldness of Peter and John ... they realized they had been with Jesus." read more....  

Faith progression

Faith is not just a commodity that we have more or less of. Faith is expressed in an activity. It does things.
• Faith ‘rests’ in the perfectly complete work of the Cross – which brings peace of heart and a certainty of acceptance.
• Faith ‘trusts’ the promptings of the Spirit and does what is laid on our heart to do.
• Faith ‘takes hold’ of the promises of God and prays until they are made real in our life.
• Faith ‘responds’ with obedience to another revelation of who God is or what he can do. read more...

Hearing His voice

Shepherds in the East did not herd their sheep from behind, with dogs, like in New Zealand.  They called them to follow their voice, as they went ahead of them. read more...

Exploring different ways we hear and respond to God

The more we see of the ways of God, the more inspired and delighted we can become...  because we get a bigger and bigger picture of God  read more. . .

Hearing God's music

“Let he who has ears to hear, use them.” More than once Jesus said these words. Eight times in the Gospels and eight times in the Book of Revelation we are reminded that it’s not enough just to have ears—it’s necessary to use them. read more...

The exchanged life

The last month or more has been, perhaps, the happiest of my life: and I long to tell you a little of what the Lord has done for my soul. I do not know how far I may be able to make myself intelligible about it, for there is nothing new or strange or wonderful - and yet, all is new! In a word: "Whereas I was blind, now I see".  read more...

Christ in Us - by W.E.Sangster

It is into our minds that Christ must come if He is to come into our lives. From our minds, he will shape our character, discipline our will and control our bodies. “Christ in us” is the promise and “Christ in us” is our faith. “A Christ not in us is a Christ not ours.”   read more...