We’re in charge of requests, not results. Results are God’s department. I don’t think God’s waiting for us to wince enough when we pray or to use certain spiritual formulas (which tend to be more magical than spiritual). Donald Miller writes, “Formulas seem much better than God because formulas offer control; and God, well, He …
More Prayerful, Less Reckless
Peter in particular seems to have had a proclivity for a recurring “impulse control disorder,” the therapy for which Jesus prescribed was an hour of flesh-denying, spirit-strengthening prayer. All three nodded off during prayer––three times! What happens when we drowse instead of casting our fears and cares on God? We retain our fears and rely …
Be Overcome or Be An Overcomer . . . Your Choice
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil . . . Don’t be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12 I’ve been wrestling with how to respond to Charlottesville and especially to the alt-right event in my city (San Francisco) this weekend. The easy thing would be to be overcome by the evil …
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Contemplation
I’ve always been weak on waiting, not just waiting on God, but waiting on––or for––just about anyone or anything. If there’s such a thing as a “gift of waiting” I either didn’t get that one or I did but I buried it somewhere along the line so as not to have to use it. …
Providence, Prayer, and Protest
I said in a previous post that “’Liberty and justice for some’” isn’t a world we can tolerate, especially when we’re not included in “the some.’” So, what can we do about it? What do our biblically informed consciences tell us? They say a few things, that God is sovereign and worthy to be trusted, …
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