The prayer culture, or lack thereof, in our churches today is lamentable. Many Christians are disinterested in prayer because they do not know its power. But this is a far cry from what we find in the early church. The first believers did not have a prayer meeting—they were a prayer meeting! One hundred and...
The Gratitude Protocol
“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving.” Psalm 100:4 Psalm 100 contains three protocols for prayer. The first is the gratitude protocol. Our initial approach toward heaven must always be with thankfulness: “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving” (Ps. 100:4). The “gates” represent the doorway into God’s presence—the threshold to the throne of God. Man’s initial approach...
How to Resurrect the Prayer Meeting
Musical artists, celebrities, and football games attract exuberant crowds. Even a popular preacher or a well-known worship leader can draw thousands of enthusiastic people. But when a prayer meeting is announced, few show up. Leonard Ravenhill spoke poignantly to this matter: “Sunday morning shows how popular the church is; Sunday night shows how popular the...
Recovering from Loss
“The king was grieved for his son” (2 Sam. 19:2). There are seasons of loss that come to every life. Nobody lives on planet earth without losing some-thing, or some-one at some point. Adam and Eve recovered from the loss of Able. God gave them Seth. Job and his wife recovered from the loss of...
Counseling Yourself
The Bible is a book of wise counsel. It speaks about the benefit of obtaining counsel from others. But it also instructs us to counsel ourselves. David had his advisors, but He chose to counsel himself. First, he asked himself diagnostic questions, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted...
Overcoming Stigma
From a human perspective, even Jesus had a questionable past. His mother, Mary, was pregnant though unmarried. Only Mary and God knew the truth about His conception. Jesus grew up with this. The opinions of others did not matter to Him. Throughout His life He overcame a cesspool of human scorn and slanderous remarks about...