prayer Archives - Page 3 of 4

Definitive Prayer: Meditations on Community Part Two

By Joel|2014-08-18T22:34:43+00:00February 2nd, 2012|Abandonment, Jesus Shaped Community, prayer, The Dangerous Kind|

Discipleship is crucial to the life of the Church/Christianity. But crucial to discipleship is a culture of prayer. I do believe that being a "house of prayer [for all nations]" is an underlying identity of the Church. My experience with the (primarily) program driven church in the U.S. is that true discipleship is rare. I mean we have Bible studies, small groups, and meetings, but intentionally coming together for learning how to do Jesus-stuff is often not done. I've even experienced outreach efforts without intercession for those who are intended to be reached. Now, my goal isn't to complain. My goal is to point out, encourage, maybe even confess :-) We must abandon to Christ if [...]

Oscar Romero: a step back

By Joel|2014-08-18T22:34:43+00:00January 31st, 2012|prayer, The Dangerous Kind|

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.No statement says all that could be said.No prayer fully expresses our faith.No confession brings perfection.No pastoral visit brings wholeness.No program accomplishes the church's mission.No set of goals and objectives includes everything. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.We may [...]

Whispers of sovereignty: Stacking Stones Part V

By Joel|2014-08-18T22:34:45+00:00August 23rd, 2011|Abandonment, Jesus Christ, nature, prayer, Stacking Stones|

Today I've been sitting outside quite a bit (praying, working on my computer, thinking, etc), and I decided that one 'stone' in my Josh 4 memorial is nature. Not just generalized - nature as a concept - nature, but those moments when I get to commune with God. God often speaks to me through nature...not like a 'being one with nature kind of way,' but rather, nature being a sanctuary where my heart and mind can be still, and where I can pause and experience a 'come Lord Jesus' moment (being one with my Creator). God speaks loudly to me in the quiet (which may be paradoxical when put like that), that is, He speaks powerfully [...]

Trust, Part Three: the waiting factor

By Joel|2014-08-18T22:34:45+00:00June 24th, 2011|discipleship, prayer, trust, Waiting|

I know that I'm in the middle of a series on "trust," but since the topic is pretty much synonymous, I decided to include this bit on "waiting." I wrote the following article for a prayer site that I've been developing:Waiting is something synonymous with being human, and something that has been a muse for my creativity for some time now. I actually wrote a song entitled “Waiting” that is on my CD Depravity, Grace and Reckless Abandon. The lyrics go:This road is dustyAnd it’s getting to my eyesSo that I can’t see where I’m goingOr even the time But I’ll trust in YouThough it feels hurtin’ to meAnd though I can’t see Job, Abraham and SarahWe could [...]