How to Pray in Faith — The Parable of the Son who Asks (Matt 7:7-11)
- What does it mean to pray in faith?
- How should you go about praying for a sick person?
- Here is a survey of all that Jesus taught on prayer, resulting in some simple steps.
Three Parables that Challenge our Beliefs about Prayer (Luke 11 & 18)
- In Luke 11 & 18, Jesus gives us several strong motivations to pray, including an example, a parable and some very clear teaching that challenges our core beliefs about prayer.
- Listen to Jesus and be motivated by him today!
The Problem of Unanswered Prayer
- We can be confused, disappointed, upset, and even angry with God because it seems our prayers are going unheard.
- It’s not just us, the Bible and the lives of Christians ever since have many such stories, but we are also given some reasons, which can really help our faith.
Psalm 20 — Poetry with Power
- We can learn so much about prayer from this extraordinary Psalm, and what gives David so much confidence that he will be heard.
- On the one hand the equisite beauty and balance of the Psalm thrilled me,
- and on the other hand it has really helped give me confidence in knowing how to pray as I see what the Psalm is doing.
The Shocking Story of Ruth and Naomi
- This book is a beautifully crafted poetic gem in Hebrew, with an opening that precisely matches the closing.
- Naomi goes from being totally emptied to being wonderfully filled, and in the middle of the story is an unexpected and surprising hinge-point.
How We Should Bring our Complaints to God (Psalms 54 & 142)
- A third of the book of Psalms is devoted to bringing complaints to God.
- But the form of these complaints is very specific.
- By giving us so many pslams in this form, God is telling us that he wants to hear the honest cries of our heart,
- but also teaching us how he wants us to bring these complaints to him.
The Father Heart of God (Part 1) Luke 12 & 15
Because our parents were imperfect, we can have problems with God as a parent figure. It is so important to correct this so that we can experience the intimacy and security that the Father offers us.
What the Bible says about Blessing
What does it mean to bless someone? Does it actually do anything? How can a human bless God? We need a firm Biblical foundation for answering these questions.
Mark in a Month 5. Two Difficult Passages in Mark (11:23-24 & ch.13)
Most of Mark’s Gospel is very easy to understand, but here are a couple of passages that give people problems: Jesus’ instructions about praying in faith seem confusing, and his predictions about the end of the age are hard to make sense of.
Setting up Stones to Remember what God has Done (Josh 4 & 1 Sam 7)
The practice of ‘raising up stones’ is a powerful one that we should be doing to grow in our faith. Here are some stories to get you started.