Gift of Choice
A while back I found myself overwhelmed by all the choices I have to make each day, afraid of making the “wrong” choice, and wishing I had but one option to choose from. Later, in a time of prayer and surrendering this dilemma to Father, I realized I had it all wrong. It is Father Himself who has given us choice… As a relational, and even intimate, Gift. And in learning to choose, and embracing each choice WITH Him, we are actively stepping into who He has created us to be, co-choice makers (that is, Those who find joy in choosing WITH Him in anticipation of experiencing Him within each choice). What distinguishes this from a rebellious act, is this is something we do WITH Him, and He WITH us. It is an opening ourselves up to Him fathering us through each choice,...
The Mystery of Unanswered Prayer
Many of us have grown up with the belief that God always answers prayer; whether His answer is “yes” “no” or “wait”. Even scripture seems to point out that when we pray, we are to be confident that God will answer (Mat 7:7-8). Yet how many times do we wander if Father has even heard us at all, wait for an answer that never really comes, and perhaps even assume upon what His silence means and move on. Either way we often find God to be seemingly absent, and the necessity to pray less and less real. A while back I did a study on the mystery of unanswered prayer, and was absolutely blown away by what I found. Did you know that the scripture spells out multiple reasons why we may not receive an answer to our prayers? Yes, Father does want us to be confident when we...
Does Prayer Change Things?
Friday night, June 22, 2007, nine of us gathered to discuss the question “Is prayer merely relational (in that it simply conforms our hearts to the heart of God), or is prayer also functional (in that God actually answers and demonstrates His power as the direct result of our prayer)?” For some of us, this question may seem absurd, whether we come from one bent/tradition or another. But for a seemingly growing number, this question has become a very real issue. Let me explain the issue a little more. Passages Considered throughout Our Discussion… (Ex 32:12-14; Num 14:11-25; 23:19; 1 Sam 15:29; 2 Chr 7:14; Mal 3:6; Mat 7:7-11; 18:19; 20:29-34; 21:22; 26:41; Luke 18:1-8; John 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:24; Rom 8:5-6; 9:13-18; Jam 1:5-8; 1:17; 4:2-3; 5:15-18; 1 John...