The Secret to Prayer
We need to continually seek Him to ensure that our petitions and our motives are in line with His will. Then, whether He says yes, no, or wait, our prayers will draw us ever closer to Him.
Written by Chuck Swindoll, these encouraging devotional thoughts are published seven days per week.
We need to continually seek Him to ensure that our petitions and our motives are in line with His will. Then, whether He says yes, no, or wait, our prayers will draw us ever closer to Him.
In what ways are you living on the surface in your relationship with God? How can you begin to go deeper?
The straightforward message God communicated through this name after a long silence is the same one He wants us to know when He seems absent: While I am sometimes silent, I remain in control of your circumstances.
When we’re forced to wait, the Lord helps us acquire an appetite for the blessing to come. Meanwhile, He builds our maturity so that when the fulfilment finally arrives, we are prepared to enjoy His blessing to the fullest.
I realize we don’t get visitations from God in visible, audible form. But the Lord speaks and leads nonetheless. He’s there, and He wants to lead you.
Abram first affirmed their relationship and expressed his desire to preserve harmony between them. Instead of pulling rank, he became a mentor.
Abram lied to Pharaoh to save his own skin, telling him that Sarai was his sister. In doing so, he put her in jeopardy. But where he failed to protect his wife, the Lord overwhelmingly succeeded in doing so.
In case you’re feeling superior right about now, thinking you’d never lie the way Abram did, let me offer a warning from Scripture: “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience” (1 Corinthians 10:12-13).
If you know what God wants you to do, obedience isn’t complicated. It may be difficult, but it’s not complicated. Don’t wait any longer for all the details to be worked out. The Lord has given you an opportunity to grow in faith.
Everything within us recoils from making big changes without thorough planning. Most of us need to see where we’re jumping before committing to a leap. But God called Abram to obey this call without complete information.