prayer

The Day After My Birthday

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“Through my whole life (young and old), I have never witnessed God forsaking those who do right, nor have I seen their children begging for crumbs” (Psalm 37:25, The Voice).

I’m 53 and I’m still learning that even when you don’t feel it, still you can choose to trust in God and His promises. You can claim God’s provision even when it seems slow in coming. You can thank God in advance for prayers He’s yet to answer.

The Bible says to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking for as long as it takes. I said before that sometimes we don’t have because we don’t ask, and now I wonder if we don’t have simply because we asked a few times and gave up instead of keeping on keeping on asking. We should be like Jacob who wrestled with God and would not let go until He blessed him.

I think prayer is a taking hold of God in the secret place and not letting go. It’s claiming the promises, confessing sins of commission and omission, giving thanks, interceding for others, and waiting to hear what He would say to us.

Even when the heart is heavy with hope delayed, we can pray God’s future promises for us as if they’re already ours. We can show gratitude ahead of the gift. We can pray for those loved ones who are far from God believing that God can bring them home. We can lift up the hurting and dying in the name of the One who is able to bring life from the dead.

I’ve heard that we should never stop preaching the gospel to ourselves. I suppose that’s what this is. Me reminding myself of God’s goodness that remains when He is absent or silent.

“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13, New Heart English Bible).

My Belated Birthday Blog Post

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My birthday ended 33 minutes ago. I was tossing and turning in bed, trying unsuccessfully to sleep when I remembered that I had forgotten to write my daily blog post. I suppose getting a bit forgetful comes with turning 53.

I am blessed. This season of unemployment that I’m in isn’t one that I would have chosen, but I have learned a lot. Not so much new information, though there’s been some. Mostly, it’s just being reminded of what I already knew. It’s having that information go from theoretical to experiential.

I honestly don’t know what’s next. There have been moments of near-panic and high anxiety and there have been moments of calm and serenity. I have had thoughts of “God, please help” and “I can’t wait to see what God does next.”

My main prayer remains the same. It’s the prayer that never fails — Thy will be done. Even if it’s not my will. Even if it means my will, my desires, my goals be undone. Even if it means I am undone. I want God’s will because I know it’s the best.

I don’t believe in the saying that God never gives us more than we can handle. I think God never gives us more than He can handle. It’s true that God never allows us to be tempted beyond what we can bear but gives us a way out. But God’s testing is a different matter. My dependence on God grows as I am tested beyond enduring and I lean on the Lord for strength.

“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9, NIV).

There’s joy at the end of this tunnel.

Pray First

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“Prayer requires that we stand in God’s presence with open hands, naked and vulnerable, proclaiming to ourselves and to others that without God we can do nothing. This is difficult in a climate where the predominant counsel is ‘Do your best and God will do the rest.’ When life is divided into ‘our best’ and ‘God’s rest,’ we have turned prayer into a last resort to be used only when all our resources are depleted. Then even the Lord has become the victim of our impatience. Discipleship does not mean to use God when we can no longer function ourselves. On the contrary, it means to recognize that we can do nothing at all, but that God can do everything through us. As disciples, we find not some but all of our strength, hope, courage, and confidence in God. Therefore, prayer must be our first concern” (Henri Nouwen).

It’s easy to make prayer a last resort after all my plans have failed, but it should be first. Before anything else, pray. Don’t be afraid to come boldly before the throne of grace and pray big to a big God. I wonder if we don’t have because we simply don’t ask. We want to appear spiritual before God as if He doesn’t already see what’s in our hearts anyway.

Pray for the big things. Pray for the little things. Pray for healing. Pray for lost keys. Of course, pray for others at least as much as you pray for yourself. Pray with the expectation that God will speak and pray to listen to what He has to say.

“Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
    as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
    Yes. Yes. Yes” (Matthew 6:9-13, The Message).

Something Better

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I used to hear growing up that God answers prayers in one of three ways: “Yes,” “No” and “Wait.” Sometimes, the last one looks a lot like “Not yet.”

In my own experience, I can vouch for the fact that God sometimes doesn’t give me what I ask for because it simply would not be good for me. I’m asking selfishly out of my flesh and what I ask for would lead me astray. Some things I ask for would likely destroy me if I got them.

Sometimes, I ask for things I’m just not ready for. It would be like if my 8-year old self wanted a Corvette for Christmas. There’d be no point in me getting one because a) they’re ridiculously expensive and b) I couldn’t drive it for another 8 years anyway. That would be dumb.

God knows what I need AND when I need it. God’s a lot smarter than me at figuring out if I’m mature enough to handle what I request. Sometimes, what I want is just stupid. Sometimes, it’s actually harmful to me and possibly to others. Sometimes, it will be good for me when I’m good and ready for it.

A possible fourth option would be that God denies my request because He has something better in mind. It’s like I’m short-sighted in my view of what I think I need but God is looking at the whole picture, figuring it into the whole of His master plan for creation. I see one puzzle piece and He sees the whole puzzle.

Basically, the best thing God ever did for me (and still continues to do for me) is to not give me a lot of what I pray for the moment I pray for it. Or to not give it to me at all. Or to give me something much, much better. Like Himself.

Wise Words from Amy Carmichael

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One of my favorite authors growing up was a lady named Amy Carmichael. She served as a missionary to India for over 50 years and wrote quite a bit on the topic of suffering patiently under the hand of God. Some of her books include Gold by Moonlight, Edges of His Ways, and If. Most people who are familiar with her and her writings probably know her from the fact that she was a hero of Elisabeth Elliott’s. Here is a sample of what made her so great. It’s one of my favorite quotes of hers:

“Let us end on a very simple note: Let us listen to simple words; our Lord speak simply: ‘Trust Me, My child,’ He says. ‘Trust Me with a humbler heart and a fuller abandon to My will than ever thou didst before. Trust Me to pour My love through thee, as minute succeeds minute. And if thou shouldst be conscious of anything hindering that flow, do not hurt My love by going away from Me in discouragement, for nothing can hurt so much as that. Draw all the closer to Me; come, flee unto Me to hide thee, even from thyself. Tell Me about the trouble. Trust Me to turn My hand upon thee and thoroughly to remove the boulder that has choked they river-bed, and take away all the sand that has silted up the channel. I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. I will perfect that which concerneth thee. Fear thou not, O child of My love; fear not.’

And now…to gather all in one page:

Beloved, let us love.

Lord, what is love?

Love is that which inspired My life, and led Me to My Cross, and held Me on My Cross. Love is that which will make it thy joy to lay down thy life for thy brethren.

Lord, evermore give me this love.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after love, for they shall be filled” (Amy Carmichael).

Little Victories

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So last fall I did something a bit offbeat. I bought a tiny tent for Peanut. It was $20, so I figured it would be worth it to give Peanut yet another napping spot where she could hide from the world while she gets her 23 hours of beauty rest.

I didn’t figure on the required assembly, so it sat on my bed for a while before I finally dug up the courage to read the instructions and put it together. More accurately, I read the instructions, couldn’t figure them out, messaged the company, got sent an instructional Youtube video, watched the video, then put the tiny tent together.

Then Peanut showed her appreciation by sleeping right next to it. A couple of times, she poked her head in to look around but decided she wasn’t having any of it. Finally, today I put in a different blanket that she’s used before and voila! She finally decided to try it out.

Sometimes, life can be hard. There can be very little going right for you. That’s when it’s important to celebrate the little victories. Did you get to the end of the month with all your bills paid? Victory. Did you get to the end of the month, period? Victory.

Do you have a roof over your head? Victory. Did you have at least one warm meal today? Victory. Were the clothes you wore today clean? Victory. See? You have lots of little victories to celebrate if you think long and hard enough.

God is good even when times are tough. God is working even when we can’t see it or feel it. Once we get over our American entitlement mentality, we see that every single good thing in life is a gift from God. Sometimes the trials themselves can be gifts if they cause us to look up in prayer and desperation. Pain can be God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world, including those of us who profess to follow Him (with much thanks to C. S. Lewis for that one).

Give thanks for all the little victories, and maybe just maybe you’ll see some bigger breakthroughs in your life. At least you’ll see God more clearly.

40 Days of Prayer

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Last year, my church participated in a Chronological Bible reading plan that involved all nine campuses. This year, we’re starting off 2025 by doing a 40 Days of Prayer initiative where we focus on specific local, national, and global partners in the gospel going forth to all nations in all the world.

I’m also doing my own personal prayer focus with books like the Book of Common Prayer and The Orthodox Christian Prayer Book. I’ve always believed in the power of prayer, but this year I’m trying to be more intentional and not just haphazardly praying whatever comes to mind.

I truly believe that the greatest and most underutilized weapon in the Church’s arsenal is prayer. We very rarely spend any significant corporate time in prayer other than between the worship set and the sermon. For those of you who remember the old Wednesday Night Prayer Service, you know that most of the time that ended up being just another regular church service with full sermon and not a lot of actual praying.

There’s something powerful about agreeing in prayer as a body of believers. Samuel Chadwick once said, ““Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, he mocks our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.”

William Cowper also said, ““Satan trembles, when he sees the weakest Saint upon his [or her] knees.”

There is untapped power in prayer as both individual believers and together as the Church of Almighty God. I’m convinced that if Satan can keep us busy doing anything and everything but praying — even if that is worship and preaching and evangelism — he will have succeeded, because nothing is more impotent than prayerless worship, prayerless preaching, and prayerless evangelism. We end up going through the motions with nothing to show for it.

I confess that I’m not very good at praying. My mind wanders all over the place and it’s easy for me to get distracted by social media or a song on the radio or something on TV. Many times I will fall asleep in the middle of prayer.

But even my weak attempts at prayer are better than not praying at all. Satan trembles when any of God’s children — including me — get on their knees to pray because He knows the power is not in the pray-er or even the prayer but in the One who hears. Satan knows that we have not because we ask not but when we do ask, the heavens are opened and God’s riches and blessings are unleashed.

So I’d love to pray for you this year. If you want to email me your prayer requests at gmendel72@icloud.com, I’d love to pray over you in 2025.

A Bold Prayer

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“Bold prayer : “God, change anything about me that isn’t about You” (Taylor Johnson).

I posted this little prayer on Facebook 11 years ago today. That was a good prayer in 2014 and still is in 2025. It probably will be in 2026 and beyond until Jesus comes back.

Another way of praying it is “Thy will be done,” the prayer that never fails (for those who are familiar with Jan Karon’s Mitford series and Father Tim Cavanaugh, you will get the reference).

It’s the prayer of the refiner where everything that is dross in us is burned away until all that remains is refined and the Maker can see His reflection in us.

Of all the things I could pray for and ask for (and there are lots), I think nothing trumps this one. To be more like Jesus is the ultimate goal, the endgame, the final destination because Heaven beyond all the gold streets and mansions and pearly gates is where Jesus is and where we’ll finally be fully mature and where our faith will finally be sight.

So in the meantime, my prayer is still “God, change anything about me that isn’t about You.”

Make me a disciple who makes disciples and who isn’t ashamed of the gospel. Make all of us bold in our faith to have gospel conversations with anybody, anytime, anywhere wherever we live, work, or play. Amen.

Those Two Little Words

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If I were to quote a passage, do you think you’d catch it if I left something out? Like this:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your considerate spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7, Legacy Standard Bible).

Did you notice anything missing? Now let me quote the verse with the missing part put back in:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your considerate spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7, Legacy Standard Bible, emphasis added.

I added the bold to make it obvious. Two little words “with thanksgiving” were missing from the first quotation. But that’s what is missing in a lot of our prayers and petitions. At least I can speak for myself and say that I go through a lot of requests in my prayers without ever giving thanks. But I think that’s the key.

I’m not saying that a few magical phrases will automatically make God grant you everything you ask for. But I wonder if sometimes if the gratitude part is what keeps us from seeing God at work in our petitions. Maybe the giving thanks part is like praying in faith believing you have already received what you ask for.

The answer may not always look like what you expect. But you can be sure that God honors His promises to give us what we ask when in faith with thanksgiving.

And note that it does not say that we’re ever to give thanks FOR everything but IN everything. We shouldn’t be thankful for cancer or car wrecks or wildfires. But we can give thanks in the midst of those things because God is working even in those cases for good. Out of those ashes will come something beautiful.

But let us be thankful people, regardless. Even if God did nothing else for us from here until eternity, we’d still have a million reasons for gratitude and thanksgiving. We could still give thanks if for nothing else than salvation and the next breath.

So let’s not leave those two little words out next time. Or, maybe I shouldn’t leave out those two little words next time.

An Evangelistic Prayer

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“DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)
Lord Jesus, reign in the hearts of our young children, of our husbands, wives, brethren, friends, and families. Lord, rule in the hearts of our neighbors. Lord Jesus, save London! Lord Jesus, look at this United Kingdom [and United States]. Look at all the kingdoms and republics of the earth. May the whole earth know you, exalted one. By the merit of your passion, we beg the Father to glorify you. Father, glorify your Son, that your Son also may glorify you. And unto Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be glory forever and ever, world without end.
Amen.
VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)
“Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)
The most earnest and faithful minister of the gospel must ever remember that humbling truth. He has this precious treasure of the gospel entrusted to his charge; he knows he has it, and he means to keep it safely; but, still, he is nothing but an earthen vessel, easily broken, soon marred,—a poor depository for such priceless truth.
If angels had been commissioned to preach the gospel, we might have attributed some of its power to their superior intelligence; but when God selects, as he always does, earthen vessels, then the excellency of the power is unquestionably seen to be of God, and not of us.”

Maybe this coming year of 2025 is when all believers commit to praying earnestly for their lost family, friends, and neighbors. Maybe this is the year that all of us (including me) will pray for opportunities for gospel conversations wherever we live, work, and play. I have a small group of people that I’m praying for that they’d come to know Jesus in a saving way. I’m sure you do, too.

The older I get, the more I am convinced that what we need is spiritual and not political. As much as we want to believe it, another Republican president isn’t going to fix what’s wrong with the country or the world. Only Jesus can do that. And only Jesus can fix the hurt and brokenness in each of us.

So I’m praying more than ever in 2025 for a mighty work of God in those who don’t know God. But first, we need a mighty work of God for those who DO know God so that they can be the earthen vessels to convey the gospel wherever we go whenever we go to the very ends of the earth.