More E.M. Bounds On Prayer

Last week, I shared a passage from E.M Bounds, on prayer. Here’s another paragraph that has been inspirational in my life.

Woman In Prayer

This quote comes from The Possibilities Of Prayer, and Bounds seems to be asking if we, perhaps unintentionally, place constraints upon God’s willingness or ability to answer prayer.

The utmost possibilities of prayer have rarely been realized. The promises of God are so great to those who truly pray, when he puts himself so fully into the hands of the praying ones, that it almost staggers our faith and causes us to hesitate with astonishment. His promise to answer, and to do, and to give “all things,” “anything,” “whatsoever,” and “all things whatsoever,” is so large, so great, so exceedingly broad, that we stand back in amazement and give ourselves to questioning and doubt. We “stagger at the promise through unbelief.” Really the answers of God to prayer have been pared down by us to our little faith, and have been brought down to the low level of our narrow notions about God’s ability, liberality, and resources. Let us ever keep in mind and never for one moment allow ourselves to doubt the statement that God means what he says in all of his promises…. His promises are for plain people, and he means to do for all who pray just what he says he will do.

Do you take God at word? What do you do to help yourself grow in your faithfulness in prayer?

If you are interested in reading more from E.M. Bounds on prayer, you can you can purchase his collected works at Amazon.com.

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Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

E.M. Bounds on Prayer

Hands Folded In Prayer

It’s Friday. My goal for Friday is to give you something that’s either an inspiration to me or a great resource that I’ve found helpful. This week, I’d like to share something that has impacted me pretty heavily.

A few years ago, I read several of E.M. Bounds’ books on prayer. These are powerful books, and I go back to them again and again.

In The Reality Of Prayer, Bounds describes what pray is, and what it isn’t. This is something that I’ve copied and stashed in several places, so that I come across it frequently and remind myself of the reality of prayer. I hope you find it as encouraging as I do.

Tips For Becoming More Consistent In Your Bible Reading

Bible Reading

I am convinced that in order to grow as a Christian, you have to be connected daily to God’s Word. But one of the hardest things to do, in my experience, is take the time to make this a priority.

Here are a few tips that I’ve picked up over the years that have helped me become more consistent in my Bible reading. Maybe they’ll help you too.

Remove distractions. Turn off your phone, iPod, TV, etc. Don’t read the Bible on your computer, where FaceBook or other websites could be a distraction. Distractions keep you from concentrating. Removing all that you can will help ensure success in your Bible reading.

Engage: Philippians

Engage: Philippians

Our annual Winter Retreat at our camp system was this weekend. We called it Engage: Philippians. Our goal was to present the letter of Philippians in a fresh, new, exciting and deeper way than our students have ever understood it. We had an incredible weekend!

This is typically a weekend focused on high school students. This year we opened it up to college-age students as well.

I’m not sure how successful we were. The weekend was a great success, sure. And if we’d focused on strictly high school students, it would have been a huge success. If we had geared it to only college-aged students, it would have been smaller, but still a great weekend.

Sabbath by Dan B. Allender

SabbathHave you ever had one of those weeks where God uses a dozen different avenues to grab your attention in one particular area? This week has been that way for me.

I’ve been reading Sabbath, by Dan Allender. It’s part of The Ancient Practices Series from Thomas Nelson. In this book, Allender takes a closer look at the “day of rest” that the Bible calls Sabbath. It seems that our society may have a few false notions about this biblical concept.

Allender contends that our view of Sabbath is one of forced quiet, when it should be a day of joy, delight for the body and soul. Rather than it being a day where we force ourselves to be still, Allender examines the idea that we should use the day as a festival that celebrates God’s creativity and redemption.

Allender defines four Sabbath Pillars: sensual glory, holy time, communal feast and play. When our Sabbath is balanced and viewed appropriately, the balance of our week falls into line as well, more often than not.

Part of the idea that Allender describes is what we might call “creating margin.” This isn’t just balancing our time. It’s not simply being more efficient with our lives.

I think it’s more like stewardship…

Free Resources!

I often run across things that help me grow as a leader, as a minister, as a husband and father, or simply as a Christian. Often those things catch me by surprise, but more often, of late, I’ve been discovering them intentionally.

And so, on Fridays, I will post resources that I’ve found useful, from blogs to books to quotes, to products to software, and more. Many of them will be free. Some of them may not be. But all of them have one thing in common: they have helped me grow. And I want to pass that opportunity on.

This week, I want to direct your attention to a leadership blog that I follow. Ron Edmondson is one of the co-pastors of Grace Community Church in Clarksville, TN. His blog, www.ronedmondson.com, is full of great insights on leadership, church and culture.

RonEdmondson.com

One Word 2011

One of the things I’ve never really understood are New Year’s resolutions. I never make them, because I never expect to keep them. In fact, I often joke that I’ve made only one resolution that I’ve ever managed to keep: Never make New Year’s resolutions!

One Word 2011

But this year, I’m making a choice. I’m not making a resolution. I’ve decided to choose one word.

Not a resolution.

Just a word.