Dear Hope Church Family,
This Sunday I am excited to step further down the path of surveying the Bible’s encouragement for cultivating and energizing a praying life.
I share a few tidbits that are helping me personally and I trust will similarly be of help to you:
- The covenant-making and covenant-keeping Lord’s message to his people in the book of Isaiah: “I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here am I, here am I,” to a nation that did not call upon my name (Isaiah 65:1).” What a missed opportunity that never needs to be missed!
- “Nothing is better adapted to excite us to pray than a full conviction that we shall be heard.” – John Calvin’s take on the willingness of God to hear us when we pray!
- “He knows that we are timid and shy, that we feel unworthy and unfit to present our needs to God . . . We think that God is so great and we are so tiny that we do not dare to pray . . . That is why Christ wants to lure us away from such timid thoughts, to remove our doubts, and to have us go ahead confidently and boldly.” – Martin Luther’s invitation to ask, seek, and knock because Christ himself bids us draw near with our needs and requests!
Grace and peace,
Dav