I learned recently of a speaker who told her audience that Christians ought always to be optimistic. She explained that Elijah’s negativity and pessimism after his titanic battle with the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18-19) was unacceptable to her. Though tolerated compassionately…
“I don’t see anything wrong with it.” How often that foolish statement has been used as the standard to justify a person’s actions. “Behold, I thought” kept General Naaman a leper (2 Kings 5:1-11) and Saul of Tarsus a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent…
Two important pillars of prayer are God’s faithfulness and righteousness. David begins Psalm 143 by touching on both these foundational matters. He writes: “Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications! In Your faithfulness answer me, and in Your righteousness do not enter…
Any traveler in a vast and scorching desert must be keenly aware of the locations of its every oasis. Knowledge of such a refuge is essential to survival in a desert. Send article as PDF
The Bible does not require a specific posture or place for prayer. Jonah, for example, prayed in the belly of a great fish. Jesus prayed face down in an olive garden. According to the superscription of Psalm 142, David prayed in a cave. …
When His disciples asked Him, “Lord, teach us to pray” in Luke 11, Jesus’ instructions addressed two essential areas—the verbal component (vv. 2-4) and the spiritual component (vv. 5-13) of prayer. To engage in genuine prayer, both components are essential. Send article…
A corrupt legal system that dispenses injustice as frequently or more often than it does true justice is nothing new in our world. David prayed against the deeds of the wicked and their judges who legally aided and abetted their evil and left…
According to Psalm 141:5, the rebuke of the righteous is a kindness, like an excellent oil (think of one that has the perfect combination of optimal medicinal healing and pleasing aroma). David would know such to be true, because the righteous prophet Nathan…
Blind spots. Send article as PDF
To some, denying ungodliness and worldly lust and living soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age is of nominal concern. For them, it is simply a hobby, not a holy obsession. Clearly, David was not of this mindset, for he writes: “Set…
