There are so many reasons for losing sleep it’s not really worth listing them. You’re either getting enough sleep or you’re not. And if you aren’t, an awful lot of the Christian life can feel very difficult indeed. Shorter tempers, less self-control, sense of life being out of control, feeling sorry for oneself, irritable, unkind, not listening… Sleep is such a good gift from God if only because it makes so many, many things easier. Prayer is one such thing. What can we do when we aren’t praying because we aren’t getting the sleep we need?
Category Archives: Prayer
Why do we pray for others?
Life
Learning to pray for others is one of the first things we learn as Christians: we see it commended on every other page of the New Testament; we see it modelled in every other meeting of Christians we participate in; and Christian parents model it to their children from birth.
Have you ever stopped to think about why we pray for others, however? Or why we ask prayer from others? I was made to really consider the question when I first read through 2 Corinthians 1. And what the Apostle Paul says there continues to provoke me to thought and wonder every time I read it.
An attempted collect on the regulation of bodily functions
Life
Why the need for a collect on the regulation of bodily functions?
It’s because people like me do actually pray—often with some fervour—about the bodily functions of the children for whom they are responsible. That’s right, we pray about the absence, presence, frequency, infrequency, texture, colour and quantity of poo. We do it mostly because such things can flag a problem in young children—especially when they are only a few weeks old (at least that’s why I pray about such things; others may have different reasons).
A theology of milk and other ordinary things
Life, Sola Panel
Last year I read this statement, tucked away in a footnote in a certain august magazine:
… Paul isn’t talking [in 1 Corinthians 10:31] about just any old eating and drinking (as if there is such a thing as a godly and an ungodly way to drink a glass of milk!), but about the specific issue of sharing in fellowship meals with unbelievers.1
The bit in brackets disturbed me (although, as I read on, I was reassured2) because I’m convinced that the Bible has a huge amount to say about seemingly inconsequential things like how to drink a glass of milk. (more…)
Dealing with inner demons
Everyday Ministry
The distresses of the human soul and ‘inner world’ can be many. Sometimes people speak of having to deal with their ‘inner demons’. Most of us can cope when this is simply a vivid metaphor. But what happens when we realize the struggler is speaking literally—that is, they think that their inner distress is due to real demons at work in their soul?
Okay, that’s freaky—so medieval.
Unfortunately not.
Praying together in light of the gospel
Jeff Read looks at the business of prayer and why it should be a central element of our meeting together. (more…)
Uncommon prayer
Life
Teaching the Psalms to our children
Life, Sola Panel
Picture my husband and I sitting side-by-side on the couch in the semi-darkness, watching a DVD. There’s the patter of little feet on the floorboards. A plaintive voice says, “Mummy, I’m scared, I can’t sleep!” And as always, there’s the same response: “Do you want me to pray with you?” (more…)
Writing a difficult letter home
Everyday Ministry
Going on to the mission field for the first time is full of new experiences. We’ve been in Mexico for six months now, and the list of things I’ve learned in that time is as long as a Mexican bank queue (but also quite funny in some places!). As well as learning how to eat a shredded tongue taco, one important issue I’ve had to think about is what to say when you write a supporters newsletter. (more…)
MiniZines
Resource Talk
This is the final instalment in my series of posts introducing the range of new Matthias Media resources that have just arrived in. And today’s takes a bit of explaining. Here goes…
One of the issues we’ve grappled with for many years at Matthias Media relates to our monthly magazine, The Briefing. Each year, writers and editors pour countless hours of thought and hard work into putting together helpful magazine-length articles on a wide range of important topics. The people who happen to be subscribing to The Briefing at that time get the benefit of reading that article. But once it is published, that’s pretty much it; it’s unlikely to see the light of day again or be read by anyone else.
Frankly, magazine publishing often feels a bit ‘vapour-ish’ in an Ecclesiastes kind of a way: here one month, gone the next. Which is a shame, because the articles we publish are extremely useful material.
The blessing of unanswered prayer
Up front, Sola Panel
I hate unanswered prayer. This is not just because I want what I pray for (although that would be nice!), but because my unbelieving heart takes unanswered prayer as an opportunity to doubt God. Here are some examples:
(more…)
Confession
Life
I became a Christian at the age of 15.
When I began to go to church, we used the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, and prayed the prayers from it each Sunday.
The blessing of unanswered prayer
Life, Sola Panel
I hate unanswered prayer. This is not just because I want what I pray for—although that would be nice!—but because my unbelieving heart takes unanswered prayer as an opportunity to doubt God. Here are some examples:
I pray for my son’s only close friend, whom we’ve lost contact with, to call. He doesn’t.
I pray that I’ll be able to find my car keys so I can get the kids to school on time. They’re late.
I pray that my husband will get over his illness; after all, he needs to teach the Bible and care for our family. He stays sick.
I pray that my excited, expectant three-year-old will see a kangaroo on the way home. There’s no wildlife to be seen.
I pray that my mood will lift. I stay discouraged.
These are all trivial prayers, and I could give you much bigger examples. But, oddly, I find it easier to trust God with the bigger things. It’s the small prayers that trip me up.
The clarion call of the gospel: An interview with Phillip Jensen
Tony Payne speaks to The Briefing’s founder (Phillip Jensen) about Evangelicalism, church, preaching and the essentials of the Christian life. (more…)
Actually do it
Up front, Sola Panel
These three words are the secret to success in a multitude of circumstances. It’s certainly true of writing. When someone comes to me (as they quite often do), indicating their desire to be a writer, and then asks me how to go about it, I have only these three words to say to them: actually do it. (more…)