The living God who hears

Life

Unlike the idols, our God is a living God. Graham Cole looks at how this should drive our prayer.

Social scientists tell us that most Australians believe in a god—a god who is behind it all. But unfortunately, this god doesn’t seem able to do anything in the 20th century. He or ‘it’ may have got the show started, and he may even be there at the final curtain to see if people have paid for their seats. But during the performance, he remains hidden in the wings, strangely silent.

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Fire extinguishers

Thought, Sola Panel

There is a growing consensus that prayer (or lack of it) is a real problem for modern western Christians. The questions is “Why?” Why does prayer seem to be so lacking in emphasis amongst Australian evangelicals? There are great things happening in ministries all over the country, but why is concerted prayer generally not one of them?

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Techno-prayer

Life

There is nothing easier than making a Christian feel guilty about his prayer life. Everyone seems embarrassed about the little praying they do or the lot of praying they don’t do. To build the guilt to psychiatric proportions, just mention some Christian saint of the past who had no trouble praying four or five hours a day before breakfast—even on weekends and public holidays. Just for good measure, throw in a latter day St Sadist whose church is growing at an alarming rate and whose obvious spiritual power is a result of him having given up food; he just prays. By now, you should have one groveling Christian.

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