What do you do when you don’t just want something, but you genuinely need it? You find a way to get it, don’t you? You keep pushing for it, and you don’t back down. You know that no one is going to give you what you need. You have to make it happen on your own.
It was about 9:30 pm on a brisk fall evening in Detroit that my life would change forever. I had worked all day in a trauma orthopedic unit. Afterward, I had gone to class and was physically and mentally exhausted as I made my way home. The streetlights lit each corner of the quiet neighborhood as I was driving down the street to my home. When I pulled into my driveway, I didn’t notice the car pulling up behind me. Thinking it was the guy delivering my paper, which usually came at night, I didn’t think anything about it.
How should we engage healing prayer? Approaching any type of prayer involves recognizing the comforting reality that Jesus is already interceding on our behalf. This revelation alleviates the pressure of our prayers, our role is similar to a child assisting parents with household chores. What’s truly remarkable is that our imperfect prayers are joined with Jesus’s flawless ones. This connection is rooted in the joy of the gospel, where we exist in Him, and He resides in us, eliminating the need to impress or convince God. Rather than proving ourselves, we align our minds, hearts, and wills with Jesus, who is actively interceding with the Father. It’s a reminder that the Spirit of Christ dwells within us, supporting us as we embark on the journey of prayer.
A few weeks ago, we hosted our JourneyWise annual gathering in Orlando, Florida. Our families were invited to come to enjoy some time away in the beautiful sunshine state and soak in all that Orlando has to offer.
The new year is a great time to commit yourself to spiritual disciplines, and one of the most important disciplines of the Christian life is reading the Bible. We encounter the Bible when we go to church, and attending public worship is itself a key Christian discipline. Private reading, however, is edifying in its own way; and that’s what I want to talk about here.