Planning to Live Your Story 2019

by | Dec 31, 2018 | Gospel Coaching, Gospel living, Learning Story, Work

Planning to Live Your Story 2019

Planning Can Be Fun

Welcome to 2019! Who’s excited?!
I know, not everyone.
I love the new year though. I do not make resolutions, knowing that I am more of a promise-breaker than a promise-keeper!
I do, however, love thumbing through the glossy pages of my new calendar and prayer calendar/journal, envisioning the stories that will be marked there in the coming year.

Even as I conceive of the things God might do in the coming year, I recall the “wonderful works,” “the great deeds,” the “abundant goodness” (Psalm 145:5-7) he has already completed in the year past. And to think, he has more of the same planned for us in the coming year:

Planning for 2019

All this newness lying ahead of us in the days marked out on our calendars, yes, but even more, by God….how can we not be swooped up in the hope? My heart pumps fresh blood to the muscles, my mind quickens with fertile imagination—what is this amazing brand new thing I get to do—and in partnership with God, who has planned these good works in advance (Ephesians 2:10)?

Not only that, this kind of planning is failsafe—even if our labors are not fruitful, God’s plans do produce abundant fruit. Two years ago, I planted some seeds for a new prayer planner; I tilled the soil with prayer and preparation. That garden, however, was not the one God wanted to grow.

Instead, he planted my family and me in what seemed more like a desert—a waiting room, many waiting rooms, where he would nourish our hearts through suffering and sorrow, where he would grow good, sturdy, surprising fruit that would sustain us for years to come. Here’s the thing—whatever happens to the plans we make for the coming year, God’s plan and plans never fail to yield an abundant crop of goodness and glory. (Jeremiah 29:11).

So yes, let’s make plans. And let’s place them on God’s altar, as Mary did so long ago, praying a simple prayer:

“I am the Lord’s servant; be it unto me according to thy Word” (Luke 1:38).

The Story Plan Exercise

Now, let’s get practical—let’s start planning! Today, I’m going to share with you a novel tool I created to help you create goals and plans.

Note: If you are a subscriber, you will receive (for free) my subscribers’ most-prized tool of all time: the Story Plan Exercise: eight beautifully laid out pages with prompts and tools and space to write and pray and plan. Soooo…if you’ve been thinking about subscribing but haven’t yet, now would be the time (I promise not to bombard you with lots of emails)!

SUBSCRIBE HERE!

But if you’re not a subscriber and don’t really want to be—good news!  I’m going to walk you through the “no-frills” version here:

Get free printable prayer worksheet and cards

Send them now!

The “Where Have I Been, Where Am I Going” Planning Exercise

Background: This enlightening exercise helps us survey what God has done in the past and draws us to look for what he will do in the future. When we are persuaded that God is presently working his kingdom plan, we are motivated to set goals and keep running the race toward them with endurance.

Suggestions: Either schedule out four thirty-minute periods over the next week or one two-three-hour planning session (put it on your calendar or it won’t happen). Or, gather for a planning session with some friends or your small group or your spouse; work together and separately on it.

Part 1

  1. Ask, “Where have I been?”
  2. Pray. Ask God to remind you of the significant events, changes, accomplishments, and losses of the past year.
  3. Write down your top three in a short sentence or phrase. (Remember, things actually change in our brain when we write).
  4. Look at major areas of your life (relationships, spiritual and emotional health, work, finances, play) and write two-three sentences about changes you saw, for better or for worse, in 2018. (In the Story Plan Exercise, I provide a fancy grid for this, but you can make your own).

Part 2

  1. Ask, “Where are you going?”
  2. Pray. “Lord, show me where to go.”
  3. Write down the top three events/stories/challenges/goals you would like to see accomplished in 2019.
  4. Look at major areas of your life (relationships, spiritual and emotional health, work, finances, play) and write two-three sentences about changes you want to see in 2019.

Part 3: Write Your Story

  1. Pray about which story to write.
  2. Now, write for ten minutes. Choose one of the top three and write an imaginative story as if the goal were accomplished. Date it: January 1, 2020.

Here is my example:
Prayer: Lord, show me which goals matter to you the most.
Ex. I want to hear from at least ten people that my devotional, The Waiting Room, helped them find peace and hope as they waited during a health crisis.
So my story, which I hope to share with you later this week, will be “fictional” but also a faithful, hopeful account of how that happened.

To help you write the story, you can answer the following questions:

  1. What concrete actions did you take?
  2. What challenges did you meet?
  3. What actions did you take to overcome the challenges?
  4. Who prayed for you, encouraged you, kept you going?
  5. What did you see God do in the process?

Part 4: Make Your Plan
(In the Story Plan Exercise, there’s also a nifty chart for this, but you can make your own:-).

  1. Review the “imaginary actions” you took to accomplish your goal.
  2. Make your plan of action. Write down three things:
  • What four-five steps do I need to take?
  • Next to each step, write the date for it to be completed.
  • Put a reminder on your calendar to make a note about the outcome—if you completed the step and what happened if you did.

So, now, you know what to do! If you try it, I’d love to know how it works for you, what you learn through doing it, how I could improve it (there’s always room for improvement!)

A Prayer about Making Goals and Plans in 2019

Lord God,

We are so glad that you are the ruler over our lives. You planned and created the world, and yet, you have taken the time to make plans for the good works we will do to advance your kingdom. Thank you for the opportunities you give us. Thank you for the grace you show us. Help us to live the story of faith, hope, and love you have written for us. Amen.

5 Good Reasons to Celebrate Reformation Day

by | Oct 30, 2018 | Church, Reformation Day, Theology

5 Good Reasons to Celebrate Reformation Day

The good news of Reformation Day

I had great history professors in high school. I only wish I had paid more attention in Modern European History. Then I might have understood the worldwide impact of the Protestant Reformation so much better than I do. Here’s what I do know—whether Martin Luther actually nailed his 95 Theses to a church door or not, he wrote them, and what he and other Reformers like Calvin and Zwingli wrote, changed history and Christianity forever.

The Catholic church and the Holy Roman Empire of the early 16thcentury, the formal representation of Christianity in that day, had become corrupt. Martin Luther and the other Reformers insisted on what are known as the five “sola’s” (don’t worry—you don’t need to know Latin to understand this blog post), and those five “alone’s” or “only’s” are very good news for Christians today, namely because they emphasize the major truths of the gospel.

Here are the five “alone’s” with an explanation of why they were such good news then and continue to be so today. I also included some Scripture that speaks to these “alone’s”:

Five Sola’s of Reformation

1. Scripture Alone (Sola Scriptura).  (2 Timothy 3:16).

Good news: You can read and trust the Bible alone as the final authority on spiritual matters.

Before the Reformation, the Bible was not often read in the Roman Catholic Church, and when it was, it was read in Latin, then interpreted by Church leaders who often added to or changed the meaning. Because many common people didn’t understand what the Bible said, the corrupters of religion were able to twist its meaning.

Then, between 1440 and 1450, Gutenberg invented the modern printing press, and the first Bible was printed in 1455. The Reformers thought it would be a good idea for everyone to be able to read the Bible, and they began to translate it into languages people knew. So not only did the Reformers insist that Scripture alone is the ultimate authority for spiritual life, they also gave us the great privilege we have now – the ability to read the Bible in a translation we can understand!

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”2 Timothy 3:16:

2 and 3. Faith Alone and Grace Alone (Sola Fide and Sola Gratia)

Good news: You don’t have to be able to afford “indulgences” in order to be saved.

In the late 1400’s and early 1500’s, corrupt officials of the Roman Catholic Church sold indulgences. An indulgence was something anyone could purchase to obtain forgiveness of sins, for themselves, or especially for someone who had already died. As Joan Acocella explains, “the name was written in on a printed form: [name] was forgiven x amount of time in Purgatory. The more time off, the more it cost, but the indulgence-sellers promised that whatever you paid for you got.” (The New Yorker, How Martin Luther Changed the World, October 30, 2017)

As Martin Luther studied Paul’s epistles, he became convinced that the Bible teaches justification by faith alone and by grace alone—we are “justified,” that is, made right, only by God’s grace and through believing in Jesus Christ as Savior. We do not earn salvation by doing good works—or by purchasing indulgences.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…” Ephesians 2:8

“We also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (v. 16).  Galatians 2:14–16

4. Christ Alone. (Solus Christus):

Good news: Only Jesus grants salvation, and you don’t need a priest to intercede on your behalf before God.

The corrupt practice of selling and buying indulgences had also corrupted the truth of how people were saved. As David Guzik explains here,

“The idea was something like this: “Men and women are not saved by Jesus, but through the pope and the institution of the Roman Catholic Church.”

The Bible is very clear that Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through him.” (John 14:6). Jesus is also “one God and mediatorbetween God and men.” (1 Timothy 2:5). Christ as mediator is great news for believers: Christ himself is mediating for us before the Father, beseeching him to forgive us because he died for our sins and made us righteous.

The church and priests and pastors and elder boards can guide, protect, and shepherd. They act as God’s servants in growing and discipling the body of Christ. But Christ alone saves us.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 1 Timothy 2:5

5. To God Alone Be the Glory (Soli Deo Gloria)

Good news: You don’t have to bow before anyone except the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who alone receives all the glory.

This final “alone” makes perfect sense in light of the four preceding principles. In the corrupt Catholic Church and Holy Roman Empire, “all glory, laud, and honor” was often misplaced, given to the Pope or the Holy Roman Emperor, not God, who alone deserves it. The Reformers helped Christians understand their true purpose: to glorify God. One of the most famous statements of this purpose is found in the Westminster Catechism, which declares, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”

Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah. Psalm 24:10

A Prayer Celebrating the Reformation

Lord, thank you for the very good news that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Thank you that you have explained all of this in your Holy Bible. We are so grateful, and indeed, we seek to give you all the glory for all you have done for us! In Christ’s name, Amen.

For a wonderful graphic on the Sola’s of the Reformation, go here: https://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/downloads/5-solas-infographic.png

Finding Holy in the Suburbs: Book Review

by | Oct 23, 2018 | Books, Gospel living

Finding Holy in the Suburbs: Book Review

Can you find “holy” in the suburbs?

Whether you are a suburbanite or a city-dweller, Ashley Hales’ new volume, Finding Holy in the Suburbs: Living Faithfully in the Land of Too Much, will invite and challenge you to consider what it means to live faithfully in a world of “too much,” consumerism, individualism, busyness, etc. In each carefully crafted chapter, she sheds light on how suburban and, (I would add), urban life can interfere with being a faithful citizen of God’s kingdom. Ashley calls us to a life of worshipping God more than soccer schedules and success ladders, a life of loving neighbors more than our well-insulated castles in the cul-de-sac.

Ashley plunges right in to the deep end describing how our granite countertops and the myriad consumer relics we crave have replaced golden calves as our contemporary idols:

And like all false gods—from golden calves to a Target haul—when we find worth by our affluence, it promises rest but brings stress, increasing demands, and a greater devotion to a god that will never love us and always forsake us (p.28).

After raising awareness of the contemporary golden calves we are tempted to consume, Ashley discusses the dangers of individualism, busyness, and safety, other idols found in suburbanites’ modern-day temples. Now that she’s got us squirming, Ashley invites us to repentance and encourages us with the sweet reminder of our belovedness:

God is that gentle parent who prepares a place for us. God—the one who is infinitely powerful, just, and merciful—looks at you like a starry-eyed parent fluffing pillows and washing sheets. You are his beloved (p. 90).

Throughout the book, She gives practical suggestions for moving toward God and others with chapters on belovedness, hospitality, generosity, vulnerability, and of course, my favorite— shalom.

Ashley’s gift for retelling the true story of Scripture will delight and surprise you. She reminds us that the Bible is not merely an ancient tome of tales but the actual history of God’s faithfulness to his people. Her interweaving of Scripture with sociology and theology strengthens her prophetic call. As she weaves this beautiful tapestry, Ashley draws us to repent from our indulgence in too-much-ness and invites us to return to worshipping the God who made us beloved and hospitable, generous and vulnerable.

Perhaps my favorite part of the book, though, is the section at the end of each chapter called “Practices,” what Ashley describes as “counterliturgies: new habits of seeing, being, and doing.” In this section, Ashley offers four-five practical suggestions for living out repentance in the areas she has discussed in that chapter. For example, in Chapter Two, I starred:

Get outside yourself. Begin imagining what practices you could take up that move you toward other people. Schedule thirty minutes to be available to your neighborhood. Notice its needs. Introduce yourself to a neighbor.

The practices she suggests are doable, practical, and effective. One of the practices led me to invite all of my neighbors over for an open house. Since our kids have grown up and moved away, we have few interactions with our neighbors; sadly, I wouldn’t recognize many of them if I saw them in the grocery store. Although I was a little nervous when the day came, around eighteen of my neighbors stopped in and ended up staying awhile. In this day of bitter divisiveness, it was a sweet gift of shalom, of hope for the day when every tribe, tongue, and people group will gather together to worship the Lord.

Although I may disagree that the -ism’s described in the book are unique to the suburban story (I think they look a little different in the city but still exist), and although I felt called outside my comfort zone often as I read (I needed to be), I highly recommend Finding Holy in the Suburbs. Ashley Hales is a modern-day prophet, holding up a mirror to help us see the terrifying image of what our golden calves might do to us if we continue to swallow their dust.  She gently and kindly invites us to run to the God who is running toward us. Together with God and others, she proclaims, we will celebrate redemption and move kindly into the world with a love that truly transforms.

Finding Holy in the Suburbs

Get your copy today!

Photo by Blake Wheeler on Unsplash

When Church Leaders Fail: Four Healthy Responses

by | Oct 16, 2018 | Church, Gospel living, Leadership, Spiritual Growth

When Church Leaders Fail: Four Healthy Responses

Church Leader Fails

Pastor Bars Co-Pastor from Missionary Journey after Heated Argument!

Phillippi Community Church: Beloved Female Leaders Hurl Twitter Barbs. Pastor Steps In!

Can you imagine the headlines that would have been written about just these two stories of church leader failures from the Bible (Acts 15:36-41, Philippians 4:2-3)?! The twitter wars among Christians and the dog and cat fights of local congregations may be fought differently these days, but they are not original with the 21st Century church.

As we come to the end of this (I hope) encouraging and informative series on the church, we need to consider one more crucial topic – how to respond when church leaders fail us.

Church leader failures aren't a new thing: they date all the way back to Adam and Eve. #church #gospel #ministry Share on X

Unhelpful Responses to Church Leader Failure

How do we, as the church, respond when our leaders fail – us and one another? Here are some unhelpful strategies I’ve tried in the past:

  1. The ostrich response: I want to bury my head in the sand. I don’t like conflict among people I love and respect, and I just want everyone to get along.
  1. The mosh pit response: I want to jump in the melee of all the tweets by favoriting witticisms that defend one party or the other.
  2. The in-the-know response: I want to learn all I can about the conflict so I can share my vast knowledge and profound opinion.

4 Helpful Responses to Church Leader Failure

As the Holy Spirit daily sanctifies us and as we are led by wise gospel-breathing souls who scent the social media air with gospel aroma and godly counsel, we move to a sounder approach. Consider these four helpful ways to respond to conflict between church leaders:

1.  Begin with Scripture: Where leaders are differing over theological doctrine, study Scripture yourself to find out what it says.

  • If the public dissension is about law and grace, for example, read what the Bible says about it. Find and review Scripture passages that tell about law and grace, obedience and good works, justification and sanctification.
  • Pray that the Holy Spirit would enlighten your mind as you read.

2.  Pray for all parties concerned. Rather than taking sides or favoriting witty remarks or writing witty remarks, humble yourself and pray.

Here are some things to pray for your church leaders, failed or not:

  • Thank God for these ministers of the gospel.
  • Pray that they will work through their division.
  • Pray for their personal spiritual growth.
  • Pray for protection from temptation. Do you ever stop to think how many temptations must face “big-name” Christian leaders? I realized I don’t — not often enough.

 The ostrich response: one unhelpful way to respond to church leadership failures. #churchleader #church #ministry Share on X

3. Pray for yourself, for humility and repentance. Try praying Philippians 2:1-5.

  • Pray for humility.
  • Repent of idolatry of Christian leaders and writers. Remember that they are redeemed sinners, just as we are. Many of us tend to place unrealistic expectations on such leaders.

4. Love fallen leaders well. Let’s not forget that Satan loves to attack unity, and failure by a church leader is a prime target for the entire congregation and for each individual.

  • If the harm is deep, don’t gossip or grow bitter. Talk to a wise and trusted friend or counselor about the harm. Walk with another through the process of forgiveness.
  • When and if the time is right (the Holy Spirit will be your guide), tell the leader how they have harmed you, don’t accuse them. Invite them to look at their sin and to return to fellowship with you.
  • Seek reconciliation, but know that you may have to wait for it. (Romans 12:17-18).

A Prayer about Fallen Church Leaders

Lord, Jesus Christ,

You are the only leader of the church who has never failed your followers. Forgive us, we pray, for our failures to love well when the church fails us. Help us to run to your outstretched arms, to hear your wise counsel, and to move toward others with your strength, mercy, and love. Amen

Do Kids Need Church Today?

by | Oct 9, 2018 | Church, Parenting, Spiritual Growth

Do Kids Need Church Today?

Church, A Child, & A Story

It was the summer of Y2k. The world was still intact, and my 11-year-old son was in our study, deeply engrossed in the computer. With him sat the current VBS director, a woman who had “understood” his “energy” when he was just a little tyke in her Children’s Church class. Now they were compiling photos for a Powerpoint slideshow for the VBS finale.

“Miss Katherine” is part of the church village that helped raise our child. That story is just one of many that explains why I am passionate about kids being in church. Though we do have some confusing and hard stories related to kids and church, by far, the redemptive ones win out. We are called to…

tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power and his mighty wonders. Ps. 78: 4

As studies reveal that 35% of people aged 20-35 are leaving the church, we need to know why church is so crucial in forming followers of Christ who love the story of God’s grace.

Here are 5 things we need to know about children and church.

1. The purpose of church for children.

Healthy ministry to children and youth seeks to come alongside their parents in growing and equipping followers of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, many parents like me at times have mistaken notions of what church should offer our children. We want…

  • moral development programs
  • free babysitting with animal crackers and lemonade (with gluten-free options, of course)
  • the coolest youth program in town that somehow manages to fully entertain while it also enlightens.

Many parents puzzle at the oft-recited Proverb 22:6,

“Bring up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it.”

That verse is no guarantee, but studies reveal that children who have been taught in the “way” of the GOSPEL, learning that they are saved by GRACE, not by what they do (make all –A’s, share their toys) or what they don’t do (go to raves, hit somebody on the playground), are more likely to continue in it.Gospel-centered church teaches our children they are saved by grace, not by what they do (make all –A’s, share their toys) or what they don’t do (go to raves, hit somebody on the playground). Share on X

2. The community of church for children.

As parents, we are called “to grow our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” And yet, God has so designed the cosmos that we are “stronger as a pack.” What would we do…

  • without the Sunday school teacher who understood that our high-energy child focused best when given greater responsibility?
  • Or without the single young woman who met my teenage daughter for coffee?
  • Or without that aged grandmother whose love for Jesus shone on little second graders every week?

Where else can you get an entire group of people who promises to help you raise your children in the love of Christ? Church is the body designed to support the parent in our overwhelming task.

3. Church, by faithful preaching and teaching of the Word, grows our faith as parents.

As desperately as our children, we parents need the constant reminder of the redemption story God is writing. Even on the worst days,

the days when we worry that our child will never quit biting the other toddlers,
the days when we worry that our senior will never figure out what comes next in life,

church reminds us through preaching, teaching and example that God is sovereign. He is mighty and merciful. And he is restoring all broken things.

%

Number of Millennials Who Identify No Religious Affiliation

4. Church strengthens parents to live authentically before our kids.

It is sadly true that some churches at some times have given the mistaken impression that you should get your act cleaned up before you go to church. Gospel-centered teaching and preaching frees parents to live the calling of the gospel.

Because we are forgiven, we live a lifestyle of repentance with our children. We forgive and ask our children’s forgiveness. God works in our repentance and forgiveness to grow our children in this lifestyle.

As we are being transformed, we long to teach our children the commandments (Deuteronomy 6:4-6) — not to force them to become obedient children, but to help them live the disciple’s life of loving and serving the God who first loved and served us.

Our children learn moment by moment, day by day, what we value…

  • As we read the Bible and pray – alone and with our children.
  • As we feast together over good food and good stories.
  • As we discuss and pray over their hard stories like losing a best friend, not making the team, failing Chemistry tests.
We teach children obedience, not for its own sake, but to help them live the disciple's life of loving and serving the God who first loved and served us. Share on X

5. Church offers the help we need to defeat sabotage.

Parents trying to get their kids to church will face fierce opposition — the Church body and means of grace help us fight — the devil, the flesh, and the world.

  • Satan wants to kill and destroy, and tearing up a family sharing life together in church will take priority.
  • Our flesh tells us we work hard all week and we need to sleep late on Sundays.
  • The world says, “People who go to church are judgmental!”

But there’s good news. Church supplies us with the primary weapons we need to fight that sabotage:

  • the TRUE STORY that God loves us, even if our teenager doesn’t…
  • the prayers of the saints that calm us when our child refuses to walk into Sunday school.
  • the gospel reminder that we are forgiven when we all start yelling at each other on the drive to church.

Church is the place that grows us all in grace, the capacity to love and turn from our sin and live a new story. It is worth every battle we will face to be there with our children.

Why We Need to Pray God’s Story

by | Sep 25, 2018 | Gospel living, Prayer, Spiritual Growth

Why We Need to Pray God’s Story

Beginning to Pray God’s Story

Is this series on spiritual graces encouraging and refreshing you? I hope so. Today I want to offer some hope to energize your prayer life. Here is my story: On a cold January night 40 years ago, I sat on a hard rock, looked up at the starry sky and spoke a simple prayer, God, I need help! That was my feeble attempt to acknowledge my desperate need for a Savior. I had only an inkling of how deep my sin nature ran and how impossible it was to earn my own salvation, but God heard these three little words and moved powerfully through them.

Continuing to Pray God’s Story

For years after I called Christ Savior, I handwrote lengthy prayers in a journal and talked to Jesus all day long. “What’s the answer to number 3 on this Calculus test? Or, if you won’t give me the answer, could you just show me how to do it?” (You might say such a request either reflects my shallow faith or my deep understanding that Jesus is the Redeemer of all things, including Calculus!) My #prayer story: Desperation had become dullness. Passion had become passivity. What's your #story with #prayer? Share on X More years went by.  One day I acknowledged that my prayers had become a rote presentation of a laundry list of prayer requests, mostly about someone’s distant relative. Desperation had become dullness. Passion had become passivity. I knew I was supposed to pray as a Christian, but I was struggling to find the energy and the words. I needed to learn to pray all over again. Then I discovered a very important key to prayer:

4 Ways Understanding God’s Story (The Bible) changes our prayer; prayer changes our understanding of God’s Story.

  1. God’s Story helps us remember there is a bigger story. If life is only about the here and now, our little story, if there’s nothing more beyond what we can touch and see, why would anyone pray? Such nearsightedness is perhaps what leads people to “send positive thoughts” rather than the go-big-or-go-home act of prayer.
  2. God’s Story shows us how to pray:What should we pray about? God’s big story shows us that we should pray many things, including these:
  • Thanking our Creator (Phil. 4:6).
  • Harmony in relationships, with God and with others (Eph. 4:2-3).
  • Confession of sin (1 John 1:9).
  • Grieving that things are not as God created them to be (Psalm 88).
  • Redemption of people and this entire cosmos (Romans 8:23).
  • Christ’s return and the wonderful end of the story which is really just the beginning of real life (Revelation 21:1-5).

3. God’s Story gives us a basis for praying. Pray for restoration of broken things. Not broadly. Right here, right now. Lord, restore my understanding of Calculus because you are a restorer of broken things.

4. God’s Story informs our prayers through specific stories.For example, “Lord, don’t let me be cynical like Sarah was when she believed you wouldn’t provide her the promised child!” (See Genesis 18:12). Or, alternatively, “Lord, let me be like Sarah, laughing hilariously at your surprising ways — bringing improbable babies after the story seemed long over.” (See Genesis 21:6).

Try this exercise to pray God’s story!

Take 5 minutes. Write down a situation in your life or the life of someone you know, perhaps something you’ve been praying for. For each of these questions, you will need to write short simple sentence or phrase answers. Connect it to the Big Story of Scripture. Here are some sample questions you can ask to do this:
  • Where do you see the image of God? Where is there shalom (wholeness, peace, harmony, beauty)?
  • What brokenness exists?
  • Is someone moving toward another god to make life work?
  • What redemption has taken place? What redemption are you praying for?
  • What prayer for future restoration might you pray?

A Prayer about Praying

Lord, God, it is pretty astonishing that you’ve not only allowed us, but welcomed us into your presence, to talk with you personally about the things that matter to you and the things that matter to us. We confess, too many times we are simply too busy running our own lives to stop and talk with you about them. We confess, we are often confused about how or what to pray. Help us, Lord, to enjoy this great privilege you have given us as our heavenly Father. In Jesus’ name and by your Spirit, we pray, Amen!