Category — Conversing with God

Sometimes we never know how people will speak into our lives.  And if we are willing to listen and consider the words, God can drastically change our lives. It happened to me this morning while enjoying a piece of toast with my daughter.

I had her perched on our kitchen island and I asked her the question (not knowing what kind of answer, if any, I was going to receive), “Hattie, what are YOU going to wear to church today?”  She looked up at me with her beautiful, big brown eyes and peanut butter and jelly spread all over her face and emphatically replied, “JESUS!”  I stood there stunned, speechless, silent.  Then it hit me – was I going to “wear Jesus” today?  Conviction rolled over me, because I don’t “wear Him” everyday.  Was I going to wear Jesus today?  Not just at church where it is easy.  What about the rest of the week, where it is not easy? [Read more →]

God delights in answering the prayers of his children!
As our heavenly Father, God loves to talk with his children and respond to our requests. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7-11) [Read more →]

Have you ever considered setting aside a day to spend with the Lord? The following are ideas and suggestions on experiencing a rich and meaningful day with the Lord. Plan well so that you can avoid interruptions and distractions as much as possible. But if unplanned interruptions or distractions (people-induced) occur, respond with grace and treat the occurrence as part of your interaction with God. [Read more →]

“In those days the word of the Lord was rare.” (1 Samuel 3:1)

I find that statement to be one of the saddest and most distressing pronouncements in the Bible. I used to attribute the scarcity of God’s words in those days to his sovereign choice. I thought that for whatever reason God didn’t have much to say at that time. Now I believe I was grossly mistaken. I’ve come to recognize that God’s words are never lacking. God is speaking to us through a variety of means, but for one reason or another many of us are not hearing him.

In the case of Eli the priest, he treated his wayward sons with more respect than he did God (1 Samuel 2:29). Although Eli disapproved of his sons’ immoral motivations and actions, he did nothing to put an end to it. And in so doing, Eli scorned God’s sacrifices and offerings, dishonored him and despised him. By his actions, Eli refused to listen to God, so God spoke to him through an unnamed man of God (1 Samuel 2:27) and through the little boy, Samuel. [Read more →]

Sadly, many of us go through life aware of only occasional events in which we know that God was working in our lives.

Recently our son and his wife have been going through financially tough times. On one occasion they had a bill due for $37.00, but could only scrape $36.00 together. They prayed asking God to meet their need. Later that day when they checked the mail it appeared to be all junk mail. But just as they were ready to toss it, they opened a form letter. Inside was a survey accompanied by a crisp dollar bill. They were amazed how God had met their need in such an unusual way and thanked him for it!

But notice that if they hadn’t been looking for God to supply their needs, that dollar bill would have been a non-event and no one would’ve given God the credit for providing it. What are you trusting God for today? What are you asking him to do in your life? Where is he already at work, but you’ve failed to recognize it? What is God doing in your life?

“Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works on our behalf!” Psalm 66:5

© 2009 Rob Fischer

Praying with other followers of Christ can be one of the most exhilarating and meaningful experiences in our relationship with the Lord and others! There is something holy and powerful afoot when God’s children approach him with one voice seeking his glory! On the other hand, praying with others may sometimes frustrate and demoralize us like little else can, leaving us feeling less than powerful and certainly less than holy.

I’ve already shared with you my pilgrimage through prayer and how I grappled early on to understand what prayer is and how to converse with God. My struggle with corporate prayer—praying with others—was even more intense. [Read more →]

God uses trials to produce Christlike character in us. There are other great passages like Romans 5:3-5 and James 1:2-4 that also demonstrate this. But suffering does not guarantee holiness. If we respond to suffering and hardship in defiance and anger, pushing God away and rejecting his love and compassion, we thereby choose not to allow God to work in our lives. We thus reject his discipline. So how do we respond rightly to suffering?

We need to recognize the relational nature of suffering. Suffering always affects our relationships—with God, with others and even with ourselves. That’s why we so often jump to the conclusion that God doesn’t love us or that he’s angry at us when we suffer. Since suffering is a deeply relational issue, we must turn to God in a deeply relational way. [Read more →]

Hardship and suffering also provide us with the opportunity to experience transcendent joy—a joy not linked to our circumstances, but linked to our deep satisfying relationship with Jesus. Paul refers to this in 1 Thessalonians 1:6 NLT, “So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you.”

Just a few weeks ago, a good friend of mine was hospitalized. Five years ago he had battled colon cancer and now the doctors were convinced he was suffering the side effects of liver cancer. They gave him a couple months to two years life expectancy. The next morning he was to be operated on to biopsy the tumors on his liver and have a port installed for chemotherapy treatments. [Read more →]

In the final stanza of this prayer we thank God for what he’s done for us out of his goodness and greatness:

God is good.
God is great.
Thank you for our food. Amen.

God is good; God is great and he is worthy of our praise and thanksgiving! Thanking God for our meals (and everything else he has given us) is not merely an act of politeness on our part—though thanking him is polite. By thanking God we acknowledge that he is our Provider. We declare that our hope is in “God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” (1 Timothy 6:17) [Read more →]

Like simplicity, the purpose of fasting is to eliminate distractions and help us focus more intently on the Lord. In one respect fasting is simplicity in a concentrated dose. We deny ourselves food, drink, or a particular activity for a specified time in order to center on the Lord.

The Bible provides no specific instructions on how long a fast may be. One may fast from food for a meal, a day, a few days or longer. Sometimes a fast is limited to depriving one self from “choice foods, meat, and wine” as in Daniel’s case in Daniel 10:2. Daniel also indicates that he refrained from using “lotions” during his three-week fast. His purpose in fasting was mourning, humbling himself before God and prayer (Daniel 10:2 & 12). [Read more →]