2 Chronicles 20:6 Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. Scripture Insights The rhetorical question at the beginning of this verse is a reminder that […]

John 17:15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. Scripture Insights At times the world seems to have gone mad. Most of us would rather be transported out of it. “Beam us up, Jesus,” would be our prayer. The disciples probably […]

John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. Scripture Insights Directly from the heart of Jesus, he has called each one of us to bear […]

John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Scripture Insights Have you ever forgotten where you left something? We all have misplaced an item. Our human nature is to forget. Backtracking […]

Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Scripture Insights As a children’s pastor, a favorite song was “Pray,” by Mary Rice Hopkins and Gary Hopkins. “Pray” tells how Daniel, Jonah, Abraham, Sarah, and Jesus faced every challenge with prayer. The chorus […]

Luke 10:2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Scripture Insights Farmers understand this metaphor all too well. I once made my living as a potato farmer in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. We […]

Luke 6:12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. Scripture Insights Jesus is a great example on whom to model our life of prayer. Practical applications come to the one who spends time delving into the different practices of his prayer life. This […]

Genesis 1:3 And God said . . . Scripture Insights Our first encounter with God in Scripture is in the creation account of Genesis 1. Notice that all God’s actions in these verses originate from his voice. Nine times in twenty-nine verses we find the words “God said . . .” At the spoken word […]

Mark 11:25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. Scripture Insights Jesus links our privilege of being forgiven by God to our responsibility to forgive those who offend us. In Luke 11:4, the correlation is just stated “forgive […]

Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Scripture Insights “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matt. 4:1). Before beginning his public ministry, Jesus established the spiritual discipline of prayer and […]