Above painting: Job, 1880, by Leon Bonnat (1833-1922) Job was a good man, and as the story told in the Old Testament book of Job begins, it would seem that his goodness was well rewarded. He was not only a good man, but he was a wealthy man; ‘the greatest man in the […]
1014) The Test (1/3) Read More »
By author Philip Yancey, posted on his blog site on October 18, 2015. (…continued) I sense a partial clue into the mystery of unanswered prayer in what I call boomerang prayers. Often when we pray, we want God to intervene in spectacular fashion: to heal miraculously, to change evil hearts, to quash injustice.
944) The Unanswered Prayers of Jesus (b) Read More »
Above image: Christ in Gethsemane, Vasily Perov, 1878 ——————————— By author Philip Yancey, posted on his blog site on October 18, 2015. Because I wrote a book with the title Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? I receive letters and emails from readers who give wrenching accounts of unanswered prayers. A man quit
943) The Unanswered Prayers of Jesus (a) Read More »
On October 10, 2004 two sheriff’s vehicles drove up to the home of Nathan and Connie Backstrom in rural Hampton, Minnesota. The deputies were there to inform the Backstroms that three of their sons, Matthew (20), Jacob (17), and Justin (16), were in a car accident that evening. Two were killed instantly, the other would
852) Persistence (c) Read More »
(…continued) Imagine two teen-age boys. One does not get along with his parents. They are growing farther apart and he is becoming more rebellious. He says, “I tried talking to the old man a couple times, and it didn’t work, so what’s the use?” A couple times? That’s all? The other boy says,
851) Persistence (b) Read More »
Image above: The Unjust Judge by Swiss artist Eugene Brunand (1850-1921) —————————– Luke 18:1-8 — Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was
850) Persistence (a) Read More »
A while back someone asked me if I really believed God could heal people in answer to prayer. I said there is a short answer and a long answer to that question. The short answer is yes, of course I believe God can heal someone in answer to prayer. If we
667) Does God Answer Prayers for Healing? Read More »
Recently I ran across an old videotaped recording that contains a fascinating conversation between two men, Tim and Greg. Thirty years ago, when the conversation was recorded, both men were in their middle 30’s, and both were teachers at the same college. At about the same time, they were both diagnosed with an
591) Healed, Not Healed Read More »
One time when I was a little kid some friends were coming over, and I wanted to play with a new toy I just received. My mother knew that whenever I got together with those rowdies we’d get wild and things always got broke, so she advised against it. I kept begging
512) Do You Know What You Want? Read More »
Where I live in Minnesota we are again finding out what it is like to go without rain for a while. There is not much one can do. We can pray, of course, but we know what happens then. We know that sometimes it rains and sometimes it doesn’t rain. Anyone who knows
493) Prayer and Faith Read More »
