Author: I'mAllBooked

A Praying Life: Practical Suggestions for a Vibrant Prayer Life

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A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul E. Miller

“Prayer does not fit us for the greater works; prayer is the greater work.” – Charles H. Spurgeon

I think it is the rare Christian who can say they honestly believe they pray enough. As my pastor often likes to put it, “God is more ready for us to come to Him than we are to go to Him.” Let’s admit it: Prayer is difficult, at least for most of us. Many Christians don’t have an ongoing, consistent habit, routine, or systematic approach to prayer. They may not know how to integrate prayer into their daily life in a natural way. We fall into formulaic praying that lacks sincerity, wondering if we are really connecting with God, and feel guilty when we find ourselves repeatedly distracted and falling short of some externally imposed standard. We find ourselves thinking more about what to say and maybe how to say it than we do about Who we are talking to. At least, this has been my experience.

As a result of his personal journey towards learning how to pray, Paul Miller’s notes were first turned into a sermon series, then developed into a seminar on prayer, which then evolved into his A Praying Life ministry. His wife and some colleagues then encouraged him to write his book, A Praying Life. In the book, Miller begins with a look at why praying is so hard. Here are some observations he makes:

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Can God Be Trusted?

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Trusting God, Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges

“No detail of your life is too insignificant for your heavenly Father’s attention; no circumstance is so big that He cannot control it.”

“An unreserved trust of God , when we don’t understand what is happening or why, is the only road to peace and comfort and joy.”

I’ve read and reviewed several books by Jerry Bridges, and like his others, Trusting God is theologically sound and grounded in scripture, and in typical Bridges’ style also very practical. Author, teacher, and speaker Jerry Bridges served in ministry with the evangelistic organization The Navigators for over 50 years before he passed away in 2016. He authored about 20 books, the first and one of his best-known being The Pursuit of Holiness.

Since the Fall, man has had to live with discomfort and pain, loss and sorrow, crime and injustice, and just plain “bad stuff.” Who hasn’t found themselves at some point in their life asking the question, “Why?” to God? Have you ever heard an individual say something like, “God didn’t want this to happen,” when tragedy strikes a family or a community? Is this supposed to be comforting somehow? Or is the person maybe trying to vindicate God, let Him off the hook, so to speak?

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Frankenstein: A Contrast in Creators

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Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (1818) by Mary Shelley

“I saw—with shut eyes, but acute mental vision— the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion. Frightful must it be, for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavor to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world.“

There are a number of themes and ideas that are conveyed in Mary Shelley‘s famous story, Frankenstein. One is the dangers of having an overly ambitious thirst for knowledge and power to the neglect of human relationships. Another is the injustice of judging others based on their outward appearance rather than their heart. But one of the ideas that kept coming to my mind as I read Frankenstein this second time around was how Victor Frankenstein’s dealings and relationship with his creature contrasts with God and how He deals with man as His creature.

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The First Thanksgiving: The Back Story

The First Thanksgiving
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Of Plimoth Plantation by William Bradford

“In this precious volume…is told the noble, simple story ‘of Plimoth Plantation.’ In the midst of suffering and privation and anxiety the pious hand of William Bradford here set down in ample detail the history of the enterprise from its inception to the year 1647. From him we may learn ‘that all great and honourable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and must be both enterprised and overcome with answerable courages.'” (Roger Wolcott, Governor of Mass., 1897)

The First Thanksgiving
“The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth”
by Brownscombe

What American isn’t familiar with the story of the Pilgrims? Well, I think MANY Americans don’t know the whole story, and some people nowadays talk as if it’s nothing but a legend or exaggeration of what really happened. Of Plymouth Plantation is an account that should be required reading in every American high school, as well as one that every American Christian should be familiar with.

There are only two primary sources which give firsthand accounts of the landing of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving: Bradford’s History (written in 1647) and Mourt’s Relation, attributed to Edward Winslow (published in 1622). Mourt’s Relation (named after the publisher) describes only the events of the first year, from the landing at Cape Cod in November 1620 until the following November. It’s interesting to look at this comparison of the two accounts we have of the first Thanksgiving at Plymouth.

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The God Even of Ravensbruck: The Hiding Place

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The Hiding Place (1971) by Corrie ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill

“I know that the experiences of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will give us to do.” (Corrie ten Boom)

“If people can be taught to hate, they can be taught to love. We must find the way, you and I, no matter how long it takes…” (Betsie ten Boom)

At my recommendation, the ladies book club at my church recently read and discussed The Hiding Place.  While about half of us had read it before, for most of us it had been a long time (20 years for me), and I was glad to create an opportunity for the others (mostly the younger women) to read it for the first time. One of the gals commented, “At first I wondered why we chose to do a book that so many women had already read. But now that I’m into it, I totally get it!” This is one of those classic works that I believe every Christian – strike that – every person should read.

The story of the ten Boom family was compiled by husband and wife writers, John and Elizabeth Sherrill. The Sherrills had previously written about founder of World Challenge David Wilkerson’s ministry with the gangs of New York City in The Cross and the Switchblade (1963) and God’s Smuggler (1967), the story of the Dutch missionary Brother Andrew van der Bijl, who took the Gospel behind the Iron Curtain. The writing of The Hiding Place came about as a result of the Sherrills meeting Corrie ten Boom in 1968. In the Preface of The Hiding Place, the Sherrill’s describe their introduction to Corrie:

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The Leaf of Lorien in The Lord of the Rings

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The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien

“Not idly do the leaves of Lórien fall.“

“One who cannot cast away a treasure at need is in fetters.”

This past weekend I did something I never thought I would do: I got a tattoo (my first and most-likely last!). My daughter has quite a few, and we had talked for a couple of years about getting one together as a mother-daughter thing, but we couldn’t decide on a picture or graphic to use that we both liked. To be honest, we don’t have a lot in common when it comes to interests, music, hobbies, etc., but The Lord of the Rings is something that she and I, in fact our whole family, are big fans of: both the books and the movies. And that ended up being the inspiration for our twin tattoos.

The Lord of the Rings story, while a fantasy set in an alternate world and reality, contains so many themes and Biblical principles about life and what is true. We witness how power can corrupt one’s values and perspective. We see the threat of evil and those who are willing to risk everything to defeat it. We observe the loyalty and dependability of friends who have sworn to stick by each other no matter what, and fight side by side towards a common goal. We watch as characters from different cultures and backgrounds set aside their differences and learn to value one another as individuals and appreciate their uniqueness and worth. We read of normal, inconsequential people achieving greatness simply by being courageous, faithful, and determined to do what is right.

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