prayer
Imagine Jesus being too busy to Pray
Very early the next morning, long before daylight, Jesus got up and left the house. He went out of town to a lonely place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35 TEV Can you imagine Jesus being too busy to pray in the morning, gulping down a cup of coffee and thinking, “I’ve got so much to do today. When is there time to talk to the Father?” If we are learning to be like Christ, then we have to learn that our intimacy with the Father always takes priority. God says it is foolish to succumb to the tyranny of the urgent in the morning:“It is useless to work so hard for a living, getting up early and going to bed late. For the LORD provides for those he loves, while they are asleep”. (Psalm 127:2 TEV) Spending time with God in the morning should be a normal part of life. Dietrich Bonhoeffer notes: “With ...
Feeling the Warmth of His Unconditional Love
Sometimes I hear you whispering in my heart, “I take great delight in you.”It’s hard for me to receive this blessing, but I know it’s based on theunconditional Love You have for all your children. Jesus Listens, May 2 We live and feel deepest from the gut, not from the head. The love I have for my child, the way I felt during the first dance at my wedding, the doubled-over weight I’ve held staring into the casket of a lost loved one, and the laughter that comes from watching my niece open a gift on Christmas morning—none of that emerges from an intellectual equation I’ve solved. It comes from somewhere deeper, somewhere more instinctive, an emotional place. That’s how author of Hebrews describes Jesus’ response to sin and the havoc it wreaks on our lives—a gut-level, emotional response of ...
Four Spiritual Tools to Build Your Brain Power
You formed me with an amazing brain that can communicate with You, think rationally, create things, make decisions, and much more.” –Jesus Listens, February 12 Your brain is a powerful place. It’s the command center of all that you think, feel, and do. That means all of the functions of your emotions, desires, perceptions, ideas, and memories take place inside your brain, which contains about 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion interconnections. Did you know the way you think constructs neural pathways in your brain? You can compare this pathway creation process to the way a semitruck makes deep tread marks in packed snow. These deeply-embedded thoughts produce your feelings, both good and bad. If you spend a lot of time worrying or feeling angry or fearful, then your brain builds neural ...
When People Hurt You, Do This
“Come to Me when you are hurting, and I will soothe your pain.”– Jesus Calling, October 26 When someone says something hurtful, intentional or not, you can feel it instantly in your body. There’s a reason they call it a gut punch. You’re hurt and confused. Then, little by little, anger starts to set in. And even though you know you shouldn’t do it, you start to plot. Reactions Lead to Actions Who should I talk to? Maybe a friend could pray with me. I can confide in my them and be perfectly frank about how this other person stomped on my heart with their actions and words. That’s okay, right? If I ask them to keep it confidential, that’s acceptable, right? Honestly? It’s a slippery slope. Ask Yourself Before you confide your hurt to someone else, you might want to think abo...
To Love Your Enemies, Know You are Loved (Ephesians 3:18-21)
Have you ever tried to actually love your enemies? It’s next to impossible, isn’t it? In Ephesians 3:18-21, Paul provides two ways that we can learn to love our enemies. These seem impossible as well, until we understand what Paul is actually saying about how to love our enemies. But before we look at Ephesians 3:19-21, I want to answer a question from a reader about Matthew 10:28 where Jesus says, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Question from a Reader One of the members of my online discipleship group is taking my online course about hell, and had a question regarding Matthew 10:28. Here is what he wrote: Jeremy, I loved this course and it helped me out immensely, but I’m trying to figur...
What Are You Praying For?
Whether your prayers are ones of gratitude or prayers for help and healing, Jesus is eagerly listening. He wants us to turn to Him in all aspects of our lives; during times of celebration and times of struggle. We asked several guests of The Jesus Calling Podcast to share their personal prayers with us. Watch the videos below to see the importance of prayer to a variety of guests. And then head over to our social handles and tell us, what are you praying for today? Superstar singer and entertainer Patti LaBelle shares her daily prayer of thanks. [embedded content] Pastor Louie Giglio discusses his prayers for guidance, discernment, and courage. [embedded content] Watch author and businesswoman Sarah Jakes Roberts talk about her greatest prayer right now. [embedded content] Join Our Telegra...
What Paul prayed for … and what I pray for you (Ephesians 1:15-19)
Ephesians 1:15-19 contains a list of things that Paul prays for. Seeing this helps us know what we can pray for as well. In fact, I do pray for these exact things, not only for myself, but also for everyone who reads my writings or listens to my teachings. So join me in this study of Ephesians 1:15-19 to discover what I pray for you! Before we get to that, however, we answer a question from a reader about what is going on in life and whether or not he will ever bear fruit again for the kingdom. Question about Bearing Fruit Hi Jeremy, been a believer for 12 years now. I’m 40 years old. For the first 4 years I walked with the Lord, God gave me a ministry and people were just drawn to me and were getting saved. Then I fell into grievous sin, drunkenness, and fornication (not to do with my min...
The theme of glory in the Lord’s Prayer of John 17
In John 17, Jesus prays for Himself, for His disciples, and for all who would believe in Him. One constant theme throughout His prayer is glory. What is this glory, why is Jesus praying for glory, and how do we receive this glory? This study is an excerpt from my Gospel Dictionary online course. This course considers 52 key words of the Gospel and thousands of biblical texts. The course contains over 100 hours Bible teaching. You can take the course by joining my online discipleship group. What is the Glorification in John 17:1-5, 10, 22-24 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You ha...
Speaking with God in Spiritual Warfare (Ephesians 6:18-20)
Although we have already learned about the six pieces of spiritual armor which Paul mentions in Ephesians 6, there is still one vitally important element left. It is not exactly a piece of the armor, but it is nevertheless, still essential for victory on the field of battle. It is the ability we have to call in “air support” from heaven. It is prayer. Prayer is the messaging system between God and ourselves. In Ephesians 6:18-20, Paul writes about prayer. He writes about the importance of communicating with God and allowing God to communicate with us. As we look at this final element of the spiritual warfare, we will consider it as we have the six pieces of armor. We will look at how messaging worked for the Roman military, how it works for us as soldiers of Jesus Christ, and then finally,...
