A gracEmail subscriber writes, "I have just completed The Sound of His Voice and enjoyed it very much. I especially found meaningful your sharing of Psalm 115:3 regarding God doing as he pleases. In light of that, would you please comment on the purpose of prayer. If God is in control, as I believe he is, should we make specific requests of him? Is it arrogant of us to suggest to the Creator what he should do? I have struggled with this for a very long time and would greatly appreciate your comments." * * * Indeed, "Our God is in the heavens and he does whatever he pleases" (Psalm 115:3). If … [Read more...]
DARE TO PRAY
A gracEmail subscriber writes, "Would you please comment on the purpose of prayer. If God is in control, as I believe he is, should we make specific requests of him? Is it arrogant of us to suggest to the Creator what he should do? I have struggled with this for a very long time." * * * Indeed, "Our God is in the heavens and he does whatever he pleases" (Psalm 115:3). If God were a self-serving despot, that announcement should instill terror and send us scurrying for cover. However, as the same Psalm notes, "the LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us" (v. 12). Those who reverence God … [Read more...]
TO THE FATHER OF A PALSIED CHILD
A brother whose small child has cerebral palsy writes in tears. He believes that God is able to heal but he hesitates to expect that God will heal his little son, lest such confidence, if unfulfilled, might diminish his faith. * * * I can promise you, dear brother, that God will perfectly heal your son one day, when we see Jesus face to face. That will not be a dislocated event unrelated to anything else, but rather the fulfillment of God's creation purpose, a purpose thwarted temporarily by human sin since Adam, but a purpose set back on track by the victorious life, death and resurrection … [Read more...]
FEELINGS TOWARD MOLESTER
A gracEmail subscriber recently learned that her husband has sexually molested their daughters for several years. He is now in the hands of criminal authorities. She has mixed feelings toward him -- of anger, betrayal and disgust but also of pity and even of love. She asks my help in "sorting this out." * * * I am sorry for the harm and pain that has visited you and your family. As for your husband, you will require time to process all the natural and legitimate feelings that you have regarding him. Don't feel any panic to rush or hurry that process. It will take time, maybe years. You can … [Read more...]
WHEN GOD DOES NOT HEAL
A gracEmail subscriber knows a Christian lady who remains seriously ill although she prays continually for healing and has sought anointing with oil and prayer by a believing elder in the church. Does this lady's ongoing sickness mean that she lacks faith to be healed? * * * I believe that it is very harmful to blame someone's illness on a lack of faith. Such accusations misrepresent God, pervert faith and discredit prayer. Our faith is in God, not in any formula or theory or teaching. Faith involves a personal relationship between an individual and God who knows us intimately and who will … [Read more...]
TEMPORARY HEALING
"Bless the LORD," invites the Psalmist, "who heals all your diseases" (Psalm 103:1-3). How grateful I am for God's healing at times in my own life -- notably after several years of troublesome respiratory disease that included asthma, sinus polyps and constant coughing. I give thanks every day for the divine mercy given, in that case, through a skilled surgeon who himself acknowledges God's hand in the result. I ask God daily to heal, to remit or even to retard what my neurologist has diagnosed as Parkinson's disease, primarily so I can teach, preach and write as many years as possible. I also … [Read more...]
FAITH OR FORMULAS
A gracEmail subscriber writes that his father suffers from cancer. Their local church is praying for healing, but "an outside source" has presented a list of Scriptures, to be read repeatedly each day, substituting the sick father's name in place of the person named in the Scriptures. The son asks whether this prescription is valid. * * * First, I am sorry that your father is ill, and I commend you for taking the matter to God our Healer and for trusting his sovereign love. As for the outside advice, I would need to know which Scriptures the advisor is prescribing. It certainly is … [Read more...]
GOD AND HUMAN SUFFERING (2)
At some point in life, we all encounter and experience suffering -- physical pain, emotional loss, the death of someone we love. During such times we inevitably ask, "Where is God? Does he cause this? Does he allow it? Why does he do either, if he loves me and could prevent this?" My friend and gracEmail subscriber John Mark Hicks has passed through these fires more than once, and has shared his story and some comforting truths about the subject in a profound book titled Yet Will I Trust Him: Understanding God in a Suffering World (Joplin, Mo.: College Press Publishing Co., paper, 338 pp. … [Read more...]
GOD AND HUMAN SUFFERING (1)
At some point in life, we all encounter and experience suffering -- physical pain, emotional loss, the death of someone we love. During such times we inevitably ask, "Where is God? Does he cause this? Does he allow it? Why does he do either, if he loves me and could prevent this?" My friend and gracEmail subscriber John Mark Hicks has passed through these fires more than once, and has shared his story and some comforting truths about the subject in a profound book titled Yet Will I Trust Him: Understanding God in a Suffering World (Joplin, Mo.: College Press Publishing Co., paper, 338 pp. … [Read more...]
WHY NOT ME?
We just received word that our dear friend Vicki Curtis has been diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer. Vicki's husband Joe and I have been best buddies since we were in fourth grade nearly 50 years ago. I performed Joe and Vicki's wedding and we were near neighbors for 10 years when our children were born and into elementary school. Joe is a pastor of Seven Mile Post Road Church in Limestone County, Ala., my place of origin, where he and Vicki are known and loved for their Christian witness, godly enthusiasm and good works. Vicki and I visited by phone this weekend and discussed life, … [Read more...]