The Plumbline

12  Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and prayerful always.  13  When God’s children are in need, you be the one to help them out. (Romans 12:12-13 TLB) Some of our plans don't always work out as we had hoped they would, do they? The best laid plans, so to speak, are pretty unreliable at times. I can remember when my kids were little and they'd get sick right around the major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. One or both would have an earache, runny nose, croupy cough, or some sort of thing hit them full-on. My plans were for a "normal" holiday, without the additional expense or worry of a sick child. Their plans were probably just to have fun. The reality was that some bug would catch up with them and they'd be sick! Plans don't always work out, but when we do our best to listen to God about what he plans for us, we have a much better chance of seeing the "right stuff" come out of those plans. God makes pla...

If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open. ( James 1:5   MSG ) We have been looking a little at what it means to pray - the posture we should take is one of boldness, not timidity. The purpose of prayer is relationship - to strengthen our heart's connection with the one who already loves us so very much. The pathway to prayer is submission - in laying ourselves down, even for just a little while, we "make room" to take in a little of the presence of God and to bask it in a little while, listening and absorbing. The productivity of prayer is found in what we leave and what we receive - it is in "bringing" and "leaving" that we...