Spiritual Growth

Another great question from our global online tribe dropped into my email last night. A young woman asked me this: Mark, how can I PRAY IN FAITH when I am unsure if God is listening or ignoring my request?    The first part of my response to her was that “faith in prayer” has nothing

This just in from our global online tribe: I love your ministry’s idea of loving God and fearing nothing. But it seems so big that I don’t know where to start. Where should I start?    This follower has it right—loving God and fearing nothing is a “BIG” mountain to climb. And since it’s also

Early in my faith walk I took responsibility for every battle MYSELF with a perfunctory and shallow PRAYER to God for “insurance.” I know, ridiculous. But it was the beginning of my new approach to prayer that focuses on Christ and what he promises.    Sorting through the personal, self-inflicted carnage that came from those

My prayer life is constantly expanding and evolving. Early in my faith walk I was praying from my heart and CRYING OUT TO GOD in pain and praise. Crying out to God for strength to conquer my oppressive fear. Crying out to God for clarity and purpose in my life. And that is exactly what God wants

My connection with Jesus skyrocketed when I began focusing my prayers on one verse in the Bible for a specified period—usually a week, often a few days, sometimes just 24 hours. It is a POWERFUL TOOL that generates this two-stroke benefit: 1) Jumpstarts and revitalizes your PRAYER LIFE; and 2) Produces spiritual growth and maturity.

“I’ll be Praying for You.”     I’ve said those words. You’ve no doubt spoken that line. And most Christians have probably uttered the phrase at least a few times.    And that’s good! Prayer is a sacred responsibility for every Christian. We should always be on the look-out for people to pray for and things

I had coffee at Starbucks recently with one of my dearest friends and his lovely wife to discuss life and the fact that we had all been taken advantage of recently by people we had trusted. It was very painful and a “spiritual challenge” to keep our anger from boiling over.    We prayed to

Yes! The Creator of the Universe, the one who cradles our life in his strong and loving hands, is begging us to ask him for help and guidance. Forgiveness and grace. Hope and peace.    Why? Because he cares deeply about us and wants us to trust him for everything and then glorify his deity.

This just in from our global online tribe: Recently when a crisis hit my small group of Christian friends, I made this comment: “ALL WE CAN DO NOW IS PRAY.” The reaction from all of them was that I was minimizing prayer. Why did they say that?    Let me start with the ending and

I am challenging myself this month to pray more. To pray with more DEPENDENCY on God. To pray EXPECTANTLY for his answers. To pray MORE to grow my faith and transform my character in Christ. Will YOU join me in this emphasis on PRAYER and those goals?    What’s at stake? Whether or not we