Have you ever faced an impossible situation?
I’m reminded of a young Israelite man dragged with his people to the great city of Babylon, who gained the favour of his overseers and rose in authority as a wise man of the empire. In Daniel 2 he faces his own impossible situation at the demands of Nebuchadnezzar to not only interpret his dream, but tell him what it was.
A volatile, unpredictable leader to be sure.
Now on the brink of death row at his outrageous ultimatum, the young man responds with a calm wisdom, asking the military man before him what this is all about. When the king gives him more time, Daniel uses those precious moments to gather his friends and to pray.
I think of how often I respond incorrectly to difficult situations with blame, frustration or attempts to fix things on my own. Yes, by the grace of God sometimes with prayer. Then, I read:
“Almost everyone believes that prayer is important. But there is a difference between believing that prayer is important and believing it is essential. “Essential” means there are things that will not happen without prayer." (Dr. Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Daniel)
Prayer. Essential.
I’ll confess, I’m not sure how often I’d associate these two words, and I grieve at this realization. How would my life change if I considered my prayers as vital and necessary for life and for the kingdom?
So, this week, an opportunity presents as our mission held a day of prayer, remembering the beauty and challenges of a life overseas and the renewed vigour to bring praise, petition and people before the Lord.
The task at hand is to remember that it’s not time wasted, it’s time in his presence and to value it as essential.
(a fall bouquet picked for me from my littlest)
This Week on the Blog
What do you do when your bible reading feels stagnant? Here’s one strategy and some insight on digging into the prophetic books of the Bible.
When everything seems like chaos to remember faithfulness in the small things.
This Week in Articles
“No, you can’t be a depressed mom’s deliverer. But by God’s grace, you can be her disciples. While depression care sometimes requires more than Christian discipleship, it never requires less.”
Cara Ray encourages us to stand firm in faith during these perilous times.
“If you squint over a good fairy tale, you can almost see it: what is lurking in our own, and all of history. That sudden transcendent reversal – what Paul called “the weight of glory.” Inseparably linked to the parts of the plot that prostrated us most. Jesus’ sermon on the mount is full of that sort of magic.”
“We are called to not only lay down our lives for our children, but more importantly, to lay down our lives for the sake of the gospel.” Bethany takes us through a little church history to remind us of their example of trusting God even when it’s really hard.
Lara d'Entremont writes about our resistance to vulnerability and the pride that can befall us when we share for our own gain.
I think we’re all reeling form global events occurring now with Israel.
Jen Pollock Michel shares this encouragement to pray and lament.
(just another evening in laundry for a BJJ family)
This Week in Prayer
I want to invite you to take a moment, or two, to pray for an unreached people group this week.
The Antakarana of Madagascar live in the north, most are fishermen. Pray Africa shares more of their history in settling on the island, but they are primarily a mix of animistic and folk I$lmic beliefs. Pray that the Antakarana people will ‘sing to the Lord a new song’ (Is 42:10).
(Keeping board games great! Have you ever played this one?)
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