Prayer

Feeling anxious about the future? Learn how to pray when life feels uncertain with three simple steps—pray deep, pray close, and pray wide—and discover how prayer anchors you in God’s presence.

I am delighted to welcome Wendy Murray to my blog. Wendy is sharing on prayer being an act of obedience with a beautiful analogy to gardening. Her new book, “Inner Healing the Franciscan Way, a Holy Re-Ordering of the Soul” publishes on September 9, 2025. You can find more information about Wendy and her book Read more…

This week, my friend Jennifer Drummond invites you to see the seasons as an invitation to talk to God. Scroll down to find out about Jennifer’s beautiful book of Poems and Prayers for the Seasons. I love the seasons in their variety. Where I live in the Northeast of the USA, we have gorgeous autumns, Read more…

I’m delighted to share with you from my friend and fellow author, Janet McHenry. Read what she has to say on “Finding Your Natural Praying Style.” For me, I think I’m a combination of Cerebral, Emotive, and Devotional! You can also find out more about Janet and her book, Praying Personalities, at the end of Read more…

I’m sure, like me, you have prayed for God to do something first. Then you will do what is needed or intended. You may have asked him to give you a sign that he is with you. Or you might have asked him to confirm in some way the particular thing he wants you to do. We want Read more…

I’m sure you’ve been in a situation at some point in your life when you’ve been told to do one thing, and then the next minute you’ve been told to do the complete opposite. In that moment, we can be frustrated as to our next step. We can end up not knowing who or what Read more…

When we pray and approach our problems, by all means, let’s cry out to God. But then, let’s also ask for God to show his glory to us and to others. Let’s be expectant of what he can do. We should avoid lashing out based on what we perceive others can or cannot do.

All of us need guidance to navigate the challenges we face, almost daily. God’s guidance can help us make the best decisions and know we’re headed in the right direction.

There is nothing worse than setbacks. You’ve done your part. You think you’ve done a good job. You’ve prayed about it. You believe it’s what God wanted. Things seem to be going in the right direction. Then all of a sudden, things are worse or they blow up. 

Think you have to do it alone? God may already be sending the help you need. Here’s how to recognize it.

It’s important to bring our questions to God because it gives God the opportunity to answer them.

Sometimes we come to God with the question “why?” And behind that one word is often pain and suffering, the hurt we are feeling. We want to know why God has allowed something hard to happen in our lives.

What comfort, strength, and knowledge can we find from Psalm 90, as verse 12 says, to live wisely? Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12).

What do God’s words, “I will be with you,” really mean and what can we learn from them for difficult times ahead? God’s words are not meant to be just a vague, comforting phrase. They are a solid promise from God himself of his presence, power, and protection.

Have you ever faced an opportunity, challenge or calling and questioned, “I’m not sure I’m up for this?” Maybe your past whispers reminders of your failures. Maybe the present screams that you are unqualified, ill-equipped or just don’t have the capacity.  I remember a moment like that myself when I realized God wanted me to Read more…

Being a mom often involves a delicate balance between holding on and letting go. Yet, Jochebed teaches us a lot when we want to hold on rather than let go. From her, we can learn what we should do when we, and the ones we love, face an unknown, uncertain, and what looks like a frightening future.

God’s love is not passive. He sees, He listens, He feels—and He acts. So if you’re at your limit and you can only say, “God, help me,” that’s enough. Say it once. Say it again. Say it every day if you need to. He hears. He sees. He cares. And He will respond.

I learned that in ancient cultures, repeating a person’s name was a term of endearment. God showed his affection and love towards Moses by repeating his name. And Moses would have understood he was being addressed by someone who loved him. We mustn’t forget that God speaks to us in the same way. When he calls us by name, it is because of his great love for us.

If we are ever in any doubt of our relationship with God, any concern over whether he accepts us, thinks well of us, or fully embraces us, then we can be confident that because of his Son, he never forsakes us.

God’s forgiveness is not like our efforts to forgive. There is an important difference. God’s forgiveness is always on offer to you and me.

Sometimes God’s plans for us can seem confusing. They are not what we expect. We can question whether they are right. They can seem frightening. We can have a variety of reactions to what God wants or is telling us to do.

We can use worship as an opportunity to come to God and ask him to refresh us, to start afresh, to ask for forgiveness, to be refilled with God’s Spirit, to prepare ourselves for what is ahead.
God desires our worship. God deserves our worship. God delights in our worship.

As we battle through our fears of worst-case scenarios that look to be true and what God and his Word tell us to be true, we will come out stronger in our relationship with God and in our outlook on life and our situations.

When people share stories from their lives, we remember them. When we see ourselves in those stories, we relate to what is being shared; the stories take on greater meaning. The story of Jacob’s life in Genesis is memorable! And it has meaning for us, too.

What will you recall about God’s goodness on the next step of your journey? You have wonderful promises of God that you can hold onto as you walk through life. What landmarks in your life reassure you that God is with you?

When God speaks to us, we too can be amazed or astonished. Perhaps, though, we should not be surprised that God does speak to us, but expect God to speak to us. We should know that God is “in this place,” wherever that might be. Let’s be expectant of hearing God as we read the Bible, as we listen to a sermon, and even in the ordinary things we do each day, perhaps even hearing God in a dream.

When we want answers from God, and we don’t get an answer, or the answer we like, then we can also go down a path of our own doing. We can also get stuck into doubting God’s goodness, that he cares for us. We may think he’s forgotten us, or doesn’t love us. We can then live feeling disappointed, hurt, or even angry. But if we seek to know God first, everything else falls into place.

When we can’t see God’s provision, or feel his presence in that moment, and although our faith might be shaken, tell God that you are still believing in him, holding onto him, and placing your confidence in his promises.

What better way to start each day with one of readiness to listen when God calls your name, to follow God’s instruction, to believe in his promises, and to trust him fully with what is ahead?

But, what I think is surprising, is that God responds to our thoughts. We don’t expect that. We expect and want God to listen and respond to our silent prayers, which we make in our minds. But we don’t expect that he is listening or responds to our thoughts when they are not directed specifically to him. 

Maybe your life and the future seem bleak at the moment, like a desert. Perhaps you wonder if God even cares what you’re going through. Maybe you are holding onto anything that you hope will see you through. God is reaching out for you too, with a message that he hears your cries and has a future for you.

Like Abram, you can say to God, “you have given me no ______________” Fill in the blank with the one thing that seems impossible in your life, where you are waiting for God to show up. 

Moving to another country is not easy. I can attest to that. Even when God says “go” it’s not always easy. With an airport cart piled high with suitcases and boxes and a six-week old baby, my husband and I boarded a plane from Heathrow airport with one-way tickets to Boston, Massachusetts. We left behind everyone Read more…

The covenant also shows us God is gracious, and the rainbow is a sign of his graciousness. Every time we see a rainbow we are witnesses to God’s kindness, mercy, and grace. We are witnesses to God’s love touching earth.

One of the best ways to deal with our anger is to bring it to God. He knows exactly what we’re thinking and feeling, so why not be honest with him about the person who’s making your blood boil, who you feel like “murdering,” or at least walking out on or giving a piece of your mind.

When you sense God asking you the question “What is this you have done?” Remember that you do not have to hide, you can come clean because your heavenly Father will forgive and forget.

But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9).
Even though this is a hard question, you and I have the chance to understand it in hindsight, and discover a wonderful opportunity for us, if God were to ask us the same question.

That command “you are free…” gives us the freedom to worship God freely through respecting his boundaries. 

Let’s worship God and be devoted to him. Let’s trust that we are exactly where we should be with the freedoms we have, and the restrictions we have. Let’s trust that what we have is perfectly enough.

God who creates the beauty of a rainbow that makes us gasp in awe, the complexity of the universe that scientists are still trying to fathom, who owns and commands and rules over everything we know, says “I give you…”

Where can you follow God’s words today when he says to you “be fruitful…”? How will you react to his instruction while keeping in mind that he has blessed you and wants to continue blessing you. How will you celebrate?

As God’s children, we come in different shapes, sizes and varieties. Yet, when we stay close to God and grow more like Jesus, we bear his fruit. That fruit in our lives reflects his Spirit.

Life can often feel like we are climbing a mountain. It can be exhausting and hard work. The Bible encourages us to take frequent stops and to “wait”—to trust in God’s strength.

Imagination shouldn’t be restrained to a six or seven-year-old. God invites us, his children, to release our minds and hearts and imagine, to ask, to dream big.

God tells us that his graciousness, kindness, and mercy is sufficient. We need nothing more. But there is more. This power of God is enough to sustain us through life, particularly when we are at our weakest—when we are frail and inadequate.

we have everything we need for whatever we face in life. We can be confident that God’s words can inform us for every step we make, everything we do, and even the direction in which we need to go.

The Bible says we are like clay pots. We may be fragile, unsophisticated, earthy, and yet God has chosen for us to hold his extraordinary and priceless truth

God loves to fill our lives with good things. God fills us to overflowing, whether it is with his Spirit, with joy, peace, thankfulness and more.

God says we have his power to destroy snakes and scorpions—all evils—that threaten to hurt us. He assures us that we can walk confidently in life, knowing we have mastery in his name. Let’s use that power well, but also to make sure we recognize the enemy.

For you and me, God’s parental love, care, and protection never ends in the world in which we live. It begins the moment we are born and lasts every single day of our lives

“Kingdom” is not a word we use much nowadays. Even for me, with British nationality and a history of kings and queens, it’s not a concept that I think about. But, having lived in the UK and USA, and having visited many different countries, I often imagine out loud “if only I could take the Read more…

God, our Daddy Father in heaven, is the most intimate, personal, accessible companion we have. Far better than any human father we could imagine or dream of And yet at the same time, he is holy. He is set apart, different from us and all he has created. His uniqueness, holiness, and perfection is to Read more…