One morning I awakened early and words of a song I had been listening to on Renita Koehn’s CD were in my mind: “I will rise and go to Jesus.” The appropriateness of the words made me smile as I climbed out of bed.

William Dyrness in Themes of Old Testament Theology describes how the Israelites’ worshiped: “Praise was often so exciting that worship could only be described as boisterous. There was dancing (Psalm 150:4), all kinds of instruments (Psalm 108:2), constant singing (Psalm 33:3), and even tumultuous shouting (Psalm 27:6). There was nothing dreary about Old Testament worship! In fact, one has the impression that in praising, men and women have their highest end.”

In Solomon’s Song of Songs, the Lover says to His Beloved, “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom” (2:15).

G. Campbell Morgan sat by the bedside of an elderly lady and read Jesus’ words, “I am with you always even unto the end of the world.”

When Leta was a high school sophomore, God asked her if she would be a missionary. She replied, “But I’m too young.”

“One day, while on a journey through the land of cancer treatments, I was to have a PET scan,” wrote my friend Vicki Mitchell in her blog. “This was an expensive test, and any movement on my part would make it potentially unreadable. My arms were positioned above my head and I was to lie as still as possible for 20 minutes. It didn’t take long to realize my arms were not going to cooperate. Within minutes, they were ‘falling asleep’. Usually, when this happens, you reposition, blood-flow re-vitalizes the affected part and voila—no pain. In this instance though, I was not supposed to move. As the test progressed, I prayed: ‘Jesus, with your help we can do this.’ As the test was nearing the end, in tears I prayed ‘Jesus I need a hug today.’ The tech helped me move my arms back down to my side. The test was over. I drove home, not thinking any more about my prayer.

In the first chapter of his book Growing in Prayer, Mike Bickle tells of a life-changing encounter he had in the summer of 1988. He had been leading a Saturday morning prayer meeting each week for nearly four years. About 20 people regularly attended.

The four Gospels describe the terrible suffering and shame that surrounded Jesus’ crucifixion. For instance, the soldiers bound Him and led Him away. Some spit at him, blindfolded Him, struck Him with fists. Even the Sanhedrin spit in His face and struck Him.