A friend told me that in the midst of a time family trauma, she began to pray desperately. She said, “Lord, I really want to see You work; I really want to see You move in this situation.”

“If you won’t sign for me to get married, then I’ll get married as soon as I turn 18,” Grace’s defiant daughter Carrie shouted. The weight of their daughter’s rebellion crushed her parent’s hearts.

“Be of good cheer,” Paul said on a sinking ship, “for I believe God” (Acts 7:25). We have good cheer, too, when we believe God. Fear and anxiety have no place in our hearts when we’re sure that all things rest in the hands of our loving God.

“That I myself may be in them” (John 17:26). These were the final words of Jesus’ last recorded prayer, and they express His desire to be in us. I like the way late Reverend Robb French said it:

Dr. Dobson said if he were 22 now and looking for a wife, knowing what he knows now, the number one thing he would look for would be someone who is a happy person. Who wants to come home every night to someone who is generally unhappy?

I’ve learned I can hinder my ability to have faith simply by the words I say. If I say words that indicate I’m doubting that God is going to provide, then it seems my faith sinks to the level of what I’ve said.

Judy’s daughter had a boyfriend whose father’s vulgar language made Judy uncomfortable. One day after spending an evening celebrating her daughter’s birthday, she told her husband. "I don't like him and don't want to be around him."

Years ago after reading in Numbers 12:3 about Moses’ being the meekest man on the earth, I began to pray for meekness.