As Teri was reading in 1 Peter 4, she came across this verse: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.” She stopped reading and pondered that simple statement.

“What makes you the happiest?” someone asked a couple days ago. I thought for a while before I replied. Then I knew what to say.

At the end of World War II Mildred and Rolland Rice returned to Peking to resume their missionary work. One day they heard a loud commotion on the top deck. They rushed up the stairs and found their captain standing at the bow, pointing to a round object in the water close to their ship. It was a mine left from the war. They had narrowly escaped this grave danger.

In her book Lena, Margaret Jensen writes of sobbing out her heartache over her prodigal son to Lena, the infirmary nurse in the clinic where Margaret worked. “I might as well be dead! No way I can live with this grief. I can’t live without Ralph in the fold.”

Karen often wrote prayers for her wayward daughter in her journal. One day Karen failed to put the journal away. Her daughter came by and happened to read the prayer. It make her furious.

C. Peter Wagner told that when he was young he attended “horse pulls.” One of the strongest horses could pull 7,000 pounds and another an amazing 9,000 pounds. But when the two horses were hitched together, they could pull 33,000 pounds.

Sometimes it is easy to have faith in God’s promises while praying but then proceed as though the battle were mine, rather than following the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

“Why did you quit praying for me?” Lois asked her friend.