George Matheson was recognized as an up and coming leader of the church in Scotland. But his life was filled with difficulties. He lost his sight as a young man, and had to change his plans because of his vision loss. Plus, when his fiancé learned of his disability she broke the engagement saying she did not want to go through life as the wife of a blind preacher.

Lea noticed that for some weeks she had felt spiritually dry. When she tried to pray, she was unable to focus and to pray sincerely. She couldn’t seem to hear God or to concentrate when she read Scripture. It was a case of spiritual blahs.

Some Vietnamese Christians walked for several days intent on taking the Gospel to the Churu, a group so remote no missionaries had reached them, the Asia Harvest reported.

One night a lady in Florida began to pray for her unsaved landlord. God helped her pray into the night. As she interceded, God began to encourage her faith.

Marcy shared that she and her extended family had met in the mountains for a family reunion. One morning she awakened, praying for all the children in the family—her own plus her nieces and nephews. She wondered if her prayers had made any difference. Was God really listening?

“Hello, this is your friendly conscience speaking.” Marcia recognized her friend’s voice on the phone.

In my first attempt to have a home Bible study, I invited neighbors, friends, and some of my husband’s colleagues’ wives to an introductory coffee. For two days I worked in the kitchen making what resulted in rather pitiful-looking French pastries. Just as the women began arriving, my coffee grinder flew apart, landing a big pile of coffee on the floor. There was no time to clean up the mess, so we just had to step around it.

“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). A deep inner knowing flows out of being still. After Jesus withdrew into lonely places and prayed, He had power to discern the Pharisees’ thoughts and to say to the paralytic, “Get up and walk.”