Tagged: Prayer Intention

“My brothers, count it pure joy when you are involved in every sort of trial.” —James 1:2 For about thirty years I have taught the Lord’s command to consider various trials “all joy.” Today I read this in my hospital room. I haven’t been allowed to eat or drink even water or ice chips for about a day. I’ve had an IV stuck in me for hours. And I have had four enemas. It has never been more clear to me that the command to consider trials “all joy” is truly a miracle. This command is not a burdensome challenge...

“Jeroboam thought to himself: ‘The kingdom will return to David’s house. If now this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, the hearts of this people will return to their master, Rehoboam, king of Judah.’ ” —1 Kings 12:26-27 Jeroboam realized that religion is part of human nature. Therefore, human beings must be religious. The only question is: “Will we be committed to the only true religion, Judaism fulfilled in the Church, or will we be involved in some of the many thousands of false religions?” Some think they have proven Jeroboam wrong:...

“Their amazement went beyond all bounds: ‘He has done everything well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!’ ” —Mark 7:37 Jesus healed people physically as a sign of healing people spiritually. He opened the ears of the deaf and freed the tongues of the mute as a sign that He would open our ears so that we can have a greater faith and open our mouths to proclaim that faith (see Mk 7:35). Our spiritual deafness, dumbness, blindness, and paralysis are potentially damning. We live in potentially devastating spiritual conditions. However, Jesus is our Hope, our only...

“The Lord said to Solomon: ‘Since this is what you want…’ ” —1 Kings 11:11 Solomon made a great start in following the Lord. In his youth, God presented Solomon with the chance to have anything he wanted (1 Kgs 3:5ff). Solomon chose wisdom, so as to rule God’s people with understanding and justice. God was pleased with Solomon’s choice (1 Kgs 3:10). Later in life, however, Solomon used his God-given power to indulge his own wanton desires rather than fulfilling God’s desires. He fell so far into lust and idolatry that his heart turned away from the Lord. Solomon...

“The queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon’s fame, came…She arrived in Jerusalem.” —1 Kings 10:1, 2 Jesus testified that the queen of Sheba, that is, “the queen of the South,” “came from the farthest corner of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon” (Mt 12:42). She had a strong desire to listen to the wisdom of Israel as spoken through Solomon (2 Chr 9:1-2). She willingly suffered the rigors, hardships, and expenses of long-distance travel in the arid, ancient world to find this wisdom (1 Kgs 10:1ff). Jesus approved of her quest, and inferred that she “will...