Tagged: prayer

My God, my God why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? Psalm 22:1   My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Mark 15:34 Honest praying is no insult to God who knows all. He knows our hearts anyway. Every speck. Every little corner we think we’ve shrouded with sheets of shame, concealed with camouflaged control, partitioned off behind panels of performance, He sees. So why not be honest in prayer? The Psalmists knew honesty's power. Jesus, the Son of God, dared ask His Father a raw and honest question in the last minute of His life. What’s stopping us? [bctt tweet="The power of praying honest prayers lies in the character of… Read More

The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’”  Joshua 3:7-8 Sometimes God commands us to stand still in the water so people can pass through. Intercessory prayer is one way we do that. Intercessory prayer is an act of leadership.  The work of intercession is like standing still in the water, bearing up the presence of the Lord and His covenant so the people can pass from… Read More

Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. 2 Chronicles 20:12 Jesus sends us out to help people we feel helpless to help. I had this text exchange with a dear friend from Afghanistan a few days ago. How is your family in Kabul? We are praying for you and are very concerned. We are worrying a lot. Our families got a warning letter from the Taliban to surrender my husband to them otherwise they will face death. My friend’s husband is a hero. He was awarded a purple heart for saving American lives in the fight against the… Read More

The crescendo of the Cross was composed in the wilderness. Jesus settled it long before the sound of the nails fixing His hands to a wooden cross, the cleansing last breath as He committed His spirit to the Father, or the quiet authority of the angelic herald’s words to Mary, He is not here, He has risen! Before Jesus’ earthly ministry began, Satan tempted Him in the wilderness. Each confrontation was both a challenge to Jesus’ identity and a distortion of the truth.  Every one of Jesus’ responses began with the words, it is written… The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on… Read More

Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.Luke 5:15-16 Withdrawing may seem a strange subject during a global pandemic when humans are already withdrawn across the world. But in some ways, forced physical withdrawal has fostered the opposite effect: a frenzied drawing near in non-physical ways. Texting, tweeting, Tik-Toking, You-Tubing, Zooming, and FaceTiming are at an all-time high. But the relief digital platforms offer during a time of social distancing is quickly fading. We are physically distancing, but not truly social distancing. Social engagement is thriving, and not necessarily in healthy ways.  Social media has become a cesspool teeming one minute… Read More

@audreycfrank Our family has one secret recipe. I gladly share all the others with friends, but this recipe is top-secret, and only my children will carry it on. It tells the story of our love and our life, and one day, our legacy.  Deep in the bush of Africa as a new bride, I had to figure out how to meet my husband’s need for chocolate. Over time I developed a moist, dark and delectable chocolate cake slathered with chocolate gravy (a nod to my great-grandmother, who used to indulge me as a little girl on Saturday mornings with biscuits and homemade chocolate gravy). I learned to make it with the most basic ingredients, findable in most parts of the world. I have baked it on… Read More

According to the dictionary, a pilgrimage is a journey to a sacred place. Whether you are a mother who only held your child briefly in your womb, a mother who has outlived her children, a mother who is striving alone to raise children in a frightening world, the mothering journey is sacred, holy. We find in Psalm 84 a map for the pilgrimage of motherhood. Upon close examination, we discover that it makes a large circle. Its beginning and end are the same, and one finds herself embarking on this journey from the same place to which she hopes to return at the journey’s end. The pilgrimage of motherhood is all about Trust. Trusting the Lord, dwelling with Him. He is the beginning and end of our… Read More