by David Anderson
I’ve been praying for a young girl. She’s battling a rare disease, and it’s gone on for month and months. I keep praying, and yet I often wonder about praying for others—“intercession,” in the classic types of prayer. At some point I let go of prayer as telling God stuff, asking God for things, getting […]
by David Anderson 10 Comments Filed Under: Blessing, Breathing, Daily Practice, Healing, Prayer/Meditation, Reality--trusting it, Surrender, Transformation
does not choose this fight. But when he finds himself locked in an immortal struggle, he is either wise enough or reckless enough to hang in there. Jacob is at a tumultuous point in his life when God comes—in the form of an angel—to wrestle with him. He is alone, camped by a river. It […]
by David Anderson 4 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Awe, Blessing, Conversion, Lent, Surrender, Transformation, Uncategorized
became great in the act of surrender. After his long odyssey, Abraham finally made it to the land of Canaan. His nephew Lot had come with him, and they had both done very well. In fact, they had so many flocks and herds that the land could not support them both. Their herdsmen were quarrelling, […]
by David Anderson 2 Comments Filed Under: Blessing, Choice, Family, Guidance, Lent, Letting Go, Surrender, Uncategorized
may remind you of yourself. She’s who you were when losing five dollars was a big deal. “Suppose a woman has ten silver coins,” Jesus says, “and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors […]
by David Anderson 4 Comments Filed Under: Abundance, Blessing, Happiness, Lent, Money, Now/ the Present
was down to her last meal when the prophet showed up hungry. There was a drought and famine in the land, and Elijah was without food and water. That was when the word of the Lord came, “Go at once to Zarephath. . . . I have directed a widow there to supply you with […]
by David Anderson 2 Comments Filed Under: Blessing, Community, Faithfulness, Gratitude, Lent, Uncategorized
is One. The shema, the central affirmation of Judaism, begins: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.” Along with every observant Jew, Jesus prayed those words morning and night. God is One. This week’s “Stories of Simplicity & Joy” all flow from that oneness at the heart of God. God is singular, […]
by David Anderson 5 Comments Filed Under: Awareness, Blessing, Daily Practice, Lent, Love, Prayer/Meditation, Uncategorized
is the wild card in God’s plan of universal salvation. When her mistress Sarah cannot conceive, Sarah gives her slave to have sex with Abraham (Gen. 16). Like a lot of poor women, Hagar is just given like a piece of property; her body is not her own. She gets pregnant, bears Ishmael, and Sarah […]
by David Anderson 3 Comments Filed Under: Blessing, Grace, Lent, Mercy, Vocation/ Calling
Grace and gratitude belong together like heaven and earth. Grace evokes gratitude like the voice of an echo. Gratitude follows grace like thunder lightning. —Karl Barth The gratitude Barth speaks of is not happiness, certainly not elation. Maybe we feel grateful when something turns out perfectly, or our hard work is rewarded with some kind […]
by David Anderson 5 Comments Filed Under: Awe, Blessing, Daily Practice, Forgiveness, Grace, Gratitude, Happiness, Healing, Mercy, Salvation, Surrender, Transformation