Have you heard about the greyhound races? Those dogs are fast! They run so fast because they’re chasing a mechanical rabbit. A friend told me that one day on a racetrack in Florida an interesting thing happened: the rabbit broke so the dogs caught it! Now you might think that it would make the dogs…
I want to introduce you to my friend Bob Sanders, President of Baja Christian Ministries (BCM). He has a story in the form of a prayer poem to share with you. It’ll warm your heart. It’ll bless you. It’ll inspire you to draw closer to Jesus in the simplicity and eagerness of a child. First…
Solitude is one of the most important disciplines for the spiritual life, especially for pastors and leaders who need help unhooking from ministry stress to experience God restoring their souls. There are many Bible verses on solitude to guide us in this practice. Kristi and I regularly practice solitude and silence and we encourage pastors,…
The prophet urges us, “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him” (Habakkuk 1:13). The Psalmist invites us to “Be still and know” the Lord, to worship the holy God with him (Psalm 46:10). The Lord showed Elijah and us that to sense his presence and hear his message…
I know what it’s like to feel lonely. The worst thing is to be in a group of people and feel alone. I used to feel this way at church, especially out on the plaza after the service. I was lost in the middle of a sea of people. I’d see other people enjoying conversation,…
Have you ever prayed in a cave? That’s what I was doing in this picture. I went to pray in a special cave with a pastor for a day retreat at All Nations Prayer Mountain in San Bernardino, CA. I’ve noticed that some of David’s best prayers were in a cave, like Psalms 57 and…
“The Morning Psalm” of the Psalter has helped me to start my day in stillness, prayer and intercession many times. One morning, I stayed in silence with Psalm 5 most of the day: I lived in it and it in me. I waited before the Lord at my prayer altar and holy fire descended from…
Christmastime can be so noisy and busy! Perhaps God is inviting you to make time for quiet prayer? Zechariah (John the Baptist’s father) waited in silence ten months for the first Christmas! We might do well to pray in quiet for ten minutes! Or an hour or two. Be still to anticipate Christ’s coming and…
Do you ever feel insignificant? Compare yourself to others and come up short? Try hard to look or do better so you can stand out? I do. But then I pick up the inspired prayers of the Psalmist; I follow the rhythms of the ancient prayer masters. In solitude with my Lord I pray the Psalms…
Excerpted from Your Best Life In Jesus’ Easy Yoke by Bill Gaultiere (updated edition in 2016). Jesus lived in a particular rhythm of life that was essential to his well-being, his own faith-life, and his ministry to others. He had a way of life with his Father his holiness and wholeness. As a human being he…