Hanging above the door in our house, my mother’s favorite plaque constantly reminded us, “Prayer changes things.” From an early age, I witnessed this powerful truth through her example. She’d tell me about some difficulties she was facing and then have me pray about them with her. And later, she’d always be sure to give God the glory when sharing the awesome news that He had answered those prayers.

Indeed, this is our confidence: Anything we pray for that aligns with the Father’s plan will be granted. And the more time we spend with Him, the more we’ll come to understand His will and how to pray for it.

Remember, prayer doesn’t change God’s mind, but it does transform the believer’s heart. Some requests are granted immediately, simply because we asked with the realization that our Father loves to give us good gifts. Other requests may require time or certain divine preparations before they can be given. We, meanwhile, must simply be diligent to persevere in prayer.

Whatever the Lord’s response or timing, we trust that He has only the very best in store for His children. That means we might not receive exactly what we’re asking for, but something even better. Such is God’s great pleasure, for He alone perfectly knows each heart’s desire and wishes to fulfill it.

Our most powerful tool for shaping the world and lives around us is always available. Prayer lets us witness God’s hand in any situation. And as we give attention, time, and perseverance to conversation with Him, we find no limit to what He can achieve in people’s hearts and circumstances.

 It’s been a while since I’ve picked up a dictionary, literally at least. I do most of my looking-up online or by phone. But my computer was already shut down for the day, I couldn’t find my phone, and for once it seemed faster to use a book for the task. I can’t remember the word I was hunting for now, in fact, I think I stopped hunting soon after opening the book. As I pulled the giant dictionary off the shelf and opened its pages to the general vicinity of the S’s, I was stopped in my tracks by a piece of paper that fell out. 

In his familiar mechanical script (block lettering and always in pencil) my dad had carefully scratched a word on a torn off corner of paper. His handwriting immediately caught my eye, but it was he himself that seemed to leap off the page. I had forgotten the dictionary was even his, landing on my shelves posthumously. But I was immediately filled with a sense of somber mystery: What was he up to? Why was this word on his mind? Did he hear it somewhere and quickly scribble it down to look up later? Was he researching something or was he just curious? His thoughts, however ordinary they may have been, seemed wonderful, fueled by the sense that I was somehow on his trail; or at least a trail he had once been on. The word was one I’d never heard before. As I looked it up, it felt as if he was peering over my shoulder.  

I have been stopped in my tracks similarly by the presence of God. Like a forgotten slip of paper that lands in my hands, God’s handwriting suddenly appears in unlikely places, reminding me of the Spirit’s presence, the Son’s hand in a difficult situation. These are the kind of moments that wake me up. Stumbling across evidence that God is in the room, spaces in my minds long anesthetized by sin or stuff or self are given a sobering thought: God is here, and I didn’t even know it.   

As Jacob rested midway on a long journey, he saw in a dream a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. The Lord was standing above the stairway, and he said to Jacob: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac… I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”(1) It was for Jacob a dream that woke him to the possibility that though far from home, on his own in the wilderness—kept company only by thoughts of a brother who wanted to kill him—he was not alone. The account in Genesis continues, “When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.’ Then he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.'” In a desperate place, the faith of his fathers’ became his own. 

The psalmist knew well what Jacob discovered in the woods, no doubt from his own startled encounters: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.”(2) What if God is here though you are not aware of it? What if Christ walks beside you unrecognized? When you stumble across the evidence, like Jacob and the psalmist, I hope you are moved to praise.  “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!”

In one word, I was reminded that my father, whose absence is often the mark I see most clearly, has left his signature throughout my life, in this case literally. How much more so God moves through our lives, engraving our names on the palms of Christ’s hands, pursuing us through sin and selfishness, longing for us to see the evidence that God is in the room. 

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) Genesis 28:13-17. 

(2) Psalm 139:7.

Morning “Have mercy upon me, O God.” / Psalm 51:1

When Dr. Carey was suffering from a dangerous illness, the enquiry was made,
“If this sickness should prove fatal, what passage would you select as the
text for your funeral sermon?” He replied, “Oh, I feel that such a poor sinful
creature is unworthy to have anything said about him; but if a funeral sermon
must be preached, let it be from the words, Have mercy upon me, O God,
according to thy lovingkindness; according unto the multitude of thy tender
mercies blot out my transgressions.'” In the same spirit of humility he
directed in his will that the following inscription and nothing more should be
cut on his gravestone:–

William Carey, Born August 17th, 1761: Died – –
“A wretched, poor, and helpless worm
On thy kind arms I fall.”

Only on the footing of free grace can the most experienced and most honoured
of the saints approach their God. The best of men are conscious above all
others that they are men at the best. Empty boats float high, but heavily
laden vessels are low in the water; mere professors can boast, but true
children of God cry for mercy upon their unprofitableness. We have need that
the Lord should have mercy upon our good works, our prayers, our preachings,
our alms-givings, and our holiest things. The blood was not only sprinkled
upon the doorposts of Israel’s dwelling houses, but upon the sanctuary, the
mercy-seat, and the altar, because as sin intrudes into our holiest things,
the blood of Jesus is needed to purify them from defilement. If mercy be
needed to be exercised towards our duties, what shall be said of our sins? How
sweet the remembrance that inexhaustible mercy is waiting to be gracious to
us, to restore our backslidings, and make our broken bones rejoice!

Evening “All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine
tree, from the kernels even to the husk.” / Numbers 6:4

Nazarites had taken, among other vows, one which debarred them from the use of
wine. In order that they might not violate the obligation, they were forbidden
to drink the vinegar of wine or strong liquors, and to make the rule still
more clear, they were not to touch the unfermented juice of grapes, nor even
to eat the fruit either fresh or dried. In order, altogether, to secure the
integrity of the vow, they were not even allowed anything that had to do with
the vine; they were, in fact, to avoid the appearance of evil. Surely this is
a lesson to the Lord’s separated ones, teaching them to come away from sin in
every form, to avoid not merely its grosser shapes, but even its spirit and
similitude. Strict walking is much despised in these days, but rest assured,
dear reader, it is both the safest and the happiest. He who yields a point or
two to the world is in fearful peril; he who eats the grapes of Sodom will
soon drink the wine of Gomorrah. A little crevice in the sea-bank in Holland
lets in the sea, and the gap speedily swells till a province is drowned.
Worldly conformity, in any degree, is a snare to the soul, and makes it more
and more liable to presumptuous sins. Moreover, as the Nazarite who drank
grape juice could not be quite sure whether it might not have endured a degree
of fermentation, and consequently could not be clear in heart that his vow was
intact, so the yielding, temporizing Christian cannot wear a conscience void
of offence, but must feel that the inward monitor is in doubt of him. Things
doubtful we need not doubt about; they are wrong to us. Things tempting we
must not dally with, but flee from them with speed. Better be sneered at as a
Puritan than be despised as a hypocrite. Careful walking may involve much
self-denial, but it has pleasures of its own which are more than a sufficient
recompense.

All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.   Numbers 6:4

 Nazirites had taken, among other vows, one that debarred them from the use of wine. In order that they might not violate the obligation, they were forbidden to drink the vinegar of wine or strong liquors; and to make the rule even clearer, they were not to touch the unfermented juice of grapes, nor even to eat the fruit either fresh or dried. In order to secure the integrity of the vow, they were not even allowed anything that had to do with the vine; they were, in fact, to avoid the appearance of evil.

Surely this is a lesson to the Lord’s separated ones, teaching them to come away from sin in every form, to avoid not merely its grosser shapes but even its spirit and likeness. Such strict walking is much despised in these days, but rest assured, dear reader, it is the safest and happiest path. He who yields a point or two to the world is in fearful peril; he who eats the grapes of Sodom will soon drink the wine of Gomorrah. A little crevice in the seawall in Holland lets in the sea, and the gap soon swells until a province is drowned.

Worldly conformity, in any degree, is a snare to the soul and makes it more and more liable to presumptuous sins. The Nazirite who drank grape juice could not be completely certain whether or not it had fermented and consequently could not be clear in heart that his vow was intact. In a similar way the yielding, vacillating Christian cannot have a clear conscience but is constantly aware of his double standard. Doubtful things we need not wonder about; they are wrong for us. Tempting things we must not play with, but run from them speedily. Better to be sneered at as a Puritan than to be despised as a hypocrite. Careful walking may involve much self-denial, but it has pleasures of its own that are more than a sufficient reward.

Family Reading Plan    Ezekiel 1   Psalm 37