Honest Reflections

Two-minute read.

A confident prayer life comes from a relationship with the Lord, not from a transaction. Anag, the Hebrew word for delight, means soft or pliable, to luxuriate in, to find deep joy and contentment.[1] Before I wrote this, I delighted in the rising sun, enjoying the vibrant orange ball as it broke the horizon and streams of light began to pour onto the dusting of snow we received. Sitting beside Ron, sharing it made the moment even more special. We enjoyed the sunrise, resting in the Lord, leaning into His beauty as it unfolded. When you delight in the Savior, His desires become yours.

David, the author of these verses, understands that our desires should align with God’s. The psalmist doesn’t say we have a blank check to get whatever we want from the Lord. But when we delight in our heavenly Father, we’ll want what He wants; our desires change. We look at people differently as we begin to see them through God’s eyes. They become His children that Jesus died to save, and we want them to know salvation through Christ so they can become His disciples. Living for the Savior transforms us one day at a time as we become more like Him, leaving our old lives behind.

Committing our way to God and trusting His guidance, we will begin to see Him move more. The closer we walk with Jesus, the more miracles we witness. Think of His disciples, who followed Him closely and watched Jesus’ work. If they hadn’t followed Him, they wouldn’t have seen anything. You must have proximity to the Savior to see His ways. And once you see what Jesus can do, you’ll want what He wants. Following Him becomes easier as our trust builds and the Lord’s miraculous will unfolds in our lives.

Delighting in the Lord develops our relationship with Him. As we draw closer to the Savior, our desires will change. When we commit our ways to Him, trusting God will direct our paths, our journeys become more adventuresome, and life becomes divinely abundant. Delight comes before desire, as we grow in the Lord, learning His ways.

Delight. Commit. Trust. God moves. Four steps that lead to a miraculous life, one day at a time. Let delight come before your desires and watch how the heavenly Father directs your paths. One day at a time, He will transform our lives and change our desires, helping us to become more like Him.

Journal Questions:

What desires has God planted in me?

How can I delight in Him today?

How does trusting God to guide your path encourage you?

Application:

Spend 10 minutes in worship before asking for anything.

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[1] Koehler, Ludwig, Walter Baumgartner and Johann Jakob Stamm. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (HALOT). Leiden: Brill, 1994–2000.

Two-minute read.

“How do I know what God’s will is?” A question I hear often. We can pray confidently if we know we ask in the Lord’s will, but how do we know? In the Bible, we find 80% of the Father’s will for our lives. We can pray confidently when we align with His commands. The other 20% we must decipher through prayer, talking with other believers, and circumstances.

Parresia, the Greek word for confidence, means boldness, freedom of speech, open access.[1] John’s telling us we can approach God freely with our requests when our hearts align with His. Praying for lost souls, I do so with confidence because scripture tells me the Lord wants no one to perish. Which means, when I ask the Creator to soften people’s hearts and give them eyes to see and ears to hear His truth, He wants the same thing. God wants people to hear the message of the gospel and receive it; the Lord wants to crowd heaven with His children. In other words, God wants to give us what we ask for in those moments more than we even want it.

However, if we pray asking God for a new car, we don’t know if that aligns with His will for us. But we can discern whether He has given us the provision to buy it. We can talk to other believers and seek their counsel, and we can ask the Lord directly. “If it be your will, let it be done.” As we wait, God will reveal the answer to the prayer, one way or another.

Praying confidently in the Lord’s will, we must know His commands. When Jesus summarized them for the disciples, He condensed God’s law into four words: love God and love others. Living out the Great Commandment takes partnership with the Savior. To love well, we must follow Jesus’s example and ask for His help. When we pray that way, we can do so boldly and without fear, because we know that’s what the Lord wants for us.

Develop confidence by praying scripture. Learn the Lord’s commandments and ask God to help you obey them. Remember that everyone we meet has an eternal destiny to choose. By loving our heavenly Father and sharing His affection with others, we help them know Jesus. And when they choose the Savior, they secure an eternal destiny with Him, one filled with the glory of the Lord, something so magnificent we can’t even begin to imagine it.

Journal Questions:

How does confidence in God’s will change my prayer life?

What do you need God’s help discerning right now?

When have you prayed boldly to the Lord?

Application:

Pray using the phrase, “If this aligns with Your will…”

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[1] Danker, Frederick W., ed.A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

Two-minute read.

“Ehpithymeo,” translated desire in verse two, means to strongly desire, set your heart upon, long for intensely, covet.[1] James uses this word to describe self-centered, unchecked wants that rule the heart. Our selfish desires have replaced God on the throne. An internal conflict breeds envy, which leads to strife, and then to worse things. We can kill relationships because we envy. Wanting what someone else has, obsessing over it, and making it the ruler of our hearts can cause us to do things we wouldn’t normally do. In my younger days, selfish desires and envy got the best of me more than once. But as I grew in my relationship with the Lord and began searching my motives, a life change occurred.

Not only do we need to check our motives, but we must ask God to receive from Him. Often, we try to obtain things on our own, leaving the Lord out of our plans. Before I centered my life around the Lord, I often put people on His throne. And I suffered as a result, trying in vain to acquire my selfish desires, and constantly failing. Only when I started seeking Jesus for help did I begin to understand I had wrong motives that needed adjusting. The Lord taught me that life doesn’t revolve around me; it revolves around Him. Once I got my priorities straight, I began to develop healthy relationships and profoundly enjoy God’s blessings.

God’s not a vending machine in the sky. We must check the motives of our desires. If we want things fueled by ego, driven by comparison, or rooted in status and indulgence, we have the wrong motives. God designed us to want. But when our wants replace our devotion to the Lord, and we seek gifts more than the Giver, we have a heart problem we need to correct. We don’t need to pray more; we need to align our hearts with Jesus.

Christ gave us our marching orders and told us how to align our hearts with Him: love God and love others (Mark 12:30-31). If we want to walk in step with the Savior, we must make love our priority, and we can do so only with Him. By surrendering our hearts to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to check our motives, we will quickly identify troublesome areas and give them to the Lord. Instead of trying to do things on our own might, we rely on the Savior to provide. Our desires will become His, and our hearts will align with God’s.

Journal Questions:

What motivates your prayers?

What am I really longing for beneath the request?

How can you align your heart with Jesus?

Application:

Rewrite one prayer request, focusing on God’s glory rather than your comfort.

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[1] A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (BDAG).
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

Two-minute read.

Without faith, we can’t please God. If you don’t believe in a Higher Power, then you can’t receive His rewards. As a believer, I can’t understand how people don’t believe in a Creator. The intricacy of the world, the minute details that make the biggest difference, the way the Earth sits at an exact angle that allows life to flourish, didn’t happen randomly. Intelligent design becomes evident the more anyone studies creation.

For example, the Earth sits at 23.5 degrees, which gives us seasons and the ability to live as we do. However, if the Earth had no tilt, we would have no seasons, and the equator would stay hot, and the poles would stay cold. We wouldn’t have the growing seasons we do now, and we couldn’t live in certain regions. On the other hand, if the Earth had a greater tilt, the seasons would become extreme, with summers scorching hot and winters brutal, featuring much more dramatic weather systems. Life as we know it wouldn’t exist. But when God placed the Earth in the universe, he did so at the precise angle to sustain life. Not random, planned.

However, Scientists who believe in evolution would disagree, not believing in God’s existence, as do many other people in the world. How can someone watch the sun rise or set and not see the Lord’s hand at work? I don’t know. Isaiah speaks of people who hear but don’t understand, and see but don’t perceive, because they have hardened hearts (Isaiah 6:9-10). To please God, we must believe in His existence and trust in His divine plan for our lives. Faith comes from a heart submitted to the Savior, recognizing God’s sovereignty.

Giving the Lord our hearts opens the door to His blessings. As we pursue Him with our entire being, we will find Him. Leaning into the Creator’s promises gives us hope for the future and lets us discover the joy of the Lord, which strengthens us. We can trust God to fulfill His promises, and when we pray expectantly, we will receive. The Lord wants to bless His children; He loves us more than we can imagine. But if we don’t have faith that God will do what He says He will do, we’ll miss out on what the Lord has for us.

Ask God to increase your faith, and He will. Pray the Lord’s promises and watch miracles begin to happen. Align your heart with the Savior’s and pray expectantly, knowing God can’t wait to answer.

Journal Questions:

Where do I need to trust that God rewards those who seek Him?

In what ways can you see Intelligent Design in the world around you?

How has God increased your faith?

Application:

Take one step of obedience, even if results aren’t visible.

Two-minute read.

Zerubbabel had a job to do: rebuild the temple after exile. Feeling overwhelmed, the descendant of King David, listed in Christ’s genealogy in Matthew, led the first group of Israelites out of Babylonian captivity back to Jerusalem. The leader faced political, financial, and spiritual hurdles to rebuild the temple. As Zerubbabel leans into the Lord, he becomes a picture of a leader under pressure, faithfulness in unfinished seasons, and God fulfilling promises, even when things look small and unimpressive.

God tells Zerubbabel that He will finish the temple, “not by might.” Which means the Governor doesn’t have the tools necessary to do the job. No matter how much he strives and tries to white-knuckle his way through, Zerubbabel can’t do it alone. He must rely on the Lord. “But by My Spirit,” the Lord will help the leader complete his task, not with human fuel, but divine empowerment, quiet strength and God-breathed momentum. Whatever obstacles Zerubbabel faces, the Almighty will destroy, flattening the mountains; the Lord moves the immovable and makes a way.

Facing insurmountable problems, we can anchor ourselves to this verse. God never intended for us to face our challenges alone; He wants to help us. When we surrender our mountains to the Lord, He flattens them for us. Maybe not instantly, but the Creator will show us the way. Sometimes God gives us the strength to climb the mountain; other times, He flattens them so we can walk right through. But we will never do it on our own power, but His. Like the Lord said to Zerubbabel, “not by might, but by My Spirit.” Find comfort that the Savior fights for you, equipping you to do all He has called you to do. Where God guides, He always provides.

When the Lord led us to move last year, we prayed for His guidance, not wanting to go where He didn’t want us to go. As Ron and I prayed for the Lord to open or close the doors, we waited for His answer. And one by one, the doors opened, not by our might, but by His. Following God through the open doors gave us boldness, and we walked confidently knowing our heavenly Father led the way. The Creator provided all our needs, and with His leadership, the move almost seemed effortless.

Don’t try to do your divine task with human strength. Rely on the Savior for His Spirit to empower you. As you follow Jesus, let Him open the doors He wants you to go through, and trust His provision along the way. Not by our might, but by His Spirit we’ll accomplish our purpose in this life, and spend eternity basking in His glory.

Journal Questions:

Do you rely on your strength or God’s?

What mountain must become a plain?

Describe a time God did the heavy lifting for you.

Application:

Surrender one situation you’ve been trying to control.

Two-minute read.

Jesus has exposed fruitless religion with the withering of the fig tree. He cleansed the temple by driving out the money changers. And then the Lord called us to wholehearted faith by speaking to the mountains in our lives. Now the Savior teaches us about real prayer, believing that you have received it, and childlike boldness. God’s not talking about manifesting things, positive thinking, or emotional hype. Jesus wants us to have confidence rooted in the Father, built on relational trust. When we have that kind of faith, we trust the Lord’s character so deeply that we believe before we see.

As a child, I loved to sit on my father’s lap. Monday nights, when Little House on the Prairie’s theme music began to play, you could find me cuddled on Dad’s lap, ready to romp the hills with Laura. When I asked my father for things, I never doubted he would provide. Sometimes Dad said no, and when he did, I believed he had a good reason. I trusted my father implicitly and never doubted him because of our close relationship. Knowing how much my Dad loved me, I had full confidence in him and, with childlike boldness, would ask him for my heart’s desires.

God wants us to approach Him the same way. He wants us to cuddle up on His lap and tell Him our hearts’ desires. We know, without a doubt, how much the Lord loves us. He sent His only Son to die for us so we can have a relationship with Him. The Almighty will answer our prayers; we can have confidence in Him. And when our hearts align with the Savior’s, we’ll receive what we ask for in His name.

However, just like I didn’t control my earthly father, we don’t control God. Sometimes, we ask for things that will harm us, and God says no. He doesn’t give us every desire instantly; the Lord’s not a magic genie in the sky who grants our every wish.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

1 John 5:14

When we ask the Lord for things according to His will, aligned with His character, having forgiven others, He will say yes. Faith doesn’t force outcomes; it surrenders them to the Savior, trusting Him completely. Jesus wants us to move from empty religion to inviting bold, believing prayer. Mark, chapter eleven, takes us from judging (leaves without fruit) to cleansing (Temple without prayer) to empowerment (faith without doubt). The Savior teaches us how to trust our heavenly Father, surrender to Him, and develop mountain-moving faith.

Journal Questions:

What would bold, childlike belief look like for you?

How can you align your heart with God’s?

In what areas do you struggle to surrender to the Lord?

Application:

Pray one prayer today without hedging or minimizing it.

Two-minute read.

For the past few days, we’ve seen Jesus judge people based on their faith. Although the money changers in the temple appeared holy, they didn’t have hearts aligned with the Lord, as evidenced by their lack of fruit. The fig tree symbolized their spiritual emptiness, with luscious leaves that offered nothing. But now, the Savior changes from judgment to instruction, telling us what true faith can do: move mountains. When we place our faith in the true God and trust Him, we can speak to mountains, and they will move.

Jewish faith used the phrase “move a mountain” to mean removing what seems impossible, anything from massive obstacles to entrenched systems and spiritual strongholds. Jesus addressed the temple system that would soon pass away. When we trust the Lord, and the Lord alone, what looks immovable becomes movable. We have access to the authority that withered the fig tree, and He invites us to pray boldly. The solution to the fig that had leaves but no fruit and the temple that had activity but no prayer comes from faith-filled prayer to the Savior. We must have whole-hearted dependence on Christ.

“Does not doubt in their heart” means complete loyalty to God. We can’t trust the Lord and self; we must rely solely on the Creator. Speaking to a mountain in my life, I’ve done everything I can to move it, and now I must rely on God. And I don’t know whether He will move the mountain, or has other plans, only time will tell. But I have no doubt the Lord can move the massive obstacle. Praying boldly, I’ve asked God to work a miracle and stop the manmade corruption. Without a doubt, I know the Lord will, in His time and way.

Bold prayers require bold faith. We must believe with conviction that God can make the impossible possible. Faith-filled prayers from a heart dependent on Christ cause mountains to move. When we allow the Lord to search our hearts, illuminating selfish desires, He purifies us. By shining light on the dark areas, we can give them to the Savior and allow Him to cleanse us. Purified hearts, dedicated to Jesus, move mountains with their prayers.

When speaking to mountains, ask the Lord to search your heart and purify it. Give God your entire heart, aligning it with His desires. When you do, mountains will begin to move. Pray boldly and expectantly when you pray in agreement with the Savior.

Journal Questions:

What “mountain” feels immovable?

Do you have a division in your heart between God’s will and yours?

How can you align your heart with God’s will today?

Application:

Name your “mountain” out loud in prayer. Declare God’s authority over it.

Two-minute read.

When Peter saw the withered fig tree, he remembered Jesus’s words. Not only did the leaves wilt, but the roots died as well. The tree had more than surface-level decay; inwardly barren, it had irreversible structural damage, meaning destruction. When Jesus judged the tree, He did so from the root. Serving as a living parable, the disciples see the outcome of an outwardly leafy tree barren on the inside. Connecting to what they had witnessed in the temple moments before, the same thing happens to those who appear religious on the outside, but don’t have the heart connection with the Savior on the inside.

In the Old Testament, the fig tree often represented Israel’s spiritual condition. Even though the temple looked active, it had no prayer or justice within its walls, only money makers trying to make a buck. The tree withering from its roots shows that God sees beyond appearances to the corruption beneath the surface. When the Lord passes judgment, He does so from the roots, not just the branches. Jerusalem and the temple fell in AD 70, within a generation of this scene, Jesus’s words proved prophetic.

For Peter, the quick withering of the tree in the short amount of time since Jesus cursed it amazed him. Evil roots don’t prosper and wither quickly. Whatever roots we have in our hearts determines the fruit we produce. You often hear the phrase, “Get to the root of the problem.” In therapy, I’ve learned to do the hard work to discover the roots of my reactive behavior. For instance, when I encounter a situation that triggers an unwanted response, I take the time to investigate why I acted that way. As I dig down into the soil of my heart, I discover the root of the issue. Often, the responses come from lies I’ve believed. Once I identify the lie and replace it with God’s truth, then my response changes, and I become more like Christ.

Jesus cares about the roots of our actions and the seed planted in our hearts. As we follow Him, He will reveal the roots we need to pull out and replace with His truth. We don’t fool the Savior; He sees below the surface and cares about our hearts and the roots planted in them. When we remain connected to God’s Son, He will sustain us, and we will produce good fruit.

Withering roots require deeper faith, connection through prayer, and a divine dependence on the Savior.

Journal Questions:

What type of roots do you have in your heart?

Does your spiritual life depend on God or your performance?

What kind of fruit would Jesus find in your life if He stripped away the leaves?

Application:

List three answered prayers from your past. Thank God for each one.

Two-minute read.

Yesterday, we talked about the fig tree that produces no fruit, representing fruitless faith: religion that looks alive but lacks substance. Now, Jesus enters the Temple and finds the physical manifestation of the fig tree in humanity: buying and selling, money changers, religious business, noise, and distraction. The people doing business in the temple have the appearance of a fruitful tree, but have become a den of robbers.

Religious leaders did all the right things; they knew the sacrifices and rituals. The crowded temple bustled, but it lacked the spiritual fruit God desires: prayer, justice, worship, and access for the nations. The only place non-Jews could pray, the Court of Gentiles, had become a marketplace. Where the Lord intended to welcome the world, the people had turned it into a shopping center. When Jesus cursed the fig tree, He gave the warning for those with fruitless religion, the money handlers, whom He now encountered.

Christ doesn’t despise the temple, but the hypocrisy He found. The temple had an appearance without substance, an empty religion. The Savior looks for fruit from His followers, not empty promises. We must participate with God, not just expect things from Him. Accepting Christ into our hearts makes our bodies the temple. We should become a house of prayer, a light to the world, a place where people meet Jesus rather than serving the self. The tree looked alive, the temple looked holy, but neither bore fruit. We can wear the right clothes and say the right things, but that doesn’t mean we produce spiritual fruit for the kingdom. Following Jesus should produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, evident to all.

Sometimes, we need the tables turned over in our lives to reveal areas we’ve gone astray. Living a prayer-centered life, we must allow our connection to the Lord to transform us one day at a time. Jesus didn’t turn the tables over for rage’s sake, but because He wanted to defend the sacred. Love motivated the Savior’s actions; He wanted to restore the temple to a house of prayer. And He wants the same for our lives. When God flips tables in our hearts, He does so to draw us closer to Him.

Prayer connects us to the Savior. Anything that blocks the connection, such as marketplace tables, needs to go. Thankfully, Jesus knows exactly which tables we need flipped to cleanse our hearts and create a deeper connection with Him.

Journal Questions:

What tables might Jesus want to overturn in my heart?

Does my life reflect a marketplace or a prayer room?

Would Jesus find space in me for others, or just noise?

Application:

Identify one distraction crowding your devotion. Remove or limit it this week.

Two-minute read.

Leaving Bethany, Jesus feels hungry. Seeing a fig tree, He approaches it, looking for fruit. Filled with leaves, the tree has no fruit, too early in the season for harvest. However, even though harvest time hasn’t arrived yet, the tree should still have some early figs that could nourish the Savior, but it has none. From appearances, the tree had all the outward signs of fruitfulness, but nothing to offer. On His way to the temple, the fig tree represents what Jesus will find when he arrives, the illusion of fruitfulness but no fruit.

Because the fig tree had beautiful leaves, it appeared to have fruit. Impressive appearances don’t equate spiritual productivity. Many people do and say the right things, but produce nothing. A common saying sums it up well: People miss heaven by 18 inches. In other words, they have the head knowledge of Jesus, and from outward appearances follow Him, but don’t have the heart connection required to produce the fruit of the Spirit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23

Many people confess faith but produce no fruit. The fig tree, full of beautiful leaves, has nothing to show for its outward appearance. And so, Jesus curses it. From the moment we place our faith in Christ, we begin producing fruit, whether we realize it or not. Telling others about our new faith in God’s Son shares the gospel and begins a journey to our destinies in Jesus. The fig tree, even though early in the season, should have some edible buds on it, in the process of maturing to figs. When we begin following the Savior, spiritual fruit buds begin to blossom. As we grow in Christ, we produce the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Jesus’s symbolic act doesn’t come from random frustration but rather prophetically warns against fruitless faith. When faith looks alive but lacks the substance of obedience, prayer, mercy, and genuine trust in God, it produces nothing. Our Savior knows the condition of our hearts and the fruit we produce. For those who talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk, they will answer to Jesus. They may fool people, but no one fools the Almighty.

Bearing beautiful leaves should produce delicious fruit. As we begin this journey of understanding prayer on a deeper, more intimate level, trusting the Lord hears and answers our prayers, we must start with self-reflection. We must ask ourselves, do we cultivate faith, or maintain an image? We may fool others, but we don’t fool Jesus. Praying with confidence that God has already answered our prayers requires an active faith that produces the Spirit’s fruit, sharing the gospel, and loving people for the Savior.

Journal Questions:

Where in my life am I appearing fruitful but spiritually dry?

Am I cultivating fruit, or just maintaining image?

Is my faith visible in my appearance or in character, love, obedience, and prayer?

Application:

Ask God to reveal any area where appearance has replaced authenticity. Write one step toward genuine spiritual fruit.