Hello everyone!
It has been far too long since I last was on the blog to share about my personal growth and development through reading. To be honest, I haven't been the best at reading since I started seminary. Now, I have been reading, but those books probably would not perk your curiosity! So, I've been justifying my reasons for not sharing with you as I had wanted to.
But all that is changing! I am finding such a rich, new deep love for reading and it is inspiring! The last book I read, which was "Immanuel's Veins" by Ted Dekker (an absolutely brilliant fiction tale - go read it!), really enriched my view on how much God deeply loves us and longs for us! He is yearning for us and paid such a redemptive price to give us new life in His Son Jesus, and we are set free in a new and beautiful way! God is so good!
But I don't want to just sit there for now! As much as I loved "Immanuel's Veins," that is not the book I'm going to share about. The book I recently started reading is called "A Call to Prayer" by J.C. Ryle. J.C. Ryle was an English bishop in the second half of the 19th Century. He had passion for people to know and love Jesus Christ in an intimate and personal way, and then to share that passion with others! He had much fervor for the Kingdom and is an example for us currently in the 21st Century.
So, I have now begun this wonderful little book on prayer. Why do we pray? Why should we pray? Does prayer do anything? These are all questions Ryle lays before the reader and answers. He also encourages us to move beyond simple, common rituals of prayer, but to actually be in communion with God. Over and over, he asks the simple, yet difficult question - "Do you pray?"
I ask now - do you pray? Prayer is such a necessary, yet often forgot tool that Christians neglect. We cannot just let our hearts be satisfied to say an easy prayer in the morning, move on, and then come back at night to another ritualistic prayer. We must be constant in our prayer. We must cover our lives in prayer and saturate ourselves with the Holy Spirit. Prayer is a tool to just be in the presence of God. When we pray, we truly worship.
All this is what Ryle expounds on in his book. Now, I know the book is very short. I also can tell you that I'm only half - way through. But I encourage you to look for the next half of the book, and to explore this book yourself. I also have found a wonderful new gadget! It's Kindle for your PC. For those of us who cannot afford a Kindle, or any other reader for that matter, we can still access a bevy of books for a reasonable cost, all on our computer. It's a great resource and is a wonderful tool for myself. Go check it out and get some of these wonderful classic books for a cheap price or for free!
Love you all - and so I do pray. And I pray for you.
Jesus, Lord and Savior, thank you so much for being a wonderful God - a God we can call on, a God we can trust, and a God who loves us so much in return. Jesus, you cover us and you long for us to just be with you. We often forget this. Yet, we need to be reminded. Jesus, you never leave, you never forsake, yet you give wisdom through your Holy Spirit. And your Spirit is what I long for. It is what I long for all the people of this world to know. Lord, there is such rich abundance and comfort in you. You give the peace that passes all understanding. Thank you. Lord, be with all those who read this - and those who don't. Please be revealing yourself in mighty strength and glory to us. We need to see you. Come Lord, and renew us. Lord Jesus, thank you also for the example of a saint - thank you for J.C. Ryle and his example of deep faith to us all. We rejoice today in You and in the day You have given us. Be near us now. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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