How Facing Doubt Leads to Greater Faith

Too great an emphasis on perfect faith actually blocks growth instead of facilitating it, creating the unconscious expectation that without perfect faith God will be disappointed and reject a person.

But God has more patience and maturity than that, for as Jesus said, a tiny mustard seed of faith is sufficient for the Lord to work within a person (Mt 17:20). The Trinity wants to help people face, feel, and process their doubts, which in turn leads to greater faith.

Even John the Baptist, whom Christ held in the highest regard, sent a messenger from his prison cell to ask Jesus once again if in fact he was the Messiah. Jesus sent back the answer that “the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised,” all signs from Isaiah’s prophecy attesting to the Messiah’s arrival (Lk 7:22).

John the Baptist

So if individuals are trusting Christ for their right standing with God, then God makes room for occasional doubts as they experiment with:

• how prayer does and doesn’t work
• what to do when they feel uninvolved in a worship service
• how to handle it when they can’t meet a homeless person’s needs
• what to do about behavior they feel is wrong but have to seek God’s help over months or years to overcome

Natural rhythms of faith and doubt ultimately bring people closer to the Lord. For all the doubts they endure, although people can’t always hold onto God, he nevertheless holds onto them. As Jesus promises, “No one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (Jn 10:28-30).

During Christ’s ordeal, Peter struggles with intense doubt about whether to claim friendship with Jesus or deny knowing him. He temporarily opts for denial just when Jesus needs him most. And after the resurrection, Peter reaches the point where he throws up his hands and says, “Come on boys, let’s go back to Galilee and start fishing.” He stands at the place all human beings know from time to time, even when they also know and love the Lord, where life just does not make sense. There are too many setbacks, too much confusion, and too little guidance from the Holy Spirit.

But then it does make sense. For Jesus follows his weary fishing crew to the Sea of Tiberius, and there he makes a little campfire on the shore and grills some fish, shouting to Peter and the others in the boat, “Have you caught anything yet?” (Jn 21:5).

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

Peter starts to yell back that the fishing is as dismal as his own life, when suddenly he recognizes Jesus and dives headlong into the sea to swim ashore. The Bible says the disciples don’t say much at that meal, perhaps too busy internally absorbing the rhythm of doubt and faith, crisis and deliverance, self-consciousness and joy—and feeling mostly awe, not only that they had been right in choosing to follow Jesus, but that they had chosen, for the most part, to believe all he had told them.

Rather than trying to secure a flawless platform of witness that one is adamantly Christian and proud of it, a wiser stance might allow that all human beings, including one’s self, hold even cherished beliefs somewhat precariously, and therefore stand in need of God’s continuous provision to remain close to him.

Once persons accept that they are both strong and weak, hardy and frail, capable of moments of shimmering faith and times where all seems lost, then they can relax, breathe, and trust in God’s faithfulness and providential care. Add to this the hundreds of scriptures that attest to the transcendent power whereby God saves those who hide themselves in him, and people can enjoy a degree of equanimity, knowing that Christ is there for them in faith or doubt.

In seasons of celebrating God or times of questioning, the “I AM” of God faithfully indwells the “i am” of the believer. For the same Peter who denies even knowing the Lord, later writes to all who would follow Christ, “Now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Pet 1: 6-9).

For more, read:

TRUSTING IN THE TRINITY:

A Self Compass for Humanity

 

How to Live Your Faith Beyond Church Walls

Is it possible to have faith that promotes unity with Christians of diverse traditions and openness to non-believers who hold different beliefs altogether? Compass theory suggests that a non-dogmatic faith is the wisest way to grow in Christ and witness to others without alienating them.

But—“I’m a Baptist,” “I’m Roman Catholic,” “I’m Calvinist,” “I’m Pentecostal”—say too many Christians.

“Please,” says the Father, “just witness to my presence in the world. You are my children, all. I have called you and know you by name. Seek my wisdom without a chip on your shoulder that divides my family into feuding factions. Please welcome all individuals into my household and live your faith beyond church walls.”

In the big picture of Christ’s redemption of humankind, your religious tradition is about as significant as whether you prefer going to the mountains or the beach, or whether you believe that cats or dogs make the best household pets.

Whatever your denominational affiliation, you are first and foremost a person who loves Christ. But when you place your Christian tradition above the gift of intimacy with God, you contribute to the fragmentation of Christianity and the senseless competition between parts of the Body of Christ.

A humbler perspective lets you say, “I am a follower of Christ,” or simply, “I am a Christian.” If this admission brings disparagement from anyone, then you are simply being persecuted for your witness to the Lord, not rejected because of your denominational eccentricity. Sometimes this type of persecution can’t be avoided. At such times Jesus will personally comfort you. But the rest of the time, seek to be a door-opener of God’s grace rather than a closed door of dogmatic religiosity.

Once in my hometown I called together a group of Christian leaders for a prayer meeting. Among them were a Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, Catholic, and Lutheran. “I wonder if we might become a network who get to know and trust each other,” I said. “That way we can serve the Body of Christ and seek to meet people’s needs, no matter what their orientation.” During the next hour there arose such a disputation about brand-name loyalties that my hopes for Christian unity fell to the ground.

Eventually I channeled my passion away from banding leaders together to writing books for persons like you. This is why I value your readership so much. You are the one who is becoming the face, voice, and actions of Jesus Christ, and through his Spirit, a one-of-a-kind individual.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Believe me, God takes note of your individuation and will move to benefit both you and others. You are a signpost and heartfelt witness that Jesus is alive not dead, loving not tyrannical, adventurous not boring.

On occasion, when people are undergoing pronounced adversity concerning their health, finances, job, or relationships, you might ask if they would like to receive a prayer of blessing from you. Most people will say, “Yes, please.” Whether you pray silently or aloud, or simply let them know in a card or e-mail that you have interceded to God on their behalf, they will feel less lonely and desperate because of you. They will feel a shimmer of hope that God is there for them. When God answers some of these prayers, both their faith and yours will be strengthened. 

Join a Bible-study group to deepen your knowledge of the Word of God. Pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit as to how to develop more of your real self in Christ. Read The Self Compass: Charting Your Personality in Christ to help you in this process. If you do not attend a church, explore ones in your community to see if there is one that draws you in. We all need a way to regularly take in the Scriptures so that the Holy Spirit can use biblical teaching to transform our personality. 

Finding Freedom in Christ

Freedom. An easy concept. A difficult reality.

What happens to you when you enter a relationship with Jesus Christ? Is your freedom curtailed or expanded, diminished or enhanced?

Think of it this way: freedom is merging your will with God’s will, so that your life choices are augmented by the Lord’s reservoir of wisdom. After all, God’s been around an awfully long time. He knows how to navigate your path up the mountain, while meeting your needs along the way.

Yet many people feel squeamish about calling on God for daily guidance. “I need to take responsibility for my own choices,” says one man—“I can’t go running to God for every little problem.” 

I respect this perspective. There is a certain amount of truth here. God gives us freedom of choice, and exercising that freedom develops initiative and responsibility. But what is missing from this view is the recognition that Christ loves people wisely. The Lord doesn’t intend to merge your will with his to keep you immature or make you slavishly codependent. He’s not interested in lording his power over you.

No, the Lord wants to guide you through a rhythm of creative interaction, the way two lifelong companions talk things over and keep each other near at heart. Jesus is interested in everything you face, just as he was with the disciples. His goal is to keep you free and growing toward ever greater dimensions of psychological and spiritual wholeness. Paul has it right in Galatians 5:1—“For freedom Christ has set us free.”

Think about it. At all times, and in every situation, you have freedom to pray for God’s unfolding will. This doesn’t undermine your identity, but strengthens it. You trust God to move inside you and within every situation so that his blessings for you are made real.

If you are prone to worry, refuse to accept this as a precondition of life. Have you ever realized that worry is optional? That worry is a choice, not a necessity? Worry is a habit of not trusting yourself and not trusting God. Worry rates the Lord as a failure when it comes to guiding you. Usually we develop the worry habit when someone has undermined our self-confidence, or when a series of reversals have made us fearful that life will never turn out okay.

Worry is not God’s will for you. “But I’m afraid I’ll make the wrong choice,” you say. Or, “How can I tell if God is really guiding me?” You’ll never have 100% certainty. Don’t waste your time searching for spiritual guarantees. Just build a creative rhythm between worry and trust, weakness and strength. That works just fine.

You are not alone when it comes to worry. I worry. My wife Kate worries. All people fret when they can’t control life and make it behave. On top of that, we’ve all experienced bitter losses and moments when life has nearly crushed us.

The way out of worry is to remember that the other side of worry—the other fork in the trail—is trusting in the Lord. Deepening your individual bond with Christ helps you bypass chronic worry by leaning on him for help. You still have to make choices, and you still have occasional doubts, but you begin to know that the Holy Spirit hovers over you like a mother watching over a child.

Fear loses its grip when you trust the Lord in real-life situations and discern the nuances of his ready help in the face of need. Over time, you develop a faith history with God that bears witness to his ingenious provisions—his sometimes subtle and sometimes dramatic interventions on your behalf. 

There is no perfect way through life, nor is there a way of living that bypasses disappointment and adversity. But you can understand that most frustrations are merely inconvenient, not catastrophic. Over the years you evolve an encompassing trust in Christ’s love, reaching out to him instinctively when you face particularly gnarly problems.

Today alone I have asked the Lord to help me pay some important bills, guide Kate and me in fulfilling our life callings, and help a friend who is undergoing surgery. I even prayed for assistance in writing this blog.

Openly express gratitude to God, never writing off a blessing as good luck or coincidence. Catch him being good to you and let him know how you feel about it. You praise Jesus for his faithfulness, and give him lots of heart hugs.  Watch for God's blessings in your life this week!

For an in depth treatment of finding freedom and wholeness in Jesus Christ, read:

COMPASS PSYCHOTHEOLOGY: 

WHERE PSYCHOLOGY & THEOLOGY REALLY MEET

How Does Jesus' Sinlessness Help Us?

"He committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth" (1 Peter 2:22).

The New Testament insists that Jesus Christ was completely free from sin (John 8:46; 2 Corinth 5:21; Hebrews 4:15, 7:26; 1 John 3:5). He never disobeyed his Father. He loved God's law and found wholehearted joy in keeping it. 

Psychiatrist Karen Horney once cited wholeheartedness as an elusive goal of mental health because of people's inner conflicts. In fallen human beings, there is always reluctance to obey God, to risk a life of faith, to receive chastisement from the Word of God. And there is even resentment amounting to hatred at the claims God makes on us:  "For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will" (Romans 8:7). 

But Jesus' moral nature kept true to God, as had Adam and Eve's moral nature prior to their sin and fall from grace. This passionate fidelity to knowing and doing God's will is what distinguishes Christ from us. It's not just that he confronted social injustice or gave inspired teaching. It's that in Jesus there was no motivation or inclination away from God for Satan to play upon. But there is in us. 

Jesus loved his Father and his Father's will with all his heart and mind, body and spirit. But we are torn by inner conflicts. Our moral compass is broken. Our human nature wars within us and with other people, even if we are decent and caring part of the time. Far from seeking God's will night and day like Jesus did, we want God to do our will. We avoid intimacy with God, for fear he might require something of us that would be uncomfortable or inconvenient.

I remember a well-known psychologist confiding in me: "Dan, there is an evil that lurks within every person, a resistance to growth and health. Sometimes I think our profession is naive about the categories of evil that destroy so many lives."

But Jesus wasn't naive about the categories of evil. Hebrews 4:15 says that Jesus was "tempted in every way, just as we are," though without sinning. This means that every type of temptation we face — temptations to wrongfully indulge the desires of body and mind, to evade moral and spiritual issues, to become self protective and self pitying — came upon him, but he yielded to none of them. Overwhelming opposition did not overwhelm Jesus. 

Through the agony of Gethsemane and the cross he fought temptation and resisted sin to the point of surrendering his life as an atonement for our sins. Jesus can strengthen us with a kindred resolve to do God's will.

Jesus' sinlessness was necessary for our salvation. Had he not been "a lamb without blemish or defect" his blood would not have been "precious" (1 Peter 1:19). He would have needed a Savior himself, and his death would not have redeemed us. 

Jesus Christ's obedient faithfulness (perfect lifelong conformity to God's law for humankind and the Father's will for the Son, our Messiah) qualified Jesus to become our Savior and everlasting Lord. Jesus' obedient suffering (receiving the penalty of God's broken law as our sinless substitute) secured the pardon and acceptance of those who put their faith in him. 

"But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12-13).

Witnessing That Jesus Christ Is the Lord

Driving my motorcycle down a country highway, I heard a metallic pop and instantly lost all power. Steering to the side of the road I coasted to a halt about a yard this side of a driveway that meandered up to an impressive looking estate.

Since there was no traffic on this seldom used road I jogged up the driveway to the country mansion. I hoped to use the phone. When I got there a man answered the door, scowling.

“Excuse me, sir,” I said. “My bike chain broke out on the road. I wonder if I might use your phone to make a quick call.”

“No,” he said. “You can’t.”

Stunned, I studied his face. Uncut whiskers. Red cheeks. Balding scalp. Blotchy rings under his eyes. Not a happy fellow.

“Well, it’s a long walk back to town," I said. "I’ll just be on the phone a moment.”

“So you think you can invade a man's property and use his phone like its yours?”

I reached for my wallet. “I’ll be glad to pay you five dollars.” 

“Never mind,” he said curtly. He unlocked the screen and opened it. “Just hurry up.”

Marching ahead of me, he led me to a living room phone, then sat down in a nearby chair and stared at me. I felt so self-conscious that I forget my friend’s phone number. “May I use your directory?”

He strutted off to another room and in a minute came back with a phone book in one hand one and a drink in the other. “So what are you doing out this way, anyhow? Not many people use that old highway.”

“I was taking my bike out for a spin. I bought it secondhand last week. I’m a student at the seminary.”

“Oh, one of those Jesus nuts.”

I found the number and dialed it. No answer. I sighed.

“So where’s God when you need him?” asked the man.

I hung up the receiver. “That’s a good question,” I said. “I didn’t even think God existed until a couple years ago. I was a died-in-the-wool atheist.”

“Like me,” he said. “So then you got religion?”

“Not really. I don’t like religion much. But what happened was I stumbled into a church service one night and heard a message that Jesus is still alive. It was at a time when I felt very alone. At the altar call I went down and told Jesus that if this was true—if he was a real person who really existed—then I wanted to know him. I felt a peace come into me that has changed my life direction.”

The man swirled the ice cubes in his glass and sipped. “I don’t believe any of that God crap,” he said. “But I know what you mean about being lonely.”

“How’s that?”

“I never got married and both my parents are dead. I made a lot of money in manufacturing and retired when I was fifty. I bought this place.”

I looked around at the Arabian carpet and fine furnishings. “It’s a great place.”

“Yeah, but it don't mean much when you're all alone. This Jesus thing you got. Does it comfort you?”

"Not always. But most of the time, yes. I feel comforted by the Holy Spirit."

He grunted and stood up, gesturing toward to the door. “I have a piece of advice for you. Jesus is just a crutch. Him and the Holy Ghost are imaginary friends you made up in your head to keep you company. When you have as much money as I do, you can buy any god you want. But the God you're talking about doesn't exist.” He opened the screen door to usher me out.

“Would it be possible to give me a lift back into town?” I asked.

“No. My favorite show's about to start. But since Jesus is such a good friend to you, I'm sure he'll help you out, right?” 

“Yes," I said. “He will.” I turned and started jogging down the driveway toward the highway, feeling way out on a limb with no one to help me. But Jesus.

I didn’t feel comforted. I felt lousy. I felt upset. I felt mad—at God. For leaving me stranded in a place I didn’t want to be with a man I never wanted to see again. Worse than that, I felt humiliated. Here I was telling this guy that the Lord Jesus Christ is alive today, and that the Holy Spirit watches out for me. And now this same guy was chuckling at my stupidity and watching me hoof it down the road to my busted motorcycle.

“Jesus, where are you when I need you?” I grumped.

Back at the motorcycle I knelt down and gathered the loose chain that lay like a dead snake underneath my bike. Ten miles. Should I push the bike or set out jogging and hopefully make it to town before midnight? Would the bike be safe or would someone load it into the back of a pickup and drive off? Did God know anything about bikes, chains, and stranded hitchhikers or was he too busy guiding stars in their orbits around the Milky Way? I kicked the bike. It fell over. My toe hurt. I felt like a fool.

I perked my ears at the sound of an approaching vehicle. Over the hill came a truck. I waved my arms to signal distress. As I did so I noticed out of the corner of my eye the man in the mansion, still standing on his porch, still swirling his drink, watching. My drama must have proved more entertaining than the TV show.

The driver pulled over and got out of the truck. He walked straight to my bike. 

“Chain break?” he asked.

“Yeah. I don’t have any tools.”

“No problem,” he said. Underneath his billed cap I saw the flash of friendly eyes. “Burt’s Motorcycle Shop,” he said, pointing to the sign on the side of truck. “I’m Burt.”

Some people call it luck. Others call it fate or good karma. I call it the God who is there. Burt and I rolled my bike up the ramp and secured it in the back of his truck. 

I hopped into the passenger seat, opened the window, and waved goodbye to the man in the mansion, the Holy Spirit having authenticated my witness that Jesus Christ is the Lord.

Miracles, Science, and Modern Life: Praying in Jesus' Name

I like writing for the Lord Jesus Christ because I am both a scientist, a psychologist by lifelong calling, and a person of faith. Yet I didn't always have faith.

It started in university years, my awareness that modern life, based as it is on modern science, has little room for a life of faith in Christ, and a scathing judgment that praying in Jesus' name for a specific need is a foolish thing to do.

All of my professors in chemistry, physics, and biology were atheists. The Darwinian Bible of the evolutionary development of humanity, The Origin of Species, was drilled into me principle upon principle, as fundamental to my Bachelor of Science degree.

However, the summer of my graduation, when my own agnostic-atheistic philosophy had driven me into depressoin about the meaninglessness of life, I decided to re-read the Gospel of Christ (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) just to re-evaluate what it said.

I didn't like what I read. The whole New Testament called for a life of faith in Christ, that he died for my sins and rose for my redemption. I had no such faith. My whole perspective on life, which I'd adopted from my sophomore year forward, required empirical proofs and deductive logic to be applied to every aspect of life. If there wasn't scientific evidence for a belief, then toss it out, I reasoned, and if you couldn't make rational sense of a proposition about life, it must not be true.

How arid. How sterile. How lonely my life had become. I had analyzed myself into a corner where I could only count on these facts: that I had to pay yearly taxes to the government and that I would someday die.

An answer was about to rush into the desperate vacuum of my soul. For I went to a simple church service, like the one in which I'd originally believed in Christ at seventeen, and heard the Gospel anew. Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand...If you keep hardening your heart to God, you may well reach of PNR (a point of no return) where you never seek him again...And die in self-willed separation that brings eternal torment.

I didn't like hearing this. Not one bit. I almost walked out of the service. But then a gentle tug pulled at my heart. Perhaps the Holy Spirit? And I walked forward to the altar instead. It took an hour of struggling to pray before the Spirit descended upon me in earnest, helping me to cry my eyes out over walking away from Jesus in my university years, choosing instead a godless, faith-killing Darwinian philosophy that was driving me to despair.

The second hour at the altar was different from the first, for the Lord had heard my cry of repentance, and Christ arose within me with such force in my soul that I felt transported into heaven. I praised God with every cell in my body, tears of joy streaming down wet cheeks, until the janitor tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Good sir, can you finish talking to God on your way home, so I can start sweeping the sanctuary?"

Fast forward three months. I'm enrolled at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, where a summa cum laude degree had earned me a full scholarship. Only I had a problem. I had barely enough money for books, and no money left at all for the white lab coat we med students were required to buy.

Would Monday arrive and Dan Montgomery appear in the class of thirty-two students, the only one wearing street clothes? Time to pray, to apply my scientific background in a more creative way than before. I reasoned, If Jesus tells me to pray in his name for the things that I need, and that God the Father will answer these prayers to glorify his Son, then now would be a good time to do it.

The empirical proof would lie in whether this prayer experiment brought measurable results or evaporated into nothingness. So Saturday morning I said, "Father, I need a medical school lab jacket really bad and really fast. Can you please supply me one in Jesus' name?"

Nothing happened. So I carried on as best I could, picturing my upcoming humiliation in Monday morning classes.

Driving back to campus, I saw a Goodwill store on the left. An inner presence, much like the one I had experienced at the church altar, formed an image in my mind of me walking into the store and reaching into one of the boxes.

Shrugging my shoulders, I thought: What the heck. This experiment may have a very foolish outcome. But on the other hand, I'll never know unless I take the risk of faith.

I walked into the store and stood amidst a dozen huge boxes stuffed to the brim with clothing. I almost walked out again, but not before a presence formed an image in my mind of going to the third box and reaching deep down into it. So I did just that, my heart beating noticeably faster, since the result of the experiment was at hand.

I grabbed a piece of cloth about two-thirds of the way down, don't ask me why. My fingers simply gripped it and I yanked it out.

A white good-as-new medical school lab coat in just my size. 

I rushed to the cashier and paid the thirty-five cents it cost, then hurried to the dry cleaner next door.

In Monday morning's class thirty-two students appeared sporting bright white lab coats, Dan Montgomery among them.

I couldn't stopped smiling at the evidence I wore of the invisible Father whom science denies, yet faith affirms, providing for those who pray to him, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Naturally Supernatural Life for Christians

Christianity begins with Jesus. After dying on the cross, he is raised up on the third day, his personality restored, his human faculties intact. His first recorded act is to warmly greet Mary Magdalene. Then he says, “Go and tell Peter and the boys that I’ll meet them in Galilee,” an especially tender sentiment since Peter had three times denied even knowing him. 

By the time the month is out, Christ has met with the disciples and another four hundred people who believe in him. His death and resurrection have turned history upside down. You’d never guess he’d been recently betrayed, interrogated, whipped, spurned, and crucified, busy as he is creating rendezvous with the individuals he loves. 

Now two millennia have passed and Jesus is making rendezvous with you. He calls your name and seeks opportunities to be in touch with you. Do you hear his whisper? Can you feel his warmth?

How do you integrate this Jesus of Nazareth with your life in the 21^st century? Certainly it tests your capability, since a good part of humanity now believes that science and reason are the primary means of acquiring knowledge, understanding human behavior, and explaining the universe. This point of view has made a worthwhile contribution to humankind by revealing natural laws and improving the quality of life.

Yet for the individual in Christ, a graced awareness of heavenly power challenges the artificial distinction made in today’s world between the natural and supernatural—between reason and faith. 

When your baby gets sick, you not only want a good doctor, you want God’s help. When someone you love is dying, you want more than a prognosis of how many weeks are left, you want to bring spiritual comfort to the loved one. When a dire situation has you by the throat, you want Almighty God to intervene and deliver you from evil!

Jesus Christ is the unimpeachable witness that your life matters to God. He is the Almighty Someone who knows your coming and going, and watches over you. “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). And just as the supernatural became natural for Mary and Peter, so the supernatural can become natural for you.

This world belongs to the Trinity. Far from being a Creator who wound up the universe like a cosmic watch and then abandoned it, our God interacts with us all the time.

The life of a colleague of mine, a physician, once sank to an all-time low. She got several years behind in taxes to the tune of five figures, experienced a painful divorce, lost her home, and underwent gall bladder surgery, all within the space of a year. The only thing she had left was enough reason to call upon Jesus Christ for help. 

I use the word “reason” to emphasize that when you belong to Christ, it is reasonable and makes good scientific sense to call on him for help. No, you can’t set up an empirical laboratory experiment to make God demonstrate how he cares for people and moves on their behalf. On the other hand, millions of people who know the Lord petition him for help and witness his astonishing provision for their needs.

God doesn’t mind scientific exploration. He invites, even empowers the understanding of nature, including the study of Homo sapiens. Yet when it comes to the well-being of persons, God moves freely by exerting his transcendent will to help people out. Without his compassionate heart at the center of things, we would all be transitory blips in a cold dark universe, where names don’t matter and personalities are no more significant than tree stumps. 

My physician friend knew that she was not a tree stump. She called on the Lord for help to restore a miserably broken life. Cooperating with the grace that was offered, she acknowledged her errors of judgment and followed the Holy Spirit’s lead in setting her life aright. At the end of the five years she emerged debt free, with enough income to make a down payment on a home. I could tell that invisibly, yet perceptively, she had joined the cloud of witnesses who have walked through the valley of the shadow and found Christ an able Shepherd.

While my friend’s story helps to illustrate how the Lord moves supernaturally through ordinary trials, I want to share an experience that bears witness to a miracle from God in a life-threatening emergency. 

One night I was driving through a hundred-mile stretch of remote country in the midst of a winter blizzard, when the car heater broke down. It wasn’t long before my feet turned to ice blocks and my breath fogged up the windshield. I crawled along at twenty miles an hour, fearful that I might drive off the road. 

Shaking now from the sub-zero weather, I uttered the most unusual prayer of my life: “God, please bring heat inside the car so I don’t freeze to death.” A minute later a breeze started blowing gently on my feet and legs. It was piping hot air. I didn’t know how God was doing it, but the whole interior of the car gradually heated up to where the fog cleared off the windshield, my bones stopped rattling, and I felt warm as toast. 

Thankfully, I drove the remaining distance without getting stuck in a snowbank, arriving at my destination in a fully heated car. When I checked the heater the next day it wasn’t working. I took the car to a mechanic who replaced a faulty thermostat. 

I don’t know what your needs are right now or what pressures are threatening you. But I do know that I am in your corner, with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are cheering you on, as you and Jesus make the supernatural more natural in your life.

For more, read:

FAITH BEYOND CHURCH WALLS

How Does Prayer Work?

I can't speak for other world religions, even though I respect aspects of what they teach and uphold. But I can speak for Christianity because I met Jesus Christ fifty years ago. If it wasn't for Jesus, Christianity would be just a religion, and I wouldn't have much interest in it. My lifetime work as a psychologist for Lord has only intensified my fascination with prayer.

What does Jesus teach us about prayer? First of all, he teaches us that through the doorway he provides, God the Father becomes our personal Father. Christ teaches us to pray to God like he did, which means to pray all the time, everywhere, about anything that truly concerns us. And he teaches us to pray in his name, which means that we submit to his authority and trust in his guidance.

How does this translate into practical prayer? Wonderfully. You see, I was trained as a scientist in my graduate and undergraduate education, and I learned to have an inquisitive mind, to try out novel experiments and gather research about how the natural laws of the universe work.

So when I met Jesus, when I asked him to enter my life and reveal more about God to me, I found a freedom to pray in his name and see how prayer works. One of my first prayer experiments got an unexpected answer. My girlfriend, who had graduated from high school a year ahead of me, fell in love with a college guy, a beefy football player whom I personally detested.

The week of their marriage I stood in my bedroom and lay my broken heart before the Lord. "I can't stand this pain, Lord, and I can't stand losing this woman I love. Will you please show me how to get through this?"

I waited. Nothing seemed to happen. But when I turned around, my eyes fell on a Bible sitting on my dresser. I felt compelled by an invisible force to cross the room and placed both hands upon the Bible. With that action a peace infused my whole being, and a calm inner voice said, "Dan, you can stand it, because I am standing with you."

When we enter conversation with God, we can actively expect his attentiveness, and trust in the great care with which he will answer us, sometimes immediately, sometimes within the week, and sometimes twenty years later.

Go ahead and pray about anything that brings you anxiety, depression, or stress. Ask for God's divine intervention. For his wisdom to flow into a situation and change the outcome in constructive ways. For his presence to positively influence a troubled relationship. For his will to be done in your life.

And don't forget to thank him for all the good things he does. It warms his heart, just like his companionship through the years warms yours.

For more about prayer and companionship with God, read  

Trusting In The Trinity: Compass Psychotheology Applied