does god answer prayer – Page 4 – Jesus @ 2 am blogs and podcast

Loving God 301, Part 5: Expressing Disorientation and Abandonment – Psalm 88

February 18, 2016February 18, 2016Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

Often our most desperate hours are marked by a fundamental sense of disorientation. Beyond the direct emotions of fear, sorrow, even anger…is the larger feeling that world as we once knew it has been overturned. We no longer know which way is up or where to find a port in the storm.

It is in these moments – perhaps more than any others – that we need someone else to provide the language to describe our experience and our plea. And it is one of the great gifts of the psalms – language for the soul that has no words.

In this sermon, our pal, Ian Farrell, examines Psalm 88 and the cry of a faithful soul who feels the world has turned completely against them and fears there may be no recovery.

Loving God 301, Part 4: Expressing Doubt – Psalm 13

February 7, 2016February 3, 2016Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

Doubt is a part of every intimate relationship. No matter how confident we are in the love of another, there are times when we wonder if that love endures (if it was every really there at all). It happens in friendships, families, marriages…and in our relationship with God.

We ought not be surprised by this or seek to deny it. It is hard enough to put our trust in those we can see, hear and touch. How much more so to lean into a relationship that is rarely mediated by our senses?!?

God is not surprised by doubt. Nor is he angered by it. Rather, God provides us the language to express doubt, to talk about it and let it be part of the relationship.

In this episode we explore Psalm 13 and both the experience and vocabulary of faith and doubt.

Loving God 301, Part 3: Expressing Fear – Psalm 140

February 4, 2016February 3, 2016Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

We’ve all heard of the “foxhole prayer” – pleading with God in our most desperate hour. It’s an experience we’ve all had, and one that often comes with a tinge of guilt: Will God be angry that we turn to prayer only when we are overcome with fear?

Take heart, then, to know that the psalms are filled with such prayers – cries to God for deliverance from every kind of threat. And take even more heart in knowing that such prayers are lovingly received and frequently answered with salvation (present and eternal!).

In this episode we explore Psalm 140 and the experience of fear – how to bring our deepest worries to the God who is both omnipotent and compassionate.